Shameless Tian Boxun

"Manager Wang, look—the copycat meta games are already out. Penguin Company's the fastest, as expected."

Zhao Jing stared at her phone, her voice seething with anger.

"Isn't that normal? You know Penguin Company—this is their specialty."

Wang Chuan paused, then shrugged indifferently.

As one of the Three Factories, Penguin Company's greatest strength was its ability to clone. Once Penguin set its sights on something, the outcome was either acquisition or imitation, followed by a rapid release that surpassed the original. So Wang Chuan wasn't surprised in the least.

"That's not the point, Manager Wang. It's what the Penguin producer said in an interview—it's way over the line."

Zhao Jing, usually a quiet girl, was now flushed red with fury.

"Oh? What interview?"

That piqued Wang Chuan's interest. The other three also looked over curiously, wondering what could have gotten Zhao Jing so worked up.

"It's about the meta game they're making, of course. Penguin's already started promoting it—they named it 'The Parable of Illidan.'"

"Shameless, isn't it? Just blatantly riding on the hype. And that producer even claimed his game is more fun."

Zhao Jing huffed, sending the link to Wang Chuan without missing a beat.

"Oh? Then I'll have to take a good look."

Wang Chuan thoughtfully opened the link and read it carefully. He had a feeling that the problem that had been stumping him for so long might find its answer here.

After finishing the link, Wang Chuan had to admit—Penguin was Penguin, with a sharp eye. Judging by the game's scope, they'd been preparing for a while. They probably started development as soon as "The Stanley Parable" began gaining traction. Back then, "The Stanley Parable" hadn't even taken off yet. It showed that Penguin, as one of the Three Factories, deserved its status as one of the top three domestic channels. They could predict a game's potential from its data and jump on the bandwagon ahead of time.

Yep, good. Very Penguin.

"So that's why the Three Factories invited me back then—they wanted me to handle the meta game project..."

Suddenly, Wang Chuan recalled the graduation invitation. The Three Factories must have already been moving at that point. After reading the link, he pieced together the whole story. It wasn't as blunt as Zhao Jing made it out to be. Sure, they were putting him down and boosting themselves, but the wording was still fairly tactful.

"What? Wang Chuan? Who's that? Oh, the producer of 'The Stanley Parable'!"

"It's a good game, but I don't think he has much of a future."

"As a game producer, you need to understand that this industry is about sustained growth, not a one-shot ascension to godhood."

"I heard he abandoned the meta game that made him and wants to try a new genre—that's an impulsive move."

"Genius producers pop up every year, but only a few are remembered by players. Young people shouldn't let sudden success go to their heads."

"And is 'The Stanley Parable' really that successful? Sure, I admit it is. But I believe my 'The Parable of Illidan' will do even better."

That was the gist of Penguin's interview, which Zhao Jing had compiled for Wang Chuan to see. It was clearly a promotional push for the game. A quick online search told Wang Chuan exactly who this person was.

And, as it happened, there was a bit of history between them.

Remember that record Wang Chuan had accidentally broken? The one for the fastest time to earn the title of Game Producer. This guy was the previous record holder, who hadn't held it for more than a few years before Wang Chuan snatched it away.

Gotta say, it was fate.

Though the other guy probably didn't see it that way.

His name was Tian Boxun. Sure, there was some fluff in how he got that record, but he did have real skill. After all, Tian Boxun was a producer backed by Penguin Company.

And that interview? No doubt about it—Tian Boxun was stirring up trouble. Every line reeked of condescension.

They want to suppress his fame in the media and online.

As for the reason, Wang Chuan knew it well—wasn't it just because someone snatched his record? ~~~

Trouble was coming!

Even though Wang Chuan knew Tian Boxun's motives weren't pure, his mood only got better.

Ahem, he didn't have any weird hobbies.

It was just that Tian Boxun's actions, unintentionally, helped him out.

He'd been racking his brain over how to keep the buzz around The Stanley Parable alive.

And Tian Boxun's interview, though aimed at him, could turn things completely around if he played it right!

On the internet, it's not about lacking conflict—it's about lacking controversy.

For Tian Boxun's interview, Wang Chuan already had an idea brewing.

He could wait for the interview to blow up, get tons of attention, and then ride the wave.

Like when a game launches with zero promotion or traffic—what do you do?

You ride the wave, leech off the fame of popular games on the market.

What? No connection?

No problem—you can create a connection!

Just like when The Stanley Parable surged in popularity, plenty of new games tried to leech off its fame.

For example, The Stanly Parable, The Stannley Parable, and even Tian Boxun's The Parable of Illidan—all riding his coattails.

Wang Chuan took this pretty lightly.

Genre bandwagoning, content imitation, riding trends, leeching traffic.

It was all common stuff, so he didn't pay it much mind.

After all, he wasn't making meta games anymore, but that didn't mean the copycats could freely mock him.

He wolfed down his meal in a couple of bites, then grabbed his laptop.

He logged into some game forums and media sites on the Pangu Editor and browsed around.

The buzz was pretty high, and the comment sections were packed with players chiming in.

Wang Chuan skipped the praise and agreement, zeroing in on the comments bashing Tian Boxun.

"Oh wow, are you sure you're not just salty? Someone broke your record in a single day, and you've got the nerve to talk?"

"Enough already, we all know what you Penguins are like, don't we?? If you're gonna copy, do it quietly—why come out and show off your existence?"