Chapter 61: A Series of Humiliations

After confirming his first playthrough, Bai Renzong began playing the game right in front of Han Jiayi. To be honest, there was a peculiar thrill in playing a game owned by its investor, with her watching. Bai Renzong felt this project was worth keeping; although the walkthrough was too lengthy for a video, he could perform it during live streams in the future.

Han Jiayi folded her arms and watched as Bai Renzong played, but gradually she realized something was off: not only could this critic play while talking, but he was almost entirely unscathed in his runs. She had anticipated seeing Bai Renzong stumble; after all, to achieve the perfect ending, players had to skip the first boss and tackle the second one first. The path to the second boss was especially treacherous, and the minor enemies far tougher. At the game's outset, players had little ability, only a sliver of health and mana. Two hits from a minion could kill you, not to mention the instant-death traps along the way—one wrong step and you'd fall to your doom.

Yet Bai Renzong breezed through the journey, fluid and uninterrupted, knowing exactly where to fight and where to jump, as if he could do it blindfolded. Clearly, he had played this many times and remembered the route perfectly. What was even more infuriating was that, as he played, he kept complaining to her: "Look at this hitbox. My whole body is on the platform, just one toe hanging off, and it counts as a miss." "And this ladder hitbox—your ladder is narrower than the character model; you have to align perfectly to climb, isn't that disgusting?" "Did you see? When you're hit mid-air, every control input is forcibly interrupted. This bizarre mechanic is unique to your game."

Why don't you just die once? Han Jiayi anxiously shook her leg, thinking to herself. He kept complaining nonstop while massacring every monster along the way, reaching the boss without using a single health potion.

To make matters worse, when Bai Renzong finally reached the boss, she thought he would die at least once. Instead, he precisely managed the boss's health, unleashing a furious barrage just before the boss could enter phase two, skipping the hardest phase three altogether.

Bai Renzong had, after all, achieved every accomplishment in this game, completing it about twenty times. With such mastery and lightning-fast reflexes for backup, even dying was a challenge.

Awkwardly, Bai Renzong was finally forced to die once midway, but not due to a technical error—it was because a monster glitched. Even more embarrassing, the same bug occurred three times in a row.

"See, it's this bug again," Bai Renzong frowned. "This ghost in the scene becomes invincible if you try to counter it from a distance. If you don't kill it, the door won't open, so you have to either commit suicide or restart. This bug still hasn't been fixed after all this time."

"Ugh..." Han Jiayi grew increasingly frustrated, switching the leg she had crossed. She couldn't help but interrupt his complaints: "Why do you keep criticizing my game when you're so good at it? Your parkour is flawless!"

"What kind of logic is that?" Bai Renzong furrowed his brow. "I'm good because I'm familiar, but the game's hitboxes are really rough, making the controls feel terrible. If you tweak the hitboxes and extend the boss battles, your game would be much better."

"How can you be sure?" Han Jiayi retorted, unconvinced.

"Just look at your reviews. The most common complaint is about your game's mysterious hitboxes," Bai Renzong asked in disbelief. "Do you even read your own reviews?"

"Well... maybe they're just bad players," Han Jiayi muttered under her breath.

"If it were only a couple of complaints, maybe. But if everyone says the same thing, there's definitely a real problem," Bai Renzong said, his brow furrowed. "Have you played your own game?"

"I played the demo..." Han Jiayi wilted, her confidence draining away.

"Just a little playtesting and you'll see," Bai Renzong said discontentedly. "Hidetaka Miyazaki, creator of Sekiro, said one requirement for his games was that he could beat them himself."

"Not everyone can do what he does..." Han Jiayi said, feeling lost.

"Let me have you try it now." Bai Renzong stood up and offered her his seat. "Here, this is your game's parkour DLC. No monsters inside, just pure platforming."

"I'll show you!" Han Jiayi glared at him, sat down in front of the computer...

And thus began an endless ordeal.

An hour flew by in the blink of an eye. Han Jiayi had lost count of how many times she'd restarted. At last, she could no longer hold back her fury.

"This is disgusting!" Han Jiayi exclaimed, pounding the keyboard. "I was perfectly lined up with the ladder, so why did I still fall? I was just one ladder away from the finish!"

"Because you were hit by a trap," Bai Renzong explained. "A hidden mechanic in this game is that if you get hit mid-air, all your controls are reset. You need to press the direction key again to climb the ladder."

He paused, then added, "And this is still the simplest parkour DLC, entry-level."

"Ugh..." Han Jiayi's face flushed red, equal parts embarrassed and furious. Yet she couldn't lash out—this was her own game, and she'd even contributed some ideas. Criticizing the game would be like criticizing herself.

Bai Renzong took the game back from her and continued his tirade: "Look at your game—so many positive reviews. If you fix these minor flaws, it could be an outstanding indie title. The art is beautiful, the story is great... You should know, I point out these flaws because I like it."

"What about the boss battles?" Han Jiayi watched Bai Renzong as he dispatched the boss effortlessly, inflicting a flawless, rapid kill. She pressed, "How do you make it harder?"

"Two ideas," Bai Renzong thought aloud. "First, add minion spawns during the boss fight. Second, give the boss an extra phase where its speed increases—both attack and ability release. Since your game's combat is all about rhythm, changing the tempo throws players off easily."

"Fine then!" Han Jiayi stood up and left the room. "I'll tell Old Liu right away!"

Just wait—next update, I want to see you get thrashed! Han Jiayi thought indignantly.

"This girl..." Bai Renzong watched Han Jiayi leave, amusement in his eyes. She’s become quite humble lately.

Back in her room, Han Jiayi immediately called Old Liu and began issuing instructions.

"For the next DLC, balance the gameplay!" Han Jiayi paced back and forth, agitated. "First, make the jump hitboxes more forgiving. Second, ramp up the difficulty—add elite monsters to key routes, and give the boss an extra phase! Also, fix the ghost bug in stage three, ASAP!"

"Eh? Alright, boss!" Old Liu was briefly stunned. "How should I add the extra phase?"

"Make the boss immune to counterattacks, and speed it up during that phase," Han Jiayi clarified. "Increase its health too, so players can’t easily skip phases by manipulating its HP!"

Old Liu sounded surprised: since when did the boss’s suggestions become so professional? It was as if she’d played her own game a dozen times.

He had no idea how much Han Jiayi had suffered tonight in his stead...

(Thanks for the two monthly tickets from Four Days of Hate, and thanks for the monthly tickets from Ordinary Me, Tipsy Floating Clouds, Cupid’s Arrow Missed Me, Hanazawa Stream, Power Bear, and Here Comes Ink.)