A kindred spirit is found amidst towering mountains and flowing waters!
When talking about games, one cannot help but mention a certain annual symposium that is quite important to many game industry professionals.
Zhang Jiazhi is both a game producer and the owner of a game company.
People always carry countless identities, and for Zhang Jiazhi, the most prominent identities are undoubtedly game producer and game company boss.
Zhang Jiazhi has always been very proud of the former, in particular.
Although the latter is slightly inferior, his company is actually quite well-managed within the entire gaming industry. It is much more formal than small companies, and it is easier for them than the real gaming giants.
Aside from the possibility that they might be a bit old-fashioned due to their older generation background, they have everything else that many game industry professionals aspire to.
The pressure to survive is much less, and the salary is decent.
Working here isn't really working; it's like getting a professional makeover.
He's in his car right now, heading to a game-related seminar—a small exchange with a rich historical background.
It was spontaneously formed by gamers not long after the rise of the game industry.
Back then, because of their limited influence, everyone banded together to survive. Now that the market is vast, the forums have largely transformed into opportunities for mutual assistance, networking, and exchanging game philosophies.
He is considered one of the veteran members.
Since he was able to sit in such a highly respected position, Zhang Jiazhi's upright character was widely recognized.
Zhang Jiazhi strongly disapproved of the unhealthy trends in society. He was very orthodox in his conduct, and although he was somewhat concerned about saving face, he was generally a good person.
We have about forty minutes left to reach our destination.
Zhang Jiazhi took out his phone to read today's social news.
During this time, he has been paying attention to the drinking culture and shoddy companies that netizens are complaining about, which has broadened the horizons of Zhang Jiazhi, who is over fifty years old.
He himself is a teetotaler, but he was forced to drink when he started his own business, and he deeply resents it.
I came across @FreeArtist while surfing the internet.
To be fair, this blogger's posts offer calm and objective evaluations and analyses of events, and it's clear that the person behind the operation is a young person.
But Zhang Jiazhi had a strange feeling that they clicked, that it was a rare find in life to have a true friend.
He looks so much like myself when I was young.
Equally sharp, equally spirited.
The mystery and distance inherent in the identity of this Weibo account make Zhang Jiazhi feel as if he is reading a very short book every time he reads the blog posts.
The book's content is about humanity, society, and human nature.
This kind of intellectual and spiritual exchange may be the source of a sense of kinship.
It evokes the sentiment of finding a kindred spirit amidst towering mountains and flowing water.
Despite such a large user base, he has never considered monetizing it, demonstrating a tranquil mind that leads to far-reaching goals and a detachment from fame and fortune. This is strikingly similar to his own youthful, ambitious self.
"Teacher Zhang, what are you looking at?"
At Zhang Jiazhi's company, his employees generally refer to him as "teacher".
Ultimately, Zhang Jiazhi's artistic sensibilities are at play; he dislikes things that are too commercial.
The middle-aged man instantly perked up, held out his phone, and enthusiastically introduced his new idol: "@Free Artist, you young people should have all read this blogger's posts, right?"
Zhou Zian felt a chill. He wondered if his boss was testing him. What @Free Artist said might be too much of a rip-off in the eyes of those bosses.
He hesitated for a moment, nodded, and then shook his head decisively.
"If you've seen it, you've seen it; if you haven't seen it, you haven't seen it. What's the meaning of your nod and shake of your head?"
Zhou Zian quickly found an excuse for himself: "I've only seen a little bit, but my understanding is not comprehensive. I don't usually surf the internet, and I just play games after get off work."
This not only directly showed that she had no intention of rebelling, but also indirectly implied that even after get off work, she was still studying the game.
He is indeed very good at speaking.
Zhou Zian was proud.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jiazhi became displeased: "You young people should pay more attention to society and the news. What kind of person are you, burying yourselves in games all day long?"
Employee: ? Aren't we just game companies that make games?
Well, the flattery backfired.
"Especially check out @FreeArtist's Weibo, look how profound and insightful his words are." Zhang Jiazhi showered him with compliments.
Of course, he is also a mature adult.
Praising someone doesn't mean praising them on a superficial level.
This boasting is actually a way of praising @FreeArtist, but also a way of praising his own discerning eye and past glories.
This shocked Zhou Zi'an, who was an employee. He was stunned for a while before he realized that his boss seemed to be a die-hard fan of @FreeArtist.
Did the sun rise in the west today?
Boss, your styles are completely different, okay?
As he spoke, Zhang Jiazhi brought up "The Way of the Corporate Slave" again, offering a merciless critique: "Look at you young people, you always praise 'The Way of the Corporate Slave'. In my opinion, although 'The Way of the Corporate Slave' is of high quality and has innovative gameplay, it is different from @Free Artist."
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Jiazhi added, "The difference can be described as vast as the difference between heaven and earth."
“What’s different?” Zhou Zi’an scratched his head.
Why didn't I plan to give the award to Zhixing Games at the annual awards ceremony?
Zhou Zian shook his head in a very supportive manner: "I don't know."
Zhang Jiazhi slapped his thigh lightly: "This year's theme is artistry, artistry!"
Speaking of this, he became quite emotional.
"The 'Corporate Slave' game is just riding the wave of current events, amplifying social emotions, and peddling these negative emotions. The game itself is fine, but I can't agree with the people who made it."
"He doesn't seem like a pure game developer, but rather a businessman who seizes opportunities."
"Giving such an award to a businessman would be a real insult to the Best New Work of the Year. It's a pity that people like Jing Hongxi and Zhao Qing don't understand this."
"We're both young people, but I can understand and accept the views of someone like @FreeArtist. The difference between the two is something that young people like you need to think about carefully."
Zhou Zian listened with a vague understanding, as he couldn't quite grasp what his boss was talking about.
Games are a commercial product.
While it certainly has its profound aspects, it must also be rooted in the masses.
Or has the boss been praised too much over the years and gone to extremes? Zhou Zian silently imagined.
He certainly wouldn't contradict his boss on the spot; he would definitely put on an expression of "I've learned my lesson."
The meeting was about to begin when Zhang Jiazhi entered and greeted the assembled gaming colleagues. They chatted in small groups, showing great friendliness towards the veteran members.
The conversation turned out to be about Zhixing Games, which Zhang Jiazhi had just discussed with his employees.
What happened to Zhixing Games?
"Teacher Zhang, you're here. We were just talking about Zhixing Games. Didn't we hear rumors that Zhixing Games is going to develop a new VR game?"
VR games?
That's a bit too ambitious.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jiazhi's goodwill towards the game producer of Zhixing Games immediately decreased.
"Speaking of which, is your company's VR game about to be launched soon?" someone asked.
"Yes, we're pretty much already preparing for marketing and promotion."
"How about we try crashing it?"
Someone suggested it as a joke.
There really aren't many people in this circle who have a good impression of Zhixing Games, or rather, those who do have a good impression of Zhixing Games are elsewhere.
They generally felt that Zhixing Games was showing off its profoundness, boasting about its philosophical depth, and forcibly raising the public's artistic expectations for games.
It's obvious that any work related to art, philosophy, or daily life will be used by this game to criticize and disparage it.
Even if it wasn't Zhixing Games' original intention, its followers did just that.
"It's hard to say whether they'll crash or not. I don't know when they'll launch, but judging from their development speed, it'll be about the same time as ours."
"At least within the same time period."
Liu Jun listened from the side, originally wanting to advise this VR game company colleague to be careful, as he himself had been just as confident back then, and then...?
Then the sequel ended without a sequel.
But then I thought again, Zhixing Games is such a small company, it has no technical or experience accumulation in making VR games.
He was facing a company with extensive experience in VR game development and a large-scale, high-investment new project.
No matter how you look at it, Zhixing Games is definitely a small fry in front of a big fish.
There's nothing to argue about.
Zhang Jiazhi disagreed with this approach, but he had no way to persuade people to let go of their "evil intentions".
Game crashes are quite common.
If Zhixing Games is really scared, they can just postpone the game's release themselves.
Thinking of this, he didn't interfere further.
The symposium is about to begin, but the importance of knowing and doing is not important.
Baize Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.
Before Zhixing Games took over, the area was in dire straits due to a broken funding chain, and the researchers generally looked pale, thin, and haggard.
Ren Chi waited anxiously at the laboratory door.
It's only been a little over a month now, and both the company atmosphere and the employees' morale are much better than when I last visited.
This investment is crucial, and we absolutely must retain this investor. He's under immense pressure; the last time he received investment, it was the president's assistant who came.
This time, as Song Zhiming had mentioned beforehand, President Jiang would be coming.
Moreover, Ren Chi originally planned to give his researchers a pep talk to motivate them to perform at their best, but Song Zhiming said that the area would be cleared out that day.
Ren Chi was speechless.
That's right. President Jiang didn't come to inspect the products; he came to verify their quality.
Finally, at the agreed time, a man and a woman arrived at the entrance of Bai Ze's laboratory right on time.
The person was supposedly one of President Jiang's men, dressed like a celebrity... not that they were actually glamorous, but they were completely covered up with a mask, glasses, and everything else.
His physique is indeed like that of a celebrity, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and excellent body proportions, like a male model.
He was half a head taller than me.
Ren Chi warmly greeted him, about to say hello and introduce his laboratory.
Song Zhiming cut him off, saying, "No need for these formalities, let's get straight to the point."
Whether it was his imagination or not, it seemed that the angel investor relaxed a bit after the assistant finished speaking.
Ren Chi opened his mouth, then obediently closed it, and went ahead to lead the way, giving a brief introduction to the so-called product along the way.
"We've worked on several versions regarding the balance of the collaboration; Mr. Jiang, you can try them out more..."
Jiang Chuan bought and invested in the nearly bankrupt Baize Labs for the VR project, but not to have the lab make VR equipment, as that would require too much investment.
Given Zhixing's current size, its cost-effectiveness is very low.
So what Bai Ze's lab was actually developing was a small plugin.
Ren Chi doesn't quite understand this plugin. It's supposed to be for making games, but what VR game would need such useless features as breath detection and screen synchronization?
It's hard to imagine what kind of masterpiece it is.
He is a loyal player of Zhixing Games' "The Way of the Corporate Slave," and he even developed the personal intelligent data analysis auxiliary module, which is very popular among players.
Unexpectedly, I went from being a player to a developer.
I've been so focused on promoting pre-orders that I forgot about my completed novel, haha.
Today I'm recommending a completed novel, "The New Top Star Is Doomed," which I suggest reading in the evening.
I wouldn't recommend the other book, "I Reconstructed Entertainment in the Wasteland," as the subject matter is too Arctic-like.
Zhang Jiazhi's liking of @FreeArtist doesn't mean her persona has collapsed.
He likes and admires this blogger because he feels that he was just like this blogger when he was young.
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