Neither Guan Yi nor Gao Xiaojie noticed his unusual behavior. The two women chatted enthusiastically about finding a house later. Many women dream of having a cozy little nest with their own bedroom. So the two women discussed how big a house they needed: Guan Yi, Gao Xiaojie, Zhan Jing, Chen Xu, and now Tang Bixuan—five bedrooms would be enough.
However, whether it was because it was the off-season or something else, they actually found a huge duplex apartment with five bedrooms, two living rooms, two bathrooms and a kitchen. It was a detached villa-style apartment.
This is a duplex, meaning it has two floors, just like a multi-story house. The house is very nice; all the bedrooms face south and have good ventilation. The natural light is also excellent. The living room is large, with three bedrooms downstairs and two upstairs. The house is fully equipped with all the necessary appliances, making it a very good house overall.
Of course, such a nice house wouldn't be cheap to rent. Although it's the off-season now, the house is right next to the school and has a good location, so there's no worry about it not being rented out.
In the end, Guan Yi and Gao Xiaojie negotiated down the rent for the apartment at two thousand yuan a month, while simultaneously turning down Chen Xu's apartment. Two thousand yuan a month, which works out to four hundred yuan per person, isn't much for Chen Xu and the others, but it's a bit of a struggle for Gao Xiaojie, and Tang Bixuan definitely can't afford it.
So the actual calculation was that Chen Xu and Guan Yi chose two larger houses, each contributing 600 yuan, Gao Xiaojie's rent was 200 yuan, and as for Tang Bixuan, they basically only charged her 100 yuan as a token amount.
Tang Bixuan was initially reluctant to agree, as she felt she was getting a huge advantage. However, Chen Xu shamelessly offered to help with housework and cleaning, which would roughly cover the rent, so she finally agreed.
Moving is a tough job, especially with two very picky women living here.
Not only did he have to thoroughly clean the new house, wiping all the windows until they were spotless, but Chen Xu also had to accompany the two women shopping... to decorate their house.
Chen Xu finally realized how terrifying women can be.
They could argue for ages over the color of curtains and sheets, and make Chen Xu move a table seven or eight times over its placement… As for the room's layout and design, they discussed it for ages without reaching a conclusion. It was just tough on Chen Xu. Being the only man there, he had to do all the physical labor.
"Stop!" Chen Xu finally couldn't take it anymore. He opened his laptop and brought up a small software program... Room Design Master, then said, "Get the room's data: height, width, length, and the placement of the bed, wardrobe, etc. Let's design it first before we start!"
This "Room Design Master" is a futuristic, casual game-like software. It's a 3D map with a wide selection of materials, allowing players to build their own cozy little house. It can also perfectly represent the 3D structure of a room by inputting data. Essentially, it's a favorite among future homebuyers.
The software isn't very technically advanced, and Chen Xu played with it for a while at first, so he just casually put it on his laptop. He never expected it would come in handy now.
Upon seeing the software, Guan Yi and Gao Xiaojie couldn't help but ask, "Where did this come from?" Chen Xu didn't know how to answer this question; he couldn't very well say that Xiao Min made it, could he? So, Chen Xu shamelessly said, "I made it myself!"
"You're lying!" Guan Yi and Gao Xiaojie said simultaneously. "You really have that much ability?"
To be honest, Chen Xu really does have that much ability!
Because this game isn't really that technically sophisticated. It uses 3D modeling to create house templates, then sets dynamic vectors, allowing players to design houses using specific data like length, width, and height... Keep in mind, a room is simply a cube; once the length, width, and height are set, the room naturally appears.
Next comes adding other props, such as beds, tables, and chairs. These items are then integrated into 3D models and placed in the room. Of course, Chen Xu can't do all the details by himself… but he has the source code for the software, so what's there to be afraid of?
After Chen Xu explained, Guan Yi and Gao Xiaojie both exclaimed "Oh!" and said, "I didn't expect you to have this ability?" Then they went back to playing.
The two excitedly measured the house's structure and generated a 3D model of the house, as well as models of items such as beds and tables. Guan Yi and Gao Xiaojie then sat down at the computer and started playing.
Watching them haphazardly arrange all sorts of things in the room, and then add a whole bunch of new racks, curtains, and dressing tables, Chen Xu couldn't help but roll his eyes... Isn't a house just a habitable place? Does it really need to be so complicated?
But he actually underestimated women's dream of having a room that is entirely their own, designed entirely according to their own ideas. Guan Yi couldn't help but want to buy the house and renovate it. Because she didn't like the all-white walls in the house, she felt it lacked character. As soon as she said this, Gao Xiaojie immediately agreed, and the two women began to discuss how to change the color scheme of the house, and what colors would be better.
Chen Xu rolled his eyes: "You guys aren't really going to paint the walls pink, are you? The landlord won't agree!"
Guan Yi chuckled: "Then don't worry about it. At worst, we'll just not let the landlord in anymore. Anyway, we'll pay the water and electricity bills ourselves at the bank. He only comes to collect the rent once every three months. We can just give him the rent before each time he collects it."
Gao Xiaojie nodded frantically, and the two women began to discuss enthusiastically, even trying to drag Tang Bixuan along. Tang Bixuan smiled somewhat awkwardly and said, "For me, having a place to stay is good enough; I don't ask for much."
These words were somewhat regrettable. Guan Yi pulled Tang Bixuan to sit down and said, "How can that be? Bixuan, don't worry, life will definitely get better and better in the future, so girls should be particular about things."
Chen Xu quickly pulled Guan Yi aside and whispered a scolding, "Please, Bixuan doesn't have any money right now. Don't lead her astray, okay?"
"What do you mean by 'leading someone astray'?" Guan Yi rolled her eyes at Chen Xu. "Just because you don't have money now doesn't mean you won't have it in the future. And don't think of me as so extravagant, okay? I'm always very frugal with money." However, despite saying that, she gave up on continuing to impart her experience to the young girl Tang Bixuan.
At this moment, Gao Xiaojie suddenly said, "Chen Xu, if you could break this game down and release it online, I think it would definitely cause a sensation!"
Chapter 119 of the main text: The Concept of Web Games
"open?"
Chen Xu and Guan Yi were both confused about Gao Xiaojie's meaning, while Tang Bixuan, who was standing to the side, understood even less.
Chen Xu knew that this casual game would be quite popular if it were made available for download online, since there were many people with plenty of free time these days. Back in the day, a game called "Connect the Dots" (连连看) caused a sensation online, and casual games like this should still have a large audience.
Moreover, this game is not just for casual play; more importantly, it allows for real house design, making it a good option for homebuyers.
However, Gao Xiaojie shook his head and said, "I won't upload the software. Anyway, you developed this game, right? I believe you can definitely modify it." Seeing Chen Xu nod, Gao Xiaojie said, "I suddenly had an idea, which is to release this game as a web-based game... Have you guys played Harvest Moon? It's a pretty old casual game on the PS."
Guan Yi shook his head, Chen Xu nodded, and said, "A friend of mine used to be a huge fan. What, is there a connection?"
Gao Xiaojie smiled confidently; she had great faith in her judgment and foresight when it came to games. So she said, "What I mean is to redesign this house like in a game like Harvest Moon, where you need to level up. For example, you do things to earn money, and then you can buy a house, furniture, and appliances. This way, instead of just giving everyone all the items to play with, players have to log in every day. Of course, they don't need to do much; just a few clicks of the mouse. Players level up and earn money through this, and then decorate their own little home. What do you think?"
"This..." While Chen Xu was still considering, Guan Yi said, "This is a good idea!"
Chen Xu glanced at her sideways, "What do you mean it's good?"
Guan Yi said, "Your IQ is too low," which made Chen Xu roll his eyes before he chuckled and said, "I understand what Gao Xiaojie means. It means this game won't be available for download; it will be played on a webpage. We could even set it up like this: for example, players start with only a small bedroom, without even a bed, so they need to work to earn money. With that money, they can buy a bed, a wardrobe, an air conditioner, and a refrigerator. They can also expand their land, so it won't just be a bedroom anymore; there will be a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Hmm, maybe they can even buy a bigger house and design their own floor plan using 3D modeling. Eventually, they can buy a villa, haha, maybe even build their own entire community!"
Watching the two women discussing so enthusiastically, Chen Xu scratched his head and said, "Damn. This is like an online game. Does anyone even play this?"
"This is different from the popular online games now!" Gao Xiaojie corrected him, "These days, large-scale online games are doomed if you don't have the funds and technology. They simply can't compete with games like World of Warcraft and Fantasy Westward Journey. Even the once-popular Legend of Mir and Legend of Mir 2 have declined significantly. So now many small companies are preparing to develop web games, or web games. These games don't require long hours of online leveling like in World of Warcraft. You only need to spend a few minutes or seconds each day clicking with your mouse. I can say this: web games have become the mainstream for small companies because as long as the gameplay is good and the marketing is effective, there's no fear of a lack of players. Especially white-collar workers who don't have much time to play games. They'll really like this kind."
Chen Xu had always admired Gao Xiaojie's judgment on games, and since even Guan Yi had said so, he had even less reason to refuse. However, Chen Xu was thinking about other issues: "So you mean we should develop this game as a web game? But that would require servers and such, which would be too troublesome to maintain."
“No need!” Gao Xiaojie’s eyes gleamed with pride. “But it mainly depends on your technical skills. Do you know R? It’s a newly emerging SNS community that requires real information for registration on campus.”
Chen Xu nodded and said he knew, and that he had also registered one, but what did that have to do with our game?
Gao Xiaojie laughed and said, "X is an SNS social networking site. It keeps its users within a certain circle, namely students. According to the six degrees of separation theory, the distance between one person and another stranger is no more than six people. That is to say, you can meet anyone in the world through six strangers. X is an SNS community like this. By adding classmates, you can get to know your classmates' classmates, thus expanding your social circle. It's just that currently, activities on X are still limited to chatting, but I know that some foreign SNS websites use a mini-game approach to attract people."
"Those kinds of mini-games are similar to ours, web-based games that enhance interaction between friends. The game is embedded as a web application within an SNS community. Many white-collar workers abroad play these kinds of web-based games on SNS communities. Let's take our game as an example: you can apply for a loan from a bank to buy a house, borrow money from friends, and send gifts or requests to friends. You can also stay at a friend's house or rent out your own property to earn money…aren't these all methods of interaction?"
Hearing this, Chen Xu understood somewhat and said, "So you mean to turn our game into an interactive web-based mini-game? And then install it on the school's intranet for users to play? That way, it can enhance interaction and connection between friends, right... But isn't doing this just doing someone else's work for them?! Why don't we just make our own web-based game? Anyway, if we're talking about servers, they provided a batch last time, which should be enough for us."
Before Gao Xiaojie could reply, Guan Yi laughed. "Your thinking is narrow-minded. I agree with Gao Xiaojie. If this game were given to the school, it would be a win-win situation."
How can we achieve a win-win situation?
Guan Yi smiled confidently: "Look, what do online games need most? Players, of course. If we release a new game, how many people do you think will know about it, given our financial resources and influence? Ha, last time, we were lucky with the timing of 'Jin Yong's Heroes,' it happened to coincide with a game expo. And the gameplay was indeed very good, plus we got free publicity because of SMMH's influence. But now we don't have that kind of energy or resources, and no one will help us for free. But if we give it to R, that website has already reached a certain scale. If we give this software to them, they will definitely promote it extensively, so we don't need to worry about users. And if this continues, we will definitely cultivate a group of users who log on to R every day just to play the game. So we can make a deal with R and get some benefits from them."
Chen Xu nodded, agreeing that this made sense. Then Guan Yi added, "This game isn't necessarily unprofitable. You can look at Legend and Legend of Mir 2: The Legend of Mir World as examples. You know those two games, right? Shanda has made them all free to play."
"Give me a break!" Chen Xu scoffed upon hearing this, saying, "Free stuff is worse than paid stuff! They're just looking for ways to make money now. Opening Purgatory and Heavenly Gate, all they want are gold coins and real money! I heard they've even introduced paid items now? Please, those paid items are so overpowered, they completely ruin the game's balance! Back in the day, it took me half a year to reach level 40 on my mage account, but now, as long as you're willing to spend money, you can reach level 50 in a day! Uh, what do you mean?"
Guan Yi chuckled and said, "Do you understand what I mean? Pay-to-play items are indeed the fastest way to make money in free-to-play games. We can introduce pay-to-play items in the game. This will satisfy players who have money but find the time spent playing too long. For example, pay-to-play items can be used to buy appliances, land, etc. It's up to them; we'll set the prices, and they can buy it or not. As for game balance, please, this is a web game, meant for leisure. What balance is there to speak of? It's not like anyone is invincible and can kill everyone they see. And I absolutely believe that some people play this game to have a reference point in reality, so they will definitely spend money to buy it!"
Chen Xu broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this. Was this woman's business acumen a little too terrifying? But if he really did what she said, he should be able to make some money, right?
None of the four people present expected the effects of their words today.
Gao Xiaojie's insight and keen sense for the gaming industry, and Guan Yi's foresight in business, have unintentionally placed them at a level ahead of their time.
After 2008, social networking services (SNS) began to grow rapidly, and small-scale game applications played a significant role in this growth. Examples include the later-popular games like Parking Wars and Happy Farm.
These games are highly interactive and don't require much time to play, so they quickly became a favorite among office workers. Many colleagues in the same office registered on Renren and Kaixin because they found these games fun. And many more people log into their social networking sites every day not to see new messages or comments that might not appear for weeks, but to check if the radishes they've planted are ripe.
At that moment, none of them expected that because of a piece of software that Chen Xu casually picked up and a casual remark by Gao Xiaojie, they would inadvertently lead the way in China's SNS community interactive application.
Gao Xiaojie and Guan Yi got so engrossed in their discussion that they felt this method had great potential, so they stopped tidying up the house and started discussing the details of the game. Later, Tang Bixuan was also pulled into the discussion... Although this girl had never played any games before, every woman dreams of having a house, a garden, and then carefree living in her own little world.
What they are discussing now is how to make players feel, in terms of gameplay, that although they are interacting with virtual data online, they are actually managing their own little house and world.
This brings us to a phrase that Qidian has always emphasized... immersion.
Once players feel immersed in the game, they will never forget it.
Guan Yi said, "Making money can't be too fast, but it also can't be too slow. If it's too fast, the game will end quickly and become boring. If it's too slow, the players' enthusiasm will be dampened."
Gao Xiaojie said, "We should adopt a dual upgrade system that combines leveling up and gold coins. For example, you have to reach a certain level before you can buy a good piece of land in a certain area of the city. Of course, money is also a given. You have to earn money by working, and you also need to be leveled up for work. The higher the level, the higher the salary for the job."
Tang Bixuan said, "My dream? Heh, don't laugh at me when I tell you. My dream is to have my own house, preferably one that's nestled against the mountains with a pastoral view. I'd like to have my own little garden in front of the house, where I can grow flowers and grass, and enjoy the sunshine. I love that kind of life."
Chen Xu said, "Well, if we add a virtual background, the computational load will be too large. It won't be easy to do."
"Let's not rush to add such a dazzling 3D background. Our primary task right now is to attract users. Haven't you seen Tencent? Everything Tencent does is a hit now. A few years ago, my dad used to go to Lianzhong to play cards online, but now he can just open QQ. We need to put people first."
"If we don't add large buildings like mountains or palaces from World of Warcraft, a single room shouldn't consume many resources. The server's computational load will also be much smaller, so it's still quite feasible."
"Hmm, palaces and such, I'll make a note of that. I can build them myself later! There's no rush now. Let's focus on the interior decoration first."
"By the way, Bixuan, what you just said about gardens gave me an idea. We could equip all the slightly more upscale houses with gardens! We could plant flowers and grass in the gardens, and, well, we could buy seeds, grow them, and sell them. That's a way to make money!"
"That's right, that's right! You can even steal things from your friends' houses! Haha, this idea is brilliant. I bet there will be people guarding their own plants, and others who specifically watch over other people's plants and then steal them."
"The house can be rented out, so I can buy a few more and become a landlady. Of course, I can rent it to friends or the system. I think renting it to the system is better, since which player would spend money to live in someone else's house?"
The group grew increasingly excited as they discussed, and before they knew it, evening had fallen. Gao Xiaojie rubbed his rumbling stomach, staring at the dozen or so pages of notes on his computer. "Damn it," he said dejectedly, "the workload is mounting, and this is just the initial concept! We haven't even done the detailed planning yet. For example, how much does the house on the foundation cost per square meter? How much do the seeds cost? How much do the plants cost? All of these things need to be calculated. We definitely can't manage this on our own. Looks like we'll have to gather the computer interest group again when school starts. Let's all work together and tackle this together!"
Chen Xu scratched his head and said, "The game doesn't need to be set up so massively at the beginning. This is practically an online version of The Sims. The data alone is enough to make a simulation game. If it were a web game, I'm afraid the campus network wouldn't be able to handle the traffic. Don't forget our game is 3D, so the computational load is already quite large."
Gao Xiaojie scratched his head in frustration, yelling "Ahhh!" in a slightly frantic tone, "Should I make a standalone client or borrow someone else's resources?"
From a development perspective, leveraging existing resources is a very good strategy. Since this game is primarily targeted at office workers, it's best if it can be accessed directly through a webpage. Therefore, choosing Renren (校内网) was definitely the right choice. However, the more discussion there is, the more things get involved, which makes it difficult for a web-based game to thrive.
However, reducing computational bandwidth is a technical problem that they cannot solve at present.
In the end, Gao Xiaojie could only let Chen Xu do it first, to see what size the game expansion pack should be. "Me, do it?" Chen Xu rolled his eyes and said, "Sisters, don't think so highly of me, okay? Can I do this by myself?"
Gao Xiaojie said, "Why can't you come back? Didn't you make this game?"
“Please, that’s not how you calculate it,” Chen Xu said. “I can handle single-player games, but loading them onto the internet is a completely different story. It’s like you, you know how to use Game Master FPE to modify single-player games, right?” Seeing Gao Xiao nod, Chen Xu said, “Then can you use that software to modify online games?”
Gao Xiaojie shook her head and said it wouldn't work. Chen Xu then shrugged and said, "That's it. I can't handle data analysis by myself; I need someone's help."
Upon hearing this, Gao Xiaojie immediately said, "Then I'll ask Jingjing later. She should be able to do it; her computer skills are excellent!"
"Zhan Jing?" Chen Xu was about to speak when Guan Yi's phone rang. Guan Yi's expression immediately changed upon seeing the number. Chen Xu asked what was wrong. Guan Yi made a shushing gesture and then answered the phone: "Hello, Dad..."
Chapter 120 Meeting the "Father-in-Law"
After hanging up the phone, Guan Yi looked at Chen Xu, who was puzzled by her gaze. Seeing the complicated expression on Guan Yi's face, Chen Xu finally couldn't help but say, "Hey, why are you staring at me like that?"
Guan Yi seemed lost in thought, clearly going through a complex internal struggle. Chen Xu knew her well; he knew she often pursed her lips slightly, giving a pained expression, when contemplating a problem.
After a long silence, Guan Yicai said, "Are you alright now? Come out with me."
"Go out? For what?"
"Oh, never mind that, just come out with me!" Guan Yi dragged Chen Xu to the door and closed it before saying, "My dad wants to see you."
"Your dad?" Chen Xu exclaimed in surprise, but seeing Guan Yi gesture for him to be quiet, Chen Xu lowered his voice in frustration and said, "Big sister, why does your dad want to see me?"
Guan Yi rolled her eyes: "How would I know? Probably his precious daughter was perfectly fine but insisted on running around instead of staying at home, so my dad wanted to see what the man who kidnapped his daughter looked like, right?"
Chen Xu broke out in a cold sweat and said, "Sister, we're innocent!" But as soon as he finished speaking, he remembered that the two of them had slept together the night before and kissed. To say that they were truly innocent was a bit unreliable, so Chen Xu shut up.
Guan Yi didn't sense Chen Xu's emotional change. With her intelligence, she could naturally figure out why all of this was happening.