Agreeing to Create Bad Games, What the Hell Is ‘Titanfall’? Chapter 21
Jiang Yun had been drifting through the game industry for nearly a decade.
As one of the first graduates from Binjiang University’s game design program, Jiang Yun stepped into the world full of passion and dreams.
He wanted to make a name for himself in game design, to leave a lasting legacy.
He wasn’t content with Huaxia’s gaming environment, and he had even more disdain for the outdated and stale global game scene!
He wanted to be a pioneer in a new gaming era, to create a revolutionary masterpiece with his own hands!
Games shouldn’t just be about profit!
That was what Jiang Yun believed.
And then—
Reality slapped him hard across the face.
“Not care about profits? Then what the hell do you care about?”
“Art? Reputation? You seriously want to make players happy? You idiot.”
“Game development is about one thing: money.”
That was the only priority for game devs—whether in Huaxia or anywhere else.
New gameplay? Good storylines?
What, are you sick in the head? Who’s got time for that?
Better spend that time studying the market, checking which game’s trending, or what’s about to trend, and just copy it already!
What, are you allergic to money?
And so—
Bit by bit, as the edges of Jiang Yun’s passion were worn away, he naturally grew numb to it all.
Even when ambition occasionally flickered inside him, it was just a spark—snuffed out before it could catch fire.
Just like today.
Forget it.
Why make life hard for yourself?
Jiang Yun tried to comfort himself.
He made his name at Xingmang, and succeeded at Xingmang. Now that he’d finally climbed his way to Game Director, there was no way he could afford to leave Xingmang.
“So what do we do now, Director Chen?”
Only after Chen Hang had calmed down did Jiang Yun speak up, sounding humble and cautious:
“Should I maybe release a DLC to save it?”
“Sigh—”
Deputy Director Chen let out a long breath, glanced at Jiang Yun, and waved his hand:
“Forget that. I’ve got a more important project for you now.”
As he spoke, he pulled a sheet of paper from his desk and handed it over:
“Take a look.”
Jiang Yun took the sheet and read it carefully.
YiYou Platform – Mini Game Development Festival Invitation Letter
“This is an invite from YiYou,” Chen explained.
“Technically, mature game companies like us aren’t eligible to join.”
“The event is aimed at indie studios, new startups, or solo developers.”
“But,” he went on, “the Marketing Director at YiYou is an old classmate of mine.”
“He’s willing to bend the rules and let us enter.”
“According to YiYou, there’s going to be a voting phase during the contest.”
“If we win the player vote in the final round,”
“The designer of the game will get a massive platform banner promotion.”
He paused.
Then raised his brows at Jiang Yun:
“You get what I mean, right?”
Hiss—
Jiang Yun sucked in a sharp breath.
A designer getting front-page banner exposure?
YiYou was trying to create a star designer.
Everyone in the industry knew!
In Huaxia, whether it’s players, devs, or media platforms—people only focus on the games themselves.
No one gives a d*mn about who actually designed them.
That’s why the only household-name designers were basically all from abroad.
But now, YiYou had clearly noticed that problem.
So they were taking a page out of the overseas playbook—using this Mini Game Festival to spotlight one new-gen designer who could become a national symbol.
It was an incredible opportunity!
Jiang Yun’s expression turned serious.
If he could win this contest, he could finally rise to the top.
And since the game IP would belong to Xingmang, the company would also make a killing.
“I understand.”
Jiang Yun nodded.
“So, Director Chen, do you have any thoughts on what kind of game we should submit…?”
“I think those two games from Golden Wind Game Technology Co., Ltd. are pretty solid,” Chen said, waving his hand.
“Both sold really well.”
“Just pick one, copy it, tweak a few things, and we’re good to go!”
“Copy it? No way!”
The next day, at Golden Wind’s President’s Office.
As soon as Chu Qingzhou suggested the design direction, Shen Miaomiao immediately shot it down.
Yup.
Just earlier, Shen Miaomiao had called Chu Qingzhou over to ask her opinion on what direction the new game for the competition should take.
After all, Chu the Executive Assistant didn’t actually understand games!
Letting someone who didn’t know games design one was basically asking for a disaster.
But Chu Qingzhou wasn’t dumb.
Even if she didn’t understand games, she had been studying a lot of successful companies and their strategies lately.
And usually, for a game company to gain a foothold in the market, they needed one “founding” title to make their name.
Just like a martial arts sect needs a signature technique to establish itself.
From there, the company could build out—DLCs, sequels, spin-offs, you name it.
The key was to ride the wave of that first title and cash in fast—to build capital.
So!
Chu Qingzhou followed the examples on the market and suggested they develop a sequel.
If not that, then at least they could take either Cat Mario or Who's Your Daddy, tweak the gameplay and visuals, and re-release it.
Both games had been huge hits!
Copying either would be totally viable!
And honestly, according to the current market logic, Chu Qingzhou’s suggestion wasn’t wrong.
But precisely because of that—
Shen Miaomiao had to say no.
What a joke!
That would obviously lead to profits!
Would she really go out of her way to dig her own grave?
With that thought, Shen Miaomiao shook her head and put on a righteous expression:
“We’re a company that values progress, and Director Gu is a designer brimming with creativity.”
“We can’t just ride on our past successes like other companies.”
“Especially for a contest like this, where the company’s reputation and Director Gu’s image are at stake—we need to showcase our originality!”
“How about this—this project…”
“I’ll personally oversee it!”
You had to admit, Shen Miaomiao really did have a sharp brain—
Especially when it came to the wrong kind of ideas.
Since even someone like Chu the Executive Assistant, who understood the market but not games, couldn’t guarantee the game would be a total failure—
Then why not take control herself?
There’s no way a game idiot could design something that becomes a hit, right?
This time, she was going to personally take the wheel, and make sure the game was an absolute disaster.
So bad it’d be mind-blowing.
So awful it’d go down in history.
So rotten it’d crash through the bottom of the barrel!
With that thought, Shen Miaomiao slapped the couch:
“Alright! It’s settled! Chu-Chu Jie, go notify Director Gu—we’re holding a planning meeting in ten minutes!”