Chapter 13 Celebration

At a hotpot restaurant inside Modu MixC.

Chen Xu, Ruan Ningxue, and Yang Xin were eating hotpot together.

Beef, beef tripe, beef omasum, sliced beef rolls...

How can you call it hotpot without beef?

"You're too amazing, master! The gaming industry here has exploded, and players are showering it with positive reviews!" Yang Xin, who was now acquainted with Chen Xu, looked at the news on her phone, her face filled with excitement.

"Sister Xin, please don't call me master. I can't really be called a master now. Just call me by my name." Chen Xu waved his hand.

Speaking so exaggeratedly, Chen Xu, however, knew very well that the so-called sensation was mostly limited to the niche circle of "Gentleman's Game" developers.

As for the entire Gaming Industry?

At most, it had made a splash in the Independent Game circle, and even then, it was barely a ripple.

Chen Xu had a very clear understanding of this.

"I feel like I shouldn't have mentioned 50,000 sales back then." Ruan Ningxue said from beside him, though a smile played on her face.

Hearing this, Chen Xu put down his chopsticks and smiled at Ruan Ningxue, saying, "Well, there's nothing I can do about that. You were the one who set it, Senior Sister."

"Oh, I used to think I could invite you, Chen Xu, to my company. Now it seems I was overthinking it!" Yang Xin said, a little dejected.

"You'd better save it and stop 'corrupting' my Junior Brother. Of your three games, each one sold worse than the last!" Ruan Ningxue mercilessly jabbed at her from the side.

"Although my three games failed, there were reasons for that, alright? I was only responsible for the text and narrative structure; everything else was outsourced. And in terms of player feedback, the story text itself was highly praised!" Yang Xin retorted, unconvinced.

"By the way, Chen Xu, can you help me figure out what went wrong with those three games our company developed?" Yang Xin asked Chen Xu earnestly.

"Positioning and bloated systems." Chen Xu searched on his phone, and after just a quick look at some videos online, he understood.

"Hmm...?" Yang Xin looked a bit bewildered.

"Simply put, Sister Xin, your games try to add a little bit of everything. But you're making small-scale Independent Games, not AAA-tier games. Even for AAA-tier games, many system settings are primarily for enrichment, not as the main course." Chen Xu explained to Yang Xin.

Hearing Chen Xu's words, Yang Xin showed a look of sudden realization on the surface, understanding a little but hadn't quite grasped it all.

However, even though she was still a bit confused, Yang Xin felt too embarrassed to keep asking questions at the dinner table, so she changed the subject.

"By the way, what are you planning to do next, Chen Xu?"

"Next, I'm thinking of starting my own small game company." It wasn't much of a secret, Chen Xu said with a smile.

"Start your own company?" Yang Xin was a little surprised.

"Yes." Chen Xu nodded. This was something already in his plans.

Yang Xin sat in her seat, thought for a moment, and then made a decision, saying, "Then what do you think of me, Chen Xu? Can I come develop games with you when the time comes?"

She was still very passionate about making games.

However, three consecutive failed projects had left her somewhat disheartened.

But now she understood.

Is it a problem that she couldn't be a Game Designer or make successful games?

No, it wasn't!

It was just that she hadn't found a successful method yet. Finding someone successful to cling to—that's also the secret to success!

Before coming, she had thoroughly investigated the game Mirror (Game).

She then came to a conclusion: the success of this game was absolutely no fluke.

And after hearing Chen Xu's critique of her three games, even though she understood a little but hadn't quite grasped it all.

But one thing she could be sure of was that this junior brother, who her best friend said was making games for the first time, definitely had the potential to become a master!

Some Game Designers might develop an excellent quality game due to a temporary flash of inspiration, only to then fade into obscurity.

But there are also Game Designers who have a very clear understanding of the games they are developing.

Chen Xu, standing before her, was clearly such a person.

The failure of three consecutive games had given Yang Xin a clear self-awareness.

Hearing Yang Xin's words, Chen Xu also fell into thought.

Chen Xu had also briefly checked the three games Yang Xin mentioned.

As Yang Xin said, the plot was indeed a highlight.

The vast majority of the game's negative reviews stemmed from the gameplay mechanics, while most of the positive reviews were for the plot.

And it wasn't just one game; all three were like this.

Clearly, this was the work of the Content Planner.

If he were to make games himself in the future, it would be impossible for him to rely solely on himself. He could handle some of the main storylines and various threads of a game.

But what about the complete plot arrangement?

It was unrealistic to rely on himself alone, even with the system. You know, a game of The Last of Us's caliber in his previous life had over 2,000 pages of main story text alone. If you count all the text in the entire game, the script pages, each the size of an A4 sheet, would stack up to 2.4 meters high.

He could fully handle games like Mirror (Game), but for developing games with larger and more extensive text in the future, it was clear he couldn't cover every aspect.

"Of course, no problem. Sister Xin, if you're serious, once I get the company set up, we can talk then." Chen Xu said to Yang Xin.

"No problem, then I'll wait for your news, Chen Xu!" Yang Xin replied.

"Alright, alright, if you two don't eat, I'm going to finish all the beef." Ruan Ningxue chimed in.

"I say, Ningxue, why don't you join us too? With our combined strength, we could definitely achieve great things!" Yang Xin looked at Ruan Ningxue, chuckling.

Ruan Ningxue took a sip of the Want Want Milk on the table, glanced at Yang Xin, but didn't respond.

"But I wonder how popular Mirror (Game) will become. Will it break a million sales in a month?" Yang Xin speculated.

"Cutting that in half, there might be hope. As for anything higher, it's pretty much impossible." Chen Xu said with a smile.

He had a relatively clear understanding of this; after all, it was an 18R game, with too many restrictions.

The group ate and drank at the restaurant until around nine o'clock. Chen Xu saw the two women to their respective residential complex, then took a taxi home.

(End of Chapter) <>