The Bad Ending that all players will achieve.
Tang Yue was unaware of Bohu's latest developments, having only gleaned snippets from her former colleagues, and had stopped paying attention to the rest.
After settling down in City S, she was busy adapting to the new environment, and at the same time, she also had to take the time to learn what her job entailed before officially starting work.
Copywriting and planning.
A major task of copywriting is to package the entire game's system and gameplay in writing, from the dialogue between monsters and players to the overall world view of the game.
Reduce the system's learning curve and enhance the emotional connection between players and the system.
Unlike other basic game roles such as programming and art, which require highly specialized and systematic training and whose abilities can be quantified.
In comparison, planning, especially copywriting planning, has a much lower barrier to entry.
However, if the game framework (program) is the skeleton and the art resources (art) are the skin, then the behind-the-scenes story (copywriting and planning) that fills it is the flesh and blood, and this part is especially important for the whole game.
Especially the type of game that Zhixing Games is currently developing.
The stories must be true, believable, and representative, and the material should be artistically processed to be more touching or, in other words, fit the game's theme.
As a newcomer to the copywriting team, Tang Yue's primary task was to find suitable real-life examples for her colleagues to reference.
She was a recent graduate who majored in new media operations, but didn't have much actual work experience, except for that notorious lousy company, Bohoo.
While intensively researching relevant information, I became increasingly aware of what it means to be a "corporate slave" and why.
Furthermore, fighting for one's legitimate rights is extremely difficult and complex in the current environment. The biggest difference between theory and reality is that practical operability is extremely low.
Just like what Tang Yue experienced.
In the game's writing and planning team, several basic storylines have been almost fully developed.
The ending officially designated by President Jiang is a Happy Ending, meaning that players achieve three things: spiritual independence, financial freedom, and physical health.
These 12 words represent something that many people can never achieve in their entire lives.
This ending is one that the writing and planning team still feels is very difficult for players to achieve, no matter how they think about it or how they try to make the logic work.
It's possible that if an ordinary person could achieve such an ending in reality, their family couldn't provide the financial support, making it a science fiction story that simply doesn't exist in reality.
To gain something, you always have to give something in return.
For example, high-paying jobs often mean that a lot of time is taken up and one's health is worn down.
The copywriters didn't expect this either. Good grief, they were making a horror game, and it somehow turned into a sci-fi experience. It's impossible not to call this ending sci-fi.
It's unlikely that an ordinary person could achieve this in at least the next thirty years.
Besides, most players will likely achieve a dehydration-related ending, i.e., a bad ending.
The term "dehydration" is actually a self-deprecating term used by people.
A hot topic on the internet recently was: Should Kong Yiji take off his long gown?
In real life, simply shedding one's long gown is not enough; some people don't even have long gowns, they only wear short jackets.
Therefore, even more stringent is dehydration, a concept that comes from science fiction writer Liu Cixin's "The Three-Body Problem".
Dehydrate! Dehydrate!
Abandon everything else, retaining only the most basic life activities—for survival.
It has a touch of magic, but it does belong to a type of realistic magical realism.
When designing the plot and ending, there are a few endings where some unlucky characters don't even achieve the dehydration ending and often die.
Some people are not even eligible for dehydration, which is a harsh reality.
Although designing the storyline was quite challenging, especially for a complete newcomer like her, Tang Yue thoroughly enjoyed her work there.
She has a relatively outgoing personality, so she integrates into groups very quickly. Unlike her previous company, where the bottom-ranking elimination system created a highly competitive environment where it was impossible to fit in, she didn't experience that situation.
Working in a situation where everyone seems to be your enemy is a mentally exhausting experience.
It feels like... trying hard to study among a group of academic idiots, and then having to pretend to be one yourself.
Moreover, her previous job as a new media operations manager involved a lot of overtime, and with the bottom-ranking elimination system, Tang Yue would stay at the company until eight or nine o'clock almost every day before leaving.
After joining Zhixing Games, she was able to leave the company before dark.
The genius knew that the first time she stepped out of the company before dark, the moment she saw the sunset, tears welled up in her eyes.
What kind of family can leave the company before it gets dark?!
Even if it takes an hour to commute home, you still have at least five hours of free time after you get home!
The workload is not like that of a single person doing a lot of work. The work here is reasonably allocated by the direct supervisor. As long as you do it attentively, there will never be a situation where the work is not finished by the end of the workday.
It's said to be an 8-hour workday, but there's a two-hour lunch break, so the actual working hours are only 6 hours.
Everyone here is working at full capacity and with complete dedication, which is rare in other companies.
Unless the salary is paid in full.
Otherwise, no matter what, there will still be people who secretly slack off and try to exploit their bosses.
Aside from the exceptionally short working hours, the benefits that Tang Yue had only glimpsed during her initial company visit before the interview were far more than she had imagined once she actually started working there.
For example... the drinks and snacks in the lounge are actually available for self-service at any time.
Moreover, these drinks and snacks are not cheap at all; at least in Tang Yue's opinion, they are snacks she would not easily buy.
When she first arrived, she couldn't help but overeat, but now Tang Yue can calmly say: "Hey, what's this? This is normal in Zhixing Games."
Working at a good company can really make you gain weight.
This is probably the most accurate description of a carefree and easygoing person.
In addition to the self-service drinks and snacks in the break room, the office also offers afternoon tea twice a week. According to Assistant Song, once the company becomes more profitable, they estimate they could offer afternoon tea every day.
Tang Yue felt a little guilty when she heard this. She had only been working for less than a week and had already gained two pounds.
In daily work, the desk offers a large, private space, and it's an expensive height-adjustable desk paired with an ergonomic chair.
Tang Yue has no interest in standing up to work; she usually sits at her desk for an entire morning or afternoon.
Then, at Zhixing Games, it's semi-mandatory: one and a half hours of sitting work, and twenty minutes of standing work.
My boss cares about my health even more than I do.
I heard that after this project is completed, I will need to undergo a physical examination.
Assistant Song's tone was "unconventional physical examination," which, given the extravagance of Zhixing Games, would most likely be a high-standard examination. Tang Yue was quite looking forward to it.
However, unlike Tang Yue, who was looking forward to the project's completion, she had joined late and didn't know much about the game. The rest of the team was eagerly anticipating the project's final product.
Especially the members of the development team.
Yu Yue was reviewing the previous version of the design draft, which was sent by General Manager Jiang with his revision comments.
As I said before, the more this game is revised, the more perfect it looks. If the feeling of his first draft of the design was "a masterpiece born of nature, a stroke of genius by chance", then...
So his feelings at the time were not entirely complete.
Now, following President Jiang's revisions to the design draft, I'm finally feeling that it's a complete work, "a masterpiece born of nature."
To say that Yu Yue, the lead planner, acted like an executive planner wouldn't be entirely true. Jiang Chuan's revision suggestions were more abstract and mostly guiding.
Yu Yue was still interpreting the revision comments when the updated requirements were sent over. This time, it wasn't revision comments anymore, but requirements.
This is the first time this has happened since the game was developed.
Yu Yue opened the document and solemnly read it over three times.
A brilliant idea.
Absolutely genius!
This also made Yu Yue curious again about what kind of person his boss was. He felt that his boss must be very rich, but there was no barrier between the rich and the ordinary.
The feeling of not being able to understand each other.
What kind of person is President Jiang?
Yu Yue didn't have time to think about this problem for long. He quickly called a small meeting with the development team and sent President Jiang's requirements to the work group before the meeting.
Everyone was amazed.
There are two requirements. The first is to add some other mini-games to the game, such as allowing players to make choices beyond just text, and also incorporating some music and fun ways to relax.
This is common; most text-based adventure games on the market do this.
Yu Yue and his team didn't do it before because they weren't in a hurry; the game wasn't even finished yet.
The second one is that amazing idea that surprised everyone.
You could say this idea is incredibly innovative, but it's not that outrageous. It's just that no one had ever thought of such a way before.
Their understanding of the so-called "single-player, but limited online" is too narrow.
The development team got a little excited, and then they all followed one after another into the conference room for the meeting.
Tang Yue, a little curious, turned to her master and asked, "What happened to them? Why are they so happy?"
Could it be another employee benefit from Zhixing Games that she hasn't unlocked yet?
The master glanced over there, unfazed, and said, "They probably got President Jiang's brilliant idea."
"President Jiang is also in charge of game design?"
This is a bit beyond Tang Yue's stereotype. To be honest, in many technology companies, the boss is more likely to be technically illiterate.
For companies like Bohu Technology Co., Ltd., Xiao Tianqi actually only has a superficial understanding of his own technology.
"Well, we're all quite curious about that too."
The master seemed to have a sudden realization and stopped what he was doing: "From my personal observation, I think President Jiang is the kind of master who returns to simplicity in game design."
"You have a very high level of understanding of games. Before you came, we were still in the game development stage. At that time, it was difficult for everyone to keep up with what kind of game Mr. Jiang wanted to make."
“I have a very high opinion of Mr. Jiang, but before I came to this company, I had never heard any rumors about Mr. Jiang in the business world.”
"What's strange about President Jiang is that while he's extremely knowledgeable, he's also somewhat naive. I can't fully describe my feelings about this naivety to you."
"In short, it is outstanding in terms of game design."
Tang Yue seemed to understand but not quite, and her curiosity was irrepressible as she glanced several times toward the conference room. What kind of genius idea could it be?
[Feedback Collection]
This is the second update. Tomorrow, Sunday, will also be a double update (bonus chapter with nutrient solution). Thank you all for your support and comments, and thank you also to the lovely people who provided materials.
Additionally, I'd like to get some feedback from the readers to understand some key points of this article so I can make further improvements and adjustments:
1. So far, the protagonist has completed two missions. Did you feel satisfied? Could you please describe your viewing experience? (Hands clasped together)
2. Regarding game design, the current balance between it and workplace reform is 40/60. What are your thoughts on game design? Can you accept a 40/60 split? Or is workplace reform more important?
Sunday is a holiday, wishing everyone a happy holiday in advance!
Then there's some good news: before the ranking cut, we were ranked 200th on the channel's leaderboard. Today is only the second day after the cut, and we're already ranked over 80th. It's skyrocketed up! (You can see the ranking on the comments/ratings/honor wall).
Let me think about whether I should write a side story. If I were to write a side story, what kind of side story would you like to see?
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