Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 104: Improving the Office Location (Third Update)

Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Improving the Office Location (Third Update)

Hearing this, Zhou Yang cautiously raised his hand, "President Li, I feel that this female protagonist’s character setting might not be very appealing?"

"Isn’t this just stepping into all the traps of the „Holy Mother" issue we discussed yesterday?"

"I think it would be best to give players more choices, like through some specific method, they could cultivate her into a „True Holy Mother" or a „Selfish Individualist", or other personalities."

"Letting players decide how to cultivate her could be better."

Lilith replied with a smile, "Hmm, that does sound like a decent suggestion."

A flicker of joy instantly crossed Zhou Yang’s face. Who said President Li doesn’t take advice? She’s able to listen, isn’t she?

Obviously, President Gu just hadn’t found the right approach.

But the next second, Lilith continued smiling and said, "However, there are national conditions within my design, and many details are interlinked, so I can’t change them.

"I’ll take note of your suggestion. If there’s a chance, I’ll consider adding it into the design plans for future games.

"It’s best not to change this game."

Zhou Yang’s mouth twitched slightly in frustration—so much for that happiness!

Sure enough, it was all an illusion; President Li wouldn’t really take anyone’s advice!

Lilith stood up, "Very well, since no one else has any opinions, let’s finalize the design draft this way. My designs are interconnected and exquisitely crafted. If there are parts you don’t understand, you can figure it out on your own or ask Gu Fan. And remember, no unauthorized changes!

"Also, Gu Fan, make sure you run more tests with the team this time. We must eradicate all potential bugs at their inception stage. Understood?"

Gu Fan nodded, "Of course!"

Having arranged the tasks with full confidence, Lilith left.

Gu Fan looked at his colleagues with their various expressions, "Alright, shall we call it a day? Business as usual next Monday, and we can probably start working on the new game.

"Oh, and I have some company matters to discuss with you all on Monday, but let’s save next week’s issues for next week. Time to get off work!"

With that, he quickly packed up his things and took off.

Zhou Yang was silent for a moment before whispering to Zhao Haiquan, "Now I completely understand President Gu. With an investor who simply can’t be reasoned with, the only way to save the game, to save the players, is to stuff it full of bugs!

"President Gu is better indeed, leaving all issues to be discussed during working hours tomorrow.

"Why is there such a big gap between people?"

"Shh!" Zhao Haiquan gave him a look, and everyone nodded in understanding, packing up their belongings to go home.

...

...

September 9th, Monday.

When Gu Fan arrived at the company, he first called Xiao Mingyu over.

"Have all the sales data for our games and the company’s revenue been tallied up?" Gu Fan asked.

Xiao Mingyu nodded, "Of course, it’s already been calculated, and I’ve sent over the spreadsheet."

Gu Fan opened the spreadsheet, and the various data were clear at a glance.

This is indeed the importance of having a financial person. Before, he had to calculate numbers with a calculator by himself, which was a huge headache. Now he could just leave it to Xiao Mingyu.

Up to now, sales growth for "Infernal Trajectory," "Sisyphus," and "Heaven Defying Block" had basically stagnated.

"Infernal Trajectory" just exceeded a million, "Sisyphus" was around 740,000, and "Heaven Defying Block" was at 150,000.

Since these three games had been on the market for quite some time, and their gameplay mechanics were simple, those who liked them would have already made their purchases, and it seemed unlikely there would be much room for further sales growth.

As for "Destiny of the Sleeping Dragon," so far, two months after release, the sales had reached 300,000!

Perhaps due to its higher selling price, "Destiny of the Sleeping Dragon" didn’t have the rapid initial sales surge that the earlier games did, but it had the advantage of being strong in the long run, maintaining a steady growth in sales.

Regarding "Prometheus," released on September 1st, it had been 8 days since its launch, and sales had reached 120,000 units!

If you only looked at the sales, it wouldn’t tell you much, but there were two other metrics that were outrageous: its peak concurrent player count reached 30,000, and it boasted a 95% positive rating, undeniably transforming from a sea of bad reviews to a sea of good ones!

This ratio of concurrent players was quite exaggerated.

Normally, for a successful party game, a sales to concurrent player ratio of 20:1 would already be considered very good, yet "Prometheus" had managed to achieve a 4:1 ratio.

Of course, a big part of the reason for this lies in the fact that the sales of "Prometheus" were actually quite low.

If we go by the data from Gu Fan’s previous life, "Fatal Company" had sold over 4 million copies a month and a half after release, raking in a direct profit of 32 million US dollars from a game sold at $9.99 per copy.

However, the sales of "Prometheus" were clearly much lower.

The reasons for this are multifaceted, such as:

The follow-up marketing for this game didn’t actually use too many resources;

Nitiandang games are currently only released domestically and have not been released globally, while the majority of players for these types of games are overseas;

The hidden mechanics’ triggering conditions aren’t very solo-player friendly, which deterred some people;

The game’s selling price of 98 yuan is higher than "Fatal Company"’s $9.99, making it somewhat expensive...

All these factors have limited its sales to a certain extent.

But the online player numbers for Nitiandang still managed to showcase the terrifying potential of this game.

In the months to come, the sales momentum of this game should remain steady, and there may even be room for further increases!

With these calculations, these several games have brought in about 28 million yuan in net income for Nitiandang.

Gu Fan, of course, took his own 5% first thing, increasing his personal savings to 2.1 million yuan.

After this injection of funds, deducting the development and promotional costs for "Prometheus," plus the remaining funds in the company account before, the funds for game development and promotion were about 24 million yuan, and 8.7 million yuan were for company operations.

In fact, giving bonuses to the players also cost a sum of money, but that came out of Lilith’s private fund; hence, the financial situation on Nitiandang’s side wasn’t affected.

Gu Fan looked at Xiao Mingyu, "What are your thoughts on the company’s next steps for development?"

Xiao Mingyu thought for a moment, "As for the current financial status of our company... it seems a bit too healthy.

"Overall, the funds on hand are simply too much.

"However, this is also a common problem faced by some successful game companies.

"I believe that with our company’s success rate in game production, our top priority should be to expand production. We could consider speeding up the development schedule of game projects or perhaps work on multiple projects simultaneously.

"But regardless of the approach, we will need to continue expanding our team with new hires.

"The prerequisite for hiring more people in large numbers is... we really do need a new office space."

Clearly, the second floor of this café could only fit so many people, and it would be difficult to squeeze any more in.

Moreover, a game company with monthly turnovers reaching tens of millions being holed up in a coffee shop does seem a bit inappropriate.

Gu Fan nodded, "Yes, I think so too. We really should improve our office environment.

"Alright, everyone, take a break from what you’re doing.

"I’m going to discuss the current situation of the company.

"Thanks to everyone’s hard work, our recent games have yielded good profits. Therefore, the company’s funds are quite ample at the moment. To expand production and hire more staff in the future, we almost need to improve our office environment.

"So, what are your requirements and suggestions for the new office environment? Feel free to speak your mind."

Upon hearing this, everyone was energized.

Awesome! Are we finally going to change our office location?

Everyone had been working in this small café for a while now, and it was indeed a bit cramped. The company wasn’t very large at present, but if it continued to develop, it would have to keep recruiting. We couldn’t stay in a café forever, right?

Everyone began to express their ideas freely.

Zhou Yang was the first to speak up, "There’s a technology and finance center office building not far from here that costs about 13~15 yuan per square meter per day, which is really posh!

"Even though our company doesn’t need much space for the time being, the area is convenient for transportation, has a nice view, and matches our company’s style, so I think it’s great!"

Guo Hongyu thought for a moment, "Although places like the technology and finance center are impressive, their cost-effectiveness is a bit low.

"Actually, we could just look for something in the 6~8 yuan range.

"Considering an average work space of 5 square meters per person, plus meeting rooms and other necessary areas, renting a 200-square-meter space would be more than enough for us.

"In that case, the monthly rent would be around 50,000 yuan. I think this price is completely acceptable for our company."

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