The Heiress's Game

The process of separating the otome game project from Xingyao Media and establishing a subsidiary has been underway internally for nearly a month.

The registered capital, office space, and core team are all in place, but the CEO position remains vacant.

It's not that we can't find anyone, it's that Gu Yunjin is too picky.

The first few rounds of preliminary and final interviews eliminated no fewer than fifty candidates. The three resumes presented to her had all undergone more than three rounds of evaluation, and their resumes were impeccably impressive.

What she has to do is choose the most suitable leader from among them.

The final interview was held in the Xingyao Media conference room.

A full-length window faces the skyline of Yunjing City, with sunlight pouring in from outside the glass curtain wall.

Gu Yunjin sat in the main seat with three resumes spread out in front of her, while Nan Zhenquan and other senior executives sat on either side of her.

Each person had an interview evaluation form in front of them, but everyone knew that the scores on the form were only for reference, and the final decision was made by Gu Yunjin.

The first two interviewees performed well.

The first one is a veteran producer who has been working in the game industry for fifteen years. He has worked on two mobile games that generated over 100 million RMB in monthly revenue and his analysis of the commercialization path is so precise it's outrageous.

The second person is a young talent who returned from overseas and worked as a content director at a top game company in Silicon Valley. He has a complete theoretical system for narrative design and user immersion.

Gu Yunjin was satisfied with both of them, but did not express her opinion on the spot. She simply made a few notes on the evaluation form and then asked her assistant to call in the third person.

The third interviewee was surnamed Cheng, 35 years old, and the former vice president of a leading domestic game company. The most impressive thing on his resume was that he led the development and release of a female-oriented mobile game, which generated more than 1 billion yuan in revenue in its first year.

When he pushed the door open and came in, Gu Yunjin noticed that his attire was the most refined among the three.

Wearing a bespoke suit with exquisite enamel buttons on the cuffs, and with his hair meticulously combed, he exudes a confident aura that says, "I am professional but not old-fashioned."

He sat down in the chair, adjusted his posture slightly, and gave Gu Yunjin a smile that was just right—neither overly warm nor too reserved.

"Mr. Cheng, thank you for participating in today's final interview."

Gu Yunjin opened his resume, her tone a standard interview opening line.

"Let's get straight to the point. The first product from Starry Night Otome Game Company has already confirmed the four core male protagonist settings: a domineering CEO, a sunny and cute guy, an elite lawyer, and a gentle doctor."

If you were leading this project, what are your thoughts on the character design of these four individuals?

Mr. Cheng nodded. He first analyzed the positioning of the four roles, from market research data to user profiles to paid conversion curves, and every argument was supported by data.

Nan Zhenquan, who was listening nearby, nodded slightly, thinking that this person was indeed capable and not just someone who made empty promises.

Sister Lin also checked several options on the evaluation form, indicating her approval of his professional abilities.

But Mr. Cheng suddenly changed the subject and became excited.

"However, Mr. Gu, I have an idea—frankly speaking, I think the current setup of these four characters is rather traditional, or rather, rather safe."

In the long run, if our products want to truly differentiate themselves in the market and go international, these four types alone are not enough.

"I suggest introducing a completely new character type, such as a vampire or a werewolf."

These two types of characters are very popular in the Western female-oriented game market. From Twilight to The Vampire Diaries to several popular mobile games in recent years, it has been proven that this supernatural setting has a strong appeal to female users.

Vampires represent mystery, elegance, and forbidden love, while werewolves represent wildness, power, and the instinct to protect.

If designed properly, these two types of characters can not only enrich our character portfolio but also elevate our product positioning from a "domestic otome game" to an "international female-oriented major IP."

He spoke with increasing passion, his eyes shining brighter and brighter, as if he could already see the game dominating the global market.

Nan Zhenquan listened from the side, his eyebrows twitching slightly.

He tapped his pen lightly on the table, a meaningful smile playing on his lips; he clearly thought the idea was cool.

But as the CEO, he cannot express his opinion before the boss does.

Several male executives also showed thoughtful expressions, and one of the vice presidents in charge of distribution even nodded.

Gu Yunjin did not nod. She held her coffee cup and waited quietly for the interviewee to finish speaking.

She has great patience, but that doesn't mean she agrees.

"Mr. Cheng," she began.

"I have a few questions I'd like to ask you."

"Please go ahead, Mr. Gu."

Who is the primary target audience for our game?

Mr. Cheng answered without hesitation: "The female user group in China aged 18 to 35."

"Very good." Gu Yunjin nodded slightly.

"So, Mr. Cheng, have you ever considered this question: how much cultural affinity do female users in China have for vampires and werewolves?"

From childhood to adulthood, the mythical legends they encountered included vampires and fox spirits that could transform into other forms.

Vampires and werewolves are products of Western folklore; their cultural symbols, emotional associations, and aesthetic paradigms are entirely different from the emotional and aesthetic systems of Chinese female users.

Mr. Cheng opened his mouth, wanting to interject, but Gu Yunjin didn't give him the chance.

"The Twilight and The Vampire Diaries that you mentioned do have an audience in China, but that's a niche market."

We develop commercial products targeting mainstream female users in China, not products tailored for subcultures.

If you were to add a character type to a game targeting female college students and young professionals in third- and fourth-tier cities—characters they've only seen in Hollywood movies—how strong do you think their sense of identification would be?

The first crack appeared on Mr. Cheng's confident smile.

"There's one more thing Mr. Cheng might have overlooked. Vampires, to put it bluntly, are just zombies, right? Chinese girls grow up watching Lam Ching-ying's zombie movies, what kind of image do they have of zombies?"

With a blue face and fangs, three-inch-long fingernails, and a hopping gait, do you think they'd be interested in dating a "high-class zombie"?

The meeting room was silent for a full three seconds.

Sister Lin lowered her head, pretending to write on the evaluation form, but actually she was trying to suppress a laugh.

Nan Zhenquan touched his nose, glanced at Mr. Cheng's expression, and decided to remain silent for the time being.

Mr. Cheng's lips moved, as if he wanted to try again.

He said, "Mr. Gu, what I mean is, from a longer-term strategic perspective, we can pave the way for internationalization in advance, even if we don't join in the first quarter, we can do it in the second or third quarter—"

"Excuse me for interrupting." Gu Yunjin raised her hand.

"Mr. Cheng, today we are interviewing the CEO of the first product."

What I care about is how to make the first product, who to sell it to, and whether it can break even.

As for international expansion and the expansion of supernatural roles, those are beyond the scope of our discussion today.

After she finished speaking, she made a few strokes on the evaluation form, then closed her resume and gave Mr. Cheng a standard, businesslike smile.

"Thank you very much for your sharing today. HR will contact you with the results. If there are no other questions, this concludes our interview."

Mr. Cheng paused for a moment, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just nodded, stood up, bowed slightly, and turned to leave the conference room.

There was a silence in the conference room for about five seconds as the door closed. Then Nan Zhenquan let out a long sigh, took a sip of the mineral water in front of him, and turned to look at Gu Yunjin, his tone hesitant:

"Actually, his analysis in the previous paragraph was quite good. The positioning of the four characters and the breakdown of the payment curve were very accurate, and the data and logic were sound."

Gu Yunjin leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples.

"His abilities are indeed impressive, and his resume is also excellent. But he never considered things from the perspective of female users."

Every word he spoke was about analyzing the market, dissecting data, and planning strategies. But when I said "zombies," he froze. He wasn't considering whether what I said made sense; he was thinking about how to refute me.

"But to be honest," Nan Zhen leaned back in his chair, his fingers interlaced on the table, a look on his face that was half serious and half joking.

"Personally, I think vampires or werewolves are pretty cool."

Gu Yunjin turned to look at him, her eyes filled with a hint of helplessness, as if asking, "Are you serious?"

"Think about it," Nan Zhenquan gestured, "that transforming into a wolf on the night of a full moon to protect the female protagonist would definitely be a plus in an action-adventure game—"

"So you didn't pass the interview." Gu Yunjin interrupted him expressionlessly.

Nan Zhenquan immediately shut up and raised his hands to his chest in a gesture of surrender. The two executives next to him couldn't help but laugh.

Gu Yunjin turned her gaze to the several female executives present.

"Sister Lin, what do you think?"

Content Director Lin rolled her eyes without any attempt to hide it: "Werewolf? Covered in fur and smelly."

What girl would want to date a hairy man? That's not romance; that's like a stray dog ​​at the pet store that hasn't been bathed.

The publishing director, Mr. Xie, chimed in with an even more sarcastic tone: "And don't even mention vampires."

Living in a castle, sleeping in a coffin, unable to bear sunlight, and having the smell of blood lingering in his mouth after a kiss—are you sure this is the kind of male protagonist character you'd expect from an otome game?

The other two female executives were also laughing. One said, "I was terrified when I saw the vampires in the movies with their faces full of wrinkles after they transformed." The other said, "Yes, yes, and those pale-skinned, blood-red-lipped ones are really unacceptable."

Gu Yunjin nodded, then turned to look at Nan Zhenquan.

"Mr. Nan, look, this is the problem."

It's normal for you, as a man, to find werewolves and vampires cool, because you're not the target audience for this game. My target audience, however, is women.

She raised her hand and pointed to the female executives who had been laughing so hard they were doubled over.

Nan Zhen leaned back in his chair and shrugged as if admitting defeat.

Everyone in the conference room was laughing, but he suddenly realized something: Gu Yunjin's composure and the unanimous complaints from the female executives were not pre-arranged, yet they presented a striking consistency.

Behind this consistency lies a fact that has long been overlooked by male practitioners: they are the true consumers of this game.

And he, as the CEO of Xingyao Media, almost made a basic mistake just now:

Judging the direction of women's products based on male aesthetics. No wonder Gu Yunjin interrupted that interviewee.

"So we've come to a conclusion." Gu Yunjin shifted her gaze from Nan Zhenquan's face and looked around at everyone present.

"The CEO of an otome game company must be a woman. Because I need someone who can understand the feelings of female users without needing explanations to sit in that position."

"The core users of this product are women. We need someone who can naturally understand women's emotional needs and can immediately identify what makes women uncomfortable and what makes them excited to take the helm."

A man can be very smart and professional, but some things cannot be compensated for by intelligence or experience.

She extended a finger and gently tapped the three resumes on the table.

"I'm not saying men can't make good otome games. I'm saying that, all else being equal, someone who doesn't need to translate women's emotions or use logical deduction to derive women's intuition will definitely produce something more accurate."

During my interviews today, I kept observing their first reactions.

When I say "zombie," do you know what kind of reaction I most want to see?

She looked at Nan Zhenquan, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

"The reaction I most want to see is—'That's really disgusting.'"

Nan Zhenquan chuckled softly, then picked up a pen and wrote a few words on his evaluation form. He closed the folder and said to Gu Yunjin seriously, "Understood."

For this new round of hiring, I asked HR to include gender requirements in the job description. But won't that be considered gender discrimination?

"Then let them talk." Gu Yunjin stood up and picked up the resumes and evaluation forms on the table.

"While men are debating whether I'm sexist, our female CEOs are already leading their teams to create products that make money off their girlfriends."