After explaining to his wife that he hadn't gone for a foot bath but had worked overtime instead, Mr. Shen had to make many promises before his wife let him off the hook.
Wiping away his sweat, he felt a pang of heartache for the new hairs wasted while coming up with excuses, and Mr. Shen reflected on his previous gaming experience, still feeling somewhat unsatisfied.
How could this game be so fun?
The game's flow experience was nearly flawless, the incremental growth in values was not explosive, but it felt solid.
Every increase in values gave players a sense of becoming stronger, which was immediately reflected in the game, allowing players to feel their progress through various details.
Moreover, this change was not isolated.
An improvement in physique allowed players to face some traps head-on without fearing instant death.
An increase in strength even allowed players to break through walls and reach another room directly.
An increase in charm would make the princess in the dungeon perform better, thus making the rewards more valuable after clearing the level.
If the game's scenes and gameplay were a good dish, the game's values were an excellent seasoning, making the game even more delectable.
"I wonder who the value planner is, Fang Cheng really struck gold this time. Judging by the scope, 30 yuan isn't excessive. Considering the graphics, 48 isn't too much either. If a gameplay designer got involved and did some in-depth design, that would be even better," Mr. Shen said.
As Mr. Shen was pondering on how to price the game, a phone call came in.
It was the CEO of Tianyi.
Although Mr. Shen was only in his forties, he was among the first generation of game developers in China, dropping out of school to make games at fifteen and participating in the creation of early DOS, console, and PC games, gaining a small reputation in the gaming world.
Furthermore, because he enjoyed mentoring juniors, many in the gaming industry had received his advice, and he was well-connected in the gaming community.
Not to mention, after joining Tianxiong Game Training College, he sent out a new batch of trainees every six months, which only elevated his status in the industry.
Answering the phone, Mr. Shen heard the other person say, "Mr. Shen? We had an agreement last time. Kongkong Studio's new game is about to launch, and we need to hold a small release event. Are you available today?"
Tianyi's CEO Zhang seemed unaware of the minor conflict between his studio, Kongkong, and Fang Cheng, and there was nothing unusual in his tone.
Mr. Shen thought for a moment and remembered that there had indeed been such an arrangement.
After clarifying the time and hanging up, Mr. Shen yawned, picked up the Spiritual Tea Fang Cheng had just given him, brewed a large cup, and downed it in one gulp.
The hangover-like feeling from an all-night gaming session disappeared, rejuvenating him instantly, feeling like he could go on for a few more hours.
Smacking his guilty right hand hard, Mr. Shen dared not experience that time-traveling sensation again, hailed a taxi, and headed to Tianyi's subsidiary, Kongkong Studio.
Although it was nominally a small launch event, it was actually a small press briefing.
Aside from some well-known figures in the gaming world, some media reporters were also present, showing that Tianyi had great confidence in this game.
After greeting acquaintances, Mr. Shen found the seat at the front with his name on it, sat down, and began to rest with his eyes closed.
KongKong was all prepared, with his slightly chubby figure draped in a plaid shirt, looking somewhat spirited.
During the game loading process, he spoke nonstop, "Our game is a dungeon-crawler focused on farming for equipment. Players need to push through dungeons and then obtain various pieces of equipment to enhance their attributes. Our core gameplay revolves around equipment building, as well as..."
The surroundings darkened, the screen lit up, and the game's cutscene began to play.
Countless monsters poured out of dungeons, many civilians died violently due to the monsters, and heroes emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, clutching their weapons as they advanced toward the dungeons.
Although it was just a brief half-minute, the quality of this CG was very high, ranking at an incredibly high standard even internationally.
While watching the CG, some game media journalists began to gleam in their eyes, with their expectations for the game already maxed out, eager to play the game immediately.
And when the actual game graphics appeared, some gamers also got excited.
The game used a standard top-down perspective, but the graphics were exceptionally realistic, with character modeling lifelike.
Whether it was ray tracing or liquid effects, this game was truly one of Tianyi's recent masterpieces; just the graphics alone were already heavenly.
Pleased with their reactions, KongKong continued to explain, "Our game adopts a free base game with a monthly subscription system and includes various VIP levels as well, but these features will be rolled out gradually to lower the financial pressure on players. In addition, we have also built..."
KongKong spoke until he was out of breath; Mr. Shen listened with no interest at all.
His values were just like that. In his eyes, a game was merely an instrument for making money. The so-called gameplay and philosophy were all in service of this point—profits through and through.
Every game used various leaderboards and VIP payment systems to get players to spend a significant amount of money in a short time and to quickly abandon the game once its lifespan was exhausted, even selling the game's source code to sink it into the secondary market.
Right, but it was infuriating.
After spending half an hour explaining his monetization philosophy, KongKong finally began to explain the actual gameplay of the game.
Under the lead designer's control, KongKong explained one by one, "We've implemented an environmental physics system where everything in the environment can interact with the player. You can smash torches, destroy walls, even dig traps and lure enemies into them, then cause destruction. We have as many as thirteen dungeons, each with its own distinct gameplay."
At the mention of the number thirteen, the audience was thrilled, eagerly raising their hands to ask, "Thirteen dungeons, and each one has different gameplay?"
KongKong hesitated for only half a second before confidently saying, "All different. And clearing any one of the dungeons will give you different items and introduce some variation into the game's mechanics."
"Not bad," said a gamer who couldn't help but remark.
He nudged Mr. Shen, who was still yawning, and whispered, "KongKong does have some skills; although he's always looking at money, at least the game sounds pretty good. What do you think the peak revenue for this game could be? I guess it could hit two hundred million a month."
Mr. Shen wiped away the tear from the corner of his eye, then said, "I agreed with your opinion yesterday, today I cannot."
"Then what's your number?"
"Two million, at most."
"Come on, that won't even cover the cost."
"Well, there's nothing to be done about it if it's just bad luck."
Sighing, Mr. Shen felt KongKong really had bad luck but also sensed a deep satisfaction.
Who told you to be blind to the big fish that I had referred to you?