As opposed to wasting time considering these ridiculous suggestions, Lin Wan would do much better thinking about what Boss Pei had told her. She wanted to understand the deeper meaning in his words.
“Boss Pei said that when it’s time, the situation will change. Yet, what is Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version’s fate? “When would the right time be? “What if it never comes? What shall I do, then? Can I possibly allow this game to keep incurring losses?” Lin Wan’s head hurt as different thoughts fought for space in her mind.
Although Boss Pei had shown her a path, the path seemed to be extremely blurry. She had no idea how to continue working from here on out.
As the director, she felt a strong weight on her shoulders once again.
Lin Wan was still struggling internally when her cell phone rang. It was a call from Lin Chang.
“Eh? Brother, what’s the matter?”
Lin Wan was slightly irritated that her thoughts had been interrupted.
Lin Chang smiled. “It’s nothing. Our older sister decided to give a hundred thousand yuan to Boss Pei as thanks, but Boss Pei told me to transfer it to you. You haven’t changed your account number, have you? I’ll transfer the money to you in a moment.”
Lin Wan frowned and turned him down at once. “I don’t want it! I can earn my own living now, and I don’t want Lin Yu’s money.
“Didn’t you say the money was meant as thanks to Boss Pei? What are you transferring it to me for?”
Lin Chang quickly explained, “Boss Pei thinks that you have been working hard and making significant contributions to the company. That’s why he told me to transfer the money to you. Don’t turn down Boss Pei’s good intentions.
“What’s more, it’s not right to allow this cold war between you and our older sister to continue. Boss Pei wanted me to transfer the money to you, so that both of you can work towards mending the relationship.” Lin Wan was even unhappier. “Brother, I think you’re overthinking. Boss Pei probably just doesn’t care for this hundred thousand yuan. Lin Yu is too much-she’s so petty even when she’s trying to thank someone.
“In any case, I’m not lacking money. You can keep it.”
Lin Chang was speechless. “You don’t have to accept the money, but you can ask for something else. I was having a meal with our older sister a few days back, and I could tell that she genuinely cares about you. Stop being stubborn.”
Lin Wan fell silent for a moment. “I know, but I really don’t need anything. They’re treating me very well here. The salary and bonus alone are providing me with more than enough to spend. I appreciate your good intentions. Help me thank our older sister.”
“Don’t be too fast to reply to me.” Lin Chang pondered for a while and said, “Aren’t you working at a game company? If I’m not wrong, our older sister’s cell phone business is working on a revised edition of their application store. Do you want to select a few of Tengda’s games to put in the application store? We can put them on recommendation spots as thanks to Boss Pei as well.”
Lin Wan shook her head. “There’s no need. Those are mobile games. We only have one mobile game-Ghost General. What’s more, the number of players has already stabilized. I don’t think you can boost its popularity any further.”
Lin Chang replied, “It doesn’t have to be a mobile game. You can create a mobile version of the other games. In any case, they’re our own recommendation spots. It’ll be a waste if you don’t use them.
“I heard that mobile games are starting to flourish. There are also many users of Shenhua’s cell phones. These recommendation spots will prove to be extremely useful.”
Huh? Create a mobile version for the other games? An idea suddenly surfaced in Lin Wan’s brain. She seemed to realize something. What did Boss Pei say before? They had to wait for the right time for Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version to become famous.
He was absolutely right. Why were the game’s figures so horrible? It was because it was not yet the mini-clients’ time. At the moment, even web-based games were on the decline in the game industry. It was quite impractical to hope to create innovative web-based games that went against the current.
However, mobile games were all the rage. They were starting to flourish!
What’s the right time? The time for mobile games!
Web-based gamers would find it hard to tolerate Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version’s 370 MB mini-client, but what about mobile gamers?
They would not have the same problem! There were already 200 to 300 MB mobile games. Gamers did not turn away from such games. Instead, they seemed to be having a lot of fun.
Turning Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version into a mobile game would solve the mini-client problem completely, wouldn’t it?
Lin Wan immediately perked up and shouted excitedly, “Brother, that’s great! I finally understand what Boss Pei meant!”
Lin Chang answered, “Huh?”
“Ask our older sister to leave me a couple of recommendation spots for mobile games! I’m going to ask the rest how long it would take to create a mobile version of our games!”
Lin Wan hung up and called a meeting with the others at the speed of light.
In Shang Yang Games’ conference room… Once everyone arrived, Lin Wan jumped straight to the point. “How long would it take to change our game into a mobile game?”
Everyone was confused. For a while, they did not know how to respond. Change it to a mobile game? Why do we have to change it to a mobile game? Nobody in this company had experience researching and developing mobile games.
Everyone faced one another, at a loss as to what to do. None of them understood why Lin Wan was asking this question.
At last, Wang Xiaobin spoke up, “To change it to a mobile game… won’t be difficult.”
“Actually, there are precedents for web-based games being changed to mobile games in the industry. Web-based games do not have high hardware requirements, and neither do mobile games. We can shift the entire client over.
“What’s more, our mini-client’s size is 370 MB. That’s within the acceptable range for mobile games. We don’t have to compress our resources and whatnot. It would be very convenient.
“The only problem is the vast difference between operations for web-based games and mobile games. One would use a mouse for web-based games, but a touch-screen for mobile games. We’ll have to make the necessary adjustments to the gameplay and UI.
“Apart from that, none of us have any experience in creating mobile games. If we want to change the game to a mobile game, we will have to play more popular mobile games and learn from them.
“In terms of time… I think if everyone works hard, we’ll be able to finish it in two weeks at best. If we’re slow, we would probably finish it in a month.”
Lin Wan nodded. She was satisfied with this response.
They would be able to make it on time!
Lin Wan cleared her throat. “Everyone, I have a bold suggestion. I went to speak to Boss Pei earlier. He said that our game is doing well, and we don’t have to make any changes. We just have to wait for the right time. “What time is it now? Web-based games are on the decline, and mobile games are on the rise. That’s the right time! “Boss Pei was hinting to us to keep up with the times. As long as we can ride the wave as mobile games become popular, wouldn’t our game become equally popular? “What’s more, we can create two versions of the game.
“Once we create the mobile version, people can play the game on the phone or on their computers after downloading the mini-client. Since we’ll be able to reach players on both of these platforms, we’ll gain an exceptional advantage!”
As Lin Wan described this bright future, everyone began to understand.
That seemed to make sense!
None of them had thought in this direction earlier because they had been limited by what they were comfortable with.
Everyone worked on web-based games from the beginning. That was why none of them
thought about changing the web-based game to a mobile game. Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version was top-quality. The only problem was that traditional web-based gamers would not download the mini-client.
The natural solution was to give up on traditional web-based gamers and run into the arms of mobile gamers!
They did not have any advantages in the field of traditional web-based games. However, in the field of mobile games, they had a huge advantage!
If the mobile version really became popular, they would try to reach out to web-based gamers using their original mini-client. The fact that the game was available on both of these platforms would be the selling point.
The plan made sense!
Ye Zhizhou nodded profusely. “I think it’s worth a shot! Changing it to a mobile game sounds more practical than segmenting the mini-client. This seems to be the most reliable path.”
Wang Xiaobin nodded, too. “Yes, that makes sense. We have never worked on mobile games before, but mobile games are much simpler than traditional web-based games. As long as we do some research, I’m sure it will not be difficult to change our game’s operations to be suited for mobiles.”
Lin Wan was elated. “It’s decided, then. Changing Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version from a web-based to a mobile game, in progress!”
Chapter 256 - Boss Pei’s Balanced Theory of Relativity
September 5th, Sunday…
Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Handong University branch…
Qiao Liang looked at Boss Pei with his light smile and was a little hesitant in whether to say something or not. Pei Qian smiled and said, “Speak frankly; it’s alright. I am a designer that loves hearing others’ opinions.”
Qiao Liang’s mouth twitched as he thought quietly internally. En, I do not doubt this at all. After Qiao Liang had spoken frankly the previous time, the game had been speedily updated; around 90% of the changes had been related to what he had said.
However, the only problem was that all the changes were exactly the opposite of what he had suggested!
Qiao Liang wanted Pei Qian to make some less popular weapons stronger; Pei Qian had ended up nerfing the popular ones;
Qiao Liang had wanted Pei Qian to reduce the difficulty level of the game in the early-stage; Pei Qian had elevated the difficulty level of the mid- and late stages of the game.
Boss Pei was right: he indeed was a designer that loved to hear others’ opinions. However, after taking in feedback, that didn’t exactly mean that he would follow and change accordingly…
These three days, Qiao Liang had had a horrible time.
The rebalancing of Repent and be Saved resulted in him having to suffer continuously in the game. As the weapons that he had gotten used to weren’t that effective anymore, he could only try and use other weapons.
Furthermore, as the difficulty level of the later parts of the game had been raised, Qiao Liang had been stuck at certain points of the game for some time. Even some settings where he could easily defeat monsters had become extremely difficult; if he wasn’t careful, he might have died many more times.
All in all, his improved game experience had worsened a lot!
However, after thinking about this deeply, Qiao Liang felt that he couldn’t entirely blame Boss Pei. Qiao Liang might have been too reserved the previous time. He had only said that the chopper and crescent blade were useful; he had not explicitly said that he wished other weapons could be strengthened.
Boss Pei might have misunderstood.
Hence, Qiao Liang decided that he had to speak plainly in front of Boss Pei this time!
“Boss Pei, as a games tester, I should be able to give some feedback, right?” Qiao Liang tested the waters.
Pei Qian smiled, nodded, and said, “Of course.”
“That’s good!” Qiao Liang considered his words carefully, “I felt that the rebalancing of the game had not been down well…” “En? Why do you say so?” Pei Qian asked, “After the previous adjustments, the balance of the game is still off?”
Huh?
Qiao Liang didn’t know what to say at that moment.
From a weapons perspective, the balance had been improved no doubt. Previously, the chopper and crescent blade had been too powerful; the other weapons couldn’t compare. Now, the chopper and crescent blade were equally as trashy as the other weapons; equilibrium had been achieved.
“Err, the balance is indeed better. However… those rather handy weapons have become useless. This…” Qiao Liang was a little tormented. Pei Qian smiled and said, “By nerfing popular weapons, that essentially means that in comparison, the other weapons have been strengthened. You should understand the theory of relativity, right? This is what I am gunning for.” Qiao Liang, “…”
Bloody hell! What theory of relativity!
Pei Qian continued, “At present, Repent and be Saved has tens of weapons; many unpopular weapons have been well-balanced. If I increase the strength of these weapons, I have to do so for tens of weapons at one go. After doing so, some of these weapons might be overkill; that would create a vicious cycle.
“There are actually only two or three popular weapons. As long as I nerf all of these, wouldn’t that mean that in comparison, the tens of weapons have been strengthened?
“Furthermore, this would ensure that the balance of the majority of the weapons is not affected as much as possible; this is the perfect solution.”
Qiao Liang, “??”
This sounded logical… not!
Qiao Liang ached as he replied, “Boss Pei, you can’t achieve a balance like this! You can’t nerf whatever that is good to use. As the saying went, if everything was nerfed and nothing was strengthened, even an incredible game would be abandoned by players. Nerfing cannot be done without a thought!” “Who said I only nerfed the game? Hadn’t I increased the difficulty of the game and the damage done by little monsters?” Pei Qian immediately pointed out where Teacher Qiao had misspoken.
Qiao Liang, “…However, this is increasing the difficulty of the game!”
Pei Qian smiled slightly, ‘Indeed, all these have increased the difficulty of the game.
“Is that a bad thing?”
Qiao Liang was stunned.
Of course, it is!
I have been playing this game daily; I haven’t managed to break through and have been tortured by puny little monsters daily. I have finally found an easier way to play the game, but it turned out that everything had been nerfed in two days. Now, I have to find an alternative way again.
How is this not a bad thing?
Without waiting for Qiao Liang’s further protestations, Pei Qian cut in and said, “Teacher Qiao, think about this. That the game’s difficulty is high; for a professional player like you, is this really a bad thing? “The difficulty of any game is like the ceiling. If you and other players all can smash through the ceiling, no one would be able to tell who did a better job.
“However, if the ceiling was raised, this could be easily distinguished.
“Raising the difficulty of the game has essentially given professional gamers like you a larger platform to display your skills and talent, to do some things that ordinary players couldn’t.
“Is this really something bad?”
Qiao Liang was stumped by this earnest question from Boss Pei.
Eh, even Boss Pei thinks that I am a professional player? How embarrassing is this!
Qiao Liang couldn’t contain his smile. “Aiya, actually, this isn’t anything. I am just a little more hardworking than other players, a little more serious…”
Pei Qian smiled, “Teacher Qiao, you are too humble. A true pro like you naturally deserves a greater challenge. “Reducing the difficulty? That is a form of humiliation for someone like you! Increasing the difficulty of the game allows it to remain challenging; that would be the greatest show of sincerity to hardcore players!”
Qiao Liang looked at his own screen and then at the very serious-looking Boss Pei. He felt all better all
of a sudden.
This made sense.
Why did Boss Pei especially ask me to come and try such a difficult game?
He trusted my game instincts and ability to persevere!
Thinking about this, Qiao Liang didn’t feel that it was that hard to accept the nerfing of the chopper and crescent blade anymore.
As a professional player, he should be able to master all weapons. If he only fixated on two and used the best two, that indeed would be letting Boss Pei down! After adjusting his feelings, Qiao Liang now felt that this game wasn’t that repulsive anymore.
However, Qiao Liang had another thought. He had been able to persevere until now because Boss Pei had been encouraging him!
Which other player would have such special treatment?
This was a severe design flaw! Qiao Liang hurriedly pointed this out. “Boss Pei, speaking of this, I have a new suggestion.
“While the game is a good one, I feel that the early stage of the game is too onerous on gamers! I have only managed to persevere until now because of your repeated encouragement, slowly building up my interest in this game.
“Hence, perhaps there needs to be a solution to this?”
Pei Qian thought for a few seconds. “This is easy; I’ll have someone make changes immediately.”
Qiao Liang was impressed instantly.
Boss Pei is indeed Boss Pei. He managed to think of a solution so swiftly?
Pei Qian said, “I can add a segment to the game. After the game starts up, players would be able to write an epitaph for themselves to encourage them while they are playing. Every time they died, the epitaph would surface on the screen; that would be a source of motivation.”
Huh?
Epitaph?
Qiao Liang vaguely felt like something was amiss; however, he couldn’t pinpoint it exactly.
Pei Qian took a look at his watch, “Alright, it’s getting late. Thanks for your hard work all this time; let’s go and eat!”
“Ah, alright!”
Qiao Liang had wanted to think about what was wrong with this ‘epitaph’. However, hearing Boss Pei’s suggestion to have dinner, Qiao Liang instantly forgot about this matter.
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