Inside a University dorm room.
Alex, hair a complete mess, was glued to his computer. He'd been like this for months. Just when he himself had no idea how much longer he could maintain this wretched state, his eyes suddenly lit up. With a trembling right hand, he moved the mouse and clicked the 'Confirm' button that had abruptly popped up on the screen.
[Congratulations, Host, on completing the initial limited-time quest!]
[Quest Completed: Successfully developed "Kuroko's Basketball VR: Middle School Arc".]
[Limited Conditions: 1. Game Category: 'Sports'; 2. Game Element: 'Superpowers'; 3. Game Element: 'Gacha'; 4. Due to the Host currently being suppressed by the domestic Penguin Games, the publishing platform is restricted to Japan's DMM game platform.]
[Host, please upload the game to the DMM platform within three days to activate the Emotion Points System.]
Alex leaned back, his body sprawling out in a star shape as he let out a long, deep sigh.
"Phew, finally done!"
Alex had transmigrated to this world a few months ago. Back then, after snapping out of his initial daze, he'd been incredibly excited. The technology in this world was clearly more advanced than his original one, yet in terms of game development, it was all hardware with no substance. They had extremely advanced VR technology, but the quality of the games was, frankly, atrocious.
So, Alex, a former game design professional from another world, immediately thought he could make a big splash here.
However, while his dreams were beautiful, reality dealt him a resounding slap across the face.
After getting a handle on his predecessor's background…
He discovered that his predecessor had actually been blacklisted by Penguin Games, the largest game company in the country!
Penguin…
The mere thought of those two words sent a shiver down Alex's spine at the time.
This world's Penguin Games was even more dominant in the gaming industry than the one he knew. After all, amidst a pile of uncompetitive, trash-tier games, Penguin Games' capital power stood out even more.
And Alex's predecessor? A game development student at Shanghai University who had completed a decent VR RPG. Unsurprisingly, he faced a malicious acquisition attempt from Penguin Games, giving the young man, still a student, his first taste of the power of capital.
Not selling the game?
Fine!
Then don't even think about releasing it on any domestic game platform.
Still not selling?
Alright then, Penguin wouldn't buy it anymore; they'd just 'draw inspiration' and whip up a knock-off.
Understanding all this, even though it was his predecessor's experience, still made Alex curse out loud in anger.
But while reality had thrown a bucket of cold water on the newly arrived Alex, as a transmigrator, he was still given a glimmer of hope in this hellish starting scenario.
[Game Development System]
A few days after transmigrating, once he understood his current predicament, Alex was bound to this 'Game Development System.' The first quest it issued was to create a VR game.
However, the restrictions were numerous. Besides being forced onto the overseas DMM platform because Penguin Games' suppression blocked him from domestic platforms like Steam and Penguin's own, there were also key elements required:
Sports.
Superpowers.
Gacha.
Perhaps the people of this world would be baffled by such a strange combination of elements.
But Alex's eyes lit up instantly.
Sports, superpowers…
The sci-fi series Kuroko's Basketball!
Perfect!
Absolutely perfect!
He even instantly figured out how to incorporate the 'gacha' element!
Want to play 'sci-fi basketball'?
Want your eyes to flash with power?
Then come try your luck at the gacha!
Rate-Up Banners: 'Aomine Daiki,' 'Akashi Seijuro'…
The Generation of Miracles awaits your summons!
Standard Banner: 'Hayama Kotaro,' 'Mibuchi Reo'…
The Uncrowned Kings are yours for the taking!
And pulling one copy wasn't the end of it. The first copy of a character would grant their 1st-year middle school power level, a second copy would unlock their 2nd-year middle school strength, and so on…
The weapon banner could also be adapted into a skill banner: 'Formless Shot,' 'Wildness,' 'Lightning Dribble,' 'Zone'…
The mere thought of it sent Alex into a frenzy of excitement.
"Free!"
"The base game has to be free-to-play!"
"Hehe~"
After deciding on the game's direction, he opened the newbie gift pack provided by the System. To his pleasant surprise, the pack contained the most crucial framework for any game project: the core code and the planning document. These were precisely the things that had been giving Alex the biggest headaches. He was just one person. Writing code and developing the game's story – even in this technologically advanced era where game development was more convenient, it was an workload impossible for one person to handle.
And after his predecessor's last game development cycle, he had practically no money left to set up a studio, so he could only do it himself.
…
Thus, after several months of arduous work.
Alex finally finished the game.
He immediately uploaded it to the game platform.
Breathing a sigh of relief, he began to consider the problem of game promotion.
"If I just release it as is, given the quality of games on the market in this world, KuroBas VR should be able to make a name for itself."
"However, that would be too slow. The Emotion Points rewarded by the System wouldn't be enough to unlock the next stage of development, leading to a long period of downtime…"
"What kind of promotion method should I use?"
Suddenly, Alex remembered a high school classmate of his who was working as an agent for Donnie Yin, a streamer in SharkStream's console gaming section.
Maybe he could ask him if Donnie Yin could try out the game?
Alex was a man of action. The thought had barely formed when he sprang into motion.
While opening Donnie Yin's SharkStream channel, he dialed his classmate's number.
The call quickly connected.
"Leo, I've made a new VR game. Think you could help me recommend it to Donnie Yin for a test play?"
There was a clear pause from the other end.
"A test play is possible, but… is this a commercial thing, or?"
Alex said, "Uh, after developing this game, I'm pretty much broke… But my game is free-to-play once it's released. See if you can help me out and recommend it to Donnie?"
Leo hesitated for a moment. "Send it to me first. If it's not a paid promotion, Donnie-bro has pretty high standards for games. It either needs to be high quality, or it has to be entertaining for the stream. If your game doesn't meet the requirements, I can't help you."
"Don't worry, the quality is absolutely not an issue!"
"I've already uploaded it to the DMM platform. I'll send you the game name. You can download it first."
Hearing this, Leo felt his head spin. "DMM? Isn't that an overseas platform?"
Alex didn't tell him about being suppressed by Penguin Games, only saying, "Well, I was thinking there'd be less competition on a smaller platform…"
Leo replied, "Alright, I'll download it now and take a look. Hanging up for now."
After the call ended, Leo immediately opened the DMM platform and searched for the game name Alex had sent. Sure enough, it popped right up.
!!!
Holy moly, this game was over three hundred Gigs?!
Kuroko's Basketball VR: Middle School Arc.
Developer: Platinum Theatre.
Tags: Sports, Basketball, Superpowers, Sci-Fi, Gacha.
???
"Sci-fi basketball?!"