Qiao Liang was also a veteran player of “Game Developer.” He had been playing this game since its release.

To produce a new episode of “Legendary Works,” Qiao Liang had gone through almost all the endings and was thoroughly familiar with every branching choice, just like his own backyard.

However, upon entering the game this time, he discovered that “Game Developer” seemed to have undergone some very obvious changes compared to before.

The most noticeable change was that it had transformed from a purely single-player game into a single-player game with online features.

The previous DLC for this game had only updated new voice acting and new scenes. Although there was a lot of updated content, there wasn’t much improvement in terms of gameplay.

Strictly speaking, this game was only enjoyable on the first playthrough. After playing for a while and knowing all the endings, it could only be kept as a collection piece.

But after this update, the game added some online gameplay elements.

Although the online features weren’t the main attraction and merely enhanced the experience, they were still surprising enough.

A message board function was added to the game, turned off by default, but could be enabled after completing one playthrough. After enabling this feature and entering the game, players could see messages left by other players in various rooms, corridors, doorways, and other locations.

Qiao Liang tried writing a message and found that these messages weren’t freely typed but assembled from preset vocabulary, only able to express relatively simple and ambiguous meanings.

This was probably out of concern that precise meanings might cause too severe spoilers, reducing players’ enjoyment of the game.

Using such assembled messages easily created a “reverse guidance” effect for players, because making the same choice under different circumstances would yield different results.

As a result, new players not only had to outwit the narrator but also outwit the potentially misleading messages, adding more obstacles on the path to success.

The second newly added gameplay feature was the “Contrarian Mode,” which could also be unlocked after completing any ending in the first playthrough.

In the original default mode, players remained silent throughout, while the narrator talked continuously to himself. Before players made choices, the narrator would give bad advice; after players made choices, the narrator would make sarcastic remarks; and when the ending was revealed, the narrator would either mock players or stubbornly refuse to admit defeat.

In short, the main purpose was to attack players’ mental state.

But after enabling “Contrarian Mode,” the power dynamic immediately reversed!

In “Contrarian Mode,” players were no longer powerless but had a “Contrarian Assistant” who launched comprehensive counterattacks against the narrator.

Before making choices, when the narrator gave bad advice, the Contrarian Assistant would warn players about the disadvantages of that choice and the benefits of choosing the alternative.

After making choices, when the narrator made sarcastic remarks, the Contrarian Assistant would retort, leaving the narrator speechless.

When the final ending was revealed, the Contrarian Assistant would comfort or congratulate the player while entering a frenzied contrarian mode to mock and despise the narrator from all angles.

The narrator would be left speechless and enraged, yet completely helpless against this Contrarian Assistant.

Additionally, in Contrarian Mode, if players followed the narrator’s suggestions completely, the Contrarian Assistant would creatively mock the narrator’s choices, just as the narrator had once mocked the players.

Qiao Liang wasn’t very interested at first, but after playing for a while, he found it quite addictive!

“The so-called Contrarian Assistant is nothing more than another pre-arranged, triggerable narrator. It’s all programmed settings.”

“But why does it feel so satisfying to hear this Contrarian Assistant harshly refute the narrator?”

Originally, Qiao Liang thought, what’s the point of arguing with the narrator since it’s not a real person?

But then he realized, the narrator might not be a real person, but players still get angry when the narrator mocks them!

Players were basically fuming with rage at this narrator during their first playthrough. Now having a Contrarian Assistant talking back and leaving the narrator speechless gave them a sense of secret pleasure.

Moreover, this Contrarian Assistant also indirectly pointed out the pros and cons of various choices to players. Although it didn’t directly indicate the correct choice, it provided players with more reference information when making decisions, which was quite helpful.

The only slight disappointment was that the Contrarian Assistant’s voice was an emotionless electronic sound. While not as irritating as the narrator’s voice, it wasn’t particularly pleasant either.

When completing the game, this Contrarian Assistant would tell players its name: AEEIS, with no other information provided.

There was also a new gameplay feature called “New Player Care Mode.”

After experiencing it, Qiao Liang found that this feature could be called a paradise for trolls and bait enthusiasts.

Theoretically, the correct way to use this feature should be that new players unfamiliar with the game could be guided by veteran players to make the right choices, creating a harmonious experience for both new and veteran players.

But once actually played, it turned out to be completely different!

After being trained by the narrator, veteran players had all become passive-aggressive, each with a knack for sarcasm.

Some veteran players would deliberately guide new players down the wrong path.

Some veteran players would feign ignorance and only begin to mock after players had already made wrong choices.

Other veteran players would speak nicely at the beginning to gain new players’ trust, then give incorrect advice at crucial decision points.

The most terrifying aspect was that this mode wasn’t one-on-one. A maximum of four veteran players could enter a new player’s game, with their avatars displayed in the four corners of the screen and their text content shown as text bubbles.

Some of the four veteran players would tell the truth, others would lie, some would sabotage each other, while others would team up to deceive. Combined with the narrator’s original voice, new players could experience quintupled the fun.

The most outrageous part was that many people were pretending to be new players just to bait others!

Many players who had already completed the game multiple times would deliberately start a new game pretending to be newcomers, luring veteran players in, then acting completely clueless to engage in mind games, leading them in circles.

“These new modes are quite interesting. Regular players should be able to enjoy them for two or three days without getting bored. For theatrical players, they should be able to create some pretty good entertainment value, right?”

“Maybe in a while, there will be content creators making shows specifically about ‘Baiting in Game Development.'”

After playing for a while, Qiao Liang found it quite interesting.

After adding online modes to these two games, veteran players found new enjoyment. Games that had been collecting dust in their libraries were brought back to life after the DLC updates.

Game content that had been played many times and had become boring was given new life with these changes, making it worth playing through several more times!

After playing for a while, Qiao Liang looked at players’ thoughts on these two game updates in the forums.

“Wow, Tenda is truly the conscience of the industry! These are such old games from so long ago, the base games are even free now, and they’re still updating them?”

Compared to the DLC content, the price is still dirt cheap. I seriously doubt if they can even recover their costs!”

“It’s so worth it, just buy it without thinking!”

“Finally got to properly refute the narrator in ‘Game Developer.’ No need to be mocked by him anymore. Thanks to the Contrarian Assistant called AEEIS!”

“Too many people baiting in online mode! All veteran players pretending to be newbies, it’s ridiculous!”

“But it seems like there are some Easter eggs buried in these two DLCs. For example, in ‘Lonely Desert Highway,’ we get a spaceship and an alien scene. Does this mean Tenda’s next game will have a sci-fi theme?”

“A AAA-level FPS game? That would be amazing!”

“The Easter egg in ‘Game Developer’ should be this Contrarian Assistant AEEIS, right? Are both Easter eggs related to the next game? So what exactly is this AEEIS?”

“Uh… the protagonist’s robot companion in an FPS game?”

“Not sure, but suddenly feeling quite excited! After all, there are still too few sci-fi games domestically. It’s always Xianxia and Wuxia themes, I’m sick of seeing them.”

“Because sci-fi games are technically challenging! Various detailed settings are very important, and they don’t have the well-established foundation that Xianxia and Wuxia themes do. I wonder if Tenda can do it well.”

Tenda’s products are always excellent. I’m sure there won’t be any problem!”

Qiao Liang browsed through the forum and found that players were unanimous in their praise.

After all, it was truly rare for Tenda to still be wholeheartedly updating some unimportant old games after such a long time, focusing on the gaming experience of veteran players.

Most game companies didn’t value the interests of veteran players at all and would only do things that were profitable, sometimes even harming veteran players’ interests for financial gain.

However, Tenda was exactly the opposite. Although maintaining these old games didn’t earn much money and might even lose money, they still continuously updated DLCs.

What kind of spirit was this!

Players expressed how deeply moved they were. It’s just a DLC, of course, they would buy it!

With new gameplay, new content, and full sincerity, how could they not buy it? Would they even be human if they didn’t?

Tenda’s genuine care for veteran players must not be wasted!