January 7th, Friday.

Shang Yang Games.

"Welcome, Big Boss, for your guidance!"

As soon as Ruan Guangjian entered the office area, he saw employees from Shang Yang Games on both sides welcoming him with enthusiastic applause.

Lin Wan, Ye Zhizhou, and Wang Xiaobin stood at the front, their faces showing the four big words "eager for talent."

Ruan Guangjian was a little flattered and quickly said, "No, no, don't be so polite."

"I just finished my work over there and came over for a casual visit. You don't need to worry about me, don't delay your work."

Lin Wan smiled and said, "No, no, Mr. Ruan, you're too modest."

"As President Pei's most trusted original artist, it can be said that your art has given Tenda Games its soul. Tenda Games' sales are so high, a large part of that is thanks to you!"

"You and President Pei can be said to be the best partners. Now that you've come to Shang Yang Games, even if you just give some pointers, it will definitely benefit us greatly!"

"Come, please sit down. This is a workstation specially reserved for you. Shang Yang Games will always welcome you!"

The crowd led Ruan Guangjian to a separate workstation that had just been vacated, right next to Ye Zhizhou and diagonally opposite Wang Xiaobin.

Ruan Guangjian sat down at the workstation and took out his portable drawing tablet: "Your workstations... are standard Tenda equipment?"

Coming to Shang Yang Games, he felt like he had returned to Tenda.

The office environment was too similar!

Whether it was the spacious office space, the wide desks, the comfortable ergonomic chairs, or the high-end computers and dual-screen monitors, it was completely the same standard as Tenda.

Lin Wan nodded: "Yes, although Shang Yang Games is a subsidiary of Tenda Games, in reality, there is no distinction between us. President Pei has always treated all employees equally and never distinguishes between superiors and inferiors."

"The office environment here was actually just moved a few months ago and was redecorated according to Tenda Games' standards."

"This kind of arrangement seems to be more likely to stimulate employees' enthusiasm for work."

Stimulate employees' enthusiasm for work?

Well, indeed, working in such a comfortable place feels very different from working in those cramped, narrow cubicles...

While listening to Lin Wan introduce the situation of Shang Yang Games, Ruan Guangjian turned on the office computer.

That's good, from Tenda Games to Shang Yang Games, it's a seamless connection. The office environment is very familiar, and there is no need for extra time to adapt.

"This is the game we are developing, *BeQuiet*, a horror-themed game. Big Boss, you can play it and give us some feedback." Lin Wan pointed to the game icon on the desktop.

So far, *BeQuiet* has been developed to the second major version, and more than half of the progress has been completed.

It's just that there is still a certain distance from the real launch and sale.

Simple function development is fast, but for a game to reach the official release, it must also repeatedly fine-tune various gameplay and details, fix a large number of bugs, and these subtle work in the later stage cannot be ignored.

As soon as he heard the horror theme, Ruan Guangjian's face changed, and he quickly waved his hand: "Horror games? No, no, I'm most afraid of horror-themed things!"

"If I had known that you were developing a horror game, I wouldn't have come!"

"Like *Midnight Phone*, *Alien Insect*, *Chainsaw Man*, *Ghostly Shadows*, *Night of the Living Dead*, *Spirit Flash*, *Ghost Records*, *The Grudge*... I was so scared to death after watching these!"

Lin Wan froze, and a question mark slowly floated above her head.

Huh?

Most afraid of horror themes, but he has seen all these classic horror movies?

Lin Wan didn't know how to respond for a moment.

She thought for a while and said, "It's okay, our game is still in the development stage, it's not scary at all."

"Not scary at all?" Ruan Guangjian said, reluctantly clicking on the *BeQuiet* icon, "Then I'll reluctantly play it a little."

Lin Wan nodded: "Okay, take your time to experience it, if you have any opinions, you can tell me or Ye Zhizhou."

Ruan Guangjian put on his headphones and quickly entered the game.

Lin Wan secretly pulled Ye Zhizhou over and whispered, "Keep an eye on Big Boss. He said he's timid, so don't scare him. Pay attention at any time, understand?"

Ye Zhizhou nodded: "Don't worry, leave it to me."

Before the two of them could finish speaking, they heard Ruan Guangjian next to him let out a small scream.

When entering the game, the screen shows a dynamic game scene.

In a madman village, shrouded in night, eerie blue flames burned, reflecting a madman villager with bloodshot teeth and eyes, who was wielding a machete next to the eerie blue flames, chopping at something.

The light was very dim, and it could be vaguely seen that dark red bloodstains were constantly splashing from the chopped object.

When the loading is complete, the entire scene will suddenly darken, and the madman villager who has been chopping something next to the eerie blue flames will suddenly get up and walk out of the screen.

Then, before the player can react, the madman villager's face will suddenly pop out from the right side of the screen, appearing in the player's field of vision at close range, making a morbid, manic grin, and then slamming the blood-stained machete in his hand towards the camera!

Accompanied by screams, the screen will be quickly covered with blood, and then the title of the game will appear, before officially entering the game.

Ruan Guangjian was scared by this scene just now, and he almost jumped up from his seat.

Ye Zhizhou quickly said, "Are you okay?"

Ruan Guangjian nodded: "It's okay, it's okay... Ah!"

Not long after entering the game, he was startled by a small mouse that suddenly窜窜past in the scene.

Ye Zhizhou: "..."

Suddenly, he doubted whether Mr. Ruan could successfully experience the entire game and propose corresponding art modifications...

He thought for a while and suggested, "Mr. Ruan, why don't you just look at the art resources, including the original paintings and models? Looking directly at these should be less scary."

Ruan Guangjian shook his head: "That's definitely not possible!"

"From concept to original painting, and then to modeling and scene, each step, the concept will change. For example, from original painting to modeling, the original artist's thoughts will be misinterpreted to some extent, and the modeler will add some of their own ideas."

"Even if you try your best, this situation is difficult to completely avoid."

"So, I have to see the actual scenes in the game before I can feel the unharmonious parts of the entire art atmosphere and make targeted modifications."

"Don't worry, I'm fine, I'm fine."

Seeing that Mr. Ruan was still so persistent in experiencing the game even after being scared twice in a row, Ye Zhizhou couldn't help but feel a little moved.

Look, this is what professional spirit is!

Mr. Ruan is obviously very sensitive to horror themes, but at this time, he is trying to overcome his inner fear in order to make the game better. This spirit is really moving!

…

Before long, Ruan Guangjian's exclamations filled the office area of Shang Yang Games, and even Lin Wan in the director's office could vaguely hear them.

However, everyone didn't have any thoughts of snickering at all, but admired Ruan Guangjian even more.

He's so scared and still persevering, this is true love!

It can only be said that Mr. Ruan's success is not accidental, but inevitable. Just this indomitable perseverance is something that ordinary people can't possess!

Ye Zhizhou, who was sitting next to Ruan Guangjian, inexplicably felt a sense of pride.

Is the horror effect of our game so good?

In fact, Ye Zhizhou had no idea how the horror effect of this game would be.

This was the first time that Shang Yang Games had made a horror game. Although the members of the design team had also played horror games for a long time and Lin Wan and others had gone to haunted houses for inspiration, they still lacked experience.

Moreover, the main gameplay of this game is online, relying on "people scaring people", rather than using set processes and mechanisms to scare people.

But now the game hasn't even started testing, there are no players in it, they are all AIs, so the degree of scariness must be discounted.

In addition, the art resources are not yet fully in place, the gameplay is not particularly perfect, and there are some minor bugs, Ye Zhizhou feels that the game is far from complete.

But now, it can scare Ruan Guangjian like this, does it mean that the horror effect of this game is not bad for ordinary people?

While thinking about it, Ruan Guangjian exited the game and took off his headphones.

Ye Zhizhou was about to offer some comfort, but found that Ruan Guangjian's face was ruddy, his complexion was excellent, and he even looked a little excited.

Ye Zhizhou: "?"

He didn't expect this situation.

Is this still the person who screamed just now after being scared by a mouse?

Ruan Guangjian said sincerely: "Director Lin didn't lie to me, this game is really not scary at all."

Ye Zhizhou: "?"

What's the situation? Weren't you the one who was screaming just now?

Ye Zhizhou vaguely felt that something was wrong. Mr. Ruan's definition and expression of horror seemed to be inconsistent...

Before playing: No, I'm afraid of horror themes.

During the game: Screaming in fright.

After playing: Well, it's really not that scary.

Moreover, it felt like he wasn't just being stubborn, but rather it was his sincere thought.

Ye Zhizhou quickly took out his notebook: "Then Mr. Ruan, tell me your opinion."

Ruan Guangjian's mental state was very good, not at all like he had just been frightened, but rather a little excited.

"I think the gameplay of this game is almost in place, but what it lacks is the creation of details and atmosphere."

"It's through these small details that the horror atmosphere is increased, making it easier for players to feel immersed. How can you make the horror theme good? The key is to look at the details!"

"For example, I especially like the opening scene of the game!"

"I usually use the decibel level and frequency of my screams to judge whether a horror theme is excellent, and obviously the opening scene of the game is very good."

"But, there is still a little less of this kind of content, and some small aspects have not been taken care of."

"For example, you can add a setting, when something terrifying approaches, the player will hear the sound of their own heartbeat, and the closer the distance, the faster the heartbeat!"

"This seemingly simple sound effect will be very useful for creating an atmosphere!"

"Also, the painting style is not the darker the better. Too low visibility will indeed increase the player's tension, but playing in this kind of low-visibility environment all the time will make players feel very depressed, and they will want to exit the game and rest after a short time."

"So, there is a limit to restricting the player's field of vision, it can't be too bright or too dark... It may not be clear to say it, I'll find you a picture, you see how this effect is."

"Also, there are some small details. Although there are some scary mechanisms in the game now, they are all relatively large, and there is a lack of small mechanisms. What is a small mechanism? For example, strange wind blowing, objects moving slowly on the table, a bloody handprint appearing inadvertently on a piece of glass..."

"Some people may not see this kind of small scary mechanism, but in a state of high tension, seeing it may be more scary than those monsters that suddenly jump out..."

"This is not difficult to do, the key is to be patient..."

Ruan Guangjian kept talking, and Ye Zhizhou quickly recorded in his notebook.

While recording, Ye Zhizhou only had one thought in his mind.

"Is this what you call 'relatively afraid of horror themes'?"

"Is there something wrong with Mr. Ruan's perception of himself???"

"He just screams often when experiencing horror games, but in reality, his tolerance for horror themes is much stronger than the average person..."