Chapter 1267 Project Bonus? (Happy New Year to Everyone!)

Tuesday, October 23rd.

At the entrance of Tianhuo Studio, everyone reluctantly bid farewell to President Pei.

Of course, this reluctance wasn't entirely due to friendship; it was mainly because of the game.

The game was barely a concept, yet President Pei was leaving!

But President Pei seemed completely unconcerned, as if the game were already finished.

After yesterday's meeting, President Pei returned to the hotel to rest. In the evening, he had dinner with Min Jingchao, Zhou Muyan, and others. This morning, he packed up and was about to fly back to Jingzhou.

In fact, during yesterday's meeting, Zhou Muyan and the other designers wanted to ask President Pei more about the details of the game.

But firstly, Min Jingchao was the main designer, and he said it was almost done, so others didn't want to ask too much. Secondly, Zhou Muyan and the designers wanted to go back and carefully ponder President Pei's deeper meaning, to see the difference between themselves and a top designer.

As a result, they pondered all night, and this morning they all had dark circles under their eyes, clearly doubting their lives a little.

They hadn't figured out anything!

If someone else had said it, they wouldn't have thought about it anymore, at most they would have laughed it off.

But this was President Pei, the god of game design!

If they didn't understand, they would naturally continue to think, which made it easy to get stuck.

Although they still had no clue about the game, President Pei was about to leave, and it didn't seem appropriate to stay and ask questions now.

Everyone wanted to speak, but no one was embarrassed to speak.

So, everyone's expressions were inexplicably tangled, as if they were about to sneeze but were forced to hold it back, which was very uncomfortable.

"Then I'll go first, see you again if we have the chance." Pei Qian said with a smile, his expression indescribably dashing.

At this moment, Min Jingchao said, "President Pei, after the meeting yesterday, I reorganized my thoughts and came up with a few questions. Could I ask for your guidance again?"

Hearing this, everyone at Tianhuo Studio perked up instantly.

Great!

It seemed that Min Jingchao finally couldn't stand the pressure and asked!

Were they going back to the meeting room to discuss it thoroughly?

That would make things a little more normal.

He knew it, how could they design with such broad requirements?

It definitely needed to be refined.

Everyone waited for Pei Qian and Min Jingchao to go to the meeting room, but neither of them seemed to have such an idea, and remained standing where they were.

Pei Qian nodded, "Sure, ask away."

Min Jingchao pondered slightly, "President Pei, should *Bullet Marks 2* have a story mode like *Fortress at Sea*?"

Pei Qian immediately shook his head, "No!"

*Fortress at Sea* was successful, and the story mode was a very important factor.

The excellent story mode not only served as a good beginner's guide, but also improved the game's reputation, and can be said to be the finishing touch of *Fortress at Sea*.

Moreover, Pei Qian's original intention for *Fortress at Sea* to have a story mode was to spend more money, but Huang Sibo and Bao Xu cleverly saved money by reusing scenes and simplifying supporting characters, and didn't spend much more money.

Pei Qian didn't plan to do this kind of utter failure a second time.

Min Jingchao nodded slightly, "Then... the budget originally allocated for the story will be extra, but we can't just cut it, right?"

Pei Qian chuckled, "Spend it elsewhere, we can't save money."

"For example... well, we can make more maps."

"If the funding is not enough, our Tengda can also supplement it, it's not a big deal."

Zhou Muyan quickly said, "President Pei, don't worry, the budget is definitely enough."

It was agreed that President Pei would come up with ideas, and Tianhuo Studio and Longyu Corporation would pay, how could they let Tengda pay again.

If this got out, where would Tianhuo Studio and Longyu Corporation's faces be?

Pei Qian didn't argue with Zhou Muyan.

The reason why he said to consider spending the money on maps was because it wasn't appropriate to spend it elsewhere.

Spend more money on guns? Making character clothes? Making skins?

Those were all points for paid content!

Don't turn it into *Bullet Marks Dress-Up*, that would be tragic.

Spend more money on gameplay?

That wouldn't work either, it would directly affect the game experience.

Only the game scenes and maps, it wasn't very obvious whether they were good or bad, and it wasn't related to paid content, so spending more money wasn't dangerous.

Min Jingchao asked again, "Then, the gameplay definitely can't be like *Fortress at Sea*, right?"

Pei Qian thought for a while, "Well... I think the Ghost Mode, Biochemical Mode and other messy modes can be removed."

"If conditions permit, the Demolition Mode can also be cut."

At that time, *Fortress at Sea* became popular because these novel modes attracted many ordinary players. If they weren't good at shooting, they could still jump on boxes and fight zombies in Biochemical Mode, so it was very popular.

As for Demolition Mode, this was the most tactically rich and professional mode in shooting games, and was deeply loved by hardcore players.

*Bullet Marks 2*'s feel was more inclined towards hardcore players, and they would definitely like Demolition Mode.

Min Jingchao thought for a while, "Wouldn't that leave only the basic shoot 'em up mode? That's too little content."

"Or, can I create some other modes myself?"

Pei Qian hesitated for a moment, then said, "Uh... you can."

Hearing the word "original," Pei Qian instinctively panicked a little.

But then he thought about it, and felt that he had no reason to panic.

Compared to these mature modes that had been verified many times, having Min Jingchao develop and design a mode himself would obviously have a greater chance of failure.

Anyway, this wasn't his own project, so he didn't have to worry about whether it would lose money or make money, so it didn't matter if he let Min Jingchao play around.

Min Jingchao nodded, "Okay, I have no questions."

Zhou Muyan and the others at Tianhuo Studio watched from the side, even more confused.

Hearing Min Jingchao say that he wanted to ask for guidance, everyone was very happy, and thought that they could keep President Pei to have another meeting.

After all, "asking for guidance" was often a modest term, and it wouldn't be strange to ask for guidance for an hour or two.

As a result, Min Jingchao really only asked for guidance on one or two points, only asking two questions!

Although the two people's conversation had several back and forths, it was actually mainly focused on two questions, one was that the game didn't have a story, and the other was that the game cut a lot of the successful game modes verified by *Fortress at Sea*, and wanted to create original game modes.

Moreover, after the discussion, it was still all cloudy!

Min Jingchao did ask questions, but could President Pei be considered to have answered them?

And why was Min Jingchao so satisfied?

Pei Qian looked at his watch, "Alright, I should be leaving soon, the time is just right."

"If you have any questions later, you can call me."

Min Jingchao nodded, "Okay, President Pei, leave it to me."

Seeing the two singing in harmony and cooperating perfectly, Zhou Muyan couldn't say anything more.

Although there were still many questions, Min Jingchao was the main designer of *Bullet Marks 2* after all.

When Min Jingchao encountered difficulties in development, he would let him go to President Pei for instructions, there was no better way.

Thinking of this, Zhou Muyan got into the business car with Pei Qian to personally send him to the airport.

Watching the business car drive away, Sun Xi tentatively asked, "Brother Min, you're really letting President Pei leave like this?"

"Many things can be explained clearly face-to-face, but it's not certain on the phone."

"Shouldn't you take this opportunity to ask more questions?"

Min Jingchao looked at the records in his notebook, "Actually, it's almost the same."

"Even if I call to ask again, it's just a few words, it doesn't affect anything."

Sun Xi couldn't help but fall silent.

Good fellow, everyone at Tengda is not normal.

In fact, it's understandable for President Pei to be unconventional as the boss.

The key is that the designers under President Pei are also so unconventional, which is outrageous...

Since that was the case, then prepare and see how Min Jingchao performs!

...

In the business car, Pei Qian looked at the scenery outside the window, feeling good.

Ah, business trips are really tiring.

He needed to quickly return to Jingzhou and get a good night's sleep.

Zhou Muyan suddenly remembered something, leaned over slightly and said, "By the way, President Pei, there's one more thing I forgot to say."

"We previously confirmed simply that after the game is completed, the game's net profit will be divided according to the ratio of 35%, 35%, and 30%. Even if there are minor adjustments later, the range will not exceed 5%."

Pei Qian nodded, not taking it to heart.

This division ratio was actually agreed upon by Longyu Corporation and Tianhuo Studio from the beginning.

The two 35% were the shares of Longyu Corporation and Tianhuo Studio, and 30% was the share of Tengda Group.

In fact, in principle, Tengda's share shouldn't be so high.

On the one hand, the R&D expenses and advertising expenses were paid by Tianhuo Studio and Longyu Corporation, and Tengda didn't need to bear any risks. On the other hand, this cooperation was originally to exchange for Zhao Xuming, and Tengda should have taken less.

But Longyu Corporation and Tianhuo Studio discussed it and still felt that they should give more, mainly for three reasons.

First, they were worried that if they gave Tengda too little share, President Pei wouldn't care at all, which would lead to the game not making money after it was made.

If they didn't make money, what were they thinking about sharing?

Giving Tengda a larger share would make President Pei more attentive, and they would earn more in the future, so it didn't make much sense to dwell on the specific ratio.

Second, ideas were the essence of a game, and finding the right direction was sometimes more important than execution.

Third, this game needed to be promoted, and it couldn't be separated from President Pei and Tengda's reputation.

When this game came out, it would definitely be labeled as "jointly developed by Tengda and Tianhuo Studio", and it would also slightly promote that this was a game designed by President Pei.

This wasn't false advertising, it was all facts.

Just by putting out President Pei's name, they could get a lot of attention, and this free ride would save a lot of advertising expenses.

This was like many companies buying copyrights, either they gave a large copyright fee at the beginning, or they gave a high share, anyway, they had to show something.

Therefore, on the whole, Tianhuo Studio and Longyu Corporation felt that giving a 30% share could slightly increase President Pei's attention and make him more attentive to this project.

However, Pei Qian had no feeling about this.

He didn't care how much the game was divided, it all went into the system funds anyway, and couldn't go into his own pocket...

Zhou Muyan continued, "However, in addition to that, our Tianhuo Studio should also show something."

"After each game makes money, the project team has bonus commissions, and *Bullet Marks 2* is no exception."

"Currently, the project team's bonus is 15% of the net profit after sharing with other companies. I am also a designer, so I respect talent. To be blunt, this bonus share is higher than most game companies outside."

"Of course, it can't be compared with Tengda."

"Among them, the most important core positions such as the main designer and main artist can get about 2%, which is basically considered leading in the industry."

Pei Qian nodded, he roughly knew these numbers, but he didn't understand why Zhou Muyan was telling him this.

Generally speaking, game companies don't have overtime pay, and most employees can only hope that the project can be launched and make money, and get bonuses.

The more popular the project, the more bonuses are distributed proportionally. Many newcomers are lucky enough to enter the right project, and they can get tens of thousands or even more in bonuses every month after working for one or two years, which is very normal.

Of course, the specific internal division also depends on the importance of the position. Core employees like the main designer definitely get the most.

Many game company bosses are not designers themselves, and often don't pay much attention to employees. The median bonus is probably only 5% to 8%, and there are even many stingy bosses who don't give a penny of bonus even if the project makes a lot of money.

Zhou Muyan himself was a designer, and he paid more attention to talent. The bonus share was given to 15%, which was very competitive in the industry, and it's no wonder that his reputation in the industry was actually good.

Players evaluate a company mainly based on whether its games are terrible; but people in the game industry evaluate a company mainly based on its welfare benefits.

As long as the salary is sufficient, it is a good company for employees.

Zhou Muyan continued, "So, Brother Min, as the main designer, the bonus in this area will definitely be in accordance with the regulations, and there will be no less than a penny."

"President Pei, you are the source of inspiration for this project, and you are also the producer, so you should also have a bonus."

"According to our ratio, to calculate it highly, Brother Min should take 2%, and President Pei, you take 4%."

The approximate ratio, the project bonus is 15% in total, of which the producer takes 4%, the main designer, main artist and other three or four core members take about 2%, and the remaining about 4% to 5% of the money is shared by the entire project team.

Don't think that 2% is small, if a game has a net profit of 10 million per month, 2% is 200,000 or more.

As a working person, being able to get a bonus of 200,000 per month is already a very dreamy number.

Moreover, a lot of money will also be issued as year-end bonuses and other forms. As long as you can make a successful game, and the company is not very stingy, this reward is still relatively generous.

Of course, this is based on the extremely low success rate of games.

As for Zhou Muyan and the company's leadership... their bonuses are of course divided from the company's overall profits.

Only 15% of a game's net profit is taken out to issue bonuses, and the remaining 85% is obviously used for the company's various expenses, daily operating expenses, and extra performance bonuses, etc.

Pei Qian's expression instantly became serious.

4%?

Damn, that's quite a lot!

If this game has a net profit of 10 million a month, wouldn't I be able to get 400,000 a month?

Calculated for six months, wouldn't that be 2.4 million?

Of course, you have to consider taxes and other situations, but no matter what, it is equivalent to losing 24 million or earning 2.4 billion at the time of settlement?

Ah this...

Pei Qian was instantly a little dazed.

Zhou Muyan quickly added, "Of course, this money is definitely not important to President Pei, it's just a token of appreciation, and the process that should be followed still needs to be followed."

Not to mention that Tengda has so many profitable games, just talking about this *Bullet Marks 2* game, Tengda can also get 30%, which is not much different from Tianhuo Studio's share.

How Tengda distributes the income is up to President Pei.

So, this matter is a bit redundant. If it were someone else, such as Lin Chang, they wouldn't mention this.

But Zhou Muyan himself was a designer, so he looked at the problem from a different angle.

He felt that he actually had two identities, one was management, and the other was a producer.

As a game person, getting a project bonus is an affirmation of his labor and design. The money is not much, but this link cannot be omitted.

Earning two cents, but the nature is different.

Since President Pei is also a designer, this extra amount of money is an affirmation of his work, and should be considered as icing on the cake.

Of course, Zhou Muyan didn't think this was very important. Yesterday's meeting was a public occasion, with so many people watching, it was not appropriate to openly discuss this kind of issue, so he waited until today to send President Pei to the airport before he had a chance to say it.

Pei Qian froze on the spot.

Because he found that the system did not warn him, that is to say, the system's attitude towards whether Pei Qian was qualified as a producer to take this commission was relatively vague, at least it did not prohibit or oppose it.

The sudden happiness made Pei Qian a little dizzy.

But at this time, he only had one thought in his mind.

Why didn't you tell me earlier!

If you had told me before the meeting, I wouldn't have minded spending more energy, seriously helping you design, and thinking of a few fun ideas!

Now that things have come to this, I can't go back!

From Zhou Muyan's point of view, President Pei has decided to go to the airport, but as a result, upon hearing that there is a 4% project bonus, he immediately returns to the meeting to redesign the game?

Would that be appropriate!

The act has already been put on, and he is ready to go to the airport in a dashing manner, and now he can only continue to act with tears in his eyes...

Pei Qian felt very melancholy, and his mood suddenly changed 180 degrees.

He didn't really want the game to make money, after all, there was a 30% share, and this was an attempt to lose money. After success, he could learn from the experience and continue to lose money continuously.

But now that he heard that he could get a bonus share from Tianhuo Studio, Pei Qian was not calm.

If this game lost money, the bonus share would be gone. Although he gained experience in failure, it was hard to say whether the experience in failure could be realized!

Pei Qian sat on the seat of the business car, looking at the scenery flashing by outside the window, and suddenly became speechless.

This freaking... life is impermanent...