January 7th, Friday.
Shangyang Games.
“Welcome, master! We’re honored by your guidance!”
As soon as Ruan Guangjian walked into the office area, he saw Shangyang Games employees lining both sides of the path, welcoming him with enthusiastic applause.
Lin Wan stood at the front with Ye Zhizhou and Wang Xiaobin, their faces displaying the words “desperately seeking talent.”
Ruan Guangjian felt somewhat overwhelmed by the reception and quickly said, “No, no, please don’t be so polite.”
“I just finished my work over there and came by to casually visit. Don’t mind me, don’t let me interrupt your work.”
Lin Wan smiled and said, “No, no, Master Ruan, you’re being too modest.”
“As Mr. Pei’s most valued concept artist, it could be said that your artwork has given soul to Tenda’s games. Tenda’s games sell so well, and a large part of that is your achievement!”
“You and Mr. Pei could be called the perfect partners. Now that you’ve come to Shangyang Games, even if you’re just giving us some casual pointers, it will benefit us immensely!”
“Please, have a seat. This workstation has been specially reserved for you. Shangyang Games will always welcome you!”
Everyone led Ruan Guangjian to a separate workstation that had just been cleared out, right next to Ye Zhizhou and diagonally across from Wang Xiaobin.
Ruan Guangjian sat down at the workstation and took out the drawing tablet he had brought with him. “This workstation… It’s Tenda standard, huh?”
Coming to Shangyang Games gave him a feeling of returning to Tenda.
The office environment was so similar!
Whether it was the spacious office area, the wide desks, comfortable ergonomic chairs, high-end computers, or dual monitors, everything was the same standard as Tenda.
Lin Wan nodded. “Yes, although Shangyang Games is a subsidiary of Tenda Games, there’s no distinction between us. Mr. Pei has always treated all employees equally, never dividing them into hierarchies.”
“This office environment was just moved in a few months ago and was redesigned according to Tenda Games’ standards.”
“This kind of arrangement seems to better stimulate employees’ enthusiasm for work.”
Stimulate employees’ enthusiasm for work?
Hmm, indeed, working in such a comfortable place versus those cramped, narrow workstations certainly felt very different…
Ruan Guangjian listened to Lin Wan’s introduction to Shangyang Games while turning on his office computer.
It was quite good—the transition from Tenda Games to Shangyang Games was seamless. The office environment was very familiar, requiring no extra time to adapt.
“This is the game we’re currently developing, ‘BE QUIET.’ It’s a horror-themed game. Master, you can play around with it and give us some feedback,” Lin Wan pointed to the game icon on the desktop.
So far, “BE QUIET” has been developed to its second major version, with more than half of the progress already completed.
However, there was still some distance to go before the official launch and release.
Pure functional development was fast, but for a game to reach official release, various gameplay elements and details needed to be repeatedly fine-tuned, numerous bugs fixed—these subtle aspects of the later stages were equally important.
At the mention of horror themes, Ruan Guangjian’s expression changed, and he quickly waved his hands. “A horror game? No, no, I’m the kind of person who’s most afraid of horror-themed things!”
“If I had known the project you’re developing now was a horror game, I wouldn’t have come over!”
“Like ‘Midnight Call,’ ‘Strange Insects,’ ‘Chainsaw Maniac,’ ‘Ghostly Shadows,’ ‘Night of Resurrection,’ ‘Spirit Flash,’ ‘Ghost Records,’ ‘Curse’… I was scared to death after watching all of these!”
Lin Wan froze entirely, with a question mark slowly floating above her head.
Huh?
He claims to be most afraid of horror themes, yet hasn’t missed a single one of these classic horror movies?
Lin Wan didn’t know how to respond for a moment.
After thinking for a bit, she said, “It’s fine, our game is still in the development stage and isn’t scary at all.”
“Not scary at all?” Ruan Guangjian said as he reluctantly clicked on the “BE QUIET” icon. “Then I’ll force myself to play it a little.”
Lin Wan nodded. “Alright, take your time experiencing it. If you have any feedback, you can tell me or Ye Zhizhou.”
Ruan Guangjian put on his headphones and quickly entered the game.
Lin Wan secretly pulled Ye Zhizhou aside and whispered instructions: “Take care of the master. He says he’s timid, so don’t let him get scared. Stay alert, understood?”
Ye Zhizhou nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”
Before they finished speaking, they heard Ruan Guangjian let out a moderate “Ah!” of surprise from nearby.
Upon entering the game, the screen showed a dynamic game scene.
In a village of madmen, night had fallen, and pale blue, eerie flames burned, illuminating a villager whose teeth and eyes were filled with bloodstains. He was standing beside the strange blue flames, swinging a cleaver, chopping at something.
The lighting was dim, and one could vaguely see dark red bloodstains splashing from whatever was being chopped.
When loading completed, the entire scene would suddenly darken slightly, and the mad villager who had been chopping something beside the pale blue flames would suddenly stand up and walk off-screen.
Then, before the player could react, the mad villager’s face would suddenly appear from the right side of the screen, appearing at an extremely close distance in the player’s view, letting out a sick, unbridled sneer, followed by the blood-stained cleaver in his hand swinging down forcefully at the camera!
Accompanied by a scream, the screen would quickly be covered in blood, then the game’s title would appear, after which the game would officially begin.
Ruan Guangjian had just been frightened by this scene and nearly jumped out of his seat.
Ye Zhizhou quickly asked, “Are you okay?”
Ruan Guangjian nodded: “I’m fine, I’m fine… Ah!”
Not long after entering the game, he was startled again by a small mouse that suddenly scurried across the scene.
Ye Zhizhou: “…”
He suddenly doubted whether the master could successfully experience the entire game and provide appropriate art modification suggestions…
After thinking for a moment, he suggested: “Master, why don’t you just look at the art assets directly, including the concept art and 3D models? Just looking at these should be less frightening.”
Ruan Guangjian shook his head: “That definitely won’t work!”
“From concept to illustrations, then to modeling and scene creation, the concept changes at each step. For example, from illustration to modeling, the illustrator’s ideas will be partially misinterpreted, and the modeler will add some of their ideas.”
“No matter how hard you try, this situation is difficult to completely avoid.”
“So, I need to see the actual scenes in the game to sense the disharmonious elements in the overall artistic atmosphere and make targeted modifications.”
“Don’t worry, I’m fine, really fine.”
Seeing the master being frightened twice yet still insisting on experiencing the game, Ye Zhizhou couldn’t help but feel moved.
Look, this is what you call professional spirit!
The master was clearly very sensitive to horror themes, yet he was now striving to overcome his inner fears to make the game better. This spirit was truly touching!
…
Before long, Ruan Guangjian’s startled cries filled Shangyang Games’ office area. Even Lin Wan, in the director’s office, could vaguely hear them.
But none of the staff had any inclination to laugh; instead, they admired Ruan Guangjian even more.
To persist despite being so frightened—this was true dedication!
It could only be said that the master’s success was not accidental but inevitable. Just this kind of unyielding perseverance was something ordinary people couldn’t possess!
And Ye Zhizhou, sitting next to Ruan Guangjian, inexplicably felt a sense of small pride.
Our game’s horror effects are this good?
Ye Zhizhou previously had no confidence in how effective the game’s horror elements were.
This was Shangyang Games’ first attempt at making a horror game. Although the design team had been crammed by playing horror games for a long time, and Lin Wan and others had visited haunted houses for research, they still lacked experience.
Moreover, this game’s main gameplay was networked, relying on “people scaring people” rather than using predetermined sequences and traps to frighten players.
But now the game hadn’t even begun testing, there were no players, just AI, so the fear factor would certainly be discounted.
Add to that the not-yet-fully-implemented art assets, the not-particularly-refined gameplay, and some small bugs, Ye Zhizhou felt the game’s completion was still far from sufficient.
Yet now, it could frighten Ruan Guangjian to this extent. Did that mean the horror effects were quite good for ordinary people?
Just as he was thinking this, Ruan Guangjian exited the game and took off his headphones.
Ye Zhizhou was about to offer some comforting words when he discovered that Ruan Guangjian’s face was flushed, his complexion excellent, and his entire demeanor seemed somewhat excited.
Ye Zhizhou: “?”
This situation was unexpected.
Was this the same person who had screamed at the sight of a mouse just now?
Ruan Guangjian sincerely said, “Director Lin wasn’t lying to me. This game isn’t scary at all.”
Ye Zhizhou: “?”
What’s going on? Wasn’t it you, master, who was crying out in fear just now?
Ye Zhizhou vaguely sensed something was off. The master’s definition and expression of fear seemed inconsistent…
Before playing: No, I’m really afraid of horror themes.
During gameplay, Screaming in terror.
After playing: Hmm, it’s not that scary.
And the impression was that he wasn’t just putting on a brave face; it seemed to be his genuine thought.
Ye Zhizhou quickly took out his notebook: “Then, master, please share your thoughts.”
Ruan Guangjian’s mental state was very good, not at all like someone who had just been frightened. On the contrary, he seemed somewhat excited.
“I think the gameplay of this game is more or less in place, but it lacks the creation of details and atmosphere.”
“It’s through these small details that you can enhance the horror atmosphere and make it easier for players to feel immersed. How can you make a horror theme work well? The key is in the details!”
“For example, I especially liked that opening scene of the game!”
“I usually judge whether a horror theme is excellent by the decibels and frequency of my screams, and that opening scene was quite good.”
“But this kind of content is still a bit limited; some smaller aspects haven’t been addressed.”
“For instance, you could add a setting where, when something scary approaches, the player would hear the sound effect of their heartbeat, and the closer the distance, the faster the heartbeat frequency!”
“This seemingly simple sound effect would be very useful for creating atmosphere!”
“Also, the art style doesn’t have to be as dark as possible. Low visibility certainly increases player tension, but playing in such low visibility environments all the time will make players feel oppressed and want to exit the game to rest after a short time.”
“So, limiting player vision has a balance—it can’t be too bright or too dark… It might be hard to explain verbally. Let me find you a picture to show you what kind of effect I mean.”
“Another example is about small details. Although the game currently has some frightening mechanisms, they’re all relatively large, lacking smaller mechanisms. What are smaller mechanisms? For instance, strange rustling sounds, objects on the table slowly moving, a bloody handprint unexpectedly appearing on a piece of glass…”
“Some people might not notice these small, frightening mechanisms, but when seen in a highly tense situation, they might be even scarier than monsters suddenly jumping out…”
“These aren’t difficult to make; the key is having patience…”
Ruan Guangjian talked nonstop while Ye Zhizhou quickly recorded in his notebook.
As Ye Zhizhou was recording, he had only one thought in his mind.
“This is what he calls ‘being afraid of horror themes’?”
“Is there something wrong with Master Ruan’s self-perception???”
“He just screams frequently when experiencing horror games, but in reality, his tolerance for horror themes is much stronger than the average person…”