Started as a comics editor

Chapter 315 Overload

"Hmm... I'm still thinking about it."

As Tang Yao answered Li Xue, she slowly stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the park's greenery outside, which was dazzling under the scorching sun... She fell into deep thought.

In between major releases, they release some smaller indie games.

This is indeed a solution.

However, the choice of game becomes the most important thing.

She needs a game that is relatively easy to produce—with controllable art resources, not too complex programming logic, and a short development cycle—but is also interesting and unique enough to grab players' attention and spread quickly.

Memories of her past life began to ripple like the surface of a lake warmed by the sun, and classic, small-scale indie game characters swirled and sifted through her mind.

The first thing that popped into her mind was Plants vs. Zombies.

This game can be considered a classic... The overall style is cartoonish with exaggerated character designs. The style is consistent and easy to draw. The scenes are fixed, so there is no need for complex 3D modeling. It can be perfectly presented in 2D, which can greatly save art resources and development time.

The core gameplay of this game is essentially tower defense. The rules are clear and easy to understand, and the program logic is relatively mature and stable, mainly involving path planning, unit collision, and resource management.

There are no requirements for complex physical simulations or real-time motion feedback.

As for the amount of content, although there are quite a few levels and plant types, they can be produced in stages. Once the core loop is established, the expansion of content becomes relatively formulaic.

But this simple game is also fun enough, and anyone can quickly understand how to play it.

At the same time, it is not lacking in depth. It requires strategy and thought to efficiently deploy resources, deal with different zombie combinations, and make reasonable use of limited sunlight and card slots.

Furthermore, the game's pacing is truly fantastic; the pressure of wave after wave of zombie attacks perfectly complements the relief of successfully repelling them! Collecting new plants and unlocking new levels also provides a continuous sense of accomplishment and a desire for exploration…

Most importantly, this game is suitable for men, women, young and old, with a very wide audience. It is very suitable for filling the gap for casual players and is also easy to generate discussion.

It is indeed a very good choice.

Ok……

However, Tang Yao was not in a hurry to make a decision.

Because then, an even more bizarre and stylized game emerged—the Rusty Lake series.

This series is quite famous, but it is not difficult to produce. It features a unique, slightly retro and melancholic hand-drawn style, with scenes mostly consisting of static illustrations or simple animations. Although it is rich in detail and has a strong atmosphere, it does not require complex 3D rendering or high-precision models.

It mainly relies on carefully designed scene composition and symbolic elements.

The gameplay is even simpler: it mainly involves clicking to solve puzzles, and the program logic focuses on item interaction, puzzle triggering, and state switching.

The core lies in the puzzle design itself, rather than the complex physics or combat system.

However, although this series of games is small in scale and simple in gameplay, it mainly conveys its message through environmental narrative, fragmented clues and surreal experiences. It does not have a large amount of text or complex dialogue trees, but focuses on atmosphere creation and metaphor.

But that doesn't mean the game isn't fun.

Anyone who has played this game will be drawn to its unique aesthetics and atmosphere. The Victorian-style rooms, the eerie deer head specimens, the distorted human bodies... the atmosphere that blends mystery, horror, absurdity, and melancholy is truly distinctive and captivating, instantly grabbing players who enjoy this unique narrative style.

Moreover, the puzzles in this game are really... how to describe them? They are incredibly brain-teasing and ingenious. The designs are often imaginative yet logically consistent, requiring players to think outside the box and discover unexpected connections between items. The sense of enlightenment after solving the puzzles is extremely strong.

The game revolves around themes of memory, reincarnation, family curses, and existentialism. Through bizarre events and symbolic symbols, it unfolds layer by layer, easily arousing players' strong curiosity and desire for interpretation, thus generating points of discussion.

At the same time, this series itself is composed of a large and mysterious world view made up of a number of short and concise works, which is very suitable for release as a series of works to continuously attract players.

Ok……

Finally, Tang Yao thought of another game, one that was more focused on emotional impact—"To the Moon".

This game is also very famous. It is essentially a pixel-style visual novel... It has very low requirements for art resources, and its core is the script and music.

Moreover, this game has almost no traditional gameplay; it mainly involves exploring the scene, triggering dialogues, and advancing the plot.

There are no difficulties in program implementation, and the technical threshold is undoubtedly the lowest among the three games.

However, this game has very little gameplay.

But the fact that this game was ultimately able to achieve what players with even a little gaming experience basically know in Tang Yao's past life speaks volumes.

The game's defining characteristic is its powerful emotional impact. The narrative is well-paced, with suspense building layer by layer, culminating in a profound and moving revelation of the truth.

Tang Yao still remembers how she felt when she finished the game—the game told a deeply moving story about life, regret, love, and promises through flashbacks and fragmented memories. Its emotional power really moved her to tears during the several-hour playthrough, leaving an extremely deep impression on her.

This is a parallel world.

However, Tang Yao believes that such emotional impact will also be effective for players in this world. Once a game with emotions and stories at its core is successful, it is extremely easy to create a word-of-mouth effect in the player community, with players spreading the word spontaneously and attracting a large number of non-traditional players.

Furthermore, a work driven purely by narrative and emotion can fill an important genre gap and showcase Avalon's versatility...

Ok……

Everything felt great.

Tang Yao's thoughts raced through three very different options.

The office fell silent, with only the sound of the air conditioner's indoor unit blowing air.

Plants vs. Zombies is a safe, universally applicable, and high-potential game, making it a sound choice for both commercial success and critical acclaim. However, it seems to lack a certain wow factor.

Rusty Lake is characterized by its extreme style, mind-bending puzzles, and unique atmosphere, which can quickly establish a strong brand identity and attract a specific core group, but it seems to be relatively niche.
"To the Moon" has a strong emotional impact, the lowest development risk, and is very likely to generate explosive word-of-mouth. It can showcase Avalon's narrative depth, but it has almost no gameplay and is more like an emotional experience.
Tang Yao frowned slightly, looking somewhat conflicted.

Li Xue stood quietly to the side, without disturbing her.

Sunlight streamed through the blinds, casting interplay of light and shadow on Tang Yao's focused profile.

Tang Yao's thoughts collided and tugged fiercely in three vastly different game worlds.

The sunlight outside the window seemed to have become scorching, highlighting the contours of her focused profile. Her delicate eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and her pink lips were unconsciously pursed slightly.

The cartoon sunflowers and pea shooters from Plants vs. Zombies swayed before her eyes; the eerie deer head specimen from Rusty Lake exuded a chilling aura; the music from To the Moon, carrying both regret and fulfillment, began to play… Three styles, three experiences, three possibilities raced through her mind as she analyzed the pros and cons and weighed the gains and losses.

"Well……"

Time passed second by second, and Tang Yao remained standing by the window, immersed in her own storm of thoughts, completely unaware of the outside world.

The sunlight grew increasingly intense, pouring down on her without any obstruction through the window.

A faint blush rose to her fair skin, and fine beads of sweat appeared on the tip of her delicate nose. Most strikingly, Li Xue even felt that... the air above Tang Yao's neat ponytail seemed to be slightly distorted due to the overload of mental activity, as if it were about to smoke...

My boss is about to explode...

"..."

Li Xue stared at her boss standing in the sunlight by the window, looking like his CPU was about to burn out, and her beautiful eyes widened slightly.

She quickly picked up the air conditioner remote on the table and turned the temperature down another level.

Then, she walked over and reached out her hand, which was slightly cool, and gently placed it on Tang Yao's slightly hot arm, pulling her back and away from the scorching spot of light.

"……Um?"

Tang Yao snapped out of her daze, turned her head somewhat blankly, her clear, beautiful eyes filled with surprise and glistening with moisture.

She uttered a meaningless syllable, clearly not fully recovered yet.

"..."

Li Xue reached out and gently stroked Tang Yao's flushed face with her fingertips, then wiped the fine sweat from her delicate nose. She said, both amused and exasperated, "What are you thinking about? Don't force yourself if you can't figure it out in a short time... And why do you have to think under the sun? Are you using physical heating to aid your thinking?"

Tang Yao was startled by Li Xue's slightly cool fingertips, and came back to her senses. Only then did she realize that her cheeks were burning and her head seemed to be buzzing.

She raised her fair arm, pulled Li Xue's hand down, and gently shook her head: "It seems like I'm overloaded..."

"Overload?"

"nothing."

Tang Yao shook her head again, causing her ponytail to sway gently. Her beautiful face was flushed, with a hint of dizziness from overthinking, making her look somewhat naive. "Let's rest for a while."

Seeing her like this, Li Xue pursed her glossy red lips and naturally used her cool fingertips to gently brush away a strand of hair damp with sweat from Tang Yao's forehead, then cupped her face in her hands.

Tang Yao felt the coolness of Li Xue's fingertips, but didn't mind her actions. Instead, she blinked her beautiful eyes and looked at Li Xue's close and concerned eyes. Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind.

She took a deep breath and suddenly said, "You help me choose, Miss Li."

"what?"

Li Xue was slightly taken aback, somewhat puzzled: "I'll help you choose? Choose what? A game theme?"

"Ah."

Tang Yao nodded gently: "I need to talk to you. Come here."

She pulled Li Xue back to her desk and sat her down, then began listing her favorite games on her delicate fingers: "I just thought of three new games. The first one is a tower defense game..."

Tang Yao briefly explained to Li Xue the three games she had just been struggling with.

As she recounted her story.

Li Xue: "..."

Li Xue was completely petrified.

She maintained a slightly forward-leaning posture, ready to listen attentively, but her whole being seemed to be paused. Her beautiful eyes blinked blankly for a moment, then her pupils dilated, and she stared at Tang Yao in disbelief.

Three games?

Three new games with completely different styles, gameplay, and target audiences?
Three games that sound quite complete, distinctive, and even well-developed?
I came up with all of these ideas in just over ten minutes while standing under the scorching sun!
Li Xue felt like she was about to overload...

Who am I, where am I, what am I doing?
As Li Xue pondered these questions, the temperature of her cheeks rose uncontrollably, her ears quickly flushed red, and her eyes began to become somewhat unfocused and dull.

Tang Yao was talking about the emotional impact of "To the Moon" when she keenly noticed Li Xue's change.

Her words trailed off, she tilted her head, and said in surprise, "How come you're overloaded too?"

Li Xue blinked her beautiful eyes, still staring at Tang Yao without moving, her expression complicated.

"Huh? No way? Please don't overload it! I'm waiting for you to help me choose. Quick, calm down, let the CPU cool down! I need you!"

Tang Yao sensed something was wrong. As she spoke, she subconsciously leaned forward and pressed her soft face against Li Xue's smooth, slightly hot face.

Li Xue: "..."

The moment their skin touched, Li Xue was slightly burned by the heat of Tang Yao's cheek. Tang Yao even rubbed her cheek against Li Xue's burning face in an attempt to cool it down physically.

A delicate body fragrance mixed with a faint shampoo scent instantly enveloped Li Xue.

The delicate, smooth texture of Tang Yao's skin reached my cheek.

boom--

All right.

Li Xue is really overwhelmed now.

……

……

The cicadas' chirping lengthens the summer days.

Time passed quietly.

The atmosphere in the core development area of ​​the "Rogue" project is tense yet orderly.

Kang Ming was intently staring at the complex character action tree logic diagram on the screen, his fingers rapidly tapping on the keyboard, occasionally whispering with the staff next to him about an optimization plan for a certain collision detection.

On the screen, a ronin samurai model is performing a smooth slashing motion, with flashes of light from his blade, but occasionally, at certain angles, there is a slight, barely noticeable clipping.

“Here, the weights of the skeletal binding need to be fine-tuned.”

Kang Ming pointed to a joint node on the screen: "There is also the force curve of the impact feedback. The attenuation of the third segment can be steeper to simulate the feeling of the force dissipating instantly after the blade is blocked."

The staff member nodded and quickly jotted down the key points.

"Fuck."

the other side.

Sun Gong was drawn by the conversation, moved his office chair over, and then saw the content on Kang Ming's screen, exclaiming, "That transition was so cool!"

"Awesome, right!"

Kang Ming was somewhat smug upon hearing this.

On the screen in front of him, the setting sun was like blood, and in the seaside duel arena, two warriors stood facing each other, the atmosphere tense and deadly.

Both the atmosphere and the fighting are already quite impressive.

"Brilliant."

Sun Gong nodded: "But it's not that you're awesome, it's that Tang Yao is awesome... She came up with the whole game concept and core gameplay, so what are you so smug about!"

"Holy crap! Could it be that I didn't do it?"

"It was you who did it, but we don't know who it was. You've been running around asking for advice every day with your project proposal... If this were a regular game company, you'd probably be fired the next day if you were harassing the boss like this."

"no way."

Kang Ming wasn't angry when he heard this. Instead, he smiled and said, "Compared to her, Tang Yao is really amazing. She's like someone who has actually played the game... Some details are better left unexplored and time-consuming. It's faster to ask her for help, and I can learn something that way too."

"...Okay, you're right. It's as if the final product of the entire game is already in her mind. We definitely still have a lot to learn..."

Sun Gong was taken aback upon hearing this, and then he also felt a bit emotional.

But soon, she remembered something, looked around, and suddenly changed the subject: "Hey, speaking of which, it seems like we haven't seen Tang Yao around much lately? Wasn't she quite interested in the progress of the new project before?"

Upon hearing this, Kang Ming's face showed a strange expression: "Oh, her...it seems she's been obsessed with starting new projects lately."

"A new story?"

Sun Gong was taken aback: "I haven't seen her in the MOBA section either?"

"It's not a MOBA."

Kang Ming shook his head, his tone somewhat incredulous: "I heard Manager Li mention that Tang Yao seems to... want to lead a small team on her own to quickly create a small-scale independent game during the gap between the two giants, MOBA and 'Vagabond,' to fill the gap for the AG platform."

"Solo? Small team? Indie game?"

Sun Gong's eyes widened, his mouth slightly agape, as if he had heard something utterly unbelievable: "What do you mean?"

"I don't know the specifics, but she seemed afraid of distracting us, so she didn't ask the veteran employees, but instead asked a group of new staff to help with the technical issues."

Kang Ming shrugged: "Anyway, Manager Li's expression at the time... well, it was quite subtle. It seemed like Tang Yao had come up with several completely different ideas in a short period of time, and then asked Manager Li to help her choose one."

"Fuck..."

Sun Gong was completely stunned, his brain processing this explosive information.

With such a busy schedule, sandwiched between two major projects, she quickly developed an indie game? And even came up with several ideas for Li Xue to choose from? This is...

He was stunned for a few seconds, and finally could only squeeze out a heartfelt exclamation from deep in his throat, filled with utmost admiration and a hint of bewilderment at not understanding the world of such a big shot: "...Awesome!"

"And I heard it's almost finished."

"???...Awesome!"

(End of this chapter)