Building a Gaming Empire From Scratch

Of course, Lincoln didn’t accept all the Easter eggs that his employees wanted to add.

Some absurd ideas were rejected without further discussion.

For example, a girl excitedly suggested having a meteor shower in the sky every Friday night.

Lincoln ruthlessly rejected this proposal, that would be too ostentatious!

In the end, he only left her a single meteor.

There was also someone who wanted to add a car that couldn’t drive normally and could only jump forward.

Lincoln rejected this idea mercilessly, as this was supposed to be a realistic world setting!

If you want to add a super-bouncy car for a fun experience in the game, that’s fine.

But a car that jumps forward? Don’t you think that’s going too far?

The virtual world of “Assassins’ Alliance” was built based on the physical rules of the real world, with some adjustments.

This means that all items different from real-world rules need separate design

and simulation. To create a car that can jump around would bring countless interaction issues who knows where!

So, rejected!

After seeing all the heartwarming, outrageous, creative, or hidden XP Easter eggs from his employees, Lincoln began creating his own Easter egg.

His Easter egg was unique.

Most of the employees’ Easter eggs were simple objects or NPCs, and nothing on a large scale.

But Lincoln’s Easter egg was a big project.

He planned to add a hotel to the city, not just an ordinary hotel.

It would be an exclusive hotel for assassins—the Continental Hotel!

In his plan, “Assassins’ Alliance” was not just a linear single-player game with a storyline.

—Otherwise, there would be no need to create such a large city. And after the game’s release, the city would still receive updates at a certain frequency.

Lincoln arranged an amusement park for casual players to make friends and play games.

And for heavy-duty players who have completed the main storyline, Lincoln wanted to give them something to do.

In the main storyline, as players level up, they will receive numerous assassination tasks from the “Textile Factory,” the main base for assassins.

But at the end of the story, the player will destroy the Textile Factory and the organization it houses.

The Continental Hotel is where Lincoln planned to replace the Textile Factory and provide the players with assassination tasks.

—Of course, the refreshed tasks won’t be too many and will depend on the interns newly hired by Dream Cloud Studio.

These tasks will become a training ground for newcomers.

Moreover, the hotel will serve as a meeting place for heavy-duty gamers to interact.

After learning about the Esports competitions in this world, Lincoln also thought of creating some suitable competition formats, and the Continental Hotel might be used in these competitions.

Modifying the architectural model, adjusting the interior space structure, pulling out NPCs from the material library, setting occupations, languages, behavior patterns, and interaction logic.

Through the experience of developing “Assassins’ Alliance,” Lincoln has become adept at doing these things.

However, while working on it, he suddenly thought of something.

“Mavis, do you want to leave an Easter egg in this world as well?”

“Ah? Can Mavis do that?” Mavis suddenly appeared next to Lincoln, looking at him with surprise and excitement. Star-like effects were twinkling around her pink head.

“Of course, you can.” Lincoln ignored the special effects and reached out to rub Mavis’ little head.

Mavis affectionately rubbed her head against Lincoln’s hand, but her words were not as cute: ‘Yay! Then Mavis wants to bring a Spaceship into this world!”

Lincoln’s hand immediately stopped, “Come up with something more reasonable!”

Mavis obediently changed her mind: “What about the giant dragon Mavis showed Master that day! Can we put it in?”

Lincoln almost laughed: “This is a realistic game! It’s not impossible to have some supernatural Easter eggs, but they must not be too eye-catching, otherwise they will steal the show!”

“Really?” Mavis was a bit reluctant.

“Just think about it.” Lincoln patiently explained to Mavis, ‘Everyone is trying hard to do tasks experience, practice shooting, and improve then

proficiency, just for a more powerful gun. Then suddenly, a giant dragon flies into the city and starts spewing fire. Where’s the players’ interest in playing with their pathetic little pistols?”

“By that time, the game’s entire reward system and leveling system will lose their appeal to the players. They won’t think about completing tasks for rewards, they’ll only think about how to kill the dragon or take it for a ride. Is there any point in continuing playing the game then?”

Mavis sulked and said, “Okay, Mavis understands. Let Mavis think about it again.”

Lincoln nodded and turned back to continue perfecting the Easter egg for the Continental Hotel.

Mavis followed Lincoln closely, tilting her head to think about what to add in.

But even after Lincoln finished making the Continental Hotel, Mavis still couldn’t decide what kind of Easter egg to create.

As Lincoln prepared to pack up and leave work, Mavis finally came over and tugged at his sleeve.

In a weak and timid voice, she asked, “What about a small, huggable fire dragon?”

Lincoln was also helpless. The problem was that the fire dragon was such an iconic creature.

It was different from ghost cats, dwarfs, and unicorns. It couldn’t blend into a realistic background at all, and its appearance would be very jarring.

Seeing Mavis’s persistence with the fire dragon, he came up with an idea:

“Mavis, how about we make a giant, fire-spewing fire dragon firework?”

“A giant fire dragon firework?” Mavis’s eyes widened as she thought about it, and suddenly leaped in joy, “Yay! Master is the best! Mavis is going to make the biggest and best fire dragon firework!”

Seeing Mavis’s happy expression, Lincoln couldn’t help but feel happy as well.

He unusually didn’t chase the employees off work and instead started designing the fire dragon firework with Mavis.

Lincoln spent more than an hour with Mavis on this large firework, and Mavis finally clapped her hands with satisfaction, “Done! Mavis is so happy!”

Lincoln looked at the giant fire-breathing dragon firework in the sky and contentedly rubbed Mavis’s head.

“Alright, let’s go home.”

As Lincoln left Dream Cloud Studio, he saw Yue Pengju’s surprised look.

“What’s the matter? What’s with that look?” Lincoln asked curiously.

“Nothing.” Yue Pengju honestly replied, “It’s just the first time I’ve seen you leave work so late.”

Lincoln gave him a strange look and then took out his mobile phone to check the time.

Mavis had already lit up the screen for him, displaying the current time:

[18:10]

Is this late?

Lincoln looked up again at Yue Pengju’s expressionless face, unsure whether the comment was a neutral statement or a sarcastic remark.

Yue Pengju, true to his professional training, maintained a straight face, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking by looking at his face.

Too bad Lincoln didn’t need evidence to take action.

“Let’s go! The Chongqing Hot Pot Restaurant! Today, I’m treating! We’re going to have the Nine Grid Hot Pot!”

Hearing this, Yue Pengju’s eyelids twitched and gained a deeper understanding of Lincoln’s cunning.

Because Lincoln himself couldn’t eat spicy food either, but compared to that, Yue Pengju was even worse off.

If Lincoln ate a Nine Grid Hot Pot, the most he would experience was sweating,

runny nose, and teary eyes.

But when it came to Yue Pengju, he might have to develop a close relationship with his home toilet.

A classic case of injuring the enemy a thousand times while also suffering eight hundred losses!