Rebirth 08: Can a mobile game company also build a tech empire?

Order has been restored in the office.

Lu Chen's sharp gaze swept to the left and right, and the people on both sides unconsciously lowered their heads, not daring to meet Lu Chen's eyes.

"Do people still recognize me as their boss?"

Lu Chen's tone was laced with anger.

"recognize!"

"Of course!"

"Boss, please don't say that. You'll always be our boss."

The crowd softened their tone and responded to Lu Chen in a flustered manner, afraid of angering him.

"Since you acknowledge me as your boss, I get to decide the game's price!"

Lu Chen's tone softened as well.

"Okay, you're in charge."

Everyone said in unison.

Seeing that everyone present was still listening to him, Lu Chen stopped arguing.

"The Fruit Swordsman is priced at $5.99! Any opinions?"

Seeing that Lu Chen was exercising his power as the boss to decide the price of the new game, everyone shook their heads and had no objections.

After all, Boss Lu had compromised between the differing opinions of both sides.

It neither kept prices low nor set them too high in one go.

It's a compromise.

Finally, after a series of unexpected events, the new game has been officially released on the App Store!

……

9 month 22 day.

America.

Jeremy stared intently at the screen.

He was playing a classic old game called Age of Empires II.

The four colors on the screen correspond to different factions, and the constantly flashing red dots on the map represent friendly units being attacked.

Jeremy quickly selected a group of sword-wielding knights with his mouse and attacked to harass a group of enemy infantry who were attacking his own barracks.

At the same time, he also commanded a dozen spearmen to sneak into the enemy's home.

"Hurry up, William! Where's your siege engine?!" Jeremy yelled into the microphone.

"Here it comes! Let's take down this nasty castle first! You cover me!" William's voice came through the earpiece.

A group of cavalrymen led the way, quickly emerging from the darkness.

A large number of infantry followed behind.

The infantry, protecting several siege engines, slowly moved towards the enemy castle.

The people on the other side clearly did not expect someone to launch a sneak attack on their hometown.

They only hastily turned their troops back to defend when the castle was attacked.

But it was too late.

A large number of infantry and siege engines had surrounded the castle, but the soldiers at home had just been lured out to attack the other side.

Soon, the castle burst into flames, its health bar depleted, and it collapsed into ruins.

But Jeremy and William clearly weren't going to let him off the hook.

The densely packed soldiers scattered and launched a frenzied attack on his buildings and farmers.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, he had no choice but to quit and surrender.

"William! We won!" Jeremy jumped up excitedly.

"That's great!" William's voice was also filled with excitement.

As the two opened their game history and were reviewing their recent victory, there was a knock on the door.

"Jeremy! Aren't you asleep yet?"

"Right now! I'm going to sleep right now!"

Jeremy took off his headphones and answered hastily.

He ran quickly to turn off the lights and tiptoed back to the table.

A moment later, the footsteps outside the door finally faded away.

Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Phew—my mom is finally gone."

"Sorry, William, I'm going to sleep."

After saying that, he quit the game, shut down the computer, and carefully crawled into bed, afraid of making any noise.

But after just one tense game, how could I possibly fall asleep right away?

Jeremy quietly pulled out his phone, ready to play a few more levels of Angry Birds.

This is the hottest game at school right now!

If you say you've never played it, nobody will play with you.

The iPhone Jeremy is currently holding was bought specifically to play Angry Birds.

As usual, he clicked on the little red bird and skillfully drew his bow to fire.

Just as he was having a great time, Angry Birds popped up a message.

"Fruit Swordsman, a new game created by the original team behind Angry Birds, is now available! Come and experience it first!"

"Fruit Swordsman?"

Jeremy muttered to himself.

He didn't expect the company behind Angry Birds to release a new game in such a short time.

Tap the notification, and your phone will automatically redirect to the App Store to open the details page for Fruit Swordsman.

"Fruit Swordsman - A Touchscreen Revolution, One Slash for Ultimate Fun!"

Still struggling to control games with buttons? Forget the arrow keys! Forget the complicated controls!

Fruit Swordsman, designed specifically for iPhone's touchscreen, lets you swipe your finger across the screen and experience the ultimate thrill of flying blades!

This is not a game; it's a declaration of the touchscreen era!

Download now and become a legendary swordsman!

(Tip: Please prepare a towel before playing—be careful of juice splashing all over the screen!)

Below are some striking images.

Amidst the flashing blades and clashing swords, flying fruits burst forth with juice, which then spread across the entire backdrop.

A swordsman stands with his arms crossed, holding a longsword, while behind him, fruit is being cleaved in two. A speech bubble floats above: "Want to become a legendary swordsman? Download and experience it now!"

Meanwhile, the scores earned from cutting fruit are displayed prominently at the top, and the final scores are tallied and compiled into a leaderboard.

"Cool!" Jeremy exclaimed. "That's so cool!"

This introduction had an impact on him no less than when he first played Angry Birds!

He was even more surprised that the two games were created by the same company!

They actually thought of using the most basic swipe gestures on a smartphone to control the game.

What kind of amazing company is it that can continuously produce groundbreaking games?

Jeremy immediately swiped to the top to prepare for the download.

He saw that the price was $5.99 and hesitated for a moment.

After all, most paid apps on the App Store are now $0.99.

Moreover, the company was eager to raise prices after only launching its second game, which made him somewhat uncomfortable.

But then I thought of the game's stunning graphics and its captivating description.

He finally gritted his teeth and chose to pay.

Payment successful, Jeremy immediately clicked to download.

Although 3G network speed is a significant improvement over 2G, Jeremy was burning with anxiety as he watched the download progress bar slowly move forward.

Finally, the download progress bar painstakingly finished.

A watermelon that has been split in half appeared on the phone screen.

Below it is written "Fruit Swordsman".

Jeremy couldn't wait any longer and quickly tapped the game.

The opening screen is also white, with a red artistic "Z" in the center.

Upon entering the game, a melodious flute tune slowly drifts in, followed by a bamboo forest as the background.

On the start screen, "Fruit Swordsman" is displayed at the top, made up of fruit.

A continuously rotating 3D model of fruit is surrounded by several rings of different colors.

The swordsman mentioned in the introduction also appears here.

The swordsman's long hair hung down casually, he wore a red robe with a black belt around his waist, and straw sandals on his feet.

Holding a long sword in one hand and adjusting his straw hat with the other, he struck a cool pose.

Wow!

Jeremy stared in shock, his mouth agape.

"Chinese style, so cool!"

Just from the opening scene, he knew this game couldn't be too bad.

Jeremy tapped the watermelon icon that represented "New Game," but nothing happened.

"What? Why don't you start?"

He tried clicking other icons, but there was still no response.

"Is there a problem?"

Jeremy scratched his head, looking puzzled.