Chapter 16: Lacking a Focal Point

At 4pm, a red Ferrari stopped in front of the experience store.

Zhao Zihao stepped out from the car and took a good look at the experience store, “Wow! This experience store is quite big! Looks like Chen Mo got a good catch!”

Lin Mao rolled his eyes. “Doesn’t your family own several stores like this?”

Zhao Zihao replied, “Hey, those belong to my parents, it’s none of my business. This one was obtained by Chen Mo using his own hands, so it’s different. Let’s go in and take a look.”

They dialed Chen Mo, waiting for him to let them in.

Zhao Zihao wore a plain white tee and jeans, along with some sneakers. If it weren’t for the fact that he stepped out of a Ferrari, you wouldn’t know he came from a rich family.

In reality everything he wore was expensive, but for some reason when it was on him it seemed no different from the stuff you got from the market.

Lin Mao was dressed more officially, in a short-sleeved shirt, and casual pants. Moreover, he was usually more calm, making him seem more reliable.

The door opened. “Come in!” Chen Mo welcomed his two guests inside.

—

Zhao Zihao walked around on the first floor, checking out the decor. “Not bad, Chen Mo. This store’s pretty good! I’ll be addressing you as Mister Chen Mo the internet cafe owner!”

Chen Mo replied, “Stop messing around, this is a serious experience store.”

Lin Mao looked around in admiration, “Everything in here was provided by the organizers? Not bad. I don’t even have my own experience store yet!”

Chen Mo replied, “You should join a competition too!”

Lin Mao laughed, “Hey, it’s not like I’ve never tried. Getting first place is too difficult, predominantly because the tastes of the audience are a bit weird. The last time I joined one, I entered with a game of decent quality. In the end the audience didn’t want to pay up, only getting second place. Not much I could do!”

——

After catching up for a bit, they went to a nearby restaurant for food.

Since it was only the three of them, they couldn’t order too many dishes. Although Zhao Zihao was rich, he wasn’t too picky about what he ate. They ordered five dishes and two bottles of beer, chatting as they ate.

“Zhao Zihao, how’s your office going?” asked Chen Mo.

Zhao Zihao grabbed some food using his chopsticks. “Same old. It never was expected to make money as long as they played games with me. If there was someone I couldn’t beat in game, I’d just ask them to beat the crap out of them for me.”

Lin Mao said, “Look at your success.”

Zhao Zihao said bitterly, “What’s the point of me hiring them other than as my champions?”

Chen Mo said, “Then stop insisting on having it your way in games!”

Zhao Zihao shook his head, “Now that you mention it the past two days have been infuriating.”

Chen Mo asked, “What happened? Bullied in game?”

Zhao Zihao said, “I’ve been playing this new VR game from overseas that was released recently called Earth Online. This game has been infuriating!”

Chen Mo asked, “What’s up?”

Zhao Zihao said, “Stop mentioning it. The designer of the game clearly has problems! Anyone who joins the game is born on the streets with five hundred RMB on them, meaning everyone needs to work in game to earn money, like in real life!

“Tell me, is the point of me playing the game to experience the life of a wage slave? There wasn’t even an option to top-up when I looked for it!

“The most infuriating part is when idiots come over to annoy you looking for trouble. If you try and beat them up, the cops will come after you. Every time I get into a fight I wanna get my brothers over, it turns out they were born in a different city and need to catch a train!”

Chen Mo replied, “Isn’t that a bit too real?”

Lin Mao was impressed, “This overseas designer is pretty good, being able to make a game like that.”

Zhao Zihao was still not convinced. “Sure he’s good. But I still think the designer has problems, what’s the point of disgusting players like they are? Why not have the ability to beat people up?”

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Chen Mo replied, “Sure, it’s a bit ridiculous. We’ve already experienced many different things in real life, what’s the point of doing it again in game?”

Zhao Zihao continued, “Moreover, the currency in this game is useless. Can’t even buy it using real money, I need to work for it! They were also super punishing on players who make deals outside of the game. Once they find out about it, you’re banned immediately. That makes me wanna quit!”

Chen Mo laughed, “Calm down, I’ll make a game that allows you to pay money to get stronger. You’ll be able to enjoy yourself however you want.”

Zhao Zihao was quite happy, “Really, Chen Mo? Then I’ll be waiting for your pay to win game! When the time comes I’ll top-up a thousand RMB immediately!”

Chen Mo laughed, “A thousand? With a thousand RMB I can guarantee you will die in-game with slightly more dignity.”

“Huh?” Zhao Zihao was stunned. “Isn’t a thousand RMB enough? The Earth Online closed beta costs at least five hundred RMB!”

Chen Mo just took a sip of tea. “Alright, you’ll know when the time comes.”

Lin Mao said, “You’re getting ahead of yourself. Zhao Zihao, what services does your studio provide? How many players are there?”

Zhao Zihao gave it a thought. “Players? Our company provides the office space, we don’t have a say in the guild. It’s the chairmen in the guild that have control over the players. There’s a clear line in the sand between us and them.”

Lin Mao asked, “Then how often do you interact with the chairmen? When my game comes out, could you help me out and pull some players over?”

Zhao Zihao replied, “It depends on how many you want. I know about ten chairmen. Including the players, it should add up to several thousand. I think it might be difficult for you if you want to solely depend on your income from these guys, but it should be fine to just show you some support.”

Lin Mao sighed, “The indie games I make are difficult to promote in the first place, in addition to the small target audience. The channels of promotion aren’t looking too good, either, and the resources I get are also super limited.”

Zhao Zihao asked, “Can’t you just release it right to the market?”

Lin Mao shook his head. “Releasing it right into the market gathers no attention, none of the users are going to notice it.”

Zhao Zihao gave it some thought and replied, “Alright, I’ll ask about it when the time comes. I’ll try and think of something to hype up your game. Not doing anything just isn’t right, the least I can do is to make your numbers look good. Also, what’s your opinion on this, Chen Mo?”

Chen Mo said, “I haven’t even seen your game!”

Lin Mao handed over his phone to Chen Mo, “Take a look at this, it’s about eighty percent complete.”

Chen Mo grabbed the phone and launched the indie game currently in production by Lin Mao.

—

He made up his mind after playing for five minutes.

It was a side scroller using a Middle Ages theme. It was about a knight saving a princess, including a boss fight against a dragon. All things considered, it was alright for a D-grade video game designer. However, there were still some pitfalls.

Although it was fine in all aspects, there wasn’t much that prompted a player to pull out their money. Even if the game was sold at ten RMB, the players would have to consider why they would make the purchase.

Story? Playstyle? Art? They were all alright, but there wasn’t anything eye-catching.

After thinking for a bit, Chen Mo said, “I think that you are logically misunderstanding this.”

Lin Mao asked, “What misunderstanding?”

Chen Mo said, “I think there’s a problem with your positioning. You’re making an indie game. Sure the audience is smaller, but I don’t think you need to position yourself to focus on a small audience.”

Zhao Zihao scratched his head. “What are you talking about? That’s too convoluted. Could you simplify it a bit?”

Chen Mo said, “I can tell that you have given it your all in all aspects of the game. However, you made it according to the tastes of a small audience, meaning you’re only targeting a small audience who likes themes like this. The number of players isn’t able to support the sales of your game.”

Lin Mao didn’t quite understand. “Aren’t you supposed to target the player’s desires when making a game?”

Chen Mo explained, “What I mean is that you should widen your target audience. Basically, you need more players to play your game.”

Lin Mao was doubtful. “I know that. It sounds simple, but how can you attract more players to your game?”

Chen Mo said, “It’s simple, just find a focal point.”

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