To ascend, I had no choice but to create games

Fang Cheng Studio is a legitimate studio; no one would cut corners here. With that reassurance, Huang Ping settled down and got to work.

Having gained access to the computer, Huang Ping downloaded the new game, “Quiet Cultivation,” designated Pz, in the SVN repository.

As far as Huang Ping knew, there were only four people in the entire company.

There were no artists; the programming was handled by Fang Cheng, while art was outsourced. After that, Fang Cheng would apply game filters to create the game’s atmosphere.

Although Huang Ping already knew Fang Cheng’s games were well-optimized and made excellent use of filters, he was still profoundly shocked when he entered the game.

What kind of immortal filter was this!

To align with the environment and the theme of “meditation,” Fang Cheng boldly used a water-ink style filter, which infused the game’s graphics with a sense of immortality and vitality.

With wide-open eyes, he stared at the screen from the moment he entered the game, as if he had been transported to another world, witnessing majestic sights.

Wind was fluttering, clouds were rolling, and violent natural disasters appeared and disappeared with incredible speed, stripping vegetation from the ground and scattering their own flesh and bone.

But in the next moment, all things revived, flowers grew rapidly along the ground, and the previously exposed earth was instantly enveloped in greenery, returning to a scene of vibrant natural competition.

In just a few minutes, he felt the passage of time, with a sense of vicissitude that each frame could be captured and used as a screensaver.

“Holy shit…”

For those few minutes, Huang Ping stared blankly at the screen, his linguistic abilities rapidly regressing to the point where he could only repeat, “Holy shit.”

Finding it hard to come back to his senses, he gasped for air.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he looked over at Fang Cheng, who was pondering nearby, and finally understood why Xiao Douzi admired the man so much.

With such a great immortal by his side, he too would be willing to pay homage every day, just for a touch of that immortal aura.

Xiao Douzi, who was sitting nearby, watched Huang Ping’s reaction with pride and then whispered, “Try controlling the character; it’s even more exhilarating.”

Huang Ping’s eyes widened as he asked, “It gets even better?”

“Yes, and when you understand the true gameplay, it will be even more thrilling,” Xiao Douzi assured him.

“Noway?”

Swallowing hard, Huang Ping finally tried controlling the character. The smooth feel of control made goosebumps break out all over his body, and he kept taking sharp breaths.

Although Fang Cheng might not have realized it, the tactile experience he provided had gotten increasingly impressive.

The early control feel of “The Forest’s Second Son” was already quite smooth. “Towards Death and Life,” the 3D platformer, had markedly improved. “Princess Dungeon” had nearly perfected the experience, but “Quiet Cultivation” was simply sublime.

Four games had brought the feel to an inconceivable level; only a genius could achieve such a foundation.

The game required combined keyboard and mouse operations, and whether the character was moving or using Cultivation Techniques, everything flowed so smoothly that it was tingling.

When Huang Ping personally experienced the effects of meditation, the Cultivation Techniques, and the Gang Wind, it was as if something in his mind lit up. He trembled with excitement as if the main and collateral channels within him had been unblocked.

“Battle royale?”

“Exactly,” Xiao Douzi confirmed, “It’s battle royale. I guess the boss got the inspiration from the PvP in ‘Princess Dungeon’ and then derived the battle royale gameplay from it. That’s why he was able to develop it so quickly. By reusing the original game’s features, he created a new game. That’s our boss for you.”

This approach didn’t just double-dip; it was a succession and refinement of gameplay, which also showed Huang Ping the semblance of industrialization in gaming.

There are already examples of gaming industrialization abroad. For instance, Ubisoft games have this trait; when one of their games encounters a bug, the others are bound to exhibit the same bug—an undeniable indication of code reuse.

Under industrial conditions, a game can be developed quickly through the reuse of code and other elements, saving a significant amount of time and lowering game production costs.

However, that question is still a long way off, and what Huang Ping needs to consider at the moment is how to make the game more fun.

He started testing the game and became more and more excited. Every time he had an idea, he would stop to discuss it with Xiao Douzi and then continue playing with even more ideas.

Thanks to the game’s excellent engine and physical environment, Huang Ping found that all the features he wanted could be realized in the game, which treated his ideas gently and indulgently, like a tender woman, accepting them all, and even improving on them.

Every cell in his body was celebrating; his brain felt as if it had been massaged, with inner climaxes bursting like fireworks, driving him to an unstoppable excitement.

The day flew by quickly, and by five in the afternoon, his notebook was filled with ideas.

Even now, he was still so pumped up that he couldn’t stop.

That exhilarating sensation, the feeling of cheering for every idea, he hadn’t experienced it in a long time.

After becoming the main planner, Huang Ping’s daily task had been to look at the backend, the data, various reports, and then integrate various profit points.

The gameplay was no longer his concern; the payment rate and conversion rate were.

Where players dropped off, why this step could increase player retention— these things, unrelated to gameplay, were his focal points, not what made the game fun.

At this moment, he finally rediscovered the original passion that brought him into the gaming industry, a passion that immersed him so deeply he couldn’t extricate himself.

Therefore, when Fang Cheng announced it was time to get off work and go home to enjoy life, Huang Ping immediately shouted, “Boss, I want to work overtime a little longer, you go ahead.”

“Our studio refuses unnecessary overtime, no excuses.”

“Have a heart, boss! I’ll pay for the electricity, I’ll pay for the wear and tear on the desk and chairs, just let me work overtime, please!” Huang Ping pleaded with a whine in his voice.

Facing Huang Ping’s earnest plea, Fang Cheng replied in a calm but uncompromising tone: “Sorry, it’s a matter of principle. You can take your time, I’m really not in a hurry.”

“But I am! I can’t be at peace until this game is released! Or, I can copy it and take it home, work on it slowly there.”

“Oh, you just reminded me.” Fang Cheng looked thoughtfully at Xiao Douzi, “Lately I feel the progress on the numbers is a bit ahead; it must be Xiao Douzi taking work home. According to the studio’s regulations, I’mgivingyouaday off.”

“Boss, you can’t do this to me!” Xiao Douzi cried out in protest.

“Alright, it’s happily decided then. Let’s call it a day; everyone go home.”

Forcing everyone out, Fang Cheng replenished the spiritual energy in the office’s essential oils and watered his Spirit Grass in the tea room.

Looking at the Spirit Grass that had been trimmed but was sprouting anew, Fang Cheng smiled in satisfaction.

That’s how you should treat your staff—with gentleness.

I really am a good boss.

On the other hand, Huang Ping, who had just left the company, felt an overwhelming sense of loss and finally understood why Xu Qingling and Xiao Douzi had complained about not working overtime.

Boss, by what right do you deprive me of the freedom to work overtime!

At that moment, his phone rang. After answering, his girlfriend asked with concern, “Pingping, how was your first day at work?”

“Not great.”

“Did you meet another KongKong?”

“No, the boss won’t let us work overtime.”

Staring at her phone, the girlfriend wondered if something was wrong with her soon-to-be husband.

Are you even speaking human language?