Chapter 212: President Pei Is Defying Heaven Itself!
July 26th, Monday.
Shangyang Games.
Lin Wan pinched her nose as she continued testing Blood War Anthem, which she had been playing for two weeks now.
From her initial disdain and confusion, she had gradually come to realize—this type of game did have its reason to exist.
The original Blood War Anthem was a traditional pay-to-win game: rich players paid for the experience, while ordinary players accompanied them—either as lackeys, or as punching bags.
It was essentially "those with money bring the money, those without money bring themselves."
Such pay-to-win kingdom war games were often riddled with negativity, and the biggest problems were unfairness and the deliberate creation of hostility.
These two points were the very reasons games of this genre always carried such a terrible reputation.
Unfairness meant that combat power was entirely tied to how much you recharged—the more you spent, the stronger you became.
Game companies divided a single game into different "tiers," and the amount you recharged determined the kind of experience you got.
If you spent enough, you could slaughter everyone else, completely trampling the experiences of other players.
And this unfairness easily bred negative emotions among players. After all, as the saying goes: "It's not poverty people resent, but inequality."
As for the deliberate creation of hostility—that was where many game companies intentionally designed mechanics to provoke players' competitive urges, in order to drive more spending.
Take kingdom wars, for example.
Whoever captured the royal city became king. The whole server would broadcast the news, and that player's faction would receive tons of rewards. It was the perfect opportunity to flaunt in front of the entire server.
Naturally, several wealthy players all wanted to be king. But there was only one throne—so the only way to compete was by outspending each other.
You spent 10,000, I spent 30,000. You spent 50,000, I spent 100,000—
In this endless cycle of one-upmanship, the whales fought against each other with piles of fake numbers, all while being toyed with by the developers.
And once a new version came out, with new equipment—no matter how much you'd spent before, you had to spend again, or else be left behind.
After a year or two, many who had sunk huge amounts of money into the game would look back and feel nothing but emptiness.
But then—why were such games still so popular?
Precisely because they constructed worlds that were complete, rich, and full of varied dynamics.
Traditional MMORPGs were trying to do the same thing—for example, Fantasy World. It also had guilds, with leaders, officers, dungeon raid commanders, and battlefield strategists. Players likewise took on roles within a hierarchy.
But pay-to-win kingdom war games like Blood War Anthem pushed this role-play to an even deeper level. The interpersonal relationships were more intricate, the layers of hierarchy even more numerous—making the immersion stronger.
The only difference was that in Fantasy World, a player's sense of presence came from their playtime and understanding of mechanics. In a pay-to-win war game, it came from how much they spent.
Now, with the new version of Blood War Anthem, the developers had cut away as many monetization elements as possible.
As a result, the negative emotions of the players were greatly reduced—dropping to the level of a traditional MMORPG like Fantasy World.
Meanwhile, the game's complex hierarchy and social relationships remained intact. Every player could take on different roles, allowing the game world to function like a miniature society.
For example, the "Chosen One" system in kingdom wars gave everyone the chance to step into a pivotal role—an experience other games simply could not replicate.
After being chosen by the "Chosen One" system, that player's combat power would instantly crush all others, giving them the exhilarating sensation of mowing down countless enemies.
Of course, hack-and-slash games could also simulate this feeling—but in those games, you were cutting down NPCs, just lines of code. In Blood War Anthem, however, you were cutting down real people. Behind every ID stood another living player.
To stride across the battlefield unstoppable, to help your side capture key strongholds—that was a chance to show off in front of hundreds of players. The sense of accomplishment was something other genres simply couldn't match.
Thus, the recent overhaul of Blood War Anthem was essentially this: keep the unique thrills of a pay-to-win game, while cutting out as much of the toxic content that bred negativity as possible.
And this, Lin Wan had only come to understand after playing every day, chatting with players in groups, and immersing herself in their community.
"So that's how it is… It seems I was naïve before, never realizing there were such layers to this genre."
"Now I understand why so many whales would rather throw money into this than play a traditional MMORPG like Fantasy World."
"In that case, President Pei's true goal is clear."
"Why did he acquire the heavily loss-making Shangyang Games?"
"Because he wants to use Blood War Anthem to attempt something incredibly risky—a grand experiment that no one has ever tried before!"
"President Pei wants to free players from being slaves to money. He wants to reshape their tastes, to let even those who don't spend a cent experience the same thrills once reserved only for whales…"
"That motive… can only be called noble!"
"No, more than noble—this is defying the will of heaven itself!"
Lin Wan once again found her understanding of President Pei refreshed.
The reason pay-to-win games raked in so much money was because they sold, at sky-high prices, a kind of exclusive, custom-tailored experience.
Whether it was a pair of gleaming golden wings, or the coveted title of King in a kingdom war—these were nothing but products designed specifically for whales. And those whales were more than willing to pay tens of thousands for them.
In this process, the game company profited immensely, the whales enjoyed their exclusive experiences—and the only ones harmed were the ordinary players forced to play along as cannon fodder.
But now, President Pei has chosen to stop chasing this money. He had taken those exclusive experiences back from the hands of whales, and redistributed them to ordinary players according to fair rules.
Wasn't this truly going against the natural order?
Lin Wan felt the weight on her shoulders grow heavier.
President Pei had poured enormous funds into producing the Blood War Anthem: Enhanced Edition, to shore up the game's only major weakness—its graphics. If this version succeeded, and coupled with Tenda's formidable promotional power, it might actually begin to reshape the distorted pay-to-win culture of the domestic market!
Of course, such a thought was idealistic. Pay-to-win games wouldn't disappear entirely—as long as whales kept paying, they would continue to exist.
But even if Enhanced Edition could merely purify the environment a little, could nudge players' tastes in a healthier direction, then that alone would be a tremendous act of merit!
Among developers, some knelt at the feet of whales, milking them with predatory mechanics; some, caring for their reputation, focused earnestly on creating single-player games.
But President Pei—having already achieved massive success in the single-player sphere—was still willing to wade into this muddy water, giving up vast profits, all for the sake of reforming players' tastes, to guide them away from slavery to money…
What kind of lofty spirit was that?
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