Started as a comics editor

Chapter 321 High Yield
Li Xue's voice completely pulled Tang Yao back to reality from her brief reverie of slacking off.

She looked at the mountain of documents on the table, a symbol of responsibility and busyness, and the prominent "To the Moon" release plan on top, and sighed softly.

After a while.

She sat up straight as if resigned to her fate, picked up the "To the Moon" project proposal, and while flipping through it, forced herself to stay awake and said, "...The summer festival is going well, and Plants vs. Zombies has also made a good start, so there's no need to rush the release of the next game."

"In addition, To the Moon is positioned completely differently from Plants vs. Zombies. Its core is an emotionally driven narrative, so the promotional approach needs to be slightly changed to avoid making players think it's another game similar to the latter."

While this approach might temporarily boost sales, it's definitely more harmful than beneficial in the long run. It's too easy to get criticized, so promotional materials need to be carefully reviewed. However... if things are explained clearly and there's no misleading marketing, it could also help casual players attracted by Plants vs. Zombies to experience the power of the story, which would be a good thing..."

"Okay, got it."

Li Xue listened quietly from the side, nodding gently: "Then the scheduling..."

"There's no rush for now. The success of the Summer Game Festival has greatly filled the gap between Left 4 Dead and our next big release."

Tang Yao closed the plan and gently shook her head: "The main purpose of our three new games this time is to fill the gap. We can't put the cart before the horse... It seems that Plants vs. Zombies plus the Summer Game Festival is enough to fill the gap."

Let the other two games continue to serve their original purpose; there's no rush. I'll discuss the specifics after I've learned more about the other two "big projects."

After all, for an average game company of our size, releasing one successful new title a year is already quite an achievement…

Say it.

Tang Yao let out a long sigh of relief, then slowly stood up.

Li Xue paused slightly, then looked at Tang Yao with some surprise: "Are you going to go take a look now?"

"To be honest, I don't want to."

Upon hearing this, Tang Yao immediately turned around without hesitation, then leaned forward and slumped against Li Xue, gently nuzzling her: "I want to slack off, Miss Li."

Li Xue was stunned by Tang Yao's sudden attack and took a small step back, but she quickly regained her balance, gently put her arm around Tang Yao's slender waist, and steadily supported her.

then.

Li Xue's slender fingers unconsciously curled and tightened, and she subconsciously said, "Then I won't go..."

"..."

Tang Yao kept her head down, her voice muffled: "Miss Li, you should also be doing part-time work as my secretary, right? Does that sound like something a professional secretary should say?"

Li Xue blushed slightly: "This is what I said from a friend's point of view... Actually, resting for a day or two is fine."

"……forget it."

Tang Yao sighed: "To be honest, considering the time I spent working on those three new games, I haven't been to the site to keep track of the project for far too long... It's really hard to know their current progress just by relying on the information. I have to go and take a look. Besides, I have to work here too, so I might as well go out and get back into the swing of things."

So, Ms. Li, instead of condoning your boss's laxity from a friend's perspective, why not try a different approach?

"What method...?"

"wait……"

Tang Yao suddenly reached out and put her arm around Li Xue's waist, turned her around lightly while holding her, and then pushed her back a few steps.

Pulled back a few steps by the sudden force, Li Xue stopped when her back gently touched the edge of the cold table.

"so."

Tang Yao hugged the soft, fragrant older sister and rubbed against her again.

A few rays of sunlight slanted through the gaps in the blinds, casting long shadows of the two people embracing...

……

"Let's go, we'll talk again at lunch."

The shadows that had been nestled together on the floor disappeared.

Tang Yao stood at the door, gently patted her slightly flushed cheeks, took a deep breath, and then opened the office door.

Standing to the side, Li Xue watched her boss and friend quickly switch between modes and couldn't help but smile gently.

She watched Tang Yao leave, feeling somewhat elated.

Because she could sense Tang Yao's changes... positive changes.

...It's getting closer and closer.

This is true after the hot spring trip, and it's also true after we went shopping together yesterday.

Think of this.

Li Xue couldn't help but smile softly again, and her steps became lighter as she left.

the other side.

After leaving the office, Tang Yao completely cheered up. She was exhausted in front of Li Xue and could do anything, but she still needed to maintain some authority in public... Although she didn't usually do much, she was, after all, the highest decision-maker in the company.

this time.

Avalon is currently investing the most resources! The two behemoths carrying higher expectations—the MOBA project codenamed Arena and the sword-fighting action-adventure game codenamed Rogue—have never stopped.

Even when Tang Yao was working on Plants vs. Zombies and two other new games.

She would still make time to help solve the problems encountered by the two project teams.

However, she herself hasn't appeared at the project site for some time.

This time... marks the first time since those three smaller-scale games came to an end.

Her first stop was the MOBA project team.

Stepping into the MOBA project team area, one is immediately struck by an atmosphere completely different from that of project teams composed of novice staff, such as those working on Plants vs. Zombies.

It's bigger, noisier, and more... volatile here.

In the huge open-plan office area, dozens of screens are filled with a dazzling array of production software, and the atmosphere is quite lively.

The programmers frowned, their fingers flying across the keyboard as they adjusted various parameters.

The planners gathered around the whiteboard, arguing heatedly about the balance of a certain hero's skill.

The artists meticulously refined the character models and scene textures that were constantly being iterated on the screen.

"President Tang!"

"President Tang is here!"

Tang Yao's arrival was quite eye-catching, and she was immediately spotted. Many people looked up and greeted her.

Project leader Yu Lili also quickly came up to greet him. This capable man with a technical background had dark circles under his eyes from staying up all night, but his spirits were unusually high: "President Tang! You've come at the right time! We just finished integrating the latest underlying framework, and now the game... is barely playable!"

"Can we play now?"

Tang Yao's eyes lit up upon hearing this: "How severe?"

"This is not the previous demo, but a genuine new game."

Yu Lili knew what Tang Yao meant by "level of development," and excitedly rubbed her hands together: "The basic framework is in place—map, heroes, skill logic, minions, turrets… it's running smoothly for the first time! We've organized a small-scale internal test, and although there are tons of bugs and the balance is terrible, it's… a million times better than the previous demo!"

"Let's go take a look!"

Tang Yao became even more interested upon hearing this.

Yu Lili nodded immediately, clearly sharing the same thought.

soon.

Tang Yao was taken to a testing room where the core members of the project team were sitting in front of several computers, conducting a 5V5 internal test.

The screen display is vastly different from the previous test demo.

The main upgrade is to the entire art resources.

Compared to that rough demo, the game at this point is completely in line with the times.

So when Tang Yao saw the units representing heroes moving, releasing skills, attacking minions, and pushing towers on the screen, and saw both sides pulling, probing, and breaking out in small-scale team fights in the canyon terrain...

I was even a little dazed.

This feeling is something I couldn't get from watching them play the demo.

"Over here! Focus fire on that mage!"

"Where's the jungler? Come gank top!"

"The bot lane keeps calling me to go! How am I supposed to go top?"

"Damn! This damage isn't right! I was at full health and I got one-shotted?"

"Treatment! Give me oral treatment!"

The testing room was filled with the excited shouts of the testers.

Despite the frequent bugs and terrible balance, the core charm of MOBAs—strategic gameplay, teamwork, resource competition, and the instant feedback and thrill of kills and tower pushes—has clearly already won over the developers.

Tang Yao stood quietly at the back and watched the entire chaotic but exciting test match.

Then Tang Yao tried it too.

She sat down, picked up the mouse, and selected a hero whose role was warrior.

She is very familiar with a certain hero.

Then, I entered that familiar canyon map, controlling my character to last-hit minions, lane, and try out skills...

to be frank.

The game has many problems.

Even with all sorts of problems.

When Tang Yao skillfully pressed A and then used a combo to take down her opponent, she couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

The staff member who was talking to her was also stunned for a moment, and suddenly turned his head to look at Tang Yao.

His face was practically screaming "Holy crap!"

His expression was as if he had seen a ghost.

He never expected to be defeated so easily... Before, it was just a bunch of noobs fighting each other!!
Yu Lili and the other staff members who came along weren't much better off; they all stared wide-eyed.

It's only been a few minutes!

Besides, Tang Yao had never played the official version of the game before!

How can you be so skilled?!
Could it be... that our boss is a gaming genius?!
However, Tang Yao was stunned after killing the person.

This gave the other side an opportunity to fight back.

"How are you feeling...Mr. Tang?"

Yu Lili noticed that Tang Yao was not moving and asked her a question with some nervousness. Tang Yao suddenly came back to her senses, took a deep breath, and immediately suppressed the strange tremor in her heart caused by the overly familiar operation.

She gently shook her head, then released the mouse, stood up, looked around at the project team members who were filled with anticipation and shock, and smiled, saying directly, "It's great! Although it's still a 'bare shell' right now, with huge room for improvement in special effects and animation smoothness, and many visible bugs... but! The game is really great!"

The tense atmosphere caused by Tang Yao's amazing skills instantly relaxed, replaced by an encouraging excitement!
Everyone straightened their backs, their eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

Next.

Tang Yao learned about the game's progress, chatted briefly with the project team about the upcoming plans, and privately confirmed the approximate completion time of the game with Yu Lili.

And when she left the project team.

It was almost two hours later.

Because of a small surprise brought by the MOBA project team.

Tang Yao completely abandoned the idea of ​​slacking off and went straight to the "Wanderer" project team.

The atmosphere here is noticeably calmer, but it's not that much different.

The main difference lies in 'style'.

Unlike MOBA project teams.

The screens here display scenes that evoke a strong sense of Eastern aesthetics.

For example, there are mountains covered with lush vegetation, layer upon layer of peaks, ancient wooden buildings that appear and disappear in the thin mist, courtyards that exude loneliness and desolation, and courtyards where maple leaves fall...

The modelers are no longer adjusting the heroes, but rather the textures of the character's armor and the sheen of their weapons.

Tang Yao had just arrived when she ran into Kang Ming and Shi Wanglin.

The two walked side by side, grumbling and cursing, seemingly about to leave.

He saw Tang Yao walking over.

Both of them were taken aback for a moment, then immediately put aside their prejudices and greeted each other: "Hey... Tang Yao!"

"what happened?"

Tang Yao blinked her beautiful eyes and asked a question with some curiosity.

"No, we were discussing some clothing-related matters."

Kang Ming smiled somewhat embarrassedly: "He insisted that some armor was out of date and couldn't appear in the game, but I felt that since they were all fictional, adding them wouldn't hurt..."

Shi Wanglin immediately glared and said, "It shouldn't have happened in the first place!"

"I've already changed my characteristics!"

"But it's obvious at a glance! How could you even think of that! Armor from the 3rd century BC... Putting bluestone armor on there is completely out of place! There are always knowledgeable players out there! It will ruin the immersion!!"

"I incorporated other elements! Most players won't even notice! The key is visual impact!! Don't you think that armor is cool!?"

"Cool! But visual impact must be built on a reasonable foundation! Unless you make further changes and incorporate more armor elements that fit the historical context!"

"I do not!"

"..."

The two started swearing again.

Tang Yao was used to it; this was the norm, and many things were decided through arguments. So she simply raised her fair hand and made a stop gesture: "Stop, I didn't come here to listen to you argue about the armor."

Kang Ming and Shi Wanglin snapped out of their daze and stopped talking, looking slightly embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... please don't misunderstand."

Kang Ming coughed lightly and scratched his head sheepishly: "The project is actually progressing very quickly. We were just arguing about some minor details. By the way, we just completed an important iteration verification of the combat system, and the results... I think they're fantastic! Do you want to take a look?"

"of course."

Tang Yao nodded gently; this was precisely the purpose of her trip.

Kang Ming immediately led Tang Yao to his workstation.

His computer screen was still showing a test scene—at dusk, a vast expanse of golden reeds swayed in the wind, forming spectacular waves, with silhouettes of rolling mountains in the distance, scattered ancient stone mounds nearby, the rustling of the wind through the grass, and the faint chirping of birds in the distance, creating an ethereal and slightly melancholic ambient soundscape.

A ronin dressed in dark blue stood there, his hand on his sword, his clothes swaying in sync with the waves of grass.

"This is one of our test scenarios, focusing on the guidance of wind and nature, as well as some combat scenarios."

Kang Ming gave an explanation, then sat down and began to demonstrate to Tang Yao.

A strong gust of wind blew by, and the waves of grass on the screen clearly bent over, subtly guiding the players.

The wind is the guide.

Kang Ming followed the wind and soon encountered a stronghold, which led to the division into two gameplay styles.

They either sneak in or storm in through the main entrance and challenge the enemy directly.

Kang Ming chose the latter.

Standoff mode activated.

As Kang Ming maneuvers his character forward, the leading enemy slowly approaches. The camera zooms in, focusing on the conflict between friend and foe.

In a shot reminiscent of an old movie, the enemy's body is slightly lowered, his hand resting on the hilt of his knife.

Players must precisely press the attack button the instant the enemy draws their sword to attack! If successful, a spectacular instant kill will be triggered. In a flash, the character and the enemy pass each other, the enemy stands frozen, and then collapses to the ground.

If they fail, the character will suffer a severe blow.

The entire process was tense, solemn, and full of ritual.

"..."

Tang Yao watched the demonstration quietly, and to be honest... she was very satisfied.

Although the background has been drastically altered.

But the overall impression of the demonstration was still great. The color tone of the visuals was sometimes ancient and gloomy, and sometimes beautiful and bright. The action was realistic and sharp, and the sound effects were extremely sophisticated.

Regardless of the moment when the standoff is successfully completed and the enemy is killed.

Both the atmosphere created by the protagonist's immersion in the environment are excellent.

There is a sense of desolation and magnificence in it, as if one is fighting a powerful enemy alone and dancing with the heavens and earth.

"The core combat framework and mobile interaction system are now complete."

After Kang Ming finished his demonstration, he explained, "However, the remaining parts—the construction, filling, and polishing of the world, the advanced AI behavior tree, the complete equipment system, and the in-depth main and side story narrative performance—will still require some time."

Tang Yao nodded slowly, and then asked a few more questions that interested her.

By the time she came out of the "Vagabond" project team, it was already lunchtime.

But this time.

Tang Yao wasn't very hungry and had no appetite for food. Instead, she started calculating the completion time for the two games.

...approximate time.

It's impossible to be accurate.

How could such a project possibly have an accurate timeline? Even if Tang Yao could prevent the project team from taking detours and help them find shortcuts to the final product every time.

There are still too many uncertainties.

However... the progress of the two major projects is indeed remarkably fast.

Ok……

Therefore, before the MOBA project and the two true masterpieces, "Rogue," are completed, it's time to release a distinctive work like "To the Moon" that can solidify the brand image and fill the gap!

Tang Yao made up her mind and immediately walked quickly back to her office.

open the door.

The afternoon sun shone through the blinds, casting long shadows on the polished floor.

Li Xue was sitting in her seat, her head down, organizing documents, the sunlight outlining the soft lines of her profile.

"I'm home?"

Hearing this, Li Xue looked up and said gently, "I was just about to call you for dinner. How about those two projects?"

Tang Yao walked behind her desk, picked up her water glass, took a sip, and said directly, "It's better than I expected."

Li Xue nodded: "Then..."

"Let's release 'To the Moon' as planned!"

……

It turns out.

Within Avalon, after Tang Yao decided to push forward with a certain matter.

The pace of progress is quite fast.

Friday.

The movie "To the Moon" was officially announced.

At the same time, Avalon's marketing and promotional efforts were officially launched.

When Avalon's official account, AG platform, simultaneously released the official release date, price, and a brand-new trailer featuring a heartwarming and melancholic atmosphere for "To the Moon," players who were just enthusiastically discussing "Plants vs. Zombies" and the summer festival event were stunned once again.

I was completely baffled.

What are you doing?

So prolific, like a sow!
Avalon has released another new game?!
【? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 】

Wait, am I seeing things? To the Moon? A new game?! Posting it now???

[Avalon? Are you guys the perpetual motion machine of the gaming world?! Plants vs. Zombies has only been out for a short time! The hype hasn't even died down yet!]

[Left 4 Dead → Plants vs. Zombies → To the Moon? Was there a long gap in between? Do the people at their company live on the company premises?]

Holy crap! This trailer... the style has completely changed! It's from a whole different dimension than Plants vs. Zombies...

[The synopsis says it's a story about memories and promises? Focusing on the plot? Avalon's style is really wildly diverse!]

[...This efficiency is truly terrifying!]

[So prolific, like a sow!]

【…】

(End of this chapter)