svetikya Chapter 35: On How Players Can "Obey"
Chapter 35: On How Players Can "Obey"
Why are players called the Fourth Calamity?
Is it simply because the other party uses the virtual currency issued by the system to repeatedly restore their "characters" in the game, creating clones in another world, so as to achieve continuous resurrection and immortality?
This is certainly one reason; if they are immortal and indestructible, it is certainly enough to be called a natural disaster.
But most importantly, they are uncontrollable; no one can command them. Everything Viserys has done so far has been based on the promise of rewards for completing tasks.
It coaxes players to achieve their goals, much like coaxing a child.
You can't make every mission relevant to yourself, or players will get bored, even if your game is the only one of its kind in the world.
For example, when giving players recent tasks, he can't first instruct them to destroy Pentos's garrison and then have them complete the mercenary tasks given by the system.
He has to coax the players to complete the quests, promising rewards and equipment dropped by "wild monsters".
Sigh, while the player community is strong, no one can predict what they might do at any time.
Even though Viserys told players from the very beginning that he had the power of life and death over them, namely, banning their accounts so that they could never log in to the game again even if they changed accounts.
To put it bluntly, it means that he unilaterally closed the passage to this world for someone on Earth while he was in another world.
But Viserys can't keep threatening players with bans forever.
That's not how it works. On Earth, even if you know a clothing store that has really good clothes but terrible service, would you still go there?
The principle is the same. Moreover, if a player is stubborn and stabs himself in the back, what's the point of Viserys banning all players' accounts?
Viserys was deeply troubled when he suddenly caught sight of Daenerys sitting quietly flipping through an ancient book.
"What are you looking at?" Viserys asked.
"The legends of Visenia, the Visenia Targaryen," Daenerys said with a faint smile, clearly showing her genuine interest.
"The first dragon knight of the dragon Vaghar, and also the first wielder of the Dark Sister. Look, the poems that record her take up four pages. I think she must have been a great female warrior."
"Hmm, that's how people always describe her," Viserys replied noncommittally.
Watching Daenerys intently turning the pages of the book, Viserys seemed to grasp something for a moment, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him.
I still remember when I started my rampage in GTA and Red Dead Redemption, becoming a walking butcher.
It's after completing all the main and side quests!
Before this, although the character he controlled would occasionally offend the five stars and attract the pursuit of bounty hunters, he always followed the mission.
Why follow the mission? Because the storyline is captivating.
The open-world game he's offering players now works on the same principle as GTA and Red Dead Redemption: it's a more realistic platform where players can do whatever they want.
Since all three—the ability to make players act recklessly and let loose—are interconnected, could he also use the storyline to restrain players, encouraging them to unleash their killing sprees and bizarre ideas on their opponents?
Admittedly, some players log in just to kill and cause trouble, but that hasn't shown yet. It's just that the players' novelty hasn't worn off. Once the players get used to it, Viserys won't feel anything at all, and they'll treat passing civilians with kindness.
They'd probably slash even a passing dog.
In Viserys's view, those who chase monkeys up mountains and catch turtles in the sea, attempting to complete hidden achievements, can all be categorized as normal people.
At first, Viserys did design a storyline for players, but it was too unrealistic and empty. It started with restoring the kingdom and taking revenge on the usurpers.
Do players truly empathize? No, and that's too far removed from their experience. If you threw him into Pentos and made him kill people every day, he might play for a year or two.
Many players end up staying in the starting village for a long time because the future doesn't appeal to them or give them any story to immerse themselves in. After all, it's all about killing NPCs, so it doesn't matter where you are.
Riding dragons and commanding legions are merely tethering players to their leveling path; they are part of the game's mechanics, not its storyline.
Players are completely uninterested in knights or anything like that, or rather, they only crave the power of knights. As for the so-called knightly code, they are not only uninterested, but also completely clueless.
It seems I need to design a better storyline for the players, one that they can immerse themselves in.
Viserys thought so.
What kind of plot would that be? Viserys' first thought was honor. Do real people really not need honor, praise, or recognition from others?
It's not that he doesn't need it, it's just that he doesn't believe in it; it's just that he's lived half his life without encountering it.
But games are different. Games are "virtual," and everything is possible here. As long as you can slightly restrain or control the players to keep them quiet, Viserys has plenty of such storylines.
For example, rescuing slaves from trading city-states.
When you were playing Red Dead Redemption and going through the story, you cried your eyes out. I, Viserys, don't believe that when countless eyes are on you, throwing you high and cheering you on, you, the player, won't be moved.
Of course, with hundreds of players, there are all sorts of people, and naturally some won't be interested in these things.
What Viserys needs to do is to weed out as many players as possible when recruiting new ones in the future.
How many people are on Earth? Seven billion!
Does anyone play a virtual game that gives them an extra ten or more hours of playtime?
Plenty, but does Viserys need that many people?
He doesn't need that. Give him a few hundred thousand players, and that's enough for him to unify the world, or even conquer more than the Seven Kingdoms. The world that George R.R. Martin depicted is quite large, enough for players to wreak havoc.
"Little Fireman, come out."
With that thought, Viserys summoned the image of the unscrupulous operations manager from his mind.
"What are your orders, host?"
"First, create a forum on the official website, then update the website," Viserys said.
"Okay, these will cost Kingdom Coins in total..." Upon hearing this, the little fireman's "hair" seemed to grow even thicker as he excitedly began calculating the bill.
"Alright, alright, no need to calculate anymore, just deduct it!" Viserys waved his hand impatiently.
He's really not short of money lately. As ruthless as he is, ever since he gave out some benefits to the first two hundred players, he's dumped all the weapons and armor in the Illyrio Armory into the player shop at a low price.
There are no costs at all, it's all profit.
Although the players are currently penniless and unable to achieve financial freedom in the short term, they still have the financial strength to set aside some money to plan the official website.