A genius student? Ha, they're nothing but ants at your feet!

The screen emitted a cool blue light, which was projected onto Cyber ​​Fox's lifeless pupils.

The magnitude of the data fluctuations was far too large compared to his expectations.

Cyber ​​Fox's index finger hovered stiffly over the left mouse button.

Press the button every three seconds.

refresh.

Refresh again.

But no matter how many times you refresh the page, all you get is that bland, unchanging image.

The air in the entire studio was so heavy it felt like it was about to freeze.

Just before, this group of young geeks were like a bunch of crazy people on steroids.

Ambitious and fervent, they huddled in front of the screen, counting down together, before solemnly pressing the upload game button.

They were convinced that this would be a day that would change the industry and propel them to new heights.

But now?

The harsh reality was like a bucket of ice water, poured over them from head to toe.

There was almost no response.

Not even a tiny splash was made.

[Downloads: 104]

In this era of frenzied celebration where millions of views are commonplace, this number is as desolate as weeds on a barren grave.

"We barely have a hundred downloads."

Entropy stared at the number, then slumped his shoulders in dejection.

"This shows that besides the school classmates we forced to recommend it, there were also a few friends who reluctantly helped download it..."

In terms of statistically significant organic traffic, genuine casual players haven't even touched our game!

Root, sitting to the side, also looked utterly devastated.

"It seems we were too naive. We didn't expect reality to be so cruel."

"Actually, I don't think there's any need to worry too much."

Upon hearing Su Hao's words, the three of them turned around at the same time.

Their movements were perfectly synchronized, much like sunflowers searching for the sun.

Why do you say that?

"Because of its excellent quality."

Indie games of this caliber are so rare that the entire industry might not be able to produce even one in a year!

Most importantly, it's free.

For this work, it's not a question of whether it will become popular; it's simply a matter of time.

Sooner or later, someone in the know will definitely discover it!

There's an old saying that goes: "When you're in the thick of it, you can't see the whole picture."

Most game developers are like protective parents.

They often get trapped in information cocoons and are unable to objectively judge the level of the game they created.

But in Su Hao's view, "MIT Simulator" is not a student entrepreneurship experiment at all.

This is an extraordinary work that far exceeds everyone's expectations, maximizing both the mechanics and the degree of freedom!

It's a masterpiece destined to shake up the entire gaming industry!

Su Hao's confident tone seemed to possess a strange, magical power.

This gave everyone a shot in the arm.

A little color finally returned to the three people's pale faces.

"R-really?"

"The brothers' morale is only holding up because of your mouth."

"But to be honest... after listening to Su Hao's analysis, I finally breathed a sigh of relief."

Torn between despair and hope.

A smile finally returned to the three people's haggard faces.

......

The effects of time often come faster than we imagine.

It happened the very next afternoon.

A post quietly appeared on the gaming section of Reddit, North America's largest online community forum.

Holy crap! This game is so realistic! I'm totally blown away!

Hey guys, I just played an indie game called "MIT Simulator".

I wanted to experience the life of a top student, so I forced my character to spend a whole week in the library studying calculus.

And guess what happened?

This guy suddenly had a mental breakdown, kicked open the library door, and rushed out screaming!

Then he lost control and started going to the gym to work out like crazy. After that, he would go out drinking and clubbing with his friends! There was no way to stop him!

What kind of bizarre self-protection mechanism is this?

[What kind of game is this? Such a unique and anti-human setting?]

[A free indie game. Supposedly made by the academic geniuses at MIT, with an incredibly hardcore and complex premise that will leave you questioning your existence.]

[Wait, the character can run around randomly and act crazy? Am I playing the game, or is the game playing me?]

You can give him general direction, but don't expect him to do whatever he wants!

The variables in this game are countless; NPCs' stress levels and health are all subtly linked. I have to look up psychology guides just to play this game!

A beta tester who had been lurking suddenly popped up to comment:

[OP, if you go online and play the multiplayer mode, it's a completely different experience.]

A single-player version? That feels like a mindless demo just to get you used to the controls.

The speed at which information spreads on the Internet is sometimes like the butterfly effect in a rainforest.

One full week after the game's release.

An undercurrent began to spread rapidly within the hardcore gamer community, spreading like wildfire.

On the backend data panel.

[Downloads: 485]

"The number of players is indeed increasing, but the pace of this climb is too slow. It's like a snail's walk."

I wonder if this pitiful data is enough to attract investment from those venture capital giants.

Cyber ​​Fox stared at the curves on the screen, his brow still furrowed.

Considering that a week has passed since the release, this lukewarm performance is a far cry from their initial expectation of "instant success".

"Don't be so pessimistic, there are still positive signs, right?"

Su Hao held a glass of water, his expression calm.

He pointed to the server's background log interface and said.

[Number of people in the queue: 23]

"Looking at the current user login data, the backend data shows that players who successfully log into the server generally don't log out easily!"

The average playtime for these online players has now exceeded two hours!

"Is that so?" Entropy blinked.

"Yes, I've checked the industry statistics."

For typical free indie games, players spend less than ten minutes on average.

A game that lasts over twenty minutes is already considered an excellent work. But our game…”

Upon hearing this, Cyber ​​Fox and Root practically pressed their faces against the screen, staring intently at the retention curve.

"So, that means the quality of our game's content itself is actually perfectly fine?!"

"If this trend continues, who knows, one day it might just happen to catch a break and suddenly become a viral sensation?"

In fact, as top students from MIT, how could they not understand the business logic behind this data?

They were simply extremely anxious during this uncertain time.

They desperately wanted to find a sliver of confidence from Su Hao, their pillar of support, to keep them going.