Wednesday.
Meeting Room.
Lu Mingliang was extremely nervous and anxious.
Because none of the big names he used to rely on were present at this conference table!
Bao Xu hadn't come to work since yesterday—he was on a month-long paid vacation, forcibly arranged by President Pei, who instructed him to check in at scenic spots across the country and visit various game companies for "exchange and learning."
Huang Sibo hadn't shown up lately either, and no one knew how he planned to spend the one million yuan "Dream Fund" that President Pei had given him.
With these two heavyweights no longer holding the front line, Lu Mingliang had suddenly inherited the role of Lead Executive Designer, and the pressure was immense!
And after hearing President Pei announce the team's next development goal during this meeting, Lu Mingliang grew even more worried.
Because President Pei declared that there would be no update plans for Ghost General and Ocean Fortress for the time being. All manpower would be redirected to developing the next new game!
This decision completely caught Lu Mingliang off guard and left him deeply concerned.
Logically speaking, with two successful games already in hand, now was the perfect time to rake in profits.
Release a new version, add some new cards, maybe introduce a brand-new epic weapon…
They could make money lying down—it was practically a license to print cash!
And it would've given Lu Mingliang time to transition into his new role: start with a few updates to Ghost General and Ocean Fortress, ease into the workflow, get used to things, and then move on to a new game—it's clearly the safest plan.
But President Pei had no intention of developing new versions. He was going full steam ahead on a brand-new project!
This made Lu Mingliang, who had only just and quite inexplicably taken on his new role a few days ago, even more uneasy.
Still, Lu Mingliang knew very well that President Pei must have his reasons for this arrangement.
President Pei was someone who constantly pushed forward—definitely not the kind of mediocre boss who rests on his laurels and counts his money.
Not developing updates that would generate effortless income, and instead launching a risky new project, perfectly illustrated President Pei's grand ambition, vision, and boldness!
"Regarding the new game," Pei Qian said, "I already have a concept. Please hear me out."
At the head of the table, Pei Qian exuded a calm and composed aura that easily commanded the room, further strengthening Lu Mingliang's belief in him.
However…
Pei Qian's actual reasoning was completely the opposite.
Why wasn't he developing new versions?
Because new versions had to come with new monetization points.
Either you charge for DLC, or you introduce new in-game purchases.
A completely free update? The system wouldn't allow that.
The problem was, Ghost General and Ocean Fortress had huge player bases and sky-high spending enthusiasm!
In this scenario, any new monetization point would likely be instantly bought out…
So, Pei Qian figured starting a new project would be more reliable—after all, it's way easier to fail a brand-new game than to sabotage a successful existing one!
Plenty of new games crash and burn right after launch, even with famous, experienced producers at the helm.
Whereas many old, successful games—no matter how badly they're mishandled—just keep shambling along, refusing to die.
That's why Pei Qian decided to start from scratch—and this time, he was determined to learn from past mistakes.
What was the biggest mistake last time?
It was trusting Huang Sibo and Bao Xu too much!
Pei Qian never expected his three "sabotage" requirements to be so creatively interpreted by them that they actually became the game's selling points!
So this time, Pei Qian was determined to maintain tighter control over the game's direction. No more letting things spiral out of control like with Ocean Fortress!
He didn't even dare let Xiao Lu improvise anymore.
What if Xiao Lu secretly consulted Bao Xu, or—worse—had a sudden flash of inspiration and came up with another brilliant idea?
That wouldn't do at all.
So, Pei Qian decided: this time, it was going to be a dictatorship.
He swept his gaze across the room and calmly declared, "This time, we're going to make a game that will go down in history!"
"Its name is…"
"Game Producer!"
Everyone in the meeting room focused intently on Pei Qian.
They didn't understand it, but it sounded amazing!
The name alone seemed so… impressive!
Was this going to be a game adaptation of Tengda's legendary story in the game industry?
That kind of subject matter could probably work for a documentary, or maybe a talk show—but a game?
How does that even work?
Everyone waited, listening carefully.
Pei Qian looked confident and composed as he continued explaining.
"The concept is very simple. The player takes on the role of a game producer. Throughout the game, they'll constantly make choices—each one leading to different outcomes."
"For example, the player can choose the game genre, the monetization model, the marketing strategy, and so on… Meanwhile, they'll also face a series of random events."
"In the end, the player will release the game they developed and see how it performs in terms of profits and sales."
"That's the basic structure. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask."
No one spoke. Their faces looked… puzzled.
Pei Qian gave a slight, confident smile.
Confused?
Perfect.
This was a niche theme no one had ever tackled before. It wasn't visually exciting, wasn't appealing to the masses, and had very limited gameplay.
Game development is a stressful and tedious job—how could that possibly be fun to simulate?
This kind of subject matter was guaranteed to flop!
Even if it picked up a tiny cult following as an indie game, it was almost impossible for it to go mainstream.
At that point, Pei Qian could overspend on art resources, price it low, and easily end up losing money!
Of course, Pei Qian had a different speech prepared for everyone else.
Lu Mingliang was the first to raise his hand.
"President Pei, I understand the general flow of the game. I just wanted to ask—what format are we talking about? Is it something like a visual novel?"
A visual novel, put simply, is a game where you "talk to anime characters."
They're cheap and easy to make. You only need a few 2D backgrounds, character illustrations, and lots of text—and voilà, you've got a game.
Pei Qian shook his head. "No."
A visual novel? Absolutely not!
How much would that even cost? A few background illustrations, maybe some professional voice acting. At most, it'd cost a few hundred thousand yuan tops!
That would barely make a dent!
Ocean Fortress was bringing in 400–500k yuan a week—if the new game's entire budget was only that much, it'd be like trying to put out a wildfire with a teacup.
It wouldn't help at all.
Pei Qian wanted the new game to burn through at least two million yuan. Only then would he have a chance of generating real losses!
Because compared to the massive profits of Ghost General and Ocean Fortress, a small loss of a few hundred thousand would be completely meaningless.
"We're going full 3D—every scene in full 3D, and we're using the highest-quality models. Characters, environments, everything. The best of the best!"
Lu Mingliang was stunned.
He couldn't even imagine what that would look like!
The more he thought about it, the more awkward and mismatched it all sounded.
"A… 3D visual novel?" Lü asked cautiously.
"Why are you so fixated on making it a visual novel?" Pei Qian sighed, shaking his head in frustration.
"I'm not planning to use the format of a visual novel. That's ancient history!"
"We're going with something more abstract, more postmodern—a completely new presentation style for this game!"
<+>
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