You said you were going to make games, how did you become the richest man without doing anything?

Chapter 507: Rural Werewolf Killing is released with a weird BUG!

As the development of "Codename: Village" ran into trouble, Lu Yu decided to adopt a more radical strategy to divert the attention of players and the industry.

First, Lu Yu proposed a "virtual village chief election." He posted an announcement on social media: "Codename: Village sincerely invites players nationwide to participate in the virtual village chief election! The winner will become a special NPC in the game and receive lifetime free play rights!" This announcement immediately sparked heated discussion.

However, Lu Yu's candidacy requirements were bizarre. Candidates were required to demonstrate their "village chief's talents" in a video, such as peeling 100 eggs as quickly as possible or imitating the sounds of at least ten animals. These absurd requirements left many people amused, but they also attracted considerable attention.

Lu Yu then unveiled the concept of "Codename: Village Park." He claimed the company would build a real-world theme park that would perfectly replicate the game's settings. However, when pressed for specifics, Lu Yu remained vague, repeatedly emphasizing that it would be an "unprecedented immersive experience."

This crazy idea quickly became a hot topic. Some praised its creativity, while others questioned its feasibility. Regardless, it successfully diverted people's attention to this illusive theme park.

Lu Yu's next stunt was the "Villager Adoption Program." He claimed that players could "adopt" in-game NPCs by paying a prepaid fee and participate in designing some of their characteristics. This program quickly sparked controversy, with some hailing it as an innovative way to engage players while others criticized it as a disguised money-grabbing scheme.

To further stir up discussion, Lu Yu even began posting inexplicable "teasers" on various social media platforms. For example, he posted a blurry image with the caption, "When everything is chaotic, it's the time for earth-shaking events," sparking countless speculations and discussions.

This series of exaggerated promotional activities had indeed achieved the effect Lu Yu had hoped for. People began to discuss these bizarre promotional methods more than paying attention to the development progress of the game itself. Players who had originally had high expectations for "Codename: Village" now began to have doubts about the game.

At the same time, Taoyuan Township’s competitors saw this scene and were secretly delighted.

Li Qiang, the new CEO of Longteng Games, said at an internal meeting: "It seems we don't need to worry too much about Taoyuanxiang. They seem to have forgotten the original purpose of making games and instead focused their energy on these boring gimmicks."

Wang Li, marketing director of competing company Xingchen Interactive, also said: "Taoyuan Township's actions are simply destroying its own Great Wall. The more they act like this, the more opportunities we have to capture the market."

However, not everyone is skeptical of Taoyuan Township's actions. Some industry insiders are beginning to wonder if this is part of a marketing strategy. Renowned game critic Zhang San wrote on his personal blog: "Taoyuan Township's actions may seem crazy, but we can't rule out the possibility that they are a unique marketing tactic. Perhaps they are playing a bigger game."

Despite this, most competitors still believed that Taoyuanxiang had gone astray. They began to become more confident and increased their investment in their own game projects, hoping to grab market share after the failure of "Codename: Village".

However, just when everyone thought Taoyuan Township was beyond redemption, unexpected news arrived. Julong Entertainment, China's largest Werewolf game publisher, suddenly announced its intention to represent the "Codename: Village" project. This news was like a bombshell, shocking the entire gaming community.

The competitors' initial elation vanished in an instant. Longteng Games CEO Li Qiang urgently called a meeting of senior management and anxiously asked, "What's going on? Has Julong Entertainment seen something we haven't?"

The MiLeYou team was also in a state of panic. Marketing Director Wang Li asked, "Did we make a major mistake in our assessment of Taoyuan Township?"

As the industry was in turmoil, Lu Yu maintained a mysterious silence. In his office, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and a cunning glint flashed in his eyes.

I have done such a bad job in publicity, I have it safe this time!
……

Within Taoyuanxiang, Lu Yu's series of outrageous actions sparked confusion and dissatisfaction among many employees. However, Liu Mengyuan interpreted these actions differently. She believed Lu Yu might be using reverse thinking to stimulate the team's creativity or to test its cohesion and adaptability.

With this misunderstanding, Liu Mengyuan secretly contacted several senior developers brought up by Mo Xiaoxuan, Hua Wu and Wan Xiaotong, including chief programmer Wang Lei, art director Zhao Xiaohong and game planner Li Ming.

She said in a secret meeting: "I think Mr. Lu may be motivating us in a special way. Instead of complaining, why don't we turn these seemingly ridiculous ideas into highlights in the game."

At first, others were skeptical of Liu Mengyuan's idea. But her enthusiasm spread, and everyone gradually became drawn to it. Wang Lei said, "It would be really cool if we could turn these crazy ideas into interesting game mechanics."

Thus, a secret "underground development team" was established. They decided to use their spare time in addition to their normal work to realize Lu Yu's seemingly impossible ideas.

First, they set out to implement the "random character development method."

Liu Mengyuan proposed incorporating this concept into the game's character creation system. Players could use a virtual "wheel of fortune" to randomly generate character traits, but they could also fine-tune these traits to better suit their preferences. This approach retained randomness while giving players a degree of control.

Li Ming came up with a brilliant idea for "reverse development".

He designed a series of seemingly impossible tasks and then incorporated a "reverse thinking" mechanic into the game. Players were challenged to solve problems in unconventional ways, such as using fire spells to create ice cubes or using healing skills to defeat enemies. This not only increased the game's fun but also challenged players' creative thinking.

Zhao Xiaohong applied the concept of "flexible working hours" to the game's day and night cycle system.

She designed a dynamic time-lapse mechanism where certain quests and NPCs only appear during specific time periods, requiring players to flexibly manage their game time to achieve different goals. This design adds to the vividness and realism of the game world.

As for the "Virtual Village Chief Election," the team developed it into a fun in-game activity. Players can participate in the election by completing a series of challenging yet slightly humorous tasks, such as quickly peeling eggs or imitating animal sounds. The winning player will become the temporary "Village Chief" of the server, granting special privileges such as scheduling small events and granting buffs to other players.

The concept of "Codename: Village Paradise" has been transformed into a special area within the game. This is a theme park filled with all kinds of strange mechanisms and puzzles. Players need to explore, solve puzzles, and even design some of their own amusement facilities.

The "Villager Adoption Program" has evolved into a unique NPC interaction system. Players can "adopt" an NPC by completing specific tasks, gaining insights into their backstory and influencing their future. This significantly increases the game's immersion and replayability.

As these ideas gradually materialized, Codename: Village, once a simple werewolf-killing game, began to become more diverse. It was no longer simply a role-playing and strategic confrontation game, but incorporated multiple elements such as puzzle solving, business simulation, and social interaction, forming a unique and comprehensive game world.

And so, behind the seemingly chaotic company, Codename: Village was quietly taking shape in an unexpected way...

……

As Lu Yu's "lying flat" strategy continued, the company's normal work rhythm was completely disrupted. Every day brought a new and bizarre idea to contend with, and the employees were exhausted, constantly running around to handle all sorts of ridiculous promotional campaigns. Despite their enthusiasm, Liu Mengyuan and her secret team could only develop secretly late at night, often working until dawn. Amidst this high pressure and exhaustion, a fatal bug quietly crept into the game code. At first, no one noticed this small error, like a time bomb, quietly waiting to explode.

Finally, during an internal test, the bug revealed its full power. Tester Xiao Li was playing a standard Werewolf game when he discovered his character could see the identities of all other players. Not only that, he could also change those identities at will! This discovery was like a thunderbolt, instantly exploding throughout the development team.

The news quickly reached Liu Mengyuan. She immediately convened an emergency meeting of the secret team. Inside the conference room, the usually neat whiteboard was now covered in densely packed code and flowcharts. Wang Lei's glasses even bore a coffee stain from his hastily wiped clean hours earlier.

"How did this bug occur?" Liu Mengyuan asked anxiously, her voice filled with obvious fatigue and nervousness.

Li Ming rubbed his red eyes and said with a wry smile, "Perhaps when we were implementing the 'Wheel of Fortune' function, we accidentally affected the storage mechanism of the character information."

Zhao Xiaohong added: “Because we have been developing it secretly without going through a complete testing process, this kind of error can easily be overlooked.”

Just as they were discussing heatedly, the door suddenly opened. Lu Yu walked in with an expressionless face. The room suddenly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

"I heard something went wrong?" Lu Yu said lightly, his eyes sweeping across everyone's tired faces.

Liu Mengyuan took a deep breath and mustered up the courage to explain, "Yes, Mr. Lu. We encountered a serious bug during the development process and are now working hard to resolve it."

Lu Yu raised an eyebrow, showing no surprise or anger. He simply said, "It seems we need more 'innovation' to solve this problem." Then he turned and left the room, leaving the employees in a state of stunned silence.

The conference room fell silent again. Liu Mengyuan looked at the room full of exhausted colleagues and thought of Lu Yu's unfathomable attitude. He was at a loss as to what to do. The shadow of the bug hung over everyone, and they knew a tough battle to crack the code was about to begin.

Outside the window, the eastern sky was already turning pale. A new day had begun, but for the employees at Taoyuan Township, it was destined to be a sleepless one. Bugs loomed like a mountain, and time was slipping away.

……

Liu Mengyuan pondered for a moment, then her eyes suddenly lit up. She stood up and said excitedly, "Everyone, I have an idea. Instead of fixing this bug, why don't we make it a feature of the game?"

Everyone looked at her in confusion. Wang Lei pushed his glasses and asked, "You mean, keep this question of being able to see other people's identities?"

Liu Mengyuan nodded and smiled: "That's right, but we need to turn it into a special character ability."

She walked over to the whiteboard and began to draw: "Think about it, everyone. In our rural storytelling stage, what characters might be able to 'see through' others?"

Li Ming's eyes suddenly lit up: "Oh! I understand, old immortal!"

"That's right!" Liu Mengyuan said excitedly, "We can design an 'old immortal' character. He's usually drunk and looks confused, but occasionally he'll have a flash of 'divine light' and briefly see the true identities of the other villagers."

Zhao Xiaohong also became interested: "This idea is very interesting! We can design a drinking animation. Whenever the old immortal gets drunk, there is a chance that this ability will be triggered."

Wang Lei frowned and said, "But isn't this ability too strong? Will it disrupt the balance of the game?"

Liu Mengyuan nodded. "You're right, so we need to add some restrictions. For example, the information the old immortal sees is not always accurate. He may see it wrongly, or see a blurry image."

Li Ming added, "We can also set it up so that if the old immortal tells what he saw, others might think he's talking nonsense and become suspicious of him. This increases the risk of using this ability."

As the discussion deepened, the atmosphere in the room became increasingly lively, with everyone contributing their ideas and continuously refining this new concept.

Zhao Xiaohong picked up a pen and sketched out the image of the old immortal on the whiteboard. "We can design him as an old man with a long beard and wearing a tattered Taoist robe. He usually looks drunk, but when he has a 'glimmer of divine light', his eyes will emit a strange light."

Wang Lei also had an idea: "Since we already have the old immortal, can we add a 'barefoot doctor' character? He can choose to believe or question the old immortal's words, adding variables to the game."

Liu Mengyuan's eyes lit up. "What a great idea! This way, our game won't just be a traditional werewolf game, but will also have a strong rural feel. This will make the game more unique."

As the discussion deepened, the initially vexing bug gradually transformed into a new character rich in local flavor. Everyone's fatigue was swept away, replaced by the enthusiasm and excitement of creation.

A few hours later, as the morning light filtered through the curtains into the conference room, a brand new version of "Codename: Village" was already displayed on the whiteboard. This version not only retained the original Werewolf gameplay, but also added new characters like the old immortal and the barefoot doctor, as well as a series of new mechanics full of rural characteristics.

Liu Mengyuan looked at the densely packed design drawings on the whiteboard, a proud smile on her face. She turned and said to her tired but excited team members, "Guys, I think we may have created a unique rural version of Werewolf."

At this moment, the door was pushed open again, and Lu Yu walked in. Seeing that the people in the room were still working hard, he showed an elusive smile.

Liu Mengyuan took a deep breath and stepped forward: "Lu Yu, we have a new idea and would like to report it to you."

Lu Yu shook his head: "It's okay, I believe you!"

He really didn't believe that since he had already let things down to this point, what more trouble could the project team cause?
……

Finally, Codename: Village is nearing completion and is about to be released. Everyone is curious whether Taoyuan Village can fill the gap in the Werewolf Killing market!
(End of this chapter)