Pei Qian felt dizzy.
What did “negative space” mean?
Wasn’t this just a normal interview? How did they manage to make it so fancy?
He hurriedly read on.
The documentary began with some scenery of Jingzhou.
“This is the author’s first visit to Jingzhou.”
“The author originally didn’t have much impression of Jingzhou, only knowing that it’s the capital of Handong Province.”
“As an ordinary second-tier city, Jingzhou’s various industries aren’t particularly developed, nor does it have very famous historical sites or large enterprises.”
“But after deeply understanding Jingzhou’s local customs, the author’s view underwent a tremendous change.”
“If summarized in one simple sentence, Jingzhou gives people the feeling of ‘tradition and innovation coexisting.'”
“It’s like an old tree sprouting new buds, allowing people to experience both the weight of history and modern innovation.”
“There are some historical sites here, indicating this city’s long history; at the same time, there are many emerging companies, showing the city’s vibrant vitality.”
“Although these historical sites may not be very famous, and these emerging companies may not be very large in scale, this feeling of intertwining the new and the old, steadiness and adventure, conservatism and innovation, is still deeply imprinted in the bloodline of this city.”
“As the saying goes, the environment shapes the people.”
“In Tenda, one can also see shadows of Jingzhou.”
“Sometimes, it appears very conservative and stable. It has invested in many traditional industries, such as physical retail and logistics, maintaining a down-to-earth approach, constantly changing people’s lifestyles from the smallest details.”
“At other times, it appears very aggressive and full of innovative spirit. The games it produces are often imaginative and unconventional, amazing players.”
“This Jingzhou spirit has made Tenda a unique enterprise, rapidly developing and growing in just over a year, leaving those companies resting on their laurels far behind.”
Next were some shots inside the Tenda company, including the office area, employees working and dining, scenes from Slackin’ Internet Café, and so on.
“Unlike most companies in Jingzhou, Tenda always provides the best working environment and salary benefits for its employees, even making people question ‘isn’t this too much?'”
“But facts have proven that favorable working conditions further stimulate employees’ enthusiasm and creativity, enabling Tenda to develop rapidly at a remarkable speed.”
This opening introduction effectively tied Tenda and Jingzhou together, seemingly praising Jingzhou but praising Tenda.
One could say that Editor-in-Chief Xia’s team’s time exploring Jingzhou upon arrival wasn’t wasted!
Many of the shots showed Jingzhou’s landmark buildings. Although the opening part of the video wasn’t very long, it comprehensively reflected Jingzhou’s local customs and culture. It could easily serve as the city’s promotional video without feeling out of place.
Regarding this, Pei Qian remained emotionally stable because this level of praise was within his expectations.
The only concern was that Tenda’s benefits and treatment were now completely exposed.
Of course, Pei Qian also knew this couldn’t be kept secret for long. Jingzhou’s professional circle was only so big, and as Tenda hired more and more employees, someone was bound to boast about the benefits package.
But previously, such talk was limited to Jingzhou locally.
Now that the official video was released, there might be large numbers of talented people from other cities traveling all the way to Jingzhou to seek employment at Tenda.
But as the saying goes, next cycle’s problems would be dealt with in the next cycle.
Pei Qian continued reading.
Next came the interview segment with Tenda employees.
Before the interview video appeared, there was a brief introduction of Huang Sibo’s resume:
Previously worked as an executive planner at a game company in Jingzhou;
After joining the startup Tenda Games, I was exceptionally promoted to Executive Lead Designer, leading the development of “Sea Fortress”;
Founded Fei Huang Studio, collaborating with Director Zhu Xiaocai to produce short videos like “Mr. Pei’s Daily Life,” a documentary, “Breaking the Cocoon to Become a Butterfly,” a short drama, “A Day of the Great Inventor,” and other works.
This resume was considered illustrious.
Usually, game producers who created one hit game already deserved great praise. Some game producers even relied on just one successful game to make a fortune, intending to live off it for a lifetime.
Huang Sibo not only developed “Sea Fortress,” a classic domestic FPS game, but also founded Fei Huang Studio, producing many short videos that became hot topics and were widely acclaimed.
Being so successful after crossing industries was seen as a rare talent by anyone!
Moreover, all these achievements were accomplished in just a short year, making it even more impressive.
After briefly scanning through this resume, Pei Qian breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Not bad, the interview’s focus was entirely on Huang Sibo, emphasizing the achievements he had made.
This was very much in line with Mr. Pei’s expectations!
Below the resume was the interview video, which Pei Qian clicked to view.
In the frame, Huang Sibo and Xia Jiang sat at opposite ends of a sofa. Xia Jiang asked questions, and Huang Sibo answered them one by one.
“We all know you’re a veteran employee of Tenda. When you joined, the company had just been established. So, can you tell us why you joined such a company?” Xia Jiang asked with a smile.
Huang Sibo thought briefly, then answered: “At the very beginning, I was doing various odd jobs at another game company in Jingzhou…”
Huang Sibo briefly explained how he came to join Tenda.
Xia Jiang then asked several specific questions, including how both Huang Sibo and his original lead designer came for interviews, but Tenda hired Huang Sibo and not Old Liu; how Tenda, despite being a startup, had a great working environment; how Tenda proactively increased Huang Sibo’s salary, doubling it…
Hearing this, Pei Qian didn’t initially notice any issues.
Everything Huang Sibo said was true!
But seeing the cunning look in Xia Jiang’s eyes when asking questions, as if she had gained a lot, Pei Qian vaguely sensed something was off.
Continuing to watch, Xia Jiang’s questions became more direct, such as the production ideas and original source of “Sea Fortress,” promotion methods, and why Huang Sibo left Tenda after the successful development of “Sea Fortress,” etc.
Huang Sibo answered all these questions truthfully.
“Indeed, before we formally began producing ‘Sea Fortress,’ the game’s framework was already established. From the beginning, it was decided that this would be an FPS game with an in-depth story mode, enough consideration for new players, and epic weapons priced at 888.”
“Actually, at the very beginning, I didn’t think this approach was reliable.”
Xia Jiang interjected at just the right moment: “Why is that?”
Huang Sibo smiled and explained: “Because from a traditional perspective, these three points were all very risky approaches.”
“Domestic FPS games had never had precedents for creating story modes, and the few foreign FPS masterpieces that included story modes had some difficulty adapting to the domestic market.”
“Moreover, creating a story mode was generally seen by domestic designers as a thankless task—high input, low output, extremely poor effect, and extremely low efficiency.”
“At that time, FPS games were considered a type of competitive game, all trying to be as hardcore as possible, catering to core players’ feelings. Lowering the difficulty might place the game at the bottom of the hierarchy of contempt.”
“As for pricing epic weapons at 888… many people probably thought we were crazy for money, haha.”
Huang Sibo laughed self-deprecatingly: “Honestly, that’s what I thought too at the time, since I was deeply influenced by traditional game design thinking.”
Xia Jiang nodded, acknowledging Huang Sibo’s words: “Indeed.”
“But the eventual success of ‘Sea Fortress’ proved that this general direction was very correct.”
Huang Sibo also nodded: “That’s right.”
The topic stopped appropriately here without revealing who proposed the game’s framework, and they moved on to the next topic.
“You weren’t clear about the game’s promotion method at the beginning either, right?”
…
Pei Qian felt increasingly that something was wrong as he continued watching.
Why were Xia Jiang’s questions becoming more and more biased?
She should ask more about what work Huang Sibo was responsible for as executive planner, what difficulties he encountered, and how he ultimately communicated and cooperated with other colleagues to overcome challenges!
Why keep asking endlessly about things Huang Sibo wasn’t responsible for?
Continuing to watch.
…
“After completing ‘Sea Fortress,’ you left Tenda Games. Can you briefly explain why?” Xia Jiang asked.
Huang Sibo smiled somewhat embarrassingly: “Actually, I didn’t leave voluntarily.”
Xia Jiang: “Oh?”
Huang Sibo sighed: “Actually, right after completing ‘Sea Fortress,’ I was extremely excited, you could say full of ambition.”
“After all, I went from being a miscellaneous planner at a small local company in Jingzhou to becoming an executive lead designer, and then creating such a successful game project. This sudden success in such a short time was enough to go to anyone’s head.”
“At that time, I was ready to dedicate my life to the gaming industry.”
“At other game companies, I would probably have been entrusted with another important task—developing the next game.”
Xia Jiang nodded slightly and said, “But at Tenda, none of this happened.”
Huang Sibo smiled: “Yes, even now when I think back to that day, I still feel like I was dreaming.”
“At that time, the entire project team was immersed in the joy of ‘Sea Fortress’s’ success.”
“I was also completing my duties as usual.”
“Then suddenly I was notified that the company was conducting an outstanding employee selection, and I was inexplicably chosen as an outstanding employee.”
“Only then did I realize that besides the trophy and certificate, the outstanding employee award also included a 1 million yuan dream fund!”
“I could take this 1 million yuan dream fund to any field I liked to fulfill my dream!”