Actor: Thank you.

After the meal, Zhang Yuan took photos with the restaurant manager and staff one by one, and finally took a group photo.

The founders of miHoYo watched quietly from the sidelines.

It took about twenty minutes to finish.

"How about we give you a free meal?" the lobby manager suggested after patting the table.

How much money can you make from a meal if you eat like crazy?

Managers at this level naturally have the authority to offer discounts and freebies.

A photo of Zhang Yuan hanging in the restaurant is definitely worth more than a meal.

Teacher Zhao Benshan claims that he never has to pay for his meals in Northeast China.

Teacher Zhao explained that if you don't want to buy it, someone will always buy it for you.

This statement actually implies that the speaker doesn't want to take advantage of the situation.

However, Mr. Zhao's personal charm is too great, and he often encounters situations where fans secretly pay for his meals.

Zhang Yuan's situation is much the same; if he doesn't want to pay, someone else will always pay for him.

But such a big star, earning so much money a year, shouldn't waste his time on such trivial matters.

He always insists on paying for it himself.

However, quite a few people in the entertainment industry love to take advantage of these small things.

There are also those who want to eat for free. After finishing their meal, they pick their teeth, look at the restaurant owner, point to themselves, and ask questions.

Do you know who I am?

Later, this system was "democratized" and adopted by a group of food critics.

“I’m not paying today, you can ask them,” Zhang Yuan gestured to the group of otaku next to him.

He's a guest, so he won't insist on paying the bill.

Seeing the distressed expressions on their faces as they looked at the bill, Zhang Yuan knew that their situation was probably more difficult than he had imagined.

In fact, most startups have gone through this stage.

Whether one can weather the storm, what conclusions will be drawn afterward, and how this will affect the company's future strategy, all vary from person to person.

The most expensive wild yellow croaker was a gift; the rest cost less than a thousand yuan.

Zhang Yuan felt it was worth the meal because he was able to find out about the other person's financial situation in just one meal.

"I think it's still early, and we've had a good chat."

"How about we go play for a while?"

"Okay, let's play for a while!"

Typically, the people he associates with after meals go to clubs and bars to drink heartily, sing in a hoarse voice, and grope the female escorts.

The third type of encounter usually involves taking women out for a date or to a massage parlor.

If you go for a massage, the fourth thing is to take a woman out with you.

Regardless of the procedures in between, the final result is always the same: head straight to the hotel.

These tech geeks headed straight for an internet cafe, not a hotel.

Zhang Yuan smiled the moment he saw the internet cafe sign.

"What... this place isn't suitable?" Liu Wei asked, a little worried.

Will we embarrass ourselves?
But the place I found was already the best in the area.

“No.” Zhang Yuan’s smile was not mockery, but joy.

Because these tech geeks really are exactly the same.

Jun'er, Xiao Ma, Zhang Chaoyang, Ding Sanshi... these bosses, all with technical backgrounds, play games.

And this is in an era when this game is commonly referred to as electronic heroin.

It was these tech geeks who loved playing games who ultimately changed China's internet and technology ecosystem.

Half of the companies with the highest market value in China originated from this group of people.

Playing games is better than you bunch of gamblers who spend all day eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling, isn't it?

Seeing that he had been brought to the internet cafe, I was actually quite pleased.

"Let's go inside."

The venue was dimly lit, and the players were focused on their games, so no one recognized him.

They opened a small private room and sat down.

"What do you want to play?" Zhang Yuan looked around.

"DOTA or LOL?"

There aren't many people playing StarCraft 2 right now, and Warcraft 3 is already outdated. The gaming market has entered the MOBA era.

Besides these two, the mainstream games are CS, CF, or World of Warcraft.

Of course, some people play games like "KartRider" and "QQ Dance," but Zhang Yuan felt that these games were not the target audience.

"LOL is a plagiarized game," one person said.

"We'll do whatever you want with your hobbies," Liu Wei said, looking at him amiably.

“I usually play League of Legends,” Zhang Yuan said casually.

The person who just made the "orthodox and plagiarism" argument awkwardly shut down.

"Old Cai is right, DOTA is indeed more authentic."

"But I still prefer League of Legends," Zhang Yuan said, trying to smooth things over.

“Then let’s play League of Legends, we both have accounts,” Liu Wei quickly replied.

There are quite a few people who say that DOTA is more authentic and hold this view.

These days, online forums and message boards are often filled with heated exchanges between the two parties.

Even 10 years later, there are still "fundamentalists" who insist on playing DOTA with the graphics of Warcraft 3 and don't even touch DOTA 2.

But these people are ultimately a tiny minority, and the group will continue to shrink.

These individuals are similar; as developers of buy-to-play games, they are small companies that have suffered from piracy and cracked versions, so they naturally prefer small-group original games like "DOTA".

Because you can see your own shadow.

League of Legends (LOL) is a product of a large, evil corporation that "plagiarizes" and "exploits" its creators.

"I rely on!"

Half an hour later, Liu Wei cursed.

It wasn't a loss, it was a win, and a decisive one at that.

Zhang Yuan single-handedly carried them all to victory.

"You play so well?"

He smiled but didn't answer.

I've been ripping off PDD and Ruofeng.

Previously, they had also recruited a group of top Warcraft and StarCraft players.

Not only is their tactical awareness advanced, but their operational skills are also at a semi-professional level.

It's because I've been playing StarCraft too much that my eyesight isn't very good now... After all, playing StarCraft doesn't require eyesight.

To be honest, in terms of the amount of operation, DPS, and precision required, StarCraft and Warcraft are a game-changer for MOBA games; the level of operation required is completely different.

He single-handedly carried the entire team to victory.

The difference is even greater when playing RTS games.

"Network administrator, one bottle of iced tea per person."

"It needs to be ice-cold."

During his break, Zhang Yuan ordered some drinks.

The others looked at him.

No way... Dude, you're really good at this!

You play so well, you must play a lot regularly.

This is definitely not last-minute cramming.

Do celebrities play games?

Ordinary people tend to "deify" celebrities.

It is especially easy to bring the on-screen image into the picture, and seeing men and women always associated with various big brands gives off a sense of sophistication.

In reality, celebrities are human too; they get nervous when they drink cold drinks and grind their teeth in their sleep.

Moreover, most celebrities only scored around 200 points on the college entrance exam, meaning their actual learning ability and general knowledge are inferior to those of ordinary undergraduates.

When Zhang Yuan saw these people who brought him to the internet cafe, he not only thought they were indeed tech geeks, but also felt it was both a coincidence and a good thing.

I'll just show you how I do it.

Why wouldn't they play it? Even celebrities play it!
He wants to shed his celebrity persona and bridge the gap by engaging with people through games.

Having a shared identity as fellow gamers makes it easier to communicate.

They had been communicating quite warmly on QQ, but once they met in person, due to his status, they immediately distanced themselves and created a gap between themselves.

He wants to close that gap.

“Actually, I don’t just play games,” he said after taking a sip of iced tea. “I also invest in and sponsor esports teams.”

“I’m one of the owners of Team WE.” “Oh…right, I’ve seen the photos of you and Sky in Singapore back then.” Someone immediately realized.

"Yes, I have been sponsoring esports in China."

"I believe the gaming industry in China has a very bright future and enormous development potential."

I am not only a gamer, but also a game enthusiast and sponsor.

To cultivate such an image for oneself.

This isn't my first time playing games, nor is it my first time investing and spending money on them.

"Actually, I think Lao Cai was right when he said that LOL is not authentic." He then steered the conversation back to the topic.

You can't let your fun go to waste.

"The imitation of League of Legends is very obvious."

"But do you believe it or not, LOL will gradually become the mainstream of the MOBA market, especially in China."

"And DOTA will gradually be marginalized."

"Because the market and potential of MOBA games have now been recognized by everyone."

"It will quickly become a red ocean market."

"Once we enter the red ocean phase, game creativity is no longer the absolute factor in whether a game can succeed."

"Operations, market development, promotion, and continuous updates and maintenance are all essential business operations that ensure a game can thrive in the market on the foundation of creativity."

“Developing stars among contestants, organizing competitions, offline events, and collaborating with promotional platforms are all crucial.”

"In fact, many of the methods used in the development stages of making movies and games are similar."

Upon hearing this, the group realized that this person not only knew how to have fun, but also was knowledgeable in the field.

At this point, League of Legends has gained a significant advantage.

In particular, Blizzard lost the opportunity to continue developing "DOTA" due to its arrogance.

Blizzard arrogantly believes that DOTA is just a sub-product based on the Warcraft 3 map editor.

When IceFrog Studios contacted Blizzard seeking funding and development team support to make Dota a standalone game using an independent engine, they were met with a cold rejection!

Blizzard believes that you guys grew up on my back. The key to the success of DOTA is not IceFrog and a few other people, but the high popularity of the Warcraft IP.

Blizzard not only disagreed with the independent studio's demands, but also forced them to use the newly developed StarCraft II engine to create the new Dota.

Essentially, Blizzard never considered Dota as an independent game, but rather always viewed it as an appendage of their own.

The result of this arrogance was that IceFrog eventually sided with Valve and, with their support, created Dota 2.

In a fit of anger, Blizzard persisted with its IP strategy and created Heroes of the Storm, which became a huge flop.

And it left behind a famous meme in the gaming community... Storm is going to be a hit.

This giant paid a heavy price for its arrogance: missing out on an entire MOBA era!

Then, due to the same arrogance and mistakes, they insisted on the big IP strategy and insisted on making a Diablo mobile game, thus missing out on the mobile game era.

Blizzard Entertainment's failure is similar to that of Baidu, a domestic giant, in many ways: both started early but finished late.

They have an excellent foundation, yet they can never produce anything good.

The reason is that the decision-makers of these two companies not only care about short-term interests, but also treat all new businesses as derivatives of their core businesses.

In this respect, the difference between Fujiko and Baidu is exactly the opposite.

QQ and WeChat were used by Fujiko as tools to attract players, rather than to allow these games to attract users for WeChat and QQ.

The development team must be independent and should not allow other business teams to interfere or profit from their own core business.

They played several more rounds, and with Zhang Yuan carrying them, these guys had a blast.

They played all night long, their eyes still shining.

"Damn, it's already morning?"

When they went outside, they found that it was already broad daylight.

We found a small roadside restaurant to eat at.

In Shanghai, people love noodles with toppings, so Zhang Yuan ordered a bowl of spicy pork noodles with vegetarian chicken and pickled mustard greens.

The remaining few ate potstickers and wontons.

While they were eating, Zhang Yuan suggested that they might as well not sleep and go to their company.

"Can you handle it?"

"No problem. The crew shoots night scenes all day until dawn, so I don't mind staying up all night."

The group was a little hesitant and embarrassed, but they still took him there.

Sorry, it's because there's really nothing interesting to see in the office.

It's still that same small 50-square-meter room, crammed with about ten computers.

Of these, half are now empty.

There was no money, no hope, even the founder left, and many of the other employees also left.

It's only human nature; these people were helpless, but there was nothing they could do to stop them.

As I said before, everyone needs to eat.

When people are hungry, they don't have time to think about ideals; they only instinctively think about where to find their next meal.

"It's quite heartwarming," Zhang Yuan remarked with high emotional intelligence after looking around.

I glanced at the cot and induction cooker next to me.

It's likely that these people spend most of their time eating and drinking in the office.

Zhang Yuan found a chair that looked fairly clean and sat down.

In such a small space, there's no such thing as a general manager's office; it's just a few rows of workstations.

"You guys said before that you planned to stop updating the game."

What happens after the hiatus?

"It's not that I regret losing my 6 yuan."

"I believe most players, like me, don't care about a few dollars."

"It's a pity that a game that everyone loves is now facing its fate."

"As you all know, the anime and manga community is very small right now, and there aren't many anime and manga games, especially mobile games."

There are no real alternatives.

His honesty was met with silence.

"It's not that we don't want to do it, it's just that there are practical difficulties."

"Just like I told you on QQ before."

"We have problems with manpower and funding."

"Money brings connections, that's a small matter," Zhang Yuan said nonchalantly.

"Everyone wants to make a good game, but to be honest, Honkai Impact 3rd is a bit rough around the edges."

"Is it because the cost is low?"

They all nodded in agreement.

"Besides costs and manpower, you also face the challenge of marketing and promotion."

"I don't think the game is bad because there's something wrong with the gameplay; it's just that nobody knows about it."

"In this day and age, even the best wine needs to be advertised."

"Don't even mention you guys, even if it's a movie I starred in, no one would watch it without a lot of promotion."

"Publicity is also a problem."

"Hey!" Zhang Yuan suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

Do you guys know Bilibili?

“Of course, we use it every day,” they replied immediately.

They've all been regarded as a haven for their souls.

"Bilibili is now the gathering place for ACG (Anime, Comics, and Games) in China. Theoretically speaking, the target customer group of ACG games and Bilibili users highly overlap."

"Therefore, if a game is to be promoted, it should focus on Bilibili and accurately target its players."

“That’s right,” Liu Wei nodded.

"But what should we do?"

"Anyway, our approach to promoting movies is to buy traffic on video platforms and release promotional videos."

"We'll find content creators to recommend our videos to attract attention."

Zhang Yuan analyzed it from his own familiar perspective.

“That makes sense.” They increasingly felt that Zhang Yuan was knowledgeable and that he spoke the words of an expert.

Unlike some forum users who can only offer emotional value.

When they started talking, they all discussed market-related topics, which was constructive.

“But doing this requires resources and a lot of money,” another person said with a bitter face.

"Sigh!" Zhang Yuan had another flash of inspiration.

"What would you think if I told you that I also happen to be a shareholder of Bilibili?"

miHoYo members: ... (End of Chapter)