At that moment, Qiu Hong was fretting in the incubation base of the ‘Destitution Plan’ in Beijing.
That was because he felt that the game produced by the incubation base was not good enough.
It had been two months since the incubation base started operating. What’s more, many independent game designers had already developed their games for a period of time before they arrived at the incubation base. Logically speaking, it was time to produce some results.
They were independent games after all. There was not much investment and work involved since they were meant to be small and beautiful games.
However, just taking care of the BUGs was enough to tire everyone out.
Two games had been released, but for various reasons, the response was not good.
Qiu Hong summarized it briefly and felt that it was mainly because of his ability.
They might have provided relevant supporting support to the independent game designers, but it did not mean that the game they created would be successful.
That was because creating games had a very low chance of success, and it was even more so for independent game designers. Independent game designers were inspirational, passionate, but lacking in ability. Otherwise, they would have gone to work in a proper game company. Why would they have to choose an independent game that was neither profitable and very tiring?
However, that put Qiu Hong under a lot of pressure.
He knew that Boss Pei had high hopes for this independent game incubation base. He never hesitated to provide money. He himself was a slightly famous successful game designer. Yet, he did not achieve anything after working for so long. It was really embarrassing.
The few games that Qiu Hong had been paying attention to, such as Black Ink and Clouds could not be released for the time being because of various bugs and details. They might have to wait until next month.
No matter how anxious Qiu Hong was,it was useless if he had no games he could publish.
At that moment, his cell phone rang. It was Boss Pei.
Qiu Hong’s heart dropped. Could Boss Pei be here to hold him accountable?
He had a bad feeling when he submitted the work week report for the incubation base. Boss Pei was now calling him personally. Did this mean that the premonition was real?
Qiu Hong quickly picked up the phone. “Boss Pei!”
Over the phone, Boss Pei’s voice was very kind and even a little cheerful. “Boss Qiu, I understand the situation at the incubation base. It is very successful! The situation is very good. You have to continue, understand?”
What?
A question mark floated above Qiu Hong’s head. He almost thought that he had heard wrongly or that Boss Pei had called the wrong number.
However, on further thought, he did not make a mistake. Boss Pei was talking about the incubation base.
The situation is very good? It is very successful?
Qiu Hong was very confused. “Boss Pei, you call this situation very successful? Is there a deviation in my definition of ‘success’?”
“The two games that we released did not sell well…”
Pei Qian sniggered. “Of course this is considered very successful!”
“Boss Qiu, it’s obvious that there’s a problem with your evaluation criteria. You should think this way: These independent game designers could not even complete the game and distribute it previously. With the help of the incubation base, they could complete the game and bring their games to players. Isn’t that a huge improvement and success?”
“Don’t think about how many marks you’ll get for this paper first. At least you’ll be able to complete the entire paper on your own. You’ve already answered all the questions that you need to answer. Handing in the paper normally would make it an improvement!”
“Everyone has to take it slow. How can you start earning money after building an independent game incubation base for two months? You’re too eager for instant benefits! That’s not a good attitude.”
Qiu Hong listened with a foggy mind and looked confused.
What Boss Pei said made sense but it still felt strange.
Could it be that my work is actually very outstanding? I just don’t feel it?
The sudden compliment almost made Qiu Hong waver.
“However…” Pei Qian changed the topic.” There are still some problems with your work. I have to point it out now so that you can correct it as soon as possible.”
Qiu Hong heaved a sigh of relief. That’s right!
How can my work be perfect? I don’t believe it myself.
He quickly said, “Boss Pei, please speak. I’m all ears.”
Pei Qian said, “I read from your work report that you plan to let the creators of these two games rest for a while before continuing to design and develop the next independent game? That’s not appropriate.”
After a moment of silence, Qiu Hong said, “Boss Pei, you mean…”
“I should fire them?”
Boss Pei was obviously dissatisfied with his arrangement after hearing what Boss Pei said.
The game of these two designers had already been completed. The market’s response was not good. Thus, Qiu Hong intended for them to start making new games immediately. The incubation base could not keep idle people.
However, Boss Pei felt that this was not appropriate. Could it be that he felt that these two people were useless and wanted to kick them out to replace them?
Pei Qian nearly choked on his breath.
What kind of comprehension ability did Qiu Hong have?!
How could you fire such trusted aides?
Pei Qian quickly said, “Your understanding is ridiculous! What I mean is to modify, optimize, and redo these two games until they are recognized by the market, understand?”
“Every independent game is the condensation of designer inspiration and wisdom. If the game is not popular with gamers, it does not mean that the idea is bad. It only means that the way to express this idea is not mature enough!”
“How can any idea succeed if you give up after trying superficially?”
“If you don’t succeed, then spend money to redo it until you succeed!”
Qiu Hong was stunned.
Other games companies would cut down failed projects in time to stop losses. Yet, Boss Pei was trying his best to extend the lives of failed projects!
Logically speaking, this was a very stupid act. After all, the game itself had already been rejected by the market. It was better to make new ones instead of making huge changes.
However, Boss Pei’s tone was extremely firm and confident. It made Qiu Hong feel that what he said made sense! So he was the one who was wrong?
Qiu Hong pondered for a moment. “Then… there has to be a limit to the investment, right? One million? Two million? There can’t be more for independent games!”
After a moment of silence, Pei Qian said, “Don’t let money limit precious imagination.”
“If a game can only achieve the best results by investing five million yuan, and you set a limit of two million yuan for it, how can it succeed?”
“Since you’ve decided to do it, you must do your best. Do you understand?”
Qiu Hong: “…Alright.”
…
Pei Qian continued to read the reports from the other departments after hanging up.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door. It was He Desheng.
“Boss Pei, I’m here to briefly report the situation with the Cold-Faced Lady. I can’t explain it in a few words, so I think it’s better to report it in person.”
Pei Qian nodded. “Okay, speak.”
He Desheng briefly introduced the situation with the cold-faced lady.
After Meng Chang sold all his shares, he completely cut off all ties with the cold-faced lady and left it alone. However, a large portion of the cold-faced lady’s original employees remained.
The company was running out of money and there was a delay in their salaries, they could not jump ship so quickly either.
Many people heard that the company had failed. They were looking for a job dejectedly, but before they could find a new job, they heard that their original job had been saved.
This group of people had already been resettled and returned to their workstations. Cold-Faced Lady’s shop should be able to open soon and start operating normally.
Of course, Dream Realization Ventures had also taken out a sum of money for the operations of Cold-Faced Lady’s shops.
He Desheng asked, “Boss Pei, are we still doing the marketing activities that Cold-Faced Lady did previously?”
Previously, Meng Chang had been spending money like water. It was mainly because he had spent too much on marketing. He had bought all sorts of hot searches, advertised, and booked a venue for a speech.
If it was just subsidies to maintain the daily operations of the shop, the spending would be quite slow.
Pei Qian pondered for a moment and said, “Let’s set everything aside for now and think about it at length.”
It would be faster to continue spending money on these marketing activities, the boss of the Cold-Faced Lady had now changed from Meng Chang to Tengda. Considering Tengda’s influence, if they were to really publicize it, it might have some unknown impact on the Cold-Faced Lady.
Thus, after some thought, Pei Qian decided to observe the situation first. It had not been easy for him to find something that could steadily incur losses. He did not want to lose it as soon as he took over.
What’s more, many marketing activities could not be done without Meng Chang. Take the speech for example. Pei Qian could not possibly take it up himself. That would be ridiculous.
He Desheng hesitated for a moment and said, “Boss Pei, the other marketing activities are easy to deal with. The only thing is that there is a ‘Street Food Contest’. We have spent a lot of effort to find some vendors from all over the country. The competition will be held next week. Do you think we can still hold this competition?”
Pei Qian was stunned.
A Street Food Contest?
This Meng Chang was quite capable. How did he come up with such a marketing idea?
Pei Qian immediately thought of Meng Chang’s intention: He wanted to invite vendors from all over the country to make some delicacies to serve as contrasts for the cold-faced lady. This would definitely be a good topic and the advertisement would not be bad.
Pei Qian was quite interested. He nodded. “That sounds good. Let’s go with the original plan.”
He Desheng nodded. “Alright, Boss Pei. There’s nothing else.”
He was about to leave when Pei Qian stopped him.
“What is Meng Chang doing now?”
He Desheng answered, “He seems to be looking for investments, but has been rejected by all of them. The chances of him making a comeback are slim.”
“Some failed entrepreneurs look like they have a chance to turn things around, but in fact, that’s because they either have a good family, connections, resources, or fans… In fact, Meng Chang has nothing but his own ability. That’s very fatal.”
“However, if Meng Chang puts down his pride and does some jobs that he doesn’t like and works hard for more than ten years… he should be able to pay back the money.”
After some thought, Pei Qian said, “If he really has no other way out, I can consider giving him a job.”
He Desheng: “Alright, Boss Pei. Should I let him be in charge of the cold-faced lady?”
Pei Qian shook his head. “No. We’ll talk about it when the time comes.”
