Chapter 119: Rumors of Match Fixing The video
game show is over.
But Chen Ba did not return to Jiangning, but flew to Los Angeles from Nihong.
There are two reasons.
First, the decoration of the studio has not been completed yet, so I can’t work normally if I go back now.
Second, the first overseas game of the GAL League is about to begin, and as the chairman of the GAL, it is reasonable for him to show up on the scene and convey his attitude.
"...Good evening to all the audience present and in front of the screen! Welcome to watch the first match of the Los Angeles leg of the Star Emperor Golden League. I am Xu Kong, the Chinese commentator of this match."
"Hello everyone, I am Wu Shi!"
"Wow! Everyone should be able to hear the deafening cheers in the venue. The audience is so enthusiastic!"
"Yes, the Staples Center should be full of people today. Everyone is looking forward to the upcoming strong match!"
"That's right! Thanks again to Huazi, NVIDIA, Intel, Microsoft, Sansang, Herman Miller... for their strong support for this competition!"
"By the way, let me tell you that the official authorized Logitech mouse for Star Emperor is now available on Xianyu Digital. Interested players can scan the QR code at the bottom of the screen for more details..."
After reading out a long list of sponsors that was as long as the names of dishes, Xukong and Wushi on the commentary desk turned to introduce today's special guest commentator - GameBugs!
"Welcome, Brother Ba!"
"Welcome, welcome. Brother Ba should have just come from Neon, right?"
"right!"
Chen Ba was experiencing game commentary for the first time, and was a little confused. When asked, he nodded and replied, "I flew here right after the video game show closed."
"As everyone knows, Brother Ba is the chairman of our GAL Alliance and has a lot of inside information. I wonder if he could tell everyone about some of the rumors about the transfer period?"
"Transfer period?!"
Chen Ba, who was fiddling with his headphones, was puzzled when he heard this: "The transfer period is still a few months away, where did the rumor come from?"
"But there are rumors online that Xu Xiaofei from the Intel team is about to join AMD, and even a letter of intent has been signed."
“It’s pure rumor!”
Chen Ba refuted the rumor, saying, "For off-field news like this, I suggest that everyone treat it rationally and pay more attention to the players' performance on the field. We will notify everyone as soon as possible if there are any personnel changes during the transfer period."
The transfer period hasn't even arrived yet, how could Xu Xiaofei transfer? Did he really treat the rules he made as decoration? I can only say that the rumor is too outrageous.
Chen Ba emphasized the importance of rules and the penalties for violating them, and this matter was refuted by the official authorities.
Wu Shi and Xu Kong also discovered that Brother Ba didn't seem to want to talk more about this, so they turned the topic to the entry of the two major console giants, Sony and Microsoft.
“That’s right!”
"The GAL League has approved the establishment of these two teams, and they will also sign up to participate in the New York competition."
Upon hearing this, Wu Shi and Xu Kong immediately asked the most curious question on behalf of the audience: "Brother Naha, what kind of performance do you think these two OEMs will achieve in GAL?"
“It’s hard to say.”
Although Chen Ba was not optimistic about their performance, he could not publicly say that any team was not good.
You have to know that his words and deeds have a great impact on these teams. Some things should be kept in mind and cannot be said openly.
Let’s talk about today’s game.
After winning two consecutive championships at Zhonghai and Pengcheng stations, NVIDIA's popularity reached its peak, and almost everyone was optimistic that they would continue to win championships until they won the annual championship.
In this Los Angeles station, the opening battle is the familiar battle between A cards and N cards.
Commentary requires prediction.
Xukong and Wushi, without hesitation, supported Nvidia to get off to a good start, only Chen Ba supported AMD.
"AMD is still strong, and they signed a new controller player last month. It is said that his performance in the trial training was amazing..."
The transfer rules restrict the transfer of players, but the club's signing of free agents and new players are not within the scope of control.
Therefore, Chen Ba was also aware of the fact that AMD had discovered a controller genius, and he even knew more inside information than the average person.
This controller genius is truly a genius. When he gets the character he is best at, competing in the Rank ranking is as easy as killing a pig.
Of course, not as strong as Xu Xiaofei.
But judging from the current situation, this guy from Lucia should be the second best player in the GAL League after Xu Xiaofei.
Therefore, Chen Ba is optimistic about AMD's revenge.
And it is indeed true...
Nvidia's two consecutive championships were nothing more than relying on its hardware advantage to catch other teams off guard.
When AMD also started to develop laboratory technology, narrow the hardware gap, and introduce controller geniuses, Nvidia was no longer able to do so.
"This NVIDIA team... well, if they want to win the annual championship, they still have to make up for their shortcomings as soon as possible, that is, sign professional players with strong enough skills."
What kind of rotten fish and shrimp are these?
The commentators and the audience can see the problem, so there is no reason why NVIDIA cannot see it.
But they had no choice. They entered the game too late and all the good talents had been signed by other teams. They could only pick a few players they liked from the ranked King of Passers-by and put them into the team.
If you can rely on your hardware advantage to crush others, then there is naturally no problem. However, if the hardware gap is not big, and you encounter a tough opponent like AMD, it is only a matter of time before you fail.
“We have coaches and analysts?”
After watching two games at the commentary desk, Chen Ba was surprised to find that AMD had actually formed a professional team of coaches and analysts and had started to make changes in the BP stage.
Professional! At first, no one paid much attention to BP, and they just relied on their hardware advantages to crush the opponents. They took a wild approach.
But now it is becoming more and more professional.
Moreover, AMD engineers can repair and replace host parts very quickly. In just a dozen seconds or so, a host that is on the verge of being scrapped can be restored to its "combat effectiveness."
That’s a good thing…
AMD's successful precedent will make other teams pay attention to the coaching and analyst teams, and the professional division of labor among engineers.
A wild way can win you temporarily, but not forever! If you want to achieve results, you can't have any shortcomings and you must do every detail well.
From this perspective, AMD now has the potential to become a true champion, and has the foundation and strength to challenge for the championship. It just depends on when Nvidia and Intel will follow suit.
“What is a coaching analyst…”
After today's game ended, the two commentators, Xukong and Wushi, told Chen Ba something off the stage.
The periphery of the game is all there.
The scale is not very large at the moment, but it is also outrageous. After all, gambling on this thing is likely to affect the ecological environment of the entire league.
If it is not handled properly, some people may be tempted to start match-fixing! "I'll find out later."
Chen Ba frowned. He didn't expect that such a small GAL league would have such a dark side.
We can’t just ignore match-fixing.
Although the two commentators did not say it explicitly, Chen Ba understood their subtext, which was that someone must be involved in this aspect, but it was just difficult to name the names.
…
During a trip abroad, I unexpectedly learned about the incident in GAL where someone bought tickets for fake matches.
This made Chen Ba very angry.
However, he did not react immediately, but quietly contacted the heads of major clubs and planned to conduct a secret investigation.
Before the results of the investigation came out, he pretended that he had never heard of the incident. He would just let things go as they should and the competition would go on as usual to avoid alerting the enemy.
But once the investigation has results, these people will definitely be severely punished. Suspension and fines are the lightest punishments, and serious ones may even involve being sent to work on a sewing machine.
After being away for nearly half a month, the studio has changed a lot.
As soon as he returned to the familiar studio, Chen Ba was delighted to find that the office he requested had been renovated.
Good, good! The new office decoration style was designed exactly according to his instructions before he left, and the walls were painted with characters from many games of Tianba Studio.
The office area is partitioned...
In addition to the original workstations, a lounge area with a large-screen TV was also built. There are not only PS5 and Xbox game consoles, but also a pool table.
“Will it be too crowded?”
Yang Dong felt that the rest area took up a lot of space, and this change made the office area seem crowded and small.
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
"It's okay, we are few in number."
Chen Ba waved his hand and said, "There are only about ten people in total, and the current space is more than enough."
What Dong Ge is worried about is that the office area is too small and it is difficult to recruit new people. After all, there are only so many workstations and there is no place to accommodate new employees.
But Chen Ba felt it was enough.
Since it is sufficient, there is no need to worry about whether it will be crowded when new people move in, but rather how to make the working environment more comfortable.
"Zhou Jun wants to resign."
Yang Dong explained: "His mother is in poor health and needs someone to take care of her. He just told me and asked me to ask for your opinion."
"I have no objection..."
Chen Ba was stunned when he heard someone resign, then nodded and said, "Taking care of my old mother is more important. If he wants to leave, let him leave."
It is common for people to come and go in the workplace.
If an employee wants to resign, it is impossible for Chen Ba to stop him from leaving. That doesn't make sense.
Besides, Zhou Jun’s departure will not have much impact on Tianba Studio. We can just hire another person.
“There is a high probability that we will have to work overtime this year.”
"Go ask everyone and see how many people are willing to stay in Jiangning for the New Year. They will receive enough salary and bonuses." Chen Ba pondered.
The Neon Game Show has just been announced, so no matter what, I should create the folder first, so that I won’t be hesitant and unable to answer any questions when someone asks me about it.
Based on this premise, the studio will definitely be very busy at the end of the year, and going home for the New Year is even more of a luxury.
Chen Ba has already called the old man and asked him to come to Jiangning to spend the New Year with him and not go back this year.
Xiao Lu and Zhong Shengwei's homes are in Jiangning, and since Yang Dong doesn't like to go home, it's not a problem.
In addition to them, four other employees also said that they would not go back home for the New Year this year and would stay in Jiangning to develop new games with Brother Ba.
Eight people, that's enough! After learning how many people were left behind, Chen Ba made a basic division of labor and introduced the general situation of the game "Love Staff" to everyone.
This is a 2.5D game.
The painting style is more of a two-dimensional anime style, and the original character paintings, including scene maps and other art designs, were entrusted to the team that had worked with them before.
"The game is divided into two parts, from the male and female perspectives..."
Chen Ba stared at everyone and said, "Brother Dong and Zhong Shengwei will be in charge of the character design for the male lead, and Xiao Lu and I will be in charge of the female lead."
"ah?"
Before anyone else could say anything, Xiao Lu exclaimed, "I'll be in charge of the female lead's perspective, and the character designs of those handsome guys?"
"What's the problem?"
"I don't understand! How would I know what type of male characters female players like?" Xiao Lu put on the mask of pain.
It would probably be okay to ask him to design popular female characters. After all, men understand men best, and everyone’s preferences and tastes should be similar.
It's really hard to design the ideal partner of a female player, that is, the handsome guy in the otome game. How can he understand a woman's heart? "It's okay, I'm here!"
"You?!"
Xiao Lu looked at Brother Ba strangely and muttered, "Brother Ba, you don't seem to have a girlfriend yet? You're not even as good as me, how can you possibly understand what type of girls like?"
Chen Ba: “…”
What should I do if I suddenly want to hit someone? What do you mean he doesn't even have a girlfriend, so he doesn't know what type of guy girls like? Haven't you eaten pork, but have you seen a pig run?
Besides, many otome game developers are men! Not all of them are necessarily married, and it is not impossible for them to be single.
In the final analysis...
Finding out what types of players like has little to do with whether the producer is a man or a woman, or whether he is single.
"There are so many similar games on the market. It shouldn't be difficult to summarize other people's successful experiences, right?"
Chen Ba rolled his eyes and said, "What's wrong with boys? Can't boys know what type of girls like?"
joke!
He has also played otome love games, and he played these games from a straight male perspective, which made him see things more objectively without filters.
There are only a few types of characters.
This is just like how most boys like gentle and cute types, the types of girls actually have a lot in common.
Don't always talk about the domineering president.
Little-known fact! The overbearing CEO is just like the golden-haired tsundere girl. It is just a relatively popular type of character among the many otome characters.
The little milk dog type boyfriend with the opposite personality is also the favorite of many girls...
besides.
The cheerful and sunny big brother next door and the autistic iceberg type of man who appears cold on the outside but is warm on the inside are also relatively popular types.
"These characters are quite general, so you may not have any idea of them when I tell you about them."
Chen Ba explained: "To be more specific, he was a genius student who was bullied and wronged when he was a child. Although he looks strong, he is extremely fragile inside."
"A bohemian, wealthy and romantic wanderer who falls in love with someone and is completely devoted to them..."
Only after adding different identities, backgrounds, and respective experiences, can the personalities of these characters be considered complete, rather than simply being summarized as “domineering president”.
"Brother Ba, you are so understanding!"
Zhong Shengwei admired him and said, "You must have played a lot of otome games, right? Can you recommend me some fun ones that can turn straight guys gay?"
Chen Ba’s fists hardened.
He was clearly talking about serious matters, so why were these people focusing on his love for otome games?
No, what's wrong with him liking to play otome games? Haven't you ever played one? (End of this chapter)