Started as a comics editor

Chapter 251 Future
EasyTravel Headquarters, Conference Room.

Jin Feng slammed a stack of project reports onto the table, scattering the papers everywhere. The producers lowered their heads, not daring to breathe.

"It's 2023 already, and you're still making 2D side-scrolling games?"

He pointed to the documents on the table and sneered, "This kind of game would have been considered outdated even ten years ago! Let alone in today's market! If I hadn't come, I wouldn't have known!"

Jin Feng slammed his fist on the table, each slam feeling like a blow to the nerves of everyone present. His voice suddenly rose, "You guys are constantly 'initiating projects repeatedly – ​​developing – losing money – initiating projects again'! Is the company your testing ground?!"

The meeting room was completely silent; even breathing became extremely cautious.

One of the producers, Wang Li, forced himself to speak: "Mr. Jin, we actually believe that 2D games still have opportunities in niche markets..."

"Opportunity?" Jin Feng turned his head sharply, his eyes gleaming. "Look at the successful games on the market right now! Look at Avalon! Look at the mobile game market now! That's the way to go! PC games are being swept into the trash heap! Not to mention 2D games? Those are for nostalgic old-timers! And you're talking to me about opportunities?"

then.

He grabbed a report and slammed it in front of Wang Li: "Take a look! How much of the PC game projects the company invested in last year were profitable!"

Wang Li looked down at the report, his face growing increasingly grim, and he hesitated to speak.

This was all a failure.

What about those who succeeded?

Jin Feng coldly swept his gaze across the room: "Starting today, all 2D projects are to be cut. Except for three key PC games, all other PC games are to be cut as well! Resources will be concentrated on mobile games."

He paused, his tone somber: "As for those who are still fantasizing about a '2D revival'..."

"Either transfer to another position or get out."

Hear this.

The air in the conference room at Egame's headquarters seemed to freeze. All the producers looked at each other, hesitant to speak.

The larger the organization.

The more complex the internal factional struggles, the more rigid the internal ecosystem becomes over time.

Most of the senior executives at Eyou present had been with the company since the rise of online games, meaning they were all veterans who had been there for over ten years.

Rigid thinking.

They are still stuck in the early days when they could make a lot of money by simply making a PC game.

And at that time, they were making 2D games...

Are 2D online games still profitable now?

Actually, we still made a profit.

Although Jin Feng just said that the PC game projects they invested in didn't generate much profit.

However, Egame is a large and successful company that releases many games every year. Although most of them are rejected during the closed beta stage, those games that pass the closed beta can bring good revenue.

just.

Compared to its current popularity... or more accurately, compared to the revenue generated by Avalon mobile game.

There's really no comparison.

The person in charge of this EasyPlay company has a similar mentality to Shen Lun; this is even more painful than killing him!

and so.

He immediately ousted the original CEO of EasyGames and brought in his own family member, Jin Feng, to aggressively promote mobile games.

The solution is simple: maintain the core strengths of EasyGame's internal MMORPGs and then elevate mobile games to a strategic level.

As for other games...

cut!
But for the producers under its umbrella, this was a devastating blow.

No.

We can't!
Those mobile games! We just don't understand what's so fun about them!

You're forcing us to do it...

This is why the producers present are looking at each other with reluctance.

Jin Feng glanced around at the various expressions on the faces of the people in the conference room, a cold smile appearing on his lips.

He had long seen through these people's intentions—some wanted to protect their own projects, while others simply opposed his decisions.

Those old bastards.

It's time for a cleanup.

It's not just them!
All the projects left by the previous administration must be cut! And those people must be fired!
Jin Feng sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm, saying only, "I know you're all veterans who've been here for over ten years, and I know what you're thinking! Do you think I'm too arbitrary? Do you believe there's still a market for 2D games?"

Let me tell you straight! You're talking nonsense! Look at Avalon! It's because of the conservatism and stubbornness of some of you that we missed out on the goldmine of mobile games!
I absolutely will not allow this to happen again!

"Times have changed, everyone."

Jin Feng's voice suddenly softened, but carried an even stronger sense of oppression: "It's not that we want to abandon PC games, it's that the players have abandoned us."

He pointed out the window: "Look at Avalon. I heard the person in charge is a young woman in her early twenties, but she understands the market better than you 'veterans'!"

"So let's start today!"

Jin Feng turned around, his gaze sharp as a knife: "All project teams must complete the transformation to mobile games. I want to see results within three months."

He paused, then added, "Those who don't want to can go to the HR department to resign now."

The conference room was completely silent, except for the hum of the air conditioner.

Wang Li couldn't help but interject, "But Mr. Jin, isn't this a bit too much?"

"Too what? Too rushed?" Jin Feng interrupted coldly. "Avalon can create a hit game in six months, can't we at EasyGame do the same?"

The others fell silent.

obviously.

A complete strategic shift for the company is now inevitable.

Jin Feng stood up, straightened his suit cuffs, and said firmly, "Remember, the era of 2D games is long gone, the era of PC games is coming to an end, mobile games are the future! Avalon is a prime example! From now on, I only want to see results in mobile games!!!"

"..."

……

Eyou is neither the first nor the last game company to switch gears.

Of course, not all game companies chose mobile games, and not all game companies were so competitive.

Some game companies still opted for PC games, only venturing into mobile games on a small scale.

Some simply go all in.

Every company and every leader has their own vision of the future.

Avalon's mobile game can be said to have stirred up the entire gaming market.

But after stirring up the market, Avalon seemed to remain uninvolved.

There was no more messy stuff.

Instead, it quieted down.

This is related to the fact that the leader went on vacation for a while, but it is also related to Avalon's overall strategic adjustment...

Avalon... is no longer making mobile games!

The three games currently in development at Avalon are not mobile games.

I wonder what Jin Feng, who confidently declared, "The era of 2D games is long over, the era of PC games is also over, and mobile games are the future, as Avalon has already shown us," will think when he sees the game that Avalon has released.

but.

Their forced internal strategic shift did indeed do Avalon a big favor.

Because Avalon will lose a significant number of direct competitors.

of course.

Tang Yao is unaware of this matter at present.

After chatting with Yu Lili about "Dungeon & Fighter" for a while, she turned and left for the next project team. However, she couldn't find where Si Jinliang had gone, so she could only go to the newly established studio that was responsible for single-player game development and overseas distribution.

They're staying in Avalon for now because it's not a large operation and they're not on track yet; moving out would be too early.

The current head of the studio is Li Xue, and the person in charge of specific projects is Li Zhongzhi, a very young man.

When Tang Yao heard Li Xue say that the reason she chose him was because of his love for FPS games... it left a deep impression on her.

As soon as Tang Yao arrived, she gained a clear understanding of his passion for FPS games.

The project team of more than ten people set up three whiteboards, which were filled with firearm data and simple diagrams.

Combat Rifle

Gun Name: FN SCAR-L
Single shot power: 44
Collateral damage: 0/1/4/21 (corresponding to Easy/Normal/Advanced/Expert difficulty levels)

Range adjustment value: 0.97 (When this value = 1, it means that the weapon's power will not decrease as the range increases).
Magazine capacity (ammunition load): 60 (360)

Rate of fire: 9 rounds per second
Reload time: 3.35 seconds

firearms……

"..."

Tang Yao glanced at the things on the whiteboard and thought that these people probably weren't interested in FPS games. They were probably data enthusiasts and gun enthusiasts.

She didn't provide these figures because she herself wasn't very familiar with this area.

But it's clear that Li Zhongzhi understands this very well.

And this moment.

He was sitting at his workstation, writing and drawing something while muttering to himself, "Genius! Genius! High-quality, coherent, and richly detailed story chapters! Ingenious and imaginative presentation! Unique infected with distinct abilities and appearances! I can already imagine how fun this online game will be!"

Tang Yao came up behind him.

He didn't even notice.

It wasn't until a staff member next to him gently shook him that he stopped.

Li Zhongzhi finally came to his senses, turned around and saw Tang Yao, his eyes lighting up.

then.

He jumped to his feet, nearly knocking over his chair, clutching a notebook filled with data, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism: "Boss!!"

Tang Yao was startled, her shoulders hunched slightly, and she took a half step back.

"..."

Li Zhongzhi came to his senses and felt somewhat embarrassed.

Tang Yao also realized that her half-step back was a bit hurtful, so she coughed and asked, "...How is your project progressing?"

"Great! We completely understand what kind of game you want to make, boss!"

Upon hearing about the game, Li Zhongzhi immediately put aside any other thoughts: "I have already optimized the weapon system three times."

He spoke rapidly, pointing to the whiteboard: "The ballistics, recoil, and reload speed of all the guns have been adjusted according to the data of real weapons, but for the sake of gameplay, I have appropriately reduced the difficulty of getting started!"

Tang Yao blinked: "What about the game?"

"The game is also in preparation! However, this is our first time making such a 'masterpiece,' so we don't have much experience and can only learn and explore as we go..."

Hear this.

Li Zhongzhi was somewhat embarrassed and explained, "Besides, we're not too familiar with the engine, but we've made some progress so far."

Say it.

He sat down and briefly demonstrated the progress to Tang Yao.

In a simple map.

A figure wielding a gun is moving back and forth, firing, jumping, and engaging in close combat.

The movements are very smooth from a third-person perspective.

even.

They even made a zombie model, and the hit feedback looked pretty realistic.

"That's about it."

Li Zhongzhi turned back to Tang Yao and said, "Of course, this is just an experimental product; the actual game version won't be that simple..."

"I see."

Tang Yao breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at the group of young staff members.

I have to say, it's really impressive.

Avalon has never made such a large-scale 3D game before.

But they already had an idea after Tang Yao had only been away on her trip for a short time.

The growth rate is really too fast.

All I can say is that a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger.

Tang Yao sighed, then asked, "Did you encounter any problems?"

"There really is..."

Li Zhongzhi hesitated for a moment: "We don't have enough manpower... Also, we plan to use motion capture to improve development efficiency. Boss, I don't know if you understand motion capture technology. This can effectively reduce the time and cost of manually creating animations, especially the twisting movements of the zombies in the game."

We can fully utilize motion capture, by pre-recording motion data and using this data during game runtime, to complete animation production faster and shorten the development cycle.

However, we are not very clear about the situation of motion capture studios in China..."

"I understand."

Upon hearing this, Tang Yao fell into deep thought. After a while, she said, "There's nothing I can do about the manpower issue for now. I can only try my best to help you solve it. You know the situation in Avalon... As for motion capture, I'll have someone contact someone to help you."

"it is good!"

Li Zhongzhi breathed a sigh of relief and immediately nodded.

There's really no other way to manage it with manpower.

Avalon is too busy.

It would be great if Tang Yao could help solve the motion capture problem.

Next.

Tang Yao chatted with him for a while longer.

Although Tang Yao couldn't offer much technical assistance.

But she had played the official Left 4 Dead game, so answering most of Li Zhongzhi's questions shouldn't be a problem.

After all, her existence is to prevent creators from taking detours.

And she did indeed do her job very well.

After talking with Tang Yao, many of Li Zhongzhi's doubts suddenly became clear, and with the help of the project proposal... the image of the game gradually took shape in his mind.

He became more and more excited as they talked, and in the end he wished that Tang Yao could stay in the Left 4 Dead project team forever.

of course.

This is impossible.

Tang Yao was leaving, but before she did, she added, "If possible, I hope you can add mod support to the game."

Li Zhongzhi was taken aback: "Mod?"

"Yes, but that's not the most important thing right now. Just keep it in mind for now."

"it is good."

Li Zhongzhi was somewhat puzzled.

Of course he knew what Mod meant.

But he didn't expect Tang Yao to specifically mention it... What was she trying to do?

Unfortunately, Tang Yao left.

By the time he came to his senses, Tang Yao was already far away.

He could only think of asking again next time.

And the other side.

Tang Yao then went to the overseas version distribution team of Hearthstone, asked them a few questions, and after understanding the situation, she returned to her own position.

I ran a lap.

Apart from not seeing Si Jinliang.

Tang Yao has a general understanding of the current status of Avalon's projects.

"Sure enough, they're quite busy."

Tang Yao sat down in the chair, organized her thoughts for a moment, and then got to work.

……

Avalon certainly has a lot going on.

Tang Yao's post-holiday blues were automatically cured the day after she went back to work.

no way.

It has to be cured.

There were too many things that needed her to handle.

However, she can solve most problems... the only problem is the lack of staff.

A little troublesome.

But there is no rush for this.

Tang Yao plans to first resolve the issues related to the motion capture studio and the overseas release of Hearthstone.

but.

She had just sat down and was about to look for Li Xue to ask her to learn about motion capture studios in China.

Li Xue came to her side and brought some unexpected news: "Tang Yao, Yiyou is laying off employees."

Layoffs?

Upon hearing this news, Tang Yao asked with some surprise, "Why? And what does this have to do with us?"

(End of this chapter)