Top game producer

The next day.

Wang Jian, wearing headphones, stared intently at the screen. He was currently playing a horror game called "Creepy Hospital."

Although he dabbled in various types of games, he hadn't played many horror games.

This time, since he was going to make a horror game, he had to do his homework and see how other horror games scared people.

While playing horror games, he also bought experience books like "Elements of Horror Games" and "Psychology in Horror Games" to increase his understanding of horror games.

On the screen was a dark hospital room with several dilapidated beds. Only the protagonist's flashlight illuminated the surroundings. You could see blood-colored marks scattered on the dirty, faded walls, as if they had been scratched out by sharp fingernails, which was very eerie.

Bai Li'ao came over with a file and called out twice, but seeing Wang Jian so engrossed and showing no sign of responding, he said, "Boss, are you playing 'Civilization' again... huh?"

Slap!

He patted Wang Jian on the shoulder.

Wang Jian was immersed in the game, and the sudden pat startled him, making him shiver all over.

Finally reacting, he took off his headphones and looked at Bai Li'ao with dissatisfaction. "Damn, you kid dare to tease me? Deducting your salary, deducting your salary! That scared at least 1,000 of my brain cells to death. Deducting 1,000 yuan from you isn't excessive, right?"

Bai Li'ao's grinning face instantly turned into a mournful one, and his legs weakened as he was about to kneel on the ground, but Wang Jian held him up. "Boss, I was wrong! I won't dare to do it again!"

In fact, Wang Jian was just joking and didn't really want to deduct his salary, and Bai Li'ao was just clowning around.

Wang Jian pretended to be annoyed, moved his chair, and pressed Bai Li'ao onto it. "It's okay if you don't want your salary deducted, play for ten minutes!"

Bai Li'ao really panicked. "No, Boss, I'm not good at horror games!"

A moment later.

"Ahhhhh!"

Bai Li'ao had just opened a door when a bloody, mangled face suddenly popped up on the screen, scaring him to scream.

"Found you!"

The ghost chased wildly behind him, and Bai Li'ao also controlled the character to run away frantically.

Wang Jian, however, touched his chin and frowned slightly.

The feeling of immersing himself in it was different from watching others play. He could observe the game's performance from a more critical perspective.

The scare just now was a typical jumpscare, meaning a "sudden scare," which is an overused tactic in horror games and horror movies.

Although it's cheap and the design is simple and crude, it is indeed effective.

For example, opening a door amidst eerie noises and suddenly a hideous ghost jumps out, accompanied by an ear-piercing scream; or a hand suddenly reaching out from under the bed when the character passes by; or looking in the mirror and seeing a monster behind you in addition to yourself—anyone would be startled.

Jumpscares also have distinctions between ingenious and crude designs. Simple, crude, and uncreative designs may scare people at first, but after seeing them too many times, they not only fail to scare but also cause aversion.

Startling and terrifying are different!

The bloody, mangled face that Bai Li'ao encountered just now was indeed quite scary at first glance, but Wang Jian had seen it twice before.

Although the game's atmosphere was good, these abruptly appearing and repeatedly used jumpscares felt a bit disruptive.

Wang Jian thought while comparing it with the "P.T." in his mind, considering how to use scare points.

Bai Li'ao ran for a while, stopped, and said with lingering fear, "Phew... where's the ghost? The ghost is gone?"

Wang Jian smiled and said, "Alright, alright, you got scared, so I won't deduct your salary."

Bai Li'ao reluctantly released the mouse. He looked like the typical person who wanted to play horror games but didn't dare to.

He scratched his head. "Boss, what did I come here to do? Oh right, this is what we discussed at the meeting yesterday.

By the way, don't you usually play 'Civilization'? Why are you suddenly playing horror games today?"

Wang Jian said, "For the next game, I plan to make a horror game, so I'm playing horror games now to gain some experience."

Bai Li'ao's spirits lifted upon hearing this. "Making a horror game? Boss, are you planning to participate in the Qingming Festival themed game competition?"

"Themed game competition?" Wang Jian was stunned for a moment. He really didn't know.

Qingming Festival, Zhongyuan Festival, and Hanyi Festival are the three major ghost festivals in China.

Generally, horror games in China are launched on these dates.

Foreign horror games are mainly released on Halloween.

Just like novel websites have various types of writing prompts, game platforms sometimes hold themed game collection competitions.

The winning games in the event, in addition to prize money, can also get prominent recommendation spots on the game platform, increasing exposure.

In fact, the prize money is just a symbolic encouragement. What's really important is the recommendation spot, which is a very good opportunity for small game companies or independent game studios to stand out.

Bai Li'ao took out his phone and flipped through it. "Boss, look."

Qingming Festival Horror Theme Game Competition!

Registration method, entry requirements, selection rules...

Wang Jian finished reading carefully, raising his eyebrows. "Okay, let's sign up and participate too."

Although Longyuan Interactive Entertainment has a large fan base, it still needs to spend a lot of money on publicity and promotion every time a new game is released.

Wang Jian had no doubt that "P.T.", this masterpiece, would definitely win the competition.

Such a great publicity opportunity shouldn't be wasted.

Seeing Wang Jian's confident look, Bai Li'ao reminded him, "Boss, as far as I know, there are many strong contenders in this game competition! It is said that Huozhu Company also plans to launch a new game on this occasion!"

Huozhu Company?

Wang Jian naturally knew this company because the "Creepy Hospital" he was playing just now was produced by Huozhu Company.

Huozhu Company's slogan is to make the scariest horror games. They started by making horror games and have been making them ever since. Each game has the word "Creepy" in the title, which is also their most distinctive feature.

Like "Creepy Apartment", "Creepy Hospital", "Creepy Graveyard"...

Each game has sold more than a million copies, and the most famous "Creepy Hospital" has sold more than four million copies, which is a very remarkable achievement in the horror game category.

"What do you think of 'Creepy Hospital'?"

Bai Li'ao shuddered and said without hesitation, "It's very scary! Wow, that ghost's bloody, mangled face makes my heart beat non-stop just thinking about it!"

Wang Jian chuckled. "What if we make a game that's ten times scarier?"

Bai Li'ao was dumbfounded.

Ten times scarier?

I really can't imagine it!