I Didn't Expect You'd Be Playing This Kind of Game!

"Magic Mirror" could be described as a very unique little game.

Match-3 + RPG elements, combined with galgame-style gameplay featuring different endings.

This made the overall gameplay quite impressive.

As for the match-3 mechanics, they were essentially an extension of tile-matching games, and this world already had such gameplay.

It was also quite popular, so Chen Xu wasn't worried about whether players would accept this three-match style.

Secondly, the selling point of "Magic Mirror" wasn't entirely the match-3 gameplay.

The rest came down to the story and CG illustrations.

But Chen Xu had no concerns about this, because the Ruan Ningxue in his memory had the skill.

Including Chen Xu himself—he had the skill too.

He quickly completed a GDD-related setup.

Three-match gameplay, different upgrade paths.

After finishing that, Chen Xu began writing the story.

The first story featured a female character who was a Drow Elf Thief, sneaking into a lord's treasury to steal from his vault to help the poor, but she never expected the lord's hidden identity to be a Devil, and she fell into his hands.

As for the subsequent development, it offered two directions for players to choose: a pure love warrior or a Minotaur warrior.

The second story was about a Female General who traveled from ancient times to the modern world, encountering an Otaku in modern society. At the same time, due to the time travel, the Female General became a powerless existence.

For the subsequent development, there were two different endings: the pure love warrior naturally got a happy ending, while the other was somewhat dark but had a touching process.

In modern society, the Otaku committed evil acts against the Female General, then both traveled back to ancient times. After a period of getting along, the war was about to be lost, and the Otaku, though able to return to the modern world, chose to die with her.

Following that, there were also stories about a zombie bound by reincarnation and a Dragon Knight.

Of course, for the Early Game, Chen Xu planned to make just these four stories.

The reason was mainly that his savings weren't enough.

After all, the three-match gameplay, the subsequent voice actors, and the purchase of BGM copyrights all required a sum of money.

As for where the money would come from, it wasn't a big problem.

Over ten thousand in savings was clearly unreliable, but ZhiFuBa's JieBei, JingGou's JieJie, and a Credit Card could still handle it.

The next morning, in Chen Xu's apartment.

Ruan Ningxue, carrying her digital tablet and laptop, sat beside Chen Xu, looking at the story outline and storyboard he had hand-drawn, her expression strange.

"I never expected you to make this kind of game, Chen Xu!"

"Indeed, indeed, being a manga artist and game designer isn't your true talent—come draw doujinshi with me!"

"With your talent and mine, I'm sure we can make it. Starting as a doujinshi artist to build a fanbase and then becoming a famous manga artist—many well-known teachers have taken this development path."

Ruan Ningxue looked at the materials Chen Xu had rushed to produce overnight and began introducing her strategic detour plan again.

What a waste!

How could such talent be used for making games?

She knew her biggest flaw was a lack of story-building ability.

That's why she decided to create doujinshi to support herself while slowly honing her skills.

But now, looking at Chen Xu's short stories, they were simply amazing.

Pure love, Minotaur, reincarnation—every element was there.

Hearing Ruan Ningxue's exclamation, the corner of Chen Xu's mouth twitched.

"Thanks for the compliment, but I'll pass," Chen Xu said tactfully.

"Alright, next, Senior, you'll create the illustrations in order. But unlike manga format, they all need to be colored and more detailed."

"Of course, the story plot doesn't need to be shown through images; the plot will mainly be conveyed through dialogue."

Chen Xu said to Ruan Ningxue.

"I understand. Make the pictures more detailed while mainly showcasing the female characters' charm—it's like each one is the cover of a doujinshi. I'm very professional in this area, rest assured!" Ruan Ningxue said energetically.

"Mm, that understanding works too." Chen Xu nodded, then took a deep breath. "If there's no problem, then let's start work today!"

Hearing Chen Xu's words, Ruan Ningxue smiled slightly, gave a thumbs up, and opened the relevant software.

The development of "Magic Mirror" went much smoother than Chen Xu had expected.

Other non-critical art resources were mostly outsourced.

Among them, the dark-skinned elf, Dragon Girl, Female General, and Zombie Moe Girl were the four initial characters tentatively set.

As for the music, Chen Xu could make it himself if he wanted.

But it would be time-consuming and labor-intensive, and he didn't have that much money, so directly purchasing a license was simpler and more straightforward.

The rest was the voice acting.

The BGM and soundtrack can be makeshift.

But the character art and voice acting—those two points cannot be cut.

Those two points are the most crucial core of the "Magic Mirror."

"Mhm, perfect! But it still needs some tweaking."

Looking at the illustration Ruan Ningxue had just finished coloring, Chen Xu couldn't help but reveal a hint of awe in his eyes.

In his past life, he wasn't a nobody in the gaming industry.

He had met and exchanged words with some industry big shots at various summits.

He knew a thing or two about art, having studied the works of some top-tier art concept designers from his previous life.

Figures like Yang Qi, who worked on "Asura," Shigenori Soejima of the Persona series, and Tetsuya Nomura, the art concept designer for Tifa in Final Fantasy VII.

These industry-renowned names—Chen Xu had delved deep into their designs in his past life.

But when it came to character design, Ruan Ningxue truly gave Chen Xu a stunning impression; her skill was not to be underestimated!

Of course, there were still disadvantages, since the visual presentation of a game differs from that of a comic.

Even as illustrations for a galgame, they are different from manga.

"I see! It really is different from drawing doujin works." Listening to Chen Xu, Ruan Ningxue seemed thoughtful.

"Mhm, even for a visual novel game, the in-between illustrations and manga are completely different." Chen Xu nodded lightly, speaking to Ruan Ningxue.

Inside the rented room, Chen Xu and Ruan Ningxue discussed some of the key points.

As it stood, the game as a whole was nearly complete.

What remained was the voice actor aspect.

For this kind of bishoujo game, voice acting could be considered a relatively important part.

The budget for this portion was one of the highest among the entire game's costs.

Of course, Chen Xu didn't plan to have full voice acting—that would blow the budget. Having voice acting for some of the more important lines was more than enough.

As for the male protagonist in each story?

Should he be voiced? Of course not!

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