Chapter 1 Saturday, September 3rd

Tengda's new game, *struggLe*, officially launched!

Magic City.

He An, having just finished his company affairs, returned home, ready for a good rest.

Last Friday, he was supposed to go to Jingzhou to continue lecturing President Ma, but some minor problems arose at He An's own Mengguo Games, requiring his attention. He only finished dealing with them yesterday.

So, the lecturing engagement with President Ma was naturally postponed to next Friday.

Although it was due to an unexpected event, He An felt that the timing seemed quite good.

Because today, Tengda's new game, *struggLe*, was released!

He An had high expectations for this game.

After all, the previous single-player games made by President Pei could be seen as benchmarks for domestic single-player games, especially in terms of ideological depth and profundity, which had reached an extremely high level.

And this time, He An, like all the other players, was full of anticipation for this game called *struggLe*, which was mostly a large-scale action-adventure title.

He An was just worrying about what he should lecture President Ma on for this last lesson.

The content he had covered before was basically a high-level generalization and summary of He An's decades of game development experience, full of valuable insights.

From the concept of a game to its production and marketing, all the various stages in between had been discussed.

But precisely because the content was highly condensed and full of practical knowledge, this last lesson would feel somewhat lacking if he didn't pull out something even more substantial.

Fortunately, Tengda had provided a new case study!

He An figured that since he had a week before he had to go lecture President Ma, that should be enough time to complete Tengda's new game.

Maybe he could get some inspiration from the game, or perhaps it could stir up some of his dormant memories, and then he could squeeze out a little more valuable content to use as teaching material?

With his company affairs taken care of, He An decided to play some games and relax.

He turned on his computer and opened the official platform.

Sure enough, the most prominent recommended spot on the official platform's homepage was a large promotional page that read, "Tengda's New Game *struggLe* Released!"

However, this promotional page only had these stylized words and no promotional poster.

That was a bit odd.

Because most game promotional pages would have a poster, putting up beautiful scenes and characters from the game to improve players' first impressions and attract them to enter.

"President Pei is really willful, but after all, he is President Pei."

He An didn't take it to heart and clicked on it.

If it were other game developers, they would still adhere to this conventional promotional strategy, but President Pei didn't need to. Anyway, even if he just wrote four small words "Tengda New Game" on an inconspicuous page, players would definitely click on it like crazy.

Arriving at the game's details page, He An suddenly realized that something was wrong.

Because on this page, there were game descriptions and images!

Game description:

"So-called reality is the cycle of fate from which it is difficult to escape, no matter how hard you struggle."

Below were many promotional images for the game. These promotional images were very exquisite, and the art style was also impressive, but the only problem was... the scenes and characters in the pictures seemed to be vastly different from what he expected!

A modern urban background, many foreigners, and clothes worn were all common everyday clothes like suits, T-shirts, and hoodies.

He An was a little dumbfounded.

What about the promised large-scale action-adventure game?

Admittedly, some action-adventure games are set in modern times, but those often take place on mysterious islands or in lost ruins, and the settings couldn't possibly be modern urban environments!

Judging from the pictures in the promotional images, it didn't seem to have anything to do with action-adventure games!

Even more puzzling was the slogan and the game's Chinese name.

"So-called reality is the cycle of fate from which it is difficult to escape, no matter how hard you struggle"?

This sentence was too depressing!

Yes, in a sense, this sentence is correct. Reality is often frustrating and beyond human control.

But, that doesn't mean you should promote this kind of fatalistic thinking!

Life can indeed be disappointing at times, but we should still strive to live our lives well, because there is no "give up" or "exit" option in life. Striving is not about living better than others, but about living better than you were in the past.

Moreover, the Chinese name *Fendou* (奋斗 – Struggle) completely changed the meaning compared to the original English name *struggLe*!

The word *struggLe* has many meanings. Before, everyone thought this was an action-adventure game, so they subconsciously interpreted *struggLe* as struggle, fight, or something similar.

But now the Chinese name is *Fendou* (奋斗 – Struggle), which is equivalent to directly dispelling all of the players' previous imaginations, making a final decision and defining the game as a realistic theme!

Before he even entered the game, He An was stunned by President Pei's set of tricky maneuvers.

At this point, smarter players would have already realized that they seemed to have been deceived by the advertising.

"President Pei made a realistic game and then was afraid that people wouldn't play it, so he engaged in false advertising?"

"That can't be."

"That won't trick players into buying. It won't help sales, but will instead have a negative effect. It will only damage your reputation and cause greater losses."

He An was puzzled.

At this moment, he suddenly realized something and pulled out the previous materials Tengda had used to promote the game during the pre-release period.

He looked at the promotional materials and then at the game description.

He looked back and forth like this three times.

He An was bewildered.

"President Pei... didn't engage in false advertising, everything he said was true."

"This is at most intentional misleading."

"Is this some new trick?"

He An discovered that the content written in the game materials was indeed completely consistent with the content of the game itself!

The reason why everyone misunderstood was mainly because of the "full motion capture" point. Everyone subconsciously thought that since they had spent so much money on motion capture, it must be an action-adventure game!

But in the end, it was a realistic theme.

Are you crazy! Why use motion capture for a realistic theme? Are you burning money because you have too much?

If it were someone else, He An would definitely be so angry that he would curse, feeling that this was false advertising.

He An had said to President Ma during his lectures that game marketing is an important part of whether a game succeeds or not. If the game's promotion method is misplaced from the game itself, it will be a devastating blow to single-player games.

And what happened?

The promotion of President Pei's new game was misplaced! And it was quite a misplacement!

He An was very confused and very bewildered. President Pei had made a mistake that seemed very low-level to him, but this made him feel even more incredible.

Who is President Pei?

A marketing genius!

He can find the best way to promote each game and knows best how to create topics among players.

Yes, this must also be a special marketing model!

It's just that he can only know specifically why it's special after playing the game.

He An prepared to buy the game and discovered a second confusing point.

The dual-protagonist mode was actually sold separately?

After clicking the buy button, an introduction page popped up, with a rich version on one side and a poor version on the other.

The original artwork on the rich version was a smartly dressed business elite, swirling a glass of red wine, overlooking the entire city from the floor-to-ceiling windows on the top floor of a skyscraper. He seemed to have a domineering aura as if he controlled everything.

Text introduction: Born into a wealthy family, your struggle will be extremely smooth, but the reason why fate is fickle is that everyone is equal in the face of death. If you are rich, it is not recommended to buy it, you will feel bored.

Price: 19 (Original Price 29)

The original artwork on the poor version was a raggedly dressed poor man, empty-handed, looking up at the towering skyscrapers on a street full of traffic, with a hint of envy in his back.

Text introduction: Born into a poor family, your struggle will be full of pain, struggle, and helplessness. You firmly believe that struggle can change your fate, but fate does not intend to be changed by you. Whether you are poor or rich, it is not recommended to buy it, because you will only gain some meaningless negative energy.

Price: 79 (Original Price 99)

The purchase buttons on both sides were separate. Obviously, you could buy the poor version or the rich version separately, and there was no "buy all" option.

He An didn't take it seriously. Isn't it just clicking the mouse one more time?

He bought the rich version first and then went to buy the poor version.

However, when he clicked the purchase button for the poor version, a prompt box popped up on the page.

"Life does not have a second chance. If you want to experience two kinds of lives, you cannot enjoy the discount. The price for purchasing all is the original price. The total price is 29+99=128. Are you sure?"

He An carefully read this long string of words, his mouth slightly open, his face full of shock and question marks.

What does this mean?

Playing games?

This pricing method really made He An, a well-informed veteran producer, feel unheard of!

Other dual-protagonist modes are all made into the game. After entering the game, you choose which one to play.

This one is good, it's directly split into two parts for sale!

Not only that, but the pricing is also separate, one selling for 19 and the other selling for 79, with a price difference of four times!

However, does the poor version really have four times more game content than the rich version? Obviously not!

The most outrageous thing is that if you buy both versions, you can't enjoy any discounts. It costs 128, which is six times more expensive than the rich version, which only costs 20!

In He An's view, this pricing strategy is also very outrageous. 19 yuan is obviously too cheap, and 128 is too expensive. If you take the middle ground, wouldn't it be appropriate to sell it for around 98?

The current pricing strategy, isn't this forcing players to only buy the rich version?

Moreover, the introduction is cruel enough.

The rich side seems to be hinting at some bad endings, and it is not recommended for the rich to buy it.

The poor side directly said that they cannot change their fate, which is also a bad ending, and it is not recommended for the poor and the rich to buy it?

Isn't that just saying, don't buy it?

Outrageous!

He An decisively pressed pay.

Expensive is expensive, so what? Am I someone who is short of this 128 yuan?

I'll sell it at the original price, I'm willing to!

I have to see what good things you've hidden in the poor version!

He An guessed that since it is a dual-protagonist, dual-version game, there must be some connection between the two versions. Maybe some easter eggs and hidden endings can only be triggered if you buy both versions?

The more He An thought about it, the more he felt that the routine was definitely as he guessed.

If these two versions really have no connection at all, then something big will happen.

Because players who buy a game without thinking are not the majority. Most players will still be affected by online reviews.

If the first batch of players buys two versions but doesn't find any easter eggs or hidden endings, they will definitely curse loudly, and later players will not do such a stupid thing again.

He An felt that President Pei would definitely not make such a low-level mistake, so he was even more convinced that buying both would definitely lead to a hidden ending.

So far, without even entering the game, He An realized that two of the four theories he had talked about before had been overturned.

Choosing an appropriate marketing method for the game content? No.

Choosing game types with high market share? No.

If it were other game developers, He An could say without even entering the game that this game was going to be finished, because it had already deviated from the starting line, how could it possibly reach the finish line?

But if it was President Pei, then He An felt that he still had to play the game before he could come to a conclusion.

Maybe President Pei can overturn all the traditional theories and give himself an unimaginable surprise?

He An first entered the rich version.

...

After a brief black screen, a male voice spoke softly in English.

This didn't seem like narration, but more like the man was talking to himself.

"My father, he likes to find wisdom from the distant Eastern culture."

"Not long after I became sensible, he repeatedly taught me two sentences from the distant East: *Qiongchouji, Fuchangliangxin* (The poor harbor ill intentions, the rich should have a kind heart). And, *Canglinshierzhilijie, Yishizuerzhirongru* (Only when the granary is full will people know etiquette; only when people are well-fed and clothed will they know honor and disgrace)."

"Father said that in the original language, these two sentences are very neat, concise, and philosophical."

"But the translated English doesn't feel it at all."

"He told me that this society is full of the law of the jungle. We are people who are high above, but that is also why countless people are staring at us, wanting to see us fall and die without a burial place."

"My father said, don't trust those poor people, never."

"It seems that in my father's eyes, we, and those bottom-level poor people, have become two species."

"I don't agree with this view."

"Of course, I won't argue with my father, because I know that I almost didn't come into this world because of a lunatic, and instead fell from the roof of a skyscraper with my mother."

"Father said, that's the poor."

"But I insist that it was just a lunatic."

After the black screen and subtitles, the game screen appeared.

With the same over-the-shoulder perspective as regular AAA masterpieces, you could see that this seemed to be a Western police officer in uniform, and he was of a high rank.

The place he was in now was inside a shopping mall, but it was empty, as if everyone had been evacuated.

In the distance, there were several police officers waving anxiously at him.

A few lines of text appeared on the wall as guidance: "As a hostage expert, 'negotiate' with the criminals who are holding hostages."

He An didn't see any criminals at all. He turned the perspective, and it seemed that he could only go to the open window where the police officers were.

The police officers were anxiously waving and urging him.

So, He An controlled the police officer and walked over.

Several police officers began to deftly help the police officer tie the safety rope, put on suction-cup climbing gloves and climbing boots, and then cleared the window position.

"That pregnant woman is very dangerous. The hostage-taker is emotionally agitated. If our snipers shoot, the hostage-taker may fall with the pregnant woman. Chief Henry, please!"

He An controlled Henry to climb out of the window and used suction-cup climbing gloves and climbing boots to climb up the glass curtain wall of the building.

As he continued to climb up, new task instructions appeared on the glass curtain wall at intervals.

"Hostage expert arrives at the scene."

"Hostage expert is ready."

"Hostage expert is ready to start 'negotiations'."

And the higher he climbed, the clearer he could hear the shouting coming from above.

"Don't come over, or I'll jump!"

"Help, help..."

"Please don't be nervous, we are here to negotiate, we can agree to your conditions..."

The criminal's crazy roar, the hostage's tearful plea, and the police's words to appease the criminal with a loudspeaker, all mixed together, making people feel inexplicably irritable.

Not long after the prompt "Hostage expert is ready to start 'negotiations'" appeared, Henry also reached the top floor and quietly arrived below the criminal.

He saw the criminal holding a long dining knife against the neck of a pregnant woman, standing on the edge of the building.

The criminal seemed to be aware that there were snipers, but he held the knife in his right hand and strangled the pregnant woman's neck tightly with his left hand. If he was shot, he would fall from the roof.

Henry quietly came directly below the criminal, left his right-hand climbing glove on the curtain wall, and then took out his gun and aimed it at the back of the criminal's head.

"Bang!"

With a gunshot, the criminal's head exploded with blood. Amidst the hostage's screams, the two were teetering!

"Hostage expert 'negotiation' ends."

Henry stretched out his sturdy right hand and steadily supported the pregnant woman, while the criminal's body fell towards the bottom of the building.

In the moment of falling, Henry saw his face.

The despair, horror, and madness before death still remained on his face. Many emotions mixed together made his face hideous.

After pausing like a slow-motion scene from a movie, the camera followed the corpse as it continued to fall, fall, fall...

Finally, in the instant before landing, everything came to an abrupt end and the screen turned black again.

"My mother was frightened, so I came into this world two weeks early."

"Some friends say that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth."

"Some friends also say that I was born at their finish line."

"I never deny this. Because for people like us, neither suffering nor struggle can be a topic of conversation with others."

"Few people will recognize the struggle of someone born at the finish line."