Chapter 33

Learning Makes Me Happy

Spore Evolution’s Beta Test 2.0 had commenced.

The Internet had been keeping a close watch on the development of this game. Even the other online game giants were paying close attention. From their point of view, the game definitely had an appalling team skilled in the use of black technology to support its operation behind the scene. This allowed the incorporation of such alarming techniques that could stimulate the players’ five senses in a virtual setting. This game could be used to realize a second world.

Just by looking at the super-realistic graphics of the sandbox, as well as the physics engine of this game, it seemed likely that several supercomputers had been used in order to manage the operation of this sandbox world and perfectly achieve the infinite possibilities of evolution that the countless species could choose from.

According to the modeling and analysis of relevant professionals from the gaming industry, a game server with a hundred people would need three supercomputers to perfectly simulate such a realistic environment.

What concept was this?

This meant that on average, every thirty people would have one supercomputer committed to serving them!

Given how advanced technology was at present, a supercomputer would at least cost more than 20 million yuan, and most large online games could not afford it. A server that was built with the use of a supercomputer could run multiple online games at the same time.

And now, a game with only a hundred players was using three supercomputers, which was worth over sixty million dollars. This meant that on average, every beta test player was using up six hundred thousand yuan worth of computing resources! A player’s real-time computing capacity was comparable to half of that of a large online game.

It was simply inhumane!

At this moment, everyone was waiting for “Spore Evolution” to open recharge channels for the purpose of salvaging costs.

In everyone’s opinion, this casual sandbox game, with its black technology, realistic simulation of five senses, and the fact that a single player’s data usage topped more than half the amount utilized by an online game, was definitely inclined towards catering to the most lavish game players, the tycoons of the gaming world.

It had even been speculated that the game’s monthly subscription fee, charged by the hour, would cost at least 50 thousand yuan or more for someone who played the game throughout the entire month.

A monthly recharge fee of 50 thousand yuan was definitely nothing to those tycoons who readily spent hundreds of thousands of yuan on recharging in online games, but to the average player, this was simply a nightmare. It was not a game they could afford to play.

But surprisingly, at the moment, “Spore Evolution” was not in a rush to recoup any cost, nor was it planning to open any payment channels. Instead, it opened up another 50 beta tester slots, which meant that it was directly adding two more supercomputers.

More than 40 million yuan thrown in without a second thought!

What extravagance!

This game was run in all conscience; it was extremely scrupulous in its way of operation thus countless free-to-play gamers had since become its diehard fans, But with the release of this update log, the game had once again shown how extremely hardcore it could be.

Very soon, a post analyzing the post on the update log stirred up the crowd on the Internet again.

“Hello everyone, it’s me again! Racer of Mount Haruna. Don’t ask me why I am always acting so quickly, for I am someone who drives myself around! Now, I’ll do an analysis of this update log. It’s definitely the most hardcore update in the entire history of gaming!”

“First of all, the topic that everyone’s most interested in, the added beta tester slots. This is truly a great act of conscience. There are already experts analyzing and concluding that the server of this virtual game would require several supercomputers to support its operation, so there is no need to delve into this aspect. Running a game with conscience, I really can’t praise it enough! It has my utmost support! While other games force players to spend money on recharging, this game is spending money to help you recharge! And mind you, each player uses up six hundred-thousand-yuan worth of computing resources just to play the game!”

“Secondly, there’s the topic on allocation of beta tester slots. You’ll actually have to submit a professional essay on evolution just to get a slot?”

“Having to write an essay just to play the game, could anything be more hardcore than this? You d*mn game designer, are you sure your purpose in creating this hardcore game is not to uplift the people’s knowledge level?”

“Third, the end-elimination system. This really pushed all the current beta test players to the verge of collapse. We are facing the possibility of losing our positions. Moving forward, we must learn how to love learning, in order to continue enjoying the game.”

“Lastly, there’s the achievement system. I don’t know what can be defined as a unique and powerful species, and I also have no idea what the rewards are. But with the way this game is planned, though extremely hardcore, yet run with due conscience, the rewards are definitely going to be good stuff! I’m really looking forward to it!”

“Well, that’s it for today’s evaluation. I’m going back to some hardcore gaming. I have to work hard in studying the evolutionary theory; I’m determined not to give up my beta tester’s slot.”

…

The Internet instantly became alive and buzzed with activity. Numerous netizens were discussing the game extensively.

The one aspect that countless people were most concerned about was the thesis.

It was to the dismay of some and the delight of others for a while. But no one really had too great an opinion to voice.

The computing capacity required for a single player was comparable to half that of the huge amount of data required of a large online game. So, what was wrong with making a player slot a little more precious and harder to attain? Mind you, it’s not like you are being charged for it.

“Learning makes me happy!”

“What my mother said was right. She told me that if I studied hard as a kid, I would be great at games in the future.”

Some hardcore gamers were very pleased with themselves and boasted that in order to wait for this moment where they were able to play the game, they had long begun cramming as much knowledge on evolutionary theory as possible, secretly staying up in the library to read relevant books, and now, the tester slot was bound to fall into their hands.

There were others who jeered at those who worked hard on the research work while they were simply acting like they were doing the same. “Seems like I have to hire someone to write the thesis on my behalf. It’s probably pointless for me to go on CNKI’s (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) website and plagiarize some foreign thesis. I have to go to the university to find a professional tutor, spend a hundred thousand yuan to get the tutor to write a professional thesis for me.”

“One hundred thousand yuan? That’s really funny! Now, the price of a tester slot is already worth a hundred thousand yuan on the black market! There’s really no telling how frightening this world can be. Tycoons are readily spending tens of millions on games!”

This game that had become a national phenomenon actually turned out to be a free sandbox farming game that was nothing like a beat ’em up at all.

Images of this phenomenal game could even be seen in some of the city libraries.

There were some people who frantically flocked to the libraries to specifically seek out difficult books on natural sciences for the purpose of acquiring knowledge about biological evolution. Their research began with a study of the Cambrian Explosion and moved onto the origin of species, the Cretaceous Period, and the Triassic period.

After all, even if later on, they no longer wanted to play the game, they could still upsell the slot for a hundred thousand yuan.

The activities in libraries had even attracted several local TV stations to broadcast news about the commotion. Many sociology experts who found this situation baffling were expressing their speculations. “With improved living conditions, many people have started to pursue mental satisfaction in terms of knowledge. This is a good phenomenon, but as to why they are specifically borrowing books on such a difficult subject like the science of natural evolution? Of course, it must be because this is the most challenging topic.”

But they ended up with egg on their faces as they soon came to find out that it was all because of a casual sandbox game, an amazing game by the name of “Spore Evolution”.

All of a sudden, all the experts were speechless.

Just to play a game? Are these people insane?

Before this, most people saw games as playthings that were nothing more than senseless addictions that would cause people to give up on learning. But the message of this game was simply hardcore; it was anti-human: Learning makes me happy?

“This is a good game.”

Many parents were casting approving looks at this game.

Every game with demands would correspond with countless brick moving parties. The gaming teams who specialized in gold farming for the tycoons also began to get to work. They put aside all online labor work that earned them so little for the great amount of work they had to do and began to study academic papers to acquire professional knowledge.

Xu Zhi watched his game top the list to become the most highly searched game. It became the hottest topic of discussion nationwide, but he was very calm in the face of all this fervor.

“I did not expect to see such an explosive result. Usually, the openings for beta testers of games don’t cause such an uproar. But connecting this to their speculations that the game makes use of supercomputers, and one supercomputer cost as much as twenty million yuan; as well as their speculation that every beta tester uses up six hundred-thousand-yuan worth of computing resources, this is really pure madness. Getting a slot is going to be the greatest gain.”

The next day, Xu Zhi received nearly a thousand professional theses.

His mailbox completely exploded!

These people were wildly passionate about wanting to play the game. In their theses, they went into great detail on their idea for their species, and also, how they would evolve their species. They wrote long essays that contained elaborate discussions, and they quoted from some of the famous scientific papers from both the country and abroad just to prove the feasibility of their proposed ideas.

The point they wanted to make was simple:

Mighty game planner, I have already figured out how to play this sandbox game. I have planned how I will evolve my species. All I need now is a spore to practice with. So hurry up and give me the slot!