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Chapter 364 0351 [This is sports!]

The initial team for "My Own Swordsman" was assembled, and they argued heatedly every day.

Ning Caishen, one of the story planners, also attended several seminars, but was so tormented by Feng Ji that he wanted to quit. The game's world-building is too vast; the TV series of the same name is just the tip of the iceberg, and it's practically the same as rewriting a whole new story.

There are differences.

Many stories need to be rewritten!

Ning Caishen approached Chen Guiliang, saying he didn't have that much time to deal with things and that he didn't want the previously agreed-upon payment anymore.

Chen Guiliang expressed his regret and agreed to Ning Caishen's withdrawal.

The time and place in the TV series "My Own Swordsman" are very confusing, which shows that Ning Caishen was too lazy to look up history books or maps when he was writing the script.

Don't ask, it's all fictional!

One episode even mentions the seventh year of the Yongli reign. If that were true, Shunzhi would have been emperor for ten years.

The director had an even more perverse sense of humor; during set construction, he pasted up notices from various Ming Dynasty periods, from the Chenghua era to the Wanli era. He even included a notice from the Song Dynasty.

Feng Ji had to revise it himself.

The timeline has been changed to the Jiajing era.

Based on keywords such as "Guanzhong Hero" and "Yellow River Tower", the location of Qixia Town is determined to be at the border of Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces.

Players are transported to Qixia Town at the start of the game, and through storylines from the TV series, they accept quests, level up, earn silver, and learn basic martial arts. Then they can go to Chang'an City.

The Ming Dynasty's Chang'an city had 50 wards, and there were also surrounding streets outside the city walls. Although it was impossible to completely replicate them, they were still made to be grand and magnificent, including everything from princely palaces and government offices to brothels and taverns.

Players can complete certain tasks in Chang'an, then choose a sect and travel from the post station to their destination (near the sect). They will then encounter disciples of that sect and complete missions to deliver messages to their respective sects to become apprentices.

The game's main antagonist is the treacherous minister Yan Shifan, who, by helping Emperor Jiajing collect Taoist scriptures, learns a clue to immortality. He then mobilizes official and sect forces to search everywhere for fragments of a divine artifact that has fallen from the heavens, thus unleashing a bloody storm upon the martial arts world.

Players from different factions will meet during certain major events, such as helping Qi Jiguang fight against Japanese pirates.

Of course, Qixia Town and Tongfu Inn are not entirely beginner villages; everyone in the inn has a secret that is connected to the main storyline.

……

On July 15, Chen Guiliang flew to Shanghai again.

This year, I'm participating in CJ Electronics Show with an important mission: to sell "Future Era" overseas.

Selling to South Korea? That's basically out of the question.

If *Future Era* were sold overseas, its competitors would undoubtedly accuse it of plagiarism. Given the nature of South Koreans, they could practically sentence *Future Era* to death. Anyone who plays it would be a traitor!

As for Japan, perhaps there is a slight chance.

The Japanese market is extremely closed, and its acceptance of Chinese online games is even lower than that of South Korea. One after another, Chinese games licensed in Japan have flopped, with the exception of "Perfect World".

The North American market? Sorry, even DNF can't sell there.

Those idiotic North American distributors stubbornly believed that free-to-play games couldn't succeed in North America. Therefore, they were completely unwilling to even give it a try.

Chen Guiliang's main targets are the European, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asian markets.

He had just flown to Shanghai when he went straight to the exhibition venue—the Youke team had already arrived ahead of time.

"Director Kou, I've arrived."

"Come over for dinner tonight, and I'll introduce you to some leaders."

In the evening, Chen Guiliang went to a dinner party.

Goodness, quite a few familiar faces are here, including Chen Tianqiao, Ding Sanshi, Shi Yuzhu, Chi Yufeng, Tao Chenggang, and others.

There are also some manufacturers whose performance is poor, but whose connections are extremely strong.

For example, the veteran general manager of CCTV's subsidiary, China Central Television Network, was present. He had a disastrous experience last year distributing "DNF," so it's understandable that he felt some resentment upon seeing Chen Guiliang.

"Xiao Chen, this is Secretary Liu."

"Hello, Secretary Liu."

"Haha, I've heard so much about you. A hero indeed, a young man."

"Not at all, Secretary Liu is the pillar of China's game industry. We will need more guidance from Secretary Liu in the future."

"..."

Director Kou continued, "This is Deputy Director Wu."

Chen Guiliang quickly shook hands and greeted him warmly.

But Deputy Director Wu simply replied with a "hello" and then fell silent, displaying a rather cold attitude towards him.

Chen Guiliang was a little puzzled: When did I offend anyone?
After shaking hands with several other leaders, Chen Guiliang went to sit down next to Tao Chenggang.

During a break from drinking, Tao Chenggang said in a low voice, "This Leader Wu doesn't seem very approachable. He's only slightly warmer to Chen Tianqiao and Ding Sanshi."

Chen Guiliang, however, put his worries aside: "The top two leaders of the supervising unit, one plays the good cop and the other the bad cop. It's normal."

After warming up the crowd, Secretary Liu began his speech: "Everyone here represents major domestic companies. This year, thanks to the Olympics, there are many more foreign companies at the ChinaJoy expo. You must seize this opportunity to connect with foreign companies and strive to sell more Chinese games overseas! The Olympics are sports, and online games are culture; we must achieve success in both!"

Upon hearing this long-forgotten word, Chen Guiliang suddenly thought of Teacher Liu.

Chen Tianqiao responded first: "With the care and support of the State Administration of Press and Publication, we will definitely respond to the call and let more foreigners play Chinese games and experience Chinese culture!"

Others also expressed their opinions.

Pony Ma (Ma Huateng) wasn't here today; Tencent's representative was Ren Yuxin.

Lei Jun didn't come either; he resigned last year and is currently investing around with his money.

Zhang Chaoyang was also nowhere to be seen, presumably busy with Olympic-related matters.

Zhu Jun from Nine City didn't come either; instead, the newly appointed CEO, Chen Xiaowei, took his place—Zhu Jun's official relationships had deteriorated too much, and a replacement with someone with a better image was needed to mend the rift. The leaders left after a short while; there might be another round.

The remaining company executives and managers immediately relaxed even more, laughing and joking around.

Ding Sanshi wasn't familiar with Chen Guiliang, but he took the initiative to talk to him: "President Chen's game is amazing, the peak number of online players has exceeded 200 million."

Everyone was speechless. Are you just bragging about yourself?

Currently, only two online games operating in China have surpassed 200 million users: Fantasy Westward Journey and Future Era.

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "It still can't compare to 'Fantasy Westward Journey,' it's a full 20 fewer online players."

Ding Sanshi said, "How about we go to karaoke later? I used to be a DJ, and I'm a really professional singer."

"I don't care, I'm just afraid some people won't dare to go," Chen Guiliang said.

"Hahaha!"

Chi Yufeng slapped his thigh and laughed.

Bystanders hurriedly asked what was going on.

Chi Yufeng said, "After the last CJ exhibition closed, a few of us went to karaoke. President Shi and Zhou Hongwei from 360 got drunk and danced together in the private room, with President Tao singing 'The Boatman's Love' as accompaniment for them."

Everyone looked at Shi Yuzhu, who sat there without saying a word.

Perhaps he was thinking about how to beat up Chi Yufeng.

Chen Xiaowei was particularly talkative: "Didn't you take a single picture? You've got Mr. Shi wrapped around your little finger!"

Tao Chenggang said, "President Chen recorded a video, but it was snatched away and deleted."

Chen Xiaowei said, "Then we should make them drink a few more glasses tonight; maybe we can even see a good show."

"I'm only singing tonight, no drinking! Hey, then you won't have any leverage against me." Shi Yuzhu started handing out cigarettes, lighting one for himself.

After chatting about trivial matters, everyone started talking about Chengdu's gaming industry.

In the past two years, major companies including Shanda, NetEase, The9, and Perfect World have flocked to Chengdu to acquire game companies and studios. There are so many promising small companies there, and the prices are incredibly cheap.

As they drank, they inquired about other investment opportunities, and then began recommending potential investments to each other.

After a satisfying meal, the party ended and everyone left.

Nobody took karaoke seriously.

Chen Guiliang was taken back to the hotel by Yang Shuo. He took a quick shower and fell into a deep sleep. When he woke up, it was already dawn.

After having breakfast, he went to the exhibition areas of various manufacturers.

While tourists were still queuing outside to have their tickets checked, the exhibition area was already bustling with activity. Although it was agreed that skirts had to be below the knee, everyone opted for hot shorts, which were even more alluring than miniskirts.

There are just too many showgirls this year; they've completely overshadowed the main attraction.

In the afternoon, while attending a sub-forum, Deputy Director Wu slammed his fist on the table and criticized: "Some game companies, I won't name names, are always resorting to crooked tricks, causing extremely bad influences on teenagers! They do this in the game, and they do it outside of the game..."

Everyone just ignored it and things will continue as usual next year, maybe just reducing the number of showgirls a bit.

The various exhibition areas were bustling with activity.

Secretary Liu and local leaders from Shanghai, along with a group of officials, strolled around and inspected various places.

Upon arriving at the Youke exhibition area, Secretary Liu praised, "You've done a great job. It's very sporty and healthy, which fits this year's Olympic theme."

Chen Guiliang pointed to the ping-pong table: "Secretary Liu, why don't you play a couple of rounds?"

"Then I'll make a fool of myself." Secretary Liu actually rolled up his sleeves and ran over to play ping-pong with the beautiful woman in tight sportswear.

Deputy Director Wu looked at the showgirls performing aerobics and nodded approvingly, saying, "They're not dressed provocatively, yet they attract tourists and showcase the Olympic theme. This event is well-planned!"

So he was invited to play badminton with a beautiful woman.

Youke's booth even featured a balance beam, and they brought in two retired gymnasts. Their tight-fitting leotards and perfect figures captivated countless lecherous men in the audience.

No risqué stuff, this is sports!
"Hahahaha!"

Suddenly, a burst of laughter erupted.

However, one lucky audience member was invited up on stage for an interaction. A retired rhythmic gymnast taught that lucky audience member how to play with ribbons.

This guy is short and fat, weighing at least 160 pounds.

He waved the ribbons and jumped up, his clothes bursting open to reveal his round belly, just like a pig suddenly taking off from the spot.

Unfortunately, he was a buffoon; the louder the laughter from the audience, the more bizarre his actions became.

Even the retired female athlete who taught him the moves couldn't stand up straight from laughing so hard.

The leaders naturally saw it too, and they all laughed, bringing the joyful atmosphere to its peak.

This chubby, lucky audience member unexpectedly became the center of attention at this year's ChinaJoy expo.

There are just too many beautiful women, which has caused aesthetic fatigue. On the contrary, the fat guy is a refreshing sight.

The headline of 17173's report was: "A bizarre scene at CJ Expo: A nimble little fat guy outshines 3,000 beauties."

Chen Guiliang called over the exhibition manager: "Get to know that chubby kid. If he's eloquent, invite him to participate in other programs in the future. Maybe we can even train him to become an e-sports commentator."

“Okay, I’ll take care of it right away,” the exhibition manager said. “A foreign company has approached us. It’s Gameforge from Germany. Their game, Silkroad Online, is the most popular free-to-play online game in Europe. Without a doubt.”

Chen Guiliang said, "Please invite them into the business room, I will personally go and make contact with them."

Gameforge has a lot of influence in Europe. If this collaboration can be finalized, we can continue to work together more deeply in the future. For example, we could compete with League of Legends for market share!

(End of this chapter)