Systems And Makers

No. This cannot be considered as cheating. At best, it is called favoritism or nepotism, and at worst, it is called corruption. Corruption is not the same thing as cheating, at least not within my dictionary.

Just because one failed to see the bigger picture and bribe the correct person to get ahead, one cannot really complain about corruption. To me, that is called shortsightedness. Simple and true.

Sure. It is very unfair for those whose game will not be showcased on the big screen in front of all the spectators and audiences, but the world is full of unfairness. It is the reason why there are still so many injustices happening in the world.

This is just one of those injustices, and there is no point of raising a complaint about it, especially when this whole competition is fully organized and funded by a single. Imperial Art.

Since that is the case, Imperial Art will definitely use this very competition to promote games of their choice, especially when those games are created by newcomers to their company. Therefore, this can be considered as a public relation (PR).

That said, there is actually a good reason to raise a voice, but I wonder if anyone else notice it. It would be nice if someone did instead of me. Just to prove to me that some people here can still think outside the box.

Luckily, someone did. A contestant sitting in the front row. That alone makes me narrow my eyes very suspiciously, considering that all the first few rows are people who have some sort of connections and relations to Imperial Art.

"Only some games, Rina? Is the list already chosen or is it roll of the dice? If there is already a list, then wouldn't that be unfair for others?"

The person asks, and I almost use my phone to get his name. I forgot that is considered cheating. Since that is the case, I will have to learn his name through normal mean. By talking to him.

Rina nods and thoughts for a moment. Despite that, I think this is probably scripted. Most likely, for if Imperial Art did not raise such a question, someone in the crowd probably will. I do hope someone in the crowd picks that up.

"That is a good question. To keep fairness, the games that are showcased will be chosen at random."

Rina explains, which I think is horse shit, but since she had confirmed it, it opens a lot of opportunities for the contestants. They might all be game developers at heart, but I am sure that they all have their fair share of hacking games during their free time.

Just to see how the game works, of course. It is not that different from an aspiring mechanic opening all sort of cars to see all that oily insides. Like surgeons opening up their patients. Not quite the same, but I think it is a good analogy.

In any case, some people already have ideas, but I think Imperial Art probably has a mean to counter any sort of hacking. One of the rules states that hacking will not be tolerated. Of course, it is fine if no one notice.

No one asides from Imperial Art and those who are connected to it.

"However, due to time constrain, there will be limited slot available, so everyone, please do your very best. I will explain the rule of the competition."

Rina continues as the screen behind her flicker. A list numbered from 1 to 20 is displayed on the screen.

And without her speaking further, everyone knows what the list is. This is because the first three digits are colored in gold, silver and bronze, denoting for first, second and third place. All the other numbers are black.

"In a minute, everyone will be allowed to play any game submitted by the contestants, and once you have finished playing the game, you will be given an option to recommend the game or not. Choosing to recommend means that you like the game, and therefore, your duration of your play will be added to the that game's score, which will be displayed on the screen."

Rina explains with a smile. The screen demonstrates what she is saying, showing the time played. The number of people recommended as well. There is another column to the far right of the list, and Rina is going to explain that.

"However, the top three games on the list must receive the overall approval from the judges in order to be valid, thus the game developers are allowed to claim their prize. This is to prevent cheating, and of course, our judges must give a valid reason to why they disapprove the game to make sure there is fairness. Do everyone understand the rule?"

Rina concludes with a cute posture, causing more than a few snapshots to go off in the crowd.

The rule for the competition this year is quite simple. A submitted game is only valid if the majority of the judges say that it is, and the winning game must be played and recommended by a lot of people.

While that sounds simple enough, there is something else that Rina, or more correctly Imperial Art, is hiding. Or try to hide anyway. Maybe not, as it is quite obvious to me. To most contestants too.

And that is, each person can only play one game at a time on their phone. That means if they are busy playing a game already, then they will not be able to play another one until they finished or quit. Thus, they will be missing out a lot of games in the process.

Games that might win their recommendation as well as playtime.

Oh. I realize that there are people here with multiple phones, so that can be considered cheating. Yes, circ.u.mventing the rule is called cheating. Circ.u.mventing the law is not, as I did not agree to the law in the first place.

That is just how I distinguish corruption from cheating.

As for people with multiple phones on their person, I am sure the staffs have already taken notice.

That is why everyone is given a login at the start to log into the Imperial Servers. One login per person, so it is not like they can login twice. I obviously will not be checking if that is true. Pointless really.

In any case, by the time that Rina finishes explaining, most of the people are already playing. Since the games are hosted on Imperial Servers, downloading is almost instant.

Even more so when it is Krispy Kirby due to its incredibly small size. It being a sprite-based 2D game is sort of an advantage but not really. There is no point awarded for being lightweight.

I do think that there should, but hey, I am just a contestant, so I should shut up and see how my game is fairing. Considering that so many people have downloaded it, it should be pretty high on the list.

And for a handful seconds, Krispy Kirby just jumps to the top simply due to the sheer amount of people downloading it and opening it. However, no one actually plays it. They simply want to put in their vote of not recommending after quitting immediately.

Great. Assholes.

There apparently another rule that Imperial Arts did not explain to anyone, and it becomes incredibly obvious in my game. That is the net negative value.

Recommending will add their total playtime to the game, pushing the game up towards heaven on the list, but the not recommending will remove the playtime from the list, thus plunging the game straight to hell.

More than 300 people plays Krispy Kirby, but the total playtime is only a few minutes. The f.u.c.k!? You guys want to be murdered, huh? Oh wait. I cannot straight up murder them because of this.

Damn it.

"What did I tell you? Your game is terrible!"

Brandon points out and laughs loudly. His game is not even on the list, but that is because no one has played it yet. His friend Lionel remains attentive towards the big screen, which now begin to display a random game. Not so random game.

The Ghost of Culture.

Obviously, a virtual reality game, considering the graphics and designs, allowing the player to become a ghost and spread his culture, whatever that is. Even if it is a virtual reality game, it can still be played on a phone.

Since the game is too well crafted to be created by a single person, at least not without the helps and supports from a System, it is likely have been created more than a year in advance.

Thanks to the exposure, Ghost of Culture immediately takes top place on the list while mine is sitting somewhere at the bottom. It is not on the screen anymore, but I can check the list on my phone, thus knowing exactly where it is.

It is at rock bottom, actually.

Great. Just great. This is f.u.c.k.i.n.g rigged!