Chapter 80: Data
After reading through the information, Yin Jian opened the backend data for "The Mystic."
He glanced at the current number of favorites.
"The Mystic"
Total favorites: 11,006,861
In just three weeks, it had amassed over ten million favorites—a terrifying number! Moreover, "The Mystic" was now featured in the interstellar-level recommendations, and with this week’s exposure, the total favorites would probably double, reaching twenty million!
After all, exposure on an interstellar scale far exceeded that of a single planet.
Feeling utterly delighted, Yin Jian closed the data for "The Mystic."
He then opened the daily revenue data for his previous two games.
"Spore Evolution"
January 31: 2,128,170
January 30: 1,712,123
January 29: 1,924,456
...
"My Little World"
January 31: 246,134
January 30: 241,721
January 29: 231,827
...
"Spore Evolution’s" sales fluctuated, whereas "My Little World’s" sales steadily increased.
The reason was clear: "Spore Evolution" had limited monetization points. Once players unlocked all the entries, there was nothing left to spend on. "My Little World" was different; with a player community, there were always industrious contributors generating new content, and where there was output, there was consumption.
Add to that, new games brought attention to old ones, drawing in a continuous stream of new players.
Steady daily growth in revenue was only natural.
"Looks like the mechanism in 'My Little World' is worth continuing," Yin Jian mused, rubbing his chin. He thought for a moment, but couldn’t come up with any good ideas for a community feature in "The Mystic."
"I’ll think about it later," he decided, heading toward his bed for some rest.
But then he noticed a notification—someone new had joined the group chat.
"Another newcomer?" Yin Jian’s eyes lit up, and he quickly opened the chat.
(‘Divine Phoenix’ has joined the chat)
Swordrise Sect Master: @Divine Phoenix_Senior, do you recognize me?
Swordrise Sect Master: Please guide Swordrise.
Divine Phoenix: I’m just a nobody, not some big shot. Even getting a contract is tough—I’ve made dozens of games and this is the first time I’ve signed one.
Happy Afro: Dozens! Amazing!
Happy Afro: You’re incredible!
Eggy Egg: Dozens? Oh my, how much did that cost?
You Force Me: Divine Phoenix is awesome! Guide us nobodies!
Divine Phoenix: I’m really not. Honestly, my contract this time was just pity from the boss—a consolation contract. With the improved benefits at QiYou, the signing threshold is so high, I’d never have made it otherwise. Sigh~
Swordrise Sect Master: That bad? What game did you make? Share it, we’ll take a look.
Divine Phoenix: It’s this one: "World of the Gods: Ascend from the Insect Race."
Eggy Egg: Oh my, three months, eleven games a month—are you made of pure stamina? Guide Eggy, Eggy wants to be that productive.
...
Seeing Eggy’s reply, Yin Jian immediately searched the QiYou platform.
Soon, Divine Phoenix’s designer profile appeared before him.
"Hiss—"
After reading Divine Phoenix’s information, Yin Jian couldn’t help but gasp.
The account had been registered in early November—now it was February 1st. Three months, and he’d published thirty-three games.
"That speed..."
Yin Jian opened Divine Phoenix’s latest release, "World of the Gods: Ascend from the Insect Race," and read its description.
It seemed to be a fantasy ascendancy game, and judging by the screenshots, it wasn’t some slapdash effort.
The gameplay appeared quite rich, too.
Maintaining such high volume and quality—this was a little frightening.
"If only I could update at that pace..."
Yin Jian felt a pang of envy.
For the first time, he felt inadequate.
"But at least I’m concise—one update is better than two," he consoled himself.
He returned to the chat group, eager to see what the others would say.
Maybe, while observing their reactions, he’d find some inspiration.
Happy Afro: Looks decent, I guess.
Swordrise Sect Master: Played it, updates are fast, can’t sleep at night!
Eggy Egg: Played it, updates are fast, can’t sleep at night!
"..."
Yin Jian rubbed his chin—perhaps he’d set his expectations for the group too high.
This was basically a praise group...
"I still have to rely on myself."
He pondered, carefully choosing his words as he typed:
You Force Me: If the heavens hadn’t birthed Divine Phoenix, QiYou would be shrouded in endless night! Every game is divine!
Swordrise Sect Master: Rubbish dog, you’re amazing!
You Force Me: Swordrise is invincible!
Swordrise Sect Master: Rubbish dog, unparalleled!
You Force Me: [You’re really something].jpg
Divine Phoenix: ???
...
After chatting, Yin Jian smacked his lips, feeling that the fatigue in his spirit had eased tremendously.
He drifted peacefully into sleep.
...
...
Zhou Shun returned home, but didn’t rest. He opened his computer, frowning as he pondered his game.
Working alongside Yin Jian, he felt he’d gained a lot.
He no longer viewed games so narrowly.
But...
"It feels like I understand, but when I think carefully, I realize I don’t know what I understand," Zhou Shun sighed. He truly envied Yin Jian’s talent.
He really couldn’t fathom how such brilliant ideas sprang from the other’s mind.
"People really are built differently."
He used to think that talk of genius was nonsense, that achievements came only from hard work.
But now...
Zhou Shun shook his head, tossing aside his messy thoughts, and opened the game development backend, starting his work.
As they say, truth is found in practice.
The act of doing is when one progresses the fastest.
He was making a fighting game, so the first step was character creation.
All the characters were drawn from mythology and history—a collection he’d already compiled.
Once the character models were done, he could simply add their background introductions.
However...
"If I stick to the original character designs, the power system feels awkward."
"One’s human, one’s divine—there’s no way they could compete on equal footing."
Zhou Shun frowned, thinking.
At first, he thought this was fun, but now it was clearly too implausible.
"Even for background, their power systems should be similar, to keep the game internally consistent."
"But if I do that, the reference material would be overwhelming."
"Yin Jian said, if you can’t figure out one path, try another. In that case..."
Zhou Shun’s eyes lit up, and he thought of a perfect solution.
"For the background, set it so all the gods have fallen, and as mythology revives, these mythological figures awaken their reincarnated abilities."
"But the abilities aren’t fully awakened—just partially. So, theoretically, they’re all mortal, which solves the imbalance in the power system."
"And what’s the reason for their duels..."
"To fulfill a wish?"
"The final victor gets that chance."
"In that case, every character must have a tragic story before awakening..."
"Perfect, that gives a strong narrative hook right from the start."