April 22nd, Friday.

In a coffee shop near Handong University, Pei Qian was drinking coffee while staring at his phone screen, silently memorizing its contents.

Yesterday, He An from Alliance Fruit Games had agreed to come to Jing Prefecture, but whether he would be willing to teach depended on the test results.

As for why the meeting location was chosen to be this coffee shop rather than Slackin’ Internet Café… the answer was obvious.

Pei Qian had gone to Slackin’ Internet Café too many times, and all the employees recognized him.

If he didn’t give instructions beforehand, the employees would definitely reveal something suspicious; but if he did instruct them to help cover for him, too many people would know about this matter, and it could easily leak out.

Moreover, Halo Studio was right across from the internet café, and Ruan Guangjian went there daily to buy coffee. If they happened to run into each other and Ruan Guangjian called out “Mr. Pei,” that would be quite a scene.

So, considering all factors, Pei Qian decided to avoid his businesses for future meetings. The fewer people who knew about his inviting He An to give lessons, the better.

After all, this was only about spending money and learning knowledge; there was no need to worry about so many details.

Currently, only Assistant Xin and driver Xiao Sun knew about this matter, and they were trying their best to cover for Pei Qian.

It was now 2 PM, and according to Xiao Sun’s report, Mr. He had already landed and would arrive in about forty minutes.

From last night until now, Pei Qian had been cramming intensively, except for sleeping time.

As for what he was reviewing without textbooks?

Pei Qian racked his brains and could only try to anticipate.

He had spent considerable time yesterday looking up all the games He An had made. Playing them all was impossible, so he could only roughly watch related videos and look at game commentaries and reviews to grasp some basic knowledge.

Anyway, as long as he didn’t perform too poorly when the time came, and expressed his sincerity with tuition fees, it should be fine.

After searching He An’s games, Pei Qian realized that he was truly a veteran giant in China’s gaming industry.

He An was born in ’69, making him 42 years old this year. At twenty, he had already created his first casual game. Later, he developed a well-known single-player RPG game that achieved huge success. He then established his own gaming company, Alliance Fruit Games.

His most recent game was a multiplayer national war RPG PC game developed three years ago, still operating well today. However, after developing this game, he had already achieved fame and success and was now semi-retired.

Such a giant had witnessed the entire development history of China’s gaming industry and had achieved success in multiple game genres, absolutely qualified to teach most designers in China.

Most people couldn’t even invite him.

But this also brought up a problem.

Pei Qian had too much content to cram!

With so many games, Pei Qian could only get a general overview. Once He An asked deeper questions, he would probably be unable to answer.

Pei Qian felt helpless, but time was limited, and he wasn’t a genius with photographic memory. Besides, many of these games were too old, though famous at the time, Pei Qian had never even heard of them. The effectiveness of rote memorization was predictable.

There was no choice but to rely on his extraordinary luck and the power of money.

During the memorization process, forty minutes passed unconsciously.

“Mr. He, over here.” Xiao Sun opened the door, guiding a middle-aged man in his forties into the coffee shop.

Pei Qian immediately recognized He An. Compared to his photos, he looked younger, though slightly unkempt. That confidence of a successful middle-aged man still inadvertently emanated from his every move.

Pei Qian stood up to greet him and shook hands with He An.

“Hello, Mr. He!”

He An smiled warmly: “You must be Mr. Ma? Pleased to meet you.”

Pei Qian nodded with a smile: “Yes, I’m Ma Yang. Please have a seat, Mr. He.”

After they sat down, Xiao Sun arranged for coffee with the server and then went to wait in the car.

Pei Qian had already instructed him to be responsible for He An’s itinerary during this period.

On one hand, it was hospitality; on the other hand, it prevented any slips.

Pei Qian’s current goal was to spend these 1.6 million yuan as smoothly as possible, without generating strange rumors.

While drinking coffee, they chatted casually.

He An appeared composed: “I never expected Mr. Ma to achieve such success in the investment industry at such a young age. Truly a young hero.”

Pei Qian smiled slightly: “Didn’t Mr. He already create your first game and gain fame throughout China at twenty?”

He An’s smile grew brighter. Obviously, no one would feel uncomfortable with this kind of mutual flattery.

“Mr. Ma may have talent in the investment industry, but game design is a completely different matter. As I mentioned before, I need to conduct a simple little test. I hope Mr. Ma doesn’t mind.”

Pei Qian nodded: “Of course not.”

He An took out a folded document from his bag, about three to four pages, and handed it to Pei Qian: “Mr. Ma can answer according to your own ideas. No need to be nervous; these should be relatively simple questions.”

Hearing the words “relatively simple,” Pei Qian felt slightly relieved. If these were basic knowledge questions, he might score a passing grade with his cramming.

Of course, he couldn’t be careless.

Pei Qian took the test, removed the expensive pen he had bought earlier for cramming but had only used a few times from his breast pocket, and prepared to answer.

However, after seeing the questions, Pei Qian was stunned.

He skimmed through a few questions:

“What player psychology did the success of ‘Lonely Desert Highway’ utilize? What was the designer’s purpose?”

“Why could the art style of ‘Demon General’ stand out among numerous card games? How should designers balance their requirements with the expression of artists’ inspiration?”

“What was the original intention of pricing the ‘Fire Qilin’ in ‘Sea Fortress’ at 888? What effect did it objectively achieve?”

“What was exceptional about the marketing approach of ‘Game Producer’? What was the central idea of the game?”

“…”

“What thoughts of the designer did the epitaph in ‘Turn Back to Shore’ reflect? What effect did it objectively achieve?”

There were three pages in total, all short-answer questions, with blank spaces thoughtfully left for answers.

Pei Qian looked up at He An with a complex expression.

This is the test???

I’ve been cramming basic game knowledge and studying the games you designed!

But instead, you’re testing me on the games I made. What does this mean?

If I had known this, why would I have searched for information about your games? I could have just rewatched all of Qiao Laoshi’s videos!

Seeing “Ma Yang’s” surprised and slightly confused expression, He An smiled slightly: “Haha, did Mr. Ma think I would ask about basic knowledge or questions related to games I’ve made?”

“That basic knowledge is all over the internet; memorizing it has no meaning.”

“As for those games I made… though I’m reluctant to admit it, they’re outdated.”

“Learning game design now definitely requires studying the newest games.”

“Fortunately, Mr. Ma, you’re interested in games and happen to work at an investment company under Tenda. I assume you have some understanding of Tenda’s games.”

“Learning more about Tenda’s design philosophy will benefit you the most.”

“See? I told you this test wasn’t difficult, right?”

Pei Qian: “…”

Looking at He An, then at the test in his hand, he felt a mixture of emotions.

Well, what else could he do? Just answer!

Pei Qian’s pen moved swiftly across the paper, rapidly answering.

He An leisurely drank his coffee, patiently waiting.

…

Half an hour later, Pei Qian finished.

Although he hadn’t filled all three pages, he ensured each question had at least three to five lines, making it look legitimate.

Even when bullshitting short-answer questions, filling the blank space seven or eight-tenths full was a good habit Pei Qian had maintained since high school.

He An cheerfully took the test and looked through it. His expression quickly became unpredictable.

“‘The success of ‘Lonely Desert Highway’ utilized players’ masochistic psychology and contrarian mentality. The designer’s purpose was to make players feel bored and abandon the game.”

“‘The epic ink-oil thick painting style of ‘Demon General’ stands out among numerous Q-version games, with imaginative character designs adding points. Designers should completely abandon their requirements and let artists express themselves freely.”

“‘The original intention of pricing the ‘Fire Qilin’ in ‘Sea Fortress’ at 888 was to discourage players from purchasing. Objectively, it seemed to stimulate wealthy players’ consumption.”

“‘The exceptional aspect of ‘Game Producer’s’ marketing was that the awkward marketing content unexpectedly triggered spontaneous marketing effects from content creators. The central idea of the game is ‘Misinterpretation is the fate of the expresser.”

“…”

“‘The epitaph in ‘Turn Back to Shore’ reflects the designer’s thought of doing everything possible to discourage players, but objectively had the opposite effect, stimulating players’ rebellious psychology.'”

He An looked at these answers, his brows sometimes furrowing, relaxing.

Pei Qian silently drank his coffee, feeling very complex.

He had hesitated for a long time about whether to write his actual thoughts or answer according to Qiao Laoshi and others’ over-interpreted content.

Although honesty principles dictated writing his actual thoughts, if he did so, Mr. He would probably flee on the next flight.

So, Pei Qian could only very shamefully use the standard answers over-interpreted by Qiao Laoshi and the successful game experience summarized by his designers to answer the questions.

The problem was, Qiao Laoshi wouldn’t make videos for every one of Pei Qian’s games.

For some questions without Qiao Laoshi’s videos, and some questions about “designer intent,” Pei Qian didn’t know how to answer and could only let his imagination run wild.

Although such answers seemed absurd, that was all he could do.

Hopefully, he would pass!

He An looked through all three pages, his eyes showing some confusion.

“Some questions are answered very well; some are expressed in relatively straightforward language, but the meaning is there; and some questions… the answers are very bizarre.”

“To be honest, I can’t figure out your true level.”

Pei Qian displayed a polite smile.

Can’t figure out my true level?

That’s right.

Because I can’t figure it out myself…