Jason leaned forward in his chair as he squinted at the shimmering virtual screen hovering in front of him. The display's layout was remarkably straightforward.
On the center of the interface was a three-dimensional model of what resembled an old-fashioned gashapon machine—the kind Jason remembered seeing in Japanese arcades during his college years abroad.
To the right of this digital vending machine was s reward list: [Common Skill Book], [Rare Skill Book], and [Special Items].
Beneath this display of potential rewards was a simple line of numbers rendered in a clean, modern sans-serif font: 475,431.
With movements that showed both curiosity and caution, Jason's index finger extended toward a small question mark icon in the upper corner of the interface—the universal symbol for help in digital interfaces across both worlds, it seemed.
"Let's see what we're dealing with here," Jason muttered under his breath.
The moment his finger made contact with the holographic help icon, it expanded in a burst of sparkling particles that rearranged themselves into a lengthy information panel.
Lines of text appeared alongside illustrative animations, providing him a complete understanding of the system's mechanics and purpose. As Jason absorbed this information, his expression cycled rapidly through disbelief, amusement, and finally, interest.
This system was unquestionably his "cheat ability," the supernatural advantage that often-accompanied transmigration in the web novels he'd occasionally read.
At its core, it was a lottery system—a virtual gashapon that distributed potentially life-changing rewards in exchange for accumulated points. The way to gain these points was straightforward as well—they were generated through the creation of emotionally evocative content across various media formats.
When Jason created works be they be games, stories, art pieces, musical compositions, or any other form of creative expression that successfully immersed their audience, prompting genuine emotional responses, those reactions were somehow quantified and converted into corresponding emotional points.
The system carefully measured the intensity and authenticity of the audience's happiness, joy, excitement, sadness, anger, fear, and other emotional states, transforming these intangible experiences into a concrete resource that Jason could harvest.
These emotional points, once accumulated, could be converted into credits for the lottery system's prize draws. The large figure of four hundred seventy-five thousand, four hundred and thirty-one points currently displayed on the interface represented Jason's points from creative work he had on others throughout his career as a game designer in his previous life.
As this realization appeared in his mind, Jason slumped back in his chair as a sense of regret came over him.
"If I had known this would happen," He lamented, "I wouldn't have worked as a level and plot designer—I should have been a game planner instead."
[AN; "Game Planner" is a term mostly used in Japan, generally for people who come up with the high-level concept or vision for a game.]
His momentary amusement faded quickly, however, as his eyes narrowed on a particular detail in the system's interface. The cost structure for the lottery draws appeared conspicuously in flashing neon numerals: 100,000 points per single attempt.
"One hundred thousand per pull?" Jason exclaimed incredulously, his voice rising in genuine outrage. "A million for ten pulls with absolutely no discount package is outrageous enough, but you don't even offer a complimentary daily pull? Even the most greedy, predatory mobile game companies with their exploitative gacha mechanics aren't this blatant!"
Jason fell into stunned silence as he thought of the lottery numbers. His accumulated lifetime total was of just over four hundred thousand points and would only afford him four miserable pulls.
Despite his complaints, Jason's finger hovered over the lever on the side of the virtual gashapon machine, his expression hardened with determination.
No matter how poor the odds or how expensive the attempts, he couldn't simply leave these accumulated points unused. With four pulls available to him, there was at least the possibility of obtaining something that might provide an advantage in this new world—a world where he was starting from scratch.
Despite his complaints, Jason didn't hesitate to start drawing. He pulled the lever four times in quick succession and watched as four capsules tumbled out of the machine.
But then, something unexpected happened.
Without warning, all four capsules simultaneously erupted in golden radiance. The intensity of the glow was almost blinding, forcing Jason to squint as he leaned closer to the display, and his heart rate accelerated with sudden hope.
"Wow! The golden legend!" Jason exclaime, his mind automatically supplying the bombastic sound effects that would accompany such a moment in the gacha games.
His face transformed with anticipation as he leaned even closer to the screen, waiting for the capsules to reveal their contents.
And then...
The golden light faded gradually, revealing the four items floating in mid-air above their respective opened capsules:
Common Skill Book × 2 Rare Skill Book × 1 Memory Capsule × 1
Looking at the four items in front of him, Jason was completely speechless.
'So, the golden light was just a simple unboxing—no, "un-egging" special effect?' Jason's inner voice dripped with sarcasm. 'System, you really know how to mess with people! What's next, a congratulatory fanfare for opening the interface?'
Though Jason complained inwardly, but his hand still reached toward the Common Professional Skill Book.
Next, Jason watched as the skill book transformed into a cluster of purple, star-like points of light that merged into his body, along with a notification.
[Story Design +1]
As the purple light flowed into him, Jason felt his mind become incredibly clear, and he suddenly understood certain aspects of story pacing that had previously confused him.
The feeling was quite remarkable, similar to when he was a student struggling with a math problem, then suddenly seeing a relevant formula and experiencing a moment of complete clarity.
Next, Jason clicked on the other two books.
[Music +1, Drawing Technique +5]
Music came from the Common Skill Book, while Drawing Technique came from the Rare Skill Book.
The magnitude of improvement clearly differed between the common and rare books, though Jason couldn't determine with certainty whether this disparity was attributable to their different rarity classifications or simply reflective of their numerical values.
With only these limited examples and insufficient points to conduct further experiments, drawing definitive conclusions about the system's internal mechanics was impossible.
Finally, Jason turned his attention to the last item he had obtained—a small, transparent capsule approximately the size of a large vitamin pill. Unlike the skill books, this item didn't immediately dissolve when he reached for it, instead materialized as a tangible object in his palm.
A descriptive tooltip appeared alongside it:
[Memory Capsule: When used, allows you to access deeply buried memories with perfect recall for 2 hours.]
Examining this unique item, Jason's expression transformed to one of genuine, pleased surprise.
"This is excellent!" He exclaimed aloud, a smile spreading across his face as he contemplated the practical applications of such an ability.
The Memory Capsule essentially offered a time-limited form of perfect photographic memory—the ability to recall with precision anything he had ever experienced, observed, or learned, regardless of how deeply buried those memories might be in his subconscious.
For someone like Jason, who had spent years in the gaming industry not just playing games for entertainment but analyzing them for professional insights, this Capsule was priceless resource. Throughout his career, he had experienced hundreds of games across every conceivable genre and platform, absorbing their mechanics, narrative techniques, artistic approaches, and design philosophies—not just as a passive consumer but as an active learner.
Consider the masterpiece "Red Dead Redemption 2" as an example. Where ordinary players might have responded with emotional reactions like "Wow, that's incredibly moving!" or "That was terrifying!" or "I can't believe I could do this!" Jason and his colleagues had approached such experiences with analytical mindsets, dissecting every element of the game's construction.
They would methodically examine why specific storytelling techniques were used at particular moments—how the developers had used environmental storytelling to complement explicit narrative, how music swelled at precise moments to enhance emotional impact, how lighting and shadow were manipulated to guide player attention without obvious barriers or markers.
They would analyze whether the distribution of enemy encounters maintained an optimal tension curve, preventing player fatigue while ensuring sufficient challenge. They would study the complex arrangements of level geometry, cover elements, and travelling options to understand how player movement was subtly guided while maintaining an illusion of complete freedom.
With the Memory Capsule, Jason could now recreate these games in his mind to the greatest extent possible —recalling not just their superficial qualities but the sophisticated design decisions that had made them successful.
After careful consideration, Jason decided to store the Memory Capsule in his system inventory rather than using it immediately. He recognized that such a valuable resource should be used strategically rather than consumed on impulse.
Before developing his first game in this new world, he had considerable preparatory work to complete, research that would maximize the eventual use of the Memory Capsule when properly used.
He needed to thoroughly familiarize himself with the game engine used in this reality, its capabilities and limitations. He needed to conduct market research to identify current gaming trends, player preferences, and untapped opportunities. He needed to analyze which game genres were currently dominating the market and which platforms had the most promising paths for releasing his games.
All of these investigations required advance preparation.
"Hmm, let me take a proper look at what I'm working with here," Jason murmured to himself. After closing the system interface, he settled more comfortably into his chair and pulled his keyboard closer.
The sleek ergonomic keyboard had holographic keys that materialized when his fingers approached the typing surface as he tried to build a proper understanding of this world's game development ecosystem.
The holographic monitor projected crisp, high-resolution images that adjusted their position automatically to maintain optimal viewing angles as he shifted in his seat.
First, Jason investigated the game engine tools available in this parallel world. Since he in this world had been doing outsourced artistic work for various gaming studios, the official game engine software was already installed on his computer system, complete with a registered user account under his name.
This sector of the industry was very mature and streamlined compared to the fragmented landscape he remembered from his original world. The centralized platform integrated numerous aspects of game development that would typically require multiple specialized software packages and potential third-party collaboration.
For example, artistic concept development, three-dimensional modeling, musical composition, sound effect creation, and even voice acting could all be accessed, implemented, and modified through the game engine's platform. The system included sophisticated AI assistance for each creative section, capable of generating baseline assets that developers could then customize to their specific requirements.
"Hmm, the interface isn't particularly difficult to direct or unnecessarily complicated," Jason observed as he explored the software's capabilities, "but the available resources are quite limited without premium access."
He quickly browsed and skimmed through the introductory tutorial videos and also went through the written documentation available on various developer forums, and Jason rapidly constructed a functional understanding of the game engine's architecture and operation.
The software's learning curve wasn't especially steep—designed with accessibility in mind while still offering depth for experienced developers. The interface utilized intuitive visual programming elements combined with more traditional coding options, allowing creators to work in whichever model best suited their skills and preferences.
His attention next turned to the commercial aspect of game development in this world—specifically, the platforms through which games were distributed to consumers. The flourishing cultural industry had evidently led to strict anti-piracy measures, with games developed using the official engine incorporating sophisticated technical safeguards that made unauthorized reproduction virtually impossible.
The interconnected nature of the National level development environment where games were taken very seriously and distribution platforms created a closed ecosystem in which piracy had been efficiently eliminated through technological means rather than penal legal frameworks.
Games were tied to individual user identities through biometric verification systems, making unauthorized sharing or duplication technically unfeasible.
Of course, while piracy might have been considerably reduced through these innovative approaches, competition within the industry remained extraordinarily fierce—perhaps even more intense than in Jason's original world, as the reduced revenue loss to piracy had attracted additional investment and participation in the market.
The gaming platforms themselves bore certain similarities to those Jason had known previously, with both domestic and international options available to developers. However, unlike his former reality where Steam had established near-monopolistic dominance in the digital distribution space for PC gaming, this parallel world had a more fragmented and regionally diverse marketplace.
No single platform had overwhelming global influence—instead, most major countries had developed their own mainstream distribution services that catered specifically to their respective cultural preferences, regulatory environments, and technological infrastructures.
This regionalization had fostered greater diversity in gaming content, as developers could target specific cultural markets with tailored experiences rather than pursuing universal appeal through homogenization.
This diversified approach was mostly enabled by a fundamental difference in content regulation compared to Jason's original world. In his previous reality, certain countries had implemented extremely restrictive censorship requirements for video games—mandating that blood be rendered in unrealistic colors like green or gray to minimize perceived violence, requiring skeletal enemies to be modified with flesh coverings, and imposing numerous other creative limitations that often-compromised artistic vision.
By contrast, this parallel world had implemented comprehensive and universally adopted real-name verification systems for digital content consumption, coupled with sophisticated age-verification technologies and strict content rating frameworks. This infrastructure allowed for more detailed approaches to content regulation, focusing on appropriate audience targeting rather than universal censorship.
Games like "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" with its mature themes, moral complexity, and adult content, or the "Grand Theft Auto" series with its satirical social commentary and depictions of criminal activity, these types of games that had nearly zero probability of passing censorship reviews in certain countries of Jason's previous world could receive official approval in this reality.
They would simply be appropriately classified with "Mature 18+" ratings and made available exclusively to verified adult consumers through the distribution platforms.
This progressive approach to content regulation represented perhaps the most significant cultural difference Jason had discovered thus far between his original world and this new reality—a difference that provided considerably greater creative freedom for his future game development.
Rather than designing around arbitrary censorship requirements that varied unpredictably between regions, he could focus on creating authentic experiences appropriate for his intended audience.