God's imitator

Chapter 334 Three Speculations and Suggestions

Zheng Jie said somewhat uncertainly, "But what if some copycats are deliberately trying to do something bad?"

"Even if, in theory, the entire lobby is a positive-sum game and provides additional benefits, what if copycats just want to deliberately cheat players?"
"He deliberately designed games that were impossible to win, and we couldn't possibly tell from the visa processing time of undocumented players at a glance, could we?"

Cai Zhiyuan thought for a moment and shook his head slightly: "I think the possibility is not high."

"Unless the copycat wants to die."

"We can figure it out with a simple deduction:"
"If a copycat intentionally designs a game that players can't win, it's basically a one-off deal, because once a player is tricked, they won't play again, and they'll most likely tell other players."

"If copycats don't get enough profit, they'll die."

"To increase profits under these circumstances, you have to increase the profit per customer, which means significantly increasing the price of a single visit."

"But players aren't stupid. If they see that the price for playing a game room once is very high, it's obviously a problem."

"So, if a copycat really dares to do this, I admire his courage, but it's a dead end."

Yang Yuting added: "Yes, we now know that players can freely choose from multiple game units, so this game will definitely be quite long."

"So it must be a 'multiple rounds of negotiation' rather than a one-off deal."

"If a copycat wants to rip people off, it's like a tourist attraction overcharging. They have to do two things: first, charge a very high price per visit; second, only engage in the transaction once and don't consider repeat customers."

"This game obviously can't be played by simply copying the old methods."

Zheng Jie was somewhat worried: "But it's possible that many businesses collude to rip off tourists at scenic spots, right? Could copycats also have this kind of tacit agreement?"

Yang Yuting shook her head: "It should be impossible. There is currently no evidence to prove that copycats can discuss things with each other, so the possibility should be very low."

Everyone quickly noted this down.

Although what Wang Yongxin and Cai Zhiyuan said may not be 100% true, it is at least a good general direction.

With these two main directions in mind, even when players are new to the game and unfamiliar with the rules, they can get into the game faster than other players and gain an advantage.

Everyone looked at Lin Sizhi with some anticipation.

Lin Sizhi considered for a moment and said, "I also have a guess, which may not be true, but you can keep an eye out for it after you enter the game."

"Different game units should have different rules or different rewards."

"Everyone doesn't need to think about the specific rules and details; just use the simplest method to filter them:"

"Only play the games with the simplest and most mindless rules, and those that seem to offer the best rewards."

Everyone was somewhat surprised; clearly, this was yet another conclusion that sounded rather arbitrary.

Zheng Jie was puzzled: "Why? Isn't this kind of game more likely a trap? Would copycats be so kind?"

Why did they design the game to be so simple and mindless, yet offer such attractive rewards?
"Isn't the relationship between copycats and players a zero-sum game? Copycats have to earn enough visa time from players to survive. If the game is too easy, how can they make money?"

Lin Sizhi explained, "As Wei Yinzhang has already said, players can freely choose the game units designed by the copycat."

"So, this is actually a bit like a multi-logic game of 'guess the number': when designing the difficulty of the game, the copycat must consider the behavior of other copycats. Now let's assume that the players in the game lobby see several different games, some simple, some complex; some familiar, some unfamiliar; some with high rewards, some with low rewards."

"Assuming none of these games have any obvious pitfalls, how would players choose?"

Without hesitation, Zheng Jie said, "Then we should definitely prioritize the simple, familiar, and high-reward options."

Lin Sizhi nodded: "Most of the smarter copycats should be able to figure this out."

"They do need to earn visa time to ensure they don't die, but first they need to make sure their game has players."

"Therefore, smarter copycats will try to design their products in a way that is simple, familiar, and offers high rewards. This is what Wei Yinzhang speculated: most copycats would probably use gambling equipment or card games to create their designs."

"However, the logical game played by copycats will not stop at this point."

"Just like the more layers of a 'guess the number' game, the lower the number becomes, the more layers of copycats play, the more extreme their game becomes."

"Once copycats figure this out, they will realize that simply lowering the difficulty is not enough; they must do it to the extreme the first time."

"In other words, we should simply design the simplest game that players are most familiar with, and maximize the rewards as much as possible."

"While other copycats may not go to such extremes, would you dare to gamble? The price of losing is death."

Zheng Jie was stunned. He thought for a moment: "But... how can a copycat earn visa time for a game that is simple, familiar, and has high rewards?"
"Players are indeed coming to play, but if they can't earn enough visa time, wouldn't that be a lose-lose situation?"

Lin Sizhi shook her head: "The rules are not yet clear, so I can't give an accurate answer."

"However, as players, we don't need to worry about this."

"Because copycats will find their own way."

"They will minimize the difficulty of the game while ensuring that they get the lowest possible benefit, because that is the Nash equilibrium that will inevitably be reached after all copycat games."

"Just like in the game of 'guess the number,' the final result will only be 0."

"If copycats couldn't understand this, they probably wouldn't be alive today."

"Conversely, if a copycat designs a very simple game, it means he has figured out this principle."

"Then there's no reason for him to create plot holes in the game."

"To summarize, the existence of the rule that 'players can freely choose the game' determines this game logic: the smarter the copycat, the more likely they are to use the main rules to deal with other copycats, which means that their game is likely to be less harmful to the player."

"Let's combine this with Cai Zhiyuan's previous conclusion: assuming the game in the lobby is a positive-sum game, then there will be an extra reward placed in a specific game mode."

"So, those who imitate simple games will inevitably make the same choice."

"Therefore, based on our current speculation, we can formulate the following strategy:"
"First, once you enter the game, try to keep a low profile and don't act like a copycat to avoid being noticed and isolated by other players; "
"Second, find the simplest, most familiar, and seemingly most profitable games, and secure a spot as early as possible;

"Third, in these games, try to choose the 'single-player mode' as much as possible and look for the additional benefits of 'positive-sum games'."

(End of this chapter)