Game development begins with destroying Girls' Frontline.

Wang Gang still remembers how he felt when he heard those words. He was stunned, his brain worked frantically, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Finally, a sudden inspiration struck him, and he replied with a single sentence.

"You want to get into VR?"

That one sentence was what got him the job.

Lin Li chuckled to himself, then nodded.

"I need you to perfect the 'illusion' of Yunmeng Studio without arousing internal suspicion. You need to make the outside world believe that we have big moves in VR, and you also need to make the people inside believe that it is true. Only in this way can we ensure that our strategic fraud plan is foolproof."

Once you reach the size of Spark, if you want to carry out strategic fraud, you can't just deceive outsiders; you have to treat all internal employees the same.

After all, before today, Lin Li had been trying to spread his game development ideas and attract more developers to join Spark.

There are basically no secrets inside Xinghuo.

The internet is teeming with insider information, and whenever a new project is launched, rumors start circulating online.

So this job is really not easy.

Lin Li's reason for choosing Wang Gang is also quite interesting.

"Your experience at Tencent, especially in the operation of WEGAME, where you faced complex internal struggles and external competition, is exactly the kind of experience we need right now."

To be honest, this reason... is quite subtle.

Wang Gang himself never expected that one day he would get the position of head of a studio at Xinghuo, and even the position of head of an independent studio, because of this reason.

But Lin Lin's open and honest way of saying these things made him feel very pleased.

Chapter 570 Blueprint

Moreover, Lin Li made it very clear that the reason for choosing Wang Gang was not only because he was "smooth," but also because he had the ability, and secondly because of his experience at Tencent.

Wang Gang himself was well aware of the years he spent at Tencent filled with internal strife and power struggles.

It truly taught him how to navigate complex situations and gave him a strong heart, allowing him to remain calm and composed no matter what he said.

Right now, Spark needs a "show," and the protagonist of this show is Yunmeng Studio.

As the director of this show, he had to convince everyone that Yunmeng Studio was pushing forward with the VR project and that Spark was about to usher in a new VR era.

"Of course, this isn't entirely a strategic deception. You know about the trajectory of fate. What you need to do now is draw up a blueprint for the future and then figure out how to solve the problems along the way."

Lin Li's approach to personnel management is never just about the present, but about looking towards the future.

Just like the Destiny Trails demo, which started as a strategic deception but has now become a reality, VR game projects are similar. First, they present a desired outcome, and then gradually work towards achieving it.

Wang Gang also recalled Lin Li's last words.

I couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions.

If it were just a strategic fraud scheme, he probably wouldn't have been so excited. But when Lin Li said that this "strategic fraud" was not just a simple deception, but paving the way for Xinghuo's future, he was even more excited.

The mission of Yunmeng Studio is not only to create a "false image", but also to explore a feasible VR development path for Xinghuo through this "false image".

Even though Wang Gang knew that Lin Li was just dangling a carrot in front of him, hoping that he would work hard.

This is indeed a pie that may not seem like much now, but will be very tempting in the future.

The pancake was big, but it smelled really good, and he definitely liked it.

Or to be more precise, every employee at Xinghuo falls for this rhetoric, because Lin Li, from the company's inception until now, despite being jokingly referred to by many as a "pie-in-the-sky" (a person who only paints empty promises), has always been a player in this market.

But every single promise Lin Li made ultimately came true.

This applies to both players and employees.

This alone is enough to make people completely devoted to them.

"Is Musk joining in the fun too?"

Upon hearing the news, Wang Gang put down the documents in his hand, walked over to the programmer who liked to "gossip," and looked at his computer screen.

Incidentally, because Spark is a global company, its internal network has been approved by the national education department as an educational dedicated line, which allows it to access the global internet.

"They actually replied?"

Wang Gang clicked on the tweet that had been tagged and found that Musk had given a brief reply.

“Interesting. I’ll ask Mr. Lin for one another day.”

This brief statement was enough to spark a much larger discussion.

After all, Musk was already one of the most influential figures in the global tech world at that time, and every statement he made attracted widespread attention.

This time, he actually expressed interest in Spark's VR handheld device, which undoubtedly added fuel to Spark's publicity.

"Brother Wang, look at the comments below, those are the interesting ones!"

His colleagues next to him also chimed in with jokes.

Wang Gang looked down.

The most upvoted comment in the comment section was a fan-made image of Spark Girl, who was holding a baseball bat and smashing it in front of a large U.S. stock market chart, accompanied by the caption "You think you know VR?"

Wang Gang couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"These netizens are really talented."

"And another thing, some people are saying this is the 'iPhone moment' for VR, and some are even directly calling out Meta, asking if they should retire."

Those who have spent time in school should know this.

If one person in the class starts acting silly, the atmosphere of the whole class will quickly be ruined.

The atmosphere in Xinghuo's office was relatively relaxed, and since the promotional video was quite inspiring, everyone started talking about the interesting things that happened to them after the video was released.

“A few days ago, many people asked me if the video was real or fake, which left me speechless. I told them it was a development kit, but they still kept asking.”

"You guys are lucky. I have a friend who asked me directly if I could get him a development machine to try out. I told him it was for internal testing, but he insisted that I secretly take it out for him, saying things like, 'Just for a little play, I promise I won't share it.' I was speechless. Is this something you can just take out like that?"

"Haha, your friend is hilarious!"

“There are even more outrageous ones,”

"I have a relative who, after seeing the promotional video, immediately asked me when Spark had acquired Tencent. I said, 'How could that be?' He didn't believe me at all, saying he'd heard from others that Spark was launching VR to put pressure on Tencent, and that they were acquiring Tencent..."

Hearing the group of people chatting and laughing in the office, Wang Gang felt a tightness in his chest.

As expected, after the video was posted, many people came to inquire about it.

Fortunately, the so-called "engineering prototypes" are currently locked up in the StarCore handheld console factory.

He didn't deliberately tell the employees not to talk about it, because the more you forbid something, the less likely you are to actually stop it.

It's better to let them discuss it.

Spreading out a mix of true and false information can actually help to conceal the truth.

Of course, putting secrecy aside, he could tell from the conversations in the studio that everyone in Yunmeng Studio was getting a little cocky because the first promotional video for Xinghuo VR was so good.

However, being adrift isn't entirely a bad thing; if properly guided, it can actually become a source of motivation.

"Alright, what you guys are saying makes me think that our VR system has officially launched and VR devices are already selling like hotcakes."

Wang Gang clapped his hands.

"If we're talking about something truly impressive, it has to be the StarCore handheld console. They sold out all 30 units yesterday alone, and now they're starting pre-orders. We need to step up our game too."

Wang Gang's words gradually calmed the laughter in the office, and everyone's attention was focused on him, clearly brought back to reality by his words.

Although some people might secretly think that the StarCore handheld console's phenomenal sales were also due to their VR efforts, it was clearly not the right time to say it out loud.

Wang Gang's tone was relaxed but carried a hint of seriousness.

"We've just taken the first step in a long journey. Excitement is understandable, and the players' expectations of us are something to be proud of."

Wang Gang paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the office, his tone gradually becoming more serious.

"But we must remember that players' expectations are both a driving force and a pressure. If we cannot translate these expectations into tangible products, they will quickly turn into disappointment or even doubt."

Chapter 571 Market Impact

"As President Lin said, Xinghuo's success has never been based on luck, but on strength and hard work."

"The success of Starcore handheld consoles is because they took every step solidly and refined every detail. Our VR project must also do the same."

"When I took office, President Lin personally instructed me that Yunmeng Studio is the core of Xinghuo for the next five years and the key to Xinghuo's continued success in the next ten years."

"Ten years of sparks have ignited the flames of Yunmeng."

Lin Li didn't actually tell Wang Gang that Yunmeng Studio was the key to Xinghuo's success in the next ten years, but that wasn't important.

All senior executives working at Xinghuo.

It's common for General Manager Lin to personally give instructions, raise a glass in toast when drinking, and pat someone on the shoulder to give advice when working overtime.

Of course, this doesn't really count as "falsely conveying imperial edicts," because they often actually used Lin Li's original words, only "embellished" them in many ways.

For example, Wang Gang's statement, "Spark's ten years in Yunmeng," corresponds to Lin Li's original words, "Spark's future growth will focus on VR."

If you're asking what the meaning is, it seems pretty much the same.

However, the former is obviously much more inspiring than the latter.

Moreover, within Spark, regardless of which studio...

Mentioning Lin Li, or General Manager Lin, always creates a strange kind of buff, especially in departments with more new employees, where this buff is even more pronounced.

As time has passed, the current batch of newcomers to Xinghuo are basically those who joined the company after hearing about President Lin's legendary stories.

Yes...

Although Lin Li has only been successful for a little over four years, his experience is truly legendary.

In addition, almost all the games he produced were huge hits, so Lin Li's popularity extends beyond just players; he's also very popular in the development community.

More importantly, Spark initially targeted university students as its player base, and in just four years, it has already influenced four graduating classes.

It's no exaggeration to say that in recent years, whenever a game company recruits a recent graduate, they are more or less influenced by Spark.

This impact is particularly pronounced at some established game companies.

There are also frequent jokes online about "spiritual spark employees" torturing "pay-to-win" bosses.

"Alright, everyone get back to work,"

Wang Gang waved his hand.

"Remember, our goal is not just to create a VR device, but to change the entire industry landscape. The future of Spark is in our hands!"

"understand!"

Everyone responded in unison, and then returned to their posts to get busy.

Wang Gang sat back down in his chair, secretly relieved.

So far, the first step of this "play" has been successful. The next step is to make this "play" even more perfect.

~~~

As May arrived.

As the weather in Shanghai gets better and better, the sales of Spark's handheld consoles are becoming increasingly outrageous.

"Brothers! I'm going to win today! If I win, I'll give it away for free in the live stream right away! I mean it!!"

In the live stream, Huang Wenfeng watched the number of viewers rapidly increase, and he was secretly overjoyed, but his face remained extremely serious.

"Never buy from scalpers, if you want to grab something, rely on yourself! Trust my luck!"

As a gaming blogger, if I had to pick the biggest recent events in the gaming world, the official announcement of Spark's VR and the official release of the StarCore handheld console would definitely be considered major events.

These two events happened almost simultaneously, with Spark VR initially generating more buzz.

However, the attention quickly shifted to the StarCore handheld console.

After all, no matter how good the VR concept is, neither Spark nor Steam has officially released any specific information after the hype from their press conferences has died down.

Such concepts, lacking tangible support, come and go quickly.

After the hype surrounding Half-Life: Alyx died down, players' attention gradually declined, much like a curve.