Losing Money to Be a Tycoon
chapter-1267

In the afternoon, in Sun Strike Studios' conference room…

After struggling internally, Zhou Muyan decided to choose Sun Xi as Min Jingchao's assistant.

He had wanted to shortlist them based on his understanding of Boss Pei's design intentions. However, he realized that everyone had handed in their zero marks.

Since that was the case, he could only choose a chief designer that he trusted the most and had more experience in FPS games.

No matter how he chose, he was still the most satisfied with Sun Xi.

At that moment, both of them looked at Min Jingchao, wanting to say something but hesitated.

Now that Boss Pei was gone, Min Jingchao was his only hope…

Zhou Muyan and Sun Xi knew very well that Min Jingchao was GOG's chief designer. This should be his niche.

In other words, even if he left Boss Pei, the game that he designed would not fail too badly if something went wrong.

However, the game this time was not just a passable requirement.

If the three top companies worked together and produced a game with average response, it would be equivalent to failure.

Given Boss Pei's broad requirements, could Min Jingchao design a game that would not sully Tengda's reputation? That was rather suspicious.

Zhou Muyan said very considerately, "Brother Min, it's alright if you don't have any ideas for the design plan now. You can think about it for a few more days. Designs cannot be rushed. It's easy to make mistakes in your busy schedule."

"Once the design deviates, it would be difficult to repair it in the future."

"Do you need anything here? If you are not used to the food here, I can ask the chef in the company canteen to make more of your favorite dishes."

Zhou Muyan had to serve Min Jingchao well.

On one hand, it was because he had a top working environment in Tengda. He might not be able to adapt here. On the other hand, he was afraid that he would be in a bad mood and affect the design of the plan.

Min Jingchao smiled and said, "Oh, it's alright. Thank you for your care, Boss Zhou. Don't worry about the design. My design has basically taken shape. I just need to simply perfect it."

Sun Xi was shocked. "Huh? So fast?!"

It might only be a frame, but it was very difficult to think of a frame so quickly!

That was because this framework determined the basic pleasure and core principles of the game. It was like the foundation of a building. This thing could be muddled but the consequences of it would be very disastrous.

You thought of it so fast?

Was there really no need to think further?

Sun Xi and Zhou Muyan were stunned.

If he did not trust Boss Pei and Min Jingchao, he would have thought that they were here to team up to cheat research funds.

Min Jingchao was a little surprised to see their shocked expressions. "Why? Is this fast?"

"Oh, perhaps the work flow of each company is different. You don't understand Tengda's situation."

"I did not design it from scratch. I answered it based on Boss Pei's hint."

"This is not an independent thesis. There is a certain pattern to fill in the gaps."

"As long as you grasp the method, you will be able to complete it very quickly."

"My speed is only average or subpar among Tengda's chief designers. After all, I'm at GOG all year round. I don't have many chances to participate in other types of games."

Zhou Muyan and Sun Xi were still stunned.

Min Jingchao gave an explanation, but after he finished, the two of them became even more suspicious.

You call this filling in the gaps?

One generally only needed to fill in a few words for most articles, right?

Boss Pei was doing the complete opposite. He only gave a few words for you to write the entire article!

What's more, he gave him ambiguous and unimportant words. What should he do?

Your ability is simply heaven-defying, alright?

What's more, you're telling us that such a heaven-defying ability is the standard among Tengda's chief designers? You're even subpar?

What the f*ck…?

The talent pool of Tengda's designers could only be described as terrifying…

Zhou Muyan cleared his throat. "Then, Brother Min, why don't you tell me the specific timeline and plan now? I'm too curious!"

Sun Xi nodded as well. "That's right. How did you come up with a design plan based on Boss Pei's broad conditions? It's a miracle!"

Min Jingchao smiled. "Well, it's not difficult for those who know how to do it. Boss Pei has been training us in this area. I've been working in Tengda for so long. It's time for me to be enlightened even if I'm a block of wood."

"Then, I'll briefly explain how Boss Pei wants to design Bullet Hole 2."

"Do you remember what Boss Pei said at the meeting and the questions that I asked later on?"

Zhou Muyan and Sun Xi nodded.

They were all very simple questions. They were not profound. What's more, they had recorded them.

Min Jingchao said, "These requirements are enough."

"Boss Pei had already explained the game's hand sensitivity and charging mode.

"Simply put, Boss Pei would never repeat his own design. Ocean Stronghold has already used it once. It will definitely not be used again."

"What's more, the current market situation has changed compared to before."

"Ocean Stronghold has nurtured and recruited a group of FPS enthusiasts. The entire gamer group has expanded since then. What's more, Ocean Stronghold has been operating for two to three years. Many gamers are already tired of it."

"If we were to copy Ocean Stronghold now, we would definitely not be able to make it in time. The gameplay is not attractive. Even if we change the appearance, would the pirated version be able to beat the original? That's impossible."

"Therefore, there must be changes and breakthroughs."

"Everyone says that Tengda Games is a golden signboard. Players would buy it once the game is released. However, this golden signboard is also built on constant innovation, constant change, and always surprising players."

"If one day Tengda produces a game that does not give people a sense of novelty, this golden brand would probably become rusty."

Zhou Muyan nodded, expressing his heartfelt admiration.

The logic was simple and everyone understood it.

If he did not innovate and kept to himself, it was equivalent to rowing a boat against the current. He would not advance but retreat.

However, knowing this at times did not mean that one could practice it. Most problems in the world would not be a problem if they could do it.

In reality, innovation often means risk, and risk means failure.

It was not difficult to advocate the creative spirit. The difficult thing was that a company always pursued innovation at all costs. What's more, the minds of the boss and employees were all highly uniformly pursuing innovation.

Min Jingchao continued, "Boss Pei said that the skin of the game must be completely changed. He also said that it must be low-profile, realistic, and unique."

"Actually, combined with the requirements for hand sensitivity, I can see that this is a very clear hint. It can even be said to be a clear hint!"

Zhou Muyan and Sun Xi were stunned. "Huh?"

What do you mean?

Its unique meaning was to make it as cool as the Red Kilin. However, if it was low-key and realistic, how could it be unique?

They were both guns that existed in reality. How could they be unique if they were more similar to real guns?

Min Jingchao shook his head slightly, as if he could not understand their slowness. "It's very simple, change the packaging!"

"Who said that we have to make FPS games with modern backgrounds? Isn't a futuristic background better?"

"Think about it carefully. The path of modern firearms is no longer feasible. Counter Strike, Bullet Hole and Ocean Stronghold are in front of us. We'll run into them no matter what."

"However, if it is made into a futuristic sci-fi style, wouldn't it be able to be both realistic and cool?"

"What Boss Pei said is realistic. He doesn't specifically mean that modern firearms must be realistic. It can also be realistic about future firearms."

"Make the future high-tech firearms simpler and more realistic. Don't add so many strange special effects. It will look more realistic."

"What's more, this would solve the problem of hand sensitivity."

"The reason why the hand sensitivity of Bullet Hole is not popular is because the gun is the same as Counter Strike, but the hand sensitivity is slightly different."

"This subtle difference makes players feel a little uncomfortable. That's why they're not on either side."

"But what if we change it to a futuristic gun? As long as we change the packaging of these weapons, players would not feel this awkward. They would not think that 'AK47's hand sensitivity is not like this'. They would only think that 'the hand sensitivity of this gun is more similar to AK47' or 'this is a future version of AK47'."

"Since technology has improved, isn't it normal for the hand sensitivity of the firearms to change?"

Min Jingchao's explanation stunned Zhou Muyan and Sun Xi. They were stunned and a little enlightened.

So that was what Boss Pei meant?

Previously, they had not thought in this direction at all, mainly because their thinking was limited.

Once Boss Pei said that he wanted to make Bullet Hole 2, they followed his train of thought.

It was just like how the previous game was based on the three kingdoms. The sequel would definitely be considered with the background of the three kingdoms. If it suddenly became a high-tech three kingdom, would that be appropriate?

However, Min Jingchao's explanation made sense.

That's right, if it was made into a sci-fi game, it could indeed solve these problems perfectly!

Sun Xi was confused. "But can't Boss Pei just say that he wants to do a sci-fi background? Why do we have to go around it?"

Min Jingchao shook his head slightly. "Say it directly? Why not tell you the entire design plan then?"

"This is what Boss Pei tested. He wanted to see if you could jump out of the restrictions and think of the perfect solution."

"If you had said from the beginning that you wanted to create a sci-fi background, would you still have delved into why you wanted to create a sci-fi background? Would you still have thought about the interconnected problems of style and hand sensitivity?"

Zhou Muyan quickly asked, "What about the plot and game mode? Could it be that Boss Pei has already given a corresponding answer but we haven't understood it?"

Min Jingchao nodded confidently. "Of course!"

"However, the freedom that Boss Pei gives to these two questions is different: the former is clear and the range is relatively narrow; the latter is vague and the range is relatively broad."

"Boss Zhou, you can try to interpret it."

"Do you remember what Boss Pei said when I asked him if he wanted to do a plot?"

Sun Xi immediately answered, "I remember. Boss Pei said that he doesn't want to do the plot. The funds can be used in other places. For example, the map can be used."

Min Jingchao nodded. "That's right."

"In Boss Pei's speech system, the directions that are clearly pointed out are basically more important."

"What do you think Boss Pei meant by 'creating a map'?"

Sun Xi thought for a moment. "Combined with the sci-fi background that we summarized previously… Do you want to make a few more maps of the PvP mode? The sci-fi style to be stronger and the structure to be more complicated?"

Min Jingchao replied with a question. "No matter what background we make, we have to make a map for battles. Can we spend more money on sci-fi backgrounds? Is there any fundamental difference from making a modern war background?"

Sun Xi was speechless. After some thought, he said, "…No."

A painting was definitely art. Painting a sci-fi background might require some original content, but the workload would not be much higher than ordinary modern war backgrounds. Thus, it was impossible to spend a lot of money just based on this.

Min Jingchao continued asking, "So how can we spend more money on the map?"

Zhou Muyan thought about it seriously and said uncertainly. "…Make the map big enough?"

If it was a small map, changing the style, or increasing the quantity, it would not be enough to spend a lot of money.

The only way was to make one or a few huge maps so that he could spend more money.

However, Zhou Muyan said this with some hesitation because he felt that this idea did not seem reliable.

What was the point of creating a huge map?

They had to have the corresponding gameplay to support it, right?

Min Jingchao nodded. "Yes, that's it!"

"Of course, I'm not sure either. That's why I asked Boss Pei about the gameplay. Boss Pei said to get rid of the apparition mode, biochemical mode, and explosive mode."

"Then, I asked if I could create other modes. Boss Pei said yes."

"The answer is very clear after summarizing it this way: The Bullet Hole 2 that Boss Pei wants is a shooting game with a futuristic sci-fi background. It is different from the current mainstream FPS game play. A large number of players have to be placed on a huge map to undergo a new PvP mode."

Sun Xi looked shocked.

He did not expect that he could really figure out the framework of Bullet Hole 2 with just this information. What's more, it made sense…

"However, Boss Pei did not say what this new game mode is, right? You can't figure it out either, right?" Zhou Muyan asked hesitantly.

That was because Min Jingchao had interpreted too many things from Boss Pei's words. That made him very uncertain.

Min Jingchao nodded. "Indeed not, because Boss Pei's goal is for me to design freely."

"If you say that the fill in the gaps part is complete, the last part is the thesis assignment."

"That's because the designers of Tengda would not find it difficult to fill in the gaps. Boss Pei had long since begun to consciously increase the difficulty, giving the designers full autonomy and allowing them to design their own models."

"I have a preliminary idea now, but I still need to focus on it and implement this idea as much as possible. It will take about three to five days."