"Ba, Iâve always thought you were a game developer!"
"Arenât I?"
Chen Baâs face was full of question marks, not understanding what Kun Kun meant by this.
If heâs not a game developer, what else could he be? A Cybertronian? An M78 Star Person? A Pork Foot Rice Star Person?
"No, what I mean is..."
Wang Kun waved his hand, with a peculiar expression, and said, "Youâre here to mess around, right? Look at those few expensive games you made, which one is serious?"
Cow Herding Simulator is out of the question.
Perhaps itâs because at that time, Ba was still a novice and hadnât mastered the "art of rebuttal," so the rebuttal wasnât that intense.
House Flipping Simulator was impressive!
Ba must have learned the true essence from real estate developers, went into seclusion in a sales office for a while, and meticulously designed mechanisms like "floating mortgage rates," "fate cycle loans," and "second-hand house transactions," which amazed many veteran game developers.
By the time of Star Emperor, Baâs skills had advanced significantly, breaking the barrier between virtual and reality, allowing the game to shine into real life.
The light of Xianyu Digital illuminated the graphics card community past and future, sang praises of Baâs true name, and saw light in the midst of mining disasters!
Wang Kun thought this would be the limit for Ba.
But he never expected!
Baâs reach extended so far, his astonishing ability to cross industries and make money left everyone speechless, exclaiming Baâs invincibility.
"Ahem!"
Being teased by a good friend like this, even though Chen Ba had thick skin, he still felt a bit embarrassed.
He decided to defend himself.
"Isnât it because Jenâs Adventure became a hit, with a bunch of UP owners and individual players coming to us for authorization...?"
"I also didnât expect things to turn out this way, but when money is delivered to your door, how can you not take it?"
Chen Ba was also quite helpless.
As for the game Divine Grace Continent, he had high hopes for it, hoping to achieve over a million sales and make it to the TGA stage, becoming a prominent figure in the gaming industry.
And the result was...
A million sales were indeed achieved!
And from early access to the official release took just four short months to achieve over a million sales across all platforms, definitely a huge success.
However, although the result was satisfying, the process was not what he had imagined.
Who would have thought that a perfectly good 2D RPG would turn into a video player software?
"It really is absurd!"
Wang Kun couldnât hold back his laughter, "But honestly, Jenâs Adventure is really good, I canât sleep well without watching an episode of Jen every day."
Jenâs Adventure has released 24 episodes!
episodes, all thrilling with no dull moments. In the latest episode, Jen, once a poor farm boy, was granted a noble title by the King thanks to his monster-slaying deeds.
But he still couldnât forget Vivian.
Even as a viscount in the kingdom, a trusted human friend of the elves, and a lifesaver to the dwarves, Jen still couldnât forget his deceased lover.
A young and beautiful noble girl is pursuing him, a gentle and kind girl, if it werenât for Vivian, perhaps Jen would gladly marry her and spend his life with her...
The reason why Jenâs Adventure became popular is not because the videos are particularly good, but because the NPC "Jen" is rich in character and down-to-earth.
Following his perspective, the audience seemed to experience the most authentic customs and culture of the Otherworld.
Itâs not just Jen!
In the game Divine Grace Continent, every NPC, regardless of status, regardless of longevity, has a colorful life.
Wang Kun really liked watching this.
Besides him, many others also enjoyed observing the life experiences of these NPCs, which is the most mainstream way to play Divine Grace Continent at the moment.
Instead of pushing the main storyline and going through a clichéd "Hero fights the Demon King" plot, it was better to lock the perspective on a certain NPC and see his growth experience.
This was so enjoyable!
What concept does over ten thousand NPCs give?
If one NPC is equivalent to one Otherworld anime, then there are more than ten thousand Otherworld paper animations, enough to see you through to your next life.
Oh wait...
Wang Kun seemed to have thought of something and suddenly asked, "Ba, I forgot to ask, can NPCs in Divine Grace Continent have children?"
This is crucial!
If they canât, the game is limited to these ten thousand or so NPCs, which, although it sounds like a lot, isnât as much as one might imagine.
The reason is simple.
Among these ten thousand or so NPCs, some of their experiences arenât "dramatic," and some are short-lived, dying within the time it takes a player to pour a glass of water...
Excluding those unsuitable for locking onto as the protagonist of an Otherworld anime, only six to seven thousand NPCs at most are truly suitable.
And among these six to seven thousand NPCs, although each one has different experiences and stories, their stories vary in excitement and dullness.
So Wang Kun wanted to know if NPCs could marry and have children with each other?
If they canât have children, thatâs bad!
The copyright library of "Divine Grace Continent" isnât rich enough. After using up the NPCs with interesting backstories, this game... oh no, this video player wonât get opened anymore.
"They definitely can have kids!"
Chen Ba glanced at him strangely and couldnât help but retort, "What made you think that these NPCs who can hit on girls, fight monsters, and earn money themselves canât have children?"
What a joke!
Apart from talking a bit less and generally being silent, NPCs in "Divine Grace Continent" can do anything. Having kids or beating the Demon King is a piece of cake.
"Thereâs a Divine Grace Calendar in the game, you know that, right?"
"I know!"
"According to the gameâs background, the Hero arrives in the year 1020 of the Divine Grace Calendar, and the game progresses from this point..."
Chen Ba explained, "As long as you donât pause or exit the game, time inside will slowly pass into 1021, 1022 of the Divine Grace Calendar."
As the game time progresses, NPCs will age and eventually die.
In this process, old NPCs disappear, and new ones appear. Since NPCs are auto-generated by the program, once some die, they just generate more, no big deal.
"Not only can NPCs have kids with each other, but Heroes can also have children with NPCs, itâs just..."
"Just what?"
Wang Kun was very curious. Why did Ba stop halfway? Whatâs wrong with Heroes having kids with NPCs?
"You know, the Heroâs taste is a bit peculiar. Finding an elf or dwarf wife is considered normal."
Chen Ba said awkwardly, "Some Heroes, a small bunch, you know what I mean, marry wives that are really odd-looking."
Like some village elder, muscular men, grannies, and even characters from DLC like Skeleton Soldiers, Slimes...
If they marry these kinds of wives, can the Hero have kids? And what would they be like if they do?
Honestly!
As the gameâs main planner, Chen Ba couldnât even imagine a Hero getting together with a Slime and having a kid.
Thatâs too abstract.
So, in "Divine Grace Continent," the probability of a Hero being "infertile" is extremely high, and having kids is a rare event.
"If the spouse is a normal-aged human NPC of the opposite sex, then the probability of having kids is about 10%!"
"In the first year of marriage between a player and an NPC, itâs 10%, the second year 9%, third year 8%... until ten years later, it drops to zero."
Chen Ba shook his head and then added, "If the spouse is an elf, dwarf, or beastman NPC of the opposite sex, the probability is only a third of that of human NPCs."
"As for others, like the Undead Race, Dragon Race, Slime, muscular men, and the old newbie village chief, my assessment is they can breed, but the odds are like winning a lottery!"
Itâs reasonable that the probability of Heroes having children is very low.
After all, although the Hero is human, they come from the Otherworld, and humans from the Otherworld and Divine Grace Continent might not be the same kind at all.
Even if a Hero and an NPC fall in love and eventually have a child, it might not be a good thing.
"Why do you say that?"
The Heroâs infertility was already surprising, but thereâs more? Wang Kun was extremely curious about why having a child isnât a good thing for a Hero.
Could it be that when a Hero combines with a local NPC of Divine Grace Continent, they give birth to some monstrous being covered in red fur with an ominous future?
"Itâs a lifespan issue!"
Chen Ba shook his head, first denying Wang Kunâs guess, then explained, "The Hero and the Hero Squadâs NPCs are protected by an unknown force. They wonât age or die naturally before defeating the Demon King."
But other NPCs donât have this!
Joining the Hero Squad, if they keep delaying and donât defeat the Demon King, those NPC teammates and the Hero themselves are actually in a state of "ageless immortality."
But the child born to the Hero, since not on the Hero Squad list, would quickly age and die.
This is actually quite normal.
Though time in the game passes slowly, compared to the real world, itâs still too fast.
Itâs possible that the Hero is raiding some dungeon and suddenly receives the news of their own childâs death, which is all too normal.
After all, the Heroâs child, aside from naming rights belonging to the Hero, is no different from ordinary NPCs and will age and die just like them.
And the Heroâs child, although they are inherently affectionate towards the Hero, cannot be recruited into the Hero Squad, making it a curse that cannot be broken.
Better not to have kids!
Having children is troublesome, and itâs painful when they die. Being infertile is not bad; at least you avoid the grief of "the elderly sending off the younger generation."
"Makes sense!"
"If not managed this way, and Heroes could easily have children, considering those amorous players with harems, Divine Grace Continent would soon turn into the Heroâs private garden," Wang Kun agreed.
Heroes really shouldnât be having kids recklessly.
Otherwise, if they sowed wild oats everywhere, in a few years illegitimate children would be all over Divine Grace Continent, wouldnât they?
No doubt about it!
Given the terrifying tenacity of the Fourth Calamity, it would inevitably happen, even if the Heroâs moral character deteriorated and got abandoned by NPCs.
Donât overestimate playersâ sense of ethics!
To prevent Heroes from using a "fertility system" to dominate Divine Grace Continent, giving them a vasectomy is quite reasonable.