The Lasian AI Rigging Controversy.
A significant issue had erupted among fighting game experts.
Both Lasian and I were watching, utterly bewildered, but drawing this much attention before the video was even uploaded was something I could do without.
"Wow, a speedrun video for Fist of Fury 1 is sparking accusations of rigging."
The comments were getting intense.
Sorting by 'likes,' most of them were filled with admiration for the gameplay, with comments like 'God-tier,' 'Insanely good,' and 'This person is an AI, for real.'
But sorting by 'newest' revealed a hellscape, like a pit of deep-sea anglerfish tearing each other apart.
"Hmm, I'm used to this. There's a certain satisfaction in deleting these."
"Pardon?"
"I'm the type who feels a sense of pride when cleaning up trash someone maliciously threw on the street, making it clean again. It's like environmental cleanup."
I casually deleted a few comments.
Since I used a Korean team, the channel name was in Korean, and even the UI in Fist of Fury 1 was all in Korean, most of the comments were in Hangul. This allowed me to understand and delete them immediately.
"Producer. These kinds of posts are..."
"It's the die-hard Park Gi-nam stans launching an all-out offensive. Their streamer is being publicly shamed, so for them, this is about proving they weren't wrong."
All sorts of trolls were screaming at Lasian to "explain herself."
In fact, a comment popped up questioning if her number one rank in Fist of Fury 1 was also achieved through rigging, and a reply appeared in real-time.
—If this is rigged, does that mean Reaper-Ahjo, who reclaimed the #1 spot with this, is also an AI?
——'Reaper-Ahjo'.
"Why is this person suddenly involved...?"
"Looks like two fandoms have just gone to war."
One streamer, who could only reach number one because the speedrunner Lasian wasn't a cheater.
The other streamer, who was overwhelmingly defeated by the rank-climber Lasian and was now being featured on every community forum with titles like 'Streamer gets utterly destroyed and claims it's rigged.avi'.
If Lasian was found to have cheated, the former would lose his prestige. If she hadn't, the latter's channel would be crippled, its influence cut off at the knees.
A streamer embroiled in controversy would eventually lose their audience, leaving only those who outsiders would call "zealots."
Therefore, for the sake of his own future, Park Gi-nam, who started the rigging theory, desperately needed Lasian to be a cheater.
-SNK already said it wasn't rigged. What are you, an SNK employee?
-I am an SNK employee, and Lasian bribed me.
-Ignore the guy above, he's just a psycho.
-Even writing that is giving him attention. Don't feed the trolls.
-Why the hell are you guys doing this on Lasian's video lmao
"To think that comment-section trench warfare is breaking out on a weekday afternoon."
"Isn't this the time most people are at work?"
"I guess for these folks, their online life is more important than their real one."
"Ah. Internet life."
You might think it's better to ignore such petty squabbles and just go for a walk or focus on company work, but the people who come here to leave comments aren't the type to be reasoned with like that.
"How should I go about explaining myself?"
"Don't."
"Pardon?"
"They're not looking for an explanation. They're just trying to win a keyboard war to get their dopamine fix."
"...Ah."
At my words, Lasian snapped her fingers.
"They are truly like demons, are they not?"
"Demons?"
"Yes. They are not beings who can be swayed by logical persuasion. Their minds are filled with only the thought of satisfying their basic desires. And those desires are primarily focused on murder, competition, and conflict."
"Thrill killers, or something similar? People who know what good and justice are but will gladly destroy them for a dopamine hit?"
"Yes. Solely for their own pleasure. The demons of my world are such beings."
"I see. Over here... the definition of 'demon' is quite diverse."
The perception of demons has varied throughout the ages, but in the year 2035, it had reached a point where demons from the Demon Realm would cross over to Earth to become VTubers.
The demon side of this industry was rife with individuals who had used powerful dimension-traveling magic to come to Earth, only to exhaust all their mana and end up streaming to earn money for magic stones.
They were entertainers who would willingly debase themselves or showcase their talents for the viewers' dopamine fix, not creatures who went around stabbing things to satisfy their own.
"They're demon-like, for sure, but even this can be used by the company."
"You're going to use it?"
"Yep. If we can naturally transition this into a VTuber debut, it'll create a whole story."
I pointed above the comment warzone to the Fist of Fury 1 strategy video.
"Initially, it's just a channel where someone uploads their gameplay. Most of the main streaming audience today, those in their 20s and 30s, have experience uploading videos to their own YouTube channels, you know?"
It's common to see channel thumbnails with big names like 'Jihwan' or 'Mingi' and a 6-minute, 35-second video titled `[Some Game Boss Fight]` with only 4-5 views.
Many of these videos even have a watermark from a screen recording program like Ban**soft at the top.
"Even if they don't recall that specific experience, everyone will get a similar feeling. 'Oh, this person also uploaded their gameplay to a video site.'"
Lasian's first video had that nostalgic concept baked into it.
"But then, the gameplay turns out to be exceptionally good, and talk of rigging starts? Then, in the next video..."
"Some form of proof that it isn't rigged will have to be included. Whether it's a hand cam or a video of me playing directly."
"Exactly."
And what about Lasian's second video?
"...Alright. Upload complete."
Lasian's second video was dropped onto a channel specializing in game uploads.
"Shorts upload complete."
"...But it's 9 hours and 36 minutes long?"
"It's a nine-minute short."
Even with the technological advancements of 2035, uploading the video still took an eternity.
The video of Lasian playing, selecting her character, and battling various opponents had just gone live.
A one-sitting clear in 9 hours and 36 minutes?
Not quite.
This was an edited video.
Although the edited parts were just moments when she briefly stepped away or the queue times while searching for an opponent, the gameplay in the video was a continuous loop of entering a match and winning.
"Normally, this is the worst method. The audio is just a repetition of 'Ugh,' 'Kuaak,' and 'Round one, ready-fight!', making it terrible as a long-form video even for background listening."
The opponents constantly changed, and among them were pro players.
"But it's fine. I'm designing this with the idea that her VTuber debut won't be on this channel, and we'll build the algorithm accordingly."
In essence, it was an edited video that was practically unedited.
"These videos will be made private when you debut. In their place, VODs of your streams will be uploaded."
The channel's algorithm might get a little tangled, but that could be fixed with proper adjustments.
Alternatively, we could keep the VOD channel for her VTuber persona and the gameplay channel separate, allowing her to operate multiple channels by herself.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
'By that point, I'd have to hire a separate editor or staff, but for now, we're laying the groundwork.'
I'll say it again: debuting isn't easy.
To survive in the VTuber industry where dozens debut every day, you have to claw your way to an early boost.
It's a miracle for a group of five small-time streamers to endure for a year or two before finally getting a chance to blow up, but it's still better to attract as many viewers as possible, as quickly as possible.
In that sense.
"Miss Lasian."
"Yes. Should I just use a hand cam to prove that I'm not cheating?"
"...Oh."
I was about to present Lasian with a plan to break through the controversy while simultaneously laying out a blueprint for her VTuber debut, but she had already reached the stage of proposing her own ideas.
"You really are smart."
"I certainly earn my keep in hamburgers."
"Yes. That's great. But we're not at that stage yet."
"Pardon?"
"It's too early to show your hands. Even with gloves, the lines of your hands would be visible, and people would inevitably start saying things like, 'You can tell she's a beauty just from her hands.'"
"True, there isn't a single part of me that isn't beautiful."
Lasian spread her hands and wiggled her fingers gracefully.
"Then should I go after the pros? My ranking points dropped and I lost the number one spot, but it would be a simple matter to climb back up."
"That's a terrifying statement, but I'd like to suggest a different direction."
"Which is...?"
"Since someone is trying to stir up a rigging controversy, let's just pour gasoline on the fire ourselves."
The more fiercely the commenters fought, the brighter the issue would burn.
A topic that initially lingered in the dark corners of the internet would gradually sweep the 'best of' sections of every online community, and the internet phantoms who roamed there would have Lasian's name seared into their minds one by one.
"We can tackle it head-on, we can go around it, or we can step back for a bit and quietly re-emerge when things have calmed down."
"Hmm..."
"The choice is yours, Miss Lasian. What will you do?"
"...Though I cannot say it is entirely similar, I have resolved most of my adversities with the power of magic."
Lasian cracked her knuckles and sat down at the computer.
"Let's face it head-on. Just tell me how."
"Excellent. But... there is a way to go full-throttle. Want to give it a try?"
It was a gamble.
"Even when I was in the industry, I never planned a debut like this."
It was a crazy stunt I'd never tried before, but if anyone could pull it off, it was Lasian.
"What is it?"
"A no-mic, no-cam, zero-interaction, full-send live stream."
"...."
"The only thing broadcast will be the live gameplay screen."
"Hmm..."
Maybe it was too much to ask.
"If it doesn't work out, I can just debut as a VTuber under a different name."
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