Creating a zombie in a mountain village terrifies players worldwide.

Chapter 39 Do you have experience in adventure puzzle games?
This collaborative model is called 'outsourcing'.

In layman's terms, it means bringing in a game producer from outside to participate in the project, just like a director in the film industry.

Once the project is completed, you can take the money and leave, then go to another company to do the same thing.

It's more like a 'temporary worker' arrangement; you go to work for whichever company needs you. They'll hire you if there are projects, and they won't if there aren't.

The advantage of this collaborative model is that game producers have a lot of freedom. Because it's not a full-time employment relationship, as long as they manage their time well, they can take on several game projects at the same time without any problem.

Some companies are happy to do this, since hiring full-time game producers means paying them salaries long-term, even if the company doesn't have any game projects, which is cost-effective.

It would be better to hire a producer when there are projects available, and have our own development team maintain the old games when there are no projects available, which would save a lot of money.

Of course, the above benefits are only available to the most outstanding 'gold medal game producers'.

Other game producers—they're not called producers, they're called designers. Although there's no real difference, producers can take on major responsibilities, while designers can only work with the team.

You can only call yourself a producer when you can take charge of the overall situation independently.

Otherwise, you should just find a job and work full-time.

Although Lin Shu isn't a top-tier game producer, he has a cheat code. If he's still not as good as those top-tier producers even with a cheat code, he might as well just find a block of tofu and kill himself.

Moreover, given his current popularity and the success of a game, it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to take on an 'outsourced' role, would it?
Since I'm already acting as your 'outsider,' it's perfectly reasonable for my game to be listed on your platform, right?
"Director Yu."

Lin Shu cleared her throat, and her tone became serious.

"You just mentioned that your company has a game project that is short of people, is that right?"

Yu Feng on the other end of the phone paused for a moment, then quickly replied.

"Yes, Mr. Lin, we currently need a producer with ideas and creativity to join us and assist with the game development."

Are you interested?

Lin Shu pondered for a moment before replying.

"We are interested, but we can cooperate in a different way."

"Oh? Mr. Lin, please go ahead."

Yu Feng's tone revealed a hint of curiosity.

Lin Shu smiled softly at this moment.

"I'm open to joining your game project as an external game producer or technical consultant, and I'd like to have control over the development. What do you think?"

After these words, silence fell again on the other end of the phone.

This silence seems to have lasted longer than when they refused the job offer before.

Yu Feng was only focused on poaching talent, but he never expected that this Mr. Lin would want to be an external hire? And even want to take the lead in development? This really caught him off guard.

External producers are not uncommon in the industry; Pixel Interactive Entertainment occasionally invites producers to participate in development.

However, these companies usually hire industry experts, and the company maintains firm control over the project. External hires only manage the project process and provide technical or creative support.

Whether Mr. Lin is a big shot in the industry remains to be seen.

His request was almost the opposite: he wanted to lead projects within Pixel Interactive Entertainment as an outsider.

what does this mean?
This means that, in theory, the direction of the project, its core gameplay, and even resource allocation must all be directed by a "temporary worker".

This risk... is a bit too high.

To be honest, Yu Feng would prefer to recruit O5 as a full-time producer. After all, who would let go of such a talented person? With his popularity and development skills, even if the game doesn't sell like hotcakes, it will definitely sell a lot.

The prerequisite is that the quality meets the standards.

But if you hire someone externally, it means they can work on your project as well as on someone else's project. What advantage do they have then?

However, he plans to continue talking to this O5.

If someone dares to hire outside contractors and demand control over the project, then there's no smoke without fire.

Maybe they really do have that project management ability?
"Mr. Lin, the suggestion of hiring externally is not out of the question."

"However, I'd like to ask if you have any experience in making adventure puzzle games?"

Adventure and puzzle-solving? Lin Shu smiled.

You ask me if I have experience? I can only tell you that no one knows more about adventure and puzzle-solving than me.

I won't go into detail about a whole host of games like Little Nightmares, Limbo, and Outer Wilds.

The gameplay of just two games, "Double Team" and "Double Mirror," is rare on Earth.

Although the system cannot purchase works outside of the horror genre, he can still replicate them since he has played the games.

"Adventure and puzzle is a broad category, and strictly speaking, any game can be included in it."

Similarly, horror games tend to be adventure and puzzle games that focus on scaring people.

“I already have an example, Director Yu.”

Upon hearing this, Director Yu realized what was happening and chuckled awkwardly.

Indeed, the core mechanics of horror games are exploration, puzzle-solving, and avoiding danger, which perfectly fits the category of adventure puzzle games.

But that doesn't mean he overlooked horror games.

After all, there haven't been any good horror games on the market for a long time.

Most adventure puzzle games tend to be slow-paced, focusing on ingenious puzzle design and storytelling, with adventure elements serving as mere embellishments.

Who would immediately associate them with horror games that aim to make your heart stop and your adrenaline surge?
Now that the other person brought it up, I realized that my question was basically like asking an air conditioner installer, "Do you have experience installing air conditioners?"
It's a bit ridiculous.

Now I understand that horror games are also a type of adventure puzzle game, and O5 happens to be a developer that excels at this genre.

So, it's a perfect match for my major.

"Mr. Lin, if I may ask, if you were to join our project, would you be designing it in the direction of horror themes?"

[certainly.]
Lin Shu's answer was decisive and swift, without the slightest hesitation.

It was as if he was saying that he had no interest in anything other than horror.

However, Yu Feng on the other end of the phone felt a sense of relief.

To be honest, the reason why their adventure puzzle project is still in its early stages is that they are still figuring out how to play.

Without good gameplay ideas, the adventure and puzzle games produced will be very homogenous, lack novelty, and be difficult to attract players.

Therefore, he and his team held meeting after meeting, but they were still unable to break free from the framework of the mature gameplay available on the market.

If they force it to continue like this, the final result will definitely be an ordinary game, no different from other adventure puzzle games.

Yu Feng himself was so worried that he even lost a few more strands of hair.

If the budget weren't so tight, who would take such a risk? He would definitely go for shooting, racing, and sports.

Now that Mr. Lin has suggested moving in the direction of horror, perhaps that's a good way out?

After all, isn't the only successful horror game currently on the market made by this Mr. Lin?

Thinking of this, Yu Feng asked.

"Mr. Lin, since you're planning to make horror games, do you have any specific ideas or suggestions? For example... how should we proceed with our project?"

After saying that, he looked forward to Mr. Lin's reply.

However, all that came from the other end of the phone was laughter; nothing was said.

He then realized that his earlier inquiry had bordered on soliciting creative ideas for free.
"No, Mr. Lin, I'm sorry, I was being presumptuous. I apologize."

He spoke faster, as if afraid the other person would think he wasn't sincere.

"Mr. Lin, it's like this, if you are willing to join our project team as an external contractor, we are very willing to produce something in the horror direction, and we will need your professional expertise to help with this."

"We can discuss the compensation details. So, would you like to join our project team?"

This time, Lin Shu on the other end of the phone didn't laugh; her reply followed immediately, with a calm and matter-of-fact tone.

[Okay, now let's discuss the details of the collaboration.]
Some people asked if there would be a business war. Don't worry, there won't be. However, some minor conflicts and competition will still be included, but they won't involve the protagonist; instead, they'll be a competition between two directors. The protagonist is essentially a big shot hired by one of the directors, but he won't directly get involved.

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(End of this chapter)