Finish the Game Within Two Months!

Silence, deathly stillness.

The huge conference room in the Ji You was eerily quiet at this moment, making people feel uneasy.

Yang Ying, the chief planner, the Lead Programmer, and others looked at each other nervously, not daring to look at President An.

Their hands, clasped under the conference table, swayed constantly to ease the tension.

Right now, you could probably hear a pin drop in the entire conference room.

Yang Ying was somewhat uneasy at this moment.

Half an hour ago, President An suddenly notified all key members of the Leap Group to attend a meeting in the conference room via the company intranet.

The commanding tone emanating from those words made Yang Ying's heart skip a beat.

Could it be that the new Only Game, The Secret Passage, has upset President An?

It's not hard to imagine... Infinite Network Entertainment, an industry competitor, produced the masterpiece "Control Failure" with the standards of a small partner company, and sold 2.79 million copies, a record that no one has been able to match to this day.

How could such explosive results make the top management of the Ji You feel comfortable?

Seeing your competitors making so much money that their veins are bulging, the feeling is indescribable.

So, with a feeling of unease, Yang Ying grabbed a pen and paper and followed the lead planner, chief Lead Programmer, and others to the conference room.

As a result, I sat there for half an hour.

During this time, President An did not say a word, but just sat in the main seat looking at his laptop with a grim expression.

Yang Ying and his colleagues exchanged glances and sighed inwardly.

This is clearly the calm before the storm.

They called me to a meeting but didn't say anything, and I'm busy...

Just as he was thinking this, President An, suddenly spoke up.

"Engineer Yang, tell me, what stage is the game you're in charge of at now?"

This statement is not a rhetorical question or inquiry, but a question filled with class divide and a chilling undertone.

Furthermore, while speaking, President An kept looking at his laptop and never looked up at the people below him.

Their attitude is self-evident.

He was very dissatisfied!

But Yang Ying was also puzzled and helpless. Other people's games are becoming wildly popular, so why are you giving us such attitude?

Did we not do our job well?

"Well, President An, the progress is normal and it's still under stable development."

Upon hearing this, President An immediately spoke in a cold tone.

Its head remained unchanged, not raised.

"Really? Tell me, how long will this stability last?"

Yang Ying was speechless for a moment, and he and his colleagues looked at each other, not knowing how to answer.

"Um?"

Seeing that no one responded, President An raised his voice in a questioning tone, which greatly increased the pressure on Yang Ying and others in the audience.

"President An, it's like this. According to the plan, the game will have 12 levels. But so far, 9 levels have been created. There are still..."

"Finish it within two months."

Before Yang Ying could finish speaking, President An An's unquestionable tone left the people in the meeting dumbfounded.

Yang Ying, in particular, stood up in a panic.

"President An, no, please listen to me."

At this moment, President An raised his head slightly and looked at the people below the table.

Although he didn't say anything, his expression clearly signaled to Yang Ying speak quickly.

Yang Ying paused, glanced at his colleagues who looked troubled, and then mentally prepared his explanation.

Then, he looked at President An.

"President An, it's like this. For our company's games, completing a level doesn't mean it's finished. That's just the level. There's still modeling, art, music and sound effects, as well as testing, adjustments, and numerical optimization—all of that takes time. Two months is really too much."

As Yang Ying was speaking, he was interrupted by President An raising his hand.

"Engineer Yang, how long ago was that project you were working on? If I remember correctly, before it was officially launched, Infinite Network Entertainment's production team hadn't released that new work called 'Sky' or anything like that, right?"

"They've already released all the games in that sky genre, even ' Control Failure '. And your ' Bloody Scientist ' still hasn't finished its levels?"

"Explain?"

President An An's words carried a suffocating pressure, causing Yang Ying and the others to lower their heads, their faces filled with bitterness.

He has explained this issue before.

The game was developed so quickly, it's clearly the work of a large team of hundreds.

Their Leap Group only had 32 people.

Three people even left recently, including a level designer, leaving only 29 people in the team.

Therefore, they are currently developing and recruiting at the same time, extremely busy, and often working overtime to catch up on the schedule.

And yet, President An actually complained that their progress was too slow!?

Yang Ying sighed inwardly.

The game's progress is actually not slow at all.

The reason President An felt it was slow was because the other party's new works were being released at an astonishingly high frequency, which led to a misunderstanding.

In addition, President An was impatient for quick success and wanted to seize the market first, so his mentality was unstable.

However, game development cannot be completed in one step; it is a very time-consuming process.

If we have enough manpower, we can speed up the process.

But right now we just don't have enough manpower...

Previously, in order to make up for the failure of "The Jungle Terror"

Therefore, "Bloody Scientist" became a key project for the company, requiring high quality.

But to achieve high quality, it naturally requires a lot of people.

The 29 people in my team have been working day and night, and they've done a pretty good job.

If I absolutely have to give a completion date, it will probably take another six months...

And quality cannot be guaranteed!

But Yang Ying didn't dare to bring up the issue of manpower...

Because of issues like this, the company has delegated authority to the heads of each production team to take responsibility.

If you need someone, recruit them yourself. As long as you think they are suitable, the company won't interfere.

But if that's the case, and you still dare to tell me you're short-staffed, then that's your problem. Because I gave you the authority, and you didn't use it well.

As the head of the Leap Group, Yang Ying was usually too busy with work, and he only occasionally looked at recruitment matters.

Therefore, it's really not a good idea to bring up the issue of manpower shortage with President An.

That is indeed his problem.

Thinking of this, Yang Ying suddenly fell silent.

Upon President An snorted coldly, already guessing what was going on in his mind.

"I already spoke with the other teams during the previous meeting, asking them to lend a hand in the development. Has nothing happened yet?"

Yang Ying opened his mouth, but was speechless for a moment.

Other groups also have their own projects to manage. How could they possibly put aside their own work to help others complete their tasks?

Isn't this just plain... you know?

Although President An has strong marketing skills, he is truly an outsider when it comes to game development.

"That's right President An. Other groups have their own projects to handle, and in order not to affect them, we are focusing all our efforts on our own projects."

"No one has been hired?"

President An frowned and stared directly at Yang Ying, making the latter unable to look him in the eye.

"We've hired people, but many of the applicants don't meet the requirements. The resumes that passed the initial screening also failed due to interview issues."

"So you're just going to leave it at that? Huh?"

President An's tone immediately turned cold, and his expression showed extreme impatience.

"Why don't you take some time to recruit a proper team to get the job done? Wouldn't that solve the problem? If you spend some time getting this done first, wouldn't that improve overall work efficiency and speed up the process sooner?"

"As a result, you insisted on being busy with both sides, and neither side has been completed. Isn't that your problem?"

"Do you know what the company's situation is right now? We can only watch others make money one after another. We have the ability, but we can only stare and do nothing."

"Right now, in the entire industry, as far as I know, there are four companies developing Horror Games, including Infinite Network Entertainment's own internal working group."

"If we don't act quickly, what will we eat when others enter the market with their products?"

Helpless, Yang Ying glanced at President An, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke with difficulty.

"President An, you're right. I didn't handle the recruitment well. I'll set aside some time to finish it. But even so, two months won't be enough."

"You said before that ' Bloody Scientist ' was a game that relied on word-of-mouth, not high sales, only quality. So our focus is on quality. But now the time is too tight, and I'm afraid that if the quality isn't up to par, both sales and reputation will collapse."

Upon hearing this, President An shook his head.

"Therefore, you must guarantee the quality of the game and complete it within the specified time."

"Huh?"

Yang Ying was stunned, and the Lead Programmer and chief choreographer beside him also froze in place, as if they had heard something unbelievable.

"President An, this... this..."

"What, is there a problem?"

President An slammed the laptop shut, staring directly at Yang Ying, leaving the latter speechless with his mouth agape.

Even the words he originally wanted to say were swallowed back down.

President An frowned, looked at the group, and shook his head.

"I don't make games, and I don't play these things. But ultimately, a game is a product."

"Since it's a product, whether it's good or bad, it can meet the needs of a certain group of people. So the users our product targets are those who have needs, not everyone."

"Therefore, it is impossible for everyone to like our products. But we can filter out the 'core users' from among the 'everyone' who are the ones we need and who can bring us word-of-mouth and profits."

Do you understand what I mean?

Yang Ying and the others looked at each other again, completely bewildered.

President An continued to speak in a deep voice.

"Although I don't understand games, I can still give you some advice based on marketing strategies."

"It's okay if the game isn't finished. We can shorten the process, compress the script, and release the ending ahead of time. Didn't you say you were on level 9? Then let's make level 10 the ending, and we'll skip the remaining two levels."

"You need to understand that the essence of games is that they are products for people to use. In today's society, everyone is busy with a fast-paced life. Short and concise things are the mainstream that fits the current environment. Long and complicated things will only wear down patience and energy when used in fragmented time."

"So I have been advocating to the company's board of directors to shift to mobile and web games instead of these expensive and time-consuming computer games."

"Do you know many large companies, including foreign companies, that have to modify resources and shorten processes to ensure their games are released on schedule? If others can do it, why can't you?"

"What's the point of making such a long game if people can't finish it? You'll just end up saying the game is bad and that people can't play it."

"Then you might as well take out your phone and play a simple and easy mobile game, or a web game that you can open and play automatically."

"So, the company wants you to make short, high-quality computer games to capture the market. Not the kind of games that cater to players' feelings and tastes. Shorten the process, bring forward the ending, and bring in a new team to polish the existing content. Can you do that?"

Yang Ying and the others were dumbfounded, and almost vomited blood.

So it turns out President An has a prejudice against single-player games!

What he wants is mobile games, which are 'consumable games' that generate quick and high returns!

No wonder... no wonder the company recently bought the adaptation rights to the hottest anime in Japan.

So they were planning to make a splash in the mobile game market!

"President An, if we shorten the game, there will be obvious gaps in the storyline, and players will feel that the ending is abrupt."

Upon hearing this, President An waved his hand impatiently.

"Change the ending to an open one, leaving some suspense so that players know the story isn't over and there will be a sequel. If the game sells well, then make a sequel to improve the plot. If it doesn't sell well, then put the IP aside and develop new IPs or acquire existing ones."

"Engineer Yang, you've been with the company for so many years, do I really need to teach you this kind of thing?"

"What the company values is sales volume and profit generation, not the comfortable experience of those gamers! How much money can other people's experience bring you? Games are just products; as long as they're well-made and sold, why should we care about what those gamers think?"

"Indeed, we need the reputation of gamers to enter the Horror Games market. But don't forget, the company itself has the qualifications and funds to seize the market. The reason for needing a reputation is simply to have a good start."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. The game will be released in two months. During this time, I will hold a game launch event and invite media and partners from the game industry to attend. Then, like Infinite Network Entertainment, I will do some kind of pre-sale preview to attract attention."

"This game company doesn't care about sales figures, they care about reputation. We want to let gamers know that we at Ji You also have decent Horror Games to offer!"

"I hope you can think more about the company's interests."

A long time ago, when President An first appeared, some people questioned whether such high-ranking officials really existed in reality. I must say, yes. Also, this chapter borrows from KONAMI.