Game development begins with destroying Girls' Frontline.

The specific role is completely random, and the price is 19.9 per bag.

There's also an enhanced version of 100 N95 masks, also printed with characters, priced at 39.9 yuan per box.

Originally, when this product was made, everyone felt that it wouldn't sell.

Who would buy this stuff for no reason?

We don't usually need them.

however.

"It's really easy to make money off anime and manga fans."

That statement is absolutely true.

Masks that nobody usually buys are surprisingly being treated as a super-budget version of the Stars of the Gathering after being printed with character images.

"You can even collect everything in this?"

Amidst gasps of surprise from the departments surrounding Xinghuo.

The first time they launched the new product, they sold several thousand sets in just two days.

"President Lin is a genius; he actually managed to make this happen."

If that were the end of it.

Before long, this will become another legendary story of General Manager Lin.

The problem is, after these masks were purchased for a few days and the players' enthusiasm waned, the situation changed.

Lin Li still urged them to continue increasing production, but no matter how much they increased production, Lin Li said it wasn't enough.

Later, surrounding departments almost filled the production capacity of the acquired mask factory and even ordered several production lines.

Production has increased fivefold, and the warehouses are full.

Lin Li still said it wasn't enough...

If it were a typical boss...

I expect there will be some criticism from those below.

However, Lin Li is Lin Li after all. Despite making such an outrageous decision, the people below still carried it out very well.

They then discussed two more factories.

Lin Li also approved these expansions with a stroke of his pen.

This is Xinghuo, a company with deep pockets and abundant resources.

Of course, dealing with the issue of face masks is actually not related to Xinghuo's main business.

Moreover, the things he can do are actually quite limited; at most, he can slightly alleviate the initial demand for masks in some areas or donate them to organizations in need.

That's all there is to it. After all, being one step ahead is a coincidence, but being five steps ahead would be insane.

There are things that need to be done, but we have to let time take its course.

So at this critical juncture.

Lin Li also had a backup plan.

Author's Note: Regarding the face mask issue, please don't worry that it will affect the main story.

This book focuses on the development of the game, but because of the issue of masks, which is unavoidable, it would be strange not to write about it at all.

Moreover, masks themselves have an impact on the global gaming market, which is why they were only mentioned briefly in the background and will not be discussed in much detail later.

Chapter 103 MMORPG?

Although it was a rather unexpected preparation, specifically after Lin Li and Xinghuo made a big splash at this year's E3 exhibition.

A public relations acquisition by Spark America.

The acquisition was actually a matter of paying protection money; the target of the acquisition was a medical company that had absolutely nothing to do with Xinghuo's main business.

This medical institution was originally owned by a prominent figure in the United States.

Because of poor revenue, the other party has been trying to sell the business.

But it has never been able to sell for a good price.

The head of Spark America then approached Lin Li, hoping to resolve some issues through this method.

After all, the trade war between the United States and China has already begun.

Although Spark is a game company, it's difficult to evaluate.

Lin Li spent money to solve the other party's worries in exchange for what he needed.

It's a bit disgusting, but that's America—it's all business, as long as you know the ropes.

Lin Li was also aware that trade wars were not something that could be influenced by individual will, and since the other party was selling a medical company, Lin Li bought it.

This was an accident, but also an opportunity. For Lin Li, it was like he had found the fuse.

If nothing unexpected happens, the mask movement will likely begin in the United States.

In this way, the country may have more time to prepare.

That's all Lin Li can do right now.

~~~

In addition to preparing for changes in the external environment.

Lin Li has been standing here for the past two days.

They are also building new projects.

Among them, the most important is about Spark's game development plans for the upcoming year 19.

Looking back, Spark's current games have two very distinct phases.

The first phase consists of projects such as Battlefront Girls, FGO, Arknights, and Unending Lost. Most of these projects were initiated in 16 and are now in operation.

The second phase followed, with projects such as Destiny's Path, Galaxy Paradise, Eastern Fantasy World, Girls' Frontline: Siege, The Wandering Earth, etc. Most of these projects have gradually entered the later stages of development.

As the old projects gradually come to an end.

The initiation of new projects should naturally be put on the agenda.

This batch of projects, led by "Heroes: Song of the Saintess," has shown subtle differences in their project initiation logic.

In addition to continuing to explore service-based games.

The development of another type of game has also been put on the agenda.

Currently, players who enjoy anime, single-player experiences, and prioritize story over gameplay have largely been drawn into the Spark community.

Ruoxinghuo doesn't have any big ambitions.

Having achieved this, by further consolidating one's power, one could indeed become a regional hegemon.

However, Lin Li stopped there.

There was no need to establish Spark in the first place.

Therefore, in the project plan for 19, in addition to regular games.

There are also many projects for external expansion.

These projects all share a common underlying logic, namely, Confucianism on the outside and Legalism on the inside.

The so-called "Confucianism on the outside, Legalism on the inside" in the context of Xinghuo means that it wears the skin of anime games, but mainly erodes the market share of traditional games.

Based on this logic.

Lin Li is planning a large-scale project.

A 2D MMORPG.

When it comes to anime-style MMORPGs, there are actually quite a few noteworthy works in this genre.

For example, Final Fantasy XIV, and Blue Protocol.

Both games are quite legendary.

Let's start with Final Fantasy XIV. This game, released in 2014, has been operating relatively stably since its official release, despite undergoing a server reset.

Although each version update has its share of good and bad, it has consistently provided new content and has a stable player base. In 24, it even achieved 5 concurrent online users on Steam, making it a veritable living fossil of the gaming world.

And another game.

The Blue Protocol, this one is even more heavyweight.

Blue Protocol was initiated in 2014 and was originally positioned as a competitor to Final Fantasy XIV.

Unfortunately, this competition lasted for nine years, and the server was not launched until 2023.

The development process of the Blue Protocol was very bumpy, from 14 to 23. During the development process, Bandai was not optimistic about the project at all.

After all, from 14 to 23, PC games, especially traditional online PC games, showed a clear downward trend globally.

MMORPGs are particularly hard hit.

Aside from games like World of Warcraft that have a fixed player base.

New MMORPGs are basically doomed to fail as soon as they're released.

Even Final Fantasy XIV, which Bandai Namco wanted to target, has seen its influence and revenue decline steadily over the past few years.

Within Bandai, the "outdated" project, Blue Protocol, underwent at least a dozen "cancellation meetings."

Ultimately, Blue Protocol survived until its release.

It's simply because the costs incurred during the development process were already too high.

It was so high that no one dared to tell it to stop.

Especially for Bandai, a Japanese company.

To put it bluntly, a game cannot be considered a loss as long as it is still under development.

But if the price is cut in half, all the previous expenses will be wasted.

The financial report would suddenly look terrible, and no one could bear that responsibility. In the end, they could only grit their teeth and continue development.

Under such circumstances, the pressure on the development team is unimaginable.

This also explains why, despite being in development for nine years—nine years!—it still felt like a half-finished product when it was released.

~~~

Finally, Blue Protocol became a huge hit after its release.

The most surprised people were probably not anyone else, but Bandai's own people.

In June 2023, regardless of what happened during development.

Ultimately, Bandai Namco's 2D MMO masterpiece, Blue Protocol, achieved a resounding victory after its launch.

Within a week of its launch, the game had accumulated over 60 players, with peak concurrent users exceeding 20, making it the fastest PC online game to achieve this milestone in the Japanese market.

However, the Blue Protocol was like a firework, coming and going quickly.

Launched in June 2023 and shut down in January 2025, the game only lasted one anniversary before it was discontinued.

Many players have given it a special nickname: "Cicada Game".

There are many reasons why Bao Si was involved in the "Blue Agreement".

Because Bandai Namco didn't pay any attention before the game's launch, the game suffered a server crash immediately upon launch, a repeat of the second game's history.

There's also poor optimization and frame drops.

The large-scale banning of domestic IP addresses, coupled with the gameplay of "Blue Protocol" which combines gacha mechanics, world chests, and endless resource farming...

Of course, Lin Li didn't want to study why the "Blue Protocol" ultimately failed.

He was thinking more about why Blue Protocol was able to launch successfully.

The reason is actually not complicated.

Popular trends always follow a cycle.