My game, you have no right to award

Chapter 198 Daring to Judge
"correct."

Zhou Kuang gave an affirmative answer.

"This……"

Fu Anle looked troubled; this practically meant reconstructing all the copywriting they had prepared beforehand!
Chu Mo on the other side was in the same situation.

Although he personally had a very favorable impression of the Jiajing era, he couldn't help but frown when he realized the price that would be paid for changing the historical background.

"Brother Kuang, if we change it now, won't it take longer...?"

These words were spoken by Fu Anle.

His position naturally implies that the project is about to begin.

Zhou Kuang smiled and waved.

"It's okay, there's still time!"

"Don't feel pressured. I know this will increase your workload. I will personally meet with the other group leaders to give you more time."

"Ok."

Fu Anle nodded readily, but when she turned to look at Chu Mo, she was taken aback.

There was clearly a hint of resentment in the other person's eyes.

Chu Mo ignored Fu Anle's suggestive glances and insisted on asking.

Why must it be changed?

He does like the Ming Dynasty setting, but that doesn't mean he doesn't like the Warring States period setting.

This was a detailed copy design that Chu Mo had poured his heart and soul into, so he was naturally unwilling to accept that it was to be "abandoned".

Do you know what kind of game our next game will be?

"I know." How could Chu Mo not know? "An open-world martial arts action role-playing adventure game."

Zhou Kuang nodded, sighed, and entered his dramatic mode.

“This time it’s different from the ‘Netherworld Mountains and Seas’ we made before.”

"The game world of 'The Netherworld Mountains and Seas' is a semi-linear sandbox level."

"The game world of Code: Shadow is a completely open world."

Do you know the difference between these two?

Hearing Zhou Kuang say this, Chu Mo fell into deep thought.

He certainly knew the difference between the two, but there must be a deeper meaning behind Kuang Ge's words...

Zhou Kuang didn't give him a chance to think further and gave him the answer directly.

That's the production time.

"Of course, we all expected the production costs to double, but have you considered the workload of the art team?"

Upon hearing this, Fu Anle was the first to understand.

In open-world games, the heaviest workload isn't from programming, design, music, or even copywriting...

It's art!

Especially open-world games based on Chinese history!
If even the slightest detail doesn't match the actual historical records, a discerning player would probably tear them apart!

While the Unreal Engine they are currently using has a readily available asset library, they can hardly use any of these assets!
There is very little material on Eastern history to begin with, and 99% of that material is Japanese history!

There's nothing we can do about it; Japan is the only Asian country with a long history of developing AAA games.

What if Megvii Games used neon swords and armor materials in "Code: Shadow"...

Fu Anle instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

Given the current status of Kuangshi Games in the Chinese gaming industry and the extent to which its peers resent it, even if they aren't attacked by a mob, they'll at least be condemned by everyone.

Clearly, Chu Mo had figured it out, but he was still unconvinced.

Indeed, the art team had a lot of work to do, but what does that have to do with them changing the background from the Warring States period to the Ming Dynasty?
and many more!

Warring States Period...Ming Dynasty...

Chu Mo gradually understood and looked up at Zhou Kuang for confirmation.

Zhou Kuang said with a smile.

"Yes, the Ming Dynasty is closer to us, which means there are more historical records for us to refer to, and most importantly..."

"Many Ming Dynasty buildings still exist today. If we can directly use 3D scanning technology to replicate the things our ancestors already have, it would be incredibly easy."

“A building that might have taken the entire art team two months to complete can now be scanned in ten days or half a month.”

"Moreover, the modeling produced by scanning in this way is definitely better than the modeling we do by hand! It has higher precision and more accurate reproduction!"

"Otherwise, if we rely solely on our art team to do the modeling, how long would it take?"

"Code: Shadow is a martial arts game, with a much faster combat pace than Netherworld Mountain and Sea, and a much faster rate of resource consumption on the map!"

"If you don't provide enough game content, the game quality probably won't pass the players' test."

Upon hearing this, Chu Mo finally agreed.

Seeing that he had persuaded the two, Zhou Kuang secretly wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Luckily, I was quick-witted and came up with this explanation, otherwise I really wouldn't know how to convince the two of them.

Actually, he changed his mind because of the task assigned by the system.

Otherwise, he originally intended to respect the copywriting team's opinion.

"In short, you can treat this as the prologue to the game's plot and do some research based on the contents of the document."

"We must faithfully recreate the customs and culture of the Ming Dynasty, so that players feel as if they are living in the real Ming Dynasty society!"

Chu Mo and Fu Anle both nodded in agreement.

"That's settled then, you can go and arrange your work."

"Okay, Brother Kuang, then we won't bother you any longer."

The two stood up, nodded slightly, and left.

Zhou Kuang only started to have a headache after the two of them left.

He originally thought this prop called "Splendid Chapters" was the kind that could be used up in one go.

But now that a "ongoing" label has been added, who knows when the system will make you use up this item?
However, the development of this project is already imminent.

Even if the copywriting team completely changes the historical background of the plot today, which will take a lot of time, it will only take an extra month or two at most.

The storyline I can provide now is at best a prologue to the game, and it can't even be considered the main game itself.

What if we only have this much material left when the copywriting team finishes their work?
Zhou Kuang hesitated, but ultimately decided that if the content was still only this much, he would have no choice but to give up.

System tasks are not everything; ultimately, one must consider practical realities.

In any case, at least the historical background is consistent, so the system should be able to calculate its own 10% matching degree, right?

……

……

……

"What? The copywriting team wants to change the plot and setting?"

When Feng Qi heard Zhou Kuang say this, and heard the same explanation from him and the copywriting team, he could only nod in agreement.

Zhou Kuang's words made sense, and given the boss's strong advocacy, he naturally couldn't object.

However, this disrupted the schedule once again.

"I'll go and rearrange it right away!"

Feng Qi said with a determined look in his eyes.

The other party didn't mention any difficulties at all; they just planned to carry out Zhou Kuang's instructions, which made him very gratified. As the saying goes, "An army is raised for a thousand days to be used for one," and in a game company, this is probably the kind of time that comes when you need to put an army to use it.

Once the copywriting team makes a change, other teams also have to start modifying their own content. Although it doesn't mean they have to create everything from scratch, it's obviously not an easy task.

Soon, Feng Qi convened all group leaders and key personnel to convey the requirement to revise the preliminary research content.

He didn't even mention that it was Zhou Kuang's idea; he simply assigned the task.

Many people therefore believe that this is because their submitted proposals did not meet the standards set by their superiors, resulting in them being sent back for revision.

Not only did he not complain at all, he even worked twice as hard to prove himself.

This finally put Zhou Kuang at ease.

With things settled at Kuangshi Games, he finally had time to visit Niu Tieming.

In the president's office of Antarctic Pioneer Games, Niu Tieming looked resentful the moment he saw Zhou Kuang.

"Brother, I can understand you standing me up, but what... what do you mean by this..." He pointed to the empty space behind Zhou Kuang, "What do you mean by this?!"

"You promised to bring the person over!"

Zhou Kuang shook his head and remained silent.

He didn't come today to make up for the previous agreement; he had something to discuss with Niu Tieming.

"Old Niu, I have a project here, do you want it?"

Seeing Zhou Kuang's serious expression, Niu Tieming was taken aback at first, then his expression changed instantly, and he rubbed his hands together with a big smile.

"I want it!"

"Brother, if you're willing to die, I'm willing to bury you!"

"What words!"

Zhou Kuang rolled his eyes at the other person.

Niu Tieming is no fool. Everyone in the industry knows that Zhou, the CEO of Kuangshi Games, is a true Midas touch, making every game he creates a hit.

"The Underworld Mountains and Seas", "Vampire Survivor", "Potato Brothers", and "Clown Card".

Each of these games made headlines in the Chinese gaming industry.

Even at a top-tier Chinese game company like Antarctic Interactive Entertainment, if one of its studios can develop any of these games, it can immediately receive top-level support from senior management.

As Zhou Kuang's partner on the same side, Niu Tieming saw things most clearly among all of them.

As long as Zhou Kuang wouldn't betray him, then he had no reason to refuse!
What kind of project?

Seeing Niu Tieming's expectant look, Zhou Kuang sighed and instead of speaking directly, asked a question.

What task did Antarctic Group assign to Pioneer Games?

Niu Tieming answered without hesitation.

"Incubate at least one top-tier AAA single-player game."

"How do you define 'top-tier'? Does it count as making enough money?"

Zhou Kuang then asked.

"Of course!"

Niu Tieming nodded without hesitation and replied that Antarctic Group simply wanted to make money from AAA games. As long as the project was profitable enough, it would meet the definition of a "top-tier AAA game" even if it didn't actually qualify!

"So what if I provided you with a project that could make enough money, a pseudo-single-player game that could be launched simultaneously on mobile, console, and PC platforms and meets the definition of a 'AAA game'?"

Niu Tieming's eyes lit up when he heard this!

Holy crap, this is what Antarctic Interactive Entertainment is all about!

Although they lack the ability to make AAA games, they certainly have the ability, and a great deal of ability, to leverage the name of AAA games to create pay-to-win games!

Is there such a good thing?

Tell me quickly!
"Okay, okay, this is it!"

Niu Tieming didn't even want to listen and nodded hastily.

"Listen to me first."

Zhou Kuang stopped the other person's excited heart and trembling hands, and continued speaking.

"The Cao Qingli you hired, wasn't he the one who worked on anime-style games before?" Zhou Kuang paused, "Then let him continue working on anime-style games."

"This is also a perfect match for my major."

"I've observed that there aren't many 3D anime-style mobile games available right now. If you can create a game that gives players a pseudo-single-player experience and maximizes the game's features, then anime fans will naturally buy it."

"Simply put, just find a popular single-player game. As long as no one has made a similar anime-style mobile game, just copy the mechanics and add cute girl elements and a gacha system."

After Zhou Kuang finished speaking, Niu Tieming was still staring at Zhou Kuang expectantly, only to find that the other party really did just want to say these things.

"Is this... okay?"

Niu Tieming's eyes showed doubt; he hadn't expected Zhou Kuang's suggestion to be so simple.

Zhou Kuang's words were not unfounded; they were based on actual investigation.

He researched the anime-style mobile games on the market and found that the game design in this world was extremely outdated.

3D anime-style games are extremely rare; most games are still card-matching games, a design that reminded Zhou Kuang of the early mobile games from his previous world.

It's truly remarkable that mobile gamers in this world can stomach this.

If it were the red ocean of mobile games in later years, Zhou Kuang would naturally not dare to say such a thing, but now?
He's so quick to make judgments!

Professional gamers must be bold enough to make judgments!
Niu Tieming clearly had no idea how valuable Zhou Kuang's advice was, or what a huge opportunity Zhou Kuang was giving him.

Zhou Kuang even considered, to the point of being obsessed, whether he should just do it himself, but in the end he gave up.

Zhou Kuang had figured this out: if he wanted to make this money, he had to bear the consequences, and he didn't want to bear those consequences.

Since we can't handle it ourselves, let's just give it to Niu Tieming and Antarctic Group. After all, this is their old business.

Zhou Kuang didn't come here today to be a nice guy. He offered this bait because he needed Niu Tieming's help with something.

"Don't worry, if this game doesn't become a hit, it's on me!"

Zhou Kuang patted his chest and said.

Seeing that Zhou Kuang had said so, Niu Tieming gritted his teeth.

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

"But since it was your idea, you'll have to help guide this project."

"That's natural."

The two then discussed the details of the project before Zhou Kuang brought up his own affairs.

"Hey, Lao Niu, I've been really craving to watch movies lately."

"It's a pity that these movies are all too bad."

Niu Tieming didn't know why the other party suddenly brought this up, so he could only scratch the back of his head.

"Y-really?"

“Yes,” Zhou Kuang said. “It’s a pity that there are so few good Chinese films. It’s lamentable.”

"So I thought, why don't I just adapt 'The Mysterious Mountains and Seas' into a movie myself?"

"What do you think?"

After Zhou Kuang finished speaking, he looked at Niu Tieming, only to find that the other party had almost crashed.

"What's the matter?"

"You want to make your own movie?"

Niu Tieming stared at Zhou Kuang in disbelief.

(End of this chapter)