In the Internet age, who still makes traditional games?

Song Zhicheng, as the Director of Operations, was one of the few at Zhumeng who worried daily about the online public opinion surrounding "Project Frost Snow."

His job responsibilities required him to constantly monitor public sentiment and consider how to respond to and reverse unfavorable opinions.

On one hand, he was influenced by seeing and hearing so much.

On the other hand, his time was also tight, and he didn't have the heart to start playing games as soon as he got off work, like his subordinates.

His understanding of the new gameplay of "Project Frost Snow" was still limited to the conceptual level.

Without a direct experience, it was naturally difficult for him to have Xu Meng's confidence.

— If Xu Meng said the same thing to the employees who played games together in the office every day, they would definitely shout excitedly, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

They wouldn't even consider whether it was feasible or not.

Xu Meng realized this and said, "How about this, stop worrying about those things online for now. Team up with me after work today, and let's play some games together."

"You need to be completely familiar with the game before the new gameplay is released."

In Xu Meng's view, how could someone in the gaming industry not love games?

Even if they didn't love them, at least they had to play them, right?

How can you do a good job in operations if you don't even play games?

"Okay," Song Zhicheng quickly nodded to show he understood.

"It's just playing a game, don't be too nervous."

"It's normal to make mistakes the first time you play this mode."

"Don't be afraid, go for him!"

"He's low! The bottom lane is low! Finish him off!"

"You… Never mind! Small problem!"

"Dodge, that wall is thin over there… Forget it, it's okay, pay attention next time."

…

In the second game, Xu Meng was a little anxious:

"Go to the top lane, the pearl has respawned! Pearl! Pearl! Pearl!!!"

"What are you doing!!! You're charging in with three people?!"

"Don't be impulsive, don't be impulsive… now, charge! Charge quickly!!!"

"The dragon is coming! Dodge! Dodge quickly!"

…

In the third game, Xu Meng could no longer control his volume:

"Brother! I'm calling you brother, stop feeding!"

"Good! You finally got the explosive pearl, let's blow up the wall and sneak around… What are you doing!!! That's not a hand grenade!!"

"Paperize! Paperize! At least use Paperize to delay a bit before you die!"

"What a cool ultimate! But can you aim it at people!?"

"Dude, gliding isn't used like that! Don't be a target!!!"

…

Three games ended.

Xu Meng was silent for a long time.

He didn't say anything more, but sent a private message to Song Zhicheng: "Good game!"

"You've completely gotten the hang of it and can stand on your own."

"Or you can play with your department's employees to deepen your relationship."

"That's it for now."

After sending the message, he immediately disbanded the team and went to play alone.

Downstairs in the operations department, Song Zhicheng sat in his office, his whole body slightly feverish, his mouth dry, feeling —

In excellent condition!

He opened the department chat group and said, "Dragon Palace Treasure Hunt 1=5, looking for 5 noobs!"

With the boss wanting to carry, the subordinates immediately signed up enthusiastically.

Those who didn't get a spot felt very sorry.

However, those who got a spot didn't feel happy for too long —

They were soon crushed and covered in blood, with no way to escape, forced to endure rigorous training with Director Song…

That night, another small group was added to the operations department.

—

In the past two days, Fei Zhiyuan had been in an extremely cheerful mood.

The promotion of "Mirror World Story" was in full swing, and its popularity was skyrocketing.

The feedback from players was very positive, and the number of followers on the official account was soaring every moment.

In just two days, it had gone from zero to breaking the 600,000 mark!

This was no longer a small number.

After all, "Mirror World Story" was only in its early stages, and there was still a long way to go before players could play it.

Based on this growth trend, there was no doubt that it would reach several million followers by the time the game was launched.

How high it could ultimately reach would depend on the operational capabilities of "Mirror World Story" during this long promotional period.

Not only had the game itself accumulated its initial fan base, but the artist Okamoto Ryosei's fame in Xia Country was also rising steadily.

This manga artist who had only published one novella and one short story in Izumo — at least in terms of all-ages content.

He quickly became well-known in the ACG community.

In two days, the verified account that had just been registered on Weibo actually gained 100,000 followers in one go!

At the same time, the internet water army also launched an offensive.

On one hand, they spread information about "Mirror World Story" in every corner of social networks to promote the game.

The newest novels are first published on 69shu.com!

On the other hand, they engaged in comparative marketing, intentionally or unintentionally taking digs at "Project Frost Snow."

This was also a common tactic.

Associating an early-stage game with the top games of the same genre on the market — whether it was a positive association or a "bound" through flame wars — could create lasting discussion and maintain long-term exposure at a very low cost.

Fei Zhiyuan had been waiting for Zhumeng's counterattack.

But what surprised him a bit was that Zhumeng didn't resist at all, acting as if they were resigned to their fate.

What's more, even the biggest trouble he had anticipated — the internet water army of his arch-rival, Fourth Dimension Games — hadn't come out to snipe them.

It was unbelievably smooth!

He was puzzled for a long time and could only attribute this situation to the fact that Fourth Dimension Games had no presence in the ecchi field.

— It was reasonable that Fourth Dimension Games, as an industry giant, was unwilling to engage in such risky moves.

In the absence of direct competition between the two sides, it was also a rational decision for Fourth Dimension Games not to waste money simply to make things difficult for him.

…

First, "Project Frost Snow" took the first bite of the pie, and then Mo Yu Games followed up with a new game project, gaining extremely high attention.

How could other companies still sit still?

Taking advantage of the heat, one company after another entered the market.

Second-tier game companies below the waist directly adopted a sexy style for their new characters, with each design being more erotic than the last.

Companies above the waist took smaller steps, but the level of sexiness in their new events and characters also increased significantly!

Players felt the atmosphere of the New Year in advance.

— They had never seen so many companies announce new characters intensively in such a short period of time!

It was about to become a collective event in the ACG community.

In Mengjinli, which didn't restrict discussions of any game, the number of posts increased steadily, covering all sorts of games.

It wasn't just ACG; with a large group of FPS veterans joining, discussions about games such as "Fireline Confrontation," "Special Elite," and "Ace Squad" also began to appear here.

The posts were refreshed so quickly that it caused inconvenience to users.

The programming department urgently launched a small function, separating "Project Frost Snow" and [Other Games] into two sections, barely managing to cope.

— This function was created by two veteran employees with the newly recruited programmers.

The comprehensive upgrade and revision of Mengjin also became the first task of this team.

However, at this time, in addition to discussing the actions of various other companies, there was also a very popular type of post in Mengjin —

Posts inciting Zhumeng, hoping that Zhumeng would react.

In fact, it wasn't just Mengjin; there were also many similar comments on Pixiv and Weibo:

"@ProjectFrostSnow, are you guys okay? Others are already copying you!"

"If you don't come up with something powerful, I'm going to jump ship!"

"This time, at least give us a 10-pull to keep people, right?"

"10-pull? A five-star of your choice!"

"I don't need any benefits; it's true that you need to come up with some exciting characters! I believe in your strength!"

"I firmly support Zhumeng and will never jump ship, but can you guys hurry up!?"

…

But Zhumeng was like a dead person, with no reaction at all.

Until Friday, near the end of work, the official account of "Project Frost Snow" finally surfaced —

Xu Meng replied to a netizen in a post on Mengjin:

"Don't worry, something big is coming."

This reply was quickly pushed to the front, and the players of "Project Frost Snow" immediately became excited.

And the trolls who insisted on stirring up trouble were even more excited than them!

Asking for monthly tickets, asking for follow-up reading, asking for recommendations!

Thank you [Primal Chaos Realm] for the 5002 point reward!