Making friends is not an easy task.
Especially in the game "Living Under Someone's Roof Simulator," making friends not only takes time but also a lot of money!
That's right!
After playing for half an hour, Guo Mo finally grasped the true meaning of making friends, which is to give them gifts.
The more gifts you give, the faster their favorability skyrockets!
Not giving gifts and just trying to flatter them is useless, this lousy game is purely disgusting.
Talking heart-to-heart only increases favorability by one or two points, while a single gift can increase it by tens of points.
"What kind of bizarre setting is this!"
After ranting about the game's favorability mechanism, Guo Mo furrowed his brow, as his pocket money was running out again.
Saving money to buy items to restore stamina and dignity, saving money to buy various gifts... the game requires money in many places, but the source of pocket money is very limited.
The pocket money given daily by the aunt serves as a baseline mechanism, providing the protagonist with a relatively stable source of "income."
But is this enough?
Guo Mo wants to max out the favorability of all his classmates to complete tasks and get full rewards, relying only on the baseline pocket money is impossible.
"Then let's go work!"
Someone in the comments suggested: "I recommend going to a restaurant to wash dishes, it consumes less stamina and the wages are high, and it doesn't drop too much dignity."
"Streamer, quickly go online!"
"It's so refreshing to go online..."
"Where's the room monitor? Quickly mute this guy who keeps spamming about going online!"
Guo Mo couldn't stand it any longer, ever since he started playing this game, there's been someone in the stream spamming for him to go online.
Damn it!
The thief should not disturb my heart.
You only know how to hang out at internet cafes, didn't you use this tactic to lure classmates into doom when you were young?
"Then go wash dishes..."
After banning the screen-spamming internet addict, the comments became much cleaner. To make money, Guo Mo decided to go to the restaurant to work washing dishes.
And you know what? The comments didn't lie.
The prices in this game are absurd, a phone sells for 9999 yuan, a pair of sneakers for 999 yuan, sounds expensive right?
But a bicycle that increases character movement speed sells for only 88 yuan, and washing dishes at a restaurant yields 50 yuan per hour in "huge" income!
"These prices are absurd, what kind of genius designed these prices?"
Controlling the character to work after school, Guo Mo chatted idly with the comments, the topic was the game's extremely abstract pricing level.
Items related to the core values of the game are priced ridiculously, you have to work for days to buy one.
But items not related to the core values are very cheap, like bicycles, just two hours of work can buy one.
"Indeed absurd!"
"Hamburgers for five yuan each, colas for two yuan a bottle, still 500ml large bottle, I envy..."
"The game's prices, except for items related to values, should overall reflect the average level of the early 2000s."
"Did you earn 50 yuan an hour working in the early 2000s? Don't kid me! A job with an hourly wage of 50 yuan, I could work till the end of time..."
The comments also started discussing, mainly about the protagonist's extremely exaggerated "hourly wage."
An hourly wage of 50 yuan, even today, is a "high salary" that most people can't imagine, as most jobs have an hourly wage lower than this.
"The wage is quite absurd, if dishwashing paid that much, I'd have dropped out long ago to focus on washing dishes."
Guo Mo joked, then laughed and said: "But this makes sense, after all, there are many items to buy in the game, and working also decreases dignity, so the wages are naturally higher."
This involves numerical balance.
Although Guo Mo doesn't understand game numerical design, he has played many games and quickly saw through the hidden meaning behind this "high hourly wage."
Simply put, the game's setting is roughly in the early 2000s, with prices matching the level of that era.
Following this logic, the protagonist's hourly wage for washing dishes should also fit the average standard of that era.
But the problem is...
Some game items, like sneakers, phones, clothes, and game consoles, are "bound" to core values, and players will buy them frequently.
Otherwise, if calculated based on the price level, washing dishes in a restaurant would yield just that little bit of money, what game items could players afford?
To achieve game balance, the game presents such absurd prices like a bicycle for 88 yuan, a pair of sneakers for 999 yuan, working for one hour earning 50 yuan.
"Even at high wages, it's not enough!"
Some viewers raised doubts, as the items tied to core values in the game are sold at exorbitant prices, so even a high salary of 50 yuan/hour may not be entirely sufficient.
"So, why bother buying those items tied to values?"
"Streamer, listen to me, after washing dishes, go spend the night at an internet cafe; with the protagonist's wage, living at an internet cafe is no problem!"
"No! The protagonist is a good kid, don't lead him astray. Streamer, listen to me, save money honestly and then... open an internet cafe!"
You're all so dead!
Guo Mo's face flushed red, he wished he could reach through the internet and drag out every one of these commenters to punch them senseless.
Is it because you didn't study well, so you hang out at internet cafes all the time?
Having been drenched, you can't see others using an umbrella, wanting to let "Buried Love~Xiaomo" get drenched like you, to become an internet addict youth!
Guo Mo won't fall for it!
Those guys trying to lure him to go online are all malicious.
"Buried Love~Xiaomo" is genuinely a good kid, he will not degenerate, listening to the nonsense of comments running to the internet cafe for overnight surfing.
Keep working, continue working!
After devoting all his free time to the great undertaking of working, Buried Love~Xiaomo quickly saved up a large sum of money, planning to go to the mall for a big spending spree.
"I need to buy a gaming console, two pairs of sneakers, an electronic watch..."
Controlling the game character to wander in the mall, Guo Mo carefully calculates what items he should buy to have a crucial impact.
This money didn't come easily, he washed dishes for a week to save this, he can't spend it recklessly.
"Wait a minute..."
Walking past a clothing store, Guo Mo had a surprise discovery and said: "Why is there a sales department next to the mall?"
It should just be a background image!
Trying to interact by pressing the F key, not expecting much, Guo Mo was stunned the next second.
Went in?
This sales department is not a background image, it actually is interactive and he can even go inside?
"Details!"
Amazed by the game's attention to detail, Guo Mo, at the unanimous demand of the audience, walked up to the NPC to engage in dialogue.
"Whoa! You can actually buy a house?"
"That's so crazy, the models of the buildings are made? Are they just detail maniacs!"
"Average price 4500 per square meter is so cheap!"
"Come on, how high could the house prices be in the early 2000s? Besides, the city where the protagonist is located is not a big city..."
At 4500 yuan per square meter, you can only pay in full; obviously, "Buried Love~Xiaomo" can't afford it, nor can any player.
"140 square meter layout, totaling 630,000 yuan, wow!"
After a quick calculation, Guo Mo muttered: "Actually, if the protagonist wants to buy a house, it's not unaffordable, washing dishes for 12 hours a day, working hard for over 1000 days would be enough."
But it makes no sense.
The house bought in the game can't be lived in nor adds any additional attributes, it's purely for display.
Just to buy a house and then give up school to crazily wash dishes has no meaning, and it would betray the expectations of the game's parents.
This is the same idea as the comments suggesting going online, in such a high-freedom RPG simulation game, you can do that, but it would be very boring...
After all, the whole game process is close to 10 hours, spending so much time repeating a boring task just to buy a house in the game is simply insane, isn't it?
"In the second or third playthrough, I might try saving up to see if I can buy a house."
Shaking his head, Guo Mo prepared to leave the sales department: "But not now, I haven't even completed the main storyline yet!"
"Streamer, take one more look at Building 3 of the sales department before leaving..."
"What's up with Building 3?"
Prompted by the comments, a curious Guo Mo controlled the character to re-enter the sales department and took a look at the house layout plan.
This look left him stunned.