November 10th, Thursday …
In Beijing.
Qiu Hong looked at the address on his phone and looked up at the old residential area in front of him.
The people coming and going in the residential area were all elderly people. As the old residential area was very old, the living conditions were rather worrying. The residential buildings were also very narrow. For young people, they might not even be willing to live here, let alone work here.
However, according to the address on his phone, there was an independent game designer here.
Qiu Hong also looked at the unit number and followed the corridor that was filled with all sorts of psoriasis advertisements. He climbed all the way to the sixth floor.
Qiu Hong knocked on the door gently after identifying which was 601 and which was 602.
Knock, knock, knock.
A moment later, footsteps came from inside and the old-fashioned security door opened.
A young man with messy hair and two huge dark circles asked hesitantly, "You are … Boss Qiu?"
Qiu Hong nodded. "Yes, you are Wu Zhicheng?"
Wu Zhicheng nodded. "Yes, Boss Qiu. Just call me Little Wu. Please come in."
Wu Zhicheng stepped aside.
Qiu Hong walked in and closed the security door.
The heating in Beijing should only start in the middle of November. There was still a week to go, so it was the coldest time.
After entering, Qiu Hong did not feel much warmth. Instead, he felt as if there was wind seeping in through the cracks in the window.
Wu Zhicheng seemed to be used to it. He dragged a chair over. "I'm sorry, Boss Qiu. It's too messy here. Please make do with it."
Qiu Hong did not mind. He pulled a chair over and sat down.
Initially, Wu Zhicheng wanted the two of them to find a cafe to chat. However, Qiu Hong insisted on coming to Wu Zhicheng's workplace to talk because he wanted to see the real working environment and state.
Qiu Hong looked around.
It looked like a very small one-bedroom apartment. The living room had become Wu Zhicheng's studio. There was a computer desk, a computer, a messy pile of books, a game console, a small television, a small dining table … There was not much space to stand.
The other room was Wu Zhicheng's bedroom. Apart from the bed and the wardrobe, there was not much space. The bed was also filled with books. The situation was also worrying.
Wu Zhicheng was a little embarrassed. He searched the small refrigerator for a long time, but there was only cola. He did not know if Boss Qiu was used to drinking this.
Qiu Hong hurriedly said, "Don't bother. Let's get straight to the point."
Wu Zhicheng nodded. "Alright, I'll briefly explain my situation."
Compared to Jiang Fan of Cherry Workspace, Wu Zhicheng's experience was much simpler.
Jiang Fan originally worked in a law firm. First, he made a game in his spare time. After it was successful, he made up his mind to set up Cherry Workspace.
On the other hand, Wu Zhicheng had worked for a period of time after graduating from university and had a certain amount of savings. Then, because he was dissatisfied with his job, he resolutely quit to eat dirt and start making games.
As for what would happen if the game could not be completed and if it could not earn money, Wu Zhicheng did not consider it at all.
In any case, if he couldn't take it anymore, he would find another job.
Qiu Hong asked, "What stage is the game development at? Can you give it a try? "
Wu Zhicheng nodded. "Sure, but … the completion rate is very low. Boss Qiu, you might have to imagine it."
As he spoke, Wu Zhicheng switched on his computer and opened the game project he had created in the official game editor.
Qiu Hong sat down in front of Wu Zhicheng's computer. He was speechless as he looked at the dust on the keyboard and mouse, as well as the ashtray full of cigarette butts and empty Coke bottles on the computer table.
Wu Zhicheng quickly took out two pieces of tissue from the tissue box beside him and wiped the keyboard and mouse carefully. Then, he tidied up the computer table.
"Boss Qiu, this is a mobile game, but it can only be played on the computer at the moment. It requires you to use the mouse to complete the operation. It's not very convenient. Please bear with me."
Qiu Hong nodded and entered the game.
The name of the game was Black Ink and Clouds. It was a 2D horizontal game with high difficulty. The biggest difference between this game and other horizontal games was that it had a special way of playing, which was to interact with the game's scenery through drawing.
Players could create or erase the objects in the game's scenery through painting. This interactive experience would bring players a very novel experience in some special stages and boss battles.
However … this was the ideal situation.
Many games had rich ideals, but the reality was very harsh.
There were two prerequisites to achieve the effect that Wu Zhicheng was hoping for. First, every stage and every battle had to be meticulously crafted. Second, it had to have a very outstanding artistic effect.
The biggest difference between Black Ink and Clouds and other 2D horizontal games was the interactive experience of painting. However, if it was just a simple painting and wiping, the players' experience would be very boring. This innovation in gameplay would be meaningless.
The so-called innovation in gameplay could not be a simple concept. Instead, it had to be a rich set of gameplay and content.
He had to think and plan every stage and every boss's playstyle. He had to develop more tricks on the basis of this gameplay to be considered a success.
What's more, since this game was a game that featured interactive graphics, the graphics had to be outstanding. Otherwise, the fun of playing would be greatly reduced.
Based on the current completion rate of the game, it was far from it.
That was very normal. Wu Zhicheng was only a student who had just graduated. He created this game purely out of love. Looking at the conditions, putting aside whether he had the ability to do the gameplay and levels well, at least he could not solve the art resources.
Wu Zhicheng was not good at art, and he could not afford to hire a big shot on the official platform. Thus, the resources in the game were all pieced together. It looked very unstylish.
What's more, all the operations were done with the mouse. It was not as smooth as playing on the cell phone.
All in all, Qiu Hong's enjoyment of the game depended entirely on his imagination.
Qiu Hong sighed softly, feeling a little melancholic.
Previously, he had thought that Cherry Workspace's capital chain was about to break and its salary could not be paid. It was very suitable for the rescue conditions of the 'Destitution Plan'.
However, when he saw Wu Zhicheng today, he realized that there was no such thing as a 'destitution plan'.
The question was, did this project meet the conditions?
Boss Pei had said that he could not invest in things that were too reliable or too unreliable.
This would definitely be considered extremely unreliable according to normal standards. An ordinary person with no experience in game development, who could only rely on his love to generate electricity, whether it was his level design ability or his art level, there was no guarantee.
However, Qiu Hong instinctively hoped that Wu Zhicheng would be able to obtain help. That was because Wu Zhicheng had a belief that made this project reliable.
"Boss Pei said that I'll decide myself if I'm not sure if it's reliable."
"Since that's the case …"
Qiu Hong pondered for a long time before asking, "How much do you think this game will cost to complete?"
Wu Zhicheng was stumped. "Er … this …"
"To be honest, I'm not sure either."
"If I have 200,000 yuan, I can hire a good artist to help me draw the game scenes."
"If I have 50,000 yuan, I can use it to pay rent first. It can last for a long time …"
Qiu Hong fell into deep thought.
For Cherry Workspace, there were very clear plans for the completion rate of the project, the salary of the employees, and the daily expenses.
However, Wu Zhicheng did not have a clear concept of the project planning, construction period, and resource control. Naturally, he could not give a specific number.
No matter how much money he gave, he could only solve the urgent need first. The rest could be discussed later.
Qiu Hong was not worried that Wu Zhicheng would spend too much money. He would not be able to spend much given his conditions.
The key was that without a clear plan, the project management would fall into chaos. Qiu Hong knew very well that this was a fatal factor that could cause the project to fail completely.
To these independent game designers, money was not the only thing they lacked. They also lacked other supporting facilities.
For example, how to plan the development cycle of the project, how to control the cost, how to solve the financial problems, and so on. These were all very difficult problems to solve.
However, it would be a waste to equip a complete set of games given the size of the game workspace.
He could not possibly get three or four people, including finance and administration, to surround Wu Zhicheng, right? That would not be right.
Qiu Hong pondered for a moment and said, "Wait a moment, I'll make a call."
Wu Zhicheng nodded and waited patiently.
Obviously, he knew very well that it was too far-fetched to get someone to invest with his conditions.
He hoped that the leader that Boss Qiu was asking for help would be kind.
— —
For the game details of Black Ink and Clouds, see Chapter 194 of Reboot Game Era. Those who were interested could go take a look. It would not affect the plot of the book.
Complete book
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
