Chapter 6: Plans
After Leo returned home in the evening, he ordered some food and ate it before going to sleep.
Meanwhile, his game continued to make a bigger splash globally, becoming most popular among teens. Many teens spent their free time playing the game and comparing scores with friends.
Additionally, Leo had added numerous contents to the game, providing ample exploration for teens. It had already reached the top spot on the trending list and entered the Top 100 most downloaded games. It was poised to climb even higher.
With its rising popularity, the game began to generate significant revenue. In a world where good games were highly appreciated, people readily supported developers. Moreover, the game's abundance of resources allowed players to make in-game purchases.
On February 5, 2012, Leo checked messages on his mobile. Due to the game's popularity and his recent appearance at a party, many developers knew about him. Among the messages were congratulatory notes from other developers.
After finding nothing of interest, Leo closed his mobile and sat in front of his computer. With his first game completed, he only needed to wait to accumulate enough System points to purchase additional game packs.
His plan was to start with a game knowledge F pack to recreate a popular game from his previous life, Candy crush. Since the game didn't require high-end graphics, the F pack would suffice.
Despite not needing advanced resources, Candy crush had been immensely popular in Leo's previous life, even among older generations.
In the following days, discussions about the Temple run game dominated teen conversations, leading to a surge in downloads. By February sixth, the game had surpassed 50 million downloads, generating 200 million in revenue and earning Leo 200 System points.
Leo opened the system interface:
System points - 257
Name - Leo
Age - 21
Developer Level Assessment - None
He accessed the System Shop:
System Milestone
Memory Tablet/Capsule - 50 SP [Allows the user to remember everything about a specific game they've played]
Game Knowledge [F] - 200 SP [Provides all game-related knowledge of rank F]
Game Knowledge [C] - 700 SP [Provides all game-related knowledge of rank C]
Specific Game Knowledge [?] - 400 SP [Grants all knowledge about a specific game, limited to level C]
Leo selected the Game Knowledge F pack and made the purchase. Instantly, he felt drowsy, a sharp pain assaulting his mind before he lost consciousness.
A few minutes later, he woke up feeling refreshed. Moreover, he had gained a massive amount of knowledge about game development. It felt as if he had developed low-level games many times before. Now, he felt confident that he could create any low-level game himself.
Afterward, he took a shower and began working on Candy Crush.
In the game, players had to complete levels by swapping colored pieces of sweets on a board to make matches of three or more of the same color, thereby eliminating those sweets from the board and replacing them with new ones.
Matches of four or more sweets created unique sweets that acted as power-ups with greater abilities. Boards had various goals to complete to clear the level.
As it was primarily a puzzle game, there weren't many tasks to perform; he only needed to handle small details, as many aspects were managed through the game engine. He focused on level designs and creating art for the sweets. Additionally, he incorporated different special effects for the unique sweets.
Two days later, he had completed the game, although he had to rely on a Memory capsule because there were many things he couldn't recall properly. He had only managed to create levels up to 10,000 in the game.
After some polishing, he uploaded the game globally. This time, his game would be available worldwide within a day.
The next day, players received a notification while playing Temple Run, informing them that the developer of Temple Run had released a new game.
Players were surprised because just a few days ago, he had released Temple Run, and now he had launched a new game.
Upon checking out the game, they were intrigued. Despite the abundance of puzzle games in the market, there were none with this particular concept. It offered a fresh take on the puzzle genre.
However, some players were disappointed upon discovering that the game was of the puzzle type. They had anticipated something more akin to the fun of Temple Run, so their expectations weren't entirely met.
Nevertheless, to support the developer and explore different types of puzzle games, many still gave it a try. Despite the lukewarm initial reception, many people purchased the game. Furthermore, it was priced reasonably at just $5.
Many expected the game to perform averagely in the market. No one anticipated it would gain popularity comparable to Temple Run.
But the following day, people were taken aback by its increasing popularity. Not only that, but it also appealed to older demographics.
Moreover, as players delved deeper into the game, they became increasingly engaged. People were astonished by the sheer number of levels available. Its simplicity made it suitable for playing even during work hours.
As a result, the game's downloads skyrocketed rapidly.
February 11,
Leo had just finished breakfast and was scrutinizing the downloads and revenue of the two games, Temple Run and Candy Crush.
While he was busy perfecting Candy Crush, Temple Run had skyrocketed in popularity. It remained at the top spot in trending lists, ranked among the top 10 free games, and was among the top 15 most-downloaded mobile games, boasting over 400 million downloads, with its popularity still on the rise. Leo speculated that by the end of February, the game would have reached billions of downloads.
Currently, Temple Run had generated over 1 billion dollars for Leo, potentially earning him 1000 SP, although he had already spent 200 SP on purchasing the game knowledge pack F.
His other game, Candy Crush, was also performing admirably with over 20 million downloads, resulting in revenue exceeding 100 million dollars, which translated to 100 System points.
Presently, Leo's total SP count stood at 928.
With this balance, he could afford to purchase game knowledge pack C, which he planned to utilize for developing Mine Craft. However, he anticipated that the development process might be time-consuming.
Although he had considered creating a battle royale game, Leo dismissed the idea due to the complexity of developing such a game for PC, which required advanced game development skills. He foresaw potential disadvantages if he pursued a mobile version first, fearing it could lead to others copying the concept and eroding the player base before he could launch a PC version. Instead, Leo decided to focus on Mine Craft initially, aiming to create both PC and mobile versions simultaneously.
Given that Mine Craft was an open-world survival game, Leo believed it would be challenging for others to replicate without encountering copyright issues.
After careful consideration, Leo resolved to prioritize Mine Craft for PC development, intending to expand to its mobile version thereafter.
Taking stock of his plans, Leo accessed the system.
System points: 928
Name: Leo
Age: 21
Developer Level Assessment: F
He proceeded to purchase game knowledge pack C. As he absorbed the new knowledge, he experienced the familiar discomfort, eventually fainting from the unbearable pain.
Upon awakening, Leo felt equipped with fresh game knowledge, confident in his ability to create games similar to Temple Run and even delve into developing low-level PC games.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone