But even if Boss Huang knew the future of real-time strategy games, with his strong push, the project "Xian Dao Zheng Ba" was launched directly.
Boss Huang even ordered Blizzard to transfer some personnel to cooperate on this project, so that "Xian Dao Zheng Ba" could be openly promoted as a sister chapter to Warcraft and StarCraft.
As for why Boss Huang insisted on doing something he knew was impossible, the reason was simple: buying happiness with money.
Firstly, Boss Huang himself was a fervent supporter of real-time strategy games, someone who, even in 2022, would dedicate time every day to play StarCraft. Thus, he had an emotional attachment to real-time strategy games and couldn't bear to see the genre gradually fade from the era.
Secondly, Boss Huang deeply regretted that there wasn't a real-time strategy game with a completely Eastern style, let alone one with a complete Eastern Xianxia style.
Don't think that a real-time strategy game with an Eastern Xianxia style is very out of place. Isn't the setting of orcs infinitely emerging from a building also very out of place?
Or is it that a planetary-level battleship, after firing its main cannon once, cannot kill a single human soldier? Isn't that out of place?
These are all very out-of-place things, but people have already accepted traditional Western fantasy real-time strategy games, so they don't feel so out of place. As for Eastern Xianxia, as long as it's fun enough, people will get used to it over time and it won't feel out of place.
Therefore, Boss Huang decisively approved it. After all, the total R&D funding was less than 100 million RMB. Even if it was all lost, it wouldn't be a big deal; it was just a way to find some fun.
This collaboration between Soft Star and Blizzard was indeed impressive, especially Blizzard. Although Blizzard hadn't released any new real-time strategy games since StarCraft 2, they had always wanted to make new games, but the market didn't allow it.
But now, with Boss Huang's strong support and the assurance of not caring about investment or time, Blizzard itself erupted with 200% enthusiasm, sending their elite veterans who worked on Warcraft and StarCraft to provide support. Soft Star, on the other hand, could leverage the traditional advantage of Chinese companies: extremely cheap labor costs.
As a result, the beta version of "Xian Dao Zheng Ba" was of exceptionally high quality. Boss Huang couldn't help but marvel after playing it, lamenting that the entire history of gaming in the world was about to be rewritten.
The only drawback was that the game's system requirements were too high. It was estimated that 80% of the computers on the market would not be able to support "Xian Dao Zheng Ba's" computational demands. However, it didn't matter, as Boss Huang had no intention of making money from Xian Dao Zheng Ba.
Although Leng Zhimeng knew that her brother-in-law was extremely supportive of this game, she didn't expect him to go so far as to prepare to shoot a series of movies even before the game was officially released.
Even more unexpected was that after the "Xian Dao Zheng Ba" trilogy was finished, Leng Zhimeng saw a brand new movie title: "League of Legends."
"Brother-in-law, what is this League of Legends? Is it our latest game? Do we have a game with this name?"
"Yes, and it's already in development! Blizzard is in charge of its production!" Boss Huang nodded with a smile. No one could manage Blizzard; Boss Huang controlled Blizzard directly!
"What kind of game is it?" Leng Zhimeng asked with even more curiosity.
"It's not just a game, but the origin of a vast worldview!" Boss Huang said solemnly. "Do you know why the movies of Warcraft, StarCraft, and Xian Dao Zheng Ba will be followed by a movie of League of Legends?"
"Since you ask, does that mean..." Leng Zhimeng's mind raced, and a shocking guess emerged in her mind, "You plan to merge the worlds of these three games? Just like you planted the seed of Xian in the Warcraft movie in advance?"
"Exactly!" Huang He smiled and nodded. "We all know that Warcraft has the concept of multiple spaces, meaning each world is a space, and outside of space, there are more spaces. Countless spaces form an unimaginably vast universe! Titans are beings that can travel through this vast universe."
"So, if the worlds of Warcraft, StarCraft, and Xian Dao Zheng Ba were to merge due to the appearance of Titans, and the worlds began to fuse, wouldn't this League of Legends become truly fitting?"
"Brother-in-law, you're so talented!" Leng Zhimeng couldn't help but praise him sincerely, and then praised him countless times.
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"Xian? Is there really Xian in the world?" Steve Jobs, who had rarely watched a movie trailer, pondered silently while lying on his bed.
Many people didn't know that Jobs had been away from Apple for over half a year. During this half-year period, Jobs had been undergoing crucial surgery.
The surgery, as it turned out, was relatively successful. Jobs's chief physician told him that his cancer cells and tumors had been inhibited. If Jobs could set aside work and rest peacefully, he might have another 10 years, meaning he could live until around 2016.
But how could Jobs set aside his work? After all, the most perfect work of his life, which he yearned for, was now in the final public relations stage.
Although Jobs hadn't appeared in the company for the past six months, all sorts of company situations were delivered to him immediately. His secretary would whisper them to him, allowing Jobs to remotely control the company's development from his sickbed.
However, this method of control was ultimately insufficient. According to reports from some staff Jobs had placed within the company, Apple had become somewhat lax. Without Jobs's strong suppression, many employees became unusually lazy, even refusing to work overtime, clocking out precisely on time every day. This was simply outrageous.
And most importantly, the progress of the iPhone had also been delayed. According to the original plan, the design of the iPhone would have been finalized in February 2006, and then they would have searched worldwide for contract manufacturers to produce sample parts and establish mass production capabilities, aiming to release the iPhone globally in January 2007.
But unexpectedly, by February,
The iPhone's design was still not completely finished, which made Jobs's liver erupt with anger, and he disregarded the doctor's orders.
Of course, after his anger subsided and he regained his composure, Jobs immediately realized he shouldn't have done that.
Although he intended to change, Jobs also knew his own personality. It would be impossible to correct it in a short period. Therefore, for himself, the ten years mentioned by the doctor seemed to have become a luxury.
And the only chance in the world that could possibly allow him to survive was Taoism and Xian.
At this time, Jobs was in a state of half-belief and half-doubt regarding Xian. You might think that Jobs was extremely respectful of Taoism and Longhu Mountain before, even going to great lengths to help Longhu Mountain retrieve its sacred treasure.
But in fact, Jobs had never truly believed in Taoism. This was just his last chance, his last straw to cling to.
However, unexpectedly, at the crucial moment, Taoism displayed its divine miracle. By using what seemed like a natural coincidence, it helped his research team finally find that crucial compound, extending his life by 10 years.
This was definitely a divine miracle from Zhang Tianshi, the patriarch of the Zhengyi lineage!
After going through this experience, Jobs had reached a state of half-belief and half-doubt regarding Taoism and cultivation. He didn't doubt whether cultivation was possible in this world or whether immortals existed, but rather whether he himself could truly cultivate.
Therefore, in the early stages of cultivation, he felt his body improving significantly. But after a year, Jobs found it difficult to feel the same significant progress as before.
Well, this was also normal. After all, before that, Jobs's cultivation of Taoism was equivalent to putting himself in a state of health preservation, and his body naturally recovered very well.
But health preservation also has its limits. Once the limit is reached, further progress becomes impossible.
However, Jobs was unwilling to accept this. Looking at the word "Xian" on the television, he was eager to find a way to become an immortal, or at least to advance his cultivation further.
At the same time, Jobs felt very fortunate that he had found a successful experience: finding a way to gain the favor of Patriarch Zhang Tianshi, and then bestowing merit upon himself from the unseen realm, allowing him to advance further.
Just like this time, it helped him find that magical compound and save his life from the unseen realm.
But opportunities like the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal only came once. Therefore, the other two treasures were lost, and Jobs had been searching for a long time but couldn't find any trace of them. Who knows where they were lost.
"Then the only way is to help spread the teachings of my Zhengyi lineage!" A hint of determination flashed in Jobs's eyes. Spreading the teachings in the kingdom of God was undoubtedly an extremely dangerous task, but to survive and gain the merit bestowed by the patriarch, Jobs had no other choice.
"Sir, I've already sent someone to urge them three times, but the technical department indicated that those key technologies have entered the patent publication stage, and it will take time for us to bypass them!" The secretary reported to Jobs in a low voice, making Jobs's expression even more grim.
This was the most serious problem currently facing Apple: their patents had been occupied by other companies one step ahead.