Chapter 33 Doubt

Bao Xu had already finished optimizing *Ghost General* and *Naval Fortress* and was recently free.

Lu Mingliang gave *Game Producer* to Bao Xu to experience as soon as possible.

After all, he was the company's chief experience officer, and the one who best understood President Pei's intentions!

Lu Mingliang, feeling very unsure, needed some confidence from the big boss.

Bao Xu seriously played the game once.

He didn't play all the endings, because that would take too much time. He just made his own choices and played two or three endings.

"How is it, Brother Bao? What do you think of this game? Is there any room for modification?" Lu Mingliang asked.

Bao Xu did not answer immediately.

After a moment, Bao Xu asked, "What do you guys think?"

The "you guys" here naturally referred to all the employees responsible for developing *Game Producer*, including Lu Mingliang.

Lu Mingliang hesitated for a moment, then decided to answer truthfully: "Many people think...this game is a bit boring. Except for Lin Wan, no one else has much confidence in this game."

"Although this game was personally designed by President Pei, it always feels like...there isn't enough motivation to keep playing..."

Lu Mingliang's mood was conflicted.

On the one hand, he felt a little overwhelmed and ashamed.

Thinking about the previous game, Huang Sibao and Bao Xu created *Naval Fortress* and it was a hit!

But now it was his turn, taking over Huang Sibao's position, and President Pei still had to personally modify it...

He felt like he was holding everyone back and losing face.

On the other hand, he was genuinely worried.

The gameplay was designed by President Pei, and the art was overseen by the great Ruan Guangjian. In all aspects, this game should have been a super hit.

But during the experience, there was no premonition that "it will become a hit." Instead, many people in the design team thought it was quite boring!

This contradictory mood always made Lu Mingliang feel uneasy.

He couldn't directly ask President Pei, so he wanted to hear Bao Xu's opinion.

Bao Xu pondered for a moment.

"I think your idea is a case of not seeing the forest for the trees."

"You've seen the game's script from the beginning, and you already know all the choices. It's like you've been spoiled in advance, so your feelings are naturally not as sharp."

"As an outsider, I think this game is very interesting and very special."

Lu Mingliang was stunned. He didn't expect Bao Xu to give such a high evaluation.

Very interesting?

Very special?

They seemed like ordinary descriptions, but the key was who said them!

Who was Bao Xu? He was a gaming god who had mastered all games. He had played so many games and had a much broader perspective than the average player.

Like the little girl added to *Naval Fortress*.

For many domestic players, it was the first time they had encountered this kind of gameplay.

But the reason why Bao Xu made this design was because he had seen and played it in many foreign big-name games.

This was the difference in perspective.

Bao Xu, who had played so many games, thought it was "very special," which was enough to show that *Game Producer* was truly very special!

But Bao Xu wasn't finished.

He added with a serious expression, "But this doesn't mean that this game can make money."

"I think this is President Pei's attempt at highbrow art, which may lead to deification, or it may end in failure. It all depends on the market's feedback."

"Please enlighten me, Brother Bao," Lu Mingliang listened humbly.

Bao Xu sorted out his thoughts.

"I can only speculate on President Pei's intentions based on my limited gaming experience."

"I think President Pei has always been a very lonely person."

Lu Mingliang was stunned: "President Pei is a very lonely person? What makes you say that? I think...President Pei is quite optimistic and cheerful."

"Is that so?" Bao Xu asked. "Do you remember President Pei's state at the last company dinner?"

Lu Mingliang was a little stumped.

He recalled carefully.

The last dinner was to celebrate the successful development of *Naval Fortress*. President Pei took everyone to a buffet that cost more than 400 yuan per person.

Because they enjoyed the meal so much, Lu Mingliang still remembered it vividly.

What was President Pei like at that time?

He really had no impression.

He tried to recall again.

"It seems...President Pei was sitting quietly all the time, not eating or drinking much. He seemed preoccupied and was thinking about something..."

Lu Mingliang looked at Bao Xu.

Bao Xu nodded: "That's right. In this kind of environment, you can see a person's true psychological state."

"Usually, President Pei is very easy-going in the company, in front of us. That's because President Pei, as a leader, must always infect us with the best mental state and encourage us."

"But in a dinner party like that, people who are truly lonely inside will still show their true emotions more or less!"

"Think about it carefully. At that time, *Naval Fortress* was successfully developed and was about to become a big hit. Everyone had delicious food in front of them. In all aspects, there was no reason to be worried and unable to eat, right?"

"What could make President Pei so down?"

"It can only be his inner loneliness!"

Lu Mingliang blinked, feeling like there was some truth to it.

Analyzing it rationally, President Pei's mental state did have some problems at that time!

Bao Xu continued, "Moreover, when I was optimizing and modifying *Ghost General* and *Naval Fortress* recently, I also felt similar emotions. These emotions should have been hidden deep in the soul of the game by President Pei when he was doing the basic design!"

"For example, *Ghost General*. Why set the price at 10 yuan and a lifetime card at 30 yuan? I think this is like a ruthless mockery of the gaming industry."

"President Pei believes from the bottom of his heart that this kind of game is not worth that much money at all! A card is speculated to be worth hundreds or thousands? It's a scam!"

"And the appearance of *Ghost General* is to expose this scam and make players realize how ridiculous it is to spend hundreds or thousands to draw a card!"

"From *Lonely Desert Road* to *Ghost General* and *Naval Fortress*, and now to *Game Producer*, President Pei has been using this unique way to satirize the impetuous and profit-driven gaming industry."

"It's just that...compared to the previous games, *Game Producer* is more direct, more pungent, and more profound!"

"And...more unpopular."

Lu Mingliang's eyes gradually brightened.

So that's how it is!

In this way, everything is connected!

But then, Lu Mingliang had new questions.

"But, since the game's connotation is so profound, why do you think it's possible for this game to become deified, but also possible for it to end in failure, Brother Bao?"

Bao Xu looked out the window, gazing at the distant scenery: "Aren't works that transcend the times like this?"

"True artists are often not understood by the general public, and it is normal for them to fail commercially."

"If *Game Producer* fails, it's not President Pei's failure. It's that...the current players don't deserve such a good game."

"Maybe in the future, they will gradually understand the deep meaning of this game."

"But now...can the impetuous market see through the true meaning behind this game? I really don't know."