I am the only one who practices magic: I practice magic in the city

Chapter 494 Let’s Watch the Movie First (5102)

The weather in Haixi in mid-October is neither too cold nor too hot, the sun is warm, dry and comfortable, making it the most comfortable time of the year.

There were a few still green sycamore leaves scattered on the ground.

A gentle breeze blew, and the thirty-year-old sycamore trees rustled, and occasionally the sound of birds could be heard among the branches and leaves.

A squirrel was climbing up the straight tree trunk quickly, and I didn't know if it was going to steal a bird's nest.

"Squirrels don't eat ham."

Looking at Wei Ao who was seducing the squirrel with a sausage, Sui Yi curled his lips in dissatisfaction.

"If I had known that I was here to help Yuzu Technology, I wouldn't have come."

"Just wait and see. The whole world will be destroyed by AI. Today's artists are the templates for all industries in the future."

Sui Yi took a puff of IQOS, looking cynical.

Seeing that the squirrel ignored him, Wei Ao regretfully put the sausage into his mouth and shook his head while eating: "There is nothing I can do. Every technological advancement will lead to the demise of an industry, and will also bring about new industries."

"The wheel of time is rolling forward, and we can only try not to be the one being run over by it."

"Besides, Yuzi Technology is a Da Zhou company, which is better than those companies in Mai Country that lead the AI ​​trend. If Da Zhou wins, at least we can all have food to eat. If we lose, we will be consumables on the operating table of Devil's Island."

Wei Ao shook his head, swallowed the sausage in his mouth, and wiped his hands on his trousers.

When Wei Ao mentioned Devil's Island, Sui Yi suddenly stopped talking.

People who work in the art industry all have a bit of a Western aura, there’s nothing you can do about it.

Firstly, the values ​​that the West has exported through the cultural and artistic industries over the years will definitely affect practitioners in related industries.

Secondly, the difference in creative boundaries leads to serious perspective deviation among creators.

It’s not that the creative boundaries of the West are larger, but that the restrictions of the East and the West are different. The things that the West restricts are exactly what the East will never create.

For example, there are very few creators in the East who would be willing to create about how the Judeans greedily seized the German wealth and oppressed the Germans before the second season, right?

Few people are interested in how the followers of the true God stole the power of the Shinra Empire two thousand years ago and caused its collapse, right?
I guess no one has any idea about how evil secret societies like the Omniscience Society are?

Western creators are very interested in these themes and have a strong desire to create.

But can they create?

Even if you occasionally try to skirt the rules and make a suspenseful, thriller or 18+ film, you have to be careful not to have a heart attack and die in your sleep.

The Big Short, which won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, lasted for more than two hours but did not dare to explain the actual cause of the subprime mortgage crisis, and did not even dare to mention the name of the Glass-Steagall Act.

Eastern creators feel that there are no restrictions in the West in the areas they want to create, so they think there are really no restrictions. This is actually a perspective bias.

The same goes for Sui Yi.

In fact, a series of scandals in the past six months, including the Alcatraz incident, the BlackRock Newport incident, the Miami election incident, etc., have greatly impacted Sui Yi's three views.

But this does not mean that he can recognize Yuzu Technology. Even if he recognizes it in his heart, he will not recognize it on the surface.

After all, his entire industry had been uprooted.

"First, we worked on AI, then search, and a few days ago we made a short video. Now we are reaching out to the gaming industry."

"Maybe one day, there will be a Babagan takeaway, a Lugan taxi, and a Kumquat house hunting... It's nothing more than changing from a Qianxun family bucket to a citrus family bucket."

Sui Yi shook his head with an unhappy look on his face: "These capitalists are all of the same character. After they become big in an industry, they want to take over the entire industry. In the end, they just want to turn everyone into their cattle and horses."

"That's true..."

"Yocar! Here! Go around that way, that's the main entrance."

Wei Ao responded casually as he walked towards the center of the community. Halfway through his speech, he saw Yu Dan standing on the terrace of the community clubhouse, cigarette in his mouth, greeting him.

Yunqi Yuejing is different from other villa communities because it is built around a golf course. The community clubhouse is not at the entrance of the community, but on the peninsula of the artificial lake in the center of the community.

After walking around to the main entrance by the lake, Wei Ao was stunned as soon as he pushed the door open - there were already forty or fifty people in the hall, many of whom looked familiar to him.

Yu Dan, who had just been smoking on the terrace, was now introducing these people one by one to a young man who was taller and stronger than him.

Is this Fang Yu from Youzi Technology?
I didn't know what he looked like before, but why did he, who works in AI, enter the gaming industry? What kind of game did he want to make? It was just a demo, why did he need so many people to help? Was he really not afraid of leaks?

In addition to Dijia from Liancheng Studio and Liu Wei from Mile Games, in this hall you can also see Yang Qifeng from Xianyou, Deng Qiang from Longyou, Gao Sheng from Lingdong Network, and Bai Ziwen from Xiaowen Studio, who developed the Xianxia PC game...

Wei Ao turned his head and saw Bai Ziwen, smiling widely, holding the boy's hand and trying to get close to him.

The muscles on Wei Ao's face twitched. Bai Ziwen, this fellow, was talking about the integrity of game developers at a salon in Guangzhou last week, and how they would not bow down for a few pieces of silver. But now he is bowing and scraping to capital.

I bother!

The current gaming industry, especially independent games, is a small circle in Da Zhou. People see each other everywhere. Some Wei Ao even had quarrels in the industry group.

Because they are not mainstream, independent game development teams are a bit like a "gathering place for literary and artistic youth" in Dazhou.

On the one hand, whether they come from a big company like Wei Ao, or are direct entrepreneurs like Mile Games, most of them have a strong desire for self-expression and are more or less idealistic.

On the other hand, these teams lack financial support and have weak channels, making them very easy to be "bought out" or "copied" by large companies, and they suffer from serious marginalization anxiety.

Therefore, many of those who develop independent games in Da Zhou are very conflicted.

A second ago, he was still shouting the ideal of gaming, the ninth art, and that game developers should not be alienated by capital.

The next second I see a reliable investor wanting to invest, I immediately think – “You’re really good at judging people.”

The entire club hall was arranged like a discussion group. In addition to the name card, each seat also had a pad.

In the center of the venue, there are two 100-inch large-screen monitors placed back to back, and four large screens of the same size are placed around the venue. They are obviously used for demonstrations to ensure that everyone can see the screen.

How did Youzi Technology find so many teams? And they are all well-known players in the industry. Is it enough to do 3A?

The core team of Polish studio CD Projekt Red that made The Witcher 100 only had people.

Were these people all hired by Yu Dan?

Wei Ao was horrified and instantly had a new assessment of Yu Dan's status in the independent game industry of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Wei Ao met Yu Dan through Huang Xinwen of Pandora Games and Yang Qifeng of Xianyou Studio during the Great Zhou JOY more than two months ago.

He knew that the other party was a rich second-generation who had invested in many games, knew many domestic game producers, and had connections with the national husband's circle.

The most important thing is that Yu Dan has a good reputation in the industry. Yang Qifeng accepted the investment from Haojie Interactive Entertainment two years ago, and the two parties have cooperated very happily.

In today's gaming industry, the biggest difficulty in equity financing is not finding money or projects, but trust.

Capital and entrepreneurs are actually in a state of being afraid of both ends. Even if the project looks good, capital is afraid of encountering a scammer or a big liar who can only talk big.

Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, fear that capital will interfere with their own management after intervention, causing them to lose control of the project. They are even more afraid that capital is a protective acquisition with ulterior motives.

With an introduction from someone I trust, one who has money and one who can really get things done, investing is a natural thing.

Maybe it was because the previous communication process was too complicated. Although Wei Ao knew that Yu Dan’s background was not simple, he did not expect that the other party only said hello and so many producers put down their work and came to help.

"Yocar! Sui Yi!" Yu Dan's voice came to his ears, interrupting Wei Ao's thoughts.

"Xiao Fang, let me introduce you. This is the Wei Ao I mentioned. You can also call him by his online name Yocar. He is currently the top game planner and producer in China. Previously, he was the producer of Penguin's Qi Tiansheng."

"Sui Yi is the best artist in the country. I personally think his ability is no worse than that of Jason McDonald, the artist of God of War. Those scenes you saw that left the deepest impression on you were created by him."

"Their company is actually my largest investment so far, mainly because I am optimistic about their team."

"Yocar, Lao Sui, this is Mr. Fang from Yuzu Technology. There's no need to introduce the others."

Yu Dan introduced the two parties with a smile that Wei Ao and Sui Yi had never seen before.

When Wei Ao heard Yu Dan's evaluation, he straightened his chest unconsciously and stretched out his right hand: "Mr. Yu, thank you for the compliment. I don't deserve it. Mr. Fang, just call me Old Wei."

Sui Yi just hesitated a little and stretched out his right hand.

"Brother Wei, Brother Sui, you guys made Penguin's Qi Tian Sheng, right? You guys cheated me out of over 600 yuan with this game, and the main storyline hasn't been updated for almost two years. When will you fill the gap? Can I apply for a refund if it's a failure?"

Fang Yu smiled and shook hands with Wei Ao and Sui Yi.

Hearing Fang Yu's teasing, Wei Ao felt relieved, and Sui Yi's face also looked a little embarrassed.

They didn't know whether Fang Yu had really played Qi Tiansheng, but the fact that he said so meant that he at least knew them beforehand.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Fang. I didn't expect that I would be urged to update again. I'll ask my former colleague about the refund channel for you. But don't hold your hopes too high. There are so many eunuchs who didn't get a refund."

Wei Ao laughed, and everyone laughed too. The air was filled with joy.

"But you'll have to ask Daniel about filling the gap. We told him before that after we finish this mobile game, we want to launch a 3A stand-alone game about the traditional culture of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Journey to the West is the most likely theme, but unfortunately Daniel rejected it."

After saying this, Wei Ao felt a little ashamed.

Of course, he said this to test Fang Yu and see if Fang Yu was interested in the stand-alone 3A film. If he was interested, maybe he would have the funds for the stand-alone 3A film.

He was looking down on Bai Ziwen just now, but now he is doing the same thing as Bai Ziwen.

I glanced at Fang Yu's expression and it seemed like there was no change. He was still smiling.

Forget it, the other person doesn’t even respond to the conversation, so there’s probably no hope.

It was just a matter of trying. Wei Ao wouldn't be too disappointed if he didn't get a response, but a little disappointment was inevitable.

"Brother Wei, you have also done Shan Hai Jing themes before, right? Why didn't you do it later? Don't you like it?"

Wei Ao was just planning to adjust his mood and ask what kind of game Youzi Technology was going to make when he heard Fang Yu's question. He was stunned and thought for a second or two. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Sui Yi next to him speak.

"Classic of Mountains and Seas is not as well-known among the public as Journey to the West. Also, it requires too many resources, and the world view is difficult to present in the game."

"Over the years, among all the successful games, only Xuan-Yuan Sword borrowed some elements from Classic of Mountains and Seas. To be precise, Classic of Mountains and Seas is only suitable for the underlying settings, not for making a game on its own."

Sui Yi had a blank expression on his face, thinking that it was true, Fang Yu from Youzi Technology didn't understand games at all.

He is just a barbarian who relies on the resources of a big company to force his way into the gaming industry.

Seeing this, Yu Dan's eyes flickered: "Xiao Fang, everyone is here, let's start."

Fang Yu nodded with a smile: "Okay, Brother Dan, thank you for your hard work."

Yu Dan raised his eyebrows, raised his hands and clapped them in the air, and the originally messy hall soon became quiet.

"Thank you for your support and help. Please find your table and take your seat as soon as possible."

Yu Dan had a calm expression. After everyone was seated, he picked up a microphone and stood in the middle of the venue: "I know many of you are very busy. You are all my good friends, so I won't be too polite to you all."

"As everyone should know, it was Youguo Games that invited you all here. Youguo Games is a subsidiary of Youzi Technology. This time we mainly want you to help refine the content of a demo."

"In fact, I didn't mean to hide it from you. Everyone is familiar with the conventions in this industry. But Mr. Fang from Youzi Technology said that this project doesn't need to be kept secret. As long as everyone doesn't publicize it before the preview version is released, it will be fine."

Yu Dan paused for a moment, nodded to Fang Yu, looked around, and continued:
"Plus, time is really tight. We only have one week to complete the project. Although it is just some art design and detail planning work, the workload is still not small. So, in the end, Mr. Fang and I decided to invite everyone who can come."

At this point, there was a rustling sound in the hall, and many people were secretly shocked. One week? Only one week of work? No matter how much content the preview version has, this time is too short.

Yu Dan glanced at everyone calmly and said, "To thank you for your help, Youguo Games will pay you ten times the industry average for your work this week."

As soon as these words were spoken, the commotion at the scene became even louder.

Ten times the labor! Equivalent to the outsourcing price of seventy days?
Many people originally came just to maintain the relationship with Yu Dan. In order not to affect the normal work of the team as much as possible, they brought as few people as possible.

Now, after hearing the labor prices mentioned by Yu Dan, many people were beating their chests in their hearts, regretting that they brought too few people.

Most independent game studios do not just make their own games, they also occasionally take on some outsourced work. The price they quote for these outsourced jobs is usually the labor cost multiplied by three to five.

For example, for art, an artist needs three days to draw a high-quality official character portrait, and the market price is about ten thousand, but the actual amount received is only more than two thousand and less than three thousand, and the rest goes to the company.

There is no way around it. The cash flow pressure for independent game development is too great. The development cycle of a project may be one or two years or even longer, but the development costs are burning money every month.

As I was working on the game, I realized that my money was almost gone, so I had to take an outsourcing order immediately to support the team for two or three months, and then continue working on my own game.

Of course, most of the projects they take on are low-end projects such as reskin mobile games and web games.

Even if a big company's game comes to them, they usually just outsource art resources or some basic code work that is not core to the gameplay.

If calculated this way, the labor provided by Youzi Technology is at least enough for them to support the team for half a year!
For an independent game studio, half a year could mean the difference between restoring the Han Dynasty and collapse.

Seeing everyone's expressions, Yu Dan smiled.

"Daniel, what exactly do you need to do? What platform is the game on? What development tools will be used?"

A short man who looked about the same age as Wei Ao couldn't help but raise his hand. His accent sounded like he was from Ezhou.

Yu Dan took a look and recognized that the person asking the question was Zhu Yifei, the person in charge of Linglan Games.

It is not surprising that Zhu Yifei asked this question, because Linglan is one of the few people in the team who specializes in console game development.

Different platforms mean different technologies, and naturally different development tools. If the game produced by Youzi Technology this time is just an online game, then it is possible that Linglan and the other six or seven people have come here for nothing, so they naturally need to ask more clearly.

"Boss Hu, I am just a bridge between Youguo Games and everyone else. Mr. Fang will give you detailed answers to specific technical questions."

After saying that, Yu Dan handed the microphone to Fang Yu.

Fang Yu grinned: "I won't say any polite words, let's watch a promotional video first."

After saying that, Fang Yu pressed the remote control, and all six 100-inch display screens in the venue lit up.

A young man who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old appeared in a park, holding a mobile phone in his hand, and seemed to be taking pictures of the park.

Then, the camera turned and aimed at his mobile phone screen, and the boy's mobile phone screen instantly filled the entire screen.

The park is still the same park, but the scene above seems to be covered with a layer of clear light and shadow. In the light and shadow, clouds are entangled, ancient trees are towering, grass is lush, there are lightning and thunder in the sky, and the originally calm artificial lake is rising with huge waves, and a huge python seems to be moving through the waves and pounces on the screen viciously.

"Razer!" The name of the giant snake was clearly marked on the mobile phone screen.

Before the giant snake had a chance to pounce, a hand stretched out from the huge waves and grabbed the lightning snake. The giant python that looked to be at least five or six meters long was no different from a noodle in this hand.

Then the camera quickly zoomed up, and the original park turned into a small light spot on the map, and on the light spot was marked the name of a place, Lei Ze.

(End of this chapter)