Chapter 6: Is a Perfect Score Really 100?

Fixing the bug is impossible.

Chen Ba is so broke he’s about to eat dirt, he’s counting on selling more copies of the game to earn some money.

Qian Duoduo’s video hit the site’s trending list, bringing him a huge wave of attention. You could say all the players were drawn in by this "outrageous bug."

If he fixes the bug, who’s going to make up for the lost sales?

Moreover...

"Hubby, say something!"

Chen Ba was about to burst with anxiety, constantly calling out to his [Hardest Core Game Producer System] in his mind, hoping for a response.

Didn’t it promise high completion and a high score of 91? How could such an absurd bug appear?

While Chen Ba came up with the plan for the game [Cold Window Study Simulator], he didn’t skimp on using the system’s auxiliary features during its development.

This included "game testing"!

That’s right...

Game testing was included in the system’s auxiliary features, so Chen Ba didn’t need to worry about testing. He would generate core code using the system, then let the system run tests on the code, and if there were no issues, it would be released directly.

The game now has a severe bug and Chen Ba is the most bewildered person.

What’s going on with the system?

Such a mystical and powerful plugin, yet it couldn’t detect this bug? Did he awaken a pirated system?

Unfortunately, there was no response from the system.

No matter how hard he tried, he still didn’t get a reply. Not giving up, he closed his eyes and began to delve into the main page of the system in his mind.

The main page of the system was very simple.

Apart from basic information about Chen Ba as the host, there was only [Create Game], [Load Game], and [More Functions] to access secondary pages.

[Planning: 87]

[Programming: 84]

[Art: 57]

[... Overall Score: 91]

Opening the menu of Cold Window Study Simulator and scanning the basic information, Chen Ba vaguely discovered the issue.

When he saw this score, he thought 100 was the max score; after all, the hundred-point system is ingrained in people’s hearts, so it’s normal for him to think this way.

But now he suddenly realized he might have overlooked something crucial: while 91 is high, is the max score really 100?

If it’s not 100, but 1000 or some other number, then it’s normal for the game to have a nasty bug. With such a low score, there must be a major issue.

"Forget it..."

Sighing quietly, Chen Ba decided not to think about what the max score was for the time being.

If there’s a bug, there’s a bug. Is there any game in the world that’s perfect and flawless with no bugs?

Bugs depend on the situation.

If it’s a seriously harmful bug, it definitely requires a timely fix plan and an explanation to soothe the players.

But in situations like Cold Window Study Simulator, as long as he insists it’s the game mechanic, then it’s not considered a bug, and he doesn’t need to rack his brains to fix it.

Though he could refuse to acknowledge the bug, Chen Ba would still update what needs updating in the game.

For example, the achievement system!

When creating Cold Window Study Simulator, Chen Ba didn’t add many achievements, as there were too many things to handle and he simply couldn’t manage it.

Now that the game is released, it’s considered complete, and naturally, the achievement system should be improved to satisfy players’ collecting and achievement desires.

The recently pushed update pack is precisely a catalog of 132 detailed achievements.

...

The view count for Qian Duoduo’s latest video keeps climbing.

More new viewers see this video and get intrigued by Cold Window Study Simulator, making purchases.

This directly caused the initially poor sales, with hardly any comments, to spike. As of the third day since the video was released, sales successfully broke 10,000 and the game made it onto the top-selling list in the national area of the Steam Platform.

"One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand..."

After counting carefully, Chen Ba finally confirmed that Cold Window Study Simulator is genuinely popular now.

In just three days, sales have successfully exceeded 10,000 and are even nearing 30,000 copies, with thousands of reviews.

"Report, I know how to solve this problem!"

Wang Kun, who came to find Chen Ba after work to celebrate with barbecue skewers, raised his hand and said, "18 times 27,401 equals... equals forty..."

"You’re calculating well, don’t bother next time!"

Chen Ba rolled his eyes and said, "Try not to expose your educational background outside, or people might think that’s the level of college students."

"No need to calculate, the result is here, take a look yourself!"

Clicking the mouse to open the settlement page, Wang Kun quickly saw the string of numbers he’d been eager to see: 493,218, with the unit being yuan.

"Whoa, is this fifty thousand?"

Wang Kun drooled enviously and said, "You’d get at least 30,000 at hand, right? That’s a wave of sudden wealth! Coach, I want to learn this too!"

"Not that much, the platform takes 30%, and then after taxes, you’d get about 270,000." Chen Ba shook his head.

"That’s still a lot..."

"By the way, didn’t you say yesterday that sales couldn’t rise anymore? How come today they’ve skyrocketed again?" Wang Kun asked curiously.

"The Steam Platform gave a recommendation slot, it made it to the platform’s top-selling list, and as the game’s exposure increased, sales naturally rose."

Speaking of this, Chen Ba’s tone was a bit wistful.

Starting is always the hardest!

In the first few days after the game was launched, there was no opportunity for recommendations and exposure. It was only after Qian Duoduo helped direct traffic that there was a solid sales foundation, and then the platform began promoting proactively.

One could say Qian Duoduo is definitely Chen Ba’s benefactor. If he hadn’t helped push it, Cold Window Study Simulator wouldn’t have today’s soaring sales.

"You could say you’ve finally reached the end of your struggles. I mean, the game has sold tens of thousands of copies, when are you going to treat me to a big meal?"

"How about right now!"

Chen Ba waved his hand broadly, proudly saying, "Old rule, downstairs at Sha Xian Grand Hotel, eat whatever you want."

I knew it would be like this.

Wang Kun rolled his eyes hard, not surprised at the response: "Let’s just go for barbecue skewers then! I’m off tomorrow, so I can have a couple of drinks with you."

"That’s fine too, let’s go..."

As they spoke, they quickly left the rental apartment and headed straight for the nearest night market after going downstairs.

While walking, Chen Ba asked Wang Kun about his plans for the future.

"What plans could I have? Just getting through each day! As long as I can get by, it doesn’t matter. My parents don’t have high expectations for me; as long as my salary is enough to support myself, it’s fine."

Wang Kun said this with a calm expression, as though he truly believed it.

He’s a year younger than Chen Ba.

Due to his parents’ arrangement, he got into a state-owned enterprise with good benefits straight out of college. His work is quite relaxed, considered a stable job many ordinary people envy.

"What about you?"

"Are you going to keep making games?"

During college, the brothers agreed to dive into the gaming industry to benefit players, but after graduation, only Chen Ba fulfilled that promise.

Wang Kun really wants to know if Ba’s career, now showing early success, will lead him to switch fields suddenly?

"Of course I’m going to continue making games!"

"Once this money comes in, I might open a game studio and hire some people to work together." Chen Ba seemed to have thought of something and turned to ask Wang Kun, "Why don’t you come work with me?"

"I’ll pass..."

Although Wang Kun finds it tempting, he knows his limitations; if he dared to quit his current job to join Ba, his parents would probably cut ties with him then and there.

That’s definitely unrealistic.

Unless one day Chen Ba’s business thrives, his studio becomes a game company, and its games become famous across the internet, he might then persuade his parents.

However...

Although Wang Kun himself can’t go, he recommended a suitable candidate to Chen Ba.

"If you’re running a studio, you could contact him. This senior is also currently looking for a job, his skills are great, he used to work at Pig Factory."

Wang Kun provided a phone number.

Chen Ba stored the number in his phone but didn’t put much thought into it; after all, for an ordinary programmer like this, honestly, hiring anyone would be the same.

Moreover, the so-called studio hasn’t been officially established yet! He hasn’t even decided on a name for the studio...