Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 315 Dried Fish

"Does President Chen know about this?"

"Brother Fei said that he would give President Chen a surprise after he had completely perfected the plan."

Song Yueying's lips twitched slightly.

Surprise? If he really waits until he "perfects" the plan and then presents it to Chu Chen, then the entire A2 Studio will probably be "surprised" along with him.

"Okay, I understand." Song Yueying nodded, her expression returning to calm. "You all go back first, stabilize the team's morale, and continue with your work as usual. I will handle this matter."

Having received Song Yueying's assurance, the bigwigs from A2 Studio felt as if they had been granted a pardon and left with profuse thanks.

The office fell silent again.

Song Yueying didn't go to find Chu Chen immediately, because Chu Chen wasn't at the company at the time. She didn't call Chu Chen either, but instead quickly reviewed the whole incident in her mind.

to some extent.

Song Yueying is like Chu Chen's "external processor." She has a habit of thinking things through before telling Chu Chen, which saves both her own time and Chu Chen's time.

Jiao Xiaofei, who came from Tencent, is capable, has strong execution skills, and has mature experience in project management at a large company.

Leading a team of one or two hundred people is a breeze.

Conversely, companies like Hai Mao and Yu Wan, which currently have teams of only a couple hundred people, face immense pressure to manage, let alone teams of several dozen.

Jiao Xiaofei's strengths lie in his mature management skills and strong execution capabilities.

This is also why the development of "Floating Dreams" has been going smoothly. However, Jiao Xiaofei is not without his flaws.

Jiao Xiaofei is not like Guan Lei.

Having worked on Meteor Butterfly Sword, Guan Lei had a very clear understanding of what he wanted to do, what he wanted to achieve, and what Chu Chen needed.

Because the plan Chu Chen provided was very clear.

Guan Lei was even able to develop FATE while simultaneously leading his team to work on his own martial arts projects, and occasionally work overtime to validate his own projects.

Jiao Xiaofei is a bit different. He usually seems to be no different from others, and everything went smoothly during the adjustment process of the "Cat Cat" project.

But now the unexpected popularity of "Floating Dreams" has become a catalyst, allowing Jiao Xiaofei's subconscious "big company mentality" to regain its dominance.

It wasn't that he didn't understand Chu Chen's philosophy; he was just under immense pressure and dared not believe in the power of "simplicity" anymore.

He was afraid—afraid that players would interpret this simplicity as "perfunctory."

On the other end of the phone, Chu Chen immediately understood what had happened after hearing what Song Yueying had said.

"The pressure was too great, and my movements became distorted."

"Yes, he was unsure of himself, so he could only keep adding more complexity to the system in an attempt to counteract his insecurity."

"Alright, have Jiao Xiaofei bring the proposal to me tomorrow."

That's how game development works.

You never know what you'll encounter. To outsiders, Starry Games is a "giant company" to some extent, but in reality, its internal R&D capabilities are still somewhat lacking.

In some ways, game developers are like gacha pulls.

Getting a mature team like Guan Lei's is actually a low probability event; most people actually grow through projects.

Take Jiao Xiaofei's situation, for example. He's like a gambler who's bet all his chips on that 'new system.' Even if you tell him that this path is wrong and he can suppress it for a while, he'll relapse later.

This disease needs to be cured.

~~~
The next day. Qichuan Town, on the outskirts of Suzhou and Hangzhou.

Qichuan Town is one of the many ancient towns in Suzhou and Hangzhou.

Compared to those famous ancient towns, Qichuan Town is not exactly popular, but it is basically deserted.

Because there are so many ancient towns in Suzhou and Hangzhou, although there are plans for commercial development here, they will ultimately remain just plans.

The town itself had very few people and was almost in a semi-abandoned state. However, as time went on, in 17, it entered a "large-scale construction" mode.

In just over half a year, the town has been completely transformed.

It was in this small town, on the terrace of a two-story building, that Chu Chen "received" Jiao Xiaofei.

"So, does this town seem familiar to you?"

"Is this the town from the cat story?"

Jiao Xiaofei leaned against the wooden railing, his voice a little hoarse.

Jiao Xiaofei is actually very familiar with this town because he and his team filmed scenes here last year for the movie "What Bad Ideas Can a Cat Have".

After all, the entire setting of "Cat Cat" is a small town. Ordinary small towns don't offer much novelty for players. This "half-ancient, half-modern" town, which blends modern and ancient elements, is more story-driven and allows for the inclusion of gameplay elements that players don't usually encounter.

However, there are actually very few games in the country that use realistic small towns as a background.

Instead of racking your brains to figure out how to plan, it's better to "replicate reality," go directly to the site to investigate, and then recreate it in the game. This will create a more realistic experience.

So Jiao Xiaofei did come here when the project was initiated.

However... this place now feels both familiar and unfamiliar to him.

"I remember this place being quite dilapidated."

The scene before us has changed dramatically compared to when we came to film here a year ago.

Bluestone paths, white walls and black tiles, small bridges and flowing water—it's a scene of gentle and graceful Jiangnan water town scenery.

The shops along the street have antique-style signs, red lanterns hang under the eaves, and even the cat sculptures peeking out from the corners of the walls smell of paint and that unique smell of renovation.

The entire town doesn't match Jiao Xiaofei's memories, but it does match the art style in the game.
"This is a cultural tourism project jointly developed by Xingchen and the Suzhou and Hangzhou governments. It was promoted by Wang Jianmin, and the main structure is now basically completed. He insisted that I come to cut the ribbon."

"Oh, do you want to see the demo now? I brought my laptop."

"Don't rush." ​​Chu Chen waved his hand, gesturing for him to sit down. "Take a look at this first."

Chu Chen didn't take any documents, but instead pushed his phone over.

A video is playing on the screen; judging from the camera angle, it's a surveillance video.

In the video, a four- or five-year-old girl is squatting on the ground, cautiously reaching out her hand to an orange cat. The orange cat seems a little wary and shrinks back.

The little girl was not discouraged. She took a small dried fish out of her pocket and put it on the ground.

The orange cat hesitated for a moment, but ultimately couldn't resist the temptation and leaned over to eat it in small bites. Seeing this, the little girl's face lit up with a bright smile, and she took the opportunity to gently stroke the cat's back.

The video is short, with no complicated plot and no background music.

Jiao Xiaofei found it somewhat puzzling.

"Mr. Chen, this is..."

"It's nothing, this is just a video I randomly came across on Titok, and it's already about to get over a million likes."

(End of this chapter)