A real cheat was blocked, and the game industry was rectified with a backhand

Moreno was so angry that he didn't know how to vent it. What he saw was the project leader looking at him eagerly, waiting for him to make a decision.

In an instant, I couldn't help but feel angry.

A series of beautiful words are about to burst out.

However, the office phone rang first, interrupting his cursing.

No need to guess, everyone knows who it is.

Antitrust review involves both parties.

Since the review notice for "Road to Heaven 4" was sent to Baofeng Entertainment, the acquiring company, Juying, naturally also received it.

Moreno took a deep breath and then let it out slowly.

"You go out first."

"Ok."

The project manager walked out of the office and then answered the phone that had been ringing for several times.

"Hello? Mr. West."

"what happened."

No polite words, no small talk, just get straight to the point.

Moreno shook his head and said, "I don't know. I'm not sure. Someone is targeting us, but this targeting is very clever. I have no clue at the moment."

"Damn it! Who knows how long this review will last? Now we don't even know who is making the move?"

When Moreno heard the curse, he knew it was not directed at him.

But it is inevitable that I feel bad.

After a few seconds of silence, he decided to ask first.

As the CEO of Microsoft's gaming business, West has some insights and thinking that he doesn't have.

"We can send someone to contact the Northern Star studio first, but I don't think this will necessarily solve the problem. Do you have any good ideas?"

On the phone, West's voice returned to calmness, and he said calmly: "The first way is to bypass the British market and CMA and sell it directly."

Moreno frowned and said, "Is this a solution? Next one."

Are you kidding? If you bypass such a big market, wouldn’t you suffer losses and also establish a monopoly?

Isn't this handing a knife to other institutions?

"The second option is to accept the review and postpone the game."

Moreno's voice was already filled with annoyance, and he said impatiently: "Stop keeping me in suspense, can you tell me something useful?"

"The third solution is to separate the IP series of "Road to Heaven" from Baofeng Games."

As soon as these words were spoken, the phone fell silent again.

Moreno was speechless.

If it was a video call, West could even see the veins on Moreno's forehead bulging with anger.

Split the business and divest the game IP.

It does work.

Even if this IP is sold as a package, more money can be brought back than from "Road to Heaven 4", which can better fulfill the content of the gambling agreement.

The giant company is happy to see this step.

The two most valuable IPs of Baofeng Entertainment have a strong track record of more than ten years.

One is the "Warzone" series, which just experienced a Waterloo, but is still able to play.

The other is the MMORPG "Cosmic Rift" that has accompanied countless people from childhood to adulthood.

As for other IPs, BigHardware doesn’t really care about them. If they’re gone, they’re gone. Anyway, after the acquisition is completed, there are basically no resources to develop sequels for other IPs.

These two series account for 75% of the player base of Baofeng Entertainment.

An acquisition of this magnitude cannot be completed without bleeding.

If the acquisition can be completed at this cost, it is worth it in West's eyes.

But in Moreno's eyes, it was another matter.

Splitting the business and divesting "Road to Heaven", an old IP that accompanied the rise of Baofeng Entertainment, is not something that can be decided by just him, the CEO.

Even if one were to make this happen, the price to pay would be high.

If the bet agreement cannot be reached in the end and the acquisition fails, Baofeng Entertainment will have to pay a large sum of money to Juying Company for the failure of the bet agreement.

That would mean losing both the wife and the army.

It is no exaggeration to say that we have returned to the period before liberation.

How to choose is a big difficulty.

Thinking of this, Moreno became annoyed again.

The timing is so bad, and the enemy hiding in the dark reacts so quickly!

How long has it been since the acquisition was announced?

He came up with such a sinister move so quickly.

Moreover, it hit him directly in the vital spot.

Neither advancing nor retreating.

Being stuck in the middle is extremely uncomfortable.

On the contrary, it now seems that splitting up the business and divesting the IP, which seems to be a bad idea, is the best idea.

Juying Company is the client and the one who pays the money.

Originally, what Big Hard Company wanted most must be Naughty Cat, and they would be happy to spend any amount of money on it.

But unfortunately, Naughty Cat is not a listed company, and if Lin Mo says he will not sell it, no one can buy it.

The second place is Baofeng Entertainment.

But it doesn’t have to be Baofeng Entertainment.

If the bet agreement is not completed, Juying Company can take a large sum of money and then buy the company ranked third in its mind.

But for Baofeng Entertainment, this is more than just a serious injury.

When signing the gambling agreement, it is just like those sects in the novels of cultivation, gathering all the strength of the sect to seek to ascend to immortality.

But if you fail, there will be no recovery.

If they fail this time, Storm Entertainment and Moreno will fall into the abyss together.

I thought about it for a long time.

West asked calmly on the phone: "I have told you the method, as for what to do, it is up to you to decide."

After saying that, he hung up the phone without hesitation.

Moreno was eager to make a decision before the call ended and then ask for some advice.

But when the words were on the tip of my tongue, I thought about the far-reaching consequences of the decision and forcibly held them back.

Put the phone on.

He sat back in his chair somewhat dejectedly.

I clearly need to make a decision as soon as possible, but I just don’t have the courage.

I am not young anymore, if I suffer a huge loss this time, I will never be able to recover.

When I thought of this, I felt an inexplicable fear in my heart.

Or just postpone it for a while.

What if we can think of a better way, what if there is a turning point?

China, Zhonghai City.

Lin Mo couldn't help but want to laugh at himself.

"There really is no leisure time."

Since the "Six Major Sects Besieged Guangmingding", Naughty Cat has been operating at almost full capacity without stopping.

League of Legends and Breath of the Wild are two games that are being produced at the same time. I have just had some free time and I am now investing in the development of a new project again.

That game is Diablo.

To a certain extent, this classic game laid the foundation for many rules of the gaming industry in Lin Mo's previous life.

This game was not launched by Naughty Cat itself, but was launched in the name of cooperation under the name of Northern Star Studio, a wholly-owned subsidiary.

If it was Naughty Cat's own action, given that Baofeng Entertainment has been pushed into the spotlight, there is a high probability that they will postpone the release of their own "Road to Heaven 4".

That way it won't be effective.

The purpose is to release a game of the same type, causing Baofeng Entertainment to lose money, disrupting the plans of BigHard, and preventing the acquisition and the implementation of BigHard's upcoming game subscription service.

We can't just keep an eye on Road to Heaven 4. Whenever Baofeng Entertainment releases a new game, Lin Mo's new game will be released accordingly, right?

Naughty Cat is now making constant moves, and the impact of the ban by the two major console platforms is still there, so money is still a bit tight.

Let’s talk about Baofeng Entertainment’s “Road to Heaven” series.

In an era when all other games had poor graphics, Baofeng Entertainment made a name for itself with the first generation of "Road to Heaven".

Thanks to its interesting character development and wonderful plot, the series sold out quickly and laid the foundation for the subsequent Storm Entertainment.

In terms of gameplay, the word that stands out in the "Road to Heaven" series is difficulty.

This is different from the difficulty of Dark Souls Sekiro.

It's not the kind of difficulty that can make up for the numerical gap through technology.

Some monsters cannot be defeated because of insufficient equipment, insufficient level, and insufficient skills.

What many old players like most is PK in the arena after developing their characters.

The sense of déjà vu is very strong!

Therefore, there is no need to say much about the game that Lin Mo used to deal with it.

The classic of the Diablo series is unquestionable.

The characteristics of this type of game are simple: brush, brush, brush.

The core is also the development of the character, the satisfaction of obtaining top-quality equipment, and the pleasure of killing monsters.

Three words: positive feedback.

It seems simple, but the simpler it is, the more it tests your skills.

If any detail is not done well, it will ruin all the excellent designs made for positive feedback.

But if designed properly, with constant positive feedback, this can be one of the most addictive types of games.

Equipment-driven games always have their hardcore audiences.

At the same time, the Diablo series is also a game that requires a lot of design skills.

How much to eat?

Let's say that.

The equipment system of the Diablo series is a compulsory course for numerical planning of every equipment-driven online game.

Only in this type of game can the value of a numerical plan be reflected.

It's truly the type of game that lets you take a look at what's really going on.

"Diablo" and "Road to Heaven 4" are extremely similar in subject matter.

Both games involve some grinding, but Diablo focuses more on equipment, while the Road to Heaven series also makes a lot of designs in terms of grinding for character attributes, skill points, etc.

What we need to look at is the basic skills of both sides.

This is the time when the swords really come to the fore and hard power is put to the test.

This is a game that requires such great attention to details, and it is also a game that Lin Mo not only controls the general direction, but is deeply involved in its development.

At the project establishment meeting.

After the core members of Naughty Cat saw the name, some initial settings and line drawings.

Wang Zichen scratched his head and asked in confusion, "Boss Lin, isn't the background story design of the game too dark and cruel? In your background setting, demons cannot be killed, but can only be sealed. The humans in Sanctuary have not received the blessing of the higher heavens, and the angels are all a group of indifferent people. With such a background setting, wouldn't the Nerephim played by the players be just a group of tools doing useless work? Will the players like it?"

this problem.

Part of the reason is that the first work in the series was developed by a small outsourcing workshop, Vulture Studios, and they probably didn't think that much about it.

Later, its founder unexpectedly got Alan Adham, the co-founder of "Silicon and Synapses" at that time.

Silicon and Synapse is also known as Blizzard.

Later, Condor was acquired and renamed Blizzard North.

Later, a former employee of North Storm revealed the development process of that year and mentioned that the development of the classic sequel, Diablo 2, actually did not have detailed development documents or plans.

Much of the content was slowly finalized by a group of geniuses as they developed and explored.

The world view and background were gradually completed through subsequent animations, comics, and novels.

Many fans of Diablo do not have a deep understanding of the background story of this series, including the plot, and do not think it is a problem for the demons that were killed before to reappear.

But in fact, if you dig deep into the story of the Diablo series, it is still quite exciting.

It’s just that all this excitement is hidden in the in-game documents, and only a small part of the main storyline can be shown.

Lin Mo shook his head and said, "Don't worry about that. If I use the settings in the game to explain it, I can talk about it for a long time, but if I put it in plain words, the mixed-bloods are the strongest. Nephalem is a hybrid of angels and demons."

Wang Yi, who was in charge of combat design, and Du Rui, who was in charge of level design, talked in a low voice for a few words, then raised their hands to ask questions.

"Boss Lin, you said you wanted to personally participate in the production of this project? I don't see why this game is worth your personal participation. Our level should be enough."

Du Rui also nodded and said, "Boss Lin, you are usually very tired, it is better to reduce the burden a little."

Lin Mo shook his head and said, "It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that some details of the game are prone to problems, and I have to keep an eye on them."

"Boss Lin, you can rest assured. We will be fine."

"That's right, your health is more important. Which boss is as busy as you?"

"It's just that Zuo Xuming's numerical team has to work a little harder, but I think everything else is fine."

Hearing this, Lin Mo knew that many people did have good intentions, but there was indeed some arrogance in their words.

"In that case, let's do an experiment. In three days, you can follow your own ideas, copy "Road to Heaven" or use your own divergent thinking to design a DEMO, a dual-class dual-copy. During this period, I will also design one. In the end, the two DEMOs will be put online for the team to try out, and you will understand by then."

As soon as these words came out, everyone's eyes in the conference room lit up.

The more talented you are, the more you know the value of the Naughty Cat platform, and the less likely you are to leave here, as you will have no chance to compete with Lin Mo on the same stage.

After all, there is still a little regret.

Even though it's just a demo, it's still a bloody fight, right?

Zuo Xuming smiled and said, "Boss, if our demo is more popular, will there be a bonus?"

Lin Mo nodded and said, "Yes. However, if you lose, you must all help the British Northern Star Studio to make the game. I know you want to ask what kind of studio this Northern Star is and why it is related to Naughty Cat, but don't ask, just do it."

Du Rui's eyes were also shining. He would never miss a chance to challenge himself.

"Boss Lin, with so many demos, how will the scores be calculated? How will the rankings be calculated? Will it be based on the duration?"

"Rating? What rating?" Lin Mo shook his head. "There are only two. I will make one myself, and a group of you will make one."

As soon as these words were spoken, many people in the audience showed some unconvinced expressions.

Some people feel that they are looked down upon.

Yes, the company has a magical tool called Magic Engine, which can greatly shorten the game production time.

But tools are not omnipotent, and human resources are still an indispensable part.

With so many people here together, how can a demo made by us be worse than one made by an individual?