Chapter 484 Is this a sign?

Lin Yao didn't spend too much time on the reference drawings of "Diablo".

In her previous life, she was most exposed to this type of orders, and she was quite fast at drawing.

So it didn't take long.

Lin Yao gave the finished setting drawings to Zhu Nianqiao.

Then she returned to her position.

But after returning to her position.

Lin Yao suddenly found that... she seemed to have nothing to do.

Because as the scale of Linmu Studio has grown, in addition to game production, many things no longer need her to do personally, such as the e-sports festival at the end of the year, although she still has to show up for the final awards for important projects.

But it's just a side...

Now there is a whole branch company serving the organization, authorization, and preparation of the event.

And this branch company still needs Lin Yao's help in the early stage, but as it becomes more and more proficient, and the influence of the annual e-sports festival is very large, there are many overseas audiences, and with the cooperation and help from Peng City, the branch company is now completely independent.

Unless there is a big change in the fundamental strategy.

Otherwise, there is no difference whether Lin Yao is there or not.

After all, in the field of organizing events, no matter how good she is, she seems particularly insignificant in front of a huge and meticulous organization.

Lin Yao can certainly choose to get involved, take the lead, and bring more surprises to the event.

But she feels that her participation is not necessarily a good thing for a branch company that has finally become independent.

Let them go first... When they really encounter a bottleneck one day, it won't be too late for her to get involved.

So the end of the year is busy.

There are a lot of events and activities.

But Lin Yao is not so busy.

She sat in her seat and took a quick look at the end-of-year event planning of her service-oriented online games, and then looked at other areas. Generally speaking, there are no major problems with the activities that Linmu Studio will hold at the end of the year.

Hmm...

Lin Yao put down the information and thought about it for a while. The remaining two games on the PC side will not be released until February, and there is nothing to do except testing now.

The new works of the host product department are being produced, so she doesn't have to worry about it for the time being.

Now it seems that only the next development plan of the PC department and the VR rewarded by the system need her to worry about.

VR...

Lin Yao leaned back and opened the relevant files on her computer, feeling a little headache.

Now is not a good time.

Switch is in its rising stage.

Almost every game has to be taken care of by the hardware department led by Bao Liangzhe. After all, Switch is not like a traditional console, where a development kit can be thrown away. Third parties can do this.

But first-party games do need the assistance of the hardware department to give players the best experience.

So forget it, put it aside for now.

Lin Yao shook her head gently and closed the relevant files of VR.

Then... now there is only one thing left.

The next development plan of the PC department.

However, the PC department is also working non-stop this year, so it is not necessary to launch a new masterpiece immediately. In addition, there are too many games this year, so let the staff slow down and let them optimize the existing games first.

After all, the boundary between stand-alone and online games has begun to blur.

The existence of multiplayer mode has given stand-alone games a long-term vitality.

And this also means that manpower is needed to maintain it.

But then again, no matter how blurred the boundary between stand-alone and online games is, stand-alone games cannot replace online games.

Let's not talk about this.

Even in Lin Yao's previous life, the boundary between stand-alone and online games was more blurred, but there were not many manufacturers who dared to charge 60 US dollars and put a bunch of paid enhancement props in it.

At most, they would add a season pass and then put in some appearance props.

The kind that does not affect the experience of ordinary players.

Otherwise, it would be too ugly, and players would vote with their feet.

For example, in "Diablo 4" before Lin Yao traveled through time, when players heard that there were in-app purchases, they changed color and tried to avoid it.

Blizzard immediately came out and quickly issued a guarantee that there were no enhancement props for in-app purchases, absolutely not! So that players don't have to worry.

But players are still worried... Blizzard can only repeat it over and over again.

That full desire to survive really makes people sigh.

Blizzard in the 2000s was not like this. Like Disney in Hollywood, it was an absolute overlord...

How did it become like this?

In addition, why bother.

Why bother to do some bullshit immortality...

In short, you can see it from the players' reactions.

Adding paid content to a stand-alone game does impose great restrictions.

On the contrary, online games do not have such concerns... Although enhancement props are still criticized, and Lin Yao does not like this thing, it must be admitted that players often have a low bottom line when facing online games...

"We will move to the headquarters next year. There will be more room for adjustment in terms of location and personnel. It is indeed time to prepare."

Lin Yao's thoughts began to diverge. After a while, he stopped and finally determined what he should do next.

Right.

Online games.

Linmu Studio made its fortune from online games, but has not launched any new online games since then. The main reason is that on the one hand, there are only a few popular types of online games. After MOBA came out, it directly changed the ecological environment of online games. There is no need to be so anxious.

On the other hand, it is out of concern that online games will lock up a large number of staff, and... the concern of being accused of monopoly.

Lin Yao's biggest worry is, of course, that online games will lock up a large number of staff.

But the worry of being accused of monopoly is not a fantasy.

After all... the domestic Tianhu is really not very strong. Linmu Studio's dimensionality reduction attack may really make them one...

However, during this period, Tianhu seems to have improved. Since the last power grab, Li Guangsheng, together with a large number of small shareholders, and Mou Feng, who holds a lot of Tianhu shares, have suppressed the major shareholders behind Tianhu.

Recently, under the leadership of Mou Feng, they have been optimizing their games and production teams, and there is a vague sense of gratitude for the second spring.

It's just that their second spring of rejuvenation by imitating Linmu Studio is a bit annoying... But overall, it is indeed developing in a good direction.

Linmu Studio itself, the self-built headquarters will be put into use soon, and there will be no restrictions on personnel or space. The right time,

right place, and right people.

It's time to prepare a new online game!

In order to add a stable source of income, for diversity, or to add more chips in the mobile Internet era.

In short.

New online games are necessary.

As for what to do... it's even simpler.

Most of the online games in China now, the most profitable ones, are under the Linmu Studio.

The only exception is MMORPG.

This is the type of game that Tianhu is good at, and it is also one of the most profitable game types.

But Linmu Studio has not yet set foot in it...

So, make MMORPG.

But... there is a problem.

There is no problem with making MMORPG.

But the current environment is not like when Lin Yao first made "Fantasy OL"... "Fantasy OL" buried the point card system of online games with its own hands.

With the popularity of "Fantasy OL", most domestic manufacturers began to follow up and made free online games.

At this time, Linmu Studio returned to the point card system, returning to the MMORPG that is not as exciting as the stand-alone game. How will the players accept it?

...

The executioner and gravekeeper dug out the body he buried!

Lin Yao suddenly thought of this sentence.

He couldn't help laughing.

There are indeed many slots...

But the game system can be slow for the time being, and we will talk about it later.

It's also okay to make the settings first.

Therefore, although Lin Yao was a little worried about the players' acceptance of point-based online games, she still started to draw concept drawings.

If it was just a concept drawing, Lin Yao could draw it very quickly.

After all, there was the foundation of "Warcraft".

Yes,

if you make an MMORPG, "World of Warcraft" is almost an inevitable link, and for Linmu Studio, there is no better choice than this.

After all, the original "World of Warcraft" is based on "Warcraft" and takes over the online game of the game plot.

And here in Lin Yao's case, "Warcraft" has also accumulated a huge number of fans.

There is really no better choice than this.

"..."

Lin Yao thought about the game in his previous life while moving non-stop and quickly drew a concept drawing.

It was the Icecrown Glacier in the Wrath of the Lich King version... It was covered with several feet of ice and there was no forbidden land where any life existed.

Because it was drawn in pencil, the concept drawing lacked a bit of dark and piercing feeling, but it was full of awe.

Lin Yao picked up the completed concept map, looked at it carefully under the incandescent light, and suddenly felt a little liver pain...

Lin Yao didn't know what happened to this map later, but when she played it, it was notoriously disgusting.

As the base camp of the Lich King, it was heavily fortified, elites were everywhere, and small bosses were flying all over the sky... It was very difficult to fight.

But... no matter how difficult it was, this map also carried her memories.

I miss it very much.

Lin Yao took the concept map, smiled lightly, then put it down, raised her hand and stretched.

In fact, the concept map, setting map, and even the planning book, these are all fine.

The completion mechanism plus Lin Yao's own memory.

It is very troublesome to make it, after all, it is a complete reset, and the amount of data for MMORPG is not small, but if it is prepared, it will not be a big problem.

These are not the most difficult points in making "World of Warcraft".

The most difficult and troublesome point is the players' acceptance of the point card system, and... the issue of subsequent version expansions.

If we talk about the best-rated version of "World of Warcraft", some say it is the Burning Crusade 2.0, and some say it is the Wrath of the Lich King 3.0.

But then.

Since the Cataclysm, the reviews have started to get bad...

The reason, Lin Yao believes, is that both The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King are extensions of Warcraft, and reached a peak in the final version of Wrath of the Lich King.

The original version, The Burning Crusade, and Wrath of the Lich King are a complete trilogy, which not only inherits the game plot of Warcraft, but also gives the popular characters Illidan and Arthas, two tragic heroes, their final destination.

The plot party is basically satisfied by playing here.

And when it comes to Cataclysm, characters like Deathwing are not as popular as those old characters.

In addition to the major version changes, Blizzard's arrogant desire to teach players to play games...

and most importantly... the first batch of players will face the pressure of reality. Perhaps because they have stepped out of society or because of the pressure of survival, they have not been in contact with World of Warcraft for a long time.

The final result is Cataclysm, which is far inferior to the previous expansions.

And it has been going downhill since then.

The plot is getting worse and worse, and some characters are also continuously broken...

Countless well-known villains have died and lived, lived and died.

Before Lin Yao traveled through time, players who watched the expansion packs of "World of Warcraft" had long gone from "Wow, awesome" to "Fuck! The old editor is sick again!"...

If it is a stand-alone game.

The solution to this problem is actually very simple.

Just remove the later versions.

But service-oriented online games are about long-term operation. No matter how delicious the dishes are, players will get tired of them after eating them for two or three years... It is impossible to remove them.

At this time, if you don't want "World of Warcraft" to follow the same path as in the previous life,

there is only one way.

Change to the Burning Crusade version, and then find a way to cultivate the characters yourself.

In Lin Yao's previous life, "Warcraft 3", almost all the popular villains died in the Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King versions...

Although this version has become the best version, it has also completely overdrawn the characters.

Finally, when it comes to Cataclysm, we can only pull out Deathwing from the background of the story.

Then, Mists of Pandaria in 5.0 is basically all original.

Then the next version, restart...

But in fact, many bosses in The Burning Crusade can support an expansion pack... For example, Kaizi.

The story setting of "Warcraft" is very grand, but it seems that Blizzard is a bit busy using it. Then, after using it for a while, it was found that the old characters were all used up. Those who could enter the book had entered, and those who didn't enter were all decent leaders.

In this process, it seems that there was no time to create new characters...

What to do?

You can only bite the bullet and add settings, restart, and reincarnate, and then the plot is like a wild horse that can't be contained at all.

In fact, the story of the game will always collapse.

After all, "World of Warcraft" has been around for 18 years. Many people may say that the plot of Warcraft could have ended long ago, and forcibly continuing it has no meaning except for that little commercial interest... But Blizzard is a commercial company, it is better to say that commercial interest is the only meaning.

With such a long operation, there are bound to be many problems.

But the glory of "World of Warcraft" did come too early...

The Burning Crusade version can be developed slowly. There is no need for Magtheridon, Vashj, Kael'thas, Illidan and other famous bosses to die together in one version. They can be separated and new characters can be created in the process.

For example, even if Deathwing is to appear,

it must be paved in this process.

Well...

the plan is probably like this.

But.

Will it really work?

Lin Yao slumped back in her chair. Not to mention typing, she had a headache just thinking about it.

It feels... so difficult.

...

After New Year's Day,

it came to January.

The atmosphere was immediately different.

The new year is coming.

Moreover, the Spring Festival is coming.

For such an important festival, of course, the game cannot be without various activities.

So every time this time comes, it is the most tense period for domestic game companies.

Even Linmu Studio has changed its atmosphere recently. It's the end of the year, and a lot of activities have been launched, which has brought many problems.

In addition to the influence of the e-sports festival, the production teams are not like Lin Yao. They not only have to keep an eye on the players, but also on the e-sports projects. Of course, the atmosphere will change.

However... the atmosphere will become tense, and the main reason is still because of Lin Yao.

The girl that everyone likes suddenly stopped running around during this period... She

didn't go to the host product department to play with Zhu Nianqiao, nor did she cuddle with Mu Wanqing.

She just sat in her seat all day, frowning and not knowing what to write.

This is... very boring.

Many staff members feel that the fun of work has been reduced by 80%.

The problem is that everyone doesn't know what Lin Yao is doing. After all, the project has not really started, and no one knows.

Seeing her frowning and tired every day, everyone feels that the whole person is not good...

On the other hand.

In fact, Lin Yao also feels that the whole person is not good.

Even if there is a state of apocalypse like a cheat, it is not an easy task to sort out the grand and complex plot of "World of Warcraft".

She didn't even have time to make any basic game planning documents. The plot alone took nearly two weeks.

Sorting out and polishing the plot bit by bit.

It's really painful.

However...

the atmosphere inside Linmu Studio has changed a little.

But outside, the situation is very good.

It can be said that it is a scene of vitality and everything is competing...

Although this sentence is not auspicious,

it is indeed the case.

The popularity of "Call of Duty" is still fermenting. It is already January of the new year. Although the trend of new players has slowed down, the number of online players in the multiplayer mode has remained at the level of 700,000 for a long time!

For a buyout game, there are more than 700,000 online players.

The popularity of the game can be imagined.

Game player has simply laid down. I don’t know if there are any problems within them or if they feel that there is no hope of a comeback. Anyway, they have simply stopped promoting the new games “Mobile Force” and “Battlefield Smoke”.

They no longer waste money on any publicity, and the Christmas promotions have also been hastily concluded.

They look like they have laid down .

On the other hand, in China,

because the release date of “Detective Dee” has been confirmed,

the marketing department has also started to spread the word.

They said that there will be a new game that will be released before the New Year.

Many domestic players who are not too fond of FPS heard what Linmu Studio said, and their expectations instantly rose.

After all, at the Global Game Awards, Linmu Studio focused on promoting “Call of Duty”, and the demonstrations of the other two games were just a taste.

When will the new trailer be released? How many surprises can the game’s story and gameplay bring to players? Directly replacing “Call of Duty” has become the hottest topic in the domestic player community during this period.

And this situation lasted for two days.

Linmu Studio… has finally ushered in changes.

"Ah... finally finished!!"

Lin Yao leaned back, took a deep breath, and with pride rising and falling, she slowly let out a sigh of relief, with a look of relief on her face.

She finally finished the plot outlines and some stories of the three versions of "World of Warcraft" Vanilla Era, Burning Crusade, and Wrath of the Lich King.

Although the story is only half written, although there is only the story...

but Lin Yao is really relieved.

It's really too troublesome, and there are too many things involved!

Being able to sort it out is already a great success.

"...Is it done?"

Lin Yao just made a similar sigh, and a voice suddenly came from behind.

Lin Yao looked back.

Mu Wanqing stood behind her, holding a thick stack of information in her arms, smiling gently.

"Why are you here, Miss Mu."

Lin Yao shook her wrist lightly and asked.

"I've been coming to see you these days, but since you're busy, I didn't bother you..."

Mu Wanqing changed to holding the information with one hand, and gently pushed the glasses on her small nose with the other hand, replied, and then asked: "How is it? Is it a new game?... You've worked hard."

"It's really hard..."

Lin Yao turned her chair sideways, leaned her head on Mu Wanqing's belly, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Mu Wanqing was stunned for a moment, then smiled and took a step forward.

On the other side.

Many staff members passed by and saw this scene. The tense atmosphere was instantly swept away...

I have to admit.

A workplace queen with all the elements, a suit, a shirt, black stockings, and glasses, plus a lively girl who can feel the seductive breath from a distance even without makeup. It's

really a good match and healing.

Just looking at it makes people feel calm.

It's a pity, if the other girl... wore a skirt.

This is a legendary skin! Lin Yao wearing high heels and a skirt!

It's rare to see it all year round.

But all the staff who have seen it said that they were in love for the first time... Even those who have never been in love.

It is simply the synonym of a beautiful and graceful place...

"What's the matter?"

Lin Yao didn't know what the staff thought. After leaning back for a rest, she straightened up and asked.

She didn't have much to do at the end of the year.

It doesn't mean that Mu Wanqing didn't have much to do. As the housekeeper of Linmu Studio, she was the busiest person at the end of the year.

If there was nothing, she wouldn't come.

"The annual financial report, the budget and final accounts of the e-sports festival, and the publicity and distribution plan of "Detective Dee" need your review."

Upon hearing this, Mu Wanqing handed the information in her arms to Lin Yao.

"Is that so... Okay, let me take a look."

Lin Yao breathed a sigh of relief again, then took the report, put her round and plump thighs together, put the information on her thighs, and took a look.

This time, the information Mu Wanqing gave, the first two, actually didn't require her to worry too much.

If there were any questions, Mu Wanqing would call back for questioning.

So she usually just took a look and signed her name.

But Lin Yao needs to spend some time thinking about the promotion and marketing plan.

After all, she is very good at it.

So Lin Yao also focuses on the promotion and marketing plan for the game "Di Renjie".

She reads and modifies it at the same time.

Mu Wanqing stood next to Lin Yao, perhaps because she was afraid that she would be bored, and while accompanying her, she started talking about things that are worth paying attention to recently.

"Lin Yao, our biggest domestic competitor, Tianhu, recently released its financial report." Mu Wanqing said softly.

"Oh? Is there anything worth paying attention to?"

Lin Yao was really interested when she heard it, and asked curiously while lowering her head to draw on the promotion and marketing plan.

Mu Wanqing reads the financial reports of competitors every year, which is considered a tradition.

"Generally speaking, no. However, the revenue of MMORPG, the mainstay game type of Tianhu, has decreased. Industry insiders, including their own financial reports, admit that free-to-play is now the general trend, and the point card system may be the main reason for the decrease in revenue. Of course, there are also some radical industry insiders who believe that this type of game can no longer keep up with the times, and this is the reason for the decrease in Tianhu's revenue."

Mu Wanqing didn't know what Lin Yao had been doing during this period, so she blurted it out.

"..."

Lin Yao paused after hearing this, then raised her head and said in surprise: "Ah? Is this a sign?"

She had just decided to work on World of Warcraft, and this is the news?

(End of this chapter)