Chapter 466: Chapter 286: Is Watching Others Play More Fun Than Playing Yourself? (2)

"A few billion, no big deal, I have it too!"

This was the confidence that allowed Chen Ba to say no. After all, the money he had earned over the years wasn’t much less than what Old Wang had saved up his entire life.

To think they could buy him off with just a few billion was to underestimate Chen Ba and Tianba Studio’s money-making capabilities.

Add another zero and maybe that would be closer...

Chen Ba refused, but that day Old Wang must have said something to Wang Ya. The next morning, as Chen Ba was about to fly to Peng City, Wang Ya came along willingly.

Thinking of this, Chen Ba couldn’t help but ask, "Is Chairman Wang really sick?"

"Absolutely!"

Old Chen, who was looking down at his phone watching videos, raised his head and said, "What’s there to lie about? Didn’t you see how his company was almost thrown into chaos?"

That’s true!

If he were faking illness, there would be no need for his company to be affected, almost causing chaos and disrupting normal business operations.

"What did the doctors say, how long can he live? I mean, is his condition serious?"

"Very serious!"

"According to the diagnosis from multiple experts, with conservative treatment, he should have another 6-12 months to live!"

Old Chen sighed and said, "Otherwise, why do you think he’s in such a hurry? Isn’t it because he’s dying and wants to see his daughter get married before he goes..."

This is indeed a mindset an old father might have before his death, and Chen Ba understood this.

But understanding aside, Chen Ba was honestly a bit averse and resistant to Comrade Wang’s insistence on pairing him with Wang Ya.

He could date Wang Ya, he could even marry her, but all this had to be based on mutual feelings. Without feelings, it would be impossible to be together.

"Feelings can be cultivated slowly!"

Old Chen advised, "You’re not young anymore, it’s rare to meet a suitable partner, giving it a try won’t hurt."

"If it works, everyone’s happy. If not, isn’t it better to spare Old Wang the worry in his final days?"

That’s also true.

What Chen Ba was resistant to was Old Chen and Old Wang acting like matchmakers, insisting on pairing him with Wang Ya.

In other words, what he resisted was Old Wang, he had no major issues with Wang Ya, he even had a slight liking for her.

He understood Old Chen’s point.

Old Wang was almost gone, and being averse or resistant was meaningless to someone on their deathbed. Wang Ya hadn’t done anything wrong, getting to know each other and becoming friends wasn’t an issue either.

"Then let’s start as friends and see how it goes!"

Considering how Wang Ya, despite not being interested in the GAL competition, still accompanied him to Peng City, Chen Ba figured they could be friends.

As for whether they would go further in the future, that was a matter for the future. There was no need to consider it now, and it was uncertain anyway. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

...

The project proposal for "Abab’s True Story" was not going smoothly, facing unanimous opposition from many core members of Tianba Studio.

The reason was simple!

Everyone thought that even though this game might try for awards, for a large-scale commercial game, the topic of recovering costs was unavoidable.

"Ba, think carefully!"

Luo Ji advised, "With such a big investment, if the results are unsatisfactory, losing a fortune wouldn’t be worth it even if you win a bunch of awards."

The investment in "Abab’s True Story" was substantial.

For a project of this level, let alone at Tianba Studio, even at big companies like the Pig Factory or Tencent, it’s a "failure is not an option" project.

Once it failed, the resulting damage and associated loss would even cause major setbacks at Tencent, taking a long time to recover.

"I understand your concerns!"

"But I want to be wilful this once, even if I end up losing everything, I want to stand on that most glorious stage in the gaming world..."

Chen Ba was very determined; he was willing to take a loss in order to win awards.

Losing money didn’t matter. Over the years, he had earned quite a bit, even if "Abab’s True Story" lost tens of millions or even billions, it wouldn’t be the end of Tianba Studio.

Besides, who said "Abab’s True Story" would definitely be a loss-making project?

The probability of losing money was high, but it wasn’t absolute. There was still a certain possibility of turning a profit.

"It’s too difficult for this kind of genre to make a profit!"

Luo Ji said very pessimistically, "And the game’s difficulty is so abnormal, I can hardly imagine this game becoming hugely popular."

"What you are saying is meaningless! The game hasn’t even been released yet, who are you to say the game experience will be terrible?"

Chen Ba smirked and retorted, "Whether a game is fun or not is most important, the difficulty issue you mentioned is not as important."

This brings us back to when the game "Digging for Promotion" became popular.

"Digging for Promotion" originally named "Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy", translated, means "Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy".

This game is quite famous!

But before it became popular and influential beyond its initial audience, who would have thought such a game would become a hit?

No joke, "Digging for Promotion"’s difficulty and game design were practically the epitome of "keeping players out".

With its no-save design, along with the "one false step leads to a lasting regret" falling mechanism, this game’s "sense of frustration" reached an unprecedented level.

The game was already very difficult.

Then coupled with a strong sense of failure upon losing, it practically drove people crazy. This game was clearly a niche title, unlikely to reach mainstream attention.

Indeed!

With such game mechanics and design, it wasn’t meant for the general gaming public, to put it differently, the game design didn’t originally consider appealing to "mass" gamers.

This might be difficult to understand.

Putting it another way, every game in design and production would consider the "audience" issue.

This is akin to writing a novel, before starting to write, consideration is given to "who is the novel for", elementary pupils or seasoned readers?

"Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy", during its design, clearly didn’t aim for mass audiences, as it had a very high frustration level and difficulty.

Yet, this game became a sensation, breaking through constraints with the help of various broadcasters and content creators!

So what if it has high difficulty and strong frustration?

As long as I don’t play, watching others play and becoming an honored cloud player, "Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy", is quite interesting and fun!

Upon hearing this, Luo Ji helplessly sighed, "The example of "Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy" doesn’t prove anything. Didn’t you notice that even though it became very popular, its sales didn’t increase much?"

"I noticed that."

Chen Ba nodded.

"Digging for Promotion" was indeed very popular. Back then the internet was flooded with videos and commentaries about this game, its influence was definitely phenomenal.

But in terms of game sales, though the increase was significant, compared to the explosive popularity and hype online, the growth was still too small.

Simply put!

The sales of "Digging for Promotion" didn’t match the internet-wide explosive popularity, it felt like there were fewer "players".

This had been analyzed before, it’s that same point, watching others play "Digging for Promotion" was more entertaining than playing it yourself.....

Luo Ji worried that "Abab’s True Story" would end up the same, being more interesting to watch than to play. Only various game broadcasters and content creators would buy to play, while casual players would be too intimidated by its difficulty to purchase it.

To that, Chen Ba thought he was overthinking.

"Abab’s True Story" wouldn’t end up like "Digging for Promotion", scaring away the average player due to difficulty or frustration.

Quite the opposite!

In his vision, "Abab’s True Story" would be a game that’s fun to watch others play and even more fun to play yourself.

That is to say, watching others play "Abab’s True Story" wouldn’t be intimidating because of the difficulty, but rather spark a bizarre itch for a challenge.

Once that desire sets in, then purchasing the game to experience it would not be far behind.