You said you would make games by yourself, but how did you become the richest man by doing nothing?

The planner, Mo Xiaoxuan, added, "Yes, especially for novice players. If we don't give them a clear 'goal,' they might not even explore the story and just give up on the game."

Lu Yu pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Freedom and guidance are not inherently contradictory. A truly good game should make players 'feel like they are free,' but in reality, the game world subtly guides them."

He pointed to a map on the screen: "For example, we can set up 'environmental storytelling' in key locations. During exploration, players can inadvertently discover fragmented information, allowing them to piece together the story themselves, rather than being forced along by the game."

"This way, players will feel like they are 'discovering' the plot, rather than being 'told' the plot. This sense of immersion is the most authentic."

In the conference room, everyone nodded, deep in thought.

After a long silence, Lu Yu took a deep breath and slowly said, "We must return to the player's emotional experience and find a core concept that can truly drive them."

He picked up a marker and wrote several keywords on the whiteboard—

"Immersion," "Emotional Resonance," "Desire for Exploration," "Self-Growth"

He turned around, looking at the team members with burning eyes, his tone firm: "What we want to create is not just a 'fun game,' but a world 'that players want to live in.'"

"We want them to experience real growth, real challenges, and real emotional ups and downs in the game."

"Instead of simply 'playing a game.'"

The conference room fell silent.

But this time, their eyes were no longer filled with confusion, but gradually ignited with a new light—

That was the hope of breaking through the predicament!

……

Late at night, the lights of Shanghai were still shining brightly, and vehicles shuttled through the streets, reflecting a colorful light and shadow.

In the conference room of Peach Garden Studio, the atmosphere was depressingly somber.

The air was filled with the smell of cold coffee, and the table was scattered with planning drafts, code notes, and model sketches. Almost everyone had dark circles under their eyes and looked exhausted.

The entire team had been working overtime for half a month, and their spirits were on the verge of collapse.

Planning Director Mo Xiaoxuan rubbed his temples and said in a hoarse voice, "...So, in summary, we have encountered three core problems: insufficient emotional resonance in the world view, a contradiction between freedom and guidance, and a lack of immersive core gameplay."

"If we don't solve these problems, this game will be difficult to meet our expectations."

After he finished speaking, he looked around the room.

No one answered.

Everyone was silent, their eyes empty.

……

Mo Xiaoxuan sighed, put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes wearily.

This is the reality of game development—the road to innovation is always full of challenges, and when you try to subvert industry rules, the difficulties will be ten times greater than you imagine.

"...Lu-ge, what do you think?"

He turned his head and looked at Lu Yu at the front of the conference table, expecting to see a serious, thoughtful face, but instead—

Lu Yu was actually smiling.

Not a cold smile, nor a self-deprecating smile, but a heartfelt, sincere, joyful smile as if he had won the lottery.

"Great!"

Lu Yu slammed the table, his eyes as bright as the stars in the night sky.

Mo Xiaoxuan: "?"

Zhang Qiqi: "?"

Chu Xiong: "?"

Everyone in the conference room was stunned.

Great?

What's so great?

We've encountered so many thorny problems, and you actually say it's great?

Are you crazy?

"Sure enough, the best solution is—to lie flat!" Lu Yu stood up, stretched, and looked as relaxed as if he had just solved a world problem. "That's right, our game does have big problems that can't be solved in the short term."

"So what?"

He looked around the conference room, his lips slightly raised: "We—won't solve them."

The conference room fell into a deathly silence.

A few seconds later, Chu Xiong frowned, suspecting he had misheard: "...What did you say?"

"Won't solve them," Lu Yu said matter-of-factly, "Since they can't be solved in the short term, let's not solve them for now and wait for inspiration to come later."

The corners of Mo Xiaoxuan's mouth twitched slightly: "Are you serious?"

"Of course."

Lu Yu said with a smile: "Since the problems can't be solved for a while, why don't we take the opportunity to enjoy life?"

As he spoke, he opened his phone, clicked on the calendar, and his eyes were full of excited light: "Come, come, everyone, take a look. There are many fun activities in Shanghai recently. We can take this opportunity to relax!"

"For example, there's a super-large game exhibition recently. We can go and see what new tricks our peers are up to."

"Also, I heard that a high-end Japanese-style hot spring hotel has recently opened. We've worked on the game to this point, so how can we not soak in a hot spring? How can we be worthy of our shoulders and necks?"

"Besides, who hasn't heard of the newly opened barbecue restaurant on the night market street? Grilled lamb chops, spicy crayfish, oysters with ice beer... Brothers, shouldn't we treat ourselves?"

"Oh, right, a super-burning sci-fi blockbuster with explosive IMAX effects has recently been released in theaters. Shouldn't we go see it?"

"And, and! There's a super-popular escape room that's said to be incredibly difficult. Should we go challenge it?"

"If all else fails, we can rent a homestay in the suburbs together, fish, barbecue, drink, play games, completely empty ourselves, and feel the beauty of life!"

Everyone in the conference room stared at him in disbelief, as if they had seen a completely uninhibited monster.

[Team Collapse vs. Temptation]

"...Lu-ge, are you serious?" Zhang Qiqi asked in shock.

"Of course," Lu Yu nodded righteously, "Work is important, but life is even more important."

"Making games is not for suffering. We create happiness for the sake of happiness. Now that we are no longer happy, it means the direction is wrong, so we should stop and adjust."

Zhang Qiqi: "..."

Mo Xiaoxuan: "..."

Chu Xiong: "..."

Everyone looked at each other, seemingly wanting to refute something, but unable to speak.

Because...

It seems... kind of makes sense?

They had been working overtime for half a month, their brains were about to explode, their creativity was exhausted, their thinking was rigid, and every day they opened their eyes to code, planning proposals, BUGs, and optimizations. They had all become walking corpses.

But now, Lu Yu suddenly told them—

Take a vacation! Have fun! Enjoy life!

Their reason told them that this was wrong.

But their bodies... had already begun to honestly crave it.

Hot springs... late-night snacks... movies... escape rooms... outings...

It seems... really cool?

[Final Decision: Lie Flat!]

"Within five minutes, everyone votes to decide," Lu Yu said with a smile, "Either continue to work overtime, or go out to relax. The decision with the most votes wins."

"But I want to remind you, those who choose to work overtime, don't even think about having a vacation for the next month."

Everyone: "..."

Five minutes later, the voting results were announced—

Everyone supported lying flat!

Lu Yu nodded with satisfaction: "Very good, the plan is officially launched!"

"Tomorrow morning, everyone has a day off! Go to the hot spring hotel at noon, the escape room in the afternoon, and eat barbecue for late-night snacks in the evening!"

"The day after tomorrow, go to the game exhibition in the afternoon and watch a movie in the evening!"

"The day after the day after tomorrow, rent a suburban villa, drink, eat meat, and enjoy life!"

"In short, everyone's mission is to completely relax and restore themselves to the best state!"

A burst of cheers erupted in the conference room.

Everyone instantly rejuvenated, the exhaustion on their faces swept away, and their eyes were full of anticipation.

At this moment, everyone understood one thing—

The newest novels are first published on 69shu.com!

Lu Yu was not slacking off; he was using the most extreme method to help the team recover their creativity.

True inspiration is not forced out; it is lived out!

Outside the window, the night scene of Shanghai was still dazzling, but the atmosphere of Peach Garden Studio became more relaxed than ever before.

This "Lying Flat Plan" was about to officially unfold!

……

The long table was covered with various documents, and the electronic screen on the wall was playing a promotional cooperation plan, while Lu Yu, sitting in the main seat, had a slight smile on his lips, revealing a meaningful smile.

His fingers tapped lightly on the table, his eyes fixed on a man in a suit and leather shoes opposite him.

The man was in his early thirties, his hair was combed meticulously, his face was wearing a professional smile, and his eyes hid a hint of shrewdness and calculation.

"President Lu, what do you think of our promotional plan?"

He leaned forward slightly, his tone respectful, but his eyes flashed with a hint of anticipation.

Lu Yu narrowed his eyes, and the smile on his lips deepened.

"The plan is very good, very good," he nodded, his tone so sincere that it seemed flawless, "I think this may be the most perfect promotional plan I have ever seen."

Upon hearing this, the other party's eyes lit up.

"Really?"

"Of course," Lu Yu said with a smile, his tone firm, "I even think your plan is so perfect that it makes me a little uneasy—because it completely exceeds my expectations and can be called a work of genius."

The other party's smile became more and more brilliant, and the confidence on his face visibly swelled by a factor of two.

He waved his hand and said with feigned modesty, "President Lu, you are too kind. We are just doing our best, hoping to bring the greatest exposure to Peach Garden's games."

Lu Yu nodded slightly, a hint of imperceptible playfulness flashing in his eyes.

Doing their best?

Heh... they really were "doing their best."

[Promotional Plan: The Higher You Blow It, the Harder You Fall]

This time's partner was a public relations company specializing in game promotion in China, claiming to be the top in the industry, and had operated marketing campaigns for multiple major manufacturers' games.

But Lu Yu knew very well—their plan was completely digging a pit for Peach Garden.

Why?

Because their promotional strategy was not taking a steady and solid route, but an extremely exaggerated "myth marketing" approach.

According to the content of this plan, Peach Garden's new game had not yet been officially launched, but it had already been blown into a "groundbreaking masterpiece," and even "the disruptor of the global game industry" had become one of the promotional slogans.

"This game will completely change the future of open-world games!"

"It's not just a game; it's a technological revolution!"

"It will surpass 'Abyss Illusion,' 'Void Frontier,' and 'Quantum Rift,' and become the globally recognized NO.1!"

"All players, after playing it, will no longer be able to accept other games!"

Lu Yu looked at these "domineering" slogans on the promotional plan, and the smile on his lips grew deeper and deeper.

—Good heavens, were they planning to directly send Peach Garden to the altar and then smash it down hard?

These days, players' expectations are a double-edged sword.

The higher you blow it, the harder you fall.

If the game can really reach this outrageous level, then naturally everyone will be happy.

But the problem is that the game is still in the development stage, and even if the entire Peach Garden team works overtime, it is impossible to truly achieve a "groundbreaking disruption" in a short period of time.

This promotional plan, on the surface, is helping Peach Garden to build momentum, but in reality, it is creating a "bubble of player expectations."

Once the game is officially launched, even if it is really excellent, it will inevitably be compared with these exaggerated promotions by players.

—As long as there is something that does not meet expectations, it will be sprayed like a dog.

At that time, "masterpiece" will become "terrible work," "disruption" will become "fraud," and the backlash of public opinion will be devastating.

Lu Yu could of course see that this public relations company was not here to help, but was instructed by someone to praise Peach Garden to death.

But he did not expose it, but smiled and went with the flow.

"This plan is really great."

"I never expected that our game would be evaluated so highly by you. I am flattered."

He sighed, a hint of just the right amount of "admiration and trust" in his eyes.

The other party smiled more and more brilliantly: "President Lu, you are too polite. Your game deserves such an evaluation!"

"Then let's execute according to this plan," Lu Yu smiled and made a decision, "Full promotion, at all costs, push our game to the altar."

The other party was stunned, seemingly not expecting Lu Yu to be so straightforward.

"Really?"

"Of course," Lu Yu nodded, his tone firm, "Since you are so confident, then of course we must trust the judgment of professionals."

"...Haha, that's great!"

The other party smiled from ear to ear, a hint of triumph flashing in his eyes.

Very good, half of the plan was successful.

When the game is officially launched and expectations are not met, the anger of the players will completely devour Peach Garden.

At that time, no matter how Lu Yu explains, he will not be able to reverse the tide of public opinion!

[Chu Xiong's Doubts]

After the people from the public relations company left, program director Chu Xiong frowned, looked at Lu Yu, and was full of confusion.

"Lu-ge, are you really going to follow their plan?"

"Why not?" Lu Yu looked at him with a smile, his tone as relaxed as if he were talking about the weather.

"But... their proposal clearly has problems! They are completely overhyping it!" Chu Xiong couldn't help but say, "Our current game hasn't reached that level yet. Once the players' expectations are raised too high, the consequences will be disastrous!"

Lu Yu shrugged, his expression indifferent: "The higher they blow it, the harder they'll fall."

Chu Xiong was stunned for a moment, then suddenly reacted, his pupils slightly constricted: "...You're doing this on purpose?"

"Of course." Lu Yu smiled, his eyes deep, "They want to dig a pit for us to jump into, so we'll go with the flow and dig the pit even bigger."

He paused, a meaningful smile on the corner of his mouth: "When they realize that the pit will bury them, not us... it will be very interesting, right?"(End of this chapter)