At first, Pei Qian did not pay much attention to this problem.
It was inevitable that they would wear the same clothes.
It was easy for designers to have similar inspirations in MOBA games. What's more, they were all using golden elements. They would be more similar in the first place. It was normal to have a sense of deja vu.
This little sense of deja vu could not be considered plagiarism.
Finger Games was a big company. It should still be shameless.
However, Pei Qian flipped through the netizens' comments on this skin and suddenly realized that something was wrong.
Obviously, netizens also felt that this black-gold-themed champion skin felt similar to GOG's Coin-Scattering Hedgehog, Modest.
Some netizens had the same opinion as Pei Qian. They felt that it was purely a coincidence that they 'wore the same clothes'.
However, many netizens held different views.
"I don't think this is a coincidence!"
"Take a closer look at this picture. I photoshopped the Coin-Scattering Hedgehog into this black-gold-themed champion skin. In the end, it doesn't feel out of place at all. It's even inexplicably harmonious!"
"How do we explain this?"
This netizen posted a picture below.
Originally, the IOI heroes in this champion skin had different postures. Some were standing, some were half-squatting, and some were lined up horizontally in a row. They looked quite handsome.
However, this netizen photoshopped a huge Modest behind them!
What's more, this Modest had been specially exaggerated. His originally burly and powerful figure was further enlarged. IOI's heroes only reached his waist.
Modest's broad, thick arms, and the golden light effect that spread out like wings completely occupied the upper half of the picture. It was like an angel descending to the world, enveloping the five IOI heroes below in its golden light.
The difficulty of this photoshop was not high. That was because Modest had taken it from a high-precision original painting and added some golden special effects.
However, the final result did not feel out of place at all. It was as if these six heroes were originally one, and the five heroes below were like Modest's underlings …
Soon, this picture sparked heated discussion among netizens.
"Damn, it doesn't feel out of place at all! It's simply too suitable! "
"Although Modest's concept art doesn't have any technological elements, the champion skins of these five heroes are inexplicably compatible with Modest …"
"Looking at this picture, I suddenly realized a problem. These five heroes are not just similar to Modest in terms of the golden light special effects. They are similar in many ways!"
"There are many kinds of golden light special effects. Some are more inclined to gold coins, some are more inclined to the glow, and some are like water ripples … The golden light special effects used by Modest and this champion's skin are closer to the feeling of gold coins. They are uniform in style."
"Moreover, the five heroes of this series of skins all give people a sense of arrogance. This is also very similar to Modest's character. Look at the way these people stand. They're all so arrogant. They're practically carved from the same mold as Modest … "
"I have a piece of news! I have a friend who knows the staff of FV Club. I heard that this set of skin is to pay tribute to Boss Pei! "
"You have to know that FV Team was only a second-rate team in the beginning. How could they win the world championship? They relied on Boss Pei to burn money to provide them with strong logistical support and send data analysts to provide them with data support! Therefore, the two themes of this champion's skin are 'gold' and 'data'. It's to commemorate Boss Pei! "
"There's actually such a thing? That makes sense. After all, Modest was designed based on Boss Pei. It's also to pay tribute to Boss Pei. Naturally, there would be a slight clash in the design … "
"I think you might be overcomplicating things. It's most likely that the original artist of Finger Games was slacking off and wanted to use the golden elements. He saw that Modest's golden elements looked very good, so he 'borrowed' it!"
"That's not right. You're looking down on the professionalism of the original artists of Finger Games! I think it should be like this: Modest's concept art is Big Boss Ruan's work. It's very outstanding to begin with. Modest is too famous as GOG's representative hero, and his image is too deep in people's hearts. The original artists of Finger Games have seen too many of them. When they wanted to create some concept art with golden elements, they unknowingly and subconsciously used Modest's art style … "
Players had different opinions. They could not tell which of these rumors were true and which were false.
However, in the discussion, players gradually established a consensus.
It was indeed similar!
The more they looked at it, the more they looked like it, especially after the photoshopped image was released.
As for why it was similar, everyone had their own opinions. No one could convince the other. Some people thought that the original artists of Finger Games had deliberately borrowed from it. Others thought that the original artists of Finger Games had made an unintentional mistake. It was a creative clash.
However, no matter how they discussed it, one thing would not change: this set of skin was completely tied to Modest's image!
The influence of this photoshopped image was so widespread and deep that many players felt that something was missing when they saw the original concept art of Black Gold Technology's five heroes standing together.
What was missing?
Obviously, it was missing Modest, who was standing behind them and shielding them from the wind and rain with his broad arms!
Once they accepted this setting, this set of Black Gold Technology's champion skin could no longer exist independently. Instead, it was firmly tied to Modest.
The reason why this happened was not only because they looked similar, but also because of the story behind this champion's skin that people loved to talk about.
It could be said that without Boss Pei's (Modest's) extravagant spending and data support, FV Team would not have won the championship. Naturally, there would not have been this set of black-gold-themed champion skin.
Thus, many elements inside and outside the game tied the image of this champion skin and Modest's image tightly together. They could no longer be separated.
What was even more terrifying was that players were still digging and extending more meanings …
…
Long Yu Corporation …
Eric scrolled through the comments online, his entire being in a state of anger and shock.
"What's going on?!"
"How could this be?!"
"We were the ones who released the champion skin. Why are they all discussing GOG, Modest, and Tengda?"
He had also seen Zhao Xuming's publicity plan. He did not think there was any problem at all. He felt that even if Boss Pei wanted to retaliate, he would have to wait until Xia Cu.
However, he did not expect the originally foolproof champion skin to cause trouble!
This turn was too sudden. Eric had been thinking about something else previously and was not fully mentally prepared. He almost sprained his waist.
Everyone else in the conference room lowered their heads, not daring to breathe.
That was because the current situation was too terrible.
After Finger Games and Long Yu Corporation released the Black Gold Technology-themed champion skin, everyone was discussing Tengda and GOG's Modest even though there was a good response online!
There were almost no netizens discussing this skin itself!
What was even more terrifying was that players' imaginations were running wild. They dug out and extended many other meanings.
Modest represented Boss Pei. He was the one who created this set of Black Gold Technology's champion skin. The gold represented Tengda's extravagance, and the technology represented the powerful data support provided by Boss Pei. This set of skin symbolized Boss Pei's formation of a team to conquer IOI and leave a strong mark in IOI's hall of honor forever …
A few months later, people recalled the scene of FV killing everyone as the representative team of Tengda and Boss Pei during the IOI global finals.
In fact, Finger Games had already expected this when they created the champion skin for FV Team. They would definitely be whipped again after this set of skin was released.
However, he did not expect the whipping to be so fierce and immoral!
Eric took a deep breath and looked at Zhao Xuming.
Zhao Xuming retracted his head.
Why are you looking at me? What does this have to do with me?
Indeed, I was the one who did the publicity plan.
However, I only made a very normal and reasonable publicity plan based on the champion skin! Wasn't the problem with the skin itself?
You should settle the score with the person who designed the skin!
Seeing Eric's unfriendly expression, Zhao Xuming felt that he had to immediately throw away the blame that was about to fall on him.
"This must be Boss Pei's scheme!"
"Boss Pei is really scheming. This was obviously a plan that he had made since FV Team won the championship. He only revealed it today!"
"Everyone, think about it carefully. What's the state of the domestic MOBA game market now?"
"Actually, the incremental market is about to be divided up. MOBA games are already very famous. Players of other types of games that are easy to convert have basically all converted."
"Therefore, the war between GOG and IOI has gradually shifted to the stock market. In other words, we have to snatch each other's players! "
"That's easier said than done."
"MOBA games have a very high learning cost. It would be very uncomfortable to play another game after familiarizing yourself with one game. At this time, we need to find a breakthrough point! "
"This breakthrough point can be a very recognizable hero image, or it can be a story that players enjoy talking about and passing down by word of mouth."
"Yet, Boss Pei has combined these two points!
"After FV Team won the championship, Boss Pei knew that we were going to create a champion skin for FV Team. Thus, he must have instructed FV Team to create a series of skins similar to Modest's style."
"At the same time, in order to eliminate our suspicions, the members of FV Team deliberately did not mention Modest when they mentioned their requirements. However, in the subsequent communication, they asked our artists to repeatedly modify the plan and guide it towards Modest's style bit by bit."
"That's why the final product is very similar to Modest!"
"Boss Pei's motive is so vicious!"
"FV Team is his team. In a very short period of time, he built FV Team from a second-rate team in the country to a world champion and won the first overall championship of IOI's global finals. This is a memorable honor for Boss Pei. "
"However, he obviously wants more than that."
"The reason why he created such a set of champion skins was because he wanted to firmly combine this set of champion skins with Modest's image. In the future, when IOI players see the champion skins, they will naturally think of Modest, GOG, and Tengda Corporation!"
"This is a breakthrough point. It will subtly make IOI players recognize and accept GOG, and gradually eat away at our players …"
"This is all Boss Pei's scheme. It has nothing to do with my skin promotion plan!"
Everyone nodded after hearing Zhao Xuming's words. Realization dawned on their faces.
Based on this analysis, Boss Pei was indeed vicious!
So this conspiracy had already been planned when FV Team had just won the championship?
Now, it seemed like Boss Pei's plan was indeed flawless. Not only did it deceive everyone in Finger Games and Long Yu Corporation, but it also deceived the players.
It was only when the champion skin officially began to be publicized that the dagger was revealed and the sword cut the throat!
Now, it was too late for Finger Games and Long Yu Corporation to regret it.
It would be useless even if they redid this set of champion skins now. In fact, they would be in a worse situation.
Players would still associate this set of champion skins with Modest. What's more, if they redid it, it would be equivalent to Boss Pei winning a complete victory again. He would be able to watch Finger Games make a fool of himself twice without any effort.
Thus, this set of champion skins was clearly poaching IOI's foundation. It was clearly a wedding dress for Tengda, but they could not withdraw it. They could only bite the bullet and continue selling it!
That was truly too unbearable.
Eric closed his eyes and sighed silently.
Zhao Xuming was right. This incident had nothing to do with him. It was not a problem with the publicity plan, but with the skin itself.
He could not push the blame to the designers of the champion skin. After all, they had only done their job seriously.
Eric and Zhao Xuming had been fighting with Boss Pei the entire time, but they could not see through Boss Pei's move. What more those designers who were far away on the other side of the ocean, had never interacted with Boss Pei, and were only in charge of designing skins?
No one could be blamed for this. They could only blame Boss Pei for being too cunning!
Eric leaned back in his chair and did not speak for a long time.
He had been ambitious when he became the person-in-charge of IOI's China region again. He felt that he had found Tengda's weakness and that defeating Boss Pei would not be a problem.
However, he only felt a deep sense of powerlessness now.
There seemed to be no hope at all even if he persevered.
What should he do?
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