nycdaug Chapter 70 Recruiting Soldiers
Chapter 70 Recruiting Soldiers
The internet trendsetters are similar to the marketing gurus of the past.
Although this skill can easily generate phenomenal "hot memes" for the game online, bringing huge exposure, online public opinion is like a runaway horse, and no one can accurately control whether these memes will ultimately enhance the game or backfire.
As for "reverse marketing," it's hard to predict whether it will bring positive benefits or backlash.
After all, having the producer personally engage in intense online battles with netizens will inevitably damage their public image in the short term, directly impacting the initial sales of the new game. Even if they manage to boost sales through a so-called "black-and-red" strategy afterward, it's hard to guarantee that it will sell better than if it were released in a conventional manner.
More importantly... constantly engaging in heated online arguments with netizens is definitely not a pleasant or enjoyable experience. In this world, very few people have masochistic tendencies and enjoy being relentlessly attacked and insulted by thousands of netizens.
In comparison, the last "transfer" method, while seemingly having the lowest short-term returns, is safe enough to provide a safety net for the game.
Considering that the three games to be developed in the future are highly likely to be of the same type, this option can effectively balance the completion conditions, thereby greatly reducing the risk. It can be said that as long as one's intelligence is up to par, no matter how one calculates it, "switching flowers and grafting trees" is the most rational choice with the highest hidden benefits.
Therefore, Tang She chose without hesitation to [reverse promote sales]!
What a joke! It's just arguing with netizens. Tang She has lived this long and has never been afraid of anyone arguing with him online.
If we're going to play, let's go big!
After Tang She made this seemingly "crazy" choice, a soft light flickered on the system panel, and the LV.3 upgrade reward arrived as promised.
[Rewards are being drawn.]
[Draw complete! Congratulations, host, you have received the following reward: the complete development data for the Uncharted game series. System overall rating: 9.3.]
With a system notification, a high-tech metal USB drive appeared on Tang She's desk. Perhaps because the system had been quietly updated, the mountains of printed paper proposals that used to pile up had finally been condensed and replaced by this portable digital storage device.
Tang She casually pulled over the laptop, plugged in the USB drive, and prepared to carefully examine the reward.
To be honest, the first round of system rewards included a near-perfect masterpiece like Zelda, so his expectations for the second round of rewards were naturally much higher. However, since the system solemnly presented it as an upgrade reward and gave it a high score of 9.3, this series must have something truly unique and outstanding about it.
Tang She opened the automatically pop-up folder, and a screen full of documents, original artwork, underlying code, and modeling data instantly appeared before his eyes. He casually opened a general outline plan and began to browse it carefully.
The core storyline of the game is actually very simple and straightforward, roughly telling the thrilling adventures of the protagonist Nathan Drake as he explores historical sites and searches for lost treasures around the world.
This kind of "Indiana Jones" style classic storyline was actually a very clichéd and popular formula in earlier years. But the reason why this game was able to break through in the fiercely competitive gaming world of its time, and even become a flagship title on console platforms, is not simply because it was fun.
Its core competitiveness lies in its groundbreaking technological lead.
Whether in its cinematic storytelling techniques or the refinement of its interactive scenes, Uncharted achieves the ultimate. Within the limitations of its time and comparable hardware, its visual presentation is arguably the industry's "ceiling," with every frame seemingly burning through budget to deliver unparalleled visual impact and immersion. What surprised Tang She even more was that the reward wasn't just a single game, but rather all four main titles in the series, packed into this small USB drive without reservation.
This is simply an inexhaustible treasure trove!
Tang She suppressed his excitement and continued scrolling down the screen. Just then, a glaring red warning box suddenly popped up in the lower right corner of the system panel:
[The host's current staff structure is severely incomplete, and development progress is worrying. The next challenge will be available once the staff is complete.]
Looking at the bright red warning box on the system panel, Tang She thoughtfully stroked his chin.
Since the system has clearly indicated that the current employee structure is seriously incomplete and the next round of challenges can only be opened after the staff is fully staffed, the large-scale recruitment after the new year has become the top priority.
Especially for a large-scale industrial game like Uncharted that is extremely resource-intensive, art-intensive, and motion-capture-intensive, the current team with its limited manpower can't even make a splash.
However, there's always a way out.
Even the strongest body can't withstand a year of such intense, non-stop work.
Since the system has forced us to stop, I might as well take advantage of this annual leave to give myself and my team a proper vacation.
The next morning, Tang She, who had slept in late for once, pushed open his door and bumped into Ren Wei, who was carrying two cups of hot milk out of the kitchen.
Recalling the intimate moments on the sofa last night and the loud thud, Ren Wei's cheeks flushed crimson to her ears, and her eyes darted away frantically.
"Good morning...good morning, drink your milk first."
Tang She, without any hesitation, took the cup naturally and casually ruffled her hair.
"Good morning. Now that we've discussed it all last night, shouldn't we rethink our annual leave plans?"
Ren Wei paused for a moment, then looked up:
"How would you like to arrange this?"
"Let's go back to the orphanage for a few days first."
Tang She took a sip of milk, his tone relaxed.
"The old director has been talking about me lately. Two days before New Year's Eve, I'll bring some things and go with you home to pay our respects. After we've met your relatives, we can sneak back to the orphanage for some peace and quiet on the second and third days of the New Year. What do you think?"
Upon hearing the words "I'll go home with you to wish you a Happy New Year," Ren Wei's eyes lit up instantly, her initial shyness replaced by overwhelming joy. She nodded vigorously, her lips curving upwards in a wild smile: "Okay! I'll do whatever you say!"
Over the next few days, the two of them, like an ordinary young couple, returned to the orphanage where Tang She grew up, carrying large and small bags.
Having shed their personas as "CEO of Tangren Games" and "lead planner," the two completely let their guard down here. Tang She brought two large boxes of Pokémon trading cards and Kirby plush toys for the children in the courtyard.
Watching a group of little kids chasing and playing in the yard for a flashcard, Ren Wei laughed without any restraint, and even personally joined in to help the youngest kids "fight".
The old dean looked at Tang She, who was sitting on a bench peeling an orange, and then at Ren Wei, who was playing with the children in the sunlight. A smile of satisfaction appeared on his deeply lined face.
"This girl is good; she has clear eyes and is the kind of person who can settle down. You've really hit the jackpot."
Tang She watched Ren Wei's retreating figure, then popped a segment of orange into his mouth; it was sickeningly sweet.
"Yes, we made a fortune."
During his time at the orphanage, Tang She deliberately blocked out the overwhelming ridicule and abuse directed at "The Legend of Zelda" online.
Since he has already chosen the talent of "rebellion" to drive sales, the online criticism is equivalent to future sales, and he is not in a hurry at all.
Soon, the eve of the Lunar New Year arrived.
Tang She changed into a proper suit, carried the carefully prepared gifts, and stepped into Ren Wei's luxurious penthouse in the prime downtown location.
Ren Wei's parents were surprisingly open-minded and quite admired Tang She, the young man who is now very influential in the industry.
However, during the family gathering on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the relatives were not so polite.
"Hey Tang, I heard your game company has been getting a lot of flak online lately?"
A cousin, dressed in gold and silver, started the conversation in a sarcastic tone.
"Young people these days should be more down-to-earth and stop dreaming about winning big international awards. It's not good to make a fool of yourself by talking big."
The atmosphere at the dinner table instantly plummeted to freezing point. Ren Wei's face darkened, and she was about to lash out when she felt Tang She gently grasp her hand under the table.
Tang She wasn't annoyed at all. Relying on his thick skin, he picked up his wine cup, stood up, and smiled broadly.
"My cousin's advice is right. But in our line of work, 'being controversial is still being popular.' Don't be fooled by the fierce online criticism; it's all free traffic. Once our new project launches after the New Year, we'll need this buzz to recruit people. Come, let me toast you, wishing you a prosperous New Year!"
This flawless "Tai Chi" left her cousin speechless for a long time. Ren Wei's father, watching this scene from the main seat, nodded to himself.
This kid is not only talented, but his composure and resilience are truly worthy of his daughter.
After enduring two days of formalities and drinking at the Ren family home, the two of them escaped the world of fame and fortune early on the third day of the Lunar New Year, as if relieved of a great burden. They quickly disappeared back into the orphanage to continue enjoying the rare peace and quiet.
Happy times are always fleeting.
Although the third day of the Lunar New Year had just passed and the festive atmosphere had not completely dissipated, Tang She and Ren Wei had already begun the recruitment process.
Or rather, it's already getting late.
After all, building a team capable of creating top-tier shooting games from scratch is no easy feat.
As a game design, the feel of guns is extremely important, and making such subtle adjustments would undoubtedly require an enormous amount of funding and human resources for someone who has never made shooting games before.
There is virtually no research in this area in China, let alone expertise; hardly anyone has even made a shooting game.
"What? You're already in the zone before we've even started?" Ren Wei walked into the study with two cups of coffee, placed them on the table, and leaned on Tang She's shoulder.
"There's no other way. If you want to create a top-notch shooting game from scratch, the basic gun feel, bullet trajectory feedback, and hit detection will all be flawed. If even the slightest mistake is made, players will curse you to death." Tang She took the coffee Ren Wei handed him, took a sip, and his eyes remained fixed on the screen.
He also told Ren Wei that the three games in the future would all be shooting games, and Ren Wei was very supportive of his idea. In any case, her confidence in Tang She had reached a mysterious level.
"Have you decided where to recruit them?"
Ren Wei looked at the densely packed resumes on Tang She's screen and asked softly.
"The so-called 'senior lead designers' that the headhunters recommended all came from reskinned web games where you could make your character invincible just by paying to play."
"Those people are no good; their brains have been marinated in numbers and KPIs."
Tang She shook his head, casually closed the headhunting company's webpage, and instead opened a domestic hardcore developer forum called "Youminxing".
He skillfully entered several professional terms in the search box, such as "recoil decay algorithm" and "fusion of motion capture and gun-holding posture".
Soon, a long post titled "On Why Domestic Shooting Games Can Never Create a Real 'Gun Feel': Starting from the Underlying Physics Engine," published three years ago, appeared.
Tang She opened the post and quickly scanned it.
This post not only provides a detailed breakdown of the recoil models of several mainstream AAA games currently on the market, but also includes a ballistics test demo video that I created myself using an open-source engine.
"This guy's got some skills." Ren Wei leaned closer, looking at the extremely hardcore force analysis diagram on the screen, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
"It's not just that it has something; it's practically a living fossil in the domestic shooting game industry."
Tang She smiled and pointed to the poster's ID, "Old Vinegar."
"Chen Feng was once the core combat planner of the 'Pangu Project' of a major domestic company. That project claimed to create the first true 3A-level sci-fi FPS in China. However, after two and a half years of development, the investors felt that the return on investment was too slow and forcibly canceled the project. The team disbanded on the spot and went on to make a two-dimensional gacha mobile game."
"Where is he now?" Ren Wei asked curiously.
"As far as I know, he was disheartened after leaving his job and went back to his hometown of Chengdu to open a murder mystery game shop, occasionally taking on some outsourced work for game companies to make ends meet." Tang She picked up his phone on the table and scrolled through his contacts. "Fortunately, we are now considered respectable figures, so it shouldn't be difficult to talk to him."
Tang She dialed Hao Zheng's number. As a top gaming media professional in China, Hao Zheng had an extensive network of connections. In less than ten minutes, Chen Feng's personal WeChat ID and phone number were sent to Tang She's phone.
Without hesitation, Tang She made the call.
After a few beeps, the call connected, and a slightly dejected and hoarse male voice came from the other end, with the sound of mahjong tiles being rubbed in the background.
"Feed? Who?"
"Hello Mr. Chen Feng, I am Tang She from Tangren Games." Tang She got straight to the point.
The clatter of mahjong tiles on the other end of the phone stopped abruptly. A full three seconds passed before Chen Feng spoke, his voice tinged with disbelief: "Tangren Games? The Tang She who made Kirby and Zelda?"
"It's me." Tang She smiled. "Professor Chen, to make a long story short, I have a new project in hand, a realistic third-person action shooter masterpiece that blends extremely complex environmental destruction with cinematic storytelling. I need someone who truly understands 'gun feel' to help me build the combat system. Interested in coming out of retirement?"
Chen Feng remained silent on the other end of the phone. He certainly knew Tangren Games; over the past year, Tangren Games had been making waves in China. But he also knew that Tangren's current major announcement was the DLC for *The Legend of Zelda*.
"Mr. Tang, don't tease me." Chen Feng gave a wry smile, his tone tinged with wariness and self-deprecation. "Your Tangren Games are currently focusing on family-friendly and open-world games. Shooter games? That's a bottomless pit. Domestic manufacturers simply don't have the patience to polish a truly authentic shooting feel. If you're looking to make one of those reskinned, gun-selling online games, you've come to the wrong person."
"No, Teacher Chen, you've misunderstood." Tang She's smile vanished, his tone becoming extremely serious. "I don't make free-to-play online games; I only make buy-to-play single-player games. And what I'm making isn't your average shooting game."
"Shooting games are due for a revolution."