Interstellar Travel: Becoming a Dress-Up Game Designer

Chapter 208

The old man smiled and said, "This morning when I was planting rapeseed flowers, several butterflies flew in. I was curious and caught them, and that's how I got this kite."

Over there, his friends ran with their kites, while the old man controlled the lines. After the first two kites lifted up, he quickly and skillfully pulled the lines, and the kites slowly took flight. Then, the old man retreated while pulling the lines, sometimes tight and sometimes loose, and soon, eight swallow kites soared higher and higher.

The surrounding players were stunned; it was amazing!

I thought it would be simple to just fly like in the special effects and plot, but who knew there were so many invisibility techniques involved, making it a bit tricky.

Just then, a huge scream came from the other side of the grassland, unseen by the players on this side. They all rushed over to see what could be causing such a commotion.

As they passed by, gasps of amazement filled the air. A hundred-foot-long python kite slowly raised its head. One person was pulling hard, controlling the python's head to prevent it from falling, while players around them offered tips and assistance.

"Hurry and run, it's going to fall!"

"Why run? We have to pull slowly, otherwise it won't take off."

"My mecha marshal, I look at the frame and it's not good enough. It's too heavy and it can't fly. It definitely can't fly."

"We have to start with the tail; starting from the head is definitely not going to work."

"The rope is too thin; it will break when it flies."

"I also think the string is too thin. The kite I flew just now was so small, and it still broke even though the string was so thick."

......

The player remained calm, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding chatter. He continued pulling on the thumb-thick rope, slowly raising the python's head, while several retainers held onto the python's waist and rear, lifting it and running slowly in rhythm.

"Ahhh, I'm flying! I'm flying!"

"My mech commander-in-chief, it's so long, it can actually fly!"

"My mech marshal, it's much more spectacular in the sky than on the ground."

The python's skeleton is arranged in concentric circles, connected by soft gold threads in the middle, so when it flies, it looks like it's swaying its head and tail. It gives the illusion of being about to fall, making the viewer's heart rise and fall like a kite, filled with fear and trepidation.

The player controlling the kite had tested it in their own garden and was quite skilled. Holding the string calmly, the kite gradually rose higher, no longer swaying or bobbing, but drifting gently.

Looking up from below, it looks just like a real giant python.

"Your python is so realistic!"

The players below couldn't help but sigh.

The player controlling the character smiled and said, "This is what my guardian spirit looks like. It's exactly what I made, so it must be authentic."

He specially had the guardian spirit transform into its original form and meticulously traced it stroke by stroke, including the colors, to ensure it was exactly the same.

Many players praised, "Your guardian spirit is pretty good, it's so smooth and shiny."

"Of course, I didn't prepare any other props at the time, I was just busy finding osmanthus and other spiritual herbs to offer to him."

When it comes to household guardian spirits, many players get very talkative, asking, "What skills does your household guardian spirit have?"

One player who was flying a kite said, "It can eat a lot, and its skill is 'Gluttonous Stomach.' I think it's great because I also like to eat, hehe."

One player exclaimed as if struck by a memory attack, "You're the 'Nutrient Killer' who camps out at the main city's food stall every day?"

"Hehe, I like to go to the Huaxia Jianghu as well, not just the main city. There are many strange and wonderful food stalls there, and the taste is really amazing. For example, the pastries from Fuyunzhai and the wonton stall of Granny Zhang. Tsk tsk, I miss them every time I eat them."

As he spoke, the python kite soared high into the air, its flight becoming more stable. He needed to use all his strength to catch it, or he would be carried away.

Once the kite loses its grip, it will fall quickly.

Then, a series of luxurious pillars appeared in the middle of the grassland, spiraling upwards like dragons, flat on all eight sides. Player nicknames appeared on them, currently showing a leaderboard of the largest kites, because the first player to trigger the quest was the one who accepted the kite-size quest.

Many players were startled by the sudden appearance of the leaderboard, but after seeing the contents, they became somewhat eager to participate.

The entire competition lasts three days and has three requirements:

First, rank them according to the size of the kites.

Second, the ranked kites must be made by the player or player team themselves, and the style is not fixed.

Third, a kite can only be included in the ranking calculation after the lowest tangent part of the kite is completely ten meters off the ground.

Most players thought the requirement was a bit too simple.

If not now, when?

Moreover, it was mentioned later that there would be a reward. Although we don't know what the reward is, we can't worry about the quality of Qingfengyi's products.

does not exist!

The players who accepted the quest were dumbfounded. What did Qingfengyi mean?

When accepting the quest, the kite shopkeeper was very secretive, either whispering or letting it slip out unintentionally. Now, after triggering the quest, he's placed the leaderboard right in the center of the event area, as if he's afraid no one will see it.

What is the point of them accepting the mission?

Thinking about this, these players rushed to their game accounts to file complaints.

"Designer, come out here! What's the point of your kite ranking task? Either make it public, or don't. What's the meaning of everyone reaping the benefits after we trigger the task?"

"Exactly, how are we supposed to play like this? It's ruining the game's fairness!"

Such comments are becoming increasingly common, flooding game accounts and even burning through studio accounts.

Zhang Zhongxia had just returned from vacation and was leading his team to review previous player comments when he was suddenly startled by what he saw. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that these comments were indeed causing some problems, so he printed out the players' opinions and complaints and gave them to Lin Shuying and the game design department.

After seeing this, Lin Shuying said, "As a ranking competition, how can there be a ranking without a large number of participants? If you seize the information revealed by those shopkeepers, you have an advantage; if you don't, it's not our fault. You have to understand that information asymmetry is also an advantage; if you can't seize it, you can't blame others. Just reply to the players that the game is fair. As for the tasks they received, firstly, there were no task notifications, and secondly, it's normal communication content set by the characters in the Qingfengyi game world. It's an information gap; if you make good use of it after making contact, that's a skill, and if you don't, it's not Qingfengyi's fault."

Lin Shuying really wrote the dialogue according to the character setting. Isn't it normal for the kite shop owner to have access to some rankings and competition information in the kite industry?

They're the ones who make a living from this; it would be incredibly unprofessional of them not to know when they eat.

Players who think strategically can seize the initiative, while those who are insensitive to information can't be blamed. The game features numerous trigger mechanisms for quests, such as player-triggered, story-triggered, kite-triggered, and even a system announcement before any other conditions are met. These are all pre-designed to ensure maximum freedom in the game without disrupting the flow and rhythm of the activities.

Lin Shuying has made visible progress in game design. Of course, this is not entirely her idea, but also the result of the collective thinking of the now basically complete game team.

Soon, Zhang Zhongxia's announcement was released, and many players felt a sense of foreboding after reading it!

While we're arguing and commenting here, have other players already gained the upper hand?

Deng Yijun, the leader of the "Golden Jade Hall" pavilion who always crushes other players with his intelligence, arranged for many members of his team to do the kite-flying quest this time.

Once the reward is received, it belongs to the team. Since the rewarded items are all limited edition and won't be damaged, team members only need to submit an application to use them. However, the number of uses and the time are limited; they cannot be used for more than one day, and only twice a month. Damage is not allowed; otherwise, the consequences will be severe—they will definitely be kicked out of the team, and they will also have to pay compensation.

Users also need to pay a deposit to use the product. Although the deposit is not much, its purpose is to warn users not to damage it, as it is the team's shared property.

Jin Yu Man Tang kicked out a large number of players some time ago, and those who remain are all like-minded people.

Deng Yijun's goal is to ensure the successful operation of the item sharing management system. Any rare, non-repeatable item should belong entirely to the team's inventory. A monthly usage limit should be set, which can be accumulated, but after ten uses, the limit should be reset.

If there are no restrictions on the number of items that can be obtained, or if multiple items can be obtained, the whole team should work together to complete the task until everyone has one. If not, items should be given according to contribution, and the team will spend money to buy one and put it in the shared warehouse...

Now, Jin Yu Man Tang's management model is about to shine in this event!

The Grand Marshal and the Slaughter Ancestor are quite strong and are combat-oriented players, making them suitable for conquering the largest kite rankings. Deng Yijun wasn't interested in finding Qingfengyi's team-building destination; being a very clever player, she quickly grasped the key points about kites after watching the story. After searching the shop without finding any kites, she immediately went to the main city.

The team of 8,000 people also dispersed to search the existing dungeons. Even though many players were delayed by rolling in the grass in the early stages, they still obtained information on various kite leaderboards before dawn.

The largest kite required five hundred people to make, and only two people were able to fly it.

They made two: a huge phoenix and a square whiteboard. The whiteboard was truly just a whiteboard; they used the longest bamboo from the bamboo forest for the frame and covered it with silk fabric, fearing that paper wouldn't be able to withstand the weight.

The phoenix, also made of silk fabric and a bamboo frame, is very exquisite. Although it differs greatly from the phoenix of Qingfengyi, it still has a decent shape. It just looks a bit shabby; it's really just patchwork fabric, patchy and uneven...

The team often wanted to finish a project halfway through and quickly put it away, but Deng Yijun would patiently ask them to refine it further and make it larger.

Now that the leaderboard and competition schedule are out, he quickly added ten more people, just to make this kite even bigger!

The teammate who was making the kite couldn't help but ask, "Boss, if it gets any bigger, it won't be able to fly!"

Deng Yijun: "Nothing can't take flight. You aerodynamics experts need to manage this well. We can't launch it now; our kite is too big. If someone else makes an even bigger one, we definitely won't have time. We need to go out in the last hour or half hour. Even if others try their best, they won't have time then, and we can secure a win."

The teammates were completely taken aback. Could you really play like that?

"Boss, what if we can't take off in an hour?"

Deng Yijun said confidently, "With me here, there's no way I can't take off."

We've made thorough preparations to win first place this time.