I! Game Designer! Ultimate Tormentor

Thanks to Shen Yunshi, the little artist, working diligently overtime, the submission was made on time.

With less than a week left until the Game Expo.

Platinum Studio's first game, led by Wu Wei—the rhythm game Dance of Ice and Fire—was officially completed!

"Hoo—"

Zhang Zhiyuan, after finishing the final round of testing, let out a long sigh and slumped into his chair.

It wasn't easy.

Don't be fooled by the fact that it's just a small rhythm game.

It was far from easy!

On the surface, it's just two little balls, jumping on a grid to the beat.

Neither the graphics nor the overall effect were particularly demanding.

But in reality, rhythm games have a lot of nuances!

The most important aspect of a rhythm game isn't how good the music is, how clear the rhythm is, or even how good the graphics are!

The key often lies in the smallest details.

Landing speed, hit feedback, and timing correction.

These three points are the core essence of a rhythm game!

Human reaction times are far slower than computers.

When hearing a musical accent, the brain needs a fraction of a second to direct the fingers to react.

And it takes time for the fingers to tap the keyboard, transmit the signal to the game, and process it.

When these are added together, physical latency becomes the most fatal problem in rhythm games.

In this world, while Wu Wei was developing Dance of Ice and Fire, he also experienced many rhythm games on the market.

The results were disappointing.

The timing correction in these rhythm games was lacking.

Although it seemed like the development teams of these games were trying their best to overcome this delay.

However, not a single company proposed the simple and convenient solution of letting players adjust the delay themselves.

Perhaps they felt that such a small game didn't need a dedicated correction system.

Or perhaps they simply overlooked the minuscule delay of a few milliseconds.

To each their own.

All rhythm game development companies were trying to make their corrections converge to an average level.

But they forgot that every player is an individual.

Every game, when purchased by a player, should be a unique work of art in their hands.

Not a homogenized commodity.

"We have to be responsible to the players."

Wu Wei said.

It was precisely because of this statement that the brothers worked day and night.

They painstakingly created a 'personal delay adjustment system' accurate to the millisecond.

At the same time, they truly realized what kind of designer Wu Wei was.

Yes, he was a bit of a pervert who enjoyed tormenting players.

But he wasn't forcing players to endure a bad experience.

On the contrary, he strived to eliminate discomfort from all aspects.

Then, he wanted players to immerse themselves in the game wholeheartedly.

Even if they were being tormented to death by him.

While Wu Wei was preparing for calibration, testing, and pre-opening preparations.

Xiang Dahai and his son were also busy.

"Son, this matter must not be known by outsiders, understand?"

Xiang Dahai handed a hard drive to Xiang Tianming, carefully instructing him:

"This contains all the R&D data and the finished game of our Music Master,"

"If anyone questions it later, you'll have something to say."

After speaking, Xiang Dahai patted Xiang Tianming on the shoulder:

"As long as we don't say anything, no one will know about this."

"Understood."

Xiang Tianming nodded heavily.

The father and son exchanged a glance, both breaking into triumphant smiles.

Tomorrow, the Game Expo would officially open.

And it would be the moment they completely kicked Wu Wei out of the game development circle!

"Don't worry, Dad has it all arranged,"

Xiang Dahai said with a sinister chuckle.

"At this game expo, I'll make sure he can't sell a single game!"

Xiang Dahai was indeed malicious.

You see, although this event, jointly organized by three universities, was called a Game Expo.

Its essence was a showcase for newcomers in the game industry.

At that time, all game manufacturers would focus their attention on this highly publicized university game expo.

It was a cradle for them to nurture the next generation of talent.

If, at the expo, a designer truly couldn't sell any games.

It wouldn't just be embarrassing.

It would likely become a laughingstock of the entire gaming industry!

And they would have no place left in the entire game design circle!

"Good morning, dear guests and students!"

In the Binhai University's Science and Technology Hall, within a spacious exhibition hall spanning over a thousand square meters, a grand expo for the game design industry was about to begin!

"Today, one hundred outstanding young designers from Binhai University, Zhongjing Institute of Science and Technology, and Shenzhou Institute of Science and Technology have gathered here."

"Eighteen media outlets including Pingjin, Zhongjing, Shenzhou, and Suiguang."

"Over thirty chief designers from major game companies are present to share in this grand occasion!"

"Thank you all for coming!"

"I declare the first 'Zhiyou Cup' University Game Design Expo officially open!"

Whoosh—

A tidal wave of applause erupted!

"Next, please allow me to introduce the guests attending this opening ceremony. They are..."

The host above spoke with passion and emotion.

Below, the brothers from Platinum Studio were whispering amongst themselves.

"Old Wu, I took a look, and our location isn't very good."

Zhang Zhiyuan said worriedly, looking at the booth layout map in his hand.

This was an expo.

Every game had its own booth.

The organizers had arranged the entire exhibition hall in a "回" shape.

The inner circle contained the booths for the hundred games, while the outer circle was a pathway for people to play and experience them.

And with this design, there was a problem—