Chapter 3: The Launch

John sat at his desk, the glow of his computer screen illuminating his face. His heart raced with excitement and anticipation. He had done it—he had created the games Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green. Now came the crucial decision of how to post and distribute them.

"System, what's the best way to publish these games?" John asked, his fingers tapping nervously on the desk.

**System:**

"Posting the games on major platforms like Steam would be advisable. However, they will take 10% of the profits."

John considered this for a moment. "What if I create my own platform?"

**System:**

"Creating your own platform is an option, but since you are unknown, it will be illogical for people to find your games if you aren't known first."

John nodded in agreement. "You're right. Let's go with Steam."

After agreeing and posting the games on Steam, John leaned back in his chair, feeling a mix of relief and exhilaration. Just then, his phone rang, startling him. He picked it up hesitantly, expecting some official call regarding his games.

"Hello?"

"John, it's your mother."

John sighed in relief but also braced himself for what was to come. "Hey, Mom."

"How are you, John? Did you forget something today?"

John's heart sank. He racked his brain, trying to remember if he had missed any birthdays or important dates recently, but nothing came to mind. "Uh, no? What do you mean, Mother?"

"They called me, John. They said you missed your appointment. Have you been drinking again?" Ever since his accident, John had fallen into a depression and often turned to alcohol.

Silence enveloped John as he searched for an excuse to justify his actions. "Work consumed me, I swear I haven't touched a drop of alcohol. I'll reschedule and attend the appointment," he muttered, his voice tinged with regret.

"You need to do better, John. And why haven't you accepted your father's job offer yet? It's time for you to get your life in order and start taking things more seriously."

John felt a pang of guilt and annoyance. "I will, Mom. I'll take care of it."

"You better. I'm tired of getting calls from your therapist and worrying about you."

"I know, Mom. I'll sort it out. I'll call the therapist right now and reschedule."

"You do that. And think about your father's offer, John. It's a good job, and you need stability."

"Okay, Mom. I'll think about it. I have to go now. I'll talk to you later."

John hung up, feeling the weight of his mother's words. He knew she meant well, but her constant pressure made him feel suffocated.

He called a cab to take him to his psychotherapy session. As he rode through the city, he decided to interact with the system again.

"System, can I do anything while I'm away from the PC?"

**System:**

"You are currently in offline mode. You can create new games with the available data, but you will not gain experience or revenue until you return to your PC."

John sighed. "Understood."

### POV Change: Diana the Streamer

In a cozy corner of Seattle, within the confines of a residential house, Diana, a popular streamer on PaidTube (AdTube), was bidding farewell to her fans. Her stream had reached its scheduled duration, and she was ready to sign off.

"Well, it looks like our time is up for today, so let's end the live stream here..."

"Don't go, Diana! Play for another five minutes!"

"I'll give you another $5! Let's play another game, please!"

"Please, play a little longer! I have nothing else to do!"

The fans in her live stream were reluctant to let Diana end the session. The chat was filled with messages pleading for more time.

Amidst the barrage of requests, a $100 chat popped up.

"Thank you for the super-hot $100 chat from 'Playing a Little Game Again'... Oops, I've been streaming for a long time today, and it's almost time to end."

While expressing her gratitude, Diana opened her computer's search software.

"Since you guys still want to watch me play, I'll play a little game for a while longer."

She felt bored after playing unimpressive games throughout the stream. If not for her fans' requests, she would have preferred to just chat and interact with them.

After opening the Steam search software and entering the game store, she navigated straight to the category of small games. To be honest, she wasn't very interested in them, but since the $100 chat sender had made a request, she felt obliged to play one to pass the time.

"I wonder if there's anything interesting among the new games launched today?"

Desperately flipping through the newly launched mini-games, Diana casually clicked on a few to try. Due to the rapid development of Earth's game industry, new game designers joined the field daily. As the primary platform for newcomers to release games, the mini-game category of the game mall was the most frequently updated.

Diana simply played a few newly launched mini-games, but the results were unsatisfactory. The graphics of these games might be okay, but the gameplay was limited and boring. Clearly, these designers prioritized visuals over playability, thinking good graphics would attract players.

"Fortunately, none of these games cost money," Diana complained. "Otherwise, I'd definitely apply for a refund!"

The small game publishing mechanism was quite user-friendly. All mini-games developed by new designers were available for free download within the first hour of release to prevent poor-quality games from costing players money.

"These games are too lame. Let's play another one, Diana!"

"Yes, yes! Let's play another one. I think the icon below is very cute. Just play that one!"

"Such a cute little green character! Diana, play that one!"

The fans in the live stream were eager for her to try one last mini-game before ending the stream.

"Okay, okay, I'll play the last one. It's really just the last one!!" Diana said seriously. "After this, even if you give me a lot of super chats, I won't play another game!"

It was already eleven o'clock at night. After this last game, it would be time to stop the stream and go to bed. Among various suggestions from the fans, one stood out—a game with a cute green monster icon: "Pokemon Green."

"Pokemon? What does that mean?" Diana wondered aloud.

"YES! YES! YES! That's it! Just play this!"

"There are only five minutes left! Download it quickly!"

Under the enthusiastic supervision of her fans, Diana quickly clicked to enter the game. After a melodious opening music and animation, a professor in a white coat holding a red and white ball appeared on the screen.

"Welcome to the world of Pokémon. My name is Oak! People affectionately refer to me as the Pokémon Professor."

The red and white ball in Professor Oak's hand opened, and a cute little Pokémon jumped out.

"This world is inhabited far and wide by creatures called Pokémon. For some people, Pokémon are pets. Others use them for battling. As for myself... I study Pokémon as a profession."

"Wow, the world-building in this game is pretty good!" Diana remarked.

"Pokémon? Is that the creature that jumped out of the ball?" another fan commented.

"It doesn't look like the green character from the icon!" someone else noted.

"Are there many Pokémon in this game? This is interesting," another added.

"First, tell me a little about yourself," Professor Oak continued. "Are you a boy? Or are you a girl?" There was also a third option: "I haven't decided yet."

"Choose the third option! It's hilarious!" one of the viewers suggested.

But Diana decided to stick with what she felt was right. "I'll choose 'girl' for this run," she said, selecting the girl option.

"Let's begin with your name. What is it?" Oak asked next.

Diana skillfully typed: "Little Girl No. 1."

"Hahaha, looks like Diana knows there will be No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 in the future!"

"She's ready to restart if she fails to complete the game!"

"As expected of Diana!"

In many previous games, Diana had registered names from No. 1 to No. 10. Her fans called her naming method "muscle memory."

"Your very own Pokémon legend is about to unfold! A world of dreams and adventures with Pokémon awaits! Let's go!"

With the names entered, the game officially began. As soon as she started, Diana was captivated by the style of Pokémon. Though the graphics weren't as polished as other games, the simple animation style was very appealing.

Her fans also expressed their approval. Sometimes, a comforting image like Pokémon was better than high-quality graphics.

After leaving the in-game home and strolling around the town, Diana walked to the grass entrance on Route 1. Suddenly, an exclamation mark appeared above the protagonist's head, and a text box popped up:

[Oak: It's unsafe! Wild Pokémon live in tall grass! You need your own Pokémon for your protection. I know! Here, come with me!]

Professor Oak, wearing a white coat, walked onto the screen and brought the player back to his research lab.

Next came the Pokémon selection.

"You can choose a Pokémon? I thought it would be a forced gift from the system," Diana remarked.

Diana moved her character to the three red and white balls.

"Inside these three Poké Balls are Pokémon. When I was young, I was a serious Pokémon Trainer. These three are the children of my own Pokémon. You can have one. Go on, choose.

"Is this a one-out-of-three choice? Can I have them all?!" Diana exclaimed.