Chapter 168 A Carefully Laid Plan

At first, Pei Qian didn't pay too much attention to this issue.

After all, it's inevitable that designs will coincide.

Since both are MOBA games, designers' inspirations can easily overlap. Moreover, both used golden elements, so it was bound to be similar, and some sense of déjà vu was normal.

This little bit of déjà vu didn't amount to plagiarism.

Finger Company was a big company; they should still have some integrity.

But Pei Qian, on a whim, looked at the netizens' comments on this skin and suddenly realized that something was wrong.

Evidently, netizens also felt that this black-gold themed championship skin felt somewhat similar to GoG's Sabi Hedgehog, Modest.

Some netizens shared Pei Qian's view, thinking it was just a "coincidence."

But many netizens held different opinions.

"I don't think this is a coincidence!"

"If you look closely at this picture, I photoshopped the Sabi Hedgehog into this black-gold themed champion skin and found that it didn't look out of place at all, and even felt strangely harmonious!"

"How do you explain that?"

The netizen posted a picture below.

Originally, the IoI heroes in this set of championship skins had different poses, some standing, some squatting, lined up horizontally, looking quite cool.

But this netizen photoshopped a huge Modest behind them!

Moreover, this Modest had been deliberately exaggerated; its already burly figure was further enlarged, and the IoI heroes only reached its waist.

Modest's broad shoulders, thick arms, and the golden light effects that spread out like wings completely dominated the upper half of the picture, like an angel descending to the world, shrouding the five IoI heroes below in its golden light.

The difficulty of this photoshop wasn't high because Modest was cut out from a high-resolution original painting, with some extra golden light effects added.

But the final result was photoshopped seamlessly, as if the six heroes were originally one, and the five heroes below were like Modest's little brothers…

Soon, this picture sparked a heated discussion among netizens.

"Wow, it doesn't look out of place at all! It's just too suitable!"

"Although Modest's original painting doesn't have any technological elements, this set of championship skins is strangely compatible with Modest…"

"Seeing this picture, I suddenly realized a problem, which is that these five heroes and Modest are not only a little similar in terms of golden light effects, but also somewhat similar in many other places!"

"There are many kinds of golden light effects. Some are more inclined to gold coins, while others are more inclined to rosy clouds, and still others are like water patterns… And the golden light effects used by Modest and this set of championship skins are closer to the feeling of gold coins. The styles are unified."

"Moreover, the five heroes in this series of skins all give people a cool feeling, which is also very similar to Modest's personality. Look at the way these people stand, each one acting like they own the place, they're practically cut from the same mold as Modest…"

"I have some inside information! I have a friend who knows someone who works at FV Club, and they say that this set of skins is to pay tribute to Boss Pei!"

"You have to know, FV Team was just a second-rate team at first. How could they win the world championship? It was by relying on Boss Pei spending money to provide them with strong logistical support, and sending data analysts to provide them with data support! So, the two themes of this set of championship skins are 'gold' and 'data', which are to commemorate Boss Pei!"

"Is that so? That makes sense. After all, Modest was designed based on Boss Pei as a prototype. Since they are both to pay tribute to Boss Pei, it's natural that the designs will overlap slightly…"

"I think you guys are probably thinking too complicatedly. Most likely, the Finger Company's original artist was lazy, wanted to use golden elements, and saw that Modest's golden elements looked good, so they 'borrowed' them!"

"You're wrong to say that, that's underestimating the professionalism of Finger Company's original artists! I think it should be like this: Modest's original painting is a work by the great artist Ruan, which is already very excellent. Modest is too famous as GoG's representative hero and his image is too deeply rooted in people's hearts. After seeing it too much, when Finger Company's original artists wanted to create some original paintings with golden elements, they unconsciously and subconsciously used Modest's artistic style…"

The players had different opinions, and couldn't tell which of these inside stories were true and which were false.

But in the discussion, the players gradually established a consensus.

It really does look alike!

Especially after this photoshopped picture came out, it looked more and more alike.

As for why it looked alike, everyone had their own opinion, and no one could convince anyone else. Some people thought that Finger Company's original artist deliberately borrowed it, while others thought that Finger Company's original artist was unintentional, and it was a collision of ideas.

But no matter how they discussed it, one thing wouldn't change: this set of skins was completely tied to Modest's image!

The impact of this photoshopped picture was too wide and too profound, so that many players felt that something was missing when they saw the initial original painting of the five black-gold technology heroes standing together.

What was missing?

Obviously, it was missing Modest standing behind them, shielding them from the wind and rain with its broad shoulders!

Once this setting was accepted, this set of black-gold technology championship skins could no longer exist independently, but was firmly tied to Modest.

The reason why this happened was not only because they looked alike, but also because of the fascinating story behind this set of championship skins.

It could be said that without Boss Pei's (Modest) lavish spending and data support, there would be no FV Team's victory, and naturally there would be no set of black-gold themed championship skins.

Therefore, many elements inside and outside the game tightly bound the image of this set of championship skins and Modest's image together, never to be separated.

And what was even more terrifying was that players were constantly digging and deriving more meanings…

…

Longyu Group.

Eric was browsing the comments online, and his whole person was in a state of anger and shock.

"What the hell is going on!"

"How could this happen?!"

"It's obviously us who released the championship skins, why is everyone discussing GoG, Modest, and Tenda?"

He had also read Zhao Xuming's publicity plan, and didn't think there was any problem with it at all. He thought that Boss Pei's counterattack would have to wait until the Summer Promotion.

But he didn't expect that the foolproof championship skins would cause a mess!

This turn was too sharp. Eric had been focusing on other things before, and hadn't made sufficient psychological preparations. He almost twisted his back.

The others in the conference room also lowered their heads, not daring to breathe loudly.

Because the current situation was too bad.

After Finger Company and Longyu Group released the black-gold technology themed championship skins, although it caused a good response online, everyone was discussing Tenda and GoG's Modest!

There were almost no netizens discussing the skin itself!

What was even more terrifying was that the players' minds were wide open, and they dug out and derived many other meanings.

Modest represents Boss Pei, who created this set of black-gold technology championship skins. Gold represents Tenda's lavish spending, and technology represents the powerful data support provided by Boss Pei. This set of skins symbolizes Boss Pei forming a team to conquer IoI, and forever leaving a strong mark in IoI's hall of fame…

After a few months, people once again recalled the scene of FV, as Tenda and Boss Pei's representative team, dominating the IoI Global Finals.

In fact, Finger Company had already expected when they were making championship skins for FV Team that they would definitely be trashed again after this set of skins came out.

But they never expected that the trashing would come so fiercely and so unethically!

Eric tried his best to take a deep breath and looked at Zhao Xuming.

Zhao Xuming shrank his head.

Why are you looking at me? What does this have to do with me?

Indeed, I made the publicity plan.

But I just made a very normal and reasonable publicity plan based on the championship skins! The problem this time, isn't it the problem of the skins themselves?

You should go find the person who designed the skins!

Seeing Eric's unkind expression, Zhao Xuming felt that he had to immediately and immediately throw away the black pot that was about to be put on his head.

"This must be Boss Pei's conspiracy!"

"Boss Pei is really scheming! This was obviously a plan that was made when FV Team won the championship, and it's only now that it's come to fruition!"

"Everyone, think carefully, what is the state of the MOBA game market in China now?"

"In fact, the incremental market has almost been divided up. The popularity of MOBA games is already very high. Basically, the players of other types of games that are easy to convert have already been converted."

"Therefore, the war between GoG and IoI has gradually transformed into a stock market. That is, to grab each other's players!"

"How easy is that?"

"MOBA games themselves have a high learning cost. After being familiar with one game, it will be very uncomfortable to play another game. At this time, you need to find a breaking point!"

"This breaking point can be a highly recognizable hero image, or it can be a story that players talk about and spread."

"And Boss Pei combined these two points!"

"After FV Team won the championship, Boss Pei knew that we were going to make championship skins for FV Team, so he must have told them in advance to make a series of skins with a style similar to Modest."

"At the same time, in order to eliminate our suspicion, the members of FV Team deliberately didn't mention Modest when making requests, but in the subsequent communication, they asked our artists to repeatedly modify the plan, and guide it little by little towards Modest's style."

"That's why the final product is so similar to Modest!"

"Boss Pei's purpose is so sinister!"

"FV Team is his team. In a very short period of time, he transformed FV Team from a second-rate domestic team into a world champion, winning the first overall champion in the IoI Global Finals. This is a very commemorative honor for Boss Pei."

"But what he wants is obviously more than that."

"The reason why he made this set of championship skins is to tightly combine this set of championship skins with Modest's image, so that IoI players will naturally associate Modest with GoG and Tenda Group when they see the championship skins in the future!"

"This is a breaking point. It will subtly make IoI players recognize and accept GoG, and gradually erode our player base…"

"This is all Boss Pei's conspiracy. It has nothing to do with the skin promotion plan I made!"

After listening to Zhao Xuming's words, everyone nodded and showed a dawning expression on their faces.

After such an analysis, Boss Pei is indeed sinister!

So this conspiracy was planned as early as when FV Team won the championship?

Now it seems that Boss Pei's plan is indeed seamless. Not only did he deceive everyone in Finger Company and Longyu Group, but he also deceived the players.

It was not until the championship skins officially began to be promoted and the matter was a fait accompli that the conspiracy was revealed, and he sealed his opponent's throat with a single sword!

Now, it was too late for Finger Company and Longyu Group to regret it.

Even if they re-made this set of championship skins, it would be of no avail, and the situation would be even worse.

Players will still associate this set of championship skins with Modest, and if they re-make it, it will be equivalent to Boss Pei winning again, and watching Finger Company make two jokes without any effort.

Therefore, even though this set of championship skins is digging at IoI's foundation and making a wedding dress for Tenda, they can't withdraw it and can only bite the bullet and continue to sell it!

This is really too uncomfortable.

Eric closed his eyes slightly and sighed silently.

Zhao Xuming was right. This time, the problem was not with him. It was not a problem with the publicity plan, but with the skins themselves.

You can't blame the designers of the championship skins either. After all, they just completed their work seriously.

Eric and Zhao Xuming had been fighting against Boss Pei all the time, and they hadn't seen Boss Pei's move, let alone those designers who were far away across the ocean, had never dealt with Boss Pei, and were only responsible for designing skins?

No one can be blamed for this. You can only blame Boss Pei for being too cunning!

Eric leaned back in his chair and didn't speak for a long time.

When he re-became the person in charge of the Greater China region of IoI, he was ambitious and felt that he had found Tenda's weakness, and defeating Boss Pei was not a problem.

But now, he only felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

If he persisted, he didn't seem to see any hope at all.

What should he do?