God's Imitator

Lu Bingjun paused briefly and continued, ”In the Second Stage so far, we’ve been through four games: ’Pain Game’ (B-tier), ’A Single Word to Settle a Case’ (A-tier), ’Prison Factory’ (A-tier), and ’Jury Game’ (S-tier).

”Overall, the intensity has increased far beyond what we saw in the First Stage.

”In the First Stage, we only ever saw A-tier and B-tier games, in a ratio of roughly one to three.

”In the Second Stage, setting aside the ’Pain Game,’ the last three games have been consistently high-intensity.

”Although we won all three, none of them were easy, and even from a rules standpoint it’s possible to feel the increasing intensity of the Imitators’ designs.

”I believe everyone shares the question I have: ’A Single Word to Settle a Case,’ ’Prison Factory,’ and ’Jury Game’ all have genuine quality. So why is only ’Jury Game’ rated S? What makes it unique?

”And speaking purely from personal preference, there are probably many of you who feel ’A Single Word to Settle a Case’ or ’Prison Factory’ was actually the better-designed game.”

Huang Shengjie nodded, ”I think ’Prison Factory’ was better.

”Shouldn’t the unparalleled scenery count for something?”

Everyone turned toward Lin Sizhi. It was clear he was the only person present with the standing to answer this question.After all, only he had personally participated in an S-tier Judgment Game in the First Stage, and would certainly have discussed the subject with top-tier players like Wang Yongxin.

Lin Sizhi didn’t leave anyone in suspense, and gave the conclusion directly.

”Regarding the criteria for S-tier games, I’ll share what is currently known.

”This conclusion may not be entirely correct, but it came out of thorough discussion among all the players in my previous community, so it’s relatively reliable.

”Generally speaking, when a game demonstrates both of the following characteristics, its rating will increase noticeably.

”First, it must to some degree expose or draw out deep underlying weaknesses or flaws in the players. This is most pronounced in Judgment Games, but appears to apply in other types as well, though the standards seem less strict elsewhere.

”Second, it must be qualified to serve as the ’originator’ or ’template’ for its game type, setting the benchmark for all future games of that type and providing inspiration for every Imitator and player who encounters it afterward.

”Both conditions don’t necessarily have to be fully and simultaneously met. It functions more like a combined score across two criteria.

”One can be clearly outstanding while the other meets a basic threshold.

”Or both can be solid without being exceptional, as long as they are both reached at a reasonable level.

”Beyond that, there may be additional supplementary criteria, such as impressive visual design, strategic depth that accommodates multiple layers of contest, challenging conventional assumptions, and so on.

”Even a player’s strong performance in the game, demonstrating the strategic ceiling the game makes possible, can to some degree contribute to the score.

”If a game is A-tier in its foundations, meeting the above conditions gives it a strong probability of being elevated to S.

”Furthermore, ’originality’ appears to carry the highest weighting. In the complete absence of any reference point, a game designed for the first time that reaches a strong standard may be specially promoted to S-tier by the Gallery even if it might not quite reach S by any strict measure.”

Qin Cheng nodded thoughtfully, ”I see. That’s actually quite reasonable.

”It’s similar to academic research.

”The same insight, when the first person to propose it effectively establishes an entire theoretical framework, they are founding a school of thought.

”Even if subsequent scholars build richer and more practical derived theories on that foundation, in terms of assessing influence and achievement, later work rarely surpasses the originator. After all, it is standing on the shoulders of a giant.

”When a new game type first appears, Imitators face a completely undefined standard, with no existing examples to reference. They have to design it by sheer force of effort and creativity.

”A first game designed under those conditions, even if objectively A-tier, might be specially elevated to S by the Gallery.

”Whereas subsequent Imitators, even producing games of equivalent quality, would receive A at most.

”From this perspective: ’Jury Game’ was the first-ever Role-Play Game, designed without any reference material and establishing the standard for all future games of that type. Being specially promoted to S fits this theory.

”As for drawing out players’ deep-seated weaknesses and flaws, was this because ’Jury Game’ exposed certain personality vulnerabilities in Tang Qing? Or was it the back-and-forth over the story’s construction between the four Actors, or the story’s own details, that revealed something of human nature in a broader sense?”

Lin Sizhi shook his head, ”That’s difficult to say. But as I mentioned before, this particular criterion doesn’t operate by entirely consistent standards across different game types.

”If it did, it would essentially be a special bonus available only to Judgment Games.

”Because in other game types, there is no designated offender, so the design standards seem to differ. In Judgment Games, the bar is that human nature must be exposed or drawn out at an extreme level through a clever mechanism. In distribution-type or similar games, a much lighter touch is sufficient.

”Personally, I lean toward thinking this game did particularly well on the ’establishing a new standard’ criterion, with the additional consideration of it being a first-of-its-kind game.”

Huang Shengjie’s brow furrowed, ”Hmm. But I still feel like ’Prison Factory’ fully deserved S-tier.

”If we’re talking about exposing flaws and human nature, what we experienced in that game surely counts. And the scenery was genuinely excellent too.”

Ye Lin thought for a moment, ”Based on what Lawyer Lin said, it may be because the standard for distribution-type games has been set very high.

”After all, it’s one of the oldest game types, with an enormous number of games already behind it. ’Prison Factory’ would find it very difficult to distinguish itself in terms of originality.

”Or it’s also possible that an S-tier distribution-type game has already appeared in another region, which set the benchmark. By comparison to that, ’Prison Factory’ falls short, making it difficult to award S.”

Huang Shengjie asked with genuine curiosity, ”So what was that S-tier Judgment Game you participated in as an observer actually like? I’m really curious.”

Lin Sizhi thought for a moment, then said, ”It was the first Judgment Game our community participated in together during the First Stage. It can also be understood as the standard by which all subsequent Judgment Games are measured.

”At least one subsequent Judgment Game borrowed directly from its rules or underlying ideas.

”It was called ’King’s Judgment.’

”As for the specific rules and content, that isn’t something I’m offering for free.”

Huang Shengjie blinked, ”What?”

Lu Bingjun smiled slightly and didn’t let the thread continue, ”It’s entirely reasonable for Lawyer Lin to keep certain things in reserve. Whatever the case, what he’s shared today is already extraordinarily valuable.

”This game produced an enormous amount of information, and it may have far-reaching implications for both our community and the Gallery at large. We’ll need a long time to digest all of it slowly.

”That’s enough for today’s debrief. Everyone has worked hard. Get some rest.”