NOVPUBChapter 732 -413 We Will Come Again (Part 2)_2
Chapter 732 -413 We Will Come Again (Part 2)_2
But Huang Ping didn’t seem envious at all, which left Dailte quite surprised and led him to wonder if Fang Cheng Studio operated similarly.
After thinking for a while, Dailte said, “May I ask, what kinds of entertainment facilities do you have at Fang Cheng Studio?”
“Basically, it’s just game capsules, and then we each have our own personal restrooms; there’s not much else.”
“I see, so how does Fang Cheng show you his human touch and make you feel a strong bond with and aspiration for the company?”
“He pays us.”
Dailte was stunned, and then he looked at Huang Ping with eyes full of confusion.
Project bonuses and the like were normal, and he didn’t think Fang Cheng Studio would give out much money for them.
In his view, Fang Cheng Studio’s technical prowess was too formidable; most of their income should be used for technological breakthroughs and accumulation, so he assumed the bonuses given to the game developers wouldn’t be that high.
Apart from that, the technology used in the recent “The Legendary Adventure of Cheng Tianhua” was particularly impressive, with the so-called “wishes come true” system making the gameplay incredibly varied and giving a narrative game the feel of an open world.
So, he asked quietly, “If it’s not too bold to ask, how much is your bonus?”
“I can only tell you, the total is probably in the nine figures.”
After a pause, Huang Ping added, “And it might still be in US dollars. Plus, our boss has been on a crazy trend of handing out money lately; it’s like he has a vendetta against it.”
At that moment, Dailte suddenly felt that his company’s perks weren’t so appealing anymore.
After all, no matter how good everything else is, it can’t compare to money being deposited into one’s own bank account.
However, out of the peculiar pride of a newbie, he still forced a smile and asked, “So, you all must be pretty busy, right?”
Huang Ping let out a deep sigh, “Yes, we are pretty busy.”
“I knew it; with that kind of money, being busy makes sense.”
“We have a lot to do, but the boss never lets us work overtime. Over the New Year holiday, he dares to give us a month off. Do you think that’s something a capitalist should do?”
“…”
“Moreover, he does most of the big work himself, leaving us with only the minor tasks that need optimizing. Take our recent ‘The Legendary Adventure of Cheng Tianhua’—more than seventy percent of it was completed by the boss himself. Does that seem right to you?”
“…”
“In previous games it was the same, and what’s more troublesome is that he likes to hide easter eggs in the games without letting us know. Do you know how frustrating it is to have players discover easter eggs before us?”
“…uh…”
“And another thing is…”
“Stop, stop, I can’t listen to this anymore. Let’s continue with the tour, shall we?”
Afterward, during the tour, Dailte’s sense of superiority was gone, and all he could think about was whether it was still timely to rush to Rong City to grovel at Fang Cheng’s feet.
Aside from that slightly unpleasant interlude, the rest of the visit was quite interesting.
The North American gaming market today is dominated by AAA games, but most are actually assembly-line products, devoid of any personal ideas or creativity from the game makers.
Even in North America, the homogenization of games is severe; most major companies’ games simply change the time and place, but the play mechanics and systems are nearly identical, leaving no lasting impression on the player after finishing.
Still, at times like these, the gaming industry is still capable of maintaining its own style, constantly refining itself in this market of severe homogenization and finding various ways to make new games more interesting.
After the tour, Huang Ping felt that he had gained a lot and that the trip hadn’t been in vain.
Compared to his experiences within the gaming community, the award ceremony at the game expo seemed somewhat dull.
There were not many Huaxia games here, and the organizers knew Huang Ping’s English wasn’t very good, so they had given him a Chinese translation script of the evening’s program in advance, but this made the show even more boring.
However, as each award recipient’s speech was self-prepared, Huang Ping could hardly understand them, and he could only smile foolishly when the people beside him did and applaud when others clapped.
Moreover, for the studio’s reputation, he could only stifle his drowsiness and keep his eyes on the front.
But his wife had no such idol baggage and directly leaned on Huang Ping to sleep, occasionally muttering, “Why is this program so boring, and it doesn’t even have subtitles? Hey, why can’t I turn it off?”
At that moment, Huang Ping resolved that once they got back, he would arrange a big task for his colleagues.
He couldn’t be the only one involved in such a boring mission!
They must all die!
In a dazed state, after what felt like a very long time, Huang Ping finally waited for the Best Narrative Art Award.
Besides “The Legendary Adventure of Cheng Tianhua,” there were three other games nominated: Monkey Island’s “Dreamlike,” Pirate Ship’s “Two People’s World,” and Abyss’s “Falling.”
Before “The Legendary Adventure of Cheng Tianhua” came out, this award still held some suspense.
However, after “The Legendary Adventure of Cheng Tianhua” released, the other three creators didn’t even bother writing an acceptance speech.
The creator from Monkey Island was a bit more subtle, and during media interviews, he tactfully said, “We played ‘The Legendary Adventure of Cheng Tianhua’ for three days and nights, and I still don’t know how they achieved this technology.”
Pirate Ship was much more straightforward: “This is my most embarrassing moment because I don’t know what I did to deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as ‘The Legendary Adventure of Cheng Tianhua.'”
The uniquely independent game company Abyss even stated that only one company should win this award—if it wasn’t them, then the award might as well remain vacant.
And this creator was also a well-known rock singer, whose formidable influence made clear to the exhibition that the award had to be given to them.
When it came to this award, the host on stage didn’t beat around the bush or deliberately stall for time.
Upon seeing this award, he directly said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I think everyone should know who owns this award. So, let’s skip the boring guessing part, skip the boring time-wasting part, and shout out loud, what is the name of this game?”
“The Legendary Adventure of Cheng Tianhua!”
Amid the cheers of the crowd, Huang Ping snapped out of his daze and quickly stood up.
The host on stage smiled and reached out to Huang Ping, who immediately walked over.
Flashlights sparkled next to him, guests on both sides clapped and congratulated, and the short path leading directly to the center of the stage seemed like a dazzling pathway of stardust.
This was what Huang Ping had dreamt of, an acknowledgment of their studio’s game. If it were before, Huang Ping would have felt that this moment made his entire life worthwhile, something he could boast about for a lifetime.
But now, he discovered, to his surprise, that he was calm.
This was not an end, but a beginning.
Although it was just the Best Narrative Art Award, and this award certainly didn’t have as much weight as the Best Game Award, it was still a recognition from the North American gaming market.
And after this, there would be more and more such acknowledgments.
He knew he was not the best one, but he knew he was definitely one of the luckiest, his luck stemming from his own platform, from Fang Cheng’s keen judgment.
After receiving the award, he suddenly felt that the award seemed insignificant.
The unattained is always the most beautiful; yet, Fang Cheng Studio’s games did not need such awards to shine, but rather, the award needed Fang Cheng Studio’s games for prestige.
Realizing this, Huang Ping stepped forward confidently, pulling out the speech he had prepared in advance.
He had written a lot for this moment of acceptance, but standing on the stage, he found there were only a few sentences he really wanted to say.
“Thank you to all the players for their love.”
“Thank you, boss.”
“Thank you, my colleagues.”
“And thanks to the committee members, but the truth is, we have even better games.”
“Next time, we’ll be back.”
