Chapter 23: The Interview

You Were Told to Lose Money By Making Games, and You Actually Did It? 

Chapter 23: The Interview

“I wonder what kind of game this company is developing.”

As an outgoing editor for NGI's domestic division, Ma Tao was curious.

“As long as it's not a mobile game or an MMO. The higher-ups actually sent us here for an in-person interview—it sounds like someone has connections,” his fellow reporter, Zhang Ye, couldn't help but complain.

Normally, aside from a handful of major publishers with massive traffic and publicity, smaller game companies and studios rarely received on-site interviews. At most, they might get an online text or voice interview.

But this time, their editor-in-chief had specifically instructed them to conduct the interview in person.

It was clear that NGI intended to produce a dedicated feature interview.

That wasn't the kind of treatment an obscure little studio would normally receive.

Why was this happening?

Either the company had connections with the editor-in-chief, or they had paid for it.

“Probably not,” Ma Tao replied. “Didn't you watch that interview with Hyakukin Studio? Besides, this company used to be Target Games before it was acquired. Their new project is even being outsourced to Hyakukin. I feel like they must have something going for them. After all, Hyakukin is pretty reliable.”

Ma Tao wasn't quite as pessimistic.

Although some of the biggest companies in the domestic gaming industry—the likes of Goose and Pigpen—were complete disasters, there were still plenty of developers and studios with genuine passion.

“Old Ma, the fact that you can call Hyakukin reliable—are you sure you're not being sarcastic?” Zhang Ye rolled his eyes.

“Hehe~.” Ma Tao merely chuckled.

He had just remembered some of the conflicts between Hyakukin Studio and Microsoft.

When it came to capability, Hyakukin Studio certainly had it.

Reliability, however, was another matter.

“But the employees over there all speak very highly of their boss,” Ma Tao added with a smile. “They even say the games they're making are meant to change the industry—that they have a grand vision.”

“Take that kind of talk with a grain of salt. I once interviewed a company that specialized in NTR games. Their boss told me their games were art, a cultural heritage, and that their characters had lives of their own.”

Zhang Ye recalled the incident and couldn't help laughing.

The two chatted as they walked toward the office building.

After entering the elevator and selecting the floor, they arrived at the company's entrance.

Ma Tao pulled out his phone and called the contact number.

Soon afterward, Xiao Dao received the notification and opened the access-controlled door for them.

“Please have a seat for a moment. I'll go inform President Chen.”

After leading the two reporters into a lounge area, Xiao Dao turned and headed toward the offices.

Once he was gone, Ma Tao and Zhang Ye immediately began whispering among themselves.

“Holy crap, Old Ma, this company's got some serious money! Did you see the workstations?” Zhang Ye said in disbelief.

“No kidding. Of course I saw them. Those giant monitors and high-end PCs—if I didn't know we were visiting a game company, I would've thought we'd walked into an esports café.”

Even Ma Tao, who considered himself well-traveled and experienced, was deeply impressed by the brief glimpse he had caught while passing through the workspace.

Sure, game development required powerful hardware, but wasn't this a little excessive?

“Look at this! Even the sofas and massage chairs are all top-tier brands and popular models!” Zhang Ye suddenly noticed the furnishings in the lounge.

“The employee benefits here are on par with major corporations!”

Ma Tao couldn't help feeling envious when he thought about the conditions at NGI.

Forget premium sofas and massage chairs, they didn't even have a lounge.

At lunchtime, employees could only nap at their desks or lean back in their office chairs.

Without comparison, it wasn't so bad, but once there was a comparison...

The psychological damage was devastating.

If Morning Star Games were a major corporation, that would be one thing, but the key point was that it was an unknown little studio.

“Are you two the reporters here for the interview?”

While Ma Tao and Zhang Ye were chatting, they saw a young man approaching.

“Yes. Hello! I'm Ma Tao, a reporter from NGI's domestic gaming division.”

“I'm Zhang Ye.”

After the two introduced themselves, Chen Xu smiled and did the same.

“President Chen,” Ma Tao asked cautiously, “do you have any specific requirements regarding the interview content?”

“Hmm. Since the game is still in development, there are certain key details that can't be disclosed,” Chen Xu said after some thought.

There was no way to avoid interviews altogether, but as long as he avoided discussing the game's selling points, it wouldn't be a problem.

“Of course.”

Ma Tao and Zhang Ye nodded repeatedly.

As gaming journalists, they had heard such requests many times before.

After all, anything related to an unfinished game was considered confidential.

“Then, President Chen, shall we begin the interview? If there are any areas that can't be photographed, just let us know,” Ma Tao said as he took out his voice recorder while Zhang Ye prepared his camera.

“No problem.” Chen Xu nodded.

“First, we'd like to ask: we've heard that Morning Star Games' new project has specifically outsourced development work to Hyakukin Studio?” Ma Tao held up the recorder and prepared to take notes.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Xu decided to provide a more detailed answer.

“That's true. However, to be more precise, Hyakukin Studio is only responsible for the game's combat and animation systems, and they're working entirely according to our specifications. In fact, the style we're asking for is completely different from their usual approach—one could even say it's worlds apart.”

Although Hyakukin Studio's reputation had suffered due to its previous conflict with Microsoft, that kind of industry drama didn't matter much to players.

And regardless of its reputation, Hyakukin Studio was undeniably talented.

If their involvement ended up attracting a large number of Hyakukin Studio fans, that would be troublesome.

So Chen Xu deliberately downplayed their importance while emphasizing that the game was completely different from anything Hyakukin Studio had made before, that way, their fans wouldn't have much reason to get excited.

Thinking this, Chen Xu smiled inwardly and mentally gave himself a thumbs-up.

Hearing his explanation, Ma Tao and Zhang Ye exchanged thoughtful looks and nodded.

“President Chen, can you reveal anything about the game's genre or setting?” Zhang Ye asked curiously.

“Hmm...” Chen Xu didn't answer immediately.

After all, since he had agreed to the interview, it would seem a little unreasonable to reveal absolutely nothing.

Besides, this wasn't exactly a major secret. It might even discourage some potential players from paying attention.

“Our new title is a purely single-player game. Gameplay-wise, it's a fairly traditional action-adventure game. As for the setting, we've chosen an alternate-history version of Japan's Sengoku period.”

Chen Xu explained in considerable detail.

Single-player.

Action-adventure.

Alternate Sengoku-era Japan.

Three keywords.

That should help prevent trend-chasers or uninformed players from accidentally buying the game later.

Single-player and action-adventure both had broad appeal, but once "alternate Sengoku-era Japan" was added to the mix, the target audience would shrink dramatically.

Sure, there were players who loved that sort of thing, but even if every one of them bought the game at launch, what difference would it make?

That wasn't enough to drive major sales.

And low sales meant one thing:

His Bentley was getting closer.

“President Chen, that's a difficult genre and setting to pull off,” Ma Tao couldn't help remarking.

As a gaming journalist, he had seen and played enough games to understand how challenging such a project could be.

“Well, no other domestic game companies are making this kind of game right now, so you could say it's a blue-ocean market.” Chen Xu came up with an excuse on the spot.

“I see.”

Hearing his explanation and glancing around at the company's lavish office environment, Ma Tao nodded as if everything suddenly made sense.

“One last question.”

“We've heard that besides serving as chairman, you're also acting as the game's director. It's quite rare for a company executive to remain so deeply involved on the development front lines.”

Zhang Ye looked genuinely curious.

“Mainly because it allows me to better control the direction of the game. After all, only I truly know what kind of game I want to create. There are also many strategic decisions involved. My employees may be influenced by considerations outside the game itself, but I don't have that problem.”

Chen Xu gave a half-truthful explanation.

If he weren't serving as game director, who knew what kind of game these people might end up making?

What he wanted was a balance between losses and profits.

If the game only made money without losing any, or only lost money without making any, neither outcome would suit his plans.

“Then, President Chen, we'll conclude today's interview here.”

Ma Tao and Zhang Ye stood up, preparing to say their goodbyes.

“If you're not in a hurry, why not stay and have a meal with us? Our company provides employee meals. It's getting pretty late, and it's also rush hour, so the roads are probably congested anyway.”

Chen Xu glanced at the time and, out of courtesy, invited them to stay.

“Well...” Ma Tao and Zhang Ye were tempted, though they felt a little embarrassed.

“Don't be shy. It's just a standard employee lunch box.”

Five minutes later, staring at the meal boxes in their hands, Ma Tao and Zhang Ye fell into silence.

This was a standard employee lunch box?

The two widened their eyes as they looked at the beautifully prepared steak, the rich and savory cheese, and the wide assortment of side dishes.

“Are... all your employee meals like this?” Ma Tao asked, completely dumbfounded.

“Yep. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even the late-night meals are all at this standard,” Xiao Dao replied while eating. “Though I really need to talk to President Chen about it. We can't keep doing this. Every time I work overtime, the late-night meal is loaded with meat. I've already started developing a belly.”

“...”

Ma Tao was speechless.

“Does your company have a lot of overtime?” Zhang Ye asked curiously.

“It mostly depends on personal choice. But honestly, most people are pretty willing to work overtime. If the company didn't require everyone to leave before 10:30 p.m., a lot of people would probably stay until midnight,” Xiao Dao shrugged helplessly.

There was no helping it—the overtime benefits were simply too good.

Besides the overtime pay being calculated according to hourly wages, employees also received late-night meals and transportation subsidies.

When overtime ended, they could call a private ride home, and the company would reimburse the cost.

Listening to Xiao Dao's explanation, Ma Tao and Zhang Ye sat there holding their lunch boxes, unable to find any words.

It felt less like they were interviewing a small studio and more like they were visiting a publicly listed major game company.

The strange thing was that while large corporations often had excellent benefits as well, overtime at those companies was usually driven by crushing KPI pressure and intense competition.

At Morning Star Games, however, the employees talked about overtime as if it were something they genuinely wanted to do.

That was far beyond anything the two reporters had ever encountered.

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Tn: I updated the story once a day, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.

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