After explaining to his wife that he hadn't gone for a foot bath but had worked overtime instead, Mr. Shen had to make many promises before his wife let him off the hook.
Wiping away his sweat, he felt a pang of heartache for the new hairs wasted while coming up with excuses, and Mr. Shen reflected on his previous gaming experience, still feeling somewhat unsatisfied.
How could this game be so fun?
The game's flow experience was nearly flawless, the incremental growth in values was not explosive, but it felt solid.
Every increase in values gave players a sense of becoming stronger, which was immediately reflected in the game, allowing players to feel their progress through various details.
Moreover, this change was not isolated.
An improvement in physique allowed players to face some traps head-on without fearing instant death.
An increase in strength even allowed players to break through walls and reach another room directly.
An increase in charm would make the princess in the dungeon perform better, thus making the rewards more valuable after clearing the level.
If the game's scenes and gameplay were a good dish, the game's values were an excellent seasoning, making the game even more delectable.
"I wonder who the value planner is, Fang Cheng really struck gold this time. Judging by the scope, 30 yuan isn't excessive. Considering the graphics, 48 isn't too much either. If a gameplay designer got involved and did some in-depth design, that would be even better," Mr. Shen said.
As Mr. Shen was pondering on how to price the game, a phone call came in.
It was the CEO of Tianyi.
Although Mr. Shen was only in his forties, he was among the first generation of game developers in China, dropping out of school to make games at fifteen and participating in the creation of early DOS, console, and PC games, gaining a small reputation in the gaming world.
Furthermore, because he enjoyed mentoring juniors, many in the gaming industry had received his advice, and he was well-connected in the gaming community.
Not to mention, after joining Tianxiong Game Training College, he sent out a new batch of trainees every six months, which only elevated his status in the industry.
Answering the phone, Mr. Shen heard the other person say, "Mr. Shen? We had an agreement last time. Kongkong Studio's new game is about to launch, and we need to hold a small release event. Are you available today?"
Tianyi's CEO Zhang seemed unaware of the minor conflict between his studio, Kongkong, and Fang Cheng, and there was nothing unusual in his tone.
Mr. Shen thought for a moment and remembered that there had indeed been such an arrangement.
After clarifying the time and hanging up, Mr. Shen yawned, picked up the Spiritual Tea Fang Cheng had just given him, brewed a large cup, and downed it in one gulp.
The hangover-like feeling from an all-night gaming session disappeared, rejuvenating him instantly, feeling like he could go on for a few more hours.
Smacking his guilty right hand hard, Mr. Shen dared not experience that time-traveling sensation again, hailed a taxi, and headed to Tianyi's subsidiary, Kongkong Studio.
Although it was nominally a small launch event, it was actually a small press briefing.
Aside from some well-known figures in the gaming world, some media reporters were also present, showing that Tianyi had great confidence in this game.
After greeting acquaintances, Mr. Shen found the seat at the front with his name on it, sat down, and began to rest with his eyes closed.
KongKong was all prepared, with his slightly chubby figure draped in a plaid shirt, looking somewhat spirited.
During the game loading process, he spoke nonstop, "Our game is a dungeon-crawler focused on farming for equipment. Players need to push through dungeons and then obtain various pieces of equipment to enhance their attributes. Our core gameplay revolves around equipment building, as well as..."
The surroundings darkened, the screen lit up, and the game's cutscene began to play.
Countless monsters poured out of dungeons, many civilians died violently due to the monsters, and heroes emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, clutching their weapons as they advanced toward the dungeons.
Although it was just a brief half-minute, the quality of this CG was very high, ranking at an incredibly high standard even internationally.
While watching the CG, some game media journalists began to gleam in their eyes, with their expectations for the game already maxed out, eager to play the game immediately.
And when the actual game graphics appeared, some gamers also got excited.
The game used a standard top-down perspective, but the graphics were exceptionally realistic, with character modeling lifelike.
Whether it was ray tracing or liquid effects, this game was truly one of Tianyi's recent masterpieces; just the graphics alone were already heavenly.
Pleased with their reactions, KongKong continued to explain, "Our game adopts a free base game with a monthly subscription system and includes various VIP levels as well, but these features will be rolled out gradually to lower the financial pressure on players. In addition, we have also built..."
KongKong spoke until he was out of breath; Mr. Shen listened with no interest at all.
His values were just like that. In his eyes, a game was merely an instrument for making money. The so-called gameplay and philosophy were all in service of this point—profits through and through.
Every game used various leaderboards and VIP payment systems to get players to spend a significant amount of money in a short time and to quickly abandon the game once its lifespan was exhausted, even selling the game's source code to sink it into the secondary market.
Right, but it was infuriating.
After spending half an hour explaining his monetization philosophy, KongKong finally began to explain the actual gameplay of the game.
Under the lead designer's control, KongKong explained one by one, "We've implemented an environmental physics system where everything in the environment can interact with the player. You can smash torches, destroy walls, even dig traps and lure enemies into them, then cause destruction. We have as many as thirteen dungeons, each with its own distinct gameplay."
At the mention of the number thirteen, the audience was thrilled, eagerly raising their hands to ask, "Thirteen dungeons, and each one has different gameplay?"
KongKong hesitated for only half a second before confidently saying, "All different. And clearing any one of the dungeons will give you different items and introduce some variation into the game's mechanics."
"Not bad," said a gamer who couldn't help but remark.
He nudged Mr. Shen, who was still yawning, and whispered, "KongKong does have some skills; although he's always looking at money, at least the game sounds pretty good. What do you think the peak revenue for this game could be? I guess it could hit two hundred million a month."
Mr. Shen wiped away the tear from the corner of his eye, then said, "I agreed with your opinion yesterday, today I cannot."
"Then what's your number?"
"Two million, at most."
"Come on, that won't even cover the cost."
"Well, there's nothing to be done about it if it's just bad luck."
Sighing, Mr. Shen felt KongKong really had bad luck but also sensed a deep satisfaction.
Who told you to be blind to the big fish that I had referred to you?
After the meeting, Mr. Shen declined the transportation and accommodation allowance for this occasion.
The allowance is a customary practice for participating in such small-scale press conferences; each game developer and journalist receives an amount based on their level of influence—it's also considered a promotional expense.
Given Mr. Shen's standing, it was normal for him to receive just over twenty thousand, but declining it meant he had other thoughts in mind.
Learning that Mr. Shen had turned down the money, Tianyi's CEO Zhang Ping specifically sought him out and, before he left, asked with concern, "Mr. Shen, is there something wrong with this game?"
"No, the pay-to-win mechanics are done well, and various settings are fairly mature. There are no issues."
"Then the allowance... was it too little?"
"It wasn't less, but I'm not in need of money. Accepting it would somewhat damage my reputation."
Mr. Shen's words left the CEO confused.
First, he said there were no problems with the game, then he said accepting the money would harm his reputation. Are you having a split personality?
Seeing the CEO's confused face, Mr. Shen did not play coy and simply said, "I have a student who recently developed a game very similar to yours in terms of gameplay."
CEO Zhang nodded, feeling he understood Mr. Shen's point, "So, you're avoiding any conflict of interest? It's fine, we can even help promote it."
In CEO Zhang's view, what threat could a game developed by a student pose?
Mr. Shen must think the student's game is too shoddy. Once it launches, it will be completely overshadowed by his own game, and people will say "can't even copy properly."
With extensive experience in reading people, Mr. Shen instantly saw through CEO Zhang's thoughts and smiled as he shook his head.
He had thought that Fang Cheng not joining Tianyi was a loss, but now he realized that joining would have been the real loss.
Tianyi was getting arrogant.
The domestic game industry was currently weak, and Tianyi was already standing tall among the short. Instead of staying humble, they now arrogantly acted as if they were the best in the world.
It was one thing for KongKong, but even the CEO had adopted this attitude; there really was no hope for this company.
In contrast, little Fang was much better.
With strong technical skill in gaming and a modest disposition, always insisting he knew nothing about games, this attitude of continuous learning alone was commendable.
Taking a taxi, Mr. Shen called Fang Cheng and firmly stated, "Your game should be priced at 68, right?"
"Isn't that a bit high?" Fang Cheng asked, puzzled.
"No, quality products should be priced as such."
The next day, almost simultaneously, Fang Cheng's game and Tianyi's game launched.
Under intense instruction from Fang Cheng, his game was named "Princess Dungeon" and was tagged with "romance" in its listing, priced at 68.
Tianyi's game, on the other hand, was named "King's Dungeon" – the name alone revealed just how ambitious Tianyi had become.
Moreover, this game was available on all platforms, with promotional channels in place, and with PC, Apple, and Android versions all sharing data—a testament to Tianyi's vast ambition.
Because of Tianyi's reputation, major platforms even rolled out large advertisements, with full advertising expenses ensuring every player felt bombarded by this game.
In contrast, "Princess Dungeon" was in a sorry state.
Despite being a pigeon-type dungeon game, it curiously featured a romance tag and was given a name that only veteran drivers would notice, instantly killing the download interest of the potential audience.
Moreover, Fang Cheng Studio hadn't been around for long, the game's outright purchase price was still 68, and the game size was only 10MB – all of which raised suspicions of a scam.
And with the potential accusation of copying "King's Dungeon," the Steam platform gave it a cold shoulder, resulting in many people not even realizing Fang Cheng had released another game.
On the launch day of the game, Xu Qingling stared at her own game's backend, deep in thought.
After days of intense learning, she was no longer a newbie in the game industry.
Especially with her connections, she could access the standard data from Steam's backend through some financial companies and understand the current situation of her own game's data.
You couldn't say it was disastrously bad, but it was more a case of having thrown money down the drain.
Double-digit sales, and one person who refunded just fifteen seconds after purchase, solely to leave a review: "Not as good as 'King's Dungeon'."
If she could punch someone through the internet cable, Xu Qingling would at least have contributed a vegetable to this world.
Heavy-hearted, she handed the report over to Fang Cheng, ready to share her worries with him, but unexpectedly, she heard him merely respond with a casual "good."
Startled, Xu Qingling looked up to see Fang Cheng smiling, nodding at the spreadsheet as if quite content with what he saw.
"Boss, what's with you…"
"It's nothing."
"After all, the game didn't cost much to make, so it's not a big deal. We'll just make another one."
"Don't worry, I'm really fine."
At that moment, Fang Cheng was brimming with joy.
The market's reaction was honest, and both his own feeling that the game was off and the players' feeling mirrored that.
This just showed that his understanding of "not fun" was similar to that of most people.
Though he still hadn't figured out why games were fun, by eliminating each "unfun" element one by one, what remained must surely be the reason why games were enjoyable.
Seeing Fang Cheng's cheerful demeanor only worried Xu Qingling more.
Based on her experience, it was better if he had flown into a rage at such times; a lack of response almost meant he was on the verge of madness, ready to crash at any moment.
So, she sought out Xiao Douzi, who was busy planning future character stats, and whispered, "Xiao Douzi, the boss seems off."
Xiao Douzi quickly looked up: "What happened, did the boss hurt his hand? Should we go to the hospital? Even a single injured finger of his is a loss for the gaming world; his hair is more important than half the people in the gaming industry."
"No, it's not that. You almost come off as a zealot!"
"The boss is the faith of my life. Being his lackey is like winning five hundred million in the lottery."
"Hopeless... Anyway, the game's sales are not doing well, just twenty-three sold, and there's been a refund. I looked into it, wondering if we just had bad luck, running into 'King's Dungeon' by accident."
Xiao Douzi looked at Xu Qingling with a bizarre expression: "It's Tianyi's bad luck, really."
"Why are you so confident!"
"Because it's a game made by the boss. Don't worry, the boss will definitely have the last laugh. Look at the boss now, he's quite happy too."
"...Forget it."
Xu Qingling sighed and returned to her desk, to idly start browsing Bilibili videos one after another.
Tianyi also placed a lot of ads on Bilibili, where various streamers enthusiastically played 'King's Dungeon', occasionally praising the game's integrity, with nearly thirteen different dungeon styles.
Though the game had numerous microtransactions, requiring ten purchases of 648 yuan to even scratch the surface, the quality of the game swayed many to give it a try.
However, amidst all the videos extolling 'King's Dungeon', there was one live broadcast about to wreak havoc.
Another of Fang Cheng's die-hard followers, Wang Say Games, was starting to flex his muscles.
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