Did you pick up the Imperial Jade Seal?
I must be losing my mind!
Sheng Tinglan stared at the bold characters on the screen, silent for a long time.
On the 27-inch screen, she recognized every word.
But when strung together, she suddenly felt a disconnect with the Chinese language.
She, Sheng Tinglan, had been in the gaming industry for so many years and had never heard of such an outrageous concept!
It's the 21st century, and someone still wants to stage a restoration?
This is Xingcheng's Startup Zone, not the Central Plains battlefield!
Do you really think you're destined to be an emperor?
Even if it's about originality, you can't just go wild like this!
Sheng Tinglan slowly raised her head and looked at Jiang Bo, her tone cautious.
"President Jiang."
"This Imperial Jade Seal... is it the one I'm thinking of?"
Jiang Bo nodded.
"Exactly!"
"Mandated by Heaven, long live prosperity!"
"I actually realized a long time ago that all the strategy games on the market are about the Three Kingdoms, Rome, or some fantasy interstellar land... They're all too cliché and lack immersion!"
"My game is set in a real modern urban background!"
Hiss...!
Sheng Tinglan took a deep breath, trying hard not to let her expression become too twisted.
Alright.
It's confirmed.
It's indeed that Imperial Jade Seal, which doesn't quite fit into a modern urban entrepreneurial theme.
She had been hoping that the boss's so-called originality might be something like a small-scale mystery puzzle, a pixel-style action adventure, or at worst, a low-cost text adventure.
After all, the company's assets weren't much. Making a small yet beautiful indie game, although risky, at least made some logical sense.
But she never expected this.
Jiang Bo's first original game turned out to be a story about a modern urban youth picking up the Imperial Jade Seal!
What is this?
A large-scale urban restoration simulator?
"Alright."
"Little Lan."
"Inform everyone to have a meeting about the game."
"Once everyone is here, I'll explain everything. We're officially starting this project today!"
Sheng Tinglan opened her mouth, wanting to protest a bit more.
"President Jiang, shouldn't we be a bit more cautious?"
Jiang Bo packed his things, his tone calm.
"Cautious about what?"
"Little Lan, your understanding of the Ninth Art is still too shallow."
"A game needs to have a grand vision! Once your intention is elevated, the content won't fall short!"
Sheng Tinglan's eye twitched violently.
Damn Ninth Art.
In a few months, we'll be out of money for utilities, and you're talking to me about art.
Forget it, let's just have the meeting!
You'll see what the crowd thinks soon enough!
...
Three minutes later.
The atmosphere in the conference room was incredibly heavy.
Around the large conference table sat the last few remaining members of Zhaoxi Games.
Programmer Ma Shangfei, artist Pei Qianqian, writer and planner Zhou Guangqi, and admin and HR Sheng Tinglan.
Except for Sheng Tinglan, the others had no idea what was happening when they walked in.
Seeing the solemn setup, they thought the company was finally going under and about to announce bankruptcy.
In the three minutes waiting for the boss to arrive, they were already calculating in their minds whether they could take their mechanical keyboards and tablets as severance.
Given Zhaoxi Games' current state, it's hard to think positively.
Until Jiang Bo strode in, faced everyone, and spoke.
"Everyone, put your minds at ease."
"I'm aware of your concerns. While the company is facing some minor difficulties, we're not at the point of disbanding!"
"I've called you here today to announce that our company is about to launch a brand-new original game project!"
"Little Lan, start the projection!"
With those words, the conference room fell silent.
The hearts that had been hanging in suspense eased a bit.
As long as it's not disbanding.
As long as there's still work and pay, in this current environment, what job isn't a job?
Sheng Tinglan glanced sympathetically at everyone, then reluctantly turned on the projector.
The screen lit up.
The conference room went silent.
Everyone's eyes were glued to the bold black text on the screen.
"I Picked Up the Imperial Jade Seal!"
?????
For a moment, the faces of everyone in the conference room simultaneously showed the same bewildered expression.
"Boss..."
Ma Shangfei, the oldest, most experienced, and most talkative, with the highest hairline, looked around at the dazed expressions and broke the silence first.
"This game title... is it serious? Urban setting with the Imperial Jade Seal?"
"Is this just an internal code name for fun, or is it the official title?"
Jiang Bo nodded.
"It's the official title."
Ma Shangfei's mouth twitched violently.
He suddenly felt that, as a programmer, his career had been too conservative all these years.
Previously, he thought the biggest fear in game development was frequent changes in planning.
But now he realized he should be more worried about the boss suddenly wanting to crown himself emperor in the company!
Jiang Bo looked at everyone and walked to the front of the screen.
"Open your minds, comrades!"
"I know you have many questions right now."
"For example, why would the Imperial Jade Seal appear in a modern city?"
"For example, why wouldn't the player report it to the police or hand it over immediately after finding the seal?"
Everyone: "..."
No kidding!
You know it's unreasonable too!
Jiang Bo didn't feel embarrassed at all and continued:
"But don't rush to dismiss it. Let's first look at the game's setting!"
He pressed the remote.
The projection switched to the next page.
[Game Background]
[Players take on the role of an ordinary unemployed youth who recently graduated.]
[One night, at a night market stall, the player buys a chipped jade seal for ten bucks.]
[The base of the seal faintly inscribed with six words: Mandated by Heaven, long live prosperity.]
[From that moment on, the player's life goal changes.]
[He decides to establish his own supreme empire in the modern city, starting from a rented room.]
The conference room fell silent again.
If the project name had left everyone bewildered earlier, the background setting now made their eyes clear.
Though it was still outrageous.
But it wasn't purely outrageous.
This... has something to it!
The imagery is strong!
Even Sheng Tinglan couldn't help but sit up straight. Indeed, just looking at the cover or title isn't enough!
You have to look at the content!
No wonder she couldn't find a good book on Tomato every day!
She was purely judging by appearances.
As everyone remained silent, Jiang Bo's system panel suddenly flickered.
[Ding!]
[Anticipation Points +1]
[Anticipation Points +5]
[Anticipation Points +1]
Jiang Bo's eyes lit up, indeed!
They all approved!
This is the right direction!
This game can work!
Jiang Bo looked at the few people in the conference room, gaining a deeper understanding.
So that's how it is.
Anticipation Points don't have to wait until the game is online to start generating.
As long as someone is interested in the follow-up, they can provide Anticipation Points.
In other words.
From now on.
Anyone who reads the plan and wants to know more could become his first batch of leeks... I mean, potential players.
Thinking of this, Jiang Bo's expression became even more composed.
In the conference room, Ma Shangfei couldn't wait any longer:
"Boss, what about the gameplay? What exactly do players do?"
"What does this jade seal mean for the player?"
"It's simple!"
"Without the Imperial Jade Seal, the player is just an unemployed youth!"
"With the Imperial Jade Seal, he's an unemployed youth with dreams!"
Ma Shangfei's eye twitched.
Goodness.
Is this difference achieved through the power of positive thinking?
But on second thought, it kind of makes sense.
If someone only has a few bucks left, under normal circumstances, that's called being destitute.
But if he's carrying an Imperial Jade Seal, it feels different.
That's called a dragon trapped in shallow waters, a hidden dragon in the abyss.
Though essentially, he's still poor.
But the aura is completely different.
Jiang Bo continued:
"The core contrast of this game lies here."
"Traditional empire-building games start by giving players a city, land, and an army. It sounds exciting, but the immersion is weak."
"But our game is different."
"Players start with nothing, and you must gradually fight for resources, build relationships, and solve problems."
Ma Shangfei listened, his brows furrowing deeper, but his gaze was noticeably more serious than before.
"But this is a modern city."
"Players aren't ancient emperors; how do they expand territories? What do they use to build influence?"
Jiang Bo was prepared.
"That's why we need to translate the ancient dynasty mechanics into gameplay that makes sense in a modern urban setting."
"The game's core values are twofold: [Mandate Value] and [National Destiny Value]."
"Mandate Value represents the player's current special influence. Players can accumulate Mandate Value by completing key events, solving real-world problems, and gaining NPC recognition."
"And the most important use of Mandate Value is enfeoffment."
"Players can use Mandate Value to enfeoff anyone they've encountered, such as security guards, chefs, delivery guys..."
"Likewise, the more people enfeoffed, the stronger the national power, the greater the influence, and even the larger the expanded territory, the greater the corresponding National Destiny Value!"
"In the early stages, National Destiny Value might only affect those around you, like your rented room or neighborhood."
"But as National Destiny Value gradually increases, people around the player will start to offer help proactively, even achieving unexpected results!"
"So essentially, this game is a comprehensive game of empire management, character growth, and simulation management!"