enjoyebooks Chapter 430 Genshin Impact, Activate!
Chapter 430 Genshin Impact, Activate!
With something to look forward to, Lu Ran's work attitude changed noticeably.
Previously, when he arrived at the company, he would first look at the data, then hold a morning meeting, then go back to his office to handle emails, and then take a walk around the technology department.
This process is unchanging and efficient, but it always feels like "going to work".
Things are different now. The first thing he does when he gets to the company is still to look at the data, but his spirits are different after he looks at the data.
Zhou Mingzhe was the first to notice this change.
That morning, the two were getting water at the break room. Zhou Mingzhe looked at Lu Ran for several seconds while holding his cup and said, "Why do you look a little different today?"
Lu Ran looked down at himself: black hoodie, cargo pants, sneakers—nothing much different from usual. "What's different?"
"I can't quite put my finger on it. It's just that you seem... energetic. Like you've been injected with adrenaline."
"I have energy every day."
"You used to be energetic, but today you're more energetic and excited than energetic. Did you win the lottery?"
Lu Ran smiled but didn't explain.
He couldn't very well say that he was motivated to work harder because he was going to have a belated wedding; Zhou Mingzhe would definitely laugh at him if he said that.
Who would believe that a boss worth tens of billions is motivated by holding a belated wedding?
He took his water glass back to his office, turned on his computer, and pulled up the development plan for "CrossFire".
The game received a good response after its release, but Lu Ran knew that relying solely on the basic battle mode would not sustain players' enthusiasm for long.
Shooting games need a constant stream of new content to keep users engaged; new maps, new weapons, and new gameplay are all essential.
He had already prepared a follow-up plan.
He created two new pages in the development plan document, titled "Biohazard Mode" and "Catastrophe Mode" respectively.
Biohazard mode was his favorite mode in CrossFire in his previous life.
The human faction fights against the bio-zombie faction. Humans who are captured by the zombies will turn into zombies themselves. A game starts with a few people fighting a few zombies, and gradually becomes one person fighting a group of zombies.
The tension of being chased and the sense of accomplishment of turning the tide in a desperate situation are things that ordinary battle modes can't provide.
The cataclysmic mode is an attempt in another direction.
In the PVE gameplay, players team up to fight against computer-controlled bio-monsters, progressing through levels and defeating bosses.
This mode is more intense than the Biohazard mode, requiring higher levels of skill and teamwork, but the sense of accomplishment upon completion is also greater.
Lu Ran wrote out the framework of the two modes, without going into too much detail, only outlining the core gameplay and basic numerical framework.
His current strategy is different from before. He no longer simply throws out the complete project package, but instead provides the team with a framework and direction, letting them fill in the details themselves.
This will take longer to develop, but the whole process will feel more realistic, and it won't make people feel like the project just fell from the sky.
He spent the entire morning writing out the solutions for both models and then sent them to the technical department's group chat.
Old Wang was the first to reply: "President Lu, where did you get this inspiration from? CrossFire has only been online for a few days, and you've already thought of the subsequent versions?"
Lu Ran replied, "I've already thought about it. I just haven't brought it out yet."
Old Wang sent a "Boss is brilliant" emoji and said, "The idea of the biohazard mode is interesting. It's an asymmetrical confrontation, with the number of humans decreasing as they fight, while the number of ghosts increases. You can imagine the pressure on humans in the later stages."
Zhao Yiming chimed in: "President Lu, should we restrict the weapons humans use in Biohazard mode? If everyone uses cannons, the Ghosts won't be able to play at all."
Lu Ran thought for a moment and replied, "Restrictions can be implemented, but they shouldn't be too complicated. A simple way is to lower the damage of human weapons or increase the health of ghosts. We can adjust them gradually during later testing."
Zhao Yiming then asked, "What about the Cataclysm mode? That must be a lot of work, right? The map, the monsters, the bosses—everything is new."
"It's a lot of work, but it's worth it. The PVE mode is highly engaging; players will keep playing even if they can't beat a level, which keeps players engaged more than PVP. You should assess the workload first and see how many people you need, and I'll arrange it for you."
Zhao Yiming sent a "received" emoji and then said, "I'll study it first and give you an evaluation report next week."
Lu Ran closed the group chat and leaned back in his chair.
He has great confidence in both models because the market in his previous life has already tested them.
The release of the Biohazard mode immediately boosted the popularity of CrossFire to a new level, while the Cataclysm mode brought back many players who had quit the game.
These two models would work well in this world.
But he also knew that these two tricks alone were not enough.
Sakura Games and EA won't sit idly by; they're definitely preparing some big move. Although Lu Ran didn't know the specifics, he could roughly guess.
Sakura Games has several flagship products in the Japanese market. If you take any one of them over and localize it properly, it could potentially make waves in the Chinese market.
Needless to say, EA has dozens of IPs in its hands, any one of which is a heavyweight.
The question is what they will take.
Lu Ran mentally reviewed Sakura Games' product line.
MMORPGs are their forte, especially Sakura Legends, which has been operating in Japan for ten years and boasts an absurdly high level of user loyalty.
If they bring this over and create an operational plan that suits the tastes of Chinese players, it would indeed be a significant threat.
There are more possibilities with EA.
They have shooting games, sports games, open-world games, and strategy games.
The most likely scenario is that they will bring over their shooting game that has already proven successful in the European and American markets, but CrossFire has already captured the FPS market, so if they come in, it will be a head-on collision.
Lu Ran thought for a while and decided that there was no need to waste too much energy on these speculations.
What our competitors do is their business; all we can do is make our own products good.
He still had one card in his hand, a card that could change the course of the game.
He had kept this card hidden for a long time.
There was a game in my past life that nobody thought would be good before it was released, but it became a global hit after its release. It perfectly combined open world and gacha mechanics, making countless players willingly open their wallets.
Genshin Impact, activate!
Lu Ran had seen the complete design of Genshin Impact in the system and knew how technically challenging the game was.
A seamless open world, seven elemental reactions, and cross-platform data interoperability—each of these is no small feat.
But if they can make it, Tutu Technology will not only gain a foothold in the Chinese market, but will also have the capital to compete head-on with international giants.
But he wasn't in a hurry.
Genshin Impact is too large a project; Tutu Technology's current manpower is not enough to support it.
He needs to solidify the current few games, grow the team, and further deepen his technical expertise.
We'll drop the nuclear bomb when the time is right.
In the afternoon, Lu Ran received a call from Chen Mo.
Chen Mo's voice sounded more serious than usual: "President Lu, I have some news to share with you. Sakura Games has made a move."
Lu Ran leaned back in his chair, his tone calm: "What action?"
"They're bringing 'Sakura Legend' to China. Not just a simple translation, but a complete localization. From the plot to the characters to the operational rhythm, everything is being remade. It's a significant investment; reportedly the largest investment they've ever made in the Chinese market."
Lu Ran didn't speak immediately. He had guessed this before, and now that he was right, he felt relieved.
We already know the worst-case scenario; all that's left is figuring out how to deal with it.
"What about EA?" he asked.
"I haven't heard anything from EA yet. But I reckon they're getting restless. You've put these two games in such a fierce competition; if they don't react, they wouldn't be EA."
Lu Ran nodded, though Chen Mo couldn't see it. "Mr. Chen, thank you for telling me this."
"You're welcome. I've told you before, I'm on your side on this issue." Chen Mo paused, his tone becoming more serious. "President Lu, Sakura Games is coming on strong this time. Aren't you worried at all?"
Lu Ran thought for a moment, then said something that left Chen Mo speechless for a long while: "Mr. Chen, I have a question for you. In your opinion, what is the most important factor in whether a game can succeed?"
Chen Mo thought for a moment: "Quality? Operations? Distribution channels?"
"None of those," Lu Ran said. "It's about sincerity. Players know whether you're sincere or not. Why didn't Sakura Games succeed in the Chinese market before? It wasn't that their games were bad, it was that they lacked sincerity. They simply copied what sold well in Japan, changed the language, and launched it, thinking Chinese players would buy it. Players aren't stupid. If you fool them once, they won't give you a second chance."
"This time they said they would completely localize and invest their biggest sum of money. I believe they are serious. But sincerity isn't something you can just talk about; it's something you show through your actions. They've been in the Japanese market for so many years and they understand Japanese players. But do they understand Chinese players? I don't think so."
Chen Mo was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone, then laughed: "President Lu, every time I finish talking to you, I have a strange feeling."
"How does it feel?"
"I feel you have a lot of confidence. It's not the kind of confidence that's faked, it's a confidence that really comes from within. I don't know where you get so much confidence, but seeing you like this makes me feel at ease."
Lu Ran smiled and said, "President Chen, don't worry. Whatever Sakura Games throws at me, I'll take it. Whatever EA throws at me, I'll take it too. They make a move, I'll fight back. It's that simple."
After hanging up the phone, Lu Ran sat in his office for a while, then stood up and walked to the whiteboard.
The whiteboard was covered with the progress and milestones of various projects, densely packed together, like a battle map.
He picked up a marker and wrote a line at the top: "Sakura Legend. EA Unknown Project." Then he drew two lines below it, one pointing to CrossFire and the other to Minecraft.
This was his simplest idea.
No matter what card his opponent plays, his hand is already laid out on the table.
MOBA games have League of Legends, sandbox games have Minecraft, and shooting games have CrossFire.
Three tracks, three products, covering the most mainstream categories in the game market.
No matter how strong the opponent is, it is impossible for them to compete head-on with him on all three tracks at the same time.
He also has Genshin Impact.
...