Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 106 Good News and Bad News (First Update)

Chapter 106: Chapter 106 Good News and Bad News (First Update)

Zhou Yang couldn’t help but be startled, "Purely working from home? President Gu, should we really be playing this far ahead, aligning ourselves directly with top global internet companies?"

"The only problem is... I’m afraid I’m not that self-disciplined!"

"If I stay at home all day, won’t I end up playing games every day..."

Feng Hui consoled him, "No worries, your position is, to put it bluntly, dispensable. You can’t change a single word of the design drafts; you just need to fill out forms. With such a workload, even if you play games for thirteen hours a day, work for an hour, and then sleep for ten hours, you’ll still get everything done."

Zhou Yang almost spurted a mouthful of old blood, "Big Brother Da Hui, don’t talk nonsense, my job is also very important and irreplaceable, okay!"

He looked around at the others, "But, I really think working from home will affect work efficiency. Don’t you guys think so?"

Feng Hui shook his head, "I don’t think so, it’s just about changing to a place that’s more comfortable for writing code."

Zhao Haiquan gave it some thought, "I don’t think so either.

"Of course, you think working from home will affect work efficiency, and to some extent, that is true.

"It’s like how college students find it hard to study in their dorms, but can focus better when they go to the library or study rooms.

"Employees do tend to work harder and slack off less in an office environment, that is a fact.

"But we cannot view this fact in isolation. We have to consider three more points:

"First, the real benefits that working from home can bring us.

"Second, the ability to work from home can be cultivated.

"Third, whether there is a strong driving force for working from home.

"Only by weighing these three points can we make the most suitable decision for our company."

Zhou Yang was a bit puzzled, "What do you mean?"

Zhao Haiquan began to explain point by point, "First, what benefits can working from home bring us?

"Obviously, according to President Gu, the funds for renting office space are directly linked to our bonuses, and our bonuses are directly linked to our living environment as renters.

"That is to say, if we save the money for the office space, President Gu will distribute it as a bonus, and we can use it to improve our own living conditions.

"So, won’t an improved living environment make us happier? Won’t it increase our work efficiency?

"Of course, it will.

"Since President Gu is willing to set aside a sum of the company’s money for us to improve our living conditions, it seems we have no reason to refuse."

Everyone exchanged glances, their faces reflecting an expression of ’indeed’.

Zhao Haiquan continued to elaborate, "Second, the ability to work from home can be developed.

"Most people may feel a bit uncomfortable at the start, and productivity might decrease, but after a while, as long as you get used to that particular work rhythm, productivity can be restored and even increased."

Guo Hongyu nodded, "I agree.

"I once worked as a freelancer for a period of time, doing commercial drafts at home. At the beginning, my days and nights were indeed inverted, but it didn’t take long to get into a regular work rhythm.

"In fact, I believe most people can work from home; it just takes some time to adjust and adapt.

"Otherwise, all those freelancers would starve to death."

Zhao Haiquan paused briefly and continued, "The third point, and the most important one, what is the key to successful home office? It’s a strong driving force!

"And this strong driving force, to put it plainly, is money.

"Why can freelancers gradually adapt to working from home? It’s simple, because they have a strong driving force. Completing a project means getting paid for it, and for the sake of money, who wouldn’t work hard?

"And why does working from home in regular companies tend to lead to lower efficiency? It’s simple, also because of money.

"Assuming, no matter whether I slack off or not, I get the same fixed salary every month, then naturally, I would slack off when lying at home, until countless people urge me to slowly submit the proposal.

"Why should I exert myself for just three thousand a month? Is it worth fighting against my own laziness?

"But our company’s situation is also different to begin with, think about it, isn’t it?"

Everyone bowed their heads in deep thought.

It really did seem to be the case!

Factory workers understand that, between time-rate workers and piece-rate workers, the former tend to be lazy while the latter are diligent. Why is that? Of course, it all comes down to money.

If employees can only earn a fixed salary, they will slack off whenever possible, whether at their workstations or at home, they will fish for leisure.

But what if employees could earn more money for each additional piece of work they complete? Even if they had to carry a laptop to a vegetable market, they’d rack their brains to get their work done.

And the salary distribution method at Nitiandang Games was clearly the latter.

Since the net income of the game was distributed to all employees on a proportional basis, the launch of the game was no longer just the boss’s concern but all employees’.

Everyone was eager for the game to launch early and for bonuses to be distributed sooner, so naturally, all were driven to rush progress. Just like Feng Hui, some were even ready to set up a camp bed and sleep right in the office.

Anyone who could secure the first tier of bonuses was looking at a bonus of two hundred thousand or even more.

If your own slacking off resulted in only getting the second or third tier of bonuses, causing you to lose tens of thousands in a single month, could you still slack off with a clear conscience?

Or more seriously, if because of your slacking off, the tasks within your remit were not completed on time, causing the game’s launch to be delayed, impacting everyone’s bonuses...

then it could only be said that you were cutting yourself off from the masses, and President Gu couldn’t save you then.

Under such an incentive mechanism, everyone was naturally a striver, and if you wanted to be a salted fish in this environment, you’d need a really strong mentality.

Zhao Haiquan summarized in the end, "So I think, remote work might not be suitable for other companies, but for our company, it’s a rather good experiment.

"Of course, I also think that isolating everyone completely isn’t suitable since a lot of issues require face-to-face communication.

"If we are going to rent a villa, we should still make some alterations, such as creating office areas and meeting rooms to ease the transition.

"A lot of social media studios and even early esports clubs did the same, didn’t they?"

Everyone nodded, finally reaching a consensus.

Gu Fan looked at Xiao Mingyu, "Alright then, let’s proceed with planning based on this proposal! Go scout out the situation with villas for rent over there and prepare several backup options.

"Everyone else should also deal with their current rental issues. If your lease is about to expire, don’t renew it. Let’s aim to move in three months, that is, when the next game launches!"

...

...

The early development work of "City Forsaken by Gods" quickly got on the right track, and the company’s relocation plan also made it to the agenda.

Xiao Mingyu began to run around frequently. She didn’t limit her inspections to the villas in just one area but covered other scenic, suitable environments as well.

Besides, she was responsible for how to remodel the villas once rented, what furniture to add, as well as how to carry out the subsequent recruitment.

After becoming a hands-off manager, Gu Fan really had an easier time and could focus on thinking about bugs, oh no, where to insert the hidden mechanics of the game.

September 13th, Friday night, at 7 o’clock.

After a week of work, Gu Fan comfortably lay on a massage chair, planning to watch a live stream for a while and then rest.

However, it was then that Lilith appeared out of the blue.

"Gu Fan! Wake up, no sleeping!"

Gu Fan was just starting to feel drowsy on the massage chair but was now forced to open his eyes and sit up, "What’s the matter? In the middle of the night..."

Lilith looked grave, "Something’s happened!"

Gu Fan was confused, "Wait, start from the beginning, what happened?"

Lilith sighed softly, sat down in the massage chair, opened a can of Coke, and looked troubled.

"I was quite happy today because we got a piece of not too big, not too small good news.

"But then Old Lu called me over and told me terrible news!"

Gu Fan nodded, "One thing at a time, what’s the good news?"

Lilith’s expression eased up slightly, "The good news is, up to now, the negative emotions collected by ’Infernal Trajectory’ have risen again!

"I didn’t expect this game could have a second wind.

"Although the negative emotions we’re collecting can’t compare to the game’s peak period, it’s still a significant improvement compared to the past two months!"