Interstellar Travel: Becoming a Dress-Up Game Designer

Chapter 262

Of course, the store-bought items are cheaper. One hundred Star Coins can buy a whole bunch, even a complete set.

But it's hard to say if it's out of print. The official gives it away for free, and players collect millions of copies, hahaha.

The main point is that one merchant is very conscientious, while the middleman is deceiving and hurtful.

The large transaction fees generated by middlemen through the trading channel eventually return to the merchants, but few people care about that here. After all, with such a large facade obscuring the truth, it's hard to see clearly; money laundering seems to have involved similar operations in my past life...

In comparison, Barbie Fashion's clothes are really expensive, and the average player simply can't afford them. But without spending money, many high-end clothes are unavailable. It's supposed to be a simple dress-up game, so why can't you even get clothes to dress up?

That's funny.

Qingfengyi is a dress-up game, but it has a lot of other content as well. Barbie Fashion, on the other hand, only has a storyline and various banquets, so there's not much else to do. Later, I tried to imitate Qingfengyi by making flower cultivation games, but flower cultivation also requires various fertilizers, potions, etc., and they even added a "dress value" system to exchange for items. The dress value is linked to high-end clothing, and high-end clothing costs money, creating a vicious cycle.

Anyway, you have to spend money on either clothes or items, otherwise you can't play the game. Based on a player's income, spending a thousand or so Star Coins a month is possible, but even a thousand Star Coins won't make a significant impact.

Players have been reporting this issue repeatedly, but Barbie Fashion hasn't changed at all. In fact, the clothes that have appeared later are even more outrageous, with clothes being disassembled and requiring the purchase of all components to get a complete outfit, resulting in even more places to spend money.

The newly released Lady's outfit is now divided into twenty components: inner support, boots, socks, shoes, skirt, corset, underwear, outer garment, inner garment, scarf, hat, earrings, necklace, ring, tiara, hair flower, and bracelet. Only insignificant items like socks and shoes can be obtained through the storyline; the rest must be purchased with real money, costing two to three hundred Star Coins per component—it's like robbery.

However, dress-up games as novel as those in interstellar space are extremely rare; currently, only "Qingfengyi" and "Barbie Fashion" exist. Therefore, when "Barbie Fashion" suddenly appeared on a strange planet, it truly captivated countless players, who were willing to pay for something new in a short time. They got used to it, spending a large portion of their monthly salary without a problem, until the price of in-game items increased to the point where a month's salary couldn't cover it.

If the gaming platform hadn't limited the game's price and monetization capabilities, the items in Barbie Fashion would definitely cost far more than a few thousand interstellar coins; they would easily be worth tens or even hundreds of thousands. Barbie Fashion was a game designed by a time traveler, who would absolutely know that a single piece of clothing in his previous life's game could fetch over a million—a virtual garment, and not even the only one, a million!

Lin Shuying couldn't imagine it; she had only ever seen haute couture clothing priced above this. She had also taken on such orders before, but the fabric alone cost four or five hundred thousand, and with the production time and labor costs, she only received a meager wage.

The old master who mentored her back then said, "Clothes are for people to wear, and people are ordinary, as are clothes. But ordinary people have the right to dress themselves up, and they have the need to do so. As the people who dress them up, all we need is payment for our hard work, not dirty money."

Back then, the master tailor's other apprentices also asked why, given such an opportunity, one shouldn't work hard to earn money, since those who made custom orders didn't care about paying a little more. And what's wrong with the tailor being able to live a better life because of it?

Not making money makes you feel out of place in this world, isn't that stupid?

The old master craftsman smiled and said, "Kid, someone always has to be a bit naive so that there's room for your shrewdness. Besides, not making money isn't because you're stupid, but because you're pursuing something higher. Only those with pure hearts can see these things. It's not that your pursuit is bad; everyone is different, but having aspirations is good."

Lin Shuying is a pure person who understands her mentor's words very well.

Now, the prices of Qingfengyi's clothing have gone viral, and people have realized that the clothes are not something for the rich like Barbie Fashion, but rather ordinary items that anyone can enjoy. They are shocked by this huge wave of interest and are questioning whether the money they spent on Barbie Fashion was really worth it.

Barbie Fashion, following the example of Qingfengyi, has started producing clothing for its physical stores. They've partnered with a spray paint company, using their thicker version of the spray paint. This allows customers to spray a beautiful outfit directly in the store, just like with regular spray clothing, and the paint washes off quickly. It's incredibly convenient, unlike Qingfengyi where clothes have to be sent to the dry cleaners, wasting fabric. Using spray paint saves materials and is environmentally friendly.

Barbie Fashion also criticizes Qingfengyi's clothing for being material-saving, resource-saving, convenient, easy to clean, and not wasting production resources. After all, Qingfengyi's clothes really require a lot of resources to make, which would be a waste. Interstellar people hate waste the most!

This is a spiritual civilization inherited from the crisis of that time. Back then, even a single piece of paper had to be carefully planned before it was used, striving to make every bit of resources go where it counts.

However, after this event, players discovered that this wasn't the case at all. At least, Qingfengyi didn't drain a large amount of resources into the virtual world; instead, it promoted the development of countless offline real-world businesses. While clothing crafting isn't as convenient as spray paint, when you factor in usage and durability, it's far more economical than Barbie Fashion's spray-on clothing!

To achieve the same effect with Barbie Fashion's spray-on clothing, the spray needs to be thickened more than a hundred times, and then multiple layers need to be applied after spraying. Originally, only one layer of spray-on clothing is needed, but increasing it a hundredfold makes it impossible to control. The waste far surpasses that of Qingfengyi; only after data analysis and comparison by experienced users will everyone understand this.

StarCraft players haven't been corrupted by money-grabbing games and game capitalists; they're relatively rational. After comparing the two games, Barbie Fashion's player base halved in a single day.

It's terrifying.

On Qingfengyi's side, Zhang Zhongxia relayed the players' feedback to Lin Shuying. After reading it, Lin Shuying said, "Life is always full of regrets. It's impossible to get everything you like. Qingfengyi's players are destined to choose one to love in the future. If they love everything, they will end up with nothing."

After all, Chinese culture is truly vast and profound; it's impossible for a player to master and enjoy everything. She's lived in China for over thirty years, with over a decade or two of that time being able to act, yet even she's still unclear about many things.

The differentiation of game content is inevitable. In the future, everyone will be able to find something they like in Qingfengyi, which is what Lin Shuying wants to see.

Zhang Zhongxia quickly released an announcement according to Lin Shuying's idea:

"Dear Qingfengyi players, we have seen the issues you have reported. However, Qingfengyi is a complete world, a complete civilization, created little by little by countless people. If you want to understand it, you can do so from the perspective of the storyline. It's a bit impossible to master and enjoy all the content. As more permanent dungeons are added and the gameplay stabilizes, we hope that all players can find their place in it. This is Qingfengyi's greatest wish."

I hope games are a spice of life, bringing only joy and relaxation, not stress and tension.

The update was very simple, and many players, despite feeling a deep sense of regret, still gave up some features to find what they liked. Qingfengyi is right; games aren't life, they're just things that bring joy and relaxation, and shouldn't become a source of stress.

Of course, those who use games as a means of survival are another matter.

The fashion show at Yaochi concluded with a final peacock and pine tree outfit, accompanied by an octagonal rosewood peacock and pine tree screen. The central piece, a double-glazed peacock and pine tree porcelain piece inlaid with rosewood, symbolizes wealth from all directions and longevity as enduring as pine and pine. The octagonal corners are carved with honeysuckle flowers, also known as golden honeysuckle. These flowers are initially white, turning golden yellow over time. The flowers bloom at different times, resulting in a mixture of gold and silver, hence the name "gold and silver flower." Because they can withstand the harsh winter and bloom over the winter, they are also called "honeysuckle" (meaning "enduring winter").

In ancient times, honeysuckle was a symbol of longevity. Honeysuckle can dispel cold and detoxify, and drinking it can benefit the body, make one feel light, and promote health and longevity. Therefore, people often regard it as a symbol of longevity.

In ancient times, honeysuckle flower motifs were often used in the carvings of roof beams and pillars, as well as in clothing patterns and porcelain designs, symbolizing longevity and good health. Lin Shuying incorporated this traditional motif into her design.

The peacock is a green peacock, with vibrant colors, which, when combined with clothing, create an extremely beautiful and luxurious look.

He wore a peacock feather cloak over his outer garment, which was blue and embroidered with individual peacock tail patterns, omitting only the eyes on the tails. The finely embroidered peacock tail patterns resembled jewels, sparkling brilliantly.

The men's clothing was also paired with a matching cape, and the garment itself was a plain dark green with black piping.

The inner garment is white with brown piping, embroidered with honeysuckle and vine patterns in gold and silver thread. It looks very exquisite, and a jade pendant depicting a peacock climbing a pine tree hangs at the waist, instantly elevating its style.

Players were left wanting more after seeing the photos. This outfit is extremely rare; according to player statistics, there are only about 5,000 pieces available, making it incredibly hard to find.

After the fashion show ended, Erlang Shen appeared and sang a heroic song, raising the atmosphere to a fever pitch. Just as the players were getting into the excitement, it abruptly stopped, and Chang'e appeared to announce the following events for the coming year: January – Lantern Festival; February – Red Thread Marriage Festival; March – Fifty-Six Flower Festival; April – Bonsai Competition and Tea Tourism Festival; May – Flower Show Competition; June – Fashion Show Competition; July – Preparatory Festival (with new large-scale temporary celebrations planned for this month); August – Reunion Month; September – Porcelain and various crafting competitions; October – Dragon Festival; November – Honeysuckle Month; December – Sacrificial Month.

Of course, all events are subject to change. For now, these are the fixed monthly events, commonly known as monthly activities. Any changes will be announced a month in advance, so the impact on players is minimal.

Lin Shuying initially wanted to organize the Chinese festivals into monthly events, but then she realized that wouldn't work. This was interstellar space, not China. Qingfengyi was a game, not a country or region. While organizing the festivals into months would be convenient, she couldn't remember many of the customs, and interstellar people wouldn't inherit the essence of these festivals. They would be like tourists visiting minority villages in her previous life, simply seeking enjoyment. Therefore, it was more appropriate to concentrate the various festivals into a specific month as a fixed event; at least that way, everyone would remember them.