Chapter 62-2: The Lottery Event (2) |
That plan was… a lottery!
Before traveling to Monster World, Qi Sheng had played many games back on Earth.
When designing the Challenger System, he drew inspiration from many game mechanics.
He noticed that nearly all types of games shared a form of monetization: lotteries, whether through blind boxes, card draws, prize wheels, loot boxes mechanics to encourage spending.
These gambling mechanics had three major advantages.
First, they catered to players’ psychological needs. Humans are naturally drawn to gambling, curious and excited about unknown outcomes. The monetized lottery system leveraged this, allowing players to experience the thrill of ‘small bets for big wins’ through spending.
Secondly, when players win rare or valuable virtual items through the lottery, they experience strong joy and satisfaction. This positive feedback encourages them to continue participating in the lottery.
Lastly, lottery systems usually offer a wide variety of rewards, ranging from common to rare. The diversity of prizes gives players more anticipation and surprise during each draw, meeting the needs of different types of players.
It is precisely these three advantages that make lottery systems the mainstream monetization model for game companies.
Launching a probability-based lottery would perfectly solve this problem. As long as the winning probabilities were properly calibrated, he could ensure a guaranteed profit.
Once this system went live, players’ stored sacrificial power would inevitably continue converting into his income.
Compared to other pay-to-win games, Monster World’s lottery system had a natural advantage.
Players wouldn’t question the odds or suspect the lottery of being a forced or rigged monetization tactic.
Because Monster World didn’t even have a cash payment channel, the only thing consumed was in-game generated currency.
With this plan in mind, Qi Sheng immediately contacted Guide to begin creating the virtual lottery event.
That afternoon, a Challenger Notification rang out in every player’s mind, and the related information was simultaneously posted on the official forum:
[Random Event Activated: This event is the ‘Lucky Wheel.’ Players may activate the Lucky Wheel mode through the function panel. The feature will disappear once the event ends.]
Posted by: Guide (Official Verified)
Event Description: This event triggers randomly. During the event, players may spend 20 sacrificial power to activate the Lucky Wheel and receive random rewards. No guaranteed rewards.
Event Countdown: 23 hours 59 minutes 57 seconds.
Event Rewards:
The prizes are divided into six tiers, indicated by white, green, blue, red, purple, and gold slots, from lowest to highest.
Gold Slot Rewards:
Body Tempering Level +2 (only applies to Body Tempering levels below 10; if already level 10, receive 20,000 sacrificial power instead)
Large Sacrificial Power Pack (grants 18,000 sacrificial power upon opening)
Star Vein Growth Pack (increases Star Vein level by +4 upon opening)
Power of Growth (grants +15% monster hunting evolution point and sacrificial power gains for 30 days)
(Note: Power of Growth only boosts hunting rewards; sacrificing resources or items does not generate additional returns.)
Purple Slot Rewards:
Infinite Pickaxe (Marketplace price: 5,000 sacrificial power, infinite durability, automatically repairs if damaged)
Food Supply Pack (Marketplace price: 3,000 sacrificial power, contains 3,000 assorted canned foods)
Earthshatter Slash (Marketplace price: 3,500 sacrificial power, Quality: 39)
—
The sudden game notification immediately attracted massive attention from players.
They quickly began discussing it under the official forum post.
Endless Night: Hiss~ I’m smelling some heavy pay-to-win vibes here… oh wait, this is Dark Land, never mind, there’s no cash shop in this game.
Cherry Calf: The event description says there’s no pity system. Doesn’t that mean you could theoretically pull nothing but white slots if you’re extremely unlucky? I was about to complain but then remembered this game doesn’t even have a cash recharge channel. Could the Lunar Eclipse race scam me out of sacrificial power? (awkward head scratch.jpg)
Die Once Then Sleep:
Guys, I analyzed the event and concluded it’s worth trying. Here’s why:
Lottery mechanics in other games exist to generate cash, but Dark Land doesn’t have that issue, so the odds should be fair.
Aside from monetization, lotteries are also used in games where the in-game currency supply overflows, helping the devs recycle currency and stabilize prices. But sacrificial power production in Dark Land is terrifyingly low. There’s no currency inflation, if anything, the currency output is too small. So this event isn’t for recycling sacrificial power either.
The Lunar Eclipse race’s previous game also had lottery events, and by past standards, the odds were very fair, anyone had a shot at winning… of course, if your luck sucks, that’s on you since there’s no pity system.
Worst At Picking Usernames: You guys are analyzing this to death. Just spin already! Draw first, then come back and share your experiences. (funny face.jpg)
—
Players shared various opinions about the lottery event.
While most players believed there was no problem with the lottery, some remained cautious and hesitant to participate.
They weren’t worried about official cheating but feared losing sacrificial power.
Though sacrificial power was purely generated in-game, players universally viewed it as a highly valuable resource that could be exchanged for real money.
The cost of a single draw was quite steep, making players reluctant to risk it lightly.
Just then, a notification sounded across the entire global channel, instantly igniting heated discussion among players.
[Lucky Wheel Event Notification (Global Channel): Congratulations to player ‘Don’t Tell Mom About My Troubles’ for drawing a gold-tier reward: Large Sacrificial Power Pack.]
The voice channels exploded with chatter.
“What the hell, bro! The event’s only been live for like 5 minutes and you already pulled a Large Sacrificial Power Pack? That’s 18,000 sacrificial power! Are you gambling away your lifespan? You damn lucky bastard!”
“My fists are clenched. If this game had a cash shop, I’d be screaming ‘rigged scam!’ You just ruined my mood for the day. Screw it, I’m pulling once too. If I don’t win, I’ll come back and rage.”
“I think my envy disease is incurable now. Why can’t I get one shot at a jackpot? Please, devs, turn off global notifications, or at least change them to show how much sacrificial power a player lost instead of broadcasting good news. I don’t want to hear it.”
“I was originally saving up to buy a Taunt Inherited Soul. The moment I saw the lottery, I knew my savings were doomed. Gambling addict mode activated, give me gold!”
“I’m going crazy. I saw the announcement and immediately spun twice, spent 40 sacrificial power and got two cans of food worth 1 sacrificial power each. Damn you, Lunar Eclipse race, refund me 38 sacrificial power! (throwing tantrum.jpg)”
“Hahaha, got lucky, pulled a blue-tier prize: a weapon worth 120 sacrificial power (attachment: Frost Sword).”
—
Qi Sheng had added a feature to the Lucky Wheel event.
Whenever a player pulled a purple-tier or higher reward, a pinned notification would appear in the global channel for 3 seconds.
This was done precisely to entice those players who were still hesitating.
Just as expected, shortly after the event launched, more and more players started participating.
Though some players were extremely lucky and won high-value items, Qi Sheng’s probability settings ensured he always remained profitable.
The total sacrificial power pool wasn’t shrinking, it was simply being reallocated from player holdings into his own account through perfectly legitimate means.
For Qi Sheng, who controlled the entire sacrificial power pool, he could technically use the players’ sacrificial power at any time and invent reasons afterward if shortfalls occurred.
But in his eyes, such deceptive behavior was foolish.
Even if the players accepted his explanations, he would still need to replenish the overspent sacrificial power eventually, and it would damage their game experience.
So, when he could earn it, why steal?
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