Make a game that will amaze players
Seeing that the matter was already settled, Jiang Chuan stopped focusing his attention on it.
He is currently working much more than he initially envisioned when he started the company; at least for the time being, it has exceeded expectations.
The company now has two game development teams. Fang Qixiang's team has already completed the design drafts and started preparing for the simulation game that Jiang Chuan had envisioned.
As for the veterans, Yu Yue is currently on mandatory rest because he has been working on a new version of the game, "Humanity".
Every day when I come to work, I just play games and try to accumulate inspiration.
According to Song Zhiming, another reason was to watch enviously as Fang Qixiang's side was bustling with activity.
Although he didn't have any great ideas yet, Jiang Chuan had already decided on a topic—to make puzzle games—not to make the common game types that mainstream players like, which was one of Jiang Chuan's little quirks.
He had some other documents to sign today, and if the count, who was lounging lazily at the table, had a better understanding of human affairs, he would have noticed how varied and numerous the documents on the table were.
There are restaurants, real estate companies, scientific research laboratories, charities, and so on—all kinds of businesses, a wide variety.
Perhaps because the matter with his side business had finally been resolved, Jiang Chuan sat comfortably in his office chair, looking quite relaxed.
Holding a fine-quality fountain pen between his fingers, he signed his name on the paper.
The pen was a deep blue, exactly the same color as his clothes and cuffs today, which complemented his fair skin to the point of giving him a somewhat cold look.
The ink marks left by the pen tip are called handwriting by humans, but this handwriting is very different from Jiang Chuan's.
There is an old Chinese saying: "One's handwriting reflects one's character."
But when we got to Jiangchuan, it didn't seem quite the same.
He was meticulous and had a handsome, slightly aggressive appearance, but his handwriting was round and restrained, as if he were afraid of making a mistake.
The count was unaware that he had misunderstood the saying "one's handwriting reflects one's character," but he was very interested in a triangular-shaped brush tip that could evenly bleed ink, and stared intently at Jiang Chuan's signature.
Jiang...chuan...
For some reason, Jiang Chuan always liked to lightly flick the last stroke of the character "川" upwards, like a small hook, before adding a dot to complete the signature.
That's weird.
The signature looks nice, but it's just the same two words over and over again.
The count quickly lost interest; he was always only enthusiastic for a short time, only showing great passion when it came to work, such as being a great magician or when broadcasting live.
Hmm... while eating cat treats, one can also briefly develop a curiosity about how humans create such top-notch delicacies.
Chuangzhi Cloud View - 14th Floor.
Inside the conference room of Zhixing Games, Fang Qixiang and his group were having a meeting.
Despite being called a meeting, everyone's demeanor and expression were very relaxed, lacking any of the seriousness and efficiency that a normal company meeting should have.
The main purpose of today's visit is for brainstorming.
They received the design draft from General Manager Jiang. The draft was very rough and required a lot of work to be considered complete.
At Zhixing Games, the game design process is quite unique.
The basic game type and gameplay were proposed by General Manager Jiang, along with some relevant tags. Then, the employees were allowed to fill in the gaps with their imaginations.
This is what led to the classic "The Way of the Corporate Slave", the much-discussed "The Way of Being Human", and the unique "Out-of-Body Simulator".
These blank spaces, deliberately left out by President Jiang, are the things that everyone needs to do.
However, because I don't have much work experience at Zhixing Games, I still feel a bit lost.
In particular, Fang Qixiang, the lead planner who had already developed an "Out-of-Body Simulator," still couldn't help but fall into the path dependency of "must ensure success" after returning to the game field he had previously developed.
"Today, I'd like to make a simple request: please try not to leave the meeting room until this brainstorming session is over."
"If it's not finalized as soon as possible, the entire project's development cycle will be delayed again."
Fang Qixiang issued the deadline order.
"First, let me share my thoughts. Everyone, please feel free to speak up and don't be shy or afraid to speak."
"As Mr. Jiang mentioned, the first point is that it doesn't give players freedom, and even suppresses that freedom. Personally, I feel that it's more like 'Out-of-Body Simulator'."
"However, our budget constraints prevent us from making very detailed 3D games; we should stick to 2D games."
"Because there will be a lot of plot, a large number of storylines and interactions."
"My idea is to look at various phenomena in contemporary society. For example, it seems that children are given the right to choose freely, but in reality, they have almost no right to choose freely. When choices are presented to children, they are destined to only be able to choose one."
"This kind of pseudo-freedom actually brings the most profound sense of constraint to players."
Fang Qixiang's words were meant to spark discussion, and as soon as he said them, many other people raised their hands.
"Ah, now that Brother Fang mentions this, I remember there's another one: verbally suppressing someone during the selection process, and immediately using mind control if they fail."
"Wait a minute, the example Fang gave was understandable and relatively easy to control, but yours is a bit off-putting to players, isn't it?" The person sitting next to him raised an objection.
"I don't think we need to be so restrictive. I feel that Mr. Jiang made this game to make players resent it."
"Yes, Xiao He is right. President Jiang did write in the design notes that it should be 'to make players feel disgusted,' but as game designers, we need to consider how much of that disgust should be controlled."
"This task is very important, so I'll leave it to the copywriting team. Your trial-and-error costs are relatively low, so you can try to conduct social research as soon as possible to find a suitable level that players can accept."
"Okay, got it." The copywriter nodded and wrote it down in his notebook.
"Then I'd like to add an idea. Something that's common between people can also make players feel disgusted, causing them to endlessly engage in comparisons, whether they do it willingly or unwillingly," Tang Yue said.
Common examples include "other people's children" and "look at other people's children."
This statement was accepted by the majority of people.
"That's great, I think it's a good idea."
"Let's leave the discussion on the first requirement here for now. It's clear that everyone has a lot to say about this, so I don't need to worry too much."
Fang Qixiang mentioned the second point, which was where his real headache began: "President Jiang requested that a plot involving lies be added to the story, and that limited online play be implemented as well."
"Actually, our company already has a successful 2-in-1 game before us."
"But it's hard to imagine how to do it."
"Because no matter how I think about it, I feel that 'The Way of the Corporate Slave' is the best solution. It perfectly incorporates lies and adds an artistic touch."
"Limited online play has also effectively stimulated players' need for integration, making the entire player community more active."
This really can't be blamed on Fang Qixiang; both of these requirements can be perfectly presented in "The Way of the Corporate Slave".
He really finds it hard not to think about replicating successful cases, but his rational mind tells him that he must break free from that mindset because the approach of replicating successful game cases is not recommended in Zhixing.
If the lead planner keeps doing this kind of thing, they will never be able to achieve any real growth.
Fang Qixiang's team was quite proud of their successful and popular game "Out-of-Body Simulator," but now that they've switched to a new project, they seem to have forgotten everything.
It ruthlessly shattered his complacent attitude once again.
A long-lost silence fell over the conference room.
This question is so difficult, is it really not allowed to copy the answer?
Zhuang Xu was originally in Yu Yue's group, but was transferred here when Fang Qixiang's side was short-handed for a new project.
He has matured a lot since he first came to Zhixing.
Because from the very beginning, I wasn't just doing the work of execution and planning; I was passionate about understanding many aspects of the game, and even helped my colleagues with their work when I had nothing to do.
Now I'm considered a little all-rounder.
Zhuang Xu was one of the most experienced veterans in the entire team when it came to game development, and he felt it was the perfect opportunity to take on this important task. After racking his brains for a while, an idea finally sparked in his mind.
Have you heard of... this hypothesis?
The moment those four words were mentioned, the entire conference room suddenly became lively, like a drop of water splashing onto a calm oil surface.
Instantly, oil splattered everywhere.
The gazes directed at Zhuang Xu were now filled with admiration.
No wonder they're employees of the veteran group.
"I think wired online play could be made more limited. Like in 'The Way of the Corporate Slave,' it's about one person communicating with countless other players."
"In this new project, we can focus entirely on one-on-one or one-on-two interactions."
"Since we're going to do it, let's go all out." Zhuang Xu's good idea also officially enlightened Fang Qixiang, who simply cut the wired connection even more drastically.
I don't know if President Jiang will accept something this outrageous, but I'll do it anyway.
"Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking too. You see, at the beginning, President Jiang said that we should use the 'Out-of-Body Simulator' project to practice and refine our skills."
"But in my understanding, or rather, in our understanding of Mr. Jiang, he would never do anything in vain, so this practice project must have something to offer and something to learn from."
"Just like how President Jiang never promotes games, games that are destined to be popular and gain player recognition will see their sales skyrocket."
It was as if everyone's thinking had been completely detached, and they all chimed in, filling in the gaps in the rough game design.
"Wait! I suddenly have a great name for this game project."
"Brother Fang, since we've already had experience working with Southern Games Studio before, why don't we try collaborating with them this time as well?"
"After all, music design is a very important part of a game, especially in this project we want to make, and I think it will help players empathize and immerse themselves in the game."
"If we enhance the music design, how about calling it 'Echoes of Destiny'?"
It quickly gained the approval of most people, but a few people still had doubts: should it be a collaboration with Southern Game Studio?
After all, I've been with Zhixing Games for so long, but I haven't independently developed a game yet. I still want to make a game that my own team can independently develop...
"Well, let's wait and see. We don't know if there will be any scheduling conflicts with Professor Nan. It's a big deal, so we really need to discuss it with President Jiang in advance."
Fang Qixiang did not make a judgment on the spot, even though he also liked the suggestion that the employee had just made.
And so, today's brainstorming session is almost over. All the good ideas mentioned have been recorded, and now we're just waiting for Fang Qixiang to organize them and report them to Jiang Chuan.
If approved, then the game project will officially begin.
The budget for this project far exceeds that of "Out-of-Body Simulator," and we're a bit nervous, especially with... the new technology that President Jiang mentioned.
Unlike the design team of "The Way of the Corporate Slave", Fang Qixiang's team seems to have been created from the beginning to integrate new technologies, whether it is a practice project or the game that is about to be launched.
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