Chapter 1 Arrival in Yangcheng

Upon arriving in Yangcheng, Tianhuo Studio had specially sent a business car to pick them up from the airport.

This was standard treatment; Zhou Muyan should arrange it, both officially and personally.

Sitting in the business car, Pei Qian instructed Min Jingchao, "The working conditions at Tianhuo Studio are slightly worse than those at Tengda."

"But not by much. Just try to adapt; think of it as poverty alleviation."

"Every company has its own situation. Don't ask too many questions, understand?"

Min Jingchao nodded. "Don't worry, President Pei. I understand."

This was Min Jingchao's first time visiting Tianhuo Studio.

Previously, during the development of *Sea Fortress*, Pei Qian had organized a company-funded trip, arranging for employees to visit Yangcheng and tour Tianhuo Studio.

But Min Jingchao hadn't joined the company then; he joined during the *GOG* period.

Pei Qian wasn't worried about anything else; he was just afraid that Min Jingchao would arrive there and, like Ma Yang, immediately launch a series of soul-searching questions: Why are we still working on Saturdays? Is there overtime pay? Why are the workstations so cramped?

He didn't want to accidentally crush Zhou Muyan's spirit.

Although Min Jingchao shouldn't be as lacking in emotional intelligence as Old Ma, it wouldn't hurt to give him a few words of warning beforehand.

Tianhuo Studio had its own seven-story office building, surrounded by verdant pines, cypresses, and lush trees, creating a rather pleasant environment.

The business car stopped at the entrance, where Zhou Muyan and Sun Xi, who was responsible for the reception, were already waiting.

Seeing President Pei arrive, they greeted him with enthusiasm.

Pei Qian vaguely remembered Sun Xi. He had been responsible for the reception last time as well. His previous position seemed to be a core designer in Tianhuo Studio's large-scale MMORPG project, and he had also participated in the development of *Bullet Marks*.

He had been a core member from the start, and after more than two years of training and cultivation, he was now Zhou Muyan's capable right-hand man, a highly regarded lead designer within the studio.

They passed through the bamboo forest in the front courtyard, then through the front desk, and went straight to the fourth floor.

The last time he came, there had been a tour, but this time it was skipped entirely, because Zhou Muyan felt extremely awkward whenever he thought about it...

How could he have shown off his employees' benefits to Tengda? What was he thinking at the time!

When Tengda was still a small company, its benefits were already better than Tianhuo Studio's. Now that it had grown larger, the benefits had only become more extravagant.

Zhou Muyan knew that he couldn't compare in this regard.

Therefore, this time, he tacitly avoided mentioning the previous events, acting as if nothing had happened.

He would wait until Min Jingchao was settled in, then have Sun Xi take him around to familiarize himself with the working environment.

"President Pei, should we sit down and rest for a bit, chat casually, or..." Zhou Muyan tentatively sought his opinion.

After all, President Pei had just flown in and must be a little tired. The more considerate itinerary would be to first sit in the reception room, arrange a time in advance, and then let President Pei and Min Jingchao return to the hotel to rest, before coming back for a meeting the next day.

Pei Qian waved his hand. "No need, let's get started directly."

He had come in business class, so he wasn't tired, and Pei Qian's design method was a go-with-the-flow design method, which didn't require brainpower or the accumulation of ideas, but was entirely based on chance.

Min Jingchao might have a larger workload, but he didn't need to complete it in one day.

He could jot down the key points today and slowly refine them later.

The sooner this meeting was over, the sooner Pei Qian could return to Jingzhou to rest.

Zhou Muyan nodded. "Okay, I'll call a few lead designers over to listen in. Then, we'll pick the most capable one to assist Brother Min."

"Please have some tea while you wait."

Zhou Muyan got up and instructed Sun Xi to notify the designers.

He said he wanted to select the most capable designer to assist Min Jingchao, but in reality, he hoped to use this opportunity to have these lead designers listen to President Pei's lecture and improve themselves.

Such an opportunity was too precious!

It was like watching a true martial arts master practice; even if you didn't understand anything, you would still improve.

At least you broadened your horizons, learned how martial arts masters trained, and grasped the general direction.

Game design was the same. Everyone knew that President Pei was a game design genius, but how exactly did he design games? There were many rumors on the outside, but those who weren't insiders couldn't get close to the truth.

This precious opportunity had to be used well, and they had to learn as much as possible.

Of course, Zhou Muyan only called a few core lead designers, all of whom he trusted very much.

The reason he didn't call more people was partly because Zhou Muyan felt that others hadn't reached that level or weren't trusted core members and weren't worthy of listening; the other part was that he couldn't go too far and cause President Pei to feel uncomfortable.

If he arranged a large conference room and packed it with people inside and out, the intention would be too obvious and very impolite.

In short, this was not just a collaboration with Tengda to create a game, but also a learning conference for game design knowledge.

There might not be a second chance like this. How could he not take it seriously?

As for Pei Qian, he drank tea while considering where to start with this design.

After thinking about it, it seemed that he only knew one design method, which was to design for losses, but ended up making money...

He had to admit, that made him feel rather pathetic.

Actually, Pei Qian was a little puzzled. Logically speaking, there were so many ways to lose money making games in the world, so why did he always end up making profitable games?

Was it because he was too lucky, and he just happened to stumble upon all the ways to make money?

Apart from that, there seemed to be no other possibility.

Could it be that he was really a game design genius?

Then... if he tried a few more times, would he eventually encounter a time when he lost money?

After all, Tengda's own development capabilities were limited; they could only make four or five games a year at most, and many money-losing ideas couldn't be verified.

But if other companies helped, they could develop several games at the same time, and maybe one of them would successfully lose money?

So this time, Pei Qian's idea was still to design in a way that would lose money.

If they made money, then it would mean that Longyu Corporation and Tianhuo Studio were lucky and simply fulfilled the contract, which was fine.

Although Tengda would get a share of the money, Tengda already had so many profitable games; one more or one less didn't matter.

But what if they lost money? That would be significant!

Pei Qian would have to carefully study this money-losing model and try to make it his own.

If they lost a lot of money, then that would be even better. Next time, Pei Qian could take the opportunity to compensate and continue to cooperate with Tianhuo Studio and Longyu Corporation. At that time, Tengda would contribute the majority of the research and development and take on this great opportunity to lose money.

In short, this could be seen as an additional attempt. No matter what the result, it was acceptable.

After a while, Sun Xi returned. "President Zhou, President Pei, the conference room is ready."

Zhou Muyan looked at Pei Qian. "Then, President Pei, shall we go?"

Pei Qian nodded. "Yes, let's go!"

The group came to the large conference room on the same floor. The designers who had come to listen in had already arrived. Seeing Zhou Muyan and Pei Qian arrive, they stood up to greet them.

Zhou Muyan left the central seat open, indicating for Pei Qian to take it.

Pei Qian was polite for a moment, but seeing that Zhou Muyan insisted, he didn't refuse any further.

After everyone was seated, Zhou Muyan cleared his throat, signaling everyone to be quiet.

"President Pei's visit from afar is truly an honor for our studio."

"Regarding this new project, everyone has already been introduced to it. It's a project jointly developed and operated by Tengda Group, Tianhuo Studio, and Longyu Corporation. The opportunity is very precious. Everyone here should understand how significant these large-scale projects are for designers."

The design industry also valued "gilding."

A designer who has participated in a successful project and a designer who has not participated in a successful project would command two completely different prices when applying for a job outside.

Not to mention designers who held key positions in successful projects.

After all, there was no clear standard for measuring ability in creative fields like this. Assuming basic abilities were similar, successful experience was the biggest highlight.

President Pei's identity and status in the game industry need not be elaborated on; everyone present has heard of him.

For these designers, being able to participate in this project would definitely be a rare highlight in their entire career.

If the project was successful as expected, then not to mention bonuses and profit sharing, the resume alone would be enough to elevate their career planning to a new level.

But it was uncertain how many people would actually enter this project and assist Min Jingchao.

Perhaps in the end, Zhou Muyan and Min Jingchao would have to screen and review the candidates.

Therefore, all of these designers were eager to listen carefully and think deeply, hoping to come up with unique viewpoints and ideas to increase their chances of being selected.

Zhou Muyan looked at Pei Qian. "Then, President Pei, shall we begin?"

"From now on, all processes will follow Tengda's development process, and we will fully cooperate."

Tianhuo Studio certainly had its own development process, but since President Pei was here, why not use a better process?

Tianhuo Studio was determined to act as apprentices and tools, trying not to let their own habits interfere with President Pei and Min Jingchao.

Otherwise... if Tengda Games' undefeated myth failed with them, how embarrassing would that be!

President Pei makes every game a hit at Tengda.

But if he came to Tianhuo Studio and it flopped, that wouldn't be right.

If something like that really happened, no one would think that President Pei was incompetent; they would only think that Tianhuo Studio was too useless and too much of a drag.

What kind of team would be so bad that they couldn't even carry President Pei?

Zhou Muyan couldn't bear that kind of blow.

Pei Qian nodded. "Alright, let's begin."

"Have you thought about what type of game to make?"

The go-with-the-flow design method was like this; it started with the game type based on chance.

These words sounded normal and ordinary to Min Jingchao, but they sounded completely different to the other designers.

Shocked expressions appeared on their faces.

Judging from President Pei's meaning, he hadn't even thought about the game type?

They thought President Pei had already thought about the game design before coming!

Didn't that mean that President Pei could design any type of game? And he was confident that he could design it well?