Chapter 172 Are You Sure This Is a Game for Children? Why Am I, an Adult, Having so Much Fun?

Ma Yang has been very depressed recently.

Seeing that I am about to turn 3, I have been dating my girlfriend for seven or eight years and have reached the stage of discussing marriage.

The mother-in-law asked for a gift of 300,000 yuan, and the girlfriend also bluntly said that she must buy an apartment in the center of Jianglin, even if it is to ensure that her children can enter a good school in the future.

A betrothal gift of 300,000 yuan + a car of more than 300,000 yuan + a house of about 2 million yuan.

Ma Yang looked at the deposit of less than 100,000 yuan in his bank account and felt miserable.

No, I'm just an ordinary citizen. I've been working since the Warring States Period and I can't save so much money.

Although the demands are very unreasonable.

But things like feelings are difficult to cut off with a single stroke, as the cold-eyed onlookers say.

In seven or eight years, they started talking about it since college. From her green eyes to now talking about money, Ma Yang has experienced too much.

What's more, Ma Yang thinks that's all he will do in this life.

In today’s society where wealth is extremely divided.

I only earn five to six thousand a month, so it would be great if I could find a partner.

If he blew it this time, he might have to be a bachelor for the rest of his life.

So, Ma Yang decided to give it a try.

I quit my job where my boss made numerous offers but failed to materialize even once, and I’m going to try my hand at starting my own business!

Before he left, his boss called him into the office for a heart-to-heart talk and said that if he was willing to continue working, his salary could be increased by another 200 yuan, and another 100 yuan after one year.

Ma Yang felt that he had made the bravest move in his life.

He stared at the boss angrily and yelled.

What about your mother?

Is 200 yuan enough to feed your dog?

Then, under the boss's disbelieving eyes, he strode out of the company.

I have been frustrated in the company for so long, working carefully every day, and for the first time, I feel relieved and happy from the bottom of my heart!

Soon, Ma Yang began to immerse himself in the enthusiasm and drive of entrepreneurship.

But it didn’t take long for the entrepreneurial dream to be shattered.

He did a lot of market research and selected some stores that could be opened with a capital of 100,000 yuan.

However, we found that these popular industries are basically overcrowded with practitioners.

Take the milk tea industry, which is currently more popular among young people, as an example.

For a slightly livelier street, just count the streets to the end.

Start with no less than 5 companies.

It's so complicated that you won't be able to earn a few cents evenly.

I looked at other industries.

Either the cost of opening a store is too high, or it is too unpopular and no one cares about it.

"Alas." Ma Yang had to sigh after another offline store visit to no avail.

These days, it is really difficult to earn enough money to get married by yourself without relying on your parents.

suddenly.

He saw a somewhat familiar figure passing by him.

After recalling it, Ma Yang hurriedly chased after him.

"Teacher Ke! Is that you?"

When Kejun came back from his relatives' house, he couldn't help but stop when he heard someone calling him from behind.

"Who are you……?"

"It's me! Ma Yang! Your former student."

It still feels strange at this moment.

I am in my fifties, and I am about to retire. I have taught so many students that I can’t recall any distinctive features.

"Your lectures used to be boring, and I always fell asleep in class. Do you remember?" Ma Yang recalled it for Kerjun.

Kejun: "..."

What you kid said, as soon as you opened your mouth, I felt that you would never be an official above a supervisor.

How can we chat like this!

Afterwards, the teacher and student had a little chat.

Although Kejun still didn't remember who he was, this kid could indeed tell some of the style characteristics of Jianglin 3, as well as the general situation of the classes he had been in.

Talking about the past, Ma Yang couldn't help but sigh.

More than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye, and I was very average in the class back then.

I didn’t expect to leave society.

Still so ordinary.

In addition, I had too many things to worry about recently, so I talked to Kejun about it.

As someone who has been through this, the teacher may understand him somewhat, and maybe even give him some advice.

"...That's what it is. Teacher Ke, you are well-informed. Do you have any good suggestions?"

And the next moment, his teacher suddenly spoke.

"Have you ever heard of Ready Player One?"

"Ah?" Ma Yang was startled, and then replied: "Have you heard of it? But I don't like playing games very much, and I have never learned about this game company. Alas, life is too stressful now. I don’t even have time to play games.”

"Then you should try their game. My son agreed after playing it." Kejun rummaged around in his trouser pocket.

Then he took out a palm-sized plastic box and placed it in Ma Yang's hand: "This is for you."

"By the way, you need to pair it with the recently launched game console called Xiheichi to play it, remember."

With that said, he patted Ma Yang on the shoulder again: "Xiao Ma, never give up hope."

After saying that, Kejun left in a hurry, thinking that he still had something to do.

Ma Yang was left standing alone in the wind.

ah?

No, it's not...

teacher.

I'm asking you if you have any good solutions... What are you going to do by giving me a copy of the game...

Is it time to play games now...

And he looked down at the appearance of the plastic box.

A short man in the shape of a plumber jumped up and made a throwing motion.

A red hat appears in the center of the picture.

Full of cartoon style.

Ah this...

A kid's game?

Teacher Ke, I am almost 30 years old, you give me this... this?

By the way, Mr. Ke, aren’t you a middle school teacher? How did you become a game salesman?

Ma Yang, who really couldn't understand Teacher Ke's strange words and deeds, watched him disappear into the vast sea of ​​people.

He shook his head helplessly, put the small box into his pocket, looked at the night sky, and headed back home.

As soon as he returned to his rental house, he saw his girlfriend lying on the sofa with her iPad in her arms, laughing and joking about a romantic idol drama.

Especially after seeing the handsome young character in the play having some ambiguous contact with the heroine, I screamed with excitement.

"Get off work so early today?" Ma Yang said with a smile while changing his shoes: "Speaking of which, I met an old acquaintance when I went out today. Guess who it is? Haha! My former teacher, before leaving, he also gave me a gift I am alone..."

Just didn't wait for him to finish speaking.

His girlfriend, who was smiling just a moment ago, immediately lost her smile when she saw him coming back. She got up and walked toward the bedroom in her slippers.

Before entering the bedroom, he said coldly.

"My mother said that if we can't come up with the wedding gift by October at the latest, then let's break up."

‘Bang’

Accompanied by a dull sound of the door closing, the two people living under the same roof were separated.

Ma Yang stood alone in the living room, his expression a little sad.

He knows it too.

His girlfriend's words were not giving him a chance.

Instead, it was a showdown with him.

October is only a little over a month away.

There is no way I can get that much money.

Not to mention the house and car, it was just a gift of 300,000 yuan. I had saved it for several years, but now it only had 100,000 yuan.

My parents are ordinary workers and are very old. If I ask, they will help me.

But if you want to collect the money for the betrothal gift, you may have to resort to asking relatives for money.

In order to get married, Ma Yang couldn't force his elderly and frail parents to have a hard time.

"Just divide it." Ma Yang whispered.

To be honest, Ma Yang didn't blame his girlfriend too much. She went from a young girl who said she wanted to be with him forever in school to a stranger she almost doesn't recognize now.

A person must pursue something throughout his life.

And money is exactly what most ordinary people pursue.

Ma Yang can understand.

However, understanding does not mean that he will not be depressed.

The unspeakable feeling of suffering always lingered in his heart.

"Well, living as an adult is so tiring." Lying on the sofa, Ma Yang stared at the ceiling chandelier in trance.

What were you like as a child?

He was laughing and joking heartlessly. On weekends, he would either go to the arcade with his friends or play marbles in the park downstairs. Any movement would arouse his curiosity and desire to explore.

The whole world is new to me.

And I will always be carefree and never worry about the arrival of a new day.

But now, when I wake up every morning and open my eyes, I feel that countless responsibilities and pressures fall on my shoulders.

Every day at night, I will even be afraid of the arrival of tomorrow, forcing the inevitable problems to get closer.

I can't even remember the last time I laughed.

"It would be great if I could go back to the past." Ma Yang just sighed and wanted to change to a comfortable lying position, but something in his pocket made him feel uncomfortable.

He took out the game cartridge that Teacher Ke had given him for no reason and looked at it.

The bright saturation of the fairy tale-style game cover made him think that this was a game played by children.

"Speaking of which, I don't know what level of games today's children are playing after more than 20 years."

"It's almost impossible to watch cartoons for young people nowadays. As for games... they might not be as good as I used to be."

After pouting, Ma Yang still picked up his phone and searched.

There must be a place to vent excessive pressure.

Other ways to vent are too expensive, and even children’s toys now easily cost hundreds or even thousands.

Games may be a good choice.

Moreover, the game cartridges were all given to me.

"Well, games are also very expensive..." Ma Yang looked at the price of Switch.

Seeing the price of 2599, I felt helpless.

Poor guys really don't deserve any entertainment these days...

But then I thought about it.

I used to save money and buy cosmetics for my girlfriend that cost several thousand yuan a set, but in the end, I wasted nothing.

If you think about it, you might as well buy a game console.

At least you can still sell it if you're not interested in it later.

Furthermore, it has been too long since I have loved myself properly, and I am reluctant to eat or wear anything.

We're going to break up anyway.

Our poor brother is also rich today! Make dumplings for dish vinegar!

Bought!

Let me know what children are playing now!

————

The next day.

Ma Yang, who resigned, did not go to work or do market research everywhere.

Give yourself a comfortable vacation.

After his girlfriend went to work, he got up and when he was brushing his teeth and washing his face, he found that the Switch he ordered yesterday had arrived.

After quickly washing up, I went downstairs to the express cabinet to get the machine, and I also brought up a bag of xiaolongbao and soy milk.

Open the package while eating.

As soon as the Switch with exquisite workmanship and smooth lines fell into his hands and after reading the manual, Ma Yang was amazed.

Whether the game is fun or not is another matter.

At least the functionality of this handheld console is much better than the red and white consoles I played when I was a kid.

The handle can also be detached and has a somatosensory mode.

It can also be connected directly to the TV.

Various senses of technology and humanity come to mind.

"At least the 2,599 spent is more valuable than buying cosmetics."

Soon, the Odyssey cassette was inserted according to the instructions.

Find the handle's detachment key.

Detach the Switch's home screen and controller.

After connecting to the TV, the game screen of "Odyssey" was officially displayed.

Start with a spaceship.

A villain who looks like a dinosaur but carries a turtle shell named Cool King kidnaps Mario's sweetheart, Princess Peach.

After several verbal provocations, Mario was knocked out, and he drove the spaceship away from the princess.

When Mario woke up, he found himself in a hat kingdom.

The residents here are all little white floating ghosts with soft and cute paintings, all wearing black top hats.

And even the roofs of the buildings here are wearing high hats similar to those of the ghosts.

Soon, a ghost in a white hat floated forward and claimed that his name was Kaipi. He said that after King Cool Buster kidnapped Princess Peach Blossom, in order to hold a grand wedding for Princess Peach Blossom, he flew to various countries around the world in a spaceship and planned to bring Princess Peach Blossom to her. Grab unique treasures from each country to decorate the wedding scene.

The first stop was the Kingdom of Hats, and Kaipi's sister was kidnapped. She was also a hat ghost, and was turned into a crown on the princess's head by Cool King.

Next, Cool King will have to look for a series of props such as wedding rings, wedding cakes, wedding suits, etc.

Kepi ​​expressed his hope to work with Mario to catch up with the spaceship and rescue the princess and her sister before the princess and Bowser held their wedding.

But currently, King Cooler's men still occupy the tallest castle in Hat Country.

If you want to go to the Waterfall Country to find a spaceship that can be pursued, you must first get rid of King Bowser's men.

At this point, the brief plot process ends, and the screen also shows a close-up shot of a tall cylindrical castle not far away, indicating that the player needs to get here next and start the first chapter.

"Let me tell you... this plot is really childish and just right." Ma Yang sighed slightly.

easy to understand.

In just two minutes, he explained clearly who the enemy was, what the main plot was, and what his motives were.

After all, if it is too complicated, the children will definitely not be able to understand it.

And it is this simplicity that allows Ma Yang to understand it without using his brain.

I've come here to play children's games, isn't it just to clear my mind and relieve stress?

Soon, Kepi transformed into the red hat on Mario's head and became Mario's only long-range attack method.

The operation is even more simple and easy to do at a glance.

Except for the directional joystick.

Just two contents.

One is jumping.

One is to throw a hat.

Then it was gone.

At least there is no more content for the current novice tutorial.

But what surprised Ma Yang was a little bit.

After learning to throw hats, it is not the enemy that allows players to review and strengthen their attack memory.

Instead, it is a short pillar inserted into the ground like a carrot...

Yes, the current screen prompts him to ‘try throwing a hat to attack’

After following the tutorial.

He threw out the red hat he wore on his head, and after spinning at high speed in mid-air, it was firmly attached to the top of the short column.

With the 'Bou Chi' sound, the short pillar was pulled up and disappeared into a ball of white mist.

And from the hole in the ground, gold coins were popping out one after another.

Inexplicably, Ma Yang felt a slight sense of joy in his heart.

Because the material itself of gold is associated with expensiveness.

Therefore, even if you see gold-colored gold coins in the game, you will still feel as if you have earned it after picking it up.

When the first dwarf pole is pulled up, the tutorial is temporarily over.

But Ma Yang looked around.

However, I discovered that there were several short pillars sticking straight into the ground in front of me.

He immediately controlled Mario to step forward, swung out the hats one by one and pulled them out one after another.

Soon, gold coins overflowed like a fountain.

He hurried forward to collect it.

And after completing this series of actions.

Ma Yang found several wooden boxes not far away.

This time, there is no system prompt.

But he still subconsciously ran to the wooden box and threw the hat.

Sure enough, this thing can also be broken.

And there are gold coins hidden inside.

As he walked forward, he collected gold coins. Half a minute later, Ma Yang suddenly saw several posters about Cool King posted on the wall of a building not far away.

It has a bit of a ‘come here’ feel.

But that's not the point.

The key is.

Ma Yang's sharp eyes discovered that in the gap of the poster that was swaying slightly in the wind, the luster of a gold coin came through the gap.

He hurried forward and threw his hat to tear the poster into pieces.

really!

There is a small sunken square hole in the wall of the building covered by this poster, like a secret passage, which is just enough for Mario, who is not very tall, to enter.

And there are piles of gold coins stacked inside! He is about the same height as Mario and has a strong visual impact.

"Humph, it has to be me! Anyone else might not be able to find it." He happily picked up the gold coin.

Although there are only a dozen in total, and I don’t even know what these gold coins are for.

But Ma Yang felt happy inexplicably.

Ma Yang thought for a while.

This happiness does not seem to come from collecting gold coins itself.

But it lies in...

"I hid the gold coins in this game, but I found them." Ma Yang raised his eyebrows slightly.

He felt that if these gold coins were clearly displayed on his face.

You might not even be interested in picking it up.

But whether it’s hidden under a pillar, inside a box, or behind a poster.

As long as it is discovered and obtained at this time, the happiness will increase exponentially.

The joy of exploration itself is more joyful than getting gold coins.

Because in this process, thinking and observation were put into it.

It also gives players more sense of participation.

'I made this happen' is far better than 'the game designer gave it to you for free'.

"Guigui, this game captures the psychological well. Is it still so important to play a game for children now?" Ma Yang muttered and continued on his way.

Soon, he discovered that his hat could not only pull out pillars, pack boxes, and tear down posters.

It can also pass through green leaves on the ground to cause them to bloom.

After lighting up all the surrounding flowers, you will also receive corresponding gold coin rewards.

When you reach a broken bridge leading to the castle, throwing the hat can activate the mechanism.

The entire process was pretty much spent doing different things with the hat.

"The guidance of this game is great." Although Ma Yang doesn't play games very much, it doesn't mean that he has never played games before.

In my own impression, many games like to embed various teachings when they first come out, such as how to attack, how to dodge, how to use skills, and how to combine.

I wish I could stuff them all into you in one go.

The game guidance in "Odyssey" is presented in a way that allows players to slowly explore and discover.

Strengthen players' understanding of hat usage.

And around this understanding, a certain gold coin feedback design was made.

It made Ma Yang feel like he was back when he was a child. Every time his grades improved or he performed well, he would be praised by his parents and teachers and feel happy.

At least in the ten minutes he had experienced before, he found that he played this child's game without any trace of impatience.

The sense of novelty is always maintained at a high level, making him want to go there.

Soon, as the mechanism was activated, the broken bridge leading to the castle rose.

Somatosensory mode also comes into play.

The teaching reminds him that he can keep shaking the joy-con handle to make Mario roll all the way along the narrow and steep broken bridge.

As Ma Yang gently shook his palm, Mario curled up with his head in his hands, and rolled down. The handle also buzzed, as if imitating the movement of rolling.

Until they arrived at the gate of the castle, they used the hat attack to defeat several yellow chestnuts blocking the way.

This time the guidance was even better.

The gate at the entrance to the castle no longer has the highlighting or text prompts of other striking objects at the beginning.

Instead, I drew a hat pattern directly on the gate.

No need to waste players' time, it can be understood at a glance.

This knowing game design looks very simple.

But we want to make it a gradual process, or let players think of how to solve it as soon as they see the pattern.

It's not as easy as imagined.

There are many games on the market today that have particularly poor starting instructions.

Either it is too detailed and boring, or it is too boring and boring. After players skip it, it will appear like "You have learned the basic attacks, come and try to defeat the ultimate devil with 18 sets of combination skills!" ’ sense of fragmentation.

Ma Yang threw out the hat in his hand and smashed the hat door directly.

After stepping inside, I discovered that there was a mystery hidden inside the castle.

It is a white space, and the road ahead is an irregular staircase leading up to the top of the castle.

It's just that Ma Yang encountered some minor problems.

He found that these steps all had a common feature.

That's too high.

With Mario's jumping height, he can't even reach half the distance of these platforms.

And soon, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of several frogs squatting in the open space next to them.

This time, there were no prompts.

But the well-guided "Odyssey" made Ma Yang immediately think of using the hat in his hand to try to interact.

But what he thought first was.

The hat attacks the frog, knocking it flying, and then jumps onto the platform by stepping on the frog's head.

The result is the moment when the hat is thrown out.

Ma Yang just found out.

Smaller.

My brain is running low!

Hey guys, this game lets you play the role of a frog!

When the hat flew towards the frog, Mario also turned into a light and shadow and was sucked into the frog's body, completing the possession.

Ma Yang's expression was exactly the same as that of Mario after possessing the frog, both were stunned.

"Can you still play like this?" After becoming an adult for a long time, Ma Yang found that he had gradually lost his imagination.

I could immediately think of a more cumbersome way to clear the level, but I couldn't think of the most direct and unimaginative way.

Play directly!

After being possessed, the frog's attributes will naturally become your own.

As an animal with excellent jumping ability.

Jump as Ma Yang presses lightly.

I saw Frog Mario jumping three feet high! Easily leaped over the platform that he could not reach just now.

The height of the jump even forced the camera to zoom out.

During the jumping process, several golden circles will appear. As long as you get through the golden circles accurately, you will be rewarded with gold coins.

What surprised Ma Yang even more was.

This game actually takes the perspective issue into consideration!

Although it is a third-person perspective, the player's perspective will be limited due to Mario's height.

Naturally, no more visual field information can be observed.

For Mario originally, the wall next to him might be just a wall.

After transforming into a frog, as the field of vision is zoomed out, you will find a platform on top of the wall with a pile of gold coins hidden on it.

This is very interesting.

It belongs to the information gap that is hidden.

It allows players to collect information that cannot be collected by their original identity even if they put aside their abilities and just stand there without moving.

There will be a clear sense of improvement.

With the help of several frog jumps, you can easily reach the top of the castle tower.

Along the way, you will meet residents of the Hat Country living on the top of the tower. From their brief conversations, you can learn that King Cooler's men are on the huge platform at the top of the castle and have cut off the cable communication between the Hat Country and the outside world.

Now the entire Hat Country is in a power outage, and the little ghosts are miserable.

And when Ma Yang manipulated Mario to come to the top platform.

I saw a spaceship floating overhead.

Four ugly rabbits, who call themselves "Brudarz" and want to help Bowser successfully complete the wedding, block the player's way.

Soon, a fat rabbit wearing a green suit and a green gentleman's hat jumped out of the spacecraft.

Obviously, we have to fight the BOSS.

At first, Ma Young thought "Odyssey" would be like countless other traditional games.

Get a health bar for the BOSS.

Then the player avoids the BOSS's attacks while looking for opportunities to throw hats, slowly wearing down the BOSS's health line until victory is achieved.

But soon, the number one player impressed Ma Yang again with his impressive imagination.

The BOSS does not have a health bar display, but is presented with three hats on its head.

Every time a player hits a BOSS, it will not directly damage the BOSS itself.

Instead, it will knock off a tall hat on his head.

The fallen hat will slide back and forth like a curling stone in the enclosed circular combat area, causing obstacles to players.

When the player has accumulated three attacks, all the BOSS's hats will be removed.

Revealing the big rabbit head that is out of place.

The attack method at this time is no longer throwing hats.

But jump high! Then……

Step on his head!

"Bang!"

As Mario jumped up and stepped hard, the BOSS fell to the ground with stars in his eyes. It was extremely funny, and the overall style of the painting was still full of cartoon flavor.

In the second stage, the BOSS will increase the number of hats on his head, making them pile high.

And the attack method will take itself as the center of the circle and start spinning crazily on the ground like a compass.

Once swept by a hat, Mario will lose a heart.

Players need to quickly knock off the hats on his head to reduce his circular attack area.

It can be said that the design of the entire BOSS process is childlike and novel. Ma Yang, who has a stereotype of attacking bosses and believes that attacking bosses is "either with magic, swords, or skills," experienced novelty and fun for the first time.

After several operations.

After quickly solving the BOSS and beating it away, the cable at the top of the castle will be untied.

Perhaps there is a lesson learned from the past.

Ma Yang habitually threw his hat towards the end of the cable.

It was just a subconscious move at first, because almost the interaction method in this game so far is to throw hats.

But the next moment.

The cap is attached directly to the cable.

Mario was also under Ma Yang's helpless gaze.

It actually turned into a current and penetrated into the cable!

With the constant trembling of the handle, the current surges along the wire towards the city further away!

Until Mario's figure becomes further and further away.

The game's title LOGO finally slowly emerged at this moment.

"Super Mario: Odyssey" is presented with several cartoon fonts with rich and conspicuous colors, and in the center of the LOGO there is a scaled-down version of a water-blue planet intertwined with ocean and land.

The red hat that runs through the core of the entire game surrounds the planet, throwing out a bright red tail like a comet.

It seems to indicate that this will be a long journey.

A somewhat epic orchestral music sounded in my ears.

Ma Yang's eyes widened as he looked at the screen, with an expression of disbelief on his face.

"ah?"

no.

Am I ignorant or something?

Are all kids playing games of this quality these days?

The Mario Surprise I bought last week just arrived today and I have been using it for a while.

It's quite fun for me to play so far. I don't know what will happen in the future. I personally feel that it may not be able to surpass Odyssey.

But the chorus of surprise flowers in the second level is quite Disney-style. You really smile while playing, and the joy and joy overflow the screen. (If you are interested, you can search on station B and search for the keywords "Mario: Surprise". You should also be able to find similar videos)

I have to admire Laoren as a company that really knows how to make a game that makes people happy.