Chapter 1 The Shopping Trip

Ma Yang packed up his things and headed out, going to a nearby bookstore to buy professional books on game design.

Pei Qian didn't know if he would be able to find any, but with so many big bookstores, he should be able to find something, right?

Actually, at this time, some online shopping platforms had already appeared, including websites specializing in selling books.

However, many people hadn't caught on to this yet, and even some of the more slow-witted students hadn't opened online banking.

Ma Yang was one of those more traditional students. When he thought about buying books, his first choice was still to go to a bookstore, browse through some of the content, and then decide whether or not to buy it.

Of course, this situation would undergo earth-shattering changes in the next few years.

Pei Qian returned to his bed, opened his laptop, and considered what to do next.

In the afternoon, Ma Yang came back.

He was carrying seven or eight books, including a thick volume, about two fingers thick, in quarto format, called "Advanced Programming Summary."

Besides that, there were a bunch of other books.

For example, "Survival Guide Outside of Code," "Program Development Management Treasure Trove," "Code Complete," "Design Patterns," and "Cervical Spondylosis Rehabilitation Guide."

Ma Yang felt like he had gained a lot.

Pei Qian flipped through the books that Ma Yang had brought back, and finally his gaze landed on the "Cervical Spondylosis Rehabilitation Guide."

You really came prepared!

You've even considered the possibility of getting cervical spondylosis in the future?

But the biggest problem facing programmers isn't cervical spondylosis, it's overwork!

And you're not even a programmer!

Before, when Pei Qian saw how concerned and hardworking Ma Yang was about this, he almost thought he had chosen the wrong person.

But after seeing the books that Ma Yang had chosen, Pei Qian was sure.

Ma Yang was his best partner, no doubt about it!

Look at this guy, running all the way to the bookstore and picking out these few books.

You can't say they're completely useless, because they do touch on the subject a little.

But you can't say they're useful, because what's the point?

A typical waste of effort.

Pei Qian patted Ma Yang on the shoulder. "Ma Yang, we're doing design, not programming."

"Besides, do you know that games are made with editors now?"

"And, technology is developing at an explosive rate, and innovation is happening so fast. The technology in these books is already half obsolete. It's really not useful."

Ma Yang's face turned pale. "I was wondering why the bookstore was having a sale! So they couldn't sell them!"

"I searched for a long time in the bookstore, but I couldn't find any books on game design, so I just found these. When I saw the discount, I picked up a few to buy."

"What should I do? Discounted books can't be returned!"

Ma Yang was a little flustered.

Pei Qian was completely relieved and said with a smile, "It's okay, it's good that you have the thought. If you don't want to have bought them for nothing, then take a look at them, they might be a little helpful."

Ma Yang was a little relieved when he heard this. "Do you want to read them? We can take turns."

Pei Qian's face darkened, and he quickly waved his hand. "No, no need."

Who wants to read these books? They'd be too hard to use as a pillow!

Ma Yang lay on the bed and opened the thickest book, "Advanced Programming Summary."

After only five minutes, snores came from his bed.

Pei Qian was very satisfied.

Yes, reliable!

Look at this attitude, 100 points!

And look at this ability, 0 points!

Isn't this the designer he's been desperately looking for?

Unfortunately, Pei Qian only knew one talent like Ma Yang.

If there were more, wouldn't Pei Qian be able to ascend to heaven? Losing all 300,000 would be so easy!

...

Pei Qian opened the official Erso editor, and with some melancholy, ignored the fact that "Lonely Desert Road" had gained several thousand more downloads today, and began to study his next plan.

As an independent game, popularity often comes quickly and goes quickly.

Especially for a game like "Lonely Desert Road" that has no technical content and no sustainable gameplay.

In fact, Pei Qian had seen similar examples in his previous life: low-quality, crudely made art assets, and games with boring and monotonous gameplay that became popular for some special reason.

However, these examples were actually very rare. Out of hundreds of similar games, maybe only one or two would appear.

Pei Qian never expected that he would run into something like this!

In the next period of time, the popularity of "Lonely Desert Road" would inevitably decline rapidly, and the number of downloads and revenue would naturally plummet, which was a normal phenomenon.

But, regardless of whether it plummeted or not, this game had already made money, which was the most painful thing for Pei Qian.

After careful consideration, Pei Qian decided to change his approach.

This time, he couldn't make an independent game anymore, he had to change!

Because in the short term, Tengda Network Technology Co., Ltd. was already tied to the game "Lonely Desert Road" in the minds of players.

Pei Qian faced a dilemma:

If he made a terrible game, it might just replicate the success of "Lonely Desert Road," and even if it didn't become that popular, making even a little money would be devastating to Pei Qian;

But if he didn't make a terrible game and made a serious, normal independent game...maybe players would buy it because they thought the quality was okay.

This was very troublesome!

Moreover, it was a bit difficult to spend 300,000 on an independent game.

How expensive would the templates and art assets have to be to spend all 300,000?!

And if he bought these very expensive art assets and made the game so beautiful, it might attract a large number of appearance-oriented players, and he still wouldn't be able to lose money!

So, after thinking it over, Pei Qian decided to temporarily abandon these independent game enthusiasts and switch to another field.

300,000 was not enough to make a large-scale game.

Although Pei Qian's goal was to lose money, the finished game still had to be made.

If the game didn't pass the review and the 300,000 system funds were spent without any results, the system would determine that this was a violation.

Therefore, the money had to be spent, and the game had to be made.

Pei Qian searched on the official platform for a while and finally determined his goal.

Mobile games!

This was also a last resort. On the one hand, he didn't have enough money to make a large-scale game; on the other hand, it wasn't appropriate to work on independent games in the short term.

Mobile game players and independent game players were not the same group.

Independent game players might check out the new game because they recognized the company "Tengda," but mobile game players wouldn't.

As long as the mobile game he made was garbage enough, Pei Qian was sure that no one would care about it!

After determining the direction, it was time for market research.

Pei Qian entered the official game platform, flipped through all the popular mobile games, and downloaded a few popular mobile games to experience.

Pei Qian had noticed before that, in the mobile field, the technology of the parallel world seemed to be much faster than in his previous life.