novelraw Chapter 110 Attracts Penguin's Attention
Chapter 110 Attracts Penguin's Attention
Chapter 110 Attracts Penguin's Attention (4k)
Melbourne Airport, VIP lounge.
Le Aimin dragged his suitcase to a corner and sat down, his face showing the fatigue of returning from vacation, waiting to board the flight back to China.
He came to Australia to relax, but the thought of the awkward situation he would face after returning home made him feel uneasy.
Le Aimin has a long history at Tencent, having been deeply involved in projects such as QQ Speed in his early years, earning numerous prizes.
Now that the company's strategy has shifted and it has begun to explore mobile games, the newly established mobile game department needs a leader, and he has been promoted to be its first leader.
The KPI for the new mobile game division is "researching forward-looking markets," not "creating a blockbuster game."
In Tencent Interactive Entertainment's business unit, all resources and attention are focused on the "Four Great Classics" of PC games—CrossFire, Dungeon Fighter Online, QQ Speed, and QQ Dance—as well as the licensed League of Legends.
His small mobile game department was like a marginal observation post, lacking both funds and manpower.
So, although it seemed like a promotion, his income was much less than when he was working on core projects, and he hadn't produced anything worthwhile in the past few months, which made him feel a lot of pressure.
He sighed, slumped into the soft sofa, and let his gaze sweep aimlessly across the waiting area.
"Swish! Swish! Crack!"
Just then, a cheerful yet slightly mesmerizing sound effect entered my ears, accompanied by the giggling of children.
Following the sound, Le Aimin looked and saw a blond, blue-eyed boy holding an iPad not far away, his little hands swiping rapidly across the screen, his face flushed with excitement.
What kind of game can get a child so engrossed?
Le Aimin's professional instincts kicked in, and he curiously took a few steps closer, then his eyes suddenly lit up.
Juicy sound effects, vibrant visuals, explosive special effects, and vibration feedback —
Le Aimin watched the child play for several minutes, and the child's mother also watched Le Aimin for several minutes.
Finally, he couldn't resist asking the child's mother in English, and only then did he learn that the game was called "Fruit".
Ninja.
He quickly pulled out his iPhone and downloaded Fruit Ninja from the top of the charts, then started playing it with great enthusiasm. From the waiting area to the boarding gate, and then to his seat on the plane, Le Aimin was completely immersed in the world of Fruit Ninja.
He reluctantly turned off the screen only after the flight attendant came to remind him that the plane was about to take off.
He had originally planned to catch up on sleep during the long flight, but now he was wide awake.
My mind is filled with FruitNinja's smooth animations, precise haptic feedback, and addictive loops.
He recalled the details of the game while his mind raced:
This game is well-made and uniquely creative. Moreover, the sliding and cutting operation is very intuitive and instinctive, perfectly showcasing the magic of touchscreen phones.
Fruit cutting and bomb dodging are simple rules that even children can pick up instantly, but through combos, high scores, and timed challenges, they can create a continuous desire to "do better next time," providing intense dopamine stimulation.
This is practically a prototype of a time killer tailor-made for mobile devices, perfectly suited for fragmented time scenarios such as waiting for a bus or queuing!
Le Aimin checked the game information again. It was ranked first on the paid charts in Australia and had an extremely high rating.
Although it's only $0.99, the hundreds of thousands of downloads in Australia alone mean it has already generated over $100,000 in revenue. If it can become a global phenomenon like Angry Birds did last year—the commercial value and intellectual property behind it would be enormous.
The potential is immeasurable!
A single thought instantly swept away his confusion of the past few days:
Why must our department be confined to Tencent's traditional "social + game" approach when searching for mobile game direction? Why can't it be a pure, light, and casual game?
We can definitely start with this type of game, accumulate experience and skills, and then gradually penetrate into mid-to-hardcore games!
As soon as the plane landed at Shanghai Pudong Airport, Le Aimin's first call was to his small team: "Everyone, there's an emergency meeting at 3 PM today in the conference room. No one can be absent!"
During his layover on his way back to Shenzhen, he seized the opportunity to conduct research and discovered that FruitNinja's ranking in the North American market was also rapidly rising, which fueled his passion even more.
In a small conference room in the Tencent Interactive Entertainment Division at Tencent's headquarters in Shenzhen.
The few core members of the mobile game department—lead planner Sun Binbin, lead programmer Lao Kong, and lead artist Lao Lin—had all arrived, their faces showing some doubt and unease.
"Didn't Brother Min just finish his vacation tomorrow? Why is he back so early?" Old Lin muttered to himself.
"A sudden emergency meeting—could it be that our department is going to be laid off and given N+1?" Old Kong said half-jokingly, but there was also a hint of nervousness in his tone.
"Brother Bin, what Lao Kong said—could it be true?" Lao Lin looked at Sun Binbin, who had been silently staring at his phone.
Sun Binbin, who had remained silent until now, sighed: "Sigh, we've been doing things haphazardly these past few months, and haven't really accomplished anything. It's not impossible that the higher-ups are losing patience—"
As they were talking, the conference room door was pushed open, and Le Aimin rushed in, not even having time to put down his backpack, but his face showed an excitement they hadn't seen in a long time.
"Brother Min, why did you come back to the company early?" Xiao Lin asked.
"Everyone, I've discovered a really fun fruit-cutting game called 'FruitNinja.' You should all give it a try," said Le Aimin as he put down his backpack.
"Fruit Ninja game??" Sun Binbin was taken aback.
"Yes, it was made by a game company in Hong Kong, and it's quite popular on the App Store," Lok Oi-man explained.
Immediately, under Le Aimin's guidance, everyone started downloading FruitNinja and began experiencing it enthusiastically.
"Holy crap, that was close to breaking the record!"
"Hehe, this combo is so satisfying!"
"Holy crap, another bomb! Damn it!"
After more than ten minutes, Le Aimin clapped his hands, stopping his subordinates who had suddenly become much younger: "Alright, pause for a moment. Everyone, tell me, how does it feel?"
"It feels so good! Super stress-relieving!"
"It's so addictive! Even more addictive than Angry Birds! I just can't stop playing! Haha!"
"Isn't the gameplay too simple? I feel like it might get boring after a while," some people have raised concerns.
Sun Binbin put down his phone, his brow furrowed, and looked at Le Aimin: "Brother Min, you called us here in such a hurry to experience this game—you don't mean you want us—to make one too, do you?"
Upon hearing this, the others in the meeting room also realized what was happening and all turned to look at Le Aimin.
"That's right, that's what I think too." Le Aimin said with a smile.
"No—Brother Min," Sun Binbin thought it was a bit outrageous, "We're a big penguin! Making and releasing this kind of—this kind of low-tech, somewhat childish little game—wouldn't that—be a bit beneath our dignity?"
"Yeah, Min-ge! Our department is full of top-notch programmers in the industry, they couldn't write such simple and childish code!" the lead programmer Lao Kong chimed in.
"What if it becomes as popular as 'Angry Birds'?" Le Aimin asked rhetorically.
"That's unlikely—" Sun Binbin shook her head. "Even if it becomes popular, it doesn't feel like the path we should take. It doesn't fit our company's style!"
"Your business acumen isn't sharp enough!" Le Aimin shook his head. "The future will undoubtedly belong to the mobile internet, and this kind of classic, easy-to-learn game is bound to be a huge hit!"
He walked to the whiteboard and quickly wrote down a few keywords: touch screen features, fragmented time, low barrier to entry, global market.
"But—this really isn't suitable for our team to do?"
"If we don't do it, we can buy it and use it as a stepping stone for our future exploration of mobile devices."
"this----"
A brief silence fell over the meeting room.
Next, Le Aimin, drawing on his observations abroad, meticulously explained mobile trends, user habits, and market gaps.
With his deep understanding of the industry and his authority, he finally convinced the skeptical team members.
Everyone reached a consensus: first, report and approve the project, then quickly replicate a game with similar gameplay to test the waters, since the cost is low and the cost of trial and error is small.
"Binbin, your next task is to focus on tracking the sales and ranking changes of FruitNinja in major global markets and prepare an in-depth trend analysis report for me," Le Aimin assigned the task.
"Understood, Brother Min!" Sun Binbin nodded, his eyes showing more seriousness.
At this time, PC games are still the undisputed king of the market, with a market size of over 300 billion yuan. Games like Fantasy Westward Journey, Dungeon & Fighter, and CrossFire are absolute cash cows, but their growth has shown signs of fatigue.
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Meanwhile, relatively casual browser games and lightweight social games have begun to take away users' time, such as Happy Farm and Parking Wars.
As for mobile games, in the eyes of most industry leaders, they are still "toys" with small screens, poor performance, and difficulty in paying for them, and are not worthy of serious consideration.
However, their anxiety about the future of mobile internet forced them to make some attempts and explore new directions.
People like Le Aimin, who have overseas experience and closely follow global trends, are among the first in major companies to perceive the mobile wave.
During this vacation in the United States and Australia, I witnessed firsthand the rapid spread of smartphones among young people, which further convinced me that the next wave of gaming will definitely be on mobile phones; all that's missing now is the direction.
He simply didn't know that Tencent wasn't the only company eyeing FruitNinja; other companies were also eyeing it.
Meanwhile, at the entrance of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the four members of Red Palm Studio had already boarded a taxi to a hotel near Hongqiao Airport.
Of the four, besides Geng Zhi and Hao Pengxiang, there are also Xu Youqing and Sun Xiaoguang, who just passed the interview.
Xu Youqing was Hao Pengxiang's roommate. Because Hao Pengxiang strongly recommended him, he was admitted without taking the exam.
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Sun Xiaoguang, Yang Ankang's roommate, was persuaded by Geng Zhi to resign from his internship at Dianping and join the studio to be in charge of the development of the "Fruit Ninja" game.
He also helped connect Liu Yong, an Android development engineer from Dianping, with Gengzhi's "MM" project, which was incubating at the time. Liu Yong arrived after the Chinese New Year.
In the taxi, Hao Pengxiang couldn't help but ask curiously, "Senior Geng, what important plan did Professor Wang have for this special meeting? It's all so mysterious."
Geng Zhi shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Teacher Wang didn't explain in detail on the phone, he just told the four of us that we must be there."
"I know a little bit," Xu Youqing interjected in a low voice, "Teacher Wang said—a confidentiality agreement must be signed in person."
"Surely it can't be that bad?" Hao Pengxiang said incredulously. "I signed the agreement by mail back then, how come it's being done in person here? There must be something else going on."
"Yes, I agree with Pengxiang's point of view. It shouldn't be as simple as just signing an agreement," Geng Zhi echoed.
About fifty minutes later, the group arrived at the hotel room designated by Teacher Wang.
Geng Zhi knocked on the door first. A man in his forties with a slightly overweight build opened the door from the inside. It was Geng Zhi's distant maternal uncle, Wang Kai, whose face was flushed with an abnormal flush.
"Hello, Teacher Wang!" the four greeted in unison. Hao Pengxiang, Sun Xiaoguang, and Xu Youqing were all meeting this "boss" for the first time.
Wang Kai gave a soft, hoarse "hmm" and stepped aside to let them into the house.
The room was very tidy, and the luggage was already packed and placed to the side, as if ready to leave at any time.
Geng Zhi introduced the three of them to Teacher Wang one by one, and then asked with concern, "Teacher Wang, are you not feeling well? You don't look too good—"
"Yes, he has a fever," Teacher Wang Kai replied in a hoarse voice, then handed two confidentiality agreements to Sun Xiaoguang and Xu Youqing for them to sign.
Immediately, he took two thick envelopes from the bed and handed them to Geng Zhi and Hao Pengxiang, saying, "You two did a great job on the 'Fruit Ninja' game project. This is your project bonus. Keep up the good work!"
"Ah!" Geng Zhi and Hao Pengxiang exchanged a glance, reached out and took the money. "Thank you, Teacher Wang!"
After Sun Xiaoguang and the other person signed the agreement, Wang Kaili stamped the official seal on the door, glanced at his watch, and said, "I have to catch a flight, so I'll be leaving now. Geng Zhi, please take care of things at the studio."
After saying that, he picked up his luggage and left in a hurry.
In fact, Wang Kai's trip to Shanghai was to sign a series of business agreements with the agent of the straightforward Hong Kong-based AvengersGame company.
He and Geng Zhi had met privately twice in the past two days and discussed the studio's future plans in depth. This hasty meeting, with the bonus and agreement merely a necessary formality.
As soon as Wang Kai left, the atmosphere in the room immediately relaxed.
Hao Pengxiang, clutching the envelope, asked Geng Zhi curiously, "Senior Geng, did Professor Wang always give you cash in person when he distributed project bonuses?"
"No, we always transfer money before. Maybe Teacher Wang just happened to be in Shanghai on business and wanted to visit his new colleague," Geng Zhi explained casually.
"Oh————" Hao Pengxiang nodded and looked down at the envelope in his hand.
Xu Youqing, who was standing nearby, couldn't contain himself any longer: "Pengxiang, look! How much bonus did Teacher Wang get? It looks pretty thick!"
Sun Xiaoguang also cast a curious glance at him.
Hao Pengxiang chuckled, tore open the envelope, pulled out a stack of crisp 100-yuan bills, moistened his fingers with saliva, and began counting them one by one: "—98, 99, 100! A full 100 bills, 10,000 yuan!"
"Holy crap!" Xu Youqing slapped Hao Pengxiang on the back, his eyes wide with envy. "You only made six thousand a month working part-time for three months, but you got a ten thousand bonus?! Teacher Wang is so generous!"
Sun Xiaoguang was also very surprised and looked at Geng Zhi: "Brother Zhi, so—how much money did this Fruit Ninja game actually make?"
"According to Teacher Wang, the Australian market alone has earned nearly $100,000 so far, and the North American market is expected to earn even more in the future."
"However, most of the revenue is taken by the publishers and platforms, and the bonuses that our studio receives are only a small portion of the development team's share."
Upon hearing this, Xu Youqing and Sun Xiaoguang gasped and both expressed their determination to work harder from now on.
Back at the Nordic Doctor's Garden, Geng Zhi looked at the latest amount deposited into his account and couldn't help but smile, preparing to dial Gu Wan Ning's number.
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