Chapter 68: Mr. Lu's Real Purpose
Crash!
At that moment, the sound of breaking glass rang out. Lu Ye's brow twitched. He saved the project plan and nervously walked out of the room.
Eevee was chasing its Substitute, darting up and down the sofa, knocking over every glass on the coffee table.
"You're having that much fun... fighting yourself?" Lu Ye swallowed nervously.
Finally, Eevee successfully tackled the Substitute, which dissolved into a flash of white light. Eevee raised its head proudly. Seeing Lu Ye's complicated expression, it glanced around.
Broken glass scattered everywhere, the shredded sofa, and the "Master of Gynecology" banner lying on the floor...
"Vee..."
Eevee lifted a paw, scratching its head a little sheepishly.
Cleaning up the mess wouldn't be too hard—once Haunter got back, it'd be sorted. However, the damaged furniture, like the sofa and coffee table, would still need to be compensated to the landlord.
Lu Ye sighed, as if he could already hear the sound of his wallet shrinking. He really needed to move his money-making plans forward!
Although his livestream earnings were decent, after 2 months, he'd only made about ¥100,000. As for Bilibili, since he didn't accept sponsorships or sign contracts, the reward money was limited.
But once Plants vs. Zombies launched, feeding himself and the two little ones wouldn't be an issue.
Lu Ye lifted Eevee out of the glass shards, trying to act innocent.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
"Vee..." The little one blinked its dark eyes.
"Good, as long as you're not hurt." Lu Ye sighed in relief, ruffling Eevee's head.
"Don't you know people worry about you?"
Eevee, braced for a scolding, had already curled up, ready to be reprimanded. But Lu Ye just gave it a head pat and said nothing more, making Eevee open its eyes in surprise.
"Vee?"
"Haunter can clean up when he's back. He won't get hurt by the glass anyway."
It made sense, and Lu Ye nodded confidently.
The little one paused, wagged its tail, and a soft smile bloomed on its face, showing its tiny fangs.
"Vee!"
Lu Ye sent the project plan to Liang Dayou, then called him to explain the general idea.
Dayou's voice was full of disbelief. "What? You want me to make a game?!"
"You think I don't have enough hair left already?"
Lu Ye chuckled. "We're a team, right? Plus, I'm paying. ¥20,000 for the summer—pretty good deal, huh?"
"Where do I start tomorrow?"
Even for a Modu University student, Dayou's internship salary was barely over ¥5,000. Teaming up with Lu Ye meant ¥10,000 a month—more than worth it!
"Remote work is fine. I've sent you the basic framework; it's a tower defense game."
Tower defense game?
Dayou was puzzled.
Could this thing really be popular?
In fact, with some commercial game editor software, even a self-taught programming rookie could make a basic tower defense game in 3 months.
Was Lu Ye just burning money for fun?
Though he doubted Lu Ye's programming skills, Dayou still opened the project file. The dense lines of code made his scalp tingle.
"Wait... Did Lu Ye really write this himself?"
"This... this coding... it's almost as good as mine!"
The more he looked, the colder his hands and feet became.
Not only is he good-looking with a full head of hair... now he's stealing my last pride—programming?!
Dayou felt like crying. "Lu Ye, you're seriously amazing!"
"Just so-so," Lu Ye laughed.
"Let's work hard and finish this by the end of summer!"
Dayou ran his trembling hand over his endangered hairline. But knowing he was falling behind, all he had left was his determination...
Dayou gritted his teeth. "Damn it! Just some all-nighters, right? Bring it on!"
First, they needed a game title.
After much discussion, they decided to stick with Plants vs. Zombies. There were already many games in the same genre. Even the FPS game Lu Ye played with Cynthia was zombie-themed. The straightforward name made the concept clear.
Based on the original game, Dayou had several creative ideas.
"Even though it's tower defense, I think we should include a capture element," Dayou suggested.
"For example, after clearing a level, you could use a Poké Ball to capture enemy Pokémon as single-use items."
"You could also unlock Grass-type Pokémon by earning medals, with cutscenes for capturing them."
Lu Ye nodded.
"Capturing is fine, but no need for a leveling system. It's still a tower defense game."
Dayou laughed. "We can add that when we make a mobile version! Like, pay ¥100 for Bellsprout to evolve instantly, ¥1,000 for unlimited Sudowoodo Dumbbells, ¥10,000 for... uh..."
Lu Ye raised an eyebrow.
Man, Piplup Inc. is missing out by not hiring you!
"We're launching on Steam, right?"
"Yeah. Let's keep the PC version simple for now, and add more content through paid DLC later."
The maps in Plants vs. Zombies were straightforward: Garden, Night, Rooftop, and Pool. But choosing and strategizing with different plants made things wildly diverse.
In their modified Pokémon vs. Zombies, each Pokémon would have special moves. For example: Bellsprout's Razor Leaf, Carnivine's Swallow, Oddish's Sweet Scent.
In the Night map, Shroomish's Moonlight would provide sunlight, and Foongus's Spore or Budew's Attract could inflict Sleep or Infatuation.
For enemies, Beedrill could fly past frontline Pokémon but would be blocked by Exeggutor. Its attack, Twineedle, would hit 2-5 times randomly, really testing players' luck.
In a way, playing this tower defense game could help players memorize Pokémon moves. When the second version of the project plan was done, Dayou froze, a single thought in his mind:
Edutainment!
Besides learning moves, players might even learn about type matchups. Through this game, more people could experience the fun and charm of Pokémon. It might even inspire some to become Trainers.
Was that Lu Ye's real goal all along?
Dayou's eyes widened.
"Wow... Lu Ye's vision is on another level!"
Motivated by this thought, he felt a renewed passion for the project.
For art assets, Dayou suggested asking the "Tutu Dogs" at the art academy—they'd be cheaper.
Lu Ye blinked.
Even Pokémon are taking jobs now?
But it made sense. Many big companies were already using Porygon instead of programmers. If he started his own company, he could use Porygon for coding and Electivire for power—no need to pay for electricity!
"Thanks, Dayou."
"No problem," Dayou snorted.
"Don't worry. Even if it costs me my hair, I'll get this done!"