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Chapter 3020299 [The Boss Who Takes Kickbacks]

Chen Guiliang glanced at the opinion leaders who were attacking "Future Era".

It's okay if you don't look; there are quite a few familiar faces.

Moreover, these guys don't openly criticize, nor do they mention Chen Guiliang or the game's name; their articles are written in a sarcastic and unfriendly manner.

For example, the essay by Wuyue Sanren:
"Around the Spring Festival, another 'conscientious domestic' game was released. I won't mention the name, but many netizens are discussing it. They even said that it took one year and eight months of meticulous work to only create a beginner's village. I have a friend who was also a beta tester, and when I visited him during the Spring Festival, I was truly amazed by this game..."

"The graphics are quite refined. The opening animation is also very emotional. Is this imitating Blizzard? All the classes, skills, dungeons, fatigue points, and resurrection coins look familiar. Hey, isn't this the Korean game 'DNF'?"

"Many friends in China may not have heard of 'DNF'. This game was developed by a small South Korean company. They focused on creating original content and didn't even have enough money for marketing. They managed to become one of the top three most popular games in South Korean internet cafes through word of mouth. Hey, they were still negotiating with the Chinese distributor, and they got copied by Chinese people before they knew it!"

“We have a good term now, called ‘micro-innovation.’ Change the game’s storyline, redo the game’s graphics, and it becomes an independently developed, domestically produced masterpiece… We can’t even copy it well. In one year and eight months, we only managed to copy the beginner’s village map.”

"Think about Blizzard Entertainment. The design of a dungeon in World of Warcraft sparked countless discussions and studies worldwide. That's true innovation, true meticulous craftsmanship. And look at our neighboring Eastern country, with its long-standing tradition of craftsmanship, and the essence of their classic side-scrolling games..."

"This makes me reflect: Why is it so difficult for truly original works to emerge on this ancient land of ours? Is it because the soil is not fertile enough? Or is it because the atmosphere of seeking quick success and instant benefits is too prevalent? Or is it because we inherently lack a sense of reverence for originality? The practice of 'borrowing' is presented in a grand manner, cloaked in the glamorous guise of minor innovation, and can even win praise from a wide range of netizens..."

"Won't those explorers who are quietly working in the shadows, trying to blaze new trails, feel disheartened? When these clever, incremental innovations flood the Chinese online game market, are we getting closer or further away from becoming a true gaming powerhouse?"

After reading the article, Chen Guiliang couldn't help but exclaim: "It's so well written! The ideas are profound, the reflections are insightful, and it's truly thought-provoking! An article of this quality must be very expensive, right?"

In the comments section of this blog post, some netizens took the initiative to explain for Chen Guiliang, but many more netizens were sarcastic or even abusive.

Many netizens asked what game it was. After finding out, they also joined in the mockery and insults.

Some people even said they misjudged Chen Guiliang. They said that games like "Three Kingdoms Kill" and "Plants vs. Zombies" were very fun, and they thought Chen Guiliang could make even better games, but now he's just directly copying Korean online games.

Someone else replied, saying that "Three Kingdoms Kill" is plagiarized, and Chen Guiliang has been plagiarizing all along.

Chen Guiliang thought to himself: I admit that "Three Kingdoms Kill" is plagiarized, but it's plagiarized from its own inventor. As for "Future Era," it really is something I made myself.

Qu Guohao stood next to Chen Guiliang, staring at the computer screen, and said, "Who is this person? How come their reading and comment numbers are so high?"

"A public intellectual. Look at his articles, how concerned he is about the country and its people! He only criticizes us as a side effect," Chen Guiliang said with a smile.

This public intellectual graduated from Beijing University of Technology and worked for companies such as Siemens in Beijing.

After gaining sufficient popularity on Tianya, this public intellectual was invited to Sina Blog. He also contributed articles to other print media and websites, and his articles were frequently featured on the homepages of portal websites.

The salary at foreign companies is nothing compared to what others earn. He quit his job two months ago and became a freelance writer.

Well, later on, when they settled down in their new life after immigrating, they even said that nuclear wastewater was very healthy.

Even more outrageous was that when his wife was dying, he went to celebrate his mistress's birthday. After his wife died, he wrote a sentimental article mourning her, moving unsuspecting netizens to tears.

These well-known opinion leaders have a truly strong appeal and persuasive power.

Chen Guiliang originally had an excellent reputation online, but because of one or two articles by those guys, many netizens suddenly discovered that Chen Guiliang was despicable.

Some netizens not only hurl insults in the comment sections of public intellectuals' blogs, but also went to Chen Guiliang's personal accounts on Renren and HaiNei.com to hurl abuse.

Chen Guiliang had no choice but to issue a statement in response: "In light of the questions raised by some public intellectuals and netizens, I will explain the basic situation point by point..."

"First, they accuse me of interfering with freedom of speech and deleting articles arbitrarily. Renren and Haiwainet have strict review standards, and none of us, including myself, can violate these standards. Many accounts receive warnings from editors, but banning or deleting articles is not used lightly. If an article is deleted, it's either because it's proven to be fabricated or because it's proven to be an extremely malicious personal attack. The author of that article has already broken the law!"

"Secondly, when 'Future Era' started production, 'DNF' hadn't even been officially launched yet. Did I send a corporate spy to South Korea to plagiarize it?"

"Third, some people say that the development of 'Future Era' was too slow because they realized the game wasn't good enough halfway through. So they deleted all the content from the previous year and then went and copied 'DNF'. This kind of argument is quite imaginative, and I really can't explain it."

"Fourth, even if my company's developers borrowed from the Korean game 'DNF,' how can we determine if it's plagiarism? The game's world view, plot, characters, graphics... everything is different. So what did I plagiarize?"

"Some people say that the core gameplay was copied. How ridiculous is that? It's like a director who made the first martial arts film. Then you say that all the martial arts films that were made afterward were plagiarized because the core and form are the same."

"Fifth, I don't think netizens who haven't personally played this game are qualified to make any comments. You can't just assume that my company's game is plagiarized based on conjecture or reading someone's article."

"Sixth, at the beginning of next month, 'Future Era' will be updated with Chapter Two. At that time, 2000 invitation codes will be distributed. If you want to curse me, please play my game first. Go fill out the form now to apply for an invitation code."

Chen Guiliang wrote this article in response, not to convince everyone.

Because it's impossible to persuade them; they've already formed a preconceived notion.

Chen Guiliang was just taking the opportunity to advertise and, incidentally, persuade those who were even slightly rational.

Next, they need to recruit staff and build a professional public relations team. They'll be simultaneously engaging in online arguments with trolls and promoting the game in the process.

Chen Guiliang is a party involved, so nothing he says will make a difference.

A PR team or online trolls need to pose as ordinary netizens to confront the trolls. They also need to provide substantial evidence to convince neutral netizens who are just watching the drama unfold.

Of course, Chen Guiliang will definitely retaliate against those public intellectuals for smearing him. But not now; he needs to wait until the public outcry subsides. Otherwise, a hasty counterattack will only make things worse.

What we can do now is collect those guys' past statements, pick out the most outrageous parts, put them together, and release them all at once after a while.

As it turns out, Chen Guiliang has a huge number of online fans.

When the newly formed PR team hired online trolls to fight back against the haters, they posted screenshots comparing "Future Era" and "DNF." They also posted other details about the two games. Soon, Chen Guiliang's fans took these materials and screenshots and spontaneously went to fight back against the haters.

"Aside from the gameplay, are there any similarities between the two games? Why don't you guys say that 'DNF' plagiarized 'Double Dragon'?"

"Double Dragon is a Famicom game, so your example is incorrect."

"According to your logic, all MMO games now, including World of Warcraft, are plagiarizing. That is because their core gameplay was determined more than 20 years ago. It's just that back then it was a purely text-based game."

"World of Warcraft couldn't possibly be a copy because it created a truly vast and realistic virtual world." "Heh, according to your logic, similar gameplay constitutes plagiarism. Well, putting everything else aside, World of Warcraft's dungeons are plagiarized, because other games have dungeons before."

"Copying is a reasonable reference."

"??? So 'Future Era' is plagiarism, and 'World of Warcraft' is just borrowing from others, right?"

Similar online battles are frequently seen on various forums and online communities.

The general public flocked to watch the spectacle, and anyone with a brain can easily see who's right and who's wrong. It's because the trolls are being incredibly hypocritical.

To put it more bluntly, even if Chen Guiliang hadn't been reborn, "Future Era" couldn't possibly be considered plagiarism.

Otherwise, World of Warcraft and Black Myth: Wukong would also be plagiarisms.

Amidst this heated online debate, two things happened.

First, the second chapter of "Future Era" has been updated, and 2000 additional beta test invitation codes have been issued.

Secondly, some traditional media outlets have joined the fray, reprinting and commenting on those smear articles. Needless to say, the Koreans' follow-up actions are here.

Chen Guiliang wasn't angry. Instead, he joked, "The mastermind behind this isn't very effective. No major newspapers got involved. If they could get Southern Metropolis Daily or The Beijing News to step in, I would admire their skill."

Chi Siyuan, editor-in-chief of Haiwainet, who used to work for a traditional newspaper, said with a smile: "Maybe the money wasn't enough. Newspapers have a kind of gray income called cooperation fees, also known as 'article suppression fees,' which is paying money to prevent the newspaper from publishing negative articles."

"Just suppressing articles can easily cost tens to hundreds of thousands of yuan. If you want to bribe Southern Metropolis Daily to publish negative reports, an article will cost at least 500,000 yuan. Beijing News might charge 200,000 to 300,000 yuan. Moreover, even if Southern Metropolis Daily and Beijing News accept the money, the negative content will be written very subtly. Without subtlety, it's easy to get into trouble."

"Unless it can significantly boost newspaper sales, or involve paying a large sum of money upfront, no newspaper will accept money to publish smear articles. Except for third-rate tabloids."

This smear campaign against "Future Era" is being carried out by third-rate tabloids.

I don't know if the Koreans are too stingy or if the officials in charge took kickbacks, but all that came out were third-rate newspapers.

The newspapers didn't make much of a splash, but the update of "Future Era" caused quite a stir.

This time, 2000 additional beta test invitation codes were issued, of which more than 200 were given to editors of game websites and game magazines.

The editors who tried it out themselves were instantly captivated by the game's content.

Besides the graphics and gameplay, the game's storyline also gave them a refreshing experience.

These days, apocalyptic themes are common, but the revival of spiritual energy is unheard of.

The various Eastern professions within the game, and the job change quests added in this update, are all related to the revival of spiritual energy.

Game-related media outlets unanimously published articles praising "Future Era".

Other game companies are on high alert, as another game is about to steal their business!
……

South Korea.

Xu Min asked, "Has the reputation of 'Future Era' been ruined? Have Chinese manufacturers restarted negotiations with us?"

“No manufacturers have restarted negotiations yet,” the executive in charge of overseas affairs said, taking out printed newspapers and online articles. “These are all negative reports and online comments about ‘Future Era,’ which I have already had translated into Korean.”

Xu Min nodded approvingly, then asked, "What kind of newspaper is this 'Economic Observer Local Business News'?"

The executive said, "It's a publication under the Shandong Provincial Newspaper Group, and it has a very large influence in China."

It's all nonsense.

This newspaper impersonates a legitimate publication, and its profits mainly come from charging small and medium-sized enterprises "advertising fees." In short, it's extortion; they threaten to publish negative news if they don't pay.

There were many similar illegal tabloids in the early 2000s; you could get them to publish articles for a small fee.

If it weren't for the South Korean officials taking photos of the newspaper and posting them online, Chen Guiliang wouldn't even have seen the content. Because the circulation was so small, and it was even considered illegal, it was difficult to buy a copy even if you wanted to.

Xu Min had no idea about any of this, yet he thought his plan had succeeded.

He didn't allocate much money for handling things to begin with, and the planners and executors would take kickbacks from two layers of bureaucracy. It was already quite good if he could bribe a few tabloids to fool them.

If Xu Min really dares to allocate over a million yuan, Southern Metropolis Daily and The Beijing News would probably cooperate.

Some public intellectuals, because it's difficult to monetize traffic at this time, will dare to curse even the most powerful people if given just a few thousand yuan.

Xu Min waited and waited, but no major company came to restart negotiations.

On the contrary, some Chinese manufacturers who were not qualified to enter the market before saw that "Future Era" seemed to be a big hit and came to talk to the Korean side about distributing "DNF".

They want to spend a little money to import "DNF" and then launch it when "Future Era" becomes popular.

The original DNF has become a counterfeit, and now it has to piggyback on the popularity of Future Era.

Xu Min was furious at this move and chose a relatively reputable company from among a group of small and medium-sized manufacturers to save face.

That company has quite a prestigious background; it's "China Central Television Network" (CCTV).

Hmm, CCTV, with its thick eyebrows and big eyes, is actually getting involved in the online gaming industry... and has already become the agent for two games, "Fantasy Three Kingdoms 2" and "Gundam Online".

It is even the exclusive distributor of EA, UBI, and KOEI in China!
The company also acted as the distributor for single-player games such as the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, the FIFA series, the Dynasty Warriors series, Spore, and SimCity.

I wonder if the cooperation between the Koreans and CCTV will be pleasant.

(End of this chapter)