Chapter 4: Did You Make This Game Just to Play It Yourself?

[Honestly, this combo looks so much better.]

[Is it really that smooth?]

[Holy crap, this combo looks amazing, and it’s a no-damage run too. Absolute bliss for anyone with OCD!]

[Maybe not a full-blown visual feast, but compared to other streamers getting beaten up the whole time, this is so satisfying to watch.]

[Lightning Wave, electric ball, sweep kick… wait, Benimaru Nikaido can actually be played this cleanly? I thought all he cared about was styling his hair…]

[For real, first time seeing someone play Benimaru Nikaido so well. His hair is ridiculous though: 165 cm bare height, but 180+ with the hair. The exact number depends on whether it’s grown out.]

[Compared to Kyo Kusanagi, Benimaru Nikaido’s controls are actually pretty simple. I think Iori Yagami is the hardest!]

[Noob here with a quick question: how many hours does it take to reach the creator’s level? I played this genre as a kid and have a bit of experience, really itching to play now.]

[It’s a trap, don’t fall for it!]

[I’d say at least 200+ hours. Did you guys watch Y-jun’s stream? Took her a whole day and night just to clear it, and she spent the entire time getting beaten up.]

Y-jun was completely dazed right now.

She had grinded for a full day and night, only to get backstabbed by the official account.

As the developer of the game, the creator naturally knew every move inside and out, so pulling off a showcase like that was easy for him.

For ordinary players, or anyone who had never touched a fighting game before, it was a brutal ordeal.

Most would end up like her: trapped on defense taking hits, retrying each stage multiple times, and finally scraping through on pure luck.

Fortunately.

Her personal style was very distinct.

As soon as her video went up, it pulled in decent views and comments, and both were steadily climbing.

[Hahahaha, Y-jun plays just like me. Whenever she drops an input, she just twitches in place three times.]

[Y-jun, you finally admit you have clumsy hands!]

[Why is watching Y-jun get pummeled so entertaining? Hahahahaha!]

Her playthrough video and the official no-damage clear showcase didn’t actually conflict with each other.

Su Cheng’s gameplay was more like a template, an ideal standard.

To beat the game, players chose three characters from the roster, so different creators would naturally put out completely different runs.

…

[Why does it feel like the creator and I are playing two different games? Why do I only ever take hits? Creator, can you teach me how to pull off combos?]

[Wait a sec, isn’t this the account that uploaded 《King of Fighters》…? There are only two videos on the entire channel.]

[???]

[???]

Question marks flooded the bullet comments.

[Did the developer seriously make this damn game just to play it himself?]

[Holy crap, no wonder he played so well! He’s the actual developer!]

[I strongly suspect the developer made this solely for his own enjoyment!]

[Hand over the combo list right now!]

Looking at the notifications, Su Cheng felt both exasperated and amused.

What did they mean, made it just to play it myself?

He had only one goal in making games.

Making money!

Still, to boost sales, Su Cheng posted the movelists for Iori Yagami, Benimaru Nikaido, and Kyo Kusanagi, pinning them to the top of the comment section.

[That’s all the movelists I’m sharing for now. Players are welcome to explore and figure out the rest on their own.]

Why not post all of them?

Mainly because Su Cheng wasn’t proficient with that many characters himself.

His best picks were Lord Iori^[1], Chizuru, and Blue Mary.

Lord Iori and Chizuru were both ranked S-tier in difficulty; playing them well truly qualified as a visual feast.

Kyo Kusanagi’s tier rating was only B-rank.

Still, you couldn’t change the fact that Kusaue Kyo was the protagonist!

He was popular and plenty of people played him, so Su Cheng had actually started out with Kusaue Kyo as well.

As for Benimaru Nikaido, his execution barrier was relatively low, making him great for beginners. His inputs were simple, and his overall stats were solid.

If Benimaru Nikaido had one flaw, it was that his damage output was on the lower side.

That was precisely why Su Cheng had chosen these three characters.

Officially dubbed: “Left for players to explore on their own!”

More importantly:

Chizuru wasn’t in the ’94 or ’95 editions; she didn’t debut until the ’96 version.

As for Blue Mary and Orochi, they wouldn’t appear until ’97, which was the next version.

[Wait, is that really the developer?]

[When are you adding online multiplayer? I want to fight my friends.]

[Why does the game only have Acts 1 and 2 in the story? When is Orochi coming out?]

[I really want to play Chizuru. She has that cool, mature vibe.]

[I want to play Chizuru too. Who cares how strong she is? Looking cool is what matters forever!]

[Exactly, waifu material is top priority!]

[Besides, Chizuru is pretty strong too! Who wouldn’t love someone both powerful and gorgeous?]

[Hmph, even if Chizuru comes out, it won’t be until the next version. For now, Mai Shiranui is my waifu!]

[Mai Shiranui all the way!]

[Artists are already drawing portraits and doujinshi of Mai Shiranui…]

[Bold prediction: either it’s coming in the next update, or we’re getting a sequel.]

[Bro, this isn’t an MMO, it’s a 2D side-scrolling standalone game! It has to be a sequel!]

[Whether it’s a sequel or an update, development takes money! Everyone go buy it now, make it a hit!]

[Go, go, go!]

…

Soon, sales on the Steam platform surged vertically!

From twenty thousand copies at ten o’clock, they skyrocketed straight to sixty thousand!

【Congratulations, Host, on completing the [First Step on Blue Star] quest】

【Reward: 100 honor points】

Aside from the system rewards,

this surge from 《King of Fighters》 brought Su Cheng three hundred thousand Yuan after taxes, with money still steadily rolling in.

On top of the financial income, Su Cheng also received 64 honor points from the system’s settlement.

“Over sixty thousand copies sold, 64 honor points… That means for every thousand people playing my game, I earn 1 honor point?”

Combined with the honor points earned from completing the quest, Su Cheng now had a total of 164 honor points.

Honor points could be used to upgrade the game engine.

【Super Game Engine Lv.1 (164/1000)】

Upgrading to Lv.2 required 1,000 honor points, but the boost it provided would be immense.

However, with insufficient honor points, an upgrade was out of reach for now.

【Producer Store】

The store refreshed random items, primarily game-related assets.

They fell into five categories: CG, art, programming, sound effects, and design proposals.

There were currently three items available for purchase:

【King of Fighters Game Art Asset Pack (164/80)】

【King of Fighters Main Program Expansion and Optimization Pack (164/200)】

【King of Fighters Thrilling Sound Effects Pack (164/80)】

“All of them are for King of Fighters? So the system basically wants my next game to be King of Fighters 2?”

“The art is what everyone’s been complaining about. It doesn’t match the CG cutscenes at all, and people even accused it of hanging a sheep’s head to sell dog meat^[2]. The art asset pack is an absolute must-buy!”

“Get the sound effects right, and the game is already halfway to success. The thrilling sound pack is also a must-buy!”

“I can’t afford the main program expansion pack, but that doesn’t matter. I can develop it myself. It’s pretty straightforward anyway, plus I have the super engine to back me up.”

“Saving money is making money. The system took a massive loss on this one, while I made a killing!”

Su Cheng calculated in his head, preparing to start work on 《King of Fighters 2》.

He glanced at his wrist to check the time; it was already past nine in the evening.

He tossed aside his controller and pushed away the keyboard.

“I’m done for today! I’ll pick it back up tomorrow!”

“Whoever wants to work themselves to the bone can go right ahead!”

“I made three hundred thousand Yuan in a single week. Tonight, I’m going out to live it up!”