Chapter 221
Susan regained her composure and responded with a smile, “I’ll ask Mr. Landor. If he agrees, we’ll definitely have a
bonus.
The faces of her team members immediately lit up with excitement.
One of them boldly suggested, “If Mr. Landor disagrees, Director Miller, you should make him kneel on durians at
home.”
“Yeah, yeah, and take a picture of it! I’d love to see Mr. Landor kneeling on durians.” another chimed in.
Someone else added jokingly, “Kneeling on a keyboard would work too!”
The room erupted into cheerful laughter, clearly in high spirits.
Susan, too, couldn’t help but smile along.
Her department, established only a few months ago, had already generated such significant revenue, which was indeed a cause for celebration.
However, the success of “Starry Romance” could be attributed to its pioneering intelligent NPCs and high degree of game freedom. The recent debate on Twitter had also helped catapult the game to peak popularity.
That first week, many players were drawn by novelty, which explained the high revenue.
The real test was whether this momentum could be sustained.
If the revenue dropped significantly in the following week, it would indicate that the game hadn’t truly won over players. On the other hand, maintaining or increasing revenue would confirm its genuine success.
As everyone anxiously awaited the results, the revenue report for the second week arrived.
The person delivering the report was visibly astonished, their mouth agape in disbelief.
“How is it? Did the revenue drop significantly?” Susan asked curiously, glancing at the report.
Then, she too was stunned.
In the second week, the revenue astonishingly doubled to four hundred million dollars.
In just two weeks, the revenue hit a total of six hundred million dollars, shattering the national record for the highest monthly revenue of a game.
So far.
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This game had undeniably become a phenomenal success, Incredibly popular to an almost maddening extent.
“Our game…” Susan mumbled in disbelief, “is it really this popular?”
“Director!” someone excitedly interjected, “Have you not been online lately? Just go and see, our game is not just popular. It’s a nationwide craze.”
“Really?” Susan was somewhat taken aback.
After resolving the online controversies, she had been engrossed in the next development project and hadn’t paid much attention to the game’s ongoing reviews.
“Director! Let me show you directly,” a young woman said, handing over her phone.
“Take a look, Director, these are player reviews. I specifically saved some screenshots.”
Curious, Susan began to read through them.
[How do I cope? I feel like I’ve genuinely fallen in love with the Marshal. Is he really just an NPC? He seems so real. I used to worry that artificial intelligence could gain consciousness and cause disasters. But when Storm Group announced that the Al is merely personified and not human, why did I feel somewhat upset? Why can’t my Marshal be a real living being?] followed by a string of crying emojis.
[The Marshal is too cunning for my taste. I prefer the proud and aloof King! I’ve reset over 100 times just to win him over. Alright, enough talk, back to my quest.]
[I’m a guy, tell me, why do I wake up every midnight on schedule, eagerly boosting the favorability of the Prime Minister in the game? I’m a straight guy, for heaven’s sake.]
[I’m in love with the rebel leader! To help overthrow the king’s rule, I’m poring over tons of books on economics and management. My mom, seeing my dedication, said she’s relieved someone finally made a sensible game. Hilarious and tear–jerking at the same time.]
The game’s hyper–realism meant that players could apply their real–world skills in the game.
For those pursuing the King’s storyline, a grasp of political science made a big difference.
For the rebel route, knowledge in management and military tactics proved advantageous.
Pursuing the Marshal required a more naïve and sweet approach, but cooking and floral arrangement skills were a plus. The game tested these skills in various ways, making the Marshal a challenge to win over without expertise.
The last male lead, the Empire’s Prime Minister, favored gentle and artistic girls. Those with singing and painting skills got major bonus points.
–
–
After figuring out these preferences, girls and quite a few guys started learning and practicing new skills to woo these characters.
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Surprisingly, ‘Starry Romance‘ earned rave reviews from parents.
That was an unexpected bonus.
Beyond the heartfelt player reviews, authoritative websites also lavished praise:
[A low–budget romance game that’s dominating the gaming world! Intelligent NPCs are definitely the future trend.]
[Innumerable possibilities, countless endings. ‘Starry Romance, a world truly under your control.]
Susan felt a bit bashful just reading these headlines.
“Anyway, Director, our game is on fire right now, blazing like crazy,” the young woman said proudly.
Susan smiled, “Alright, I got it. Let’s not get complacent and keep up the good work. When the monthly revenue is out, I’ll treat everyone to a big meal.”
“Yeah!”
“Wow.”
Everyone cheered excitedly.
Those online accolades, after all, seemed a bit distant compared to the real excitement here.
In the evening, Susan received a frantic call from Theresa.
“Hey, Susan, you have to help me this time. If you don’t, I swear, I’ll just die, Theresa blurted out in a panic.
Susan, concerned that something serious had happened, quickly asked, “What’s wrong. Theresa? Tell me what’s going on.”
Theresa replied, somewhat dramatically, “Let me cut to the chase. I was doing so well in courting the Prime Minister in the game, but then I said something, and suddenly all the favorability points vanished! Is this some kind of bug? I don’t care, you have to restore my points.”
Susan was speechless.
Susan was slightly taken aback. “You’re playing the game too?”
“Who isn’t playing it these days? Stop beating around the bush and fix this bug for me,” Theresa urged.
Susan explained, “It’s probably not a bug. The game’s NPCs have high autonomy. It’s likely that your words hit a
nerve with him.”
“What? It can be like that?” Theresa sounded on the verge of tears. “Can you send me his character profile, so I know what to avoid?”
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Susan chuckled, “That’s classified information, I can’t disclose it.”
Resigned, Theresa replied, “Fine…” She sounded disappointed but quickly gave up on the idea.
Just as Theresa was about to hang up, Susan interjected, “Walt a second.”
Theresa perked up, “What? You changed your mind?”
“No, no chance of that. I’m just curious, how’s the matchmaking thing going?” Susan asked in a light–hearted tone.
