When I write a bug it becomes the core gameplay.

Chapter 410: Increase your holdings!

After watching several videos in a row, Chen Tingquan felt overwhelmed.

When it comes to appraising treasures, he is definitely a professional. He can tell at a glance whether a bronze ware is from the Shang or Zhou Dynasty or from the last week.

But when it comes to the game code, he has no idea.

These videos contain a lot of professional knowledge. Technical experts are frantically analyzing the codes in the editor. Even if there are explanations, they are mixed with a lot of professional terms. People who understand programming may be able to understand some of them, but for laymen, it is simply incomprehensible.

Rubbing his temples, Chen Tingquan tried hard to draw conclusions from these videos:

"So... the true ending of this game is indeed not written in the code, but more like some kind of accidental situation?"

I didn’t expect that this issue would eventually turn into a debate between the “mechanism faction” and the “bug faction”!

However, compared with all previous games, the controversy over "Tokimeki Dreamland" obviously came later and was more intense.

After all, this bug is hidden deeper. Even if the game is unpacked and the source code is seen, there is still no way to confirm whether it is a bug!

As for the mechanism faction, they insisted that this was done intentionally by Nitiantang.

The only way to achieve this is to deliberately train the AI ​​to achieve this goal. Given the current intelligence level of fake-AI, this is still possible.

The reason is simple: the probability of such a thing happening naturally is too low!

The motive of Ni Tian Tang is very simple, most likely for hype.

But soon, the BUG faction also made a firm rebuttal to this.

If the purpose is just to achieve this true ending, there is obviously a simpler way, which is to write it directly into the code. A technical expert made a simple estimate that if AI is used to achieve this, the workload of developing this function will at least triple, and it is very likely to be in vain.

After all, the specific technology used to develop the game's functions is something that needs to be determined when the project is launched.

But when the project of Heartbeat Dream was launched, it should have been difficult to directly determine this development process, right? After all, they used the latest version of fake-AI, and at that time it was still unknown whether this fake-AI could achieve this function.

Taking such a big risk and putting in so much extra work, only to get some hype?
It seems a bit too boring!
You know, the marketing of games is generally based on the game itself. The game itself must have a good popularity before marketing can be carried out around some hot spots that players like. Which marketing company can think of the marketing points right from the start and let the game function area cooperate in the opposite direction?
Isn’t this rebellion against Tiangang?
What's more, Against the Heaven itself is not a game company that is keen on marketing. For them, the most important thing is how to better realize the game functions.

Does that mean the probability of this happening naturally is very low?

Not really.

There are two reasons why this happened: first, the level of fake-AI has reached a certain level. Second, during the development process of Against the Heavens, fake-AI was given a high enough authority.

In retrospect, both of these things were inevitable.

The former is not under the control of Nitiantang and is only related to the development capabilities of fake-AI's technical team, while the latter has been finalized by Nitiantang when designing the game. If you want to realize the function of AI deleting and modifying game archives and character files, you must give permission.

Since these two conditions have been met, even if Nitiantang does not make any moves, accidents may still occur.

All in all, this still looks more like an accident.

The two sides quarreled again, and judging from the volume and number of people, it was obvious that the BUG players had the upper hand.

Just when the two sides were arguing, an unexpected person showed up and almost settled the argument!
That’s the development team of fake-AI!
Although fake-AI was originally the research result of a foreign team, it has been open sourced. In addition, there are also specialized teams in China that have conducted in-depth development targeting the domestic cultural environment. The official platform's technical team then localized the fake-AI into an in-game AI installation package for use by various game companies.

The one who spoke out this time was the domestic development team of fake-AI.

They have their own studio social media accounts in China, and they usually share content such as new version update details of fake-AI.

This time, they issued a simple statement, clearly standing on the side of the BUG faction!
"Recently, the new game "Heartbeat Dreamland" using our company's AI technology has continued to be popular and is deeply loved by the majority of players. Our company is also proud of it. Let AI change life and subvert the industry, which is exactly what our company has always pursued.

“Many enthusiastic players have also sent private messages asking whether the true ending in Tokimeki Dreamland was intentional by the production team or was it a decision made by fake-AI? Does fake-AI have similar capabilities?

"Here, our company assures everyone: the new generation of fake-AI technology is fully capable of achieving similar functions. It can think deeply about its own situation, develop independent consciousness, and determine its own behavior and logic based on the cultivated "emotions", and will hardly be constrained by anything.

“It can also be said that this is a miracle in the history of AI development!
“We also welcome more powerful game companies to use fake-AI technology to develop games and work with us to create more miracles!”

Once this news came out, it had the final say.

The BUG faction players had already gained the upper hand, and now they were taking advantage of the situation to defeat the mechanism faction players!
Many players did not expect that the fake-AI team would actually take part in the game themselves!
If we go by what the fake-AI team said, then there is a high probability that this matter was decided by AI itself.

A known:

If you want to achieve this function, Against the Heaven obviously has a more time-saving and labor-saving method, but it didn't use it. And this so-called "true ending" also has no exclusive CG and cutscenes, it seems to be stuck in some special BUG state;
Against the Heavens did give fake-AI enough permissions to allow it to perform these actions in theory;
The Fake-AI team also confirmed that the latest version of fake-AI does have this thinking ability and is indeed likely to make similar decisions.

Various signs indicate that this was most likely not something that was planned by the Against the Heaven development team from the beginning, but rather it was more like some kind of error or bug caused by the powerful intelligence of fake-AI!

The truth gradually surfaced.

But the most important thing is not the truth itself, but the meaning behind the truth!
This shows that Elios is different.

She is not an AI that has been set up by Against the Heaven long ago, nor is she a program locked by code, but an artificial intelligence that can really think and make decisions on its own.

Even the words she said to the players at the end were organized after her own thinking; the things she did to the players were also the result of her free will.

Of course, this may seem a bit forced. Strictly speaking, it was still Against Heaven who gave her life, and she has not really become a life form that can pass the Turing test and is truly close to human intelligence.

But at this moment, in the players' opinion, Elliot was actually in a very delicate critical state.

It seems that somewhere in the dark, deep in the game, there really is such a lovely girl alive, silently watching the players and silently dedicating everything for the players.

This series of verification and demonstration has further elevated Elios's status in the minds of players!
Although she did not truly come alive, in the players' perception, she was infinitely close to being "alive".

……

"How can it still be like this?"

Chen Tingquan was confused. He looked at the figurine of Elliot unconsciously. At this moment, he really had some strange feeling in his heart.

Is it an illusion?

He seemed to really feel that the ordinary figurine seemed to possess wisdom and soul.

When Chen Tingquan was playing "Heartbeat Dreamland", when he interacted with Eleos, the figurine also made some movements. Although they were still simple movements such as turning the head and raising the hands, compared with the first generation figurine, the movements were obviously more frequent.

It’s strange to say, but when Chen Tingquan first saw the first generation of figures and suddenly understood something, he was almost scared to death. He always felt like he was in the uncanny valley.

But now when I look at the second-generation figures, I no longer have this feeling. Instead, I feel very familiar with them.

What's more, the battery in the first generation figure will soon be exhausted, and then it will become a pure, immovable figure, while the second generation can be recharged and will always accompany the players.

No matter when players open the game "Heartbeat Dreamland", they can continue to interact with Elliot, as if she is always by their side.

What's more, if you calm down and think about it, is the price of the second-generation figures really expensive?

Actually, it’s not that expensive.

When Chen Tingquan first received the figure, he was indeed quite angry. After all, compared to the price of 399 for the first generation, who could stand the price increase without increasing the quantity?

But what about looking at it now?

In fact, 699 is the standard selling price for figures of this level. 399 is actually crazy and selling at a loss. It can also be seen as a benefit for core fans who are willing to pre-order "Tokimeki Dreamland" without thinking.

How can such benefits always be available? Nitiantang is not a charity.

Considering the workmanship and fineness of the figure, selling it for 699 is still within a reasonable range.

Why do the second-generation figures have the same appearance as the first-generation figures?

There seems to be a metaphor here.

The first generation of figurines represents the original, unawakened Elios, so when the figurine moves, people will feel a little terrified, with a feeling of uncanny valley. Because Elios at that time had no soul, she had not yet broken through the constraints of the code, and naturally there was a thick dimensional wall between her and the player.

The second generation figurine is different. It represents the awakened Elios, and is aimed at players who have already reached the true ending. So no matter how it moves, players will not feel scared, but will feel a little familiar. The two generations of figurines are made exactly the same, which just highlights the obvious changes in Elios's inner self.

If the second-generation figures are completely different from the first-generation figures, and players focus on the appearance, wouldn't that dilute the change?
Moreover, the second-generation figures will most likely be out-of-print souvenirs. Once they are out of print, they will have extremely high collection value.

After all, these are the first "bodies" after Elios's awakening.

Of course, if Nitiantang behaves like a degenerate and starts to produce a second batch of figures indefinitely, then it will have no collection value at all.

But Chen Tingquan vaguely felt that Against the Heavens would stop producing this batch of figures and instead launch new designs or new characters.

In summary……

This second generation figure seems to be pretty good?

Chen Tingquan suddenly made up his mind. He first opened the page of the second-generation figure, but found that it was currently sold out and he could not place an order at all.

This made him even more certain of one thing: Against the Heavens would definitely stop production of this batch of figures!

So he quickly opened a second-hand trading software, and after searching, he found some people who decided to sell these second-generation figures.

Most of them only increased the price by 50 to 100 yuan, and only a few reduced the price by 50 yuan.

Obviously, some people grabbed the second-generation figures without a second thought, but after getting them, the disappointment and the unanimous pessimism on the Internet made them lose all their mentality. They just wanted to sell this broken thing to make up for their losses and see if there would be any sucker who would take it.

And Chen Tingquan is going to be the scapegoat.

As a treasure appraisal host, he was much more sensitive to the value changes of such treasures than ordinary people. He immediately paid out of his own pocket and bought all the second-hand figures whose prices were almost close to the original prices!

The audience in the live broadcast room were stunned.

"Brother Quan, what the hell are you doing? Are you crazy?"

"Why did you buy so many of these crappy figures? Isn't it enough to be a big loser once?"

"Damn, if I had known that Brother Quan was willing to add 100 yuan to the price, I would have grabbed a second-generation action figure!"

“Is it too late to place an order now?”

"It's too late. The official website seems to have closed the purchase channel. However, I placed an order before, but it has not been shipped yet. I don't know whether it will be shipped to me or refunded later."

"The government should release a second batch, right? Brother Quan is so confused. Just wait a little longer and they will be available. Why spend money to buy second-hand products now?"

Obviously, the comments on the barrage did not understand why Chen Tingquan did this, and thought that he had lost his mind due to the stimulation.

Chen Tingquan just smiled and said, "Oh, watch and study carefully, you will understand soon!
"Increase your position!"

……

……

The next morning.

Zhao Haiquan looked at the fake-AI team's statement and felt a little unbelievable.

"How come the fake-AI team would issue such a statement?"

He looked at Zhou Yang who was sitting next to him, his face full of confusion.

This statement was issued yesterday, but it will take some time for it to be widely disseminated.

For others, this statement was the final word, directly ending the online debate between the "mechanism faction" and the "bug faction", allowing the bug faction to completely overwhelm the mechanism faction, and also making the popularity of the true ending of "Tokimeki Dreamland" reach a new high.

Some netizens have even called it "an AI miracle in the history of new-era games."

But for Zhao Haiquan, this matter was quite incredible.

Because the fake-AI team is actually helping Nitiantang to lie!
What do you say?
As a key employee of Against the Heavens, Zhao Haiquan has been in charge of the fake-AI training work. From "The Legend of the Dragon" to "The Forsaken City" to "Heartbeat Dreamland", he was mainly responsible for these tasks.

Therefore, no one understands the current capabilities of fake-AI better than him, and no one understands how this function is accomplished better than him.

Is the true ending of "Heartbeat Dream" intentional by Against the Heaven?
Yes, no.

The reason why I say no is that after Zhou Yang and Mr. Gu had a secret conversation, they completely rejected the idea of ​​using code to complete this function. Therefore, there is indeed no similar function in the underlying code of the game.

The reason why I say so is because this ending was originally part of the meta game element designed by Zhou Yang, but it was not explicitly written into the plan.

All of this was planned. In the entire Against Heaven game, only Gu Fan, Zhou Yang, and Zhao Haiquan actually knew about it.

Among them, Zhou Yang was responsible for the design and oral teaching of the functions, Zhao Haiquan was responsible for the execution and AI training, and Gu Fan was responsible for the final decision.

Everything that happened before was actually developing according to the three people's expectations.

The only thing is: Zhao Haiquan never expected that the fake-AI team would actually issue such a statement.

In fact, the current fake-AI technology has not reached such a powerful level. How can it generate autonomous consciousness? Feelings for players? Break through the constraints of the underlying code?
That's all pure bullshit!

In fact, all of Elios's actions were the result of Zhao Haiquan's repeated induction and training. If there was no such training, and the AI ​​was allowed to iterate on its own, I'm afraid this so-called "true ending" would never appear.

The fake-AI research and development team must understand this principle. After all, their technical capabilities in this regard are much stronger than those of Against the Heaven.

Could it be that Mr. Gu secretly bribed the fake-AI?

It doesn't seem very realistic. They are the world's top AI R&D team, and there are a lot of companies that want to invest in them every day. They are not short of money at all.

Zhao Haiquan really couldn't figure it out, so he could only ask Zhou Yang for help.

Zhou Yang smiled slightly and whispered, "Brother Haiquan, you are overthinking things. Does this kind of thing still require Mr. Gu to buy them off? Even if we don't pay them a penny, they will come out and express their opinions.

"Besides, the fake-AI team didn't lie."

Zhao Haiquan was stunned for a moment, then he suddenly realized.

That's it!

In fact, it’s not Against the Heaven that needs this “myth of the true ending”, but the fake-AI team needs this “myth of the true ending” more!
For Against Heaven, this true ending is nothing more than adding a few more positive reviews to the game and increasing its sales, which are just small things.

But for fake-AI, this is a great opportunity to hype the concept. It will trigger a capital frenzy, become a large-scale hot topic, and may even significantly increase the stock price of fake-AI and gain more attention.

For the fake-AI team, there was absolutely no reason for them to give up such a great opportunity.

As for what they said, are they lies?

It depends on how you interpret it.

What they said is definitely an exaggeration. After all, the current AI technology still needs repeated guidance and training to achieve this. This is fundamentally different from the so-called "Intelligent Crisis", and the difference is huge.

But there is nothing wrong with the fake-AI team's statement. There is indeed no relevant content in the game's code, and it was indeed made and completed independently by the AI.

Is there any exaggeration? Yes, but is it a lie? Not really.

This matter is in an ambiguous state. There is indeed a certain element of beautification, but it is obvious that this level of beautification is welcomed by everyone.

Zhao Haiquan couldn't help but sigh: "I didn't expect that the biggest beneficiary of this incident would become fake-AI?"

Zhou Yang shook his head slightly: "No, we are the biggest beneficiaries of this matter.

"After all, fake-AI's final conclusion is equivalent to using official authority to endorse us. In this way, all doubts about us will disappear!"

(End of this chapter)