On October 31, 2006, the China Digital Entertainment Industry Summit Forum was held at the International Convention and Exhibition Center in this city. More than 50 large and medium-sized game and entertainment companies from home and abroad participated in the forum, including heavyweight companies such as Shanda, The9, and NetEase.
The purpose of this summit was to promote game products, expand game merchandise, and include cosplay performances, attracting a large number of players and businesses.
Yinfeng International Entertainment Co., Ltd. is one of them.
Before this, Yinfeng Entertainment was just an inconspicuous medium-sized company among thousands of game companies in China. However, after receiving a capital injection and technical support, they immediately became a big name.
The game "Shushan Swordsman," co-developed with Single Player Games Network, is Yinfeng Entertainment's flagship title. Yinfeng Entertainment's board of directors unanimously believes that relying solely on the domestic market is insufficient for a successful product launch, especially given the rampant piracy in China; the likelihood of sales after the game discs are printed is questionable. Yinfeng, however, possesses sales channels in Europe and America, so they intend to develop "Shushan Swordsman" into a classic RPG that appeals to both Eastern and Western cultures, similar to the internationally acclaimed "The Elder Scrolls."
This idea and wish are certainly admirable, but the gap between reality and wishes is often vast, sometimes to an unimaginable degree...
For similar issues, consider Chen Kaige's "The Promise," Feng Xiaogang's "The Banquet," and Zhang Yimou's "Curse of the Golden Flower" and "House of Flying Daggers."
One blockbuster after another, with dazzling and grand scenes, daunting casts, and staggering budgets. One or two self-proclaimed masters of cinema insist on leading the trend, awkwardly gluing together Eastern and Western cultures, leaving the stories utterly unintelligible. Of course, if moviegoers don't understand, that's a matter of their own taste…
The same goes for "The Legend of Shushan Swordsmen". Originally, it was a pure Eastern fantasy production by Master Huanzhu Louzhu, but he insisted on adding clumsy Western vampires and werewolves as well as Eastern European style magic, which resulted in the entire plot being shattered!
This wasn't unnoticed; many editors at the single-player game website grew up playing games and were at a loss for words when faced with this kind of plot. The problem was that Yinfeng's top management thought the script was excellent and more suited to Western tastes, so the editors couldn't get a word in edgewise.
Why do Chinese games with an Eastern flavor insist on catering to Western tastes? Take, for example, the plot of "The Banquet," which is essentially an Eastern version of Hamlet. Yet, the director himself doesn't seem to understand the cultural differences between East and West. In ancient Western times, what we called a "nation" was at most a small city or territory. It's more plausible for such life-or-death struggles over a woman to occur there, but how could such palace intrigues in a small country possibly happen in ancient China?
Movies and games, though ultimately just different mediums, are simply telling stories.
Lin Guopeng was the authorized representative of Yinfeng Entertainment to attend the summit forum; his role was General Manager of the company's Public Relations Department. Lin Guopeng had been extremely busy preparing for the forum's success. Prior to this, he had promoted "Shushan Swordsman" through various means, including various media outlets and game magazines. The order to suppress Gao Xiaojie's "Jin Yong Heroes" game also came from him.
Of course, Lin Guopeng never imagined that this "Jin Yong Heroes" would bring him any trouble. In his view, it was just a publicity stunt. What kind of background could a trashy working group have? So what if they suppressed it?
Lin Guopeng's public relations efforts were indeed quite effective. The numerous articles written by hired guns in various media outlets over the past month have generated considerable anticipation among players, and the game screenshots posted online have driven single-player gamers wild... After all, the game's graphics are undeniably impressive, and these days, the first thing players look at when playing a game is its visuals.
Lin Guopeng also made many arrangements for this summit forum.
First, some players were invited to the event to try out the game. A group of beautiful and handsome models were also hired to cosplay the characters in the game, and special, valuable souvenirs were prepared to be given to the players.
All of this requires a significant investment. For this summit forum alone, Lin Guopeng mobilized over three million yuan and invested it, renting the largest exhibition booth. He was determined to make this event a massive success, generating immense hype and achieving instant fame!
Lin Guopeng's ideas are all good. His marketing methods are truly a direct result of Shi Yuzhu's teachings. If nothing unexpected happens, the sales of "The Legend of Shushan Swordsman" should be quite impressive, just like the box office of "The Promise". However, as for word-of-mouth, that is not within Lin Guopeng's consideration.
Lin Guopeng never expected that his casual suppression of a shoddy production team's work would bring him endless troubles...
Opposite to Yinfeng Entertainment's huge booth, a group of men dressed like beggars were working hard...
Chapter 64 The Hillbilly Project - Beginning
Everyone got up very early that morning. When they gathered at the school gate, Gao Xiaojie and Zhan Jing were immediately stunned by the group's attire. They had agreed to wear whatever was tattered they could, but these guys actually put together a bunch of "patched-up clothes." The funniest thing was that Chen Xu was wearing Adidas sneakers and a Li-Ning jacket, covered in rags that looked like they were glued on with transparent tape or double-sided tape.
Liu Sha and his gang were dressed in a classic way, each of them wearing those thick, bottle-bottom-shaped glasses, their hair all messy and unkempt, looking as old-fashioned as could be. Liu Sha even crossed his arms and put them in his sleeves, then sniffed hard when he saw Gao Xiaojie, grinning foolishly: "Big brother, big sister, grandpa, grandma, can you give me some food?"
"Pfft!" A group of people pinned Liu Sha to the ground and beat him mercilessly. While beating him, Chen Xu said, "Damn it, boss, we're just dressed a bit rustic, we're not really going to beg! Why didn't you bring a basin? Or maybe an erhu?"
"I brought my erhu!" A guy next to me actually pulled out a broken erhu from behind his butt and started playing it, making a creaking sound like a donkey's braying. He proudly said, "See? I went all the way to the scrap metal yard to buy this!"
Gao Xiaojie rolled her eyes. She realized she was truly defeated by these beasts! If the great Principal Zhang of Hexie saw this scene, she didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
Soon Liang Xiaohui and Cui Guangwei arrived. Actually, their company was doing quite well, and the two of them now owned a car and a house. Although the cars weren't high-end, they were still in the 300,000 yuan range, one for each of them. But this time, they didn't drive. When they saw the two senior students, the group laughed again. Although their clothes weren't as outrageous as Chen Xu and his group, which looked like they were attending a masquerade ball, they were still much more outdated than yesterday.
Cui Guangwei was wearing a very old suit. He said he bought it for 800 yuan at a roadside stall when he was a senior in college and wore it when he was looking for a job. The suit wasn't exactly worn out, but he didn't know where he threw it away. It was crumpled and left there for several years before it was pulled out.
Liang Xiaohui wasn't as glamorous as she was yesterday. Aside from lighting up another Zhongnanhai cigarette as soon as she got out of the car, she wasn't wearing any flashy dresses. She was dressed simply in a casual jeans outfit, which looked alright, but she looked more like a student than a successful businesswoman who had been working in the business world for many years.
Liang Xiaohui, however, was quite pleased with herself. Holding Gao Xiaojie's hand, she said, "How about it? I'm still very young, right? If I just sit there like this and put on a school uniform, I can definitely look like an invincible, youthful, and beautiful schoolgirl."
Upon hearing this, the group exclaimed. Chen Xu and Wu Yuan secretly asked Cui Guangwei, "Can you stand a wife like that?"
Cui Guangwei wiped his sweat and said it was alright, he'd get used to it...
A large group of people marched into the international convention center. Because they were merchants, although their attire was outdated and they looked like beggars, the security guards had no choice but to let them through. After they were let through, one of the guards watched their retreating figures and muttered, "How can such poor people afford to rent a booth here?"
Another looked at him with disdain and said, "What do you know? You really think they're poor? Those people are doing performance art! It's called something like 'relying on others,' it's very popular!"
Meanwhile, at the Yinfeng Entertainment booth, a cosplay event titled "What's the Point of Using Pulai?" was also taking place.
To ensure the success of this exhibition, Yinfeng specially ordered a batch of cosplay costumes in advance, and then found a group of handsome men and beautiful women, all dressed up in flamboyant attire like fairies. Even the men's heavy makeup was enough to scare people to death. They were currently performing a cosplay drama based on "The Legend of Shushan Swordsmen".
When Chen Xu and his group arrived at the booth, the cosplay event was almost over. Wu Yuan and Qin Xiao'an sighed and complained that they hadn't seen any beautiful women, only a bunch of heavily made-up animals.
This booth was specially secured by Liang Xiaohui and her husband from their industry peers. Just as they predicted, seeing the massive setup Yinfeng had created, most companies wouldn't want to compete against them. Yinfeng's booth alone occupied seventy or eighty square meters; renting a booth here isn't cheap. And they managed to fill the booth with all sorts of random game merchandise.
Looking at the row of luxurious computers and the eye-catching beauties coming and going, how could a small company possibly stand in front of them?
At this point, Gao Xiaojie and Liang Xiaohui, these two young women, began to regret their actions.
Although they weren't dressed like Chen Xu and the others in beggar's clothes, they hadn't dressed up much to keep a low profile. But when they saw the beauties walking around opposite them, each one meticulously made up with light makeup, wearing incredibly alluring clothes—shoulders, midriffs, and thighs exposed, looking like demonic beauties—the two women began to regret joining this group of country bumpkins. They were truly embarrassed now.
Those who were able to serve as greeters or were invited by major game companies at this forum were almost all beautiful women. Good looks alone weren't enough; they also needed to have great figures and charisma. These beauties saw the forum as a great opportunity. Those without ambition were hoping to seduce a few wealthy bosses, while those aiming for success saw if their beauty could attract the attention of reporters, get photos taken, and become famous online.
Don't you remember Ding Beili? She became famous at ChinaJoy in July 2006 for her adorable pouty-cheeked look. Now she's incredibly popular, hailed by netizens as: the most melancholic, the cutest, the purest, the most refreshing, the most aloof, the most sexy, and the most ethereal beauty...
Which of these showgirls isn't a beauty among beauties? Naturally, they weren't inferior to Ding Beili, so they put on an even more energetic performance, striking eighteen poses in quick succession, consuming a huge amount of film and camera storage space.
When it comes to beauties, Yinfeng naturally went to great lengths to find the most. The cosplay just now had already amazed the players, and everyone was discussing the beauty who played Li Yingqiong. Although she might not be the most beautiful, she was definitely the one with the most temperament.
Unfortunately, Chen Xu and the others weren't there when the beautiful woman performed, so they had to wait until noon to watch it.
Besides the beautiful woman from before, Yinfeng had quite a few other alluring women, naturally attracting the attention of many players and reporters. Seeing the bustling scene, Lin Guopeng revealed a smug smile. What's the eyeball effect? This is it!
If this mission is a complete success, then he, as the public relations manager, will be promoted and receive a raise.
At this moment, Lin Guopeng, like everyone else, also began to notice the group from Hexie University on the other side.
Last night, when Lin Guopeng was drinking with some colleagues and representatives from the single-player game website, he mocked them, saying, "Tomorrow I'll see which fool dares to stand on the other side."
Because Yinfeng can't compare to companies like Shanda and Daewoo, its location, while large, is relatively remote, unlike those major companies which are all in the center of the venue.
However, being in a less prominent position has its advantages. The venue is only so big anyway, so as long as things are lively on their side, they won't have to worry about not having players coming. The advantage of being in a less prominent position is that only a very small booth can be left opposite Yinfeng. With such a small booth, why would they be afraid of someone competing with them?
When Lin Guopeng walked over, a group of people from Hexie University had just put up the banner... at the game showcase of "Jin Yong's Heroes: Reunion".
Lin Guopeng chuckled upon seeing the name. So it was the game made by that trashy development team. How did they even manage to get tickets? And they even had the nerve to showcase that garbage game at this top-tier forum?
Do they even know how to write the word "ugly"?!
However, Lin Guopeng thought about it again and realized that this was no coincidence. When he casually suppressed "Reunion," he hadn't thought much about it. In his view, suppressing that pile of garbage was no big deal, and there was no need to explain it to anyone. He also believed that anyone who wasn't a fool would easily understand his purpose in doing so.
So after finding it funny, Lin Guopeng's first thought was, "Are they here to cause trouble?"
Then he found it funny, thinking, "Do you think you can just smash this place up like that?"
However, Lin Guopeng still harbored some wariness, but when he came over and saw the situation, his wariness immediately disappeared without a trace. If he hadn't been dressed like an upper-class person, he would have actually been lying on the ground and pounding the ground!
Lin Guopeng wouldn't dare say that his booth setup and investment were the best at this exhibition, but he knew for sure that the group standing in front of him was clearly the worst! And there was absolutely no doubt about it! They were undeniably the worst!
There were two tables, and on the tables were three laptops, the kind that looked very old-fashioned IBM Black King Kong. They looked old and worn, so you could tell they had been used before and were just brought over temporarily without even being wiped.
Looking at this group of people again, well, three of the girls are quite pretty, but they look like students. If it weren't for their close conversation with the group of animals next to them, you would have thought they were players who came here.
"What a pity!" Lin Guopeng shook his head. These three girls, especially the two younger ones, were really attractive. He wondered how they would look in cosplay costumes. Lin Guopeng considered himself an intellectual, and he always preferred girls with taste and knowledge, like female college students like these. He didn't like women who were all looks and no brains, only thinking about how to use their beauty and youth to make money. For example, among the cosplayers he was working with, his favorite was the one with the big breasts who seemed very confident. Lin Guopeng even thought about secretly asking her how much she charged for a month, but the feeling she gave him made him afraid to say it aloud.
Besides the three beautiful women, Lin Guopeng also saw a familiar face, Cui Guangwei.
As mentioned before, while Cui Guangwei's game company isn't large, it's not exactly small either. Cui Guangwei himself has a certain reputation in the industry, but that reputation might not be of much interest to someone like Lin Guopeng.
A month ago, Cui Guangwei also sent a protest to the Single Player Games Network, protesting their unrealistic reporting. Lin Guodong remembered this very clearly. When he saw Cui Guangwei, he chuckled and deliberately walked up to him, saying, "Oh, isn't this Mr. Cui from Minghong Company? What, you're here too?"
In fact, Cui Guangwei had already seen Lin Guopeng and whispered something to Chen Xu and the others beside him. Upon hearing that this guy was the representative of Yinfeng, Chen Xu and the others were so angry they wanted to rush up and beat him to death, but because of their previous plan, they had to hold back for now.
Cui Guangwei is a very reserved and secretly passionate person… These are Chen Xu's exact words. Because this guy looks very refined on the outside, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and looking like a nice, intellectual gentleman, speaking in a soft, slow voice, but deep down he's not like that at all!
Seeing Lin Guopeng approach, Cui Guangwei pushed up his glasses and smiled, saying, "How can I be considered a boss? It's just a small business, barely making ends meet. Unlike your Yinfeng, which is so big and powerful. Hehe, people say even a seventh-rank official has to serve the prime minister, how can I, a mere boss, compare to you?"
Lin Guopeng chuckled smugly, but Chen Xu and the others were secretly overjoyed. "A seventh-rank official before the prime minister's gate?" That referred to the gatekeeper of the prime minister's house! This guy completely failed to realize that Cui Guangwei was insulting him. So everyone thought, this senior is really too much of a repressed flirt, too much of a repressed flirt!
After laughing, Lin Guopeng decided not to give Cui Guangwei the chance to make the first move, so he said himself, "This Jin Yong Heroes game, was it developed by your company? I remember there was a Jin Yong Heroes game online not long ago, tsk tsk, the graphics were completely plagiarized! It was touted as the most ridiculous and trashy game in history, this wasn't made by your company, was it?"
Hearing him say this, Chen Xu and the others clenched their fists, ready to beat him up, but Cui Guangwei waved his hand calmly and said, "Our company can't make games like this. These were made by my junior classmates when they were playing around. Oh, let me introduce you. This junior is the game's planner. And this is Mr. Lin Guopeng, the public relations manager of Yinfeng Entertainment. You should get to know him. Yinfeng is a big company. Knowing Manager Lin will give you more opportunities after you graduate."
Chen Xu and the others immediately greeted him in a fake manner, "Hello, Manager Lin!" This greatly satisfied Lin Guopeng's vanity, making him feel that it was somewhat unfair of him to treat a game developed by a student in this way before.
However, the thought quickly vanished. Looking at this group of strangely dressed students who seemed to have come from an Iraqi refugee camp, Lin Guopeng suppressed a laugh and said, "Hey Mr. Cui, I didn't even know which university you graduated from!"
“I graduated from Hopson University, and these are my juniors. I brought them here to broaden their horizons.”
He Xie University is actually a pretty good school, ranking among the top-tier universities in the country. It's just that these days, college graduates are practically worthless. Lin Guopeng smiled insincerely, "So you're a top student from He Xie University, huh? That's rare. But let me presume to say something, and please don't take offense if it's offensive. Game development is a very serious business; it's not something kids can just dabble in. Especially the graphics—they need to be impeccable! Your 'Jin Yong Heroes' game plagiarized other people's work everywhere; that's blatant copyright infringement! So, in the future, before making games, consider whether you're qualified and have the technical skills! Otherwise, just some random nobody making games will only lower the overall level of the domestic game industry!"
These words were spoken with an air of smug, condescending arrogance, making the entire Hexie University gang of idiots furious, countless middle fingers gesturing behind their backs. Chen Xu was so angry he almost cursed, but just as he opened his mouth, Zhan Jing, standing next to him, quickly pulled him back. Chen Xu's words, barely uttered as "Damn it," were immediately cut off.
Turning against them now is definitely not the right time; it's completely different from the plan. Chen Xu, being quick-witted, immediately smoothed things over: "Relying on people like us is obviously not enough. Where would we students find that kind of technology? The responsibility of revitalizing domestic games naturally falls on large companies like yours!"
Cui Guangwei quickly agreed, saying, "Yes, yes. I wonder if Manager Lin would be willing to make an exception and let us see your company's masterpiece? It would be good for the kids to broaden their horizons."
Lin Guopeng cursed under his breath that they were bumpkins, but he was still quite pleased with himself. He laughed and said, "Sure, our company's booth is right across the street. Go over and take a look, and learn something from us."
The group from Hexie University exchanged smiles, then exclaimed in unison, "Wow! So that booth belongs to your company! It's huge! It must have cost a lot of money, right? You guys are really rich!"
Lin Guopeng felt pleased by the flattery, so he led Chen Xu and his group to the Yinfeng Company's booth.
As soon as Chen Xu and the others arrived, they exclaimed in surprise, "Wow! What a beautiful computer!"
"Yeah, the specs are really high-end, everything's brand new! They're really rich!"
"Wow! Is this model a game character? It's so beautifully made! Can I take one home as a souvenir?"
Looking at this group of students from Hefei University of Technology, who seemed like country bumpkins visiting the city, Lin Guopeng scoffed disdainfully. No wonder experts are saying we need to improve the quality of university students; they're absolutely right!
Cui Guangwei, who was standing to the side, chuckled and said, "Sorry, these younger students are just naive."
"It's alright, it's alright!" Lin Guopeng found himself actually enjoying this feeling. Watching these country bumpkins shouting and yelling, he figured since not many professional players had arrived yet, he might as well let them play a little longer. Their exclamations of praise and admiration sounded quite pleasant to him.
Wu Yuan called out, "Third brother, where's the bottled water you brought? I'm thirsty!"
Chen Xu turned his head innocently: "You've finished drinking them all? What, you've finished yours too?"
The two looked at each other, then swallowed simultaneously and said, "Let's go out and buy another bottle later."
"Country bumpkins!" Lin Guopeng couldn't help but sneer. Almost every booth here offered bottled water or even drinks, yet these two guys were thinking of going out to buy some?
So he called to a video game hostess next to him, "Bring them a glass of orange juice."
"Wow, orange juice!" After the orange juice arrived, the others exclaimed and said to the girl next to them, "Give me a cup too!" Even after the orange juice arrived, the group was still shouting, "Wow, it's so delicious! It's even better than orange juice!"
Lin Guopeng couldn't help but curse again, calling them "country bumpkins." To ensure the players had a better experience, he had specially prepared freshly squeezed orange juice. Of course, the taste of freshly squeezed juice couldn't compare to the commercially available kind, but it had a unique flavor. Lin Guopeng thought to himself, "What a load of bullshit! A bunch of country bumpkins who've only ever had orange juice!"
Chen Xu and his friends were quite lewd, ordering another drink after finishing one, acting as if they wouldn't miss out on something free. This time, not only Lin Guopeng but even the arcade girl next to them couldn't help but think to herself, "Hicks!"
The country bumpkins were so excited watching the visuals of "The Legend of Shushan Swordsmen" that they shouted and yelled, almost bursting into tears as they exclaimed, "My God! Is this a game made in China?"