In the afternoon, in the meeting room of Tianhua Studio.
After much deliberation, Zhou Muyan finally decided to select Sun Xi to assist Min Jingchao.
Originally, he had wanted to screen candidates based on their understanding of Boss Pei’s design intentions, but he discovered that everyone had uniformly submitted blank answers.
Since that was the case, he could only choose the designer he trusted most and who had the most experience with FPS games.
After considering all options, he was most satisfied with Sun Xi.
Now, the two of them were looking expectantly at Min Jingchao, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Boss Pei had left, so all their hopes rested solely on Min Jingchao…
Zhou Muyan and Sun Xi were well aware that Min Jingchao was GOG’s lead designer and should be competent in terms of professional ability.
This meant that even without Boss Pei, the game he designed shouldn’t fail too miserably if something unexpected happened.
But this time, merely being passable wasn’t enough for the game.
With three top industry companies collaborating, if the resulting game received a lukewarm response, it would essentially be a failure.
Given the vagueness of Boss Pei’s requirements, could Min Jingchao design a game that wouldn’t disgrace Tenda’s reputation? This was very questionable.
Zhou Muyan very thoughtfully said: “Brother Min, it’s fine if you don’t have a design plan yet. You can take a few more days to consider. Design is never something to rush—it’s easy to make mistakes when hurried.”
“Once the design goes off track, it becomes very difficult to correct later.”
“Is there anything you need in daily life? If you’re not used to the food here, I can ask the company cafeteria’s chef to make more dishes that you like.”
Zhou Muyan needed to treat Min Jingchao well.
On one hand, Min Jingchao worked in a top-tier environment at Tenda and might not adapt easily here; on the other hand, Zhou Muyan was afraid that if Min Jingchao wasn’t in a good mood, it would affect the design plan.
Min Jingchao smiled and said: “Oh, it’s fine, thank you for your concern, Director Zhou. Don’t worry about the design either. My design already has a basic framework and just needs some minor refinements.”
Sun Xi was shocked: “What? So quickly?!”
Even though it was just a broad framework, coming up with a framework quickly was still difficult!
This framework would determine the game’s basic enjoyment and core philosophy, like the foundation of a building. While it could be done carelessly, the consequences of doing so would be severe.
He had come up with it so quickly?
Really no need to reconsider?
Both Sun Xi and Zhou Muyan were bewildered.
If they didn’t trust Boss Pei and Min Jingchao so much, they might have suspected the two were collaborating to deceive them and scam research funds.
Seeing their shocked expressions, Min Jingchao was somewhat surprised: “What? Is this speed fast?”
“Oh, perhaps different companies have different workflows, and you’re not familiar with how Tenda operates.”
“I’m not designing from scratch, but rather figuring out answers based on the hints Boss Pei provided.”
“This isn’t like writing an essay on a self-chosen topic; it’s more like a fill-in-the-blank exercise with certain patterns.”
“Once you master the approach, it’s very quick to complete.”
“My speed is actually only mid-to-lower tier among Tenda’s lead designers, since I’ve been mostly with GOG and haven’t had many opportunities to participate in other types of games.”
Zhou Muyan and Sun Xi remained confused.
Min Jingchao had provided an explanation, but after his explanation, the two had even more questions.
You call this fill-in-the-blank?
Shouldn’t fill-in-the-blank provide most of the text, with only a few words to fill in?
Boss Pei did exactly the opposite—he only gave a few words and expected you to write the entire article!
Moreover, the words he provided were ambiguous and not crucial. How was this supposed to work?
This ability was simply godlike!
And you’re telling us this godlike ability is standard for all lead designers at Tenda? And you’re ranked in the middle-to-lower tier among them?
This was…
Tenda’s talent pool of designers could only be described as frighteningly impressive…
Zhou Muyan cleared his throat: “Well, Brother Min, why don’t you tell us about your specific plan now? I’m too curious!”
Sun Xi also nodded: “Yes, how did you deduce a design plan from Boss Pei’s vague conditions? This is practically a miracle!”
Min Jingchao smiled slightly: “Well, it’s difficult for those who don’t know how, but easy for those who do. Boss Pei has been training us in this ability. I’ve been working at Tenda for so long that even a blockhead would have figured it out by now.”
“Let me briefly explain how to design ‘Bullet Hole 2’ according to Boss Pei’s vision.”
“You still remember what Boss Pei said in the meeting, as well as the few questions I asked him afterward, right?”
Zhou Muyan and Sun Xi nodded in unison.
These were all simple questions, nothing profound, and they had all taken notes.
Min Jingchao said: “Those requirements are enough.”
“Boss Pei already explained the game feel and monetization model himself.”
“Simply put, Boss Pei never repeats his designs. The approach used for ‘Sea Fortress’ won’t be used again.”
“Moreover, the current market situation has changed compared to before.”
“‘Sea Fortress’ has cultivated and attracted a group of FPS game enthusiasts, and the entire player base has expanded compared to before. Also, ‘Sea Fortress’ has been operating for two to three years, and many players are already tired of it.”
“If we were to copy ‘Sea Fortress’ now, we’d be too late. If the gameplay isn’t attractive, even with a different appearance, how could a pirated version beat the original? That’s impossible.”
“So, there must be changes and breakthroughs.”
“Everyone says Tenda games are a gold standard—release a game and players will buy it. But this gold standard is built on continuous innovation, constant change, and always surprising players.”
“If one day Tenda releases a game that doesn’t bring freshness, I’m afraid this gold standard would quickly rust.”
Zhou Muyan nodded, expressing genuine admiration.
The principle was simple, and everyone understood it.
Not innovating and sticking to old ways meant rowing against the current—not advancing meant retreating.
But sometimes knowing this principle didn’t mean being able to implement it. If knowing meant doing, most problems in the world wouldn’t be problems.
In reality, innovation often meant risk, and risk meant potential failure.
Advocating for innovation wasn’t hard; what was difficult was having a company consistently pursue innovation regardless of cost, with everyone from the boss to the employees fully aligned in this pursuit.
Min Jingchao continued: “Boss Pei said the game’s skin must be completely changed, and that being low-key and realistic doesn’t conflict with being unique.”
“Actually, combined with the requirements regarding game feel, this is a very clear hint—even an explicit instruction!”
Zhou Muyan and Sun Xi looked puzzled: “Huh?”
How was this explicit?
‘Unique’ meant something cool like Fiery Qilin, but how could it be unique if it’s low-key and realistic?
If it’s the same gun that exists in reality, being realistic means it should be as close to the real gun as possible—how could it be unique then?
Min Jingchao shook his head slightly, seemingly unable to understand their slowness: “It’s simple, change the packaging!”
“Who says it has to be a modern-setting FPS game? Isn’t a future setting appealing?”
“Think about it—the path of modern firearms is actually at a dead end. There’s ‘Counter-Strike,’ ‘Bullet Hole,’ and ‘Sea Fortress’ ahead. No matter which way you go, you’ll run into something.”
“But if we create a futuristic sci-fi style, wouldn’t that balance realism and coolness?”
“The realism Boss Pei mentioned doesn’t specifically refer to modern firearms’ realism—it could also be the realism of future firearms.”
“Make those high-tech future weapons a bit more understated and authentic, without adding too many weird special effects, and they’ll look more realistic.”
“And this way, the game feel issue is also solved.”
“The reason ‘Bullet Hole’s’ feel wasn’t popular was because the guns were the same as in ‘Counter-Strike,’ but the feel had subtle differences.”
“These subtle differences made players feel uncomfortable, so it didn’t satisfy either side.”
“But what if we switch to future guns? Just by changing the packaging of these weapons, players won’t have that uncomfortable feeling. They won’t think ‘AK47 shouldn’t feel like this,’ but rather ‘this gun feels similar to an AK47’ or ‘this is a future version of the AK47.'”
“Since technology has advanced, isn’t it normal for firearms to experience some changes in feel?”
After Min Jingchao’s explanation, Zhou Muyan and Sun Xi were both stunned, their confusion mixed with sudden understanding.
So that’s what Boss Pei meant?
They hadn’t even considered this direction before, mainly because their thinking was limited.
When Boss Pei said they would make “Bullet Hole 2,” they immediately thought along the lines of the original “Bullet Hole.”
It was like if the previous game had a Three Kingdoms theme, the sequel would naturally be considered within the same Three Kingdoms background. If it suddenly changed to a high-tech Three Kingdoms, would that make sense?
But after hearing Min Jingchao’s explanation, both men found it very reasonable.
Indeed, making a sci-fi themed game could perfectly solve all these problems!
Sun Xi asked doubtfully: “But couldn’t Boss Pei have just said to make a sci-fi themed game? Why go in circles?”
Min Jingchao shook his head slightly: “Just say it directly? Then why not just tell you the entire design plan?”
“This is exactly what Boss Pei was testing—whether you could think outside the box of defined constraints and come up with the most perfect solution.”
“If he had said from the beginning to make a sci-fi theme, would you have deeply investigated why it should be sci-fi? Would you have thought about the interconnected issues of art style and game feel?”
Zhou Muyan quickly asked: “What about the story and game modes? Did Boss Pei also provide corresponding answers that we just didn’t grasp?”
Min Jingchao nodded very confidently: “Of course!”
“However, for these two questions, the freedom Boss Pei gave is different: the former is clear with a narrower range; the latter is vague with a relatively broader range.”
“Director Zhou, you can actually try to interpret it yourself.”
“Do you remember what Boss Pei said when I asked if we should include a story mode?”
Sun Xi immediately answered: “I remember, Boss Pei said not to make a story mode, and that the funds could be used elsewhere, like on maps.”
Min Jingchao nodded: “Exactly.”
“In Boss Pei’s language system, directions that are clearly pointed out are usually quite important.”
“So what do you think Boss Pei meant by ‘work on the maps’? Specifically, how should they be ‘worked on’?”
Sun Xi thought for a moment: “Combining with the sci-fi background we concluded earlier… does it mean making more maps for combat modes? With a stronger sci-fi style and more complex structures?”
Min Jingchao asked in return: “Regardless of the setting, these kinds of combat maps need to be made anyway. Does making a sci-fi background cost more? Is there any essential difference compared to making a modern warfare background?”
Sun Xi was momentarily speechless. After thinking for a while, he said: “…No.”
For artists, it’s all about drawing. Although drawing a sci-fi background requires creating some original content, the workload isn’t much higher than a general modern warfare background, so this alone wouldn’t possibly consume a lot of budget.
Min Jingchao continued to ask: “So how can we spend more money on maps?”
Zhou Muyan considered it seriously and said with some uncertainty: “…Make a map that’s large enough?”
If they were making small maps, changing the style or increasing the quantity slightly wouldn’t be enough to consume a large amount of funding.
The only way was to make one or several super large maps—that’s how more money would be spent.
But Zhou Muyan said this with hesitation because he felt this idea might not be very feasible.
What would be the purpose of making a super large map?
There would need to be corresponding gameplay to support it, right?
Min Jingchao nodded: “Yes, that’s it!”
“I wasn’t certain either, so I asked Boss Pei about the gameplay aspects. Boss Pei said to cut out Ghost Mode, Zombie Mode, Bomb Defusal Mode, and all those modes.”
“Then I asked if I could create other original modes, and Boss Pei said yes.”
“After summarizing all this, the answer becomes very clear: Boss Pei envisions ‘Bullet Hole 2’ as a futuristic sci-fi themed shooting game, different from the gameplay of current mainstream FPS games, putting a large number of players on a big map for a new type of combat mode.”
Sun Xi’s face was full of surprise.
He never imagined that with just this information, they could actually outline the framework for “Bullet Hole 2,” and it even seemed quite reasonable…
“But Boss Pei didn’t specify what this new game mode would be, did he? Nor can it be deduced, right?” Zhou Muyan said with some hesitation.
Min Jingchao had interpreted so much from Boss Pei’s words that it made Zhou Muyan quite uncertain in his questioning.
Min Jingchao nodded: “Indeed, he didn’t, because Boss Pei’s purpose was to let me design freely.”
“If everything before was fill-in-the-blank, this part is like writing an essay on a given topic.”
“Fill-in-the-blank exercises are no longer much of a challenge for Tenda’s designers. Boss Pei has been consciously increasing the difficulty, giving ample autonomy and letting designers create modes independently.”
“I already have some initial ideas, but I need to focus on refining them, making the concept as detailed and concrete as possible. I’ll probably need about three to five days.”