How to raise a random guy's wife

"Praise buff?"

"Based on the performance of the virtual idol, different buffs are given to the corresponding characters in the game." Kasumigaoka Utaha gave an example: "For example, the virtual idol with the longest live broadcast time gets an endurance buff, the one with the most real-time comments gets an attack buff, the one with the most likes gets a reward settlement buff, and the one with the most viewers gets an experience buff."

What if there aren't many?

"Give reward codes to virtual streamers with low popularity and release them during their live streams."

"There's such a trick? It seems feasible..." Eriri thought about it carefully, "This way, we can increase the number of viewers and interaction on the live stream, allowing virtual idols and games to be better integrated—wait a minute!"

Eriri suddenly realized, "We're stuck on the plot now. No matter how well the future mechanics are designed, it's useless if the game quality isn't up to par."

“The plot…” Kasumigaoka Utaha’s eyes darted around, “Let’s take a look at that Servant thing.”

"Heroic Spirits?" Eriri tilted her head. "Fate/stay night?"

"I think so. Isn't that just bringing characters from different eras into the modern era?"

“When we bring it to the modern era, it becomes a Servant,” Eriri corrected. “Besides, Servants are created after death, while virtual idols haven’t died yet.”

"So it's just a reference," Kasumigaoka Utaha waved her hand. "Just make some corresponding modifications, and that's fine."

Eriri turned on her computer. "You make it sound so simple."

She casually opened the canvas, using the drawing software as scratch paper, and scribbled and drew to organize her thoughts.

When I really have no ideas, I can only browse various forums online, hoping to find some interesting thoughts.

Then I watched an hour of sarcastic commentary.

After finishing her coffee, Kasumigaoka Utaha regained some of her energy. She wrote down the inspiration that had just popped into her head, but after looking at it for a while, she still couldn't come up with a systematic idea, so she had to give up for the time being.

The accumulation is not enough.

You can only truly succeed when you feel an irresistible urge to write it down.

Kasumigaoka Utaha got up and stretched a couple of times, only to see Eriri staring at the screen and grinning like an idiot.

Glancing at it, Kasumigaoka Utaha was dizzy from the dense array of sticker ads on the page. "Aren't you afraid of getting a computer virus?"

"That's how small forums are these days; it's not that easy to get infected with malware." Eriri was already used to the forum's style. "Besides, even if you did get infected... um?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha wisely kept quiet.

Judging from Eriri's state, it seems like she has an idea.

"Ah!" Eriri suddenly exclaimed, "I understand!"

"Tell me," Kasumigaoka Utaha said, curious about what kind of whimsical ideas Eriri might have.

"Antivirus software!" Eriri's eyes lit up. "Let's turn virtual idols into antivirus software!"

Chapter 721 The Meeting of Theater Companions

"Antivirus software...and viruses?" Kobayashi Sora flipped through Eriri's somewhat messy notes, piecing together a clear outline in her mind. "It feels pretty good, don't you think?"

Kobayashi Megumi summarized Eriri's line of thought: "Simply put, in the future, when the world encounters a disaster, humanity uploads its consciousness to a data network called Virtual Heaven in order to continue civilization. However, the disaster from the outside world then invades Virtual Heaven, forming a virus-like entity that infects and destroys Heaven."

Eriri excitedly chimed in, "In order to fight the virus, the intelligent AI of the virtual heaven sought out powerful consciousness and then awakened the players."

“This is what I don’t quite understand,” Kobayashi Megumi said with a puzzled look. “Is this meant to give players a special identity? So what makes players special that the AI ​​chooses to wake them up?”

"What makes players special is that players are players!"

Megumi Kobayashi: "Huh?"

Kobayashi Sora was the first to understand Eriri's meaning, "Cognitive misalignment?"

Eriri: "Huh?"

"Players play all sorts of games: simulation management, card collection, strategy games, role-playing games... From the player's perspective, it's just playing games," Kobayashi Sora explained. "But what's manifested in the game is that this person is proficient in management, skilled in character development, capable of governing the world with a pen, and conquering the world on horseback, traversing countless worlds and resolving crisis after crisis. Although the power in the network is virtual, for the virtual network, this power is real."

Eriri nodded repeatedly, "That's exactly what I mean."

Kobayashi Sora is practically her rational mouth substitute.

Kobayashi Sora could always articulate clearly and understandably the concepts she had thought of but couldn't express well.

"I see." Kobayashi Megumi doesn't play games much, and only understood Eriri's meaning after listening to Kobayashi Sora's explanation. "Then the player uses their consciousness to connect to the network and summons a powerful entity that once existed in the network to fight against the virus."

“So, virtual idols!” Eriri said with some regret. “If we had the copyright, we could have included all sorts of game and anime characters, like in Super Smash Bros., but we don’t—so we can only use virtual idols.”

"We can arrange some crossover events in the future." Kobayashi Sora's thoughts gradually became clear. "With this kind of plot design, any crossover event would feel natural."

Virtual idols in a virtual paradise, with two negatives making a positive, become real entities capable of fighting the virus.

“Gacha is about exploring the deep network,” Eriri recalled Kasumigaoka Utaha’s suggestion. “Then, just like Utaha said, we can set the rarity based on the number of fans. The various achievements of virtual idols now will become various buffs in the future virtual paradise!”

Eriri became more and more excited as she talked, and couldn't wait to play the game.

Kobayashi Sora and Kobayashi Megumi exchanged a glance. They had only told Eriri about the problems they encountered in the game when she asked.

I asked casually, but I didn't expect Eriri to give such a good answer.

According to Eriri's design, no matter how outrageous the virtual idol's setting is, it can appear in the game in a reasonable way.

The image is determined by the character design, while the combat power is determined by the influence on the network, which corresponds to the popularity of the virtual idol.

This provides a reasonable explanation for the discrepancy between the character's abilities and their actual combat power.

As long as you have enough influence over the network, even an ordinary high school girl can defeat a fire dragon.

“That’s a fantastic idea,” Kobayashi Megumi smiled in response to Eriri’s expectant gaze. “Would you be interested in handling the subsequent storylines?”

Eriri was initially delighted, but then shook her head vigorously, "No, no, no... let's forget about the plot."

Although she came up with this good idea, Eriri still had a fairly clear understanding of her own abilities.

Eriri felt she couldn't handle the heavy responsibility of being in charge of a game that was likely to operate for a long time.

“Actually, it’s not as difficult as you think,” Kobayashi Sora encouraged. “As for the character, there are ready-made virtual idols to handle it, and as for the details, there are relevant personnel to take care of them. You just need to point out a general direction.”

"Hmm..." Eriri was still a little hesitant.

“How about this?” Kobayashi Megumi suggested. “You can give it a try first. After all, it’s still in the planning stage. There’s still a long way to go before it gets to the scriptwriting stage. Even when we officially start writing the script, we’ll need a lot of scriptwriters to meet and discuss it.”

The tasks that fall on one person are actually not as many as Eriri imagined.

Eriri wanted to refuse, since she really wasn't good at screenwriting, but then she thought about Kasumigaoka Utaha's recent efforts...

Perhaps I should be brave enough to give it a try?

“Actually, you have a great advantage in this area,” Kobayashi Sora added. “You are a player yourself, so you have a general idea of ​​what players like and dislike.”

"Alright then." Eriri thought of all the awful games she had played.

The thought of someone else using her ideas to write a story she hates makes Eriri feel that it's better to try harder herself.

-

"In short, I've written down all the effects I want," the sound director said to Hoshima Izumi during the meeting. "First, could you please briefly explain your requirements for the overall tone?"

"Accompaniment music" refers to the background music in a play, and a "accompaniment music meeting" is a meeting where the supervisor and composer explain the desired effect.

Bo Island opened his mouth, but really didn't know what to say.

“Just describe it as best you can,” Kasumigaoka Utaha encouraged. “The Sound Director will help.”

Yin Du also gave Bo Shima an encouraging look before setting sail.

Bo Island took a deep breath as he set sail, organizing his thoughts. "First, during normal times, there shouldn't be any accompaniment, or not at all, just a slight feeling. Then, when something unusual is detected, there should be a 'thump-thump-thump,' or maybe a 'da da da.' As the truth is gradually revealed, and the tragic past becomes clearer, there should be a 'woo woo woo' feeling. During battles, depending on the situation, there should be a 'howl howl' or a 'whoosh,' or a 'woo woo woo bang bang bang...'"

As he talked about going out to sea, his voice grew softer and softer. Although he tried his best, he still couldn't speak coherently.

“This work needs to be differentiated according to different stages.” The sound director calmly explained, “In the initial stage, we should use music with a low presence. When something goes wrong, we can use the shamisen to create an atmosphere, or the taiko to show the urgency of the situation. In the process of deciphering, we can use the shakuhachi to create a desolate atmosphere. In the battle, we can choose a heavy orchestral arrangement or long notes of the white jade series to express it, depending on the situation.”

Chapter 722 Idol Zombie

Eriri found Kasumigaoka Utaha, who had just finished a meeting with her co-stars and was drinking coffee in her office. "Is it over?"

She has absolutely no ideas and needs someone experienced to help her figure it out.

“Hmm,” Kasumigaoka Utaha said with a weary expression, “The process before the animation production got on track is finally over.”

"It's taken so long to finish the preliminary preparations..." Eriri was also familiar with these procedures. "There are too many negotiation meetings. Can't there be fewer of them?"

"Do you think every production team is like Eri Kasumigaoka?" Kasumigaoka Utaha rolled her eyes at her. "Besides, even we, who have been working together for so long, still have to discuss things repeatedly when we start a project, right?"

"Is there?"

"There wasn't a formal meeting; everything was resolved in casual conversation." Kasumigaoka Utaha put down her coffee cup. "Your idea was approved?"

"Of course!" Eriri exclaimed, hands on her hips. "That's my idea!"

"Wow, that's amazing! I bet you have some great ideas for the plot to come."

“Ugh…” Eriri’s body stiffened.

She came to Kasumigaoka Utaha because she had no ideas.

"Well... um... how did you know you'd leave the rest of the plot to me?"

“If this idea hadn’t come from you, you probably wouldn’t have had anything to do with it later.” Kasumigaoka Utaha knew that Eriri wouldn’t take the initiative to do the screenwriting work. “But since you came up with this idea, Megumi and Sora definitely believe that you have a corresponding approach. Although you are a little hesitant, in order not to ruin your genius idea, you will definitely take on the responsibility with their encouragement.”

Eriri opened her mouth, wanting to refute, but didn't know where to begin.

Kasumigaoka Utaha seems to have become even more terrifying than before.

Utaha Kasumigaoka used to only be able to guess other people's little thoughts, but now she can see through emotions and the choices made under the influence of those emotions.

"I guess...you were right." Eriri turned her head to look to the side.

Kasumigaoka Utaha was already used to this kind of overly blatant stubbornness. "So what?"

"What, so?"

"The direction of the plot afterward."

“I…of course I have an idea…” Eriri’s voice trailed off.

“This is a game that is very likely to need to be operated for a long time,” Kasumigaoka Utaha raised an eyebrow. “You’re not planning to just write whatever comes to mind without any overall outline, are you?”

"I... of course I have an outline." Eriri's bright blue eyes darted around as she thought quickly. "I... I've thought it all out... um... it's about... resisting the virus, first resisting, then achieving a phased victory, then exploring, rebuilding as we go, and then... then launching a counterattack!"

“That’s enough for at least three major version updates,” Kasumigaoka Utaha said with a slight smile. “You’re not planning to cram all this story into the initial version, are you?”