Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!

Gu Fan felt his back drenched with sweat.

He hurriedly checked the basic gameplay and related data for Rotating Blocks.

After that, he found that there seemed to be no difference in the basic gameplay between Rotating Blocks and Tetris!

If there was any difference, it was that these two games seemed to have different levels of popularity.

The popularity of Tetris was unquestionable, with cumulative sales reaching 520 million; it could almost be said that the vast majority of people in the world had played it. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

In this world, however, the cumulative sales of Rotating Blocks were only 230 million, and it seemed to have a certain gap in popularity as well.

But no matter what, it was still one of the most classic games in this world.

How could he insert a bug into such a stable, mature, and simple set of game rules??

Any change would be like a louse on a bald head, visible at a glance, right?

Gu Fan silently prayed, hoping that Lilith would switch to another game, at least something more complex to tamper with!

However, Lilith made a decision on the spot.

"I’ve made up my mind, this is it!

"I’ll give you a detailed design proposal later."

After saying this, Lilith quickly disappeared.

This time she didn’t take any chips or cola, but Gu Fan could sense that she stood tall and proud, seemingly full of fighting spirit.

"Damn it!"

Seeing Lilith leave, Gu Fan also hurriedly began researching Rotating Blocks, hoping to find a reliable breakthrough.

...

...

The next evening, Lilith brought the new game’s design proposal.

She seemed full of fighting spirit, with the previous gloom swept away.

Gu Fan tentatively asked, "Did Lucifer... praise you again?"

Lilith appeared somewhat surprised: "How did you know?"

Gu Fan couldn’t help but criticize internally, was it that hard to guess?

However, he still said smilingly, "Oh, it was just a wild guess. After all, you’ve done such good work in the Human World, and even under Michael’s deliberate obstruction, you still managed to collect negative emotions. It’s only right that Lucifer gave you recognition."

Lilith couldn’t help but straighten her back: "That’s right!

"Right after I returned, I immediately reported this new discovery to Lucifer.

"Michael’s direct and crude interference shocked Old Lu too. But after careful analysis, he also agreed with my view: the only one who could disrupt our plans so inconspicuously with ’coincidences’ is Michael, the strongest Archangel, no one else!

"I was originally depressed because the negative emotions collected were below expectation, but now it seems that I’m a genius for achieving such results even with Michael personally trying to thwart me!

"Old Lu also gave me recognition and affirmation, and up to now, I’m the most outstanding demon in Hell!

"So, there’s no need for me to be depressed; I should actually be happy!

"Here, this is the new game’s design."

Gu Fan reached out to take the design draft and glanced at the name of the game.

Against Heaven Blocks!

What a straightforward and forceful name.

The design proposal itself had only two pages, and the rules were very simple and clear, so it took Gu Fan less than five minutes to read through them.

According to the requirements of this mini-game design contest, participants had to make certain modifications to Rotating Blocks, but not change its core gameplay.

Afterward, the entries would be judged by seasoned judges from various fields.

The rules of the original Spinning Blocks were simple enough, consisting of variously shaped blocks falling and combining through rotation, with completed lines disappearing and scoring accumulative points based on the number of lines cleared.

Moreover, players could choose to "hold" a block and use it at a specific moment.

The modifications to Rotating Blocks that Lilith designed in Heaven Defying Block were not many, just three.

First, it introduced the "Angel’s Descent" feature.

Whenever players clear blocks and reach a certain score, the "Angel’s Descent" effect is automatically triggered, adding a certain number of "garbage blocks" at the very bottom.

Second, a "Network Mode" was added.

In Network Mode, 2 to 10 players are allowed to play online games together.

This mode also features the "Angel’s Descent" effect, which adds a certain number of "garbage blocks" at the bottom of the player’s field, but it also adds "garbage blocks" to the bottom of the other players’ fields, albeit half the amount.

Third, the "Block Generation Rules" were slightly adjusted.

Besides that, there were some insignificant details in the document, such as making the falling blocks more realistic by simulating free fall, and having a slight collision effect when the blocks hit the ground, etc.

After reading through the proposal, Gu Fan said, "The changes aren’t many."

Lilith smiled slightly, confidently saying, "Indeed, the changes are few, but they are sufficient for harvesting negative emotions!

"Alright, since you asked earnestly, I’ll explain it to you."

Inwardly, Gu Fan muttered, "When did I ask earnestly? You just wanted to show off!"

But he didn’t say much, just pretending to listen attentively.

Lilith explained, "Your main task next month is recruitment; you won’t have too much time to develop games.

"Therefore, I minimized the modifications to the game.

"However, although the changes are few, they are critical!"

Lilith said with great pride, "According to Rotating Blocks’ original design, positive emotions would certainly overshadow negative ones.

"But these three rules I designed will significantly increase the negative emotions generated by players!"

She pointed to the first two rules, "When players reach a certain score, the game should give a ’positive feedback’ to match intuition, but I chose to provide a ’negative feedback’ instead!

"Players who are doing well, reaching the score requirement, and triggering ’Angel’s Descent,’ only to receive garbage blocks, will inevitably generate a lot of negative emotions.

"In Network Mode, it’s even worse. ’Angel’s Descent’ is annoying not only for oneself but also for others, a classic case of a lose-lose situation. All players involved will be on the brink of a breakdown!

"This way, won’t negative emotions continuously be generated?"

Gu Fan silently gave a thumbs up, indeed worthy of being the demon best at creating games in Hell, truly impressive!

Theoretically, "Network Mode" should have been a "zero-sum game."

If one person is happy, another person suffers.

But Lilith had transformed it into a "negative-sum game."

Everyone is miserable, no one is happy!

And this modification was precisely accomplished through the "Angel’s Descent" mechanism. Once a certain score is reached, it automatically adds garbage blocks to both oneself and the other players, with oneself receiving even more.

In other words, under "specific score" conditions, where the game should award a bonus, it instead hands out a penalty.

This indeed sounds like it could break players’ defenses, creating a massive amount of negative emotions.

After some thought, Gu Fan asked again, "What about this third change? What does ’a simple adjustment of the block generation rules’ mean?"

Lilith revealed a devious smile, "I ask you, what’s another name for this game?"

Gu Fan was puzzled for a moment, "Is there another name? I was not aware of that."

Lilith smiled slightly, "Then I’ll ask a different question. Where does the main fun of this game come from?"

Gu Fan thought for a moment, "The main source of fun... should be stacking blocks very high, then waiting for a long piece to come and clearing four lines in one go.

"For most players, that moment is probably the happiest time when playing Rotating Blocks."

Lilith confidently stated, "Exactly! So for many players, Rotating Blocks is also known as ’Waiting for the Long Piece’!

"Most players choose to stack other blocks first, leaving a gap, then as soon as a long piece arrives, they can clear four lines at once and score the maximum bonus points.

"This behavior is determined by the game’s underlying rules: The more lines you clear at once, the higher the score multiplier.

"So, I added a new rule: The more lines a player accumulates, the lower the probability that a long piece will appear.

"Once a certain threshold is reached, the probability of a long piece showing up drops to zero!

"In other words, when players intentionally build their blocks high and purposely leave a gap, the long piece they are waiting for will never come!

"As a result, even if they clear lines with other blocks, they will continue to generate negative emotions!"