Don't be fooled by the great advertising for Dragon Hunter; it's basically just a bunch of rainbow soap bubbles, and it's incredibly annoying to play.
I don't think these companies actually want to make games; they're just after the government's tax breaks!
It must be said that the public has discerning eyes.
Cruise ship capital is all about taking advantage of the tax-free policy. Every year, they make a token acquisition of an AR game studio, and then they can use the policy benefits to sell other products.
They profit greatly from this every year, and this year is no exception.
They knocked directly on the door of Blue Star Studio, wanting to discuss cooperation with Blue Star!
The person in charge from Cruise Capital seemed completely unaware of the past dispute between the two companies. He was all smiles, showering Ming with compliments and saying, "We have a lot of experience in AR game development."
He represented the cruise line and wanted to invest in the Dragon Hunter project.
Blue Star doesn't need to give anything else; it can get a large sum of money just by nodding its head. Cruise ships, on the other hand, can get an extra duty-free spot from this AR project by paying money.
The plan was perfect, but Mingyan remained expressionless: "But I refuse."
The cruise ship's manager, of course, wouldn't give up easily. He started a roundabout approach, becoming Mingyan's sycophant.
He sent gifts every day, even a golden retriever named Xixi, to please Horace by catering to his tastes. Then, he used his silver tongue to coax Ling Xiaoman into smiling from ear to ear.
Ling Xiaoman wavered and said in the group, "This seems like a win-win situation. They won't interfere with our project. It's just one more spot, and this spot was originally going to be wasted."
But Mingyan firmly refused.
As the legal representative of the studio, his decision was the decision of the entire organization, and the cruise ship's manager could only leave dejectedly.
Before leaving, he earnestly told Ling Xiaoman, "AR games inherently go against player needs. They force players to get up and move around, and the end result is that they will be abandoned by players and eliminated by the market. AR technology has really reached a dead end; it's just surviving on government subsidies. If you have the chance, please advise Chief Engineer Ming. Even cruise ship capital couldn't save this project; you'll really stumble on it. Don't wait until then to regret it."
Only Xia Cheng seemed to know what Mingyan was thinking, and asked him, "Are you worried that foreign capital will affect the quality of the game?"
While speaking, Ming said he was still experiencing other AR games on the market.
He thought for a moment before saying, "They're treating AR games like commodities, so what they're producing are just commodities, devoid of soul. These games... are terrible! Absolutely terrible! They're squandering the players' trust!"
He sat down, took off his AR glasses, and hung his head in disappointment.
Xia Cheng sat down next to him, offering his shoulder understandingly, and said, "I know, I know. Only a pure gamer can make the best games."
Mingyan leaned on his shoulder and said, "Profit can destroy everything and make investors lose their minds. They force game developers who are dedicated to research to leave, and those who sit in that position to make games become assembly line copying machines. In the end, they rush to produce those monotonous products to make quick profits, and the players at the bottom end suffer."
This process can take anywhere from a year to several decades.
Just like cancer in the past, often when the disease has reached its terminal stage, the nerve endings will feel pain, and players will realize that something is wrong, but by then it is already too late.
Players have long since lost faith in AR games.
Even within the Ming Cult, some people began posting earnest and persuasive messages to advise against it:
[Please don't invest so much in the new game. I beg you, Boss, to move on to other projects. AR technology is stagnant; it's beyond saving. This stuff shouldn't be used for games!]
[This promotional video is so good! It would be perfect for a VR RPG game. Let's just battle dragons!]
[My pessimistic estimate is that since this game is small and quick to develop, it might really be the worst game ever made on Earth.]
[Brothers, don't be so pessimistic! Don't you even trust the cult leader? You promised that anything from Blue Star would be top-notch! This new game is at least a 9 out of 10. If it's not, I'll do a handstand and run naked! I swear on this!!!]
It's not that we're pessimistic. Look at Vayela's AR game next door. They advertised it so well, but it turned out to be a complete mess. In the end, they sold it at a low price, and now you can count the number of players on one hand.
Suddenly, it seemed like the whole world had become pessimistic.
160. Hot hot hot hot
Regardless of external circumstances, Blue Star Studio remains in a stable development process.
Of course, they didn't miss the League of Legends Grand Finals in October on their schedule either—every year on this day, Blue Star Studios has a half-day off so everyone can watch the game together.
This year is no different from the past.
Now, even on Earth, people can only watch the live stream; there are no official channels anymore.
Because last year's finals were held in the neighboring Fifth Star Province, and the trophy also went there, this year's finals will also be held online there.
The two star provinces are tens of thousands of light-years apart, so even a live broadcast via a faster-than-light channel will have some delay.
However, at least this year's final championship was won by Sixth Star Province.
The internet was abuzz with celebration, with every player in the sixth-star province feeling proud and happily flooding the screen with comments.
There's another piece of good news about League of Legends this year: many universities have started offering League of Legends courses in their esports majors, including Mingyan's alma mater, the Royal Game Academy.
In this era, esports has become a very popular major. Every course is carefully designed, and all teachers and students are aiming for the biggest esports award in the Chaoyang Alliance—the Jialian National Championship.
As League of Legends' status in gaming history rises and its players achieve higher rankings in the top leagues, offering League of Legends courses has become an urgent matter.
The students have been wanting to study League of Legends for a long time!
Nowadays, if you want to play in the A League, you're likely to encounter Legend League players right from the start of the qualifiers.
To continue on the path of esports, one must understand the various classes, characteristics, skills, and even tactical arrangements in League of Legends.
However, since the game has only just entered its seventh season, there are not many instructional books available on the market. There are many scattered guides online, but they are not enough to serve as learning materials for professional esports players.
The teachers at the Royal Academy were also worried about this, as they were writing a textbook for the course and had contacted people at Blue Star Studio.
Of course, they didn't expect to find Mingyan himself.