Building a Gaming Empire From Scratch

Chapter 11: Setting Sun, Sand Sea, and Smiles

"What's the matter?" Lincoln, who had been watching the only player at the moment, noticed immediately.

"This mural..." Princess hesitated, "It feels weird to touch; it looks like it is a thick layer of paint on the stone wall, but touching it feels different, kind of strange."

"Well, that..." Lincoln was a bit confused. He had been focused on the gameplay, thinking of murals as collectibles, like photographs, and had never considered that someone would actually touch it, so he hadn't paid attention to the feel.

Besides, he had never touched this kind of mural before.

"That's my oversight. I didn't realize the material issue. Can you describe what it should feel like? I'll try to adjust it manually."

Lincoln didn't bother to involve Mavis; he opened the control panel and adjusted the mural's feel according to Camille Victoria's description, tweaking the material parameters bit by bit.

It took quite a while to resolve the issue.

Lincoln decided to gather player feedback early, asking her, "Any other suggestions?"

Princess hesitated for a moment before saying, "Can the touch of the cloak and scarf made of red silk cloth on my body be made more comfortable? Also, the tailoring of the cloak seems a little crude, and it feels a bit stuffy when I wear it..."

Well, that was another blind spot.

When he played "Traveler of the Wind" back then, his greatest enjoyment was flying all over the place, which was utterly delightful.

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So, now, when creating the virtual version of the game, the focus was on adjusting how to make flying more joyful and rapid and improving the lighting and scenery appearance.

He couldn't say that he didn't care about the materials, but indeed, he didn't prioritize them enough. How could he imagine that female players would be concerned about the comfort of wearing a cloak and scarf while flying?

He simply replicated the appearance from the game in his previous life, with a near 100% fidelity. As for comfort, what was that?

Moreover, he used to wear T-shirts, hoodies, and jeans all year round, so what did he know about tailoring?

On second thought, it seemed like a potential business opportunity to sell skins for appearances. A source of profit?

No, no, no! Lincoln shook his head hard, casting away the annoying pay-to-win mobile game schemes. Such a malignant tumor shouldn't be brought here to torture the players.

However, the idea itself could still be used to offer customizable scarves as a hidden reward for multiple playthroughs, allowing dedicated players to create their own unique scarves.

Yes, the plan was set!

With Princess's assistance, Lincoln began adjusting the materials and tailoring of the cloak and scarf.

Lincoln came to the full realization that making a game was not just about having Mavis; professional talent was essential!

Especially in virtual environment games, the more detail there is, the higher the requirements become.

Mavis could instantly generate a game world with over 95% realism, but for the final 5%, unless Lincoln was omniscient and omnipotent, knowing and experiencing everything, he would need to spend a great deal of effort patiently fine-tuning the game.

"After this, I'll need to establish a studio as a priority," Lincoln determined.

Thanks to maximizing simplicity in "Traveler of the Wind," there weren't many blind spots like these, and Princess was soon immersed in exploring the Sand Sea again.

Lincoln silently followed her, not specifically pointing out hidden runes and murals, simply observing her first-time gaming experience.

He was astonished to see Princess transform, exclaiming in awe at the towering broken bridge nonstop. Upon activating a red cloth with Resonance, she couldn't help but cheer and shout, "Awesome!" as the glowing red silk connected the broken parts of the bridge one by one in a flash of light.

She even lunged far away towards a glowing rune and fell short, landing in the sand. Unfazed, she rolled in the Sand Sea to grab the rune, disregarding her image.

She had gone from a reserved lady to a mischievous monkey.

Lincoln hadn't expected that side of Princess.

"Ah—hahaha!" At the quicksand level, Princess cheered while sliding down at breakneck speed, calling out to Lincoln, "Lincoln! Come on! Slide with me! It's so much fun!"

Rather than being polite, Lincoln caught up with her, grabbed her hand, and swung her up into the air with a sudden force.

"Ah!" Camille Victoria was briefly surprised but quickly grew adept at flapping her cloak and soaring smoothly into the air. Fearlessly, she swiftly changed direction in mid-air and flew through a narrow stone gate.

Just as her energy ran out and she was about to fall, Lincoln flew to her side and emitted a Resonance to replenish her energy.

She looked at him in surprise; this was possible?

She immediately began to generate Resonance of her own, attempting to replenish energy for Lincoln, soon getting the hang of it.

The pair chased each other through the Sand Sea, occasionally taking flight, calling out and resonating to each other in mid-air, having a fantastic time. Princess laughed and cheered like a child.

Passing through the stone gates, they reached the end of the quicksand, then followed it as it turned and entered a horizontal hallway.

Tall, silent columns stood one after another, with fluttering red silk hanging from them. Outside the hallway lay ancient ruins of unknown age, and beyond them, the magnificent Sacred Mountain.

Below the mountainside, clouds and mist swirled, while the gigantic Setting Sun was half-obscured by the summit. The unobstructed portion cast warm, yellowish glows, illuminating the sand and reflecting a golden brilliance that bathed the entire hallway in a gentle, warm atmosphere.

Following the flow of sand without stopping, they left the columns behind.

In this breathtaking, poetic landscape, Camille Victoria gradually became quiet. She suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of peace and was moved to her core; warmth spread throughout her body as if waves of warmth were gushing from her heart.

She glanced at Lincoln, looking at the scenery beside her, and her heart raced uncontrollably as a grin crept across her face.

However, as soon as Lincoln turned his head, she quickly looked away to hide her smile, but no matter how hard she tried to control it, the grin remained. She bashfully covered her face, her heart racing even faster, and her cheeks flushed red.

She was grateful that they were both wearing red cloaks, and the surrounding area was bathed in golden light from the Setting Sun; otherwise, she might have been spotted by Lincoln.

After the hallway came a long descent, dropping straight into the darkness below—this was the entrance to the Underground Level.

However, their gaming time had come to an end.

Mavis had already alerted Lincoln that the bodyguard was knocking on the door outside.

So he said to Camille Victoria, "We'll have to finish up now; the bodyguard is knocking at the door."

"No!" Princess instinctively protested but quickly realized the situation. "What time is it now?"

Lincoln hadn't equipped the player interface, so Princess was unaware of the time.

Pulling out the control panel, he glanced at it and replied, "We've been playing for about 3 hours."

"Has it already been this long? I didn't even notice!"

"Let's go ahead and exit for now, or your bodyguard might end up breaking down the door," Lincoln said as he escorted Princess out of the virtual world.