Agreeing to Create Bad Games, What the Hell Is ‘Titanfall’? Chapter 26
Once the basic game framework was confirmed, development kicked off in full swing.
Technically speaking, building a roguelike game is actually pretty complex.
Even though it looks simple—basic graphics, minimal plot, and dumbed-down controls—the writing workload is massive.
Because the soul of a roguelike lies in the randomness of gear combinations and their progression mechanics.
As the designer, Gu Sheng’s job was to make sure those combinations felt satisfying, without being completely overpowered.
Keep in mind, a well-developed roguelike usually has dozens of items, and the potential combinations can number in the hundreds!
Just balancing all that can take up most of the development timeline.
And this is where the system truly came into play.
Thanks to the Game Vault System, the games Gu Sheng redeemed didn’t just come with source code—they also included foundational design documents.
It covered basic attributes of weapons and gear, as well as fusion formulas for advanced weapon upgrades.
With that as a base, Gu Sheng only needed to fine-tune the data.
“Thank god for this gem,”
Gu Sheng often muttered to himself while tweaking numbers,
“Without it, no way we could’ve finished this game in just a month—even if we had another month.”
After all, wearing both the project lead and Director hats, Gu Sheng not only had to build the game’s core data, but also track the entire project’s progress.
Thankfully, Lu Bian and Da Jiang were top-tier developers.
As long as Gu Sheng signed off on the core elements, the rest of the time they just needed to show him their latest stage builds.
And just like that—
A month flew by in the blink of an eye.
Version 1.0 of Vampire Survivors was complete, thanks to the seamless teamwork of the trio!
The “1.0 version” was the most basic build.
It featured two maps, four characters, sixteen weapons, seventeen items, eleven super weapons, and ten drop items.
The objective was simple: survive for thirty minutes.
Simple, straightforward, and bursting with RNG.
Most importantly, nothing like this had ever existed in this world before.
Looking at the finished product, Gu Sheng was both excited and nervous.
Back in his previous life, this game had crushed the competition.
But in this world, he had no guarantee it would sell.
Still, there was no turning back now—he could only hand it over to the platform and let the market decide!
Three Days Later!
Saturday, 8 AM!
YiYou Technology Co., Ltd. Headquarters in Zhongjing!
In the meeting room, a dozen high-level executives in suits had gathered.
At the head of the table sat a man in a navy-blue shirt.
He looked to be around thirty-four or thirty-five, with slicked-back hair, gold-rimmed glasses, and sharp, composed features—refined, yet shrewd.
Yan Sheng, Vice President of YiYou Technology and current CEO of the YiYou Platform, had just assumed his post earlier that year.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, the secretary beside him turned and asked, “President Yan, shall we begin?”
“Mm.” Yan Sheng nodded.
Just one syllable—
And the murmurs in the room died instantly. All eyes turned to Yan Sheng. Silence fell like a curtain.
Everyone knew the saying: “New boss, three fires.”
At a moment like this, no one dared to cross the new CEO.
“Since everyone's here, let’s get started.”
Yan Sheng flipped open his meeting folder.
“I believe you all know why I’ve gathered you today.”
“Tomorrow, Sunday evening at 8 PM, our annual Mini-Game Development Festival kicks off.”
“Of course, this isn’t our first time hosting this event.”
“But this year… things are different.”
He paused.
“As you all know, this time, our focus is on the designers—the soul of any game. We’re bringing them out from behind the scenes and into the spotlight.”
“It might sound like I’m being overly ambitious,”
“But I hope, through the YiYou Platform’s efforts, Huaxia can one day produce world-class game designers.”
Clap, clap, clap—
His speech was powerful and steady, earning a wave of applause from the room.
As the leader of one of the country’s largest gaming platforms, it was clear Yan Sheng had big dreams for the domestic gaming industry.
He was the real deal—both idealistic and action-oriented.
Waving his hand, Yan Sheng continued,
“Given how important this event is, the company has set two mandates and three zero-tolerance rules.”
“The two mandates: transparency in voting, and fairness in exposure for all games.”
“The three zero-tolerances: if we discover internal favoritism, bribery, or cheating—”
“We will not tolerate it, will not excuse it, and will not rehire the offender!”
His voice echoed in the room—firm, commanding, and intimidating.
It was clear he knew there had been shady dealings in past events.
He may have looked the other way then.
But not this time.
This was their first attempt to establish designer idols, and the promotional effort was massive.
Anyone who tried to pull sneaky tricks now would be in serious trouble.
Then—
Yan Sheng gestured.
“Secretary Li, give us a breakdown of this year’s event.”
“Yes, President Yan.”
Secretary Li nodded and opened her folder.
“As of midnight today, the YiYou Platform’s Mini-Game Festival has received 582 game submissions,”
“From 270 individual designers, 103 studios, and 54 game companies.”
“The event will officially kick off this Sunday at 8 PM and run for 14 days.”
“During the event, all games will be free to play. The winner will receive the title of Supernova Designer, and their game will be featured in a homepage banner for—”
“Thirty days!”
That Night
Darkness settled in, and the grand Mini-Game Carnival was about to begin.
Top streaming platforms like Shark Live, BlackFlag Live, FireBear Live, and Little Station Live all jumped on board.
Streamers in their gaming sections updated their room titles to tag YiYou DevFest.
Even those already streaming switched gears as 8 PM neared, refreshing YiYou Platform’s homepage repeatedly.
Gamers and fans across the country waited eagerly for the event to start.
Gaming forums like Xiaohei Box and TabTab were abuzz, discussions at an all-time high.
Everyone was placing bets on this year’s dark horse.
Who would claim the title of Supernova Designer?
Click.
Click.
The sound of a ticking clock echoed in a cozy, pastel-pink room.
Second by second, the hand ticked forward—until it landed precisely on 8 o’clock.
At that moment—
A girl lying on her bed with her feet up, binge-watching her favorite show, suddenly heard a crisp chime in her head—
【Ding! New investment round initiated!】
【Project: Vampire Survivors】
【Investment Amount: ¥200,000】
【Expected Rebate: ¥2,000,000】
【Time Left to Settlement: 14 days, 1 hour, 0 minutes, 0 seconds】