You said you would make games by yourself, but how did you become the richest man by doing nothing?

Zhou Xing blinked, a hint of excitement in his eyes, clearly having already come up with countless ideas for mischief.

He stretched out his fingers and listed them one by one:

“First step, from the moment they enter the game interface, we’ll create trouble for the players.”

“For example, the game's startup screen can directly pop up a huge red warning box—'This game is extremely boring, we suggest you exit immediately.'”

“If the player presses the 'OK' button, the program will crash directly.”

“If they open it again, we'll pop up another window—'Are you really sure you want to play this game?'”

“If the player clicks 'Yes', the game crashes again.”

“When they open the game for the third time, we'll pop up another window—'Are you serious?'”

“Then, there are only two options, one is 'Exit', and the other is 'After careful consideration, still insist'.”

The technical director's lips twitched slightly: "...So, players have to be repeatedly persuaded to quit even before they officially enter the game?"

“That's right.” Zhou Xing said with a matter-of-fact expression, “If they really have the perseverance to persist in opening the game for the fourth time, then we'll allow them to enter the main interface.”

“……”

Planning Director Mo Xiaoxuan facepalmed: “Will anyone really play this game?”

Lu Yu smiled: “It's precisely because no one will play it that it has its charm.”

Everyone: “……”

Completely convinced.

【The game's main menu should also make players despair】

“Okay, so what about after entering the main menu?” Lu Yu continued to ask.

Zhou Xing gently bit his lollipop, a glint of cunning in his eyes: “For the main menu, we also have to make it in a 'quit persuasion' style.”

“For example, the 'Start Game' button, we can design it as an extremely small dot, and players must use the mouse to precisely click on a certain pixel to enter the game.”

“And the 'Exit Game' button should be huge, and you can exit with just one click.”

“Also, we can randomly pop up a message box saying—'Are you really sure you want to waste time playing this uninspired game?'”

“If players still insist on entering the game, we'll give them another link to read the terms and conditions.”

“This clause is 30,000 words long, and you must scroll to the bottom before you can press the 'Agree' button.”

“If players try to skip it, we'll pop up a warning—'Please read the user agreement carefully, otherwise we cannot guarantee your gaming experience.'”

Planning Director: “……”

Technical Director: “……”

Art Director: “……”

Isn't this game just taking revenge on society?!

But Lu Yu smiled.

He took a sip of coffee and a look of satisfaction appeared in his eyes: “Very good, continue.”

【After the game officially starts, how do we get players to give up?】

“So, assuming there is a super patient player who successfully breaks through the main menu and enters the game itself, how should we persuade him to quit?” Lu Yu asked.

Zhou Xing's lips curled up slightly, a mischievous excitement in his eyes: “That's even simpler.”

“First, our game characters are in a 'near-death' state from birth, and the prompt 'You are about to die' keeps flashing on the screen.”

“Second, the game's background music is always the most monotonous and hypnotic BGM, making people want to turn off the sound.”

“Third, all NPCs use the 'AI randomly generates nonsense' system, and their conversations are always meaningless content such as 'The weather is nice', 'Have you eaten today?', 'I don't know how to help you'.”

“Fourth, the task system, we design all of it as 'extremely boring' content, such as 'Help the village chief pull 10 blades of grass', 'Collect 100 fallen leaves', 'Talk to NPCs 100 times'.”

“Fifth, the combat system, we can design it as 'fully automatic', players can only watch the characters fight by themselves, cannot operate, and cannot even speed up the combat process.”

……

The conference room was silent.

Everyone looked at Lu Yu and Zhou Xing with an expression of “What the hell is this game”.

Then—

Lu Yu put down his coffee cup, gently slapped the table, and smiled.

“Very good, let's go with this idea.”

Everyone: “……???”

—So, a game that is “the most reluctant to let players play” was officially launched.

……

“If this game can become popular, I'll do a handstand and wash my hair.”

Technical Director Chu Xiong crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair in the conference room, looking at Lu Yu with a serious expression and a low, decisive voice.

He is a typical tech nerd, wearing a washed-out programmer's plaid shirt, with a hint of indifference on his face that says “I've seen too many outrageous projects”, as if looking at a group of lunatics about to self-destruct.

“No, President Lu, can we be a little scientific?” Music Director Zhang Qiqi, with short purple hair and a punk-style leather jacket, slammed her hands on the table and said with disbelief, “You're telling me, we're going to make a game that tries to persuade players to quit from the beginning? Are you serious?!”

“Yes.” Lu Yu nodded, took a sip of coffee, and looked calm.

“...The hell you are!” Planning Director Mo Xiaoxuan couldn't help but facepalm, his tone collapsing, “Isn't the purpose of us making games to make players happy, addicted, and grind their livers out?! You're doing the opposite, directly making them unable to play?!”

“I didn't say anything wrong, did I?” Hua Wu crossed her arms, raised her eyebrows, and looked at Lu Yu, “This plan would have been thrown into the trash can as a joke in any normal company.”

“I don't understand this world anymore.” Wan Xiaotong, a young planner who had just joined the company for half a year, held her laptop, her face full of confusion, “Are we developing a game, or are we fighting wits with players?”

In the entire conference room, except for Lu Yu and Zhou Xing, everyone else looked at this “suicidal game plan” with a lifeless expression.

They not only ‘didn't look forward to’ this project, but also felt that it was just a joke.

【The team's collective complaints】

“Come, come, let me confirm first.” Chu Xiong rubbed his eyebrows, trying to keep himself calm, “So, the core gameplay of this game is... to make players feel pain?”

“To be precise, it's to persuade players to quit.” Lu Yu corrected with a smile.

“……”

“Does this game have BGM?” Zhang Qiqi asked.

“Of course.” Zhou Xing opened his mouth lazily, “A monotonous background music that makes people doubt their life, looping forever, never changing.”

Zhang Qiqi: “...You guys are crazy.”

“What about the combat system?” Mo Xiaoxuan frowned.

“Fully automatic, players cannot control it, and cannot even skip the animation.”

Mo Xiaoxuan: “……”

“What about the plot?” Hua Wu couldn't help asking.

“NPCs randomly generate nonsense, there is no meaningful storyline.” Zhou Xing added with a smile.

Hua Wu: “……”

“Art style?” Wan Xiaotong asked weakly.

“All character models are made as ordinary as possible, so that players can't remember any characters.”

Wan Xiaotong: “……”

The entire conference room was silent for three seconds.

Then, Chu Xiong slammed the table, took a deep breath, and said loudly—

“President Lu, I beg you to wake up! We are a game company, not an anti-human organization!”

Mo Xiaoxuan nodded in agreement: “That's right! If you do this, aren't you afraid that the company will go bankrupt?!”

Zhang Qiqi had an expression of “You're all crazy”: “This is completely challenging the limits of players' patience!”

Hua Wu even directly pulled over her computer screen and pointed to the data of a globally popular game: “Look at them, wouldn't it be better to do it in that direction?!”

Wan Xiaotong had already started writing a resignation letter, and it seemed that she was ready to run away.

【Lu Yu's 'brainwashing' moment】

Faced with this group of “about to have a mental breakdown” employees, Lu Yu still looked calm, and even had a faint smile on his lips.

He slowly put down his coffee cup, looked around at everyone, gently patted the table, and said leisurely: “Have you noticed that your reactions just now are exactly what we want to achieve?”

Everyone: “……?”

“You think this game is outrageous, won't players think it's outrageous?” Lu Yu said with a smile, “But it's precisely because it's outrageous that people can't help but try it.”

“Imagine, if one day, this game goes online, and a streamer clicks in and finds that the game is frantically persuading him to quit, what will he do?”

“He will definitely insist on playing it and then complain about it like crazy in the live broadcast room.”

“Then, will the audience in the live broadcast room egg him on to continue trying?”

“Then, more and more people will be attracted by this bizarre setting, download the game, and personally experience this 'reverse marketing' work.”

“In the end, will this game become a phenomenon-level topic?”

Lu Yu's voice was calm and confident, and the conference room gradually became quiet.

“Breaking the routine is the greatest innovation.” Lu Yu smiled slightly, his eyes firm, “In the current game market, everyone is pursuing '爽感', but we are going in the opposite direction and making a 'painful' game. This is itself a marketing experiment.”

“If it succeeds, we will create a brand new game concept.”

“If it fails... then we'll just change direction and do it again.”

【The team's gradual transformation】

The conference room fell into silence.

Then, Chu Xiong sighed and rubbed his temples: “...Okay, anyway, you're the boss, if it really flops, you'll be the first to do a handstand and wash your hair.”

Zhang Qiqi shrugged: “Anyway, I'm responsible for the music, if I really have to make this kind of hypnotic BGM, it's not like I can't do it.”

Mo Xiaoxuan took a deep breath and muttered in a low voice: “This is really an unprecedented plan... but it seems... it's actually quite interesting?”

Hua Wu facepalmed: “I don't care, anyway, if I really get scolded by players and end up on the hot search, I'll pretend to be dead.”

Wan Xiaotong: “...Uh, the resignation letter I just wrote halfway, can I put it on hold for now?”

Lu Yu nodded with satisfaction, the corners of his mouth raised: “Very good, then it's settled.”

【The most reverse marketing game in history, officially started!】

That afternoon, the development team of Taoyuan Township Studio, in an atmosphere of “this game will definitely flop”, all devoted themselves to the development work.

The autumn in Modu always carries a hint of moist coolness.

The sunlight lazily shines on the city's streets and alleys, and the orange-yellow plane tree leaves fall in the wind, and you can hear a slight rustling sound when you step on them.

Lu Yu walked along the Binjiang Trail with one hand in his pocket and the other holding Liu Mengyuan's hand. The river water glistened in the sunlight, and the tall buildings in the distance were reflected on the water, making it look particularly quiet.

Liu Mengyuan was wearing a light beige coat, her long hair fluttering gently in the wind, and there was a trace of tranquility in her eyes. Her hands were very warm, her fingertips gently hooking Lu Yu's palm, like a lazy kitten, snuggling beside him.

“Have you been staying up late again recently?” Liu Mengyuan tilted her head slightly, looking at him gently, “You have dark circles under your eyes.”

Lu Yu raised his eyebrows, a teasing smile on the corner of his mouth: “That may be because—I miss you so much that I can't sleep.”

Liu Mengyuan was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh and gently pushed his shoulder: “Stop being so glib, you're clearly just working hard on the game project!”

Lu Yu shrugged, looking innocent: “You know the daily life of game developers, once my brain starts turning, I can't stop.”

“Then you should take a good rest.” Liu Mengyuan sighed softly, frowning slightly, “Have you been secretly drinking coffee to keep yourself alive again?”

Lu Yu smiled without saying a word.

Liu Mengyuan narrowed her eyes, stared at him for a few seconds, and suddenly made a quick move—**啪!** With a sound, she accurately slapped Lu Yu's wrist.

“Hand it over.”

Lu Yu spread his hand helplessly, and sure enough, a capsule of instant coffee lay in his palm.

Liu Mengyuan looked at the capsule, sighed softly, then unceremoniously stuffed it into her pocket, and said calmly: “From now on, your caffeine intake will be strictly supervised by me.”

Lu Yu: “……”

He looked at Liu Mengyuan's expression of “This is for your own good” and couldn't help laughing: “Okay, okay, whatever the Queen says is right.”

Liu Mengyuan raised her chin slightly, a smug smile on the corner of her mouth, but her eyes were as gentle as melted caramel.

【Afternoon Tea Time】

The two casually walked into a coffee shop on the corner of the street. The shop was filled with a faint aroma of coffee, and the background music was flowing jazz, creating a peaceful and quiet atmosphere.

Liu Mengyuan ordered a caramel macchiato, while Lu Yu was forcibly restricted to hot milk.

“You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?” Lu Yu looked at the steaming glass of milk in front of him, his mouth twitching slightly.

“Otherwise?” Liu Mengyuan stirred her coffee elegantly, a hint of cunning in her eyes.

Lu Yu sighed helplessly, picked up the milk and took a sip. He was about to complain, but the next second, Liu Mengyuan suddenly picked up her phone and aimed it at him—

“Click.”

Lu Yu: “?”

Liu Mengyuan looked at the phone screen and nodded with satisfaction: “Well, the photo of 'Game Producer Lu holding a glass of hot milk with a resentful look' is very well taken.”

Lu Yu looked alert: “...What do you want to do?”

Liu Mengyuan smiled like a little fox, rapidly tapping on WeChat to send the photo to their couple's group: "Archived, to be taken out and laughed at later."

Lu Yu: "..."

He took a deep breath, looking at her with a face full of helplessness: "Have you been addicted to playing 'Mystery of Hidden Mist Village' recently, learning psychological warfare tactics?" (End of this chapter)