"First of all, welcome aboard."
The studio was now packed with new computers, so the meeting room had become their main workspace. Everyone was sitting at their own spot, and Cynthia stood beside William, clapping first like a hype woman to lighten the mood.
"I know this is your first time working in the game industry, and maybe my age makes some of you a little unsure about things. So let me just say: don't worry. Age and education have never been what limits someone's talent—mindset is."
"It's like how I don't mind that I'm probably a 'middle-aged guy' or 'auntie' in your eyes, because I believe you're just as capable of learning as any so-called 'young person'. Don't you think so?"
William's joke got a laugh out of everyone, and at the same time, it eased the concerns he had guessed they might have. With the way he carried himself and what he had achieved, no one could really look down on him—if anything, it made them respect him more.
"Alright, now let's talk about our development plan. This morning, you all received your task assignments. There's something important I want to make clear: only the producer knows what the final game will look like. Your work is just one piece of the whole. In fact, some of your tasks might not even seem related to each other. So if that happens, don't worry—it doesn't mean I've taken you off the project or have a problem with your work."
This way of working is actually common in film production, too. Everyone focuses on what they're good at—that's what it means to have clear roles.
"Right now, our studio has a strong partnership with WeChat Games. The next game we release will be made by us and published by them."
"There's one more thing I need to say, and it's important: I hope all of you will learn how to use our studio's own game engine. It'll be the best tool you'll ever have in your career."
"Any questions?"
Chris raised his hand first. "Were all the previous games from this studio made by you alone?"
"Yes."
"Even the two engines?"
"Correct."
"Damn." Chris took a sharp breath. "I have to ask—where did you learn all this? As far as I know, maybe things are different abroad, but here in China, nobody's ever done that before."
William smiled slightly. "Aren't I standing right in front of you?"
It sounded like an answer, but it was really him dodging the question. He couldn't explain, and the others didn't need to know. It was enough for them to see what he was capable of.
Chris smiled in understanding and didn't press further.
Seeing no one else speaking up, William asked again, "Any other questions?"
Leon slowly raised his hand. "Do we have a deadline for the project?"
William thought for a second. "Not at the moment."
"Well," Leon said, looking a little troubled, "based on the concept drafts you gave me, by the time I finish the art, adjust everything, and Tina does the modeling, it's probably going to take quite a while."
"I know."
Just making a single character design without weekends off would take over two months. 3D modeling takes even longer. While other steps in development can be done in parallel, a game like Honor of Kings would take at least six months to make. And for people who know Earth Games, they'd know this kind of timeline doesn't fit the studio's style at all.
"So right now, our main focus is on Happy Mahjong. I'm sure you've all heard about Telecom Regulation No. 97, right? To be honest, because of that, our studio currently has zero income."
Claire bit her lip and asked quietly, "Are we going to look for investors?"
William shook his head. "What do you guys think a game really is?"
"A game?"
That question left everyone in the studio confused.
William slowly explained, "I think a game is like a little world. It has its own rules and its own kind of fun. And those rules and that fun shouldn't be messed with by outside things. In other words, I don't want to put unrelated ads in our games just to make money. The point of a game is to bring people joy—and ads don't do that."
No one said anything out loud, but they all silently agreed with William. Since that was the decision, there was nothing more to argue about. They just had to finish Happy Mahjong as soon as possible so they could earn their first bit of real income.
At least, their first bit of income as a team.
The rest of the meeting, William went over the development plan for Happy Mahjong and what features they needed to build. As a junior producer, Claire took notes and would later draw out the roadmap on the whiteboard the studio was planning to buy.
William's goal was to finish the game within a week. He would handle all the coding himself.
Meeting adjourned.
That night, they had dinner together at a nearby restaurant. Since the New Year had just passed, they all agreed to keep it simple—everyone was already sick of big feasts during the holidays. Plus, they had work the next day, and no one wanted to go home feeling bloated and tired.
On the way back, Cynthia was driving, and William started chatting. "How was your New Year?"
"Pretty good, except for the usual marriage pressure."
"Oh?"
William looked at her, clearly amused. "They tried to set you up?"
Cynthia scoffed. "Not a single decent-looking guy."
William laughed. He knew exactly how that felt—every time he went home for the holidays, he'd get dragged into blind dates too.
Those days felt far away now, but oddly nostalgic. After all, that used to be his life.
A new day.
They were still hiring an animator. It wasn't that no one applied—actually, too many qualified people applied. But William only needed one, so Cynthia had to be extra picky.
Tina's job today was to make all the tiles for a full mahjong set. Leon, following William's instructions, was designing the mahjong table and UI elements.
Chris was still working on the game engine. First, he had to learn both Cocos2d-x and Unity. Only then could he start working on the engine for the Life Simulator game.
Claire's job for now was to occasionally check in on everyone's work and give feedback. The rest of the time, she was learning how to use game engines with Chris. If she got stuck, Chris could explain a bit, since his own research focus was in that area.
"The first game just launched."
Cynthia pushed open William's office door.
Thanks to the internal tools they used, she got news faster than most people.
"Oh?"
A few days ago, she had already told William that some companies were planning to release new games soon. These were all newbie teams, but they'd brought in experienced developers. Even if those veterans had old-school ways of working, they at least knew how to get things done.
Plus, William had made the game engine public, which helped those out-of-practice veterans get back into the groove fast.
Now, Earth Games had its first real competitor.
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