My personal advice is… you should choose to set high paywalls.
There is no other reason for this. This decision is simply more profitable, isn’t it?
If you wanted to consider setting low paywalls to protect the game’s reputation, why didn’t you choose the ‘buy-to-play’ revenue model from the beginning?
Therefore, you should choose ‘high paywalls’. This is definitely the most correct choice.
…
Furthermore, once players made their decision and entered the respective doors, the voice-over would still resonate in the corridors. However, the voice-overs behind the two doors were different.
…
‘High paywalls’…
Oh! Oh! Oh! I knew it! You have indeed chosen this option.
You have chosen money over dreams, right?
When you were a player, you would always curse at the unscrupulous producers for being overly money-minded; but when it is your turn to make a game, the only thing you fear is the prices of the in-game items being too low.
Okay. Okay. No need for explanations. This is human nature.
What you did happens every day in the game industry. There is nothing to overreact about.
However, have you ever thought of the possibility of not earning money and landing a bad reputation at the same time?
Hehe. Just kidding.
Are you prepared to be an unscrupulous merchant? Are you prepared to be scolded as you count your money?
…
‘Low paywalls’…
Such a stupid decision.
Why don’t you listen to me?
That’s right. You tried salvaging some reputation. But do you know how much revenue you have lost because of that choice?
Your loss is a dynamic number. The more popular your game is, the larger the figure will be!
Think about it. You have lost millions because of that one stupid decision…
Are you regretting it?
I’m sorry, but you have made your choice. There is no going back.
What? You do not regret it?
Okay. You can continue stubbornly insisting on that. I believe when an actual figure is placed before your very eyes, you will not be so calm.
Nevertheless, I think you have made a terribly stupid decision.
That’s alright though. I will still give you the right advice for your next choice.
There is still time to salvage the situation as long as you listen to me obediently.
…
In Pei Qian’s design, the voice-overs had two functions.
One, the rigid voice-over made players unable to immerse themselves in the game. It constantly reminded them that they were in a game and tried its best to make the experience less simulating.
Two, it constantly ridiculed players and kindled their anger!
Killing two birds with one stone. Perfect!
Moreover, the voice-over tried to deviate players from the right path. If players followed the hints given by the voice-over, they would reach the worst possible outcome of the game. Then, they would be severely mocked by the voice-over! The voice-over would mock players for having a nose of wax, being indecisive, and losing their conscience as a boss.
Anyways, these were extremely harsh critics!
Had anyone seen a game that ridiculed its players?
There was no way the game wouldn’t lose all the capital it had!
Pei Qian combed through the entire design manuscript with Lu Mingliang. He felt that he had eliminated all possible risks.
“Okay. We’ll follow what the design manuscript says. I want the best of the best for everything, including art resources, music and sound effects, and voice actors. Make sure you spend enough money on each component. Do you understand?” Pei Qian instructed.
Lu Mingliang nodded his head vigorously and said, “Rest assured, Boss Pei. I will do as you say and perfect every aspect of the game!”
Lu Mingliang walked away. Pei Qian lifted the huge weight off his chest and continued sipping his tea. Before long, knocks sounded at his door.
“Brother Qian, the expert whom I’ve invited over has arrived. Do you want to meet him?” Ma Yang asked excitedly.
“Oh! Sure! I’ll meet him!”
Pei Qian stood up. He placed high importance on the work that Ma Yang was in charge of. Could the helper that Ma Yang found complete the job? Pei Qian had to verify it for himself. If the helper is too smart, he must find a reason to turn him down!
…
Zhang Yuan stood anxiously in front of the entrance of Tengda Network Technology Co., Ltd.
This whole thing seemed a little bizarre. He was a permanent singer at a bar and worked part-time as a bartender in his everyday life. Because of his passion for building computers, he was relatively active in the GPU Forum and was awarded the title of a forum manager.
Two days ago, a netizen on Tieba suddenly approached him and invited him to take on a managerial position.
Zhang Yuan’s first reaction was that the guy was a scammer!
There were numerous silly people online. As a forum manager on Tieba, he had the power to block several stupid people in the forum. It was normal that someone might want to prank him in revenge. Therefore, Zhang Yuan did not take the matter to heart.
However, after a day, that person seemed really anxious. He claimed that he had an urgent task at hand and passionately invited him to Jingzhou City. He said that he would cover his expenses for the trip, including his transport, accommodation, and meal costs. He would also provide a 3000 yuan remuneration fee.
Although Zhang Yuan did not really trust that person, he was attracted by the 3000 yuan remuneration.
He was just a little puzzled as to what kind of computer would make the person willing to pay a 3000 yuan remuneration just to build it. Therefore, he accepted the person’s friend request. Never did he imagine that the person would send him a 200 yuan red packet to represent his sincerity.
Zhang Yuan understood then that he had met a real baller.
Why would the person send him a red packet at the very start if he was a scammer?
Afterward, the other party sent Zhang Yuan an address to an office building in Jingzhou City. He had also transferred him the transport fees to and fro the location. Therefore, Zhang Yuan reached Jingzhou City today.
After he arrived, a student-like person received him. His name was Ma Yang. Ma Yang looked naive and simple-minded. Zhang Yuan felt that he appeared slow-witted and a little dim.
Zhang Yuan felt that the 3000 yuan remuneration was definitely not out of his pockets.
As he had expected, the student named Ma Yang led him to a company and instructed him that the boss of the company, Boss Pei, wanted to see him and have a chat with him. Zhang Yuan felt that what he saw was an eye-opener as he stood before the door.
From a glance, he could tell that the company was rich and definitely not short of money!
He looked at the plate on the door: Tengda Network Technology Co., Ltd.! He searched up Qiandu and knew that it was the company that produced Ghost General and Ocean Stronghold.
Game company. Seemed rich. There was no way this could go wrong!
That made Zhang Yuan slightly uneasy.
Not long after, a lean and beautiful female assistant led him to the door of the guest room. He saw the boss of the company there. Zhang Yuan was even more nervous. Ma Yang did not tell him his real motive.
After all, Pei Qian was the one who called the shots on whether to hire him. If Pei Qian felt that he was the right person for the job, Ma Yang could then continue discussing the details with Zhang Yuan.
Therefore, Zhang Yuan was currently still at a loss.
He did not know what the big boss saw in him and did not know what exactly the big boss wanted him to do. He was merely a permanent singer at a bar and a part-time bartender.
Did he want him to sing for him?
Did he want him to perform some bartending skills?
&nb
sp; Did he want him to sing while mixing drinks?
Umm… all of that seemed kind of impossible.
Could it be…?
The big boss wanted me to help to assemble a computer?
Yeah. He was afraid that was the only possible reason. He could not think of any other possibilities.
Chapter 83 - Let’s get Fifty of That First
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Come, have a seat.”
Pei Qian was very polite. He invited Zhang Yuan to have a seat on the sofa beside him. Assistant Xin left the guest room after serving tea. Ma Yang left the guest room too, leaving Pei Qian alone to chat with Zhang Yuan.
Zhang Yuan scanned his surroundings with the corner of his eyes.
Everything in the room screamed luxurious! Looking at the boss’s outfit and the interior design of the company, Zhang Yuan realized that he was unable to put a price tag on almost every item he saw! He just had the feeling that everything seemed expensive!
Pei Qian smiled amiably and said, “Don’t feel restricted. Make yourself at home. Please don’t be too formal. Here. Have some tea.”
Zhang Yuan tried his best to appear nonchalant. However, his slightly uncomfortable seating posture betrayed him. Pei Qian contemplated how to start the conversation.
He heard from Ma Yang that the square-faced and energetic guy who spoke with a north-eastern Chinese dialect and sat opposite him was well-versed in all kinds of digital products and computer hardware.
Other than that, he knew nothing about the guy.
Pei Qian had to understand if the guy had any other talents other than his knowledge in building computers. For example, if he was a genius in marketing and knew how to do business, there was no way Pei Qian was going to accept him.
Maybe he should start with assembling computers.
Pei Qian thought for a while before asking, “For a computer to run large scale games that are currently in the market smoothly, what are your ideal configurations? What do you think is a suitable price?”
Pei Qian thought for a while and added, “The main objective is to run the games smoothly. You can include some exterior design effects, but they shouldn’t be overly fancy.”
It was normal for DIY system units to cost sixty or seventy thousand yuan. However, considering the complexities of the system, these types of computers that exceeded the requirements of normal gaming computers might brush the law if they were used in internet cafes.
The workspace Pei Qian now assigned his employees included a high-end desk, a high-end gaming chair, a high-end computer system unit, two gaming monitors with high refresh rates, and mechanical keyboards. This entire set summed up to about twenty thousand yuan.
The system wouldn’t allow any amount that was more than that and exceed what was required.
Actually, Pei Qian could also use the standard of computers in the office in the internet cafe.
However, the office computers that Assistant Xin bought were high-end business models that were designed to be used in the office. Their exterior was relatively plain and unsuitable to be used in internet cafes. Furthermore, they did not cater to the preference of the consumers.
Therefore, Pei Qian wanted to inquire about Zhang Yuan’s opinions.
…
Zhang Yuan understood then that he wanted him to assemble a computer! It seemed like the title of the forum manager of the GPU Forum indeed had some benefits attached. Zhang Yuan contemplated for a while. He knew from a glance that the Boss Pei in front of him was not short of money.
The laptop placed on the work desk seemed to be a high-end gaming computer from Alienware. Its market price should be above ten thousand yuan.
That meant that…
A gaming computer was not enough to satisfy this boss’s needs. He planned to DIY an expensive computer with high-end configurations!
However, he doesn’t know a lot about building computers and was afraid of being scammed by those people in the electronics mall.
Therefore, he found me in the GPU Forum and gave me a 3000 yuan remuneration to build the computer!
Yes. That should be it.
His first priority was to satisfy his gaming needs. He doesn’t want to value its fanciness over its functionality.
Zhang Yuan processed that information quickly.
A dream configuration list. That wasn’t hard for him. He could list it out immediately and knew the exact prices for the components. However, Zhang Yuan had some other considerations.
He was unsure if he needed to please the big boss in front of him. Zhang Yuan had never considered deceiving others. Once he had prepared the configuration list, this big boss might find someone to check it first. It wouldn’t be in his favor if he deceived the big boss.
Therefore, he needed to assemble a computer with stunning configurations and ensure that the price was reasonable at the same time. He needed to make the big boss feel that he did not waste that 3000 yuan!
Zhang Yuan felt a little guilty if he took the 3000 yuan remuneration from the big boss for merely assembling a computer.
As the saying went… the more friends one had, the more options one had in life.
After some careful deliberation, Zhang Yuan felt that he could take out 1000 yuan from the 3000 yuan remuneration he would receive and spend it on the components of the machine. In that case, he could make friends with the big boss and have 2000 yuan for himself so as to compensate for the effort that he put in.
It was a double-win. How great was that!
After spending some time thinking about it, Zhang Yuan started sharing his views. He talked about the CPU, the graphics card, all kinds of hardware, the chassis, and even the accessories on the chassis.
For example, adding an eye could tremendously increase the attractiveness of the computer while installing some RGB lighting could increase its efficiency tremendously. The graphics card, keyboards, gaming earphones, and other components were all a piece of cake to him!
Finally, Zhang Yuan said a price.
“This whole set could probably be purchased at around fifteen thousand yuan.”
Although the price he listed was fifteen thousand yuan, the actual cost of the set of components was sixteen thousand yuan. If they were to find someone at the electronics mall to assemble the computer, it was normal for the price to be at twenty thousand yuan.
Zhang Yuan thought about it and decided to use one thousand yuan from the remuneration that Boss Pei gave to purchase the components. He wanted to make friends with Boss Pei, thus he finally decided to list the price at fifteen thousand yuan.
Pei Qian’s brows furrowed slightly.
He was unsatisfied with the price.
How could a DIY computer be cheaper than the office computer that he had?
Zhang Yuan’s heart dropped to the floor when he saw Boss Pei’s expression. His expression seemed to say ‘Are you looking down on me?’!
Boss Pei opened his mouth as he expected. “I am asking you for the dream configuration. The set of things you produce—how do I put it—could be more ideal and befit the word ‘dream’ more. Do you understand what I mean?”
Zhang Yuan hesitated for a while and said, “But, Boss Pei, you said that the top priority was to satisfy gaming needs. This configuration can definitely run the most demanding games on the market now…”
Pei Qian was momentarily speechless.
That seemed… to be correct.
If one were to improve on this configuration, it would really not be cost-effective. This configuration was already much better than what current mainstream games required. Zhang Yuan had proposed a high-quality configuration that could run all mainstream games smoothly and lived to his conscience.
However, he must still increase the amount spent.
Pei Qian coughed twice and said, “You are right about this. This is enough to run most games in the market. But if you think about it, what if there are new games in the future that demand better config
urations? You have to look far into the future. You have to look at what happens next. Do you understand?
“How about this? You will add ten more thousand to your current budget. Are you okay with this?”
“…” Zhang Yuan nodded his head and replied, “Umm… okay.”
It was your money anyways. I’m not the one forking out the money. Why wouldn’t I be okay with that?
As long as you wanted it, I could even propose a system unit that costs 9.8 billion!
Zhang Yuan thought quickly and brought the configurations of the computer to another level.
This time, he planned to build a DIY computer that costs around 25,000 yuan!
In Zhang Yuan’s opinion, some functions of the computer were completely unnecessary. The current computer could run all games in the market smoothly even if the graphics were adjusted to the highest quality. Moreover, this configuration would not be outdated for the next couple of years! Furthermore, its exterior design was of top quality. It would definitely improve the gaming experience by multiple folds!
Of course, although Zhang Yuan told Pei Qian that the cost of the set up was 25,000 yuan, its actual cost was around 26000 yuan. Zhang Yuan wanted to befriend Boss Pei and thus decided to fork out the one thousand yuan from the 3000 yuan remuneration that he received.
Pei Qian nodded his head after hearing that.
That was about it!
Given the requirements of the internet cafe, that would spend the most money without receiving warnings from the system.
“Nice configuration.” Pei Qian nodded his head.
Zhang Yuan was extremely happy. “As long as Boss Pei likes it,” he responded.
He spent a thousand yuan to befriend Boss Pei. That was a bargain for him!
“Let’s get fifty of that first then.” Pei Qian sipped his tea and said nonchalantly.
Chapter 84 - Finding a Location for the Internet Cafe!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883 Page 45