As an experienced operations specialist, Jin Yong was very skilled at analyzing game data and developing operational strategies to meet various KPIs set by leadership, cleverly selling products to players in the “most cost-effective” way.
According to traditional operation strategies, the technique behind operational activities was somewhat like shearing sheep—getting the most wool while hearing the least bleating.
But… looking at Tengda’s requirements seemed contrary to common sense!
Of course, Jin Yong knew that GOG operated this way—cheap skins with various discount strategies. But the issue was, could “Bullet Hole 2” be compared to GOG given its special circumstances?
GOG had a powerful competitor in IOI at the time, and to maximize market share—and because GOG’s player base had grown to a sufficient size—selling at low profits to more people was better for capturing the market.
But what about “Bullet Hole 2”? It wasn’t likely to defeat “Sea Fortress” the way GOG had crushed IOI. Moreover, Sea Fortress had already cultivated certain payment habits among players. FPS game players were quite fond of the 888 epic weapons, so even if “Bullet Hole 2” set slightly higher prices for skins, it wouldn’t automatically trigger negative reactions from everyone.
On the contrary, if prices were set too low and “Bullet Hole 2” failed to attract a large number of players, it would face the awkward situation of skin revenue failing to cover development costs.
Jin Yong suddenly understood why Director Kang hadn’t told him about this earlier, and why he had only been reassigned when “Bullet Hole 2” was about to officially launch.
Obviously, senior management wasn’t confident in Tengda’s marketing plan!
They hadn’t originally planned to bring Jin Yong on, but when everyone else couldn’t handle it, they had no choice but to transfer him over.
Of course, they didn’t think Jin Yong could handle it either, but they believed he could ask Zhao Xuming, who was now at Tengda, given their good personal relationship.
Jin Yong felt helpless and had no choice but to call Zhao Xuming.
“Hello? Director Zhao, long time no see, haha! I heard Tengda is already on holiday?”
“Ahem, sorry to bother you, but I’ve recently been transferred to the ‘Bullet Hole 2’ operations team, and I have a question…”
Since they were old acquaintances, and “Bullet Hole 2” already had a cooperative relationship with Tengda, Jin Yong didn’t beat around the bush and directly expressed his concerns.
His concerns were actually very simple, just two points: Why was Tengda’s operations plan for “Bullet Hole 2” so simple? And how should he coordinate with it?
After a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, Zhao Xuming asked in return: “Isn’t it already very clear? Just follow it.”
Jin Yong: “Huh? Just follow it completely? But the situation with ‘Bullet Hole 2’ is quite different from GOG, right? We can’t necessarily copy GOG’s methods. This operations activity seems too simple no matter how you look at it, with hardly any technical aspects…”
Zhao Xuming countered: “What do you really want—an actually effective operations plan, or a complex one that makes people think the operations director played an important role?”
Jin Yong was momentarily speechless: “Well…”
Zhao Xuming’s question had really stumped him.
The principle was actually very simple: If you’re the client and the contractor has already delivered an excellent product that completely meets your requirements, but you accept the work without raising any opinions and make the payment, your superiors might think you didn’t contribute anything to the process. However, if you force some modification suggestions just to make it seem like you did something, you might actually make the contractor worsen the product, and you might even end up having to “revert to the first version.”
So as the client, what should you choose?
Jin Yong hesitated for a moment and said, “But Director Zhao, it’s not quite the same. ‘Bullet Hole 2’s’ plan…”
“It…”
“It…” he trailed off, unable to articulate his concerns.
Zhao Xuming chuckled: “Are you trying to say this plan is too simple? Well, here’s the question: Are more complex plans necessarily more effective?”
“If an operations specialist always believes complex plans are more effective than simple ones, and always tries to transform simple plans into complex ones without analyzing the underlying reasons or the specific situations of the project, then perhaps their personal position will continue to rise, but can such an operations approach really produce truly successful games?”
“Right now, you’re essentially asking: I’m currently on the right path, what should I do to make it seem like I’m contributing something in this process?”
“My answer is, do nothing! If it’s the right path, just keep going, and if it really encounters problems, then think of solutions.”
“This is what I’ve learned since coming to Tengda: Inaction is not a sin. The key is to see the situation clearly and only act when certain. As long as you’re on the right path, inaction is the optimal solution—much better than misguided action.”
“Actually, if you think about it honestly, although this plan is simple, isn’t it the most correct one with the highest potential, isn’t it?”
Jin Yong fell silent for a moment, clearly deep in thought.
After a while, he uncertainly asked: “But Director Zhao, doesn’t this sound like you’re encouraging slacking off…”
Zhao Xuming on the other end of the phone immediately became displeased: “What do you mean by slacking off? Can’t you look at issues with a broader perspective? If you can coast to victory, why complicate things unnecessarily?”
“Let me ask you, what kind of teammate is most annoying in games? Noobs and unskilled teammates are certainly frustrating, but as long as they’re aware of their skill level and honestly initiate team fights or take damage to create opportunities for skilled teammates to get kills, they’re still good teammates.”
“The most annoying are those self-important teammates who, when the situation is clearly favorable and they could win by simply coasting along, insist on taking charge. They end up overextending, get caught by the enemy, causing a chain reaction that turns a winning game into a loss!”
“Many people at Tengda are in a position where they can coast to victory, but they don’t create problems for Mr. Pei just to prove their worth. Instead, they quietly enjoy the situation and accumulate strength while coasting, so that when they’re truly needed, they can shine brilliantly and deliver a decisive blow!”
“Understand?”
After this lecture from Zhao Xuming, Jin Yong suddenly felt ashamed.
Indeed, Director Zhao’s reasoning made sense—he had been foolish!
Jin Yong reflected that after being at Longyu Group for so long, he had naturally developed this bad habit of “doing things unnecessarily to appear productive.” From a purely promotional perspective, this might be beneficial, but from the perspective of the entire project or even the entire company’s overall interests, it could actually be destructive.
Director Zhao already had this “wise and self-preserving” mindset, and at Tengda, he was like a fish in water!
Not only had he summarized his previous operational strategies, but he had also gained a completely new understanding!
Since Tengda’s operational philosophy was far ahead of Longyu Group’s, looking at issues from a completely new height and level, accepting it entirely was indeed the optimal solution.
Realizing this, Jin Yong nodded: “I understand, Director Zhao! My task now is to strictly follow this operations plan and absolutely not mess around with unnecessary complications!”
…
…
February 11th, Spring Festival holiday, the second day of the Lunar New Year.
With nothing to do, Pei Qian went to Slackin’ Internet Café near his home to get online.
By now, Slackin’ Internet Café, Headwind Logistics, and other physical businesses had opened branches all over Jingzhou. Pei Qian had especially arranged several large stores near his home and company for emergency use!
He had originally thought that opening a couple of larger stores in these relatively remote locations, where there would be fewer people, would guarantee him a spot when he came to use the internet, while also helping to lose some money—a win-win situation.
But when he arrived, he found it was actually quite busy!
There were two Slackin’ Internet Cafés nearby, one using the 1.0 model and one using the 3.0 model, both quite large. The 1.0 model café had converted its second floor into a VR gaming area, consistent with other Slackin’ Internet Cafés. But even so, both locations were packed!
Somehow, the New Year period had become the peak season for internet cafés and movie theaters.
Pei Qian opened GOG, played a couple of “fun” games as Happy Ruan Man, and ended up with a 0-10 score.
It wasn’t because he was terrible—even he couldn’t be as bad as Ma Yang. It was mainly because he had the title “Wind Inkmaster Ruan’s Designer” above his head…
But that was fine—death wasn’t the end; as long as he was having fun, that was enough.
After closing GOG, Pei Qian, with the heart of nurturing the underprivileged, opened IOI as if caring for his own child.
“Hm? IOI has a New Year event too, that’s good!”
“Very energetic, very spirited!”
“People need to maintain this fighting spirit and energy even in adversity—that’s the only way to have a chance at making a comeback!”
“I always said IOI was my true son, takes after me. Unlike that rebellious child GOG, driving me crazy!”
Pei Qian clicked on IOI’s update announcement to check the content.