Chapter 266: Innovation

“President Chen, turn-based games don’t really have a market anymore. Isn’t developing one a bit too risky?”

After a brief pause,

Fang Chang took a deep breath and spoke slowly.

Though contradicting President Chen might risk offending him, he genuinely wanted to persuade him to abandon the idea of a turn-based game.

This genre had long been phased out of the mainstream. No matter how well the game was made, it was unlikely to become a major hit.

“It’s not that turn-based games have no market,” Chen Mo replied, “it’s that today’s turn-based games are just too boring. If we make something polished and innovative, there will definitely still be players who enjoy it.”

“Besides, turn-based games were once hugely popular. That proves there’s still a large pool of potential players. They left the genre not because they hated it, but because the current offerings are too repetitive and dull. They lost interest.”

“But if we can make a turn-based game that’s actually fun—something bold and fresh—players will come back. I’m sure of it.”

“Think about it. If we develop a truly engaging turn-based game and manage to attract all those potential players, we’ll be tapping into a massive player base.”

Chen Mo laid out the potential of turn-based games as best he could. It might have sounded a bit far-fetched, but that didn’t matter.

He just needed a reason to justify developing a turn-based game. Whether Fang Chang believed it or not was irrelevant—he wasn’t the one designing it anyway.

Fang Chang fell silent as he listened to President Chen’s pitch.

Fun.

Innovation.

Every game designer wants to make something fun and innovative, but actually pulling it off is incredibly difficult.

Still, as a team leader, he couldn’t voice that kind of skepticism in front of President Chen.

Seeing that Fang Chang and the others had gone quiet, Chen Mo knew the matter was settled.

“Since no one has any objections, then it’s decided. The lead planner for this game will be Wei Yan.”

“President Chen, I don’t know much about games. I’m afraid I’m not the right person to lead this project. Fang Chang or Zhao Bowen would be better choices.”

Wei Yan quickly spoke up.

He knew his own capabilities. Putting him in charge of a game project? That was just asking for trouble.

“No… this game has to be led by you. Fang Chang and Zhao Bowen have their own responsibilities.”

Chen Mo shook his head firmly and turned to Fang Chang.

“Extreme Survival just launched. There’s no guarantee everything will go smoothly, so we need someone to oversee it. And since you’re the one who designed it, it’s safest if you stay on it.”

Fang Chang nodded in agreement.

President Chen was right—games often ran into issues shortly after launch.

“Understood, President Chen.”

Chen Mo then turned to Zhao Bowen.

“Tianlong has been live for a while, but it still needs someone to manage it. That’ll be your responsibility.”

“Got it, President Chen.”

Zhao Bowen had no objections. He’d do whatever President Chen asked of him.

“Alright, it’s settled. The budget for this project is 20 million.”

Chen Mo made the final call—twenty million to develop a turn-based game. That kind of investment could easily go down the drain.

“President Chen, a turn-based game doesn’t need that much funding.”

Fang Chang quickly chimed in.

A typical turn-based game could be made for a few hundred thousand. Even a high-quality one would only cost a few million.

Twenty million was way over the top.

“How could it not need that much? High-end visuals, flashy effects—they all cost money. And since we’re aiming for innovation, there’ll be a lot of ideas to test out. That takes funding.”

“Alright, the budget is set for now. If it’s not enough, we can add more later.”

With that, Chen Mo waved his hand, signaling the end of the discussion.

…

After leaving the CEO’s office,

Wei Yan and the others returned to Cangxue Games, each with their own thoughts.

The three of them went into Wei Yan’s office.

“So, what exactly *is* a turn-based game?”

Once inside,

Wei Yan finally voiced the question that had been bothering him.

Fang Chang and Zhao Bowen exchanged a glance, both a little worried. If Wei Yan didn’t even know what a turn-based game was, how was he supposed to lead the development?

Still, since President Chen had already given the order, they couldn’t say much.

They could only explain the concept of turn-based games in detail to help Wei Yan understand.

After all, the three of them were the top leadership at Cangxue Games. Whether the new game succeeded or failed, they would all share the consequences.

“I see…”

Wei Yan nodded as he listened to Fang Chang and Zhao Bowen’s explanation.

Seeing that he understood, Fang Chang continued.

“Let’s talk about the new project, then. Since President Chen has assigned Zhao Bowen and me to the existing games, we won’t be able to help much with the new one.”

“But we can transfer some experienced staff from the old teams to the new project. These veterans have solid experience and will be a big help in development.”

“Will that affect your current projects?”

Wei Yan asked, a bit concerned. If the new project failed and the old ones suffered because of the staff transfer, it would be a huge loss.

Fang Chang waved it off casually.

“No worries. The new hires we brought in recently all have some basic skills. With the veterans guiding them, they’ll manage just fine on the old projects.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Wei Yan nodded, finally feeling a bit more at ease.

“I’ll go reassign some staff.”

Fang Chang didn’t waste any time. He quickly left the office, eager to get the project into development as soon as possible. The sooner they started, the more ground they could cover.

A short while later—

Wei Yan sat in the conference room, looking out at the group of employees who had gathered.

These were the members of the new development team. Many of them he recognized—some had even taught him a thing or two about game design back in the day.

His gaze swept across the room, and he spoke in a calm, steady voice.

“Starting today, we’re the new project team. Our task is to develop a brand-new game.”

“That said, my knowledge of game development is limited, so I won’t be much help on the technical side. If any of you have good ideas, feel free to speak up. If the idea is viable, I’ll give it my full support.”

“This time, we’re developing a turn-based game. But it needs to be fresh, innovative, and heartfelt. If anyone has suggestions, now’s the time to share.”

With that, Wei Yan fell silent, waiting for someone to speak.

But the room remained quiet. Not a single person stepped forward.

Wei Yan frowned slightly at the sight.

“Nobody has any ideas?”