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Chapter 354, page 0341: [The American gaming industry is so backward!]

The Summoner's Rift map in League of Legends has also had its settings altered by retconning.

It began with powerful mages establishing the War Academy, a transcendent and neutral organization. The War Academy used powerful magic to create special magical spaces that could simulate battlefields.

By 2014, this concept began to loosen, and Riot Games started creating stories for the monsters.

Until 2017, "Summoner's Rift" was transformed from a magically created space into a real-world region of Runeterra.

Chen Guiliang's setup is very simple, and he can continuously create subsequent maps.

Isn't the entire world a product of collisions between multidimensional universes?

The canyon map is located in an unstable, gigantic area of ​​spatial fragments created by collisions and fusions. Adventurers and warriors from various factions like to test their skills there.

Even changes to the map and monsters later on can be attributed to the instability of the area, resulting in subtle changes.

Other activity maps can also be opened, which are also spatial fragments of that area.

What's a good name for the game?
The universe is composed of countless source realms, or perhaps they are called source...source gods?
Forget it, this name is likely to lower my sanity score.

Just take the name of Blizzard's game? Overwatch?
The name doesn't quite fit the lore, but we can use a character from Overwatch.

D.Va, in particular, and her red mech; her various butt skins should sell very well. However, her abilities need to be carefully designed.

All those random heroes from Overwatch could be thrown into the Chaos faction. After all, they're descendants of a technological civilization, torn apart and merged by space, so any bizarre technological development can be explained away.

Chen Guiliang thought for a long time but still couldn't come up with a good game name.

Forget it, let the employees figure it out.

While making games, we can also hold novel writing contests. We can provide the world-building background, character anecdotes, and main maps, and then let online novelists create stories based on them.

All submitted novels must include the game's name. That is, "Game Name: xxxx".

As a result, the game already had a large number of novel fans even before it was released.

After resting with my eyes closed for a moment, the plane landed in Shanghai.

Wang Chenyu from Breaking Boundaries Animation personally came to pick you up at the airport. Upon meeting you, he said, "Mr. Chen, I'm really sorry, it's difficult to book hotels during the film festival. We can only book a regular room at the Galaxy Hotel for you."

"As long as it's a place to stay, it's fine," Chen Guiliang said with a smile.

Wang Chenyu said somewhat embarrassedly, "The Summer of Little Monsters will be screened tomorrow. In addition to winning awards abroad, our promotional focus is on the original team behind the Future Era game animation and the presence of Mr. Chen Guiliang at the screening."

Chen Guiliang said, "You've already said it, there's no need to dwell on this anymore."

As soon as the car that was picking him up left the airport, an overseas call came in. Lü Zhihui said, "The 'US Game Industry Survey Report' is out. I couldn't get through to you when I tried to call you earlier. It's only about 30 pages long, and I've already scanned it and sent it to your email."

"Thank you so much this time. I don't have many acquaintances in the US, so I'm asking an investment banking expert like you to do this. I'll have my finance staff transfer the funds to you right away," Chen Guiliang said.

Lu Zhihui said, "Since President Chen has paid me enough, I am naturally happy to serve him. Besides, I also have ByteDance stock options."

Lu Zhihui's compensation for helping ByteDance go public included signing fees, a fixed monthly salary, periodic bonuses, and a small number of stock options.

These options have already passed their lock-up period after the IPO, but Lü Zhihui is in no hurry to cash them out because the stock price is too low.

IDG and other Series A and B venture capital shareholders have lock-up periods of 6 months and 12 months, respectively. They can also sell some shares now, and they will still make a profit even if ByteDance's stock price falls.

Apart from IDG cashing out a portion, other venture capital firms did not make any moves.

This is IDG's investment style: quick in and quick out, then they move on to the next company; they're content as long as they make a profit.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Guiliang chatted with Wang Chenyu as they headed to the hotel.

As soon as he entered the guest room, he took out his laptop, connected to the internet, and opened the "American Game Industry Survey Report" produced by DFC.

DFC is a US-based vertical research firm specializing in the gaming industry.

Investigation reports come in many forms, ranging from three to five hundred pages to as few as ten pages. It depends on your needs and the amount of payment you're willing to make.

Chen Guiliang's investigation report is 38 pages long and written entirely in English.

If he occasionally encounters an unfamiliar word, Chen Guiliang has to look it up in an online English dictionary.

After reading the report, Chen Guiliang felt even more confident. He even considered setting up an American game operation company to quickly launch his self-developed game in the United States.

Why set up your own company? Because it's very difficult to find an agent in the United States!

In China, the online gaming industry is booming, with free-to-play games even emerging as a dark horse.

And what about the United States?

The US market is dominated by console games! The market size of pay-to-play online games is far smaller than that of console games, let alone free-to-play online games.

No wonder Robin Li said the online gaming industry is small; it turns out he gained his understanding from the American market.

In China, single-player games are already commonly downloaded and installed online. In the US, it's still in its early stages; small games are mostly downloaded online, while large single-player games must be purchased and installed from discs.

To put it simply, as late as 2009, when the Dota-like game Heroes of Newerth was released in the United States, it was still using the traditional method of selling games (priced at $30).

It seems that the reason why League of Legends was able to grow so big in the United States is not only because of the influence of its shareholders, but also because of the disruptive nature of its paid model!
After reading the investigation report, Chen Guiliang's first reaction was: The American game industry is really damn backward.

Damn it, if I had known it would be like this, I would have made a Dota-like game a year or two earlier and launched it in the US this year with my own company.

Of course, that's all nonsense. Where would we get so much funding a year or two in advance? We were busy working on *Future Era* and other games back then.

There's still a chance to start now, because League of Legends was very underdeveloped in its early stages.

The summoner level and talent system were only introduced close to the game's release date. The intelligent matchmaking mechanism was also developed at that time, and it was a rather idiotic one.

Moreover, there were various overpowered heroes in the early game: Tryndamere with a 1000-range Whirlwind Slash, Ezreal whose W could heal, Ryze who could one-shot anyone with his ultimate, Xin Zhao who could kill with three shots, and Sivir with her infinitely bouncing W...

In an effort to balance the game, various heroes were nerfed, resulting in the loss of a large number of core players.

And those character models, modeled after World of Warcraft, are just plain ugly. The Valkyrie looks like a middle-aged woman, Annie looks like she has Down syndrome, and Ezreal looks like a child's drawing…

Chen Guiliang can bring a touch of Chinese game aesthetics to European and American players!
……

The next day.

Chen Guiliang woke up in the middle of the morning, turned on his computer and worked until noon, then had lunch before going to the screening venue.

Before the screening of "Summer of Little Monsters" even started, Wang Chenyu handed him two tickets to "Kung Fu Panda": "This animation is amazing. I saw it at a film festival abroad. In the future, we will definitely be able to make animated films of the same quality as 'Kung Fu Panda'!"

"Keep it up," Chen Guiliang said with a smile.

Yang Shuo, acting as Chen Guiliang's bodyguard, accompanied him to the Chinese premiere of "Kung Fu Panda".

His seat was pretty good, slightly to the right of the middle – the best viewing area, filled with the creators, guests, and media reporters.

Director Mark himself appeared to promote the film, and Chinese distributors and film festival organizers also attended.

When Chen Guiliang ran over, the red carpet ceremony was over, and the audience entrance had just opened.

The lights were still on inside the cinema, and staff were adjusting the equipment.

"Chen Guiliang!"

Before he even sat down, a reporter nearby recognized him.

These entertainment media reporters frequently obtain celebrity news from Haiwainet. Many people follow Chen Guiliang's account automatically when registering their accounts (as recommended by the website).

Entertainment reporters are very familiar with Chen Guiliang.

Someone called out his name, and several reporters nearby turned their heads.

Chen Guiliang smiled and waved as he sat down.

Soon, the news reached the guests in the front row.

Feng Kuzi stood up, turned around and looked around. When he saw Chen Guiliang, he waved to him.

Chen Guiliang waved in response.

"Who is it?" asked Jackie Chan, who was standing next to me.

Feng Kuzi said, "There was a young entrepreneur named Chen Guiliang. I had dinner with him, and he even taught me how to do online promotion. Those things were very useful, and I have a lot of followers online."

Cheng Long said, "It sounds familiar."

Feng Kuzi said, "He seems to have a connection with Andy Lau; Andy Lau even has an account on his website."

Cheng Long asked, "Is it HaiNei.com?"

"You know about this too?" Feng Kuzi asked, somewhat surprised.

Jackie Chan said, "Hong Kong also has HaiNei.com, and this year they've been inviting celebrities to join. I was also invited, but I've been too busy to do so. However, half of my Jackie Chan Stunt Team members have been invited by HaiNei.com, and they occasionally post photos and such."

Zhang Ziyi, who was standing next to me, said, "Hainan.net has also invited me, and my brother is managing the account."

Cheng Long gave an awkward laugh after hearing this.

Back when he was rumored to be having an affair with Zhang Ziyi, Zhang Ziyi's brother got annoyed by the reporters and bluntly said, "Jackie Chan still needs our Ziyi to promote him."

Jackie Chan was invited as a guest of the film festival and was also invited by "Kung Fu Panda" to attend the premiere.

Zhang Ziyi is an actress nominated for an award, but it is unrelated to the film she is nominated for; she is nominated for the "Outstanding Contribution to Chinese Cinema Award".

Chen Chong was also there.

She was both a judge at a film festival and an actress in a film, and she used her position to promote the film she starred in.

As for that movie, what's so special about casting a Super Boy contestant as the lead?
One audience member at the premiere said in an interview, "This film is like a group of Beijing folks going to the mountains, changing into a few sets of local ethnic costumes, and shooting a few scenic music videos..."

The mother played by Chen Chong doesn't resemble a woman from the mountains, but rather a wealthy Beijing woman experiencing rural life.

Chen Chong asked Feng Kuzi, "That guy you're talking about, does he have a very big company?"

Feng Kuzi said, "At least half of the celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry now promote their films on his website. You should have promoted your movie on HaiNei.com beforehand."

Chen Chong looked back again, but because she was too far away, she couldn't see Chen Guiliang's face clearly. But she decided to make his acquaintance after the event.

The publisher's representative also learned of the news and went to whisper to the host, "Invite Chen Guiliang up during the interactive segment later."

Mark Ruffalo, the director of "Kung Fu Panda," had no idea what was going on.

(End of this chapter)