Jing Yu knew absolutely nothing about making games. Sure, he loved playing them—but even then, he wasn't exactly good. In his past life, after ten years in League of Legends, his highest rank was still low-tier Platinum.
As for harder single-player games? He only got through them by joining walkthrough groups like "Feng Ling Yue Ying Sect."
So in truth, Jing Yu had no idea how to develop a good game.
But hey, just because he couldn't create something from scratch didn't mean he couldn't copy. He had played countless anime-style games in his previous life—he knew exactly what made them fun and where the monetization traps were.
He was the target audience, after all.
So when it came to gameplay and monetization design, Jing Yu laid everything out himself.
His staff would just need to focus on production and game balance.
The newly formed Blue Star Game Studio team couldn't quite make sense of their boss's odd requests.
After all, gaming in Great Zhou wasn't quite like the online or mobile titles Jing Yu remembered from his previous life. His design ideas often left them confused.
But he was the boss. And the guy signing the checks.
So they followed his vision.
A drama-turned-game adaptation?
The premise looked promising.
Summoned Heroic Spirits with their own classes, a deep world history constructed by Jing Yu himself...
Even just from the lore alone, there was so much potential—like the Knights of the Round Table under King Arthur, or the enemies Alexander the Great once conquered.
Did he plan this whole thing out from the start of the TV adaptation?
After analyzing his game pitch, the dev team started to realize 'Fate/Zero' really did have the kind of foundation suited for a game adaptation.
But gameplay design wasn't the only thing Jing Yu had opinions on.
"So, boss, what do you think of this art style?"
The head of Blue Star Game Studio handed him the latest batch of concept art from the design team.
Game development was a different beast compared to filming.
The Great Zhou didn't have an anime industry, but the gaming scene was doing okay. Most domestic games used 3D art styles.
Now Jing Yu wanted them to go full anime-style—two-dimensional, vivid, stylized characters reminiscent of Japanese visual novels.
The staff were doubtful.
Would this kind of exaggerated design—with dot noses and oversized eyes—actually resonate with players?
Jing Yu looked at the character designs and sighed.
Still a long way to go...
Even after explaining his vision to the illustrators, the final results were… disappointing.
But he had time. They could revise as needed.
"Here, here, and here… I told you! The facial features shouldn't be so dimensional—keep it small and clean! You guys just copied the casting from the drama! That's not how it works!"
Back in the office, Jing Yu was once again swamped with work.
Trying to get his team to bring his vision to life in a field he didn't fully understand… felt more exhausting than directing a show.
By the end of January, 'Fate/Zero' aired its fourth episode.
With three episodes of buildup behind it, the plot was finally kicking into gear.
The "sunshine boy" Ryuunosuke Uryuu and his self-proclaimed Servant, "Bluebeard," were clearly up to something.
Meanwhile, Kayneth and his wife Sola-Ui began to receive more screen time.
Jing Yu specifically directed Sola-Ui's growing feelings toward Diarmuid to be more explicit in this episode.
Poor Kayneth…
His own wife had been completely entranced by the Servant he summoned himself. Diarmuid's innate charisma—which was supposed to charm enemies—ended up seducing his wife instead.
"I can't—Jing Yu is wild for this!"
"First, Kayneth got his summoning relic stolen by his own student, Waver, and now his wife is falling for his Servant? Hilarious."
"Serves him right! He looked so formidable at first, but he's totally spineless. Diarmuid begged for a fair duel with Artoria, and this coward used a Command Seal to force him to ambush her with Berserker. Trash."
"Honestly, I really like Diarmuid. Too bad his Master is garbage—they're complete opposites."
"Even Ryuunosuke is better than Kayneth. At least he's open about being a psychopath. Kayneth is arrogant and a coward. He's definitely going to die horribly."
"Still, I feel a bit bad. The guy entered the Holy Grail War and ended up losing his house and wife. That's rough."
Later in the episode, there was a joint battle where Artoria and Diarmuid teamed up to fend off an attack by Bluebeard.
This scene boosted Diarmuid's popularity even more.
Even if people disliked Kayneth, Diarmuid had gained major favor over the past two weeks. His sincere and honorable character struck a chord with the audience.
Then came the highlight of Episode 4—
Not a Servant battle, but a showdown between Masters.
Kiritsugu Emiya versus Kayneth.
Their one-on-one confrontation offered a clear picture of the power gap between ordinary people, mages, and Heroic Spirits in this universe.
"Wait, so strong mages can actually beat Heroic Spirits?"
"Maybe! I mean, Heroic Spirits were humans once, right?"
"Then why even bother with a Holy Grail War? Why not just let today's strongest mages fight for it?"
"That's just how the setting works, okay?! Otherwise, what would be the point of the show?"
"This is so different from Jing Yu's past dramas. 'Rurouni Kenshin' might've been action-based, but its focus was on emotion and relationships. Fate/Zero is just—plot, war, more plot. It's all about strategies, seizing the Holy Grail, and what to do with it. Not a single romance scene so far!"
"Hey, don't speak too soon. What if Diarmuid and Sola-Ui actually become a thing?"
"No way. Diarmuid is too noble. At best, it's just Sola-Ui's one-sided obsession."
"Sigh, another episode over. Empty inside."
"Gotta wait another week… Why does Jing Yu shoot so slowly? Every episode's an hour long, but it feels like only twenty minutes!"
"I'm suffering... I need more…"
After Episode 4 aired, 'Fate/Zero' finally broke past the 9% viewership mark.
By this point, it had taken over Great Zhou's entire drama market discourse.
With Jing Yu's name value, aggressive marketing, high production quality, and a genuinely fresh story…
The show's influence continued to expand.
But were people overwhelmingly positive about it? Not quite.
Even Jing Yu admitted that the early part of Fate/Zero couldn't match the emotional power of its later arcs.
The drop in SilverBean's rating from 9.3 to 9.2 said it all.
The constant setup was starting to test viewers' patience.
Many kept watching, but few were calling it "legendary" just yet. They came for the effects, for the action—and honestly, because no other concurrent shows could compete.
Even the genius writer Jing Yu, it seemed, occasionally made shows that were just flashy fantasy thrillers.
It didn't have the emotional weight of 'Clannad', nor the timeless charm of 'Hikaru no Go' or 'Initial D'.
But for this season?
It was still the strongest show on air.
As January came to a close and February began, 'Fate/Zero' reached a new milestone:
Across the three major streaming platforms, its average per-episode paid view count exceeded 14 million.
And that was it.
Once it hit that point, fan growth stalled.
In other words, even with Jing Yu's star power and a flashy production, the current stage of 'Fate/Zero' had reached its ceiling. Any further growth would need more than just good VFX and a famous cast.
If burning cash on visuals and hiring A-listers were enough to push a drama past 10% ratings, then the Big Six networks would be producing hits every season.
But they weren't.
Even though they had more money, more connections, and bigger studios, their shows still got blown away by Jing Yu's productions.
Why?
The floor of a show is determined by production quality and budget.
But the ceiling?
That's all about the script.
And after four weeks of Fate/Zero, the consensus from critics and viewers alike was:
This drama has a very high floor… but the ceiling?
Not as high as Jing Yu's best.