Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 516 Winter
As night falls, the warm, salty sea breeze dispels the daytime hustle and bustle.

The official banquet hosted by Qiongzhou officials was extremely hospitable, and the atmosphere was lively with toasts and laughter.

During the banquet, Ma Huateng mostly talked quietly with the leaders around him, occasionally raising his glass, but his gaze only lightly swept across the room, rarely lingering on Chu Chen.

Ding Lei, on the other hand, was much more carefree and chatted with Chu Chen about many interesting things that happened in overseas markets.

After the dinner party ended, Chu Chen declined several late-night drinking parties and returned to his hotel accompanied by his assistant. It wasn't that he was a clean-living person, but rather that these drinking parties often involved casual conversations with people he barely knew.

Moreover, whether in his past life or now, Chu Chen doesn't like that kind of atmosphere. He'd rather go home and play some games, watch some movies, or watch some TV series.

Pushing open the heavy door of the presidential suite, a blast of cool air rushed out.

Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, the dazzling night view of Haikou unfolds, with the shadows of coconut palms swaying gracefully under the city lights.

The room was empty and so quiet that he could hear his own heartbeat. Chu Chen casually draped his suit jacket over the sofa, sank into the soft cushions, and let out a long sigh.

Just then, the phone screen lit up, accompanied by a cheerful video call ringtone.

It was Song Yueying calling.

Chu Chen's lips unconsciously curled upwards, then he rubbed his face and answered the video call.

"Hey?"

On the phone screen, Song Yueying was wearing comfortable loungewear, her long black hair casually draped over her shoulders, and her face was bare, yet she looked even more beautiful and charming.

After the call connected, Song Yueying leaned forward, her bright eyes curiously observing the background behind Chu Chen.

"Back to the hotel?"

Chu Chen naturally knew why the girl had called. He held up his phone and spun around, letting her see the entire spacious and luxurious living room.

"How was the ward round? Were you satisfied? It was just me."

"Tsk tsk, presidential suite, not bad treatment."

Since moving in together, Chu Chen and Song Yueying's relationship has grown rapidly. They've done everything they should and shouldn't have done. Although they haven't made it public yet, they're basically a couple in private.

"Such a big room, don't you think it's a waste for one person to live here?"

"There was nothing I could do; it was arranged by the organizers, and I couldn't refuse their kind invitation."

"Oh? Should I fly over and help you split the room cost?"

Song Yueying blinked.

"If you could fly over now, I would definitely welcome you with open arms."

Chu Chen leaned back on the sofa, feeling much better. He hadn't noticed it before when they weren't so close, but now that their relationship was official, it was a completely different story.

Talking to her always helps him escape from the tense business battles.

The two chatted casually across the screen. Song Yueying talked about what happened at the company during the day, while Chu Chen talked about the weather and food in Qiongzhou. The atmosphere was warm and harmonious.

As they chatted, the conversation quickly turned to today's meeting.

"How did you feel about today's meeting? What did the leaders say?"

As mentioned before, the biggest difference between Song Yueying and ordinary girls is that she is very ambitious, especially after she got together with Chu Chen.

When serious matters were mentioned, Chu Chen's smile faded somewhat.

He sat up straight, pondered for a moment, and mentally reviewed the information from today's meeting.

"There are mainly two things."

"First, we encourage going global."

"This is not surprising. This is the theme of the entire meeting today. From the leaders' speeches to my seating arrangement, everything is sending this signal. We have been put forward as a typical example this time."

Song Yueying nodded. This was evident from the overwhelming news reports in the media this afternoon. Terms like "Star Mode" and "Chu Chen in the center position" had already begun to circulate in major technology and gaming media outlets.

"And the second thing?" "The second thing..."

Chu Chen glanced subconsciously at the darkness outside the window.

"The second thing is a bit interesting. It's about next year's serial number."

"Board number?"

"Hmm." Chu Chen said slowly, "At the banquet, I chatted with the relevant leaders for a few minutes. He hinted that there might be major upheavals in the approval of game licenses in China next year, and that we should be prepared."

"Big changes? What do you mean?"

"do not know"

Chu Chen naturally knew what this major upheaval was all about. To put it simply, in March 2018, the competent authority changed, and the function of approving game licenses was transferred to the newly established State Administration of Press and Publication, which was directly managed by the Publicity Department.

In fact, during the era of broadcasting, the purpose of game board numbers was to manage game quality and regulate the game market.

However, given the exponential growth in the number of manufacturers and products in the mobile game era, game licenses are practically obsolete, especially for those who experienced the internet boom of 16 and 17.

I've seen plenty of explicit pop-up ads for games, like "My husband's not home tonight."

In addition, a large number of DB software advertisements are also openly displayed.

Of the 9378 games approved in 2017, 38% were card and board games, and another 31% were casual games in a broad sense, such as fishing, puzzle, and parkour games.

Together, they account for 69 percent of the market.

The remaining 30% is filled with a large number of reskinned, knock-off, and poorly made products.

The entire market was in extreme chaos, but the State Administration of Radio and Television did almost nothing about it. However, when the power of regulation was handed over to the Propaganda Department, the new broom swept clean.

The propaganda department naturally disapproved of this phenomenon.

It is said that during the previous era of the publishing license freeze, there was a rumor circulating among the top levels of the industry that when the officials of the State Administration of Press and Publication were formulating new regulations, there was an unwritten goal within the administration.

The goal of this regulation is to eliminate 90% of the low-end game companies on the market.

Of course, whatever the reason.

Anyway, Chu Chen knew very well that the license freeze of 18 was just around the corner.

So although he said he didn't know, he wasn't actually that surprised. On the contrary, there was something else he had been thinking about ever since the banquet ended.

That was before leaving, a leader from the publicity department mentioned overseas publishing licenses.

The term "overseas distribution license" is a new one, but it is not difficult to understand.

Simply put, the current game license system allows foreign games to enter China.

This overseas publishing license signifies that Chinese games are going global, which is somewhat similar to the export licensing system in the automotive industry.

Moreover, the leader specifically reminded that overseas game licenses will be subject to a post-review system, and said that if things go smoothly, the opinion letter for overseas game licenses may be issued in March of this year.

In other words, by March of this year, it is very likely that the strange situation will occur where domestic game licenses are suspended while overseas game licenses continue to be issued.

An overseas game license may sound like a restrictive thing, but it is actually a kind of official recognition.

in the country, what people fear most is not government intervention, but rather government apathy.

Because the former has a clear boundary, while the latter does not. For example, the game rating system that has been debated in the domestic game industry for many years.

With a tiered system, everyone can act according to the tiered system; without a tiered system, one can only rely on "God's will".

Similarly, once overseas game licenses are officially granted, it will essentially mean that Xingchen's "backdoor listing" platform strategy has transformed from a "gray industry" into a "normal" industry.

This also means that a lot of capital can confidently and boldly invest in this field.

The platform war, which was relatively restrained in China before, is likely to intensify further.

(End of this chapter)