After a slight hesitation, Zhou Muyan said: “Boss Pei, I have a few questions. Could you please explain a bit more?”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you—I just want to learn about more advanced design concepts.”
He didn’t have the courage to say it directly, but he actually didn’t trust him.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Boss Pei’s abilities or integrity, but integrity isn’t absolute.
There’s a saying about treating people differently based on your relationship with them.
When Boss Pei designed games for Tenda, he certainly gave it his all. But now Boss Pei was only responsible for providing an idea, while the actual development and operation would be handled by Tianhua Studio and Longyu Group. Would Boss Pei still give his full effort?
Would he offer his best ideas?
Would he thoroughly analyze market conditions and carefully consider all the details?
Moreover, “Bullet Hole 2” as an FPS game would directly compete with “Sea Fortress.” If it took too many users, wouldn’t that affect “Sea Fortress” and cause its revenue to drop significantly?
Considering these factors, it would be completely understandable if Boss Pei held back somewhat in the design of “Bullet Hole 2.”
This couldn’t be asked too bluntly, but it still needed to be asked.
After all, making this game would require an investment of at least several million yuan, and if they paid more attention to details, it could cost tens of millions. If all that money went to waste, it would be quite painful.
Pei Qian chuckled, completely unfazed.
He had experienced similar scenarios too many times. If no one asked questions, he would actually feel uncomfortable.
As long as they asked, he could spout all kinds of twisted logic right away and guarantee they would be thoroughly convinced.
Pei Qian smiled and said, “What questions do you have?”
Zhou Muyan thought for a moment and said, “First is about the game feel.”
“Back then, compared to ‘Sea Fortress,’ one of ‘Bullet Hole’s’ biggest disadvantages was that its feel was too close to ‘Counter-Strike,’ which made it uncomfortable for new players.”
“I’ve been thinking that if we make another FPS game, we should learn from ‘Sea Fortress’ and lower the barrier for new players as much as possible.”
“Why continue with ‘Bullet Hole’s’ game feel?”
After “Bullet Hole” failed, Zhou Muyan had basically taken the entire project team’s designers to study “Sea Fortress,” analyzing many issues thoroughly.
Learning from successful experiences was a necessary ability for every designer.
So Zhou Muyan felt that Boss Pei’s statement didn’t make much sense.
Pei Qian was silent for a moment, then said: “Times change. ‘Sea Fortress’ is ancient history from two or three years ago. To continue learning from it would be like carving notches on a boat to mark where the sword fell into the river, wouldn’t it?”
Zhou Muyan’s mouth twitched slightly: “So Boss Pei, are you suggesting that ‘Bullet Hole’s’ design was actually ahead of its time by two or three years? That it only failed because it was born at the wrong time?”
Although this idea seemed absurd, it seemed to be exactly what Boss Pei meant!
Otherwise, why would he want to continue with “Bullet Hole’s” game feel after two or three years?
Pei Qian smiled awkwardly but politely: “Well… we can’t analyze games in such a static, one-sided way.”
“Some trends follow a cycle. Just like in the fashion industry, when trends reach their peak, they often return to vintage styles. But this return isn’t a complete reproduction or imitation of the past—it’s more of a spiral-like ascension and transcendence…”
“Think about it—players have been playing ‘Sea Fortress’ for two or three years now. Many players are tired of it, and their skill level has improved. Don’t they need something more challenging?”
“So, simply saying your design was born at the wrong time isn’t quite accurate. It would be better to say that in the evolving spiral of trends, you chose the wrong coordinates. If you had gone backward a bit, or upward a bit, you might have caught the trend.”
Pei Qian didn’t dare to discuss those particularly detailed concepts because the more he said, the more likely he was to expose himself.
On one hand, he didn’t possess much professional knowledge in this area; on the other hand, the more detailed and clear his explanations became, the more likely flaws would be revealed.
It’s just like when fortune tellers try to deceive people—they absolutely cannot be too specific. They must speak broadly and vaguely, making everything seem profound and mysterious.
Sometimes their explanations should make sense no matter how you interpret them—that’s the key.
If they were to predict something too accurately, wouldn’t they be easily proven wrong?
After hearing Boss Pei’s explanation, all the designers hurriedly lowered their heads and took notes in their notebooks.
Indeed, Boss Pei’s way of speaking was completely different from other designers—clearly on a different level!
Using martial arts as an analogy again, when ordinary masters discuss martial arts, they often focus on techniques and specific moves, going into great detail.
But true masters have already integrated all techniques, so why would they discuss details?
What they talk about might be concepts about the martial way—things that may seem broad and empty on the surface but represent a higher realm with extremely strong guiding significance.
Just as Boss Pei said, the idea that “trends exist in a constantly changing spiral” was enough to provide major guidance for the team in selecting projects and researching market trends.
Zhou Muyan nodded slightly, his trust in Boss Pei increasing significantly.
Actually, when he asked whether “Bullet Hole was ahead by two or three years,” he wouldn’t have been particularly satisfied no matter how Boss Pei answered.
If the answer was yes, Zhou Muyan would have felt that Boss Pei was just humoring him, as he had a clear understanding of his own abilities. If the answer was no, it would contradict what Boss Pei had said earlier.
But Boss Pei’s answer was between “yes” and “no.” Trends aren’t a straight line but a spiral. “Bullet Hole’s” design was actually quite close to the trend in terms of linear distance, but in reality, it was very far away.
As expected of Boss Pei—even a casual explanation was so philosophical!
Zhou Muyan immediately extended this idea: “So Boss Pei, are you saying that we should use ‘Bullet Hole’s’ design but not copy it completely? Rather, we should make some modifications while continuing its core concepts?”
Pei Qian: “Hmm… yes.”
He had initially wanted to say no, because once modified, it might not lose money effectively. But then he thought again—wasn’t what he had been talking about exactly what Zhou Muyan understood?
At this point, he could only reluctantly agree.
However, he added: “But we must be cautious with these modifications. It’s better to modify too little than too much.”
“Too much is as bad as too little.”
“We must maintain the original core as much as possible. You’ll need to grasp the right balance.”
This was somewhat of a remedy, trying to keep the game on this wrong path for as long as possible.
Zhou Muyan nodded, no longer having questions on this point. Boss Pei’s brilliant explanation had completely convinced him.
But there were still other questions.
Zhou Muyan cleared his throat and looked at Sun Xi: “Regarding the monetization model for ‘Bullet Hole 2’… Sun Xi, what are your thoughts? We’re all insiders here, feel free to speak your mind.”
Sun Xi was smart and immediately understood.
Zhou Muyan wanted him to raise questions!
Obviously, Zhou Muyan was the one with real doubts, but as the producer, he couldn’t keep asking questions like a schoolboy—how unprofessional would that look!
Moreover, with all the other designers watching coldly from the sidelines, having Director Zhou asking question after question would seem inappropriate.
So at this moment, a subordinate needed to step up and help the boss out of his predicament.
If Sun Xi had dared to answer, “I think Boss Pei’s design is pretty good, no problems,” he would probably be packing his things and leaving tomorrow.
Conveniently, Sun Xi did have questions, or rather, all the relatively normal designers present had similar questions.
“Boss Pei, regarding the monetization model, I do have some questions.”
“‘Bullet Hole’s’ item-based monetization was heavily criticized. We all know this model can’t be continued and must be replaced with a new monetization model.”
“But why not use ‘Sea Fortress” monetization model?”
“‘Sea Fortress” approach of free gameplay plus premium Fiery Qilin weapons has proven to be quite successful. It’s really popular, and players have basically accepted it.”
“Monetization models don’t face accusations of copying or plagiarism. Players won’t feel disgusted just because two games have similar monetization models.”
“So why not adopt ‘Sea Fortress” model of selling epic weapons, and instead opt for selling skins?”
“After all, in FPS games, players can’t see their own bodies—they can only see the guns in their hands. The effect of selling skins would be much less impactful compared to MOBA games.”
Sun Xi’s meaning was clear: since monetization models aren’t considered copying, why not stick with the approach players are already familiar with?
For example, if there’s already a MOBA game on the market that sells skins, and another MOBA game comes out, would it not use skin sales? Would it go for a different monetization point instead?
That obviously wouldn’t make sense.
It’s the same with FPS games. Facts have proven that these players particularly accept “Sea Fortress'” monetization model—free game plus limited epic weapons, satisfying both free-to-play and wealthy player groups, with good income and reputation.
Moreover, monetization models have nothing to do with the “spiral ascension” of game design concepts. There’s no technique involved here—it’s purely a matter of choice.
So why change it?
Pei Qian was silent for a moment, then said: “While game monetization models can’t be plagiarized, if there’s a sense of déjà vu, it can still cause player resentment.”
“Time-based fees, item-based fees, skin-based fees and other models are used by too many other games and have become normalized, so using them again wouldn’t seem strange.”
“But only ‘Sea Fortress’ uses epic weapons, and most other games that tried this model failed.”
“So this sense of déjà vu would make players quite resentful.”
“Besides, ‘Sea Fortress” monetization model is related to its gameplay. Its feel caters to new players, so overall it’s a less ‘professional’ shooting game. A little unfairness doesn’t matter because players are more tolerant.”
“But if a game positions itself as more ‘professional,’ then any unfairness might cause player resentment.”
“With these two types of resentment combined, ‘Bullet Hole 2’ would make a very bad first impression on players.”