And Blue Star's attitude towards cheating is just so endearing!
Consequently, players came to see the programming team leader as a "righteous enforcer," the cool, domineering kind, and they adored him.
Following Schrödinger onto the stage was Ling Lingqi.
His virtual avatar has wings and a very light figure, as if he can fly anywhere.
Because he started by making mods on the Minecraft forum, and later joined Blue Star directly after being invited to an interview by Mingyan, he is a "legendary figure" among players and has a very high profile.
However, he is actually quite shy and doesn't dare to go on stage directly.
Or they could tell him outright, "As an employee of Blue Star Studio, going on stage is both an honor and a duty"—well, that's how they tricked this honest young man into going up there.
Compared to other talents who enter Blue Star Studio through campus recruitment, social recruitment, headhunting, etc., Ling Lingqi's application method is really unique.
Players' affection for him is like that for a "princess from the common people," filled with curiosity.
Someone asked him, "What are your special feelings about working at Blue Star Studio?"
Ling Lingqi smiled and said, "The biggest feeling is freedom."
"Take myself as an example, my working hours are about 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, but it is a flexible work schedule. I only need to control the time I clock in. I don't know how other people arrange their schedules because I work from home... I clock in online at about 9 am every day, clock in again at 11 am to have lunch, my lunch break ends at 1:30 pm, and then I start working again until whatever time I want."
"I often find myself working overtime again on the weekend, without even realizing it. My boss—that's Chief Designer Ming—sometimes even sends me emails 'questioning' why I've been working overtime again—"
At this point, a gasp of disbelief erupted from the audience.
Ling Lingqi touched his nose sheepishly and said, "The boss really cares about each of us. He remembers our weekly working hours and will grant extra annual leave to those who work too much overtime—like Mr. Varian. By the way, on Blue Star, annual leave must be taken on time every year, or you'll be 'publicly executed'."
The host couldn't hold back any longer and asked him, "What does 'public execution' mean? Does it mean deducting your bonus?"
Ling Lingqi laughed and said, "Of course not. 'Public execution' means making someone perform on stage at the annual party. Any performance is fine, but they have to go up there..."
The audience burst into laughter again.
It seems everyone suffers from the same stage fright.
When it was Varian's turn, he gave a slightly different answer.
"I guess I'm a foodie. One of the happiest things about me on Earth is seeing what delicious food they have in the break room every day," Varian said with a wry smile. "The boss is really 'too much.' He puts at least three tea stations in every work area, where coffee, juice, and other drinks are self-service, and there's also a huge supply of desserts..."
At this point, he took out his terminal and projected a photo onto the big screen.
The photo clearly shows an ordinary tea station on Earth.
The store was filled with a dazzling array of items, from small biscuits and cakes to snacks like sunflower seeds, peanuts, and potato chips, to healthy fruits and yogurt; there was also a dedicated beverage machine that offered coffee, milk tea, juice, and milk.
...Everything imaginable was piled up on the entire table.
Envious gasps rippled through the audience.
Zhou Liye's mouth was practically watering as he looked at it; even his own snack cabinet at home didn't have such a wide variety!
The host watched with envy, saying, "The benefits on Earth are really good."
Varian sighed and pinched the fat on his belly—his virtual avatar was an exaggeratedly chubby little man.
“I’ve been with the company for 32 months now, and despite my efforts to stay fit, I’ve still gained 10 pounds, averaging 0.3 pounds per month…” Varian said. “My wife has a lot of complaints about Chief Engineer Ming, saying that he’s made me too chubby and fair-skinned.”
"..." the host said, "Mr. Varian, saying something like that—getting something for nothing and then complaining—is going to get you beaten up!"
The players were very cooperative and made a "shh-shh!!!" sound.
The microphone was quickly handed to designer Kevin.
Unlike the previous programming and art masters, his job responsibilities are closer to those of Mingyan.
After thinking for a moment, Kevin said, "I've been with BlueStar for about a year and a half, and I was among the first people to participate in the production of League of Legends."
As soon as he finished speaking, unexpected applause erupted from the audience.
Players really love League of Legends. Whenever those four words are mentioned, they start clapping without any restraint.
After the applause subsided a bit, Kevin said, "When I'm working, I often feel that the boss, Chief Designer Ming, and Grand Master Ming are the gods of game development."
"More than once, when faced with a design draft, I was completely clueless and unable to solve the problem at hand. Then, when I mentioned the relevant issues in the design team meeting, the boss would quickly and casually solve the problem."
"For example, one 'vehicle problem' that left a deep impression on all of us was one that had stumped both the programming and design teams. But just one night later, our boss came up with a practical solution—and this was one of the problems that he had spent the most time on."
"Most of the time, Chief Designer Ming is incredibly insightful and can answer any of our questions quickly with just a little thought. That's why I've always believed that our boss is omnipotent in the field of game design..."
"Wow!" The audience exclaimed repeatedly.
The host laughed and said, "It seems that designer Kevin is really an admirer of the cult leader."
Kevin said, “If you come and ask around our studio—I dare say everyone is a fan of our boss, especially those in our design team. He’s incredibly trustworthy; it seems like there’s no problem he can’t solve, and he never runs out of inspiration. Just thinking about how he’s leading the project makes us feel incredibly reliable and hopeful. So, if I had to describe my experience working on Blue Star, it would be that every day is filled with hope. Just thinking about going to work and making games today makes me want to smile.”
The players applauded again.
The host also said, "Only a designer who truly loves games can be so happy while working."
Yes, almost everyone at Blue Star Studios is truly passionate about games.
The only difference is that they like different types of games, and their skill levels vary.
For example, Varian is an intelligence-based character. He can create amazing redstone devices in Minecraft, but his actual skill level is abysmal. He has never reached the Gold rank in League of Legends...
Players are naturally very curious about the skill level of the studio members.