Qiu Hong looked at the address on his phone, then looked up at the old community in front of him.
There are some elderly people coming and going in the community. Because the old community is very old, the living conditions are quite worrying, and the apartments in the residential buildings are also very narrow. For young people, I am afraid they are not even willing to live here.
Let alone work here.
But according to the address on the phone, there is an independent game producer here.
Qiu Hong also spotted the unit building number and climbed up the corridor filled with various psoriasis advertisements until he reached the sixth floor.
After repeatedly distinguishing which one was 601 and which one was 602, Qiu Hong knocked on the door gently.
“Tuk-tuk-tuk.”
After a while, there was a sound of footsteps inside, and the old-fashioned security door opened.
A young man with messy hair and two big dark circles under his eyes asked hesitantly: "Are you... Mr. Qiu?"
Qiu Hong nodded: "Yes, are you Wu Zhicheng?"
Wu Zhicheng nodded: "Yes, Mr. Qiu, just call me Xiao Wu. Please come in."
Wu Zhicheng stepped aside and stepped aside.
Qiu Hong stepped in and closed the security door.
The imperial capital should not be heated until around mid-November, and it is still nearly a week away, so it is the coldest time.
After entering, Qiu Hong did not feel very warm. Instead, he felt as if wind was constantly coming in from the gaps in the window.
Wu Zhicheng seemed to be used to it, so he dragged a chair over and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Qiu, it's too messy. You can make do with it."
Qiu Hong didn't care, pulled up a chair and sat down.
Originally, Wu Zhicheng wanted the two of them to find a coffee shop to chat, but Qiu Hong insisted on coming to the place where Wu Zhicheng worked because he wanted to see the most real working environment and working conditions.
Qiu Hong looked around.
It looks like a very small one-bedroom apartment. The living room has become Wu Zhicheng's studio, with computer desks, computers, messy stacks of books, game consoles, small TVs, small dining tables... There is almost nothing left to do.
place.
The other room was Wu Zhicheng's bedroom. Apart from the bed and wardrobe, it couldn't hold much. The bed was also piled with books, and the condition was equally worrying.
Wu Zhicheng was a little embarrassed. After searching for a long time in the small refrigerator, he only found Feizhai Happy Water. He didn't know that Mr. Qiu was not used to drinking this.
Qiu Hong hurriedly said: "No need to be busy, let's get straight to the point."
Wu Zhicheng nodded: "Okay, then let me briefly talk about the situation here."
Compared with Jiang Fan of Cherry Studio, Wu Zhicheng's experience seems much simpler.
Jiang Fan originally worked in a law firm. After first making a game in his spare time and achieving success, he decided to use the money to set up Cherry Studio to start a business.
Wu Zhicheng, on the other hand, worked for a while after graduating from college and had some savings. Then because he was dissatisfied with his job, he resolutely quit his job and started making games.
As for what to do if the game can't be finished and if you can't make any money, Wu Zhicheng hasn't thought much about this issue at all.
Anyway, if you can't support it anymore, just find another job.
Qiu Hong asked: "At what stage is the game developed? Can you give it a try?"
Wu Zhicheng nodded: "Yes, but... the degree of completion is very low. Mr. Qiu, you may have to play with it in your head."
With that said, Wu Zhicheng turned on his computer and opened the game project he made in the official editor.
Qiu Hong sat down in front of Wu Zhicheng's computer and looked at the dust on the keyboard and mouse, as well as the ashtray full of cigarette butts and empty Coke bottles on the computer table, and was speechless for a moment.
Wu Zhicheng quickly took out two tissues from the tissue box next to him, wiped the keyboard and mouse carefully, and then tidied up the computer desk.
"Mr. Qiu, this is a mobile game, but currently it can only be played on a computer. You need to use a mouse to complete the dragging operation, which is inconvenient. Please bear with me."
Qiu Hong nodded and started to enter the game.
The name of the game is "Ink Clouds and Smoke". It is a 2D side-scrolling game with a high level of difficulty. The biggest difference between this game and ordinary side-scrolling games is that it has a rather special gameplay, which is through painting.
way to interact with the scenes in the game.
Players can create or erase objects in the game scene through painting. This interactive experience will bring players a very novel experience in some special levels and boss battles.
But...this is the ideal situation.
The gameplay of many games is ideal and full, but the reality is very skinny.
In order to achieve the effect that Wu Zhicheng expected, there must be two prerequisites: first, every level and every battle must be carefully crafted, and second, it needs to have very outstanding artistic effects.
The biggest difference between "Ink Clouds and Smoke" and other 2D horizontal version games is this painting-style interactive experience. However, if you just simply draw a little, wipe a little, and keep doing this, the player's experience will be very boring. This gameplay innovation is also
It's meaningless.
The so-called gameplay innovation must not be a simple concept, but a rich set of gameplay and content.
The game must be conceived and planned for every level and every boss, and more tricks can be developed based on this gameplay. Only then can the game be considered a success.
Moreover, since this game is a game that features interactive graphics, the graphics must be great, otherwise the fun of playing it will be greatly reduced.
Judging from the current level of game completion, it is really far behind.
This is also normal. Wu Zhiben is just a student who has just graduated. He is making this game purely out of love. Depending on the conditions, whether he has the ability to complete the gameplay and levels is not mentioned for the time being. At least the art
The resources aspect is unsolvable.
Wu Zhicheng is not good at art, and he cannot afford to hire experts on the official platform, so the resources in the game are all patchworked together, which looks very classless.
Moreover, all operations are done with the mouse, which is not as smooth as playing on a mobile phone.
In short, Qiu Hong's enjoyment of this game depends entirely on his imagination.
Qiu Hong sighed softly with some melancholy.
Previously, he felt that companies like Cherry Studio, whose capital chain was almost broken and wages could no longer be paid, were very suitable for the rescue conditions of the "Dead End Plan".
As a result, when I saw Wu Zhicheng today, I realized that there is such a thing as "endless road". There is only getting poorer, not the poorest.
So the question is, does this project meet the requirements?
Mr. Pei said that neither those who are too reliable nor those who are too unreliable should be voted for.
According to general standards, this must be considered extremely unreliable. An ordinary person with no game development experience at all uses his love to generate electricity, and there is no guarantee for his level design ability or art level.
But Qiu Hong instinctively hoped that Wu Zhicheng could get help, because Wu Zhicheng had a belief, and it was this belief that made this project reliable.
"Mr. Pei said, if I'm not sure whether it's reliable or not, it's up to me to decide."
"In that case..."
Qiu Hong thought for a long time and asked: "How much do you think it will cost to complete this game?"
Wu Zhicheng was stunned by the question: "Uh... this..."
"To be honest, I can't tell clearly."
"If I can have two hundred thousand, I can use it to hire a good painter to help draw the game scenes."
"If you have another 50,000 yuan, you can use it to pay the rent first. It will last for a long time..."
Qiu Hong also fell into deep thought.
For Cherry Studio, there are very clear plans for how much the project will be completed, what employee salaries and daily expenses will be.
But for Wu Zhicheng, he does not have a very clear concept of project planning, construction period, and resource control, so naturally he cannot give a specific number.
No matter how much money you give, you can only solve the urgent needs first, and we will talk about the rest later.
Qiu Hong was not worried about Wu Zhicheng spending too much money. Given his condition, he couldn't spend much.
The key is that without a clear plan, project management and control will fall into chaos. Qiu Hong knows very well that this is a fatal factor that may lead to complete failure of the project.
For these independent game producers, what they lack is not only money, but also various other supporting facilities.
For example, how to plan the project development cycle, how to control costs, how to solve financial problems, etc., are all difficult problems to solve.
But for a game as large as a game studio, it would be extremely wasteful to have all the equipment.
You can't find three or four people including finance, administration, etc. to surround Wu Zhicheng alone, right? That doesn't make sense.
Qiu Hong thought for a while and said, "Wait a moment, I'll make a call."
Wu Zhicheng nodded and waited patiently.
Obviously, he also knew very well that given his condition, it was indeed too far-fetched for anyone to invest.
I hope the big leader whom Mr. Qiu asked for instructions can show some kindness.
————
The game details of "Ink Clouds and Smoke" can be found in Chapter 194 of "Restarting the Game Era". If you are interested, you can check it out and it will not affect the plot of this book.