Chapter 1263 Learning from the Sidelines

Having arrived in Yangcheng, Tianhuo Studio had specifically sent a business car to pick them up from the airport.

This was a very normal courtesy. Publicly and privately, Zhou Muyan should arrange this.

Sitting in the business car, Pei Qian instructed Min Jingchao, "The office conditions at Tianhuo Studio are slightly worse than those at Tengda."

"But not by much. Try to adapt, just think of it as poverty alleviation."

"Every company has its own situation. Don't ask too many questions, understand?"

Min Jingchao nodded, "Don't worry, President Pei, I understand."

This was Min Jingchao's first time going to Tianhuo Studio.

Previously, during the development of *Sea Fortress*, Pei Qian had organized a public-funded trip, arranging for employees to come to Yangcheng to play and visit Tianhuo Studio.

But Min Jingchao had not joined the company at that time; he joined during the GOG era.

Pei Qian wasn't worried about anything else, just that Min Jingchao would arrive and, like Ma Yang, immediately launch a series of soul-searching questions: Why are we working on Saturdays? Is there overtime pay? Why are the workstations so cramped?

He didn't want to accidentally break Zhou Muyan's mentality.

Although Min Jingchao shouldn't be as tactless as Old Ma, it wouldn't hurt to give him a few reminders in advance.

Tianhuo Studio had its own seven-story office building, surrounded by verdant pines and cypresses and lush trees. The environment was quite good.

The business car stopped at the entrance, where Zhou Muyan and Sun Xi, who was responsible for the reception, were already waiting.

Seeing President Pei arrive, the two greeted him and welcomed him warmly.

Pei Qian vaguely remembered this Sun Xi. He was also responsible for reception last time. His previous position seemed to be a core designer of a large MMORPG project within Tianhuo Studio, and he also participated in the development of *Bullet Marks*.

He was originally a core member, and after more than two years of training and cultivation, he was now Zhou Muyan's right-hand man, a highly regarded chief designer within the studio.

They passed through the bamboo forest in the front courtyard, then through the front desk, and went straight to the fourth floor.

The last time he came, there was a tour, but this time it was skipped because Zhou Muyan felt extremely awkward at the thought of it...

He actually showed off his employees' welfare benefits in front of Tengda. What was he thinking at the time!

When Tengda was still a small company, its benefits were better than Tianhuo Studio's. Now that it was getting bigger and bigger, the benefits were even more outrageous.

Zhou Muyan also knew that he couldn't compare in this aspect at all.

Therefore, this time, he very tacitly didn't mention the previous events, as if nothing had happened.

After Min Jingchao was settled in, he would have Sun Xi take him around to familiarize himself with the work environment.

"President Pei, should we sit down and rest for a while and chat casually, or..." Zhou Muyan tentatively asked for his opinion.

After all, President Pei had just flown in, so he should be a little tired. The most friendly itinerary would be to sit in the reception room, make an appointment in advance, and then let President Pei and Min Jingchao return to the hotel to rest, and come back for a meeting the next day.

Pei Qian waved his hand, "No need, let's start directly."

Anyway, he came in business class, so he wasn't tired. Moreover, Pei Qian's design method was a follow-your-fate design method, which didn't require brain cells or accumulating ideas at all; it was entirely based on inspiration.

Min Jingchao's workload might be a little heavier, but he didn't need to complete it in one day.

He could just jot down the key points today and slowly improve them later.

The sooner this meeting was over, the sooner Pei Qian could return to Jingzhou to rest.

Zhou Muyan nodded, "Okay, I'll call a few chief designers over to listen in. Then we'll pick the most capable one to assist Brother Min."

"You two have some tea and wait a moment."

Zhou Muyan got up and instructed Sun Xi to notify the designers.

He said he was going to select the most capable designer to assist Min Jingchao, but in fact, he also hoped to take this opportunity to let these chief designers listen to President Pei's lecture and improve themselves.

This kind of opportunity was too precious!

It was like watching a real martial arts master practice. Even if you didn't understand anything, you would still improve.

At least you broadened your horizons, knew how martial arts masters practiced, and grasped the general direction.

Game design was the same. Everyone knew that President Pei was a game design genius, but how exactly did he design games? There were many rumors in the outside world, but people who weren't insiders couldn't get close to the truth.

Now that they had such a valuable opportunity, they had to make good use of it and learn as much as possible.

Of course, Zhou Muyan only called a few core chief designers, all of whom he trusted very much.

The reason why he didn't call more people was that, on the one hand, Zhou Muyan felt that others hadn't reached this level, or weren't trusted core members, and weren't worthy of listening; on the other hand, he couldn't overdo it and cause President Pei to feel disgusted.

If he arranged a large conference room, packed with people inside and out, then the intention would be too obvious and very impolite.

In short, this time it was not only a collaboration with Tengda to make a game, but also a learning conference on game design knowledge.

This kind of opportunity might not come a second time. How could he not pay attention to it?

As for Pei Qian, he drank tea while considering where to start with this design.

Thinking about it, he himself seemed to only know one design method, which was to design to lose money, but in the end, he made money...

He had to say, this made him feel quite sad.

In fact, Pei Qian was a little puzzled. Logically speaking, there were so many ways to lose money in the world by making games, so why did he always make money with his games?

Was it because he was too lucky, and the ways to make money just happened to be caught up by him?

Other than that, there didn't seem to be any other possibilities.

Could it be that he was really a game design genius?

Then... if he tried a few more times, would he always encounter a time when he lost money?

After all, Tengda's own development capabilities were limited. At most, they could only make four or five games a year, and many ideas for losing money couldn't be verified.

But if other companies helped, they could develop several more games in the same time period. Maybe one of them would succeed in losing money?

Therefore, Pei Qian's idea this time was still to design in the direction of losing money.

If he made money, it would mean that Longyu Group and Tianhuo Studio were lucky, and they were just fulfilling their contract normally, so it didn't matter.

Although Tengda would get a share of the money, Tengda already had so many money-making games that one more or less didn't matter.

But what if he lost money? Then it would be of great significance!

Pei Qian would have to study this money-losing model carefully and strive to use it for his own purposes.

If he lost a lot of money, that would be even better. Pei Qian could take the opportunity to compensate and continue to cooperate with Tianhuo Studio and Longyu Group. At that time, Tengda would contribute the bulk of the research and development and monopolize this great opportunity to lose money.

In short, this time could be seen as an extra attempt. No matter what the result was, it was acceptable.

After a while, Sun Xi returned, "President Zhou, President Pei, the conference room is ready."

Zhou Muyan looked at Pei Qian, "Then, President Pei, shall we go?"

Pei Qian nodded, "Yes, let's go!"

The group came to a large conference room on the same floor. The designers who came to listen in had already arrived in advance. Seeing Zhou Muyan and Pei Qian arrive, they stood up to greet them.

Zhou Muyan left the central position vacant, signaling Pei Qian to take a seat.

Pei Qian was polite for a few words, but seeing that Zhou Muyan insisted, he didn't decline any further.

After everyone was seated, Zhou Muyan cleared his throat, signaling everyone to be quiet.

"President Pei has come from afar this time, truly bringing glory to our studio."

"Regarding this new project, everyone has been introduced to it before. It is a project jointly developed and operated by Tengda Group, Tianhuo Studio, and Longyu Group. The opportunity is very precious. Everyone here should be clear about how significant this kind of large-scale project is for designers."

The design industry also emphasizes "gilding."

A designer who has participated in a successful project and a designer who has not participated in a successful project will command two completely different prices when applying for a job outside.

Not to mention designers who hold key positions in successful projects.

After all, there isn't a clear standard for measuring ability in this creative field. Under the premise that basic abilities are similar, successful experience is the biggest highlight.

There's no need to say more about President Pei's identity and status in the game circle. Everyone present has heard of him.

For these designers, if they can participate in this project, it will definitely be a rare highlight moment in their entire career.

If this project succeeds as expected, then not to mention bonuses and profit sharing, just this experience alone will be enough to elevate their career plan to a higher level.

But it's not certain how many people will be able to enter this project and assist Min Jingchao.

Perhaps in the end, Zhou Muyan and Min Jingchao will have to screen and review the candidates.

Therefore, these designers are all eager to try, hoping to listen carefully, think carefully, and then come up with some unique viewpoints and ideas to increase their chances of being selected.

Zhou Muyan looked at Pei Qian, "Then, President Pei, shall we begin?"

"From now on, all processes will follow Tengda's development process. We will fully cooperate."

Tianhuo Studio certainly has its own development process, but since President Pei is here, and there is a better process, why not use it?

Tianhuo Studio is determined to be an apprentice and a tool person, trying not to let its own habits interfere with President Pei and Min Jingchao.

Otherwise... if Tengda Games' undefeated myth fails here, how embarrassing would that be!

President Pei makes every game a hit at Tengda.

But when he comes to Tianhuo Studio, he flops as soon as he makes one.

Does that make sense?

If this kind of thing really happened, no one would think that President Pei was incompetent. They would only think that Tianhuo Studio was too useless and too likely to drag others down.

What kind of team must be so bad that even President Pei can't carry them?

Zhou Muyan couldn't bear this kind of blow.

Pei Qian nodded, "Okay, let's start then."

"What type of game to make, have you guys thought about it?"

The follow-your-fate design method is like this, starting with the game type at random.

This sentence sounded normal and ordinary to Min Jingchao, but it wasn't the same for the other designers.

Shocked expressions appeared on their faces.

Judging from President Pei's meaning, he hasn't even thought about the game type?

They thought that President Pei had already thought about the content of the game design before coming!

Doesn't that mean that President Pei can design any type of game? And he has the confidence to design it well?