Building a Gaming Empire From Scratch

Lincoln was satisfied to see everyone’s newfound enthusiasm.

Without further delay, he pulled Randall out to explain the game project they were working on, the issues encountered in “Assassins’ Alliance.”

They didn’t jump straight into discussions, but simply gave everyone a general idea of their upcoming tasks.

What they truly needed everyone to do first was to enter the virtual world, learn and master the new development tools, and quickly adapt to this entirely new way of working.

Everyone received a Mirage device, and they were all curious about the wondrous equipment in their hands. It was this little device that had caused so many ripples in just over half a month.

Undoubtedly, this revolutionary technology was worthy of such impact. Now, they were joining this torrent to push forward the development of this technology.

It was really quite exciting.

“You can start it by pressing the button on the right side of the headband. You can also set a voice-activated keyword,” Lincoln pointed out the location of the button, then started his own device. “We’ll meet on the other side.”

Lincoln appeared at a bustling intersection with alternating traffic lights and a flow of vehicles and hurried pedestrians.

New employees appeared one by one, and after Randall confirmed their successful entrance, he was the last to start his device and enter.

Lincoln gestured to everyone and began speaking as they walked, “In the virtual world, we can become omnipotent creators – actually, that’s not quite accurate. We can become ‘almost’ omnipotent creators.”

“For example, we can change this world however we please.”

As he spoke, Lincoln spread his arms, and the road suddenly extended to either side, widening by twice its original width. The previously congested traffic became sparse in an instant.

Not only were the new employees shocked, but even Randall and Little Chun were taken aback, their mouths agape.

Where was the control panel? Where were the development tools? The operation process?

They saw clearly that Lincoln hadn’t called up any control tools at all – the road simply widened as he spread his arms!

But that was just the beginning.

As they continued walking and talking, Lincoln said, “In this world, we can fully utilize our imagination and creativity. Many things that are impossible in reality can be achieved here, and they’re not difficult.”

“For example, altering the landscape.”

He stretched his arm forward, slowly rotating it, then gradually raising it.

Accompanying his movements, the road ahead gradually inclined, becoming an increasingly steep slope and eventually standing vertically at a 90-degree angle.

“Or, changing gravity.”

As he said this, he stepped onto the vertical road, and his body’s gravity shifted, allowing him to “stand” horizontally on the road.

Seeing the bewildered employees, he waved and said, “Don’t just stand there.

Follow me. ”

Everyone mechanically moved their feet to follow Lincoln’s pace.

He continued, “We can break the rules of spatial structure here. For example, loop structures. ”

The road ahead folded vertically again, then folded a second time in mid-air.

After the upheaval, everyone suddenly realized that the road had become a square loop structure.

Unaware, the traffic and pedestrians kept repeating the same route.

Lincoln led them back to the starting point, then casually opened an inconspicuous door by the roadside and walked in.

When Randall and the other employees entered, they found the interior bore no relation to the exterior –

On the outside, it was a small, dilapidated two-story dwelling, but upon entering, they found themselves in a luxurious hotel hallway. Thick carpets covered the floor, and elegant lampshades adorned the walls by every door, each marked with a room number.

Lincoln stood in the middle of the hallway, looked back at the employees, and smiled slightly.

“I won’t show off more ideas. After all, they’re not needed for now. And they’re all my ideas, so I might limit your imagination. Perhaps you can explore more interesting things on your own.”

He snapped his fingers, and the walls around the hallway instantly unfolded, with everything around them rapidly transforming and reassembling.

When everything settled, everyone found themselves in a high-rise restaurant, sunlight flooding in through floor- to-ceiling windows.

“Well, that’s it for now. I showed you all this to give you a glimpse of the possibilities, challenge some notions, and prevent you from subconsciously applying your real-world experiences in your work, which might cause unnecessary restrictions.”

In other words, this was a desensitizing therapy, or rather – a shock therapy.

The goal was for everyone to have a deep understanding of the stark differences between virtual reality and the real world the first time they tried to develop a game in virtual reality.

This would not only prevent their creativity from being stifled but also plant a seed in their minds to prevent them from becoming lost in the virtual world.

As for why they hadn’t done this with Randall and Little Chun before, first,

Lincoln hadn’t thought of it, and second, he felt it would be somewhat cruel.

Maybe what they longed for was to blur the line between these two worlds?

With that, Lincoln could slack off while Randall taught the new employees to learn and master the development tools.

He guiltlessly went off to play with Mavis.

Meanwhile, at NetDragon’s headquarters, Henry spent an entire day trying to regroup the remaining employees of the Blaze production team and other groups as support in an attempt to resume previous DLC production efficiency.

But he soon despaired when he realized — it was utterly impossible!

Although only four team leads and 18 ordinary employees had left the Blaze production team, they were the core members!

The remaining members either lacked experience due to a shorter working period or were responsible for very specific content and tasks, not possessing the ability to oversee the project as a whole.

After a day of chaos, operations still hadn’t resumed!

The situation with other groups was even more troublesome – after finishing their assigned tasks, they had no idea who to hand them over to or what to do next.

Eventually, all progress and problems landed in Henry’s hands.

The problem was that when it came to the production of “Blaze 3,” Henry knew squat!

Neither before he became the Chief Planner of “Blaze 3” nor after had he been involved in the game’s production!

Not even for a single day!

He sat in his office, looking at the endless stream of issues accumulating on his computer, and felt overwhelmed by a tangled mess.

In the end, he had no choice but to admit in despair — production could no longer advance according to the original plan.

In other words, the “Blaze 3” DLC release delay was inevitable!

Henry couldn’t even imagine how far the sales and reputation of the game, which had just stabilized, would plummet if this news got out!

Would players storm NetDragon and tear him apart? Would Richard tear him apart before the players did?