With Stardew Valley still riding on an explosive wave of popularity, Alto had no intention of diving into a new project just yet. Before officially beginning his next major work, he needed to recruit a proper team of designers to assist with development.
They didn't need to be extraordinary talents, just people with solid technical foundations. That way, he could delegate the time-consuming work of model optimization and detail polishing, saving himself months of tedious labor. Otherwise, a large-scale project could easily consume two or three years, possibly longer, and that kind of slow pace was simply unacceptable.
As for worrying about others stealing his techniques or reverse-engineering his methods? He had absolutely no such concerns whatsoever.
A truly great game wasn't something that would magically become successful just because someone copied its surface-level mechanics. If someone in this world genuinely wanted to learn his production philosophy or design approach, he wouldn't be stingy about teaching them. After all, he possessed an enormous backlog of intellectual properties and gameplay concepts from his previous life as an inexhaustible foundation. Go ahead and study all you want. Even if you dedicated your entire lifetime to it, you still might not finish learning everything he could teach.
He naturally understood Helena's poorly concealed intentions. There was nothing shameful about it, really. A talented designer wanting to expand her knowledge and learn more advanced concepts was perfectly reasonable. Even in his previous life, countless famous works had borrowed liberally from their predecessors' innovations. It was precisely through this generational refinement that audiences could enjoy increasingly creative and outstanding entertainment. As long as it wasn't blatant plagiarism, such behavior was entirely forgivable and even encouraged, unless your company's name was N*ntendo and you tried to implement anything even remotely similar to Monster catching in your Game.
While Alto was lost in thought, Sophia knocked politely and entered his office. She'd been feeling troubled lately, her usual cheerful demeanor clouded with uncertainty.
Ever since he had hired Helena as his dedicated assistant, he'd stopped assigning Sophia the endless miscellaneous tasks that used to fill her days. While this objectively made her workload much lighter and more manageable, it left her feeling strangely anxious and inadequate instead of relieved.
'Does the boss think my work isn't good enough?' she worried internally. 'Did I mess something up without realizing? I'm just too useless. I can't even handle basic tasks properly...'
During this anxious period, she'd been working even harder than before, voluntarily staying late every single evening to put in extra hours and prove her worth.
In truth, this was all a complete misunderstanding. Alto was actually extremely satisfied with his diligent little worker bee. Previously, it had simply been a matter of insufficient manpower, so he'd temporarily pushed Sophia into wearing multiple hats and juggling various responsibilities. Now that he had a dedicated assistant specifically for coordination and procurement work, there was naturally no need to keep Sophia loaded with tasks.
"Sophia, what's the matter?" Alto asked, looking up from his desk.
"Boss, there's someone outside requesting to see you. He says he's from the Temple of the Moon Goddess."
Alto froze mid-breath. Why would someone from the temple be seeking him out? Had he unknowingly done something wrong or violated some regulation? He mentally retraced his recent activities but couldn't identify anything questionable or problematic.
What Alto didn't know was that inside the temple, controlled chaos had erupted specifically because of his two groundbreaking works.
Ever since Alto had burst onto the design scene like a meteorite, the Dreamscape had transformed from a stagnant pond into churning rapids. Plants vs. Zombies, combined with Stardew Valley's astronomical sales figures and phenomenally strong user retention, had caused the number of active users in the Dreamscape to surge dramatically upward.
Stardew Valley, in particular, had gone on an absolute rampage recently. In just a short period, sales had already surpassed five million copies, with momentum showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. Daily sales kept shattering previous records, and breaking ten million seemed not a question of if, but merely when.
That wasn't even the most significant factor. The real issue was the terrifying level of user engagement and retention. Many players, aside from necessary eating, sleeping, and working, spent practically their entire existence immersed in Stardew Valley's world, farming obsessively from dawn until late at night. The game's audience had gradually expanded from primarily young adults to encompass all age demographics. Even elderly elves who'd never touched dream worlds before had become hopelessly addicted to his innovative mechanics.
This was a true cultural phenomenon, an unprecedented breakout hit. Nothing remotely comparable had ever happened in the Dreamscape's ten-thousand-year history.
The most direct and dramatic consequence was that Alto's Dream World had already skyrocketed to Level Three. People shouldn't underestimate that achievement. One had to remember exactly how long Alto has actually been a professional designer: just a few short months, not even approaching a full year yet.
His growth was absurdly fast, like strapping a rocket to his advancement and blasting straight upward. His level jumped so rapidly that even Alto himself felt his foundation was somewhat unstable and shaky, like building a skyscraper on sand.
This situation was completely unprecedented in recorded history. Other designers reached level three through decades of slow, methodical hard work and presence in their dream world. Alto, on the other hand, had practically done nothing but release two games and reached it in mere months through sheer explosive popularity.
Dream Designers also possessed offensive combat abilities tied to their dream levels, yet Alto had never undergone any systematic combat training whatsoever. His rapid advancement meant he had the raw power of a Level Three but none of the refined control or experience.
Such an outrageous anomaly naturally caught the temple's immediate attention and concern.
Outside the shop entrance, Harvey stood quietly waiting with practiced patience. He'd come under direct orders from his superiors to personally invite Alto to the temple for an important meeting.
Before long, Alto emerged from the building. Looking at such a remarkably young designer, Harvey couldn't help thinking that heroes truly did emerge from the new generation these days. Though for some inexplicable reason, the man looked strangely familiar, like someone he'd encountered somewhere before but couldn't quite place.
"Hello, Mr. Alto. I'm Harvey," he introduced himself formally.
Alto studied the black-robed man before him and suddenly felt an identical sense of recognition. After thinking carefully and searching his memories, realization struck him like lightning.
Wasn't this the incredibly rude receptionist he'd run into on registration day? The one who'd basically told him to get lost?
This world really was ridiculously small. What a twist of fate. He hadn't expected that casual, sarcastic remark back then to manifest this quickly into awkward reality.
However, Alto's mindset was completely different now compared to those early struggling days. After all, he was currently someone with liquid assets worth hundreds of millions of Baileys. He certainly wasn't about to hold petty grudges over something so minor and insignificant.
"So it's you," Alto said with mild amusement. "Do you remember me?"
Harvey was momentarily stunned, his professional composure wavering. Did they know each other? He had absolutely no recollection whatsoever.
He thought carefully, methodically retracing his memories through countless faces and interactions, when something suddenly clicked into horrifying place.
"Got money? Register. No money? Get lost!"
The cringe memory attacked him like a physical blow. Dead, buried embarrassment suddenly resurrected and punched him directly in the face.
No wonder Alto looked so familiar! Cold sweat instantly broke out across Harvey's forehead and down his spine. How the tables had catastrophically turned. It was entirely his fault for being so arrogant and dismissive back then, treating every applicant like dirt beneath his boots.
Seeing Alto looking somewhat nostalgic about the encounter, Harvey felt so mortified he wanted the ground to open and swallow him whole. His metaphorical toes were curling hard enough to excavate a basement apartment through sheer embarrassment.
If only he'd known then what he knew now, he would have thrown himself off a bridge before accepting this particular assignment.
"Haha... Mr. Alto, it was entirely my fault back then for catastrophically failing to recognize true talent," Harvey stammered, his usual professional demeanor completely shattered. "In fact, I could tell at the time that you possessed extraordinary gifts, but I was simply overwhelmed with work pressure, so my hospitality was... regrettably lacking..."
Sophia and Helena watched the exchange with fascinated confusion, their eyes wide with delighted curiosity. Did these two actually know each other from before? What was this dramatic history?
The two young women exchanged meaningful glances and quietly settled in to enjoy the unfolding drama.
Alto had no intention of dwelling on ancient history or making Harvey squirm further. He was far more curious about why official temple forces had suddenly come seeking him specifically.
"That's all in the past, and the hatchet is long buried," Alto said dismissively. "Let's discuss your actual purpose for coming here today."
Harvey secretly released a profound sigh of relief, his tensed shoulders dropping slightly. "It's like this. I'm here representing the temple elders to formally invite you to the temple for an important discussion regarding certain matters."
"Me? What exactly is this about?"
"It appears to be related to your published works and their unprecedented impact. Beyond that basic information, I honestly don't know the specific details myself."
"When would be convenient for you to visit?"
Alto felt genuinely puzzled by the vague explanation. However, he'd actually been wanting to discuss some ideas and proposals with official personnel for a while now, but had simply lacked the proper channels or connections to arrange such a meeting. Perhaps this unexpected summons was actually a fortuitous opportunity in disguise.
"Now works fine for me. Let's go," Alto decided without hesitation.
He had nothing particularly pressing on his schedule at the moment, and with Sophia capably managing the shop operations, everything would run smoothly in his absence. Better to handle this mysterious temple business immediately rather than let it hang over his head.
Following Harvey outside into the bustling street, Alto's attention was immediately drawn to an elegantly designed, magically powered carriage waiting by the curb. Its overall appearance resembled a vintage luxury car from his previous life, all polished wood panels and gleaming brass fittings, except powered by humming magical energy instead of combustion engines.
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Hey guys,
If we manage to reach 600 powerstones this week, I will post a bonus chapter, like last week. If you wanna read more, check out my profile. I hope you all have a nice new week^^