Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 297 The IP Plan for "Black Myth: Wukong"
Night, inside the hotel.

After taking a shower and wrapping herself in her own towel, Meng Ziyi looked at Chen Xiu, who was typing away on her laptop with her back to her, and pouted with some displeasure.

Normally it takes at least two hours, but today it was suddenly rushed through in just one hour, and they even said they had some inspiration...

After silently cursing Chen Xiu in his heart, Meng Ziyi walked over with a frown and hugged Chen Xiu's head from behind.

"Brother Xiu, what are you doing?"

"You're pinching my ear a little uncomfortable..."

"Okay, how about this?"

Meng Ziyi half-squatted down and leaned on Chen Xiu's shoulder.

Chen Xiu moved her neck and felt much better: "I'm writing a script."

"Didn't you say that the script for 'The Xuanwu Gate Incident' was mostly finished, and that the rest needed to be completed by someone else?"

“New script.”

"Eh? Let me see," the giant turtle's skeletal head, its bones protruding, turned and uttered with difficulty, "This time, I've won again, Jin Chanzi..." The monk wearing a bamboo hat said, "You're confusing people's minds, turning cause into effect. Senior brother's obsession with winning and losing is both laughable and pathetic... Xiu-ge'er, this script of yours..."

Meng Ziyi dragged the mouse and found that the script below was divided into several stories, none of which were very long.

She turned her head to look and saw that Chen Xiu's expression was calm. She couldn't help but lean over and kiss him on the cheek.

"Mua~, why is the script so weird?"

Feeling the dampness on her cheek, Chen Xiu reached up and scratched her neck, then said to Meng Ziyi's coquettish tone, "When we went to the 'Wandering Earth' set today, didn't Wu Ershan come over?"

"Yes, you don't like him."

"Is it that obvious?"

"When you're with a stranger, you smile briefly at the beginning but then stop smiling. When you're with someone you like, your eyes are smiling. When you don't like someone, you just keep smiling with your mouth. You can tell if you observe them for a little while, but people who don't know you well won't be able to tell."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiu slowly turned her chair and pulled Meng Ziyi into her arms.

“I chatted with Wu Ershan for a bit, mostly asking him about the pre-production process. We discovered that live-action mythological films are indeed difficult to make due to the high cost. However, animated films would require less investment and have a larger market.”

“I don’t understand this, but your script…”

Meng Ziyi turned to look at the computer screen and then said, "It doesn't seem very long. It probably can't be made into an animated film, right?"

"This is just an animated short film, a total of 6 episodes. The content is only a rough outline. I'll go back and have the screenwriter expand the script. Each episode will be about ten minutes long. I'll go and test the waters beforehand to see the reaction. But I'd like to find a game company first."

Chen Xiu held Meng Ziyi in his arms, gently inhaling the scent of her shower gel, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes.

During the day, while chatting casually with Wu Ershan, he thought of the much-maligned "Fengshen 2" and then of "Black Myth: Wukong", which was released in the same year.

As a cultural symbol from 24 years ago, "Black Myth" cost 2-3 million to produce, less than one-tenth of the cost of the "Investiture of the Gods" trilogy, but generated economic benefits of tens of billions, and its cultural output is the strongest in the past decade.

Compared to Ma Luo, "Investiture of the Gods" is just a pile of crap...

The team that created "Black Myth" previously worked at Tencent on a game called "Dou Zhan Shen". Due to differences in philosophy with the company, the team left to work independently, and the leader is named Feng Ji.

Chen Xiu had played this game for two months before his rebirth and was very familiar with its animated shorts.

Based on memory, I wrote down a rough outline, and then found a screenwriter to expand on it. That gave me the basic content. The production of the six-episode animated short film cost less than 10 million yuan in total. It was just a trial run.

At this time, Black Myth should not have started production yet. Chen Xiu's idea was to invest in Feng Ji's company, produce the game normally, let the animated short film go first to see feedback, and if it went smoothly, then produce the animated film, and finally launch the game, thus creating a perfect closed loop for the IP.

The domestic animated film market still has great potential...

Meng Ziyi nuzzled Chen Xiu with his neck and asked, "Aren't you going back to the capital?"

"I'll go to Shenzhen first. Both Tencent and iQiyi are asking me to have dinner with them. I want resources from both companies and don't want to leave either of them behind. Let Xiao Feng cure their habit of hoarding everything first."

"So where are you planning to look for game companies?"

"Pengcheng."

Meng Ziyi, who was already dazed, suddenly perked up when he heard those two words, and stared wide-eyed at Chen Xiu.

Startled by her sudden puffed-out cheeks and intense stare, Chen Xiu asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Shenzhen! I want to go there too."

"...Hmm~, okay."

"Eh?"

Meng Ziyi's expression relaxed, and he looked at Chen Xiu with some surprise.

"What if we go to Shenzhen together and get photographed by reporters?"

"Be careful, or maybe we can revisit this place tonight."

"Hehe, Brother Xiu, you know what I'm thinking."

"You'll know if you observe for a little longer; people who aren't familiar with you won't be able to tell."

The same words, spoken by Chen Xiu, caused Meng Ziyi to pause in surprise.

When she realized what was happening, her thin eyebrows arched up in a coquettish tone: "Hmph! You're mimicking me."

"Heh, I've almost finished writing the script. Shall we continue what we were doing earlier?"

"Huh?? I've already finished showering?"

"It's okay, I'll keep you company in a bit." After saying that, the towel rustled as Chen Xiu picked up Meng Ziyi and carried her to the more spacious and sturdy battlefield next to the chair to prevent it from being too heavy.

……

"Hey, Lao Yang, what's up?"

"Old Feng, do you know Chen Xiu?"

Upon hearing the name mentioned by his partner Yang Qi, Feng Ji frowned in confusion, then a look of understanding quickly appeared in his eyes.

"How could I know him! He wasn't even a shareholder of Penguin when I left."

"I was wondering too. Chen Xiu suddenly called me just now, saying that he wants us to develop a game... I thought you knew him!"

"Did he commission us to develop the game on behalf of Penguin?"

"No, he only represents himself. He also said that he was inspired by 'Dou Zhan Shen' and wanted to ask us to have a chat."

Upon learning that it wasn't a penguin coming to find him, Feng Ji visibly relaxed.

He discussed it with Yang Qi on the phone, and they finally decided to meet Chen Xiu.

After hanging up the phone, Feng Ji's face was still full of doubt, and he still couldn't understand how he had caught Chen Xiu's attention.

After thinking it over, he shook his head, lit a cigarette, and thought about Yang Qi's idea of ​​making "Black Myth: Wukong" some time ago. Feng Ji didn't know if he should take this step.

The next day, Feng Ji, wearing a suit that no longer fit him, met up with Yang Qi, who had come to the company.

The two set off together to the JW Marriott Hotel in Futian, where they met Chen Xiu, whom they usually only saw on screen, in a private room.

"Hello, you two!"

Chen Xiu stood up and shook hands with the two men, a simple smile playing on her lips.

"Hello, Mr. Chen!" *2
"I hope this sudden contact hasn't disrupted your plans. Please have a seat."

Feng Ji and Yang Qi exchanged a glance, then calmly took their seats.

Seeing the two somewhat reserved individuals, Chen Xiu cut to the chase: "If I were to commission you to develop a single-player game similar to 'Dou Zhan Shen,' with a Journey to the West theme and Sun Wukong as the playable character, would you be willing to take on this project?"

"..."*2
Feng Ji and Yang Qi were both stunned, and their eyes revealed obvious surprise.

Chen Xiu continued, "I have a general idea about the game's plot. Of course, this inspiration comes from 'Dou Zhan Shen'. You might want to evaluate it."

As they spoke, a game plot outline that had only been written a few days earlier was handed to Feng Ji and Yang Qi.

The above content refers to the game's plot settings and does not include the animated short film content.

As they read through the plot, Feng Ji and Yang Qi's expressions grew increasingly surprised, both thinking: How did Chen Xiu's idea overlap with "Black Myth: Wukong"?

Fortunately, it's not uncommon for game designers to have the same themes and settings.

Feng Ji and Yang Qi didn't think Chen Xiu would plant a spy in their company. The difference in their ranks was too great, and Chen Xiu had no reason to do so.

After putting down the story booklet, the two exchanged a glance, and Feng Ji spoke up, "President Chen, what is the budget for this game you mentioned, and what standards will it be made to?"

"There isn't a single truly AAA-level blockbuster game in China right now, is there?"

As soon as Chen Xiu asked the question, she saw Yang Qi, who was sitting opposite her, change his expression.

"Mr. Chen, your idea..."

"Old Yang!"

Feng Ji interrupted Yang Qi and smiled apologetically at Chen Xiu: "I'm sorry, President Chen, we probably can't take this order."

"why?"

"Um... there's a conflict in the plans, we've already arranged other work."

Feng Ji did not rashly say that his company was considering developing a similar game, but instead used the most conventional excuse to evade the question.

Hearing his refusal, Chen Xiu guessed that the production of "Black Myth" was probably already on the agenda, or that they were discussing whether or not to do it.

Seeing the two determined expressions, Chen Xiu used a strategy of retreat to advance, saying, "Since you have already made arrangements, then I won't force you. This order can only be placed with another company."

"Mr. Chen, please wait a moment."

Feng Ji quickly stopped Chen Xiu from getting up, already understanding Chen Xiu's determination to create this game.

"what happened?"

"May I ask why you want to make a AAA game?"

Chen Xiu slowly sat back down in her seat, thinking to herself: The plan worked!

Looking up at the two people whose expressions were unnatural, Chen Xiu said, "3A games have always been a blank part of the domestic game market, and I want to try to make them."

"I know that AAA standards are high-cost, high-quality, and large-scale video games, which take a long time to develop and require a lot of preparation."

"So my plan is to start with film and television works, and develop games in parallel. Once the film and television works are released and the market is opened up, the game IP will naturally gain popularity in China."

Yang Qi asked uncertainly, "You're planning to turn the game's storyline into a movie?"

“Making a movie directly would be too expensive. I plan to make an animated short film first, see the market feedback, and then make an animated movie. There are already too many live-action Sun Wukong movies in China. On the other hand, only the animated film ‘Monkey King: Hero Is Back’ in 15 has achieved success, and it still has a strong market.”

Chen Xiu explained to the two men that she wasn't worried at all about them plagiarizing, because the production cost of one of their films was higher than their company's estimated value...

(End of this chapter)