When it comes to simulation, the more realistic the better, and the ultimate goal is to both match reality and transcend it.
In some sense, this game had clearly achieved this.
Finally, the characteristics of VR gaming gave this game extra points.
With the same theme, if it had been made as a PC game or mobile game, the sense of immersion would have been greatly reduced.
After all, on PC, players face a screen when playing games, and movement, dialogue, and interaction all have an unreal sense of separation.
But on the VR platform, this game fully utilized VR’s immersive quality and sense of presence. Players could walk around virtual rooms, freely observe every corner, and face-to-face communicate with NPCs.
Compared to other simulation games, it felt more realistic.
Many gameplay elements that might be boring on PC became enjoyable in VR, such as the action of scrubbing grease in the kitchen.
On PC, players could only swing the mouse to complete the wiping action, while in VR, players could make genuine wiping motions.
Other actions including opening windows, opening doors, and moving decorative items like vases in the room also had to be completed by the player personally. Only in VR could these actions be truly enjoyable.
Even a player like Ding Xiyao who didn’t often play games could appreciate its fun and found it addictively enjoyable, which was testament to the development team’s skill.
But the more she understood the game’s appeal, the more Ding Xiyao was puzzled by one question.
With such a good game, why was the promotional work so lackluster?
Originally, Ding Xiyao had no idea of the game’s specific content, so she couldn’t evaluate this promotional approach.
But now it seemed there were many other ways to promote this game!
For instance, releasing a short in-game video showcasing the dramatic transformation of a property before and after renovation; or holding a launch event letting well-known streamers try the game live.
At the very least, they could have made a beautifully crafted promotional CG!
Yet Meng Chang’s promotional approach was to film a live-action promotional video, focusing not on the game content at all, but using much of the time to show the hardships of a real estate agent’s work.
In the end, they didn’t even mention the game’s name, and even now many people thought it was a promotional video made by Residence Group.
The game was good, and the promotional budget wasn’t small, but this was the result?
Although Ding Xiyao owed her role as the female lead in the promotional video to Meng Chang’s efforts, this didn’t prevent her from feeling that Meng Chang’s promotional strategy was a failure.
“Forget it, this isn’t something I should worry about. The heads of various departments at Tenda are all very professional, perhaps there’s some special plan.”
Ding Xiyao didn’t dwell too much on this issue. After all, her opinion didn’t matter, and rather than worrying about these things, she might as well wait for the VR headset to finish charging and advance further in the game.
All that could be said was that this game was truly enjoyable!
…
…
November 28, Wednesday.
“Real Estate Agent Simulator” had been on sale for more than a day, and everyone at Tardy Studio had been closely monitoring the game’s situation.
On many gaming forums, players’ discussions about “Real Estate Agent Simulator” could be seen.
“This game is so fun! It’s absolutely addictive! After buying it yesterday, I played for more than four hours straight until my headset ran out of battery. I kept playing while it was charging—couldn’t stop at all!”
“Say no more, I’m going to buy liver protection pills right now.”
“It’s really addictive to play. I told myself repeatedly, ‘I’ll rest after closing this deal,’ but after closing it, I saw new property types, unlocked new furniture, earned enough money to learn new knowledge… before I knew it, several hours had passed!”
“After grinding for a whole day, I’ve basically figured out the game’s patterns. I think this game should really be called ‘Unscrupulous Agent Simulator’! To make more money, the best way is to choose the right property types and customers, then find ways to make tenants overlook the property’s flaws, find the right sales pitch—that’s how to make money quickly!”
“You dare call yourself an unscrupulous agent? That’s nothing! You should learn from me. Actually, all the furniture in these properties can be freely exchanged, stored in the warehouse, or used in other properties. My method is to extract these pieces of furniture, keeping only the minimum amount in each property, and distribute the furniture evenly. This way, I don’t have to buy new furniture and can save a lot of money!”
“I’ve selected the professions and identities of some ‘quality tenants.’ Everyone can check against this list. These people have higher psychological price expectations, so even if they negotiate the price down, it’s still profitable. Some ‘troublesome’ tenants should never be chosen—they’re a complete waste of time!”
“I’ve compiled a property issue table with some common problems in property types. Although the property types in the game are randomly generated from a database, there are still some commonalities. This table should provide some reference for everyone.”
“Can any expert develop a mod to automatically highlight interactive options in the room? Like drafty windows and dirty stoves that can be repaired, so I don’t have to wander around the house looking for them. My OCD can’t handle it!”
“I have to say, this game’s effects are somewhat unexpected, especially how so many different characters and voices don’t repeat. How do they do it?”
“Some characters are reused, since tenants in the same area are relatively fixed, and some old customers will return. As for different customers, I guess the producers hired many people to provide different voiceovers for the same meaning. For instance, regarding the issue of drafty windows, different NPCs have at least a dozen or even dozens of different ways to express it, and they don’t sound system-generated. The only thing I wonder about is, it’s not difficult to find many people for voice acting, but how do they match the lip movements in the game?”
“I never would have thought a game with this theme could be so much fun! So it’s not that life lacks beauty, but that we lack discovery! The gaming industry doesn’t lack themes, but designers who know how to properly utilize themes!”
From the current situation on the forums, most players’ evaluations of “Real Estate Agent Simulator” were quite positive.
This was because the first batch of players were either fans of Tardy Studio, VR gaming enthusiasts, or core players of simulation management games.
“Real Estate Agent Simulator” clearly suited their tastes.
However, as Cai Jiadong looked at these highly praising reviews of “Real Estate Agent Simulator,” his face showed little joy, but rather some melancholy.
“The level of discussion is still not enough…”
“First-day sales are only average, not particularly optimistic.”
“It seems the exposure is insufficient. Even with the Doubt VR headset platform’s support, it’s still lacking.”
“For an ordinary game, it would be enough, but the investment in ‘Real Estate Agent Simulator’ was too large. Unless it becomes popular to a certain degree, it will be difficult to recoup costs.”
“Moreover, this game used Mr. Pei’s idea. If it doesn’t become very popular, it’s equivalent to failure…”
“We can’t tarnish Mr. Pei’s golden reputation, can we? Otherwise, when people talk about it later, we’ll be the team that couldn’t even succeed with Mr. Pei’s backing. That would be too embarrassing!”
As the chief designer, he was naturally very concerned about the current state of the game.
But from release until now, the situation hadn’t been very promising.
The game’s rating was high, never dropping below 8.5 since its release, but what worried Cai Jiadong was that the game so far existed only within a small player community, preaching to the choir.
The reason for the high score was that those who bought the game were already fans of this type of content.
But Cai Jiadong knew very well that as a VR game with massive investment, for “Real Estate Agent Simulator” to succeed and become a hit, it had to break out of its niche. It couldn’t just rely on players who were enthusiastic about simulation management games.
And for breaking out of a niche, the game manufacturer’s efforts alone weren’t enough; it also depended on casual players enjoying the game and being willing to become “natural promoters.”
Regarding the game mechanics, Cai Jiadong and the designers at Tardy Studio had left a hidden element, though players hadn’t discovered it yet.
Currently, many players were focused on “how to make more money,” going all out to cut costs and deceive tenants. While this could yield many benefits in the short term, there was a hidden setting in the game called “trust level.”
The tenant system in the game was relatively fixed but also fluid, similar to real-life situations.
In other words, there were only so many tenants in the area. Tenants of old properties might renew their leases, and players might deal with the same tenant multiple times; of course, some new tenants would also appear.
If players always tried to cheat tenants, they might succeed the first time, but the cost would be a lower trust level. The second time, the conditions offered by tenants would change, or tenants might simply leave and never appear in the player’s agency system again.
Beyond that, players also had a hidden “reputation level,” which depended on the trust level of all tenants who had worked with the player. Although the influence of a single tenant’s trust on a player’s reputation was minimal, if accumulated, it would have a certain impact on the game content that couldn’t be ignored.
This setting, on one hand, was to enrich the gameplay and prevent the game from having a single “standard answer.” On the other hand, it also conformed to the Tenda spirit, advocating correct values.
However, this was a hidden setting, so players couldn’t discover it in the short term.
Cai Jiadong vaguely felt that if this hidden setting could be revealed as a selling point, it might to some extent help the game break out of its niche.
But how exactly to do this? He wasn’t sure.
He could only, as with previous projects, place his hopes on Meng Chang and wait patiently.