Chapter 213: A Ship-New Version You've Never Seen Before
Lin Wan continued to carefully test the game.
Even though she still couldn't bring herself to like this genre, in order to complete what might be a truly historic creation—to witness the birth of an entirely new model of gaming—she decided to muster all of her professionalism.
As a designer, even if it was a type of game she personally disliked, she had to grit her teeth, keep playing, and understand every last detail. Only then could she do her job properly.
"Eh? I got chosen as the Chosen One!"
On the screen, Lin Wan's character suddenly flared with golden light. Her avatar swelled to two or three times its original size, towering above the crowd like a giant.
This was the hallmark of being selected by the system—in that instant, her combat power skyrocketed.
Lin Wan immediately entered "serious work mode," charging into the battlefield to massacre her foes left and right.
About half an hour later, the kingdom war ended.
Just then, Ye Zhizhou knocked gently at the door. He wanted to discuss something.
He had actually come by once before, but seeing Lin Wan wholly engrossed in her "research," he hadn't dared to interrupt. Now that the war was over, he tried again.
"Director Lin, I'd like to talk about the publicity plan."
"Even though the game is still more than a month away from completion, the marketing side needs to start preparing early."
This matched the development experience he and Wang Xiaobin had—planning promotions well ahead of launch.
Lin Wan blinked. "Huh? This early?"
In her impression, Tenda's games usually didn't explode in popularity until after release, when the marketing suddenly hit like a tidal wave.
She had even assumed this was just the norm.
But after thinking for a moment, she realized—of course not.
Take Game Producer's "performance art" style campaign, for instance. The viral effect had exploded after release, but the meticulous planning behind it must have been done long before.
Nodding, she asked, "Alright then, based on your past experience, how should we promote it?"
Ye Zhizhou considered. "Well, based on past cases, the most effective way is to buy web ads and video site ads—you know, the kind where a single click pops up a mini-game window…"
Lin Wan frowned instinctively.
That was just… too low.
She'd always despised those misleading, tacky banner ads—and now her own game was supposed to rely on them?
Utter rejection!
Ye Zhizhou quickly added, "But the problem is, our game is a micro-client."
"Even if players click the pop-up, they'll still need to download a small installer. That alone will slash our conversion rate."
"This is a major issue. If the rate is too low, if it's too hard to bring players in… we may not even recover the advertising spend."
Lin Wan was speechless.
So what he meant was—even this cheap and annoying approach might not even work?
She thought for a moment, then said, "In that case, I'd better consult President Pei directly."
Ye Zhizhou brightened. "That's for the best!"
President Pei had said before that for day-to-day development matters, follow Director Lin's lead.
And indeed, for small issues during development, the team had always discussed internally and let Lin Wan decide.
But when it came to a big, uncertain question like marketing… that was definitely something to consult President Pei about.
Since no one could think of a reliable solution, they could only place their hopes on him.
With a slightly nervous feeling, Lin Wan sent a message to Pei Qian, asking for his advice on the promotional strategy for Blood War Anthem: Enhanced Edition.
But a thought nagged her:
What if… President Pei didn't have a good solution either?
After all, ever since the game was changed from a browser game to a micro-client, its very genre had shifted, and the traditional marketing methods might no longer be effective.
Even for President Pei, he'd probably need a few days to think this through, right?
Yet, only a few minutes later, Pei Qian replied.
"Hold on, I'll send you a draft."
Five minutes later, a document arrived.
Lin Wan opened it and read it together with Ye Zhizhou.
President Pei's marketing plan was simple: advertising blitz!
Still the traditional approach—buying ads on websites, video platforms, and so on.
At first glance, it didn't look much different from the old-school methods.
But what shocked them was that President Pei's proposal specifically required hiring celebrities to wear cosplay costumes and shoot commercials—and he had even stressed they must be Hong Kong or Taiwanese stars. They had to personally recite the ad lines, and he had already written the lines out in full!
"Hello everyone, I'm XXX. I've played many roles, but in gaming, I only play Blood War Anthem: Enhanced Edition! A fair game where everyone can feel the thrill of being a whale. Join now and you'll be raking in the rewards. On tonight's battlefield, I'll be your brother-in-arms!"
"XXX has taken over Blood War Anthem: Enhanced Edition! This game is truly amazing—miss it now and you'll be waiting another 120 years!"
"This is a brand-new version you've never seen before! Just three minutes of play, and you'll fall in love with it—just like I did!"
—And so on.
Lin Wan and Ye Zhizhou stared blankly at each other.
They closed the file and reopened it, almost thinking they had opened it the wrong way…
Ye Zhizhou felt completely blindsided.
For President Pei to send over such a detailed draft so quickly, it clearly meant he had been prepared all along.
This marketing strategy—maybe it was something he had planned from the very start.
But why this way?
These lines… they were so obviously low-brow!
Wouldn't the game just get flamed to death by the public?
Ye Zhizhou thought: But wait, this isn't a pay-to-win game anymore! It's practically a "conscience game." We've already washed away the old stigma!
So why would they deliberately make such ads? Wasn't this just pouring mud back over their own heads?
If this were still a traditional pay-to-win browser game, then sure, this kind of marketing made sense.
Because those games mainly targeted whales—rich bosses, coal mine owners, people like that. They loved Hong Kong and Taiwanese stars, and the blunt, flashy ad lines would easily win them over.
But the target audience for Blood War Anthem: Enhanced Edition wasn't those whales anymore!
And on top of that, this kind of marketing felt outdated and tacky. Even judged by the usual standards of browser game ads, it was pretty low-level…
This is a disaster. He had absolutely no idea what President Pei was thinking.
Ye Zhizhou turned to Lin Wan with questioning eyes.
Lin Wan was also deep in thought. Clearly, her instinctive distaste for the ad copy ran even deeper than Ye Zhizhou's.
But she also understood President Pei far better.
Whenever something seemed illogical, there was always a deeper purpose behind it!
After thinking it over for a long time, Lin Wan finally nodded slightly.
"I get it now."
"President Pei's whole goal is to free players from being slaves to money—to change their tastes!"
"In other words, when promoting the game, you must first attract the original target audience of pay-to-win games. Only then can this game reshape their spending habits!"
"If the traditional browser game players never come to this game in the first place, how can their mindset possibly be changed?"
Ye Zhizhou was dumbfounded.
"No… it can't be that deep, right? This just looks like a run-of-the-mill browser game ad strategy…"
"On the surface, yes," Lin Wan shook her head, "but a lot of things can't be judged by appearances. President Pei surely has a follow-up plan. We'll just have to wait and see."
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