Buying Games, Hiring Staff

DLC refers to downloadable content released after a game's main body.

It's generally used to expand the game's content, allowing players to enjoy additional extra content while experiencing the original game.

It's like when you buy a serving of fries, and the shop gives you a packet of ketchup.

That ketchup is the DLC.

The fries are the main game.

The main story of "Resident Evil 7" follows an ordinary man named Ethan, who goes to a decrepit mansion in the middle of nowhere to find his missing wife, where he encounters the mutated Baker family.

The main plot is Ethan escaping after rescuing his wife, then gradually taking down the Baker family, who have become monsters.

However, during gameplay, players find some videotapes. Playing them lets them temporarily control a minor protagonist named Clancy.

This minor protagonist, Clancy, is a photographer. He follows a team to explore the Baker house, and like Ethan, he goes through a life-and-death ordeal. But he doesn't have plot armor, so he ends up burned to a crisp—even worse off than the main character, Ethan.

The DLC tells the story of two crises that Clancy, this minor protagonist, had to survive using his wits.

"21 Points" is one of them. After Lucas, the Baker son, ambushes and captures Clancy, he forces him into a life-or-death card game.

The player needs to win through three rounds of crisis—finger severing, electric shock, and dismemberment—to gain freedom.

Otherwise, it's Game Over.

The reason Meng Shu chose the "Resident Evil 7" DLC as his VR case study is fundamentally because "21 Points" is small in scale, fun enough, simple in rules, and creates a tense feeling while playing.

It could be called a bloody version of a puzzle game.

Especially after winning, the agonizing screams of the opponent being executed constantly remind the player: if you lose, this is your fate too!

But in the original world, players, having been baptized by various horror games and watching through a screen, didn't have much emotional reaction to this life-or-death card game.

In this world, though, tsk tsk.

Welcome to the charm of death!

So Meng Shu singled out "21 Points" as the first shot in the VR gaming field.

Buying the full "Resident Evil 7" set would cost 105,000,000 Fear Points. He only had 568,000, so he couldn't afford it at all.

But buying just one DLC was still doable.

Meng Shu selected "21 Points," and the required Fear Points immediately appeared.

210,000 Fear Points!

Even a small-scale DLC was this expensive!

But it was still within acceptable range.

Meng Shu immediately chose to purchase, and the system showed his game purchase was successful.

You have obtained the horror game "Resident Evil 7" DLC, "21 Points" step-by-step development tutorial

You have obtained the horror game "Resident Evil 7" DLC, "21 Points" concept design

You have obtained the horror game "Resident Evil 7" DLC, "21 Points" VR version production method

Clatter, clatter—

With the sound of coins colliding, his Fear Points finally dropped to 358,000.

His hand, which was handling the pig intestines, paused slightly.

A flood of professional knowledge appeared out of nowhere in his mind.

In just two breaths, he fully understood it, making it one of his own skills.

Then, he let out a breath, shook his head, and a smile appeared on his face.

"As expected, no art assets or anything like that."

"Whatever. Since I've already bought the game, I need to get the VR on track. Recruiting people starts tomorrow."

With that, he stopped overthinking and focused on handling the ingredients in his hands.

That evening, when his parents came home from overtime, they looked at the table full of delicious, aromatic dishes with stunned expressions.

Little Miss Meng's eyes went wide, and she blurted out, "What's the occasion today?"

His parents were honest folks, but they were also curious why so many dishes were made today.

To that, Meng Shu shrugged and made up an excuse, saying he'd found a job and was starting tomorrow, so tonight was a celebration with a good meal.

His parents' honest and simple nature meant they didn't suspect a thing; they even joined in the happiness.

Little Miss Meng, on the other hand, grabbed her chopsticks and dug in like a glutton, not ladylike at all.

His parents also sat down, picked up their chopsticks, and started eating, chatting about trivial work matters as they ate.

Meng Shu quietly drank water, occasionally responding to his parents' questions, his lifted eyes silently observing this family.

His mother's yellowed, wrinkled hand gently picked up a dumpling, dipped it in sauce, and placed it in Meng Shu's bowl. She picked up another, dipped it in sauce, and gave it to Little Miss Meng.

Only then did she pick one up for herself. Without even bothering to dip it in sauce, she eagerly took a big bite, burning her mouth and making her gulp down a large swig of water.

His father, meanwhile, picked up some dry-fried pork intestines, chewing them with relish, a look of pure enjoyment on his face.

Meng Shu got up, grabbed two bottles of beer he'd bought today from the fridge, and handed them over.

That made his father stare wide-eyed, snatching them eagerly before popping the cap and tilting his head back to chug. When he finished, he let out a long breath, his face brimming with satisfaction.

This was his new family—ordinary and hardworking, a modest little home.

He hadn't told them he'd already made tens of millions, because he felt the time wasn't right.

The money was earned, but it hadn't hit his account yet.

Besides, that money was meant to be poured into the company's development—he couldn't touch it recklessly.

He planned to wait until the company was running steadily, with enough funds, to buy a house outright, and then break the good news.

In Meng Shu's view, rather than telling them early and letting them build up hope, waiting day and night, it was better to move the whole family into a new life on the very day he told them, sparing them the long, agonizing anticipation.

His parents had endured hardship all their lives, and they were family—there was no need to show off in front of them.

So, Meng Shu chose to keep it quiet for now.

The next day, he arrived at the company.

He smiled at the massive "Only Game" LED sign at the front desk.

Then he walked in and made his way to his private office.

The office supplies and work computer were already set up.

From now on, he'd be developing games here, not at home.

Little Meng was still in a cast, but she could move around the house freely now and didn't need supervision.

And Meng Shu had made it clear: if anything urgent came up, just call.

After taking care of everything, he came to the company and started recruiting online.

The system had given him concept design drafts, so he needed to turn those into art assets.

First off, a 3D modeler was essential—he'd hire one for now.

Then a scene designer—also one for now.

Next, an animator specializing in motion capture, mainly to handle character body movements and facial expressions.

As for concept artists and VFX artists, he didn't need them yet—the system could cover that.

On the programming side, he didn't need anyone for now either; he could handle it alone. He'd recruit later when working on the full VR game. Time was tight, so he'd hold the fort.

No need for a planner either.

Then there was finance—that was a must, an absolute position for any company.

"Let's keep it like this for now. The top priority is getting the art assets done. Everything else can wait."

After planning it out, Meng Shu posted the job listings.

While waiting, he got in touch with Infinite Network Entertainment again.

As one of the top-tier companies in the country with game development experience, they definitely had motion capture equipment—or at least recommendations.

Sure enough, after asking, they said they could help with procurement, guaranteeing top-quality, professional gear with the best results.

That saved him a lot more time.

After wrapping all that up, he continued developing the final chapter of Dark Forest.

Compared to the first two chapters, this one wasn't as large in scope. He'd been working on it on and off over the past few days and had already reached 70% completion.

At most, three to four more days, and it'd be done.

Once Early Access ended and the official version launched, sales should jump significantly.

That would be a huge boost for the VR game plan down the line!