Zhu Xiaocai, who had been silent until now, raised his hand and said, “Well… I’d like to share my opinion.”

“Brother Huang, your idea is too idealistic.”

“Making a game CG and simultaneously making a movie, then releasing it to earn money twice, seems perfect in theory, but no game company has ever done this.”

“Whether it’s a game company taking game CGs to screen them, or using an existing movie as game CG, there’s no precedent for this anywhere in the world.”

“Why? Because it doesn’t work!”

“A movie requires us to tell a complete story within an hour or more, with a coherent plot and rich elements. Science fiction movies are no exception.”

“Game CGs are going to be split into several segments, playing one segment after each chapter of the plot. It’s a fragmented format used to showcase the most essential parts of the game’s storyline.”

“And the battle portions of the story are shown through gameplay.”

“In other words, if we make excellent game CGs and string them together as a movie, it will lack many key pieces of information, leaving moviegoers completely confused.”

“And if we break a movie into CGs, it would be too drawn out, playing a segment of the plot after each level, making the originally smooth storyline disjointed. Players would find it bewildering. Most players are waiting to play the game and don’t have the patience to watch storylines continually—after a few minutes, they’ll want to skip it.”

“So, we can’t have it both ways. We must choose one. If we make fragmented, essence-of-plot CGs, then don’t expect to screen them; if we make it as a movie and then split it into many segments, player reception will not be good.”

Huang Sibo thought carefully and realized that it was indeed the case.

The idea he had just impulsively come up with wouldn’t work.

Everyone discussed it for a long time, but the problem still seemed unsolvable. They could only look toward Mr. Pei, hoping to get more hints from him.

Meanwhile, Pei Qian was working hard to suppress his joy.

Great, you all know how to give correct answers now!

Since you’ve all discussed and found the standard answer, how could I not copy it?

Pei Qian had made up his mind and, after some consideration said, “Plan each chapter of the plot according to game CG methods, film it like a sci-fi movie, complete it within the project timeframe, and the total length must be more than an hour and a half.”

Zhu Xiaocai was dumbfounded.

So after all that discussion, Mr. Pei hadn’t listened to a word?

Or did Mr. Pei have other plans?

The three looked at each other in bewilderment. They wanted to ask more questions, but seeing Mr. Pei’s resolute attitude, they could only silently take notes and ponder over it later.

Pei Qian continued, “The game’s name is ‘Mission and Choice,’ a sci-fi theme.”

Hu Xianbin almost thought he had misheard: “Huh? ‘Mission and Choice’? Is that the…”

Pei Qian nodded: “That’s right, find a way to get the copyright for this game. What we’re making is its HD remaster!”

Hu Xianbin was stunned.

‘Mission and Choice’ was the shame of domestic Chinese games, the nightmare of countless veteran players, the most atrocious and failed RTS game in history!

Moreover, its world-building was just a knockoff of ‘StarCraft,’ with virtually no plot. The art was terrible too. There was absolutely nothing redeeming about it!

When others develop IPs, they recreate classics.

When we develop IPs, we’re picking up trash?

And not just any trash—toxic, harmful, completely worthless trash?

Why bother? Tenda Group has so many good IPs; couldn’t we just use one of those? Or simply rewrite a world-building from scratch—even that would be better!

Pei Qian saw Hu Xianbin’s exaggerated expression and secretly rejoiced, having no intention of explaining further.

Huang Sibo was also frowning deeply.

But a moment later, he suddenly realized something, and his brow immediately relaxed.

“Ah, I understand, Mr. Pei!”

“‘Mission and Choice’ is a painful memory for all domestic game players. It represents the dark age of domestic single-player games, a disgrace to Chinese gaming.”

“By choosing to remaster this game, Mr. Pei aims to wash away this shame and proclaim the rebirth and glory of domestic single-player games!”

“If successful, it will completely transform players’ perception of domestic games and give a shot of confidence to all domestic single-player game developers!”

Hu Xianbin also had a sudden revelation.

So that was it. Mr. Pei’s decision to make this game wasn’t based on utilitarian considerations but had strong symbolic meaning!

He couldn’t help but show an expression of great admiration.

This kind of grand undertaking could only be done by a heroic figure like Mr. Pei!

Pei Qian: “…”

Whatever you say is fine, I’m used to it by now.

Pei Qian collected his thoughts and continued: “This game must innovate on traditional RTS games.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Obviously, Mr. Pei wouldn’t stick to conventions.

Although carefully referencing successful RTS games like ‘StarCraft 2’ and ‘WarCraft’ would be the safest choice, Mr. Pei clearly wasn’t that kind of person.

After some thought, Pei Qian said: “The game should only have two races: humans and insects. As for balance, just cobble something together if possible; it doesn’t matter if it’s not done well.”

“The game’s operations must be simplified as much as possible, preferably playable without any APM requirements.”

“Hmm… the greatest difficulty shouldn’t come from enemies but from your own units. Each soldier should have their own thoughts and frequently disobey the player’s commands and orders.”

“For live-action filming, we need to hire actors, but only one main character—the rest can only be extras. It doesn’t matter who we cast as the lead; a big-name celebrity is fine too, but remember: no facial expressions and no acting skills.”

“Also, ensure the project timeline is met, all the money is spent, and there are no other requirements.”

Pei Qian was confident.

I don’t believe this could make money!

These requirements basically eliminated all the advantages of traditional RTS games.

As He An said, if an RTS game is made like ‘StarCraft 2’ nowadays, it can still be profitable because there are still many die-hard RTS players worldwide who will pay for good games.

Making an RTS game simple won’t appeal to these veteran players, nor will it be able to compete with games like GOG for new players. The chances of failure greatly increase!

Additionally, balance is extremely important for RTS games.

‘Command & Conquer’ isn’t as highly regarded as ‘StarCraft’ and ‘WarCraft’ by many players precisely because its balance isn’t good, making it difficult to promote as an esports title.

So, Pei Qian would make an RTS game with terrible balance!

With only humans and insects as the two races, and completely unbalanced, core RTS players would absolutely reject it, and it would never become an esports title.

As for “soldiers having their own thoughts,” Pei Qian drew on his personal experience—it was time to let players feel his pain too!

Imagine in an RTS game, you command soldiers to attack the enemy forces, but the soldiers see too many enemies and flee in panic.

How satisfying! Players would surely be furious.

The condition about actors was a precaution.

What if this thing actually got screened and became a global hit, earning hundreds of millions of dollars in box office revenue?

The possibility was slim, but he had to guard against it.

Therefore, Pei Qian needed to ensure that even as a film, it would definitely flop.

Only one protagonist, and absolutely no display of acting skills, not even too many facial expressions.

This way, the possibility of generating buzz through acting skills like Lu Zhiyao did in ‘Better Tomorrow’ wouldn’t exist.

After hearing Mr. Pei’s words, all three were frozen in place.

All of Mr. Pei’s requirements were bewildering!

But since they were all experienced professionals, they weren’t too shocked and didn’t ask much.

They knew very well that Mr. Pei must be presenting another puzzle.

The problem was, this time, Mr. Pei’s puzzle seemed ridiculously difficult!

How to solve it?

The game’s name was ridiculous, the mechanics completely contradicted basic RTS principles, and even making a CG was so unusual.

Anyone who didn’t know better might think Mr. Pei was deliberately making things difficult for them!

Seeing the three’s expressions, Pei Qian couldn’t help but smile slightly.

Great, judging by everyone’s reactions, this game will most likely succeed in losing money!

Losing five hundred million all at once—just thinking about it was exhilarating!

Pei Qian stood up: “Alright, get to work right away!”

…

After arranging the work, Pei Qian returned to his residence humming a tune.

Taking care of both Tenda Games and Fei Huang Studio, these two major concerns, all at once, put him in an excellent mood.

However, after calming down, Pei Qian felt he shouldn’t let his guard down.

He decided to send the plan to Teacher He An and have Guide Beacon double-check whether it could lose money and what the probability of loss would be.

What if Teacher He noticed something he had overlooked?

Thinking of this, Pei Qian organized the key points from the meeting and sent them to He An.

“Teacher He, what do you think is the success rate of ‘Mission and Choice’ if we do it this way?”

Within two minutes, He An replied.

“?”

“???”

He sent several question marks in a row, immediately followed by a video call.

“Mr. Pei, are you planning to do this?” As soon as the video call connected, He An asked bluntly.

Pei Qian nodded: “Yes.”

He An looked shocked: “That’s five hundred million yuan!”

Pei Qian couldn’t help but beam with joy: “Yes, five hundred million yuan!”

He An on the video, fell silent. He carefully observed Mr. Pei’s expression, but still couldn’t guess his true intentions.

“If it were any other game company, I’d pray for them in advance.”

“The standard answer for ‘StarCraft 2’ is right there, but they can’t even copy it properly. Instead, they make every possible mistake. Those five hundred million would be wasted, a total loss.”

He An paused, then said: “But…”

“Mr. Pei, you must have already figured out how to do this and are deliberately releasing only partial, misleading information to confuse me, right?”

“Showing off your skills again?”

“After the game succeeds, I’ll be shocked by you and have to reconsider many basic game design theories.”

“Is that what you’re thinking?”

Pei Qian: “…”

This is bad. Teacher He has also started overthinking uncontrollably.

Pei Qian tentatively asked: “Teacher He, so how do you think this game will make money?”

He An kept a straight face: “You’re too clever! I can’t figure it out, okay?”

Pei Qian was speechless. We were having a nice conversation; why are you getting angry?

Fine, since Teacher He couldn’t see any profit potential either, that was reassuring.

“Alright, thank you for your guidance, Teacher He. I’ll treat you to dinner after the game launches!”

Pei Qian happily hung up the phone.