Shepherding Humanity

This game had been under much scrutiny on the internet, and even other online game giants were paying attention. They were convinced that the game must be supported by a frighteningly competent team. After all, its miracle technology could perfectly simulate the five senses, and you could truly treat game as a second life.

Even if you only looked at the game's super realistic graphics and physics engine, it was most likely that you would require the use of several supercomputers to manage the game world, and perfectly realize the infinite possibilities of evolution.

According to the analysis of relevant professionals from the game industry, a server with a hundred people would need three supercomputers to perfectly simulate such a realistic environment.

This meant that on average, every thirty people had a supercomputer dedicated to serving them!

At the current stage of technological development, a supercomputer would cost at least twenty million dollars, and most large online games couldn't afford it. A server that was built using a supercomputer could run multiple online games at the same time.

And now, a game with only a hundred people was using three supercomputers, which was worth over sixty million! Each player used up six hundred thousand dollars worth of computing resources! The computing power required for a single player was half that of a large online game.

This extravagance was simply inhumane!

At this moment, everyone was waiting for "Spore Evolution" to start charging a fee to salvage the cost.

In everyone's opinion, with its advanced technology and stringent requirements, this game must be catered to only the richest gamers.

It has even been speculated that the game’s monthly subscription fee would be at least 50,000 yuans or more. This was nothing to those tycoons who readily spent hundreds of thousands of yuans in online games, but was not something the average gamer could pay.

But oddly enough, Spore Evolution was in no hurry to salvage the cost, and did not start charging money. Instead, it opened up another fifty beta testing slots, which meant adding two more supercomputers and spending over forty million!

Such extravagance!

This game was very generous to its players, and countless free-to-play gamers became its diehard fans. But with the release of the update log, the game has proven once again that it was extremely hardcore.

Very soon, a post analyzing the update log stirred up the internet.

"Hello everyone, it's me again! Don't ask me how I posted so fast, I’m Akina’s Speedster! I'll do an analysis of this update log. It's definitely the most hardcore update in the entire history of gaming!

First of all, I’ll talk about what everyone’s most interested in, the added beta testing slots. The developer is extremely generous. According to expert analysis, the game’s server requires the support of several supercomputers, and each player uses up six hundred thousand dollars worth of computing resources! That’s far too generous! Other games force you to spend money, this game is spending money on you! I can’t praise it enough!

Secondly, to get a beta tester’s slot, you’ll have to write a professional essay on evolutionary theory. (?)

It does not get any more hardcore than that! F*cking developer, are you sure you didn’t make this game to uplift the nation’s education level?

Third, concerning the elimination system, we closed beta players are very worried about this. We could lose our places, and must learn to love studying if we want to enjoy the game.

Lastly, there's the achievement system. I don't know what counts as a uniquely powerful species or what the rewards are, but with how generous this game has been, it'll definitely be something good! I’m really looking forward to it!

Well, that's it for today's evaluation. I need to get back to grinding, and studying evolutionary theory. I am not going to give up my beta tester’s slot, no matter what."

…..

The internet instantly became lively with discussion.

The point that people were most concerned about was the thesis.

Some people were happy while others were sad. But no one really complained.

The amount of computing power required for a single player was half that of a large online game. What was wrong with a player account being a little hard to get? It's not like you were being charged for it.

"Learning makes me happy!"

"My mother was right. She told me when I was a kid that if I study hard, I’ll be great at games in the future."

Some game addicts boasted that in order to play the game, they had already started to read up on evolutionary theory, and have been secretly poring over books in bookstores. They were certain to get a slot.

Others scoffed: “You work hard on your research, while I’ll cheat and hire someone to write my thesis for me. I probably can’t just go on CNKI and plagiarize a foreign thesis. I’ll have to find a professional tutor from the university, and spend 10,000 yuans to ask him to write a professional thesis for me."

"10,000 yuans? That's hilarious! A slot is now 100,000 yuans on the black market! You don't know how frightening the world can be! The really rich don’t mind spending tens of millions on games!"

This ‘niche’ game has turned into a national phenomenon. You could see this in the city libraries.

People flocked to the libraries, and sought out difficult books on natural science and biological evolution. They studied the Cambrian explosion, the origin of species, and the Cretaceous and Triassic eras.

After all, even if you didn’t want a tester’s slot for yourself, you could still sell it for a hundred thousand yuans.

The increased activity in the libraries has even attracted the attention of several local TV stations. Sociology experts who were unaware of the situation speculated thus: "Now that the people's living conditions have improved, many of them have started seeking spiritual satisfaction from knowledge. This is a good thing. As for why they’ve decided to study such a difficult subject as evolutionary theory? Naturally, this is because they want to challenge themselves. "

But they were quickly discredited, and soon found out that it was all because of an amazing game called “Spore Evolution”.

The experts were dumbfounded.

All this just to play a game? Were these people insane?

Before this, most people saw games as a foolish addiction that distracted a person from his studies. Then this game came along, with its impossibly hardcore message: “Learning makes me happy?”

"It's a good game."

Numerous parents nodded in approval.

Every popular MMO had gold farmers. The workshops that specialized in farming gold for rich gamers set aside mouse and keyboard. They frantically started to study academic papers, and sought out specialized knowledge.

Xu Zhi calmly watched it all happen. The game’s popularity has truly exceeded his expectations.

The next day, Xu Zhi received nearly a thousand theses.

His mailbox completely exploded!

These people really gave it their all in order to play the game. Their theses went into great detail on their idea for their species and how it would evolve, quoting from some of the most famous scientific papers both at home and abroad to prove that it was possible.

Their point was very simple:

Great and mighty game developer, I have carefully thought about how I’ll play this game, and planned out how I’ll evolve my species. All I need now is a spore to practice on, so hurry up and give me the slot!