Chapter 157

Chapter 157: Mei Fang’s Painful Memories

Mei Fang returned from practicing his guitar alone outside, and it was already late afternoon.

He noticed that You Xi Lin and Xia Yuan were unusually sitting together playing a game, with their keyboards clacking away loudly, creating quite a lively scene.

“Oh my gosh, You Xi, I’m about to die, save me! Help me draw some aggro!”

Xia Yuan kept shouting while she played, while You Xi remained calm and collected throughout, clearly showing her expertise.

Seeing the two of them having fun, Mei Fang asked as he changed his shoes:

“Are you guys playing ‘Toxic Milk Powder’ or ‘Dragon Nest’?”

“You make it sound so tiring. This one is called ‘Rainbow Island’!”

“Really? Playing this! Didn’t you learn your lesson from getting scammed in ‘Adventure Island’?”

Xia Yuan had previously played ‘Adventure Island’ with Mei Fang and You Xi. She loved the game so much that she begged her dad to buy some game cards for her.

It was during the Spring Festival, and the next day she encountered a pop-up on the screen saying they would give away 5E Adventure Coins. Naive Xia Yuan happily went to the website to claim the reward, only to have her account stolen shortly after.

She then angrily uninstalled ‘Adventure Island,’ and neither Mei Fang nor You Xi continued playing it afterward.

‘Rainbow Island’ shared a similar art style with ‘Adventure Island,’ and its gameplay was also 2D side-scrolling combat.

However, when it first launched, the game was very fair, with items sold in the store not affecting the balance of the game. Players could only obtain equipment by grinding monsters and completing dungeons.

Mei Fang stood behind Xia Yuan, watching them play for a while, reminiscing about the days when he, Xia Yuan, and You Xi used to play MMOs together. The gaming bug bit him again.

“I want to play too. Which server are you guys on?”

“Server 3, but it’s too late for you to start now; we’ve already finished our newbie quests!”

“No big deal… I’ll catch up to you guys in no time.”

As he registered an account, Mei Fang dialed a phone number to top up his game credits.

Mobile payments were just beginning to take off in 2011, so many online games still relied heavily on prepaid cards and phone top-ups.

For convenience, Mei Fang topped up his phone with several thousand yuan, and he didn’t hesitate to spend more on games.

“Do you need me to give you some Rainbow Coins to get through the newbie phase?”

You Xi looked at Mei Fang with her head held high, but he shook his head.

“No, I’ll just buy some from the market.”

Xia Yuan seemed to understand something and hurriedly watched Mei Fang’s actions.

“Baby, why do you start by spending money right away?”

“You can’t enjoy this kind of game without spending money. You’re still grinding levels and fighting monsters like a fool. I’ll jump straight to the end. We are game developers; how can we let other game developers manipulate us and become the toys of big spenders?”

Xia Yuan pushed Mei Fang’s shoulders back and forth, “That’s no fun at all. You won’t truly experience the joy of the game.”

“Damn, someone’s selling a top-tier Snow Maiden Ice Bow for only 50 million Rainbow Coins. Yuan Yuan, remember you’re an archer, do you want this weapon? I have billions on me.”

Hearing that it was her exclusive weapon, Xia Yuan’s eyes lit up immediately.

“Let me see! Wow… these stats are amazing! I’ve been grinding for half a day and haven’t gotten a single Snow Maiden Ice Bow!”

“Do you want it? If not, I’ll close the trade.”

“Yes, yes, yes, Ah Fang! Buy it for me! Please! I’ll give you a massage tonight!”

Xia Yuan hugged Mei Fang’s arm, constantly pleading. Mei Fang couldn’t stand this.

“Alright, alright, I’ll buy it for you… Do you want to check the market for equipment, You Xi? See what you lack?”

“I’ll pick out something myself. Just give me the money.”

In the early days of MMOs, having money meant you could have a lot of fun.

Players who put in a lot of effort to level up were happy, and wealthy players enjoyed themselves too. Everyone traded and socialized, enjoying the social aspects.

Later on, developers began to eliminate free players’ opportunities to get rewards, and instead, started pricing everything in the store directly.

At this point, games gradually lost their original charm.

All players became slaves to the developers, mere cash machines.

Xia Yuan, Mei Fang, and You Xi didn’t think about cooking until around seven in the evening.

They divided tasks: Mei Fang washed the rice, Xia Yuan picked vegetables, and You Xi took charge of cooking.

During this time, Xia Yuan kept saying, “If only we could make a game like this ourselves.”

“Developing an MMO…”

Mei Fang had never considered developing an MMO before. MMO development required a large investment, long team building, and high maintenance costs. Plus, they often received criticism. By 2018, the last “breathing” MMO was released, and few people were still making MMOs.

“It looks impressive, but it’s actually quite painful.”

“I’m just saying. Developing such a large-scale game feels really rewarding.”

Xia Yuan muttered as she picked vegetables, “If we made a game like this, I’d be the GM, constantly spending money to torment those big spenders. I could spend as much as I wanted. That would be so satisfying!”

“What a small ambition. Is that why you want to develop games?”

“Mmm-hmm… I bet the planners fantasize about being tyrants in their own games when they develop them.”

“But usually, planners don’t play their own games.”

“Really? I don’t believe it.”

Xia Yuan frowned, “If that’s true, it means the game must be really bad.”

“If even the developers don’t like their own games, how can they expect players to like them? So, what’s the point of making games like this, just to suffer?”

“Don’t say anymore… stop it, please…”

Xia Yuan’s casual words triggered Mei Fang’s painful memories, attacking him with memories of his past life.

When he was the main planner, he worked on low-paying, disliked pay-to-win games just to earn a salary.

This was far from his childhood dream of becoming a top game developer like X from Small Island, X from Sakura, or X from Miyazaki.

“I didn’t say Ah Fang’s games aren’t fun. I’ve played your little games and the ones we wrote. My ‘Reign’ has the longest lifespan among my friends! Look at my phone, see, see…”

Mei Fang patted Xia Yuan’s shoulder, his expression resolute.

“One day, we will try to develop MMOs.”

“We will create games that everyone loves, very fair, and definitely not pay-to-win games.”

Mei Fang wanted to make up for his past regrets, “If we focus on making fun games rather than just making money, we can surely awaken people’s love for role-playing games and protect our own paradise!”

You Xi asked, “Awaken? People already like MMOs…”

“In the future! I’m talking about the future!”

“Ah Fang is so foresighted. Now I’m itching to try it too! Grow up quickly, Ah Fang, and make games for me to play!”

After dinner, Mei Fang did the dishes, Xia Yuan cut apples into small pieces, and distributed them among everyone.

First, she fed You Xi in the living room, then ran to the kitchen to feed Mei Fang.

“Stop, stop… Don’t force-feed me.”

“Hmm… You need to eat more fruit.”

Xia Yuan tried to stuff an apple into Mei Fang’s mouth.

“By the way, Yuan Yuan, what song are you planning to sing for the autumn festival?”

Xia Yuan made a shushing gesture.

“This time… it’s a secret, I can’t tell you yet.”

“So mysterious…”

“Hey, you’re not any different.”

Xia Yuan stuck out her tongue at Mei Fang, “You’re preparing for the autumn festival, but you haven’t shown me your lyrics or what you plan to sing.”

“Well…”

Mei Fang scratched his head, “I’m almost ready. I can play it for you tonight. If you don’t like it, I won’t sign up.”

“Really? Really!”

Xia Yuan excitedly wrapped her arm around Mei Fang, “Since you’re ready, let me and You Xi hear it. We’ve been waiting for this for so long!”

— End of Chapter 157 —