Lang Xi knew she had let something slip, but she shrugged confidently, "She's completely transparent, you should be able to tell, right?"
"Not necessarily. What if she's a completely straight woman who's open about her relationship with everyone?"
Lang Xi fell silent. "Yao Da, have you ever been tricked by a straight woman pretending to be a lesbian? Oh right, you mentioned it in the group chat."
Zhu Yao seemed to be pouring out her grievances, "I'm really scared, especially when someone suddenly goes straight after we've been together, dumps me, and marries another man, and some people even turn around and betray me..."
Every time I see someone's expectant and eager gaze, I'm afraid that they'll turn around and show disdain and sarcasm.
"We can't throw the baby out with the bathwater."
"And you, you used to like Yu Nan, didn't you?"
Lang Xi did not deny it, "Master Yao's observation skills are really strong, how come he can't tell the real and fake Ji Zai apart?"
"You two aren't together?"
"Yu Nan finds me rather annoying."
"Since you've never been together, there's no way to be sure if he's gay."
Lang Xi was speechless: "Xiao Yu has had a crush on a girl before."
"Persistence is fluid."
"Master Yao, your ex-girlfriend's aftereffects are quite strong."
“There’s nothing I can do,” Zhu Yao shrugged. “My ex, who pretended to be a lesbian, has had a huge impact on me. I just can’t trust anyone now.”
Lang Xi remained silent for a long time before saying, "You lack a sense of security."
Zhu Yao did not deny it.
"Then look at me, do I make you feel safe?"
Lang Xi leaned forward, gazing at Zhu Yao with deep and earnest eyes: "My first degree isn't bad, I'm not bad-looking, I have some money, and I'm a lesbian I know well..."
Zhu Yao raised an eyebrow, reached out and lifted Lang Xi's chin, and Lang Xi obediently let her observe him.
Lang Xi's dark blue hair cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall. She was wearing round-framed glasses, which made her facial features look somewhat strong, giving her a slightly mature and sophisticated air.
Zhu Yao gazed at Lang Xi with deep affection, then grasped his hands in hers. "I'm moved... How about we..."
Lang Xi: "Let's pick an auspicious day..."
Zhu Yao: "Let's become sworn brothers."
Yu Nan, carrying the portable hard drive back to her room, saw the two of them holding hands and gazing deeply into each other's eyes: ? ? ? ?
Immediately afterwards, Lang Xi and Zhu Yao burst into laughter on the sofa.
Yu Nan: What are you all laughing at?! And Lang Xi, get out of my seat!
Lang Xi was herded to the back by Yu Nan like a duck.
"Come on, let's get down to business."
Lang Xi opened Yu Nan's game demo. The three of them were very familiar with this pixel RPG demo—the one where it took two days and two nights to leave the desert.
"Why don't we just play the official version?" Yu Nan felt unusually shy looking at Yu Miao's arrogant message about deleting her save file on the screen.
Lang Xi was the only one who hadn't played the full version. She quickly completed the first three worlds and chose to go to the worlds of oil painting and twilight, which was the place Zhu Yao hadn't gone to.
The game stopped in a 3D starry sky.
"I haven't had time to do the rest yet."
Lang Xi looked incredulous. "Three years, and this is all you've done?"
"Um..." Yu Nan scratched her head sheepishly, "The initial demo was made with RPG Maker, but plugins and stuff are too troublesome. I wanted to add 3D effects, so I thought I'd remake it using Unity..."
"Is your engine Unity?"
"Ah... because after studying C# for two months, I realized I just couldn't understand it! So... I wanted to make a game like Octopath Traveler... Octopath Traveler uses Unreal Engine 4, so I started learning Unreal Engine 4 and redid it..."
Lang Xi: ...utterly speechless
"Later, I didn't want that HD-2D style anymore, so I did it again with Unreal Engine 5... and two years passed."
Lang Xi's face visibly contorted, and he forced a weak smile: "You don't plan to change the engine right now, do you?"
"Um... isn't there that Decima Engine? It's a great development tool for open-world applications. I looked into it a few days ago... its optimizations, AI, and physics effects are all amazing, hahaha!"
"So, what have you gained in these three years?"
Yu Nan boasted without any hesitation: "Extensive experience in using engines!"
"Your situation is perfect for working as a technical planner at a game company," Lang Xi said sarcastically. "A competent engine user and a mediocre game producer are better suited to working in a factory, taking on tasks and tightening screws."
Yu Nan felt a little guilty and lowered her head. "I just... wanted perfection."
"Okay, perfect, right? So, do you have all the text content? Have you drawn diagrams of the relationships between the worlds? What about the data tables? How's the basic script coming along?"
Yu Nan shrugged. "I only have an outline. After all, this is the free world."
Lang Xi sighed in frustration.
“I know I hesitated too much… and didn’t finish it…” Yu Nan had no confidence at all. “But the optical engine alone consumed all my energy, and there was also drawing and making background music. There were too many things to learn, and I really couldn’t finish it.”
Lang Xi's eyes reddened, and she almost growled, "Then why didn't you come to me?"
"I…"
"Your specialty is scene design, but in the past three years you have..." Lang Xi couldn't continue.
"But... I'm really tired. I've never stopped learning. I'm even prepared to spend countless years creating a game. If three years isn't enough, then ten. I'll make it little by little."
Yu Nan's expression was sad, but her exhaustion was tempered with an undeniable stubbornness and persistence.
Zhu Yao held down Yu Nan, whose body was trembling slightly, and said, "What Miss Lang means is that you don't need to take on all the work by yourself. Everyone can just do what they are best at."
"Alright, let's not talk about the engine anymore," Lang Xi said as if nothing had happened, showing no trace of her previous outburst.
"Actually, the demo you released was a bit more fun than this 'official version'."
"Three years ago, many people bought into your demo because you added meta elements."
A characteristic of Meta-themed games is that characters develop self-awareness and can even modify the game, using gameplay to reflect on and deconstruct their own existence.
This type of game breaks down the fourth wall between the game and reality, allowing game characters to interact directly with the player.
The most well-known example is the E ending of NieR: Automata, where the assist device bypasses the game character and directly asks the player: Are you willing to save the weak?
In Yu Nan's game, "Yu Miao" deletes save files based on different player decisions, which is also a form of meta.
"Putting aside the parody-like meta elements in your demo, the gameplay of traversing different worlds is too straightforward and lacks any real replayability. Therefore, it's not recommended to remove the meta elements in the final version."
“I added ‘Yu Miao’ to liven things up…” Yu Nan said weakly. “The official game shouldn’t have ‘Yu Miao’, or at least there shouldn’t be a lot of dialogue from the producer.”
"You can take a look at ICEY and One Shot. Both of them contain meta elements. The former adds a lot of the producer's nonsense and uses teasing narration to attract players; the latter is a meta masterpiece. I suggest you take a detailed look at it."
“I just played One Shot a few days ago,” Zhu Yao said, rarely speaking up. “Yu Nan’s games are indeed very suitable for incorporating meta elements.”
Lang Xi raised an eyebrow: "Oh?"
"A lonely little boy traveling through different worlds can talk to the 'player' in his mind, just like in 'One Shot,' where he treats the player as the only voice he can hear in his heart."
Yu Nan's eyes lit up, and she looked at Zhu Yao with delight, "And highlighting the atmosphere of a long and tedious journey is exactly what I'm good at!"
Yu Nan jumped up, slipped on her slippers, and ran out, leaving behind the words, "I'm going to the study to jot down some inspiration."
Only Zhu Yao and Lang Xi remained in the game room.
Lang Xi gave a wry smile: "Yu Nan would rather waste her energy on things that cause her pain..."
He also refused her help.
Zhu Yao patted Lang Xi's shoulder earnestly, "That's why I'm telling you, don't pursue your niece."
Lang Xi: ...Yu Nan is really not straightforward
Author's Note:
Happy Children's Day!
Chapter 42 Not knowing it is impossible
Before Lang Xi and Zhu Yao could exchange more than a few words, Yu Nan, who was carrying equipment upstairs to record her inspiration, pushed open the door and pulled Lang Xi away from the game room.
Lang Xi: "??? What are you doing?"
Yu Nan looked wary: "I don't want you to be alone with Zhu Yao."
"Then why did you pull Zhu Yao? Why did you pull me?"
"I also need to talk to you about something."
Yu Nan didn't rush upstairs. Instead, she pinned Lang Xi against the wall in the corridor with an unfriendly expression, making Lang Xi want to laugh.
"What? You want me to join your studio?"
Yu Nan nodded. "But I don't have money to hire you. Would you be willing to work for me for free?"
Lang Xi gasped: "You... even capitalists would be moved to tears."
“However…” Lang Xi smiled wickedly, stroking Yu Nan’s face with one hand, “it’s not impossible, if you’re willing…”
Yu Nan slapped Lang Xi's hand away, "I don't sell myself."
"What about performing for money?"
Lang Xi smiled so hard her eyes narrowed into slits. "The studio is mine, the producer is yours. I can assemble a complete development team and bring in investment."
"So you want to be my boss?"
Yu Nan was stunned by Lang Xi's open scheme.
"At least I won't let you work for me for free," Lang Xi said, flicking her fingers in the air as if counting money. "Anyway, your goal isn't to save money, but to create your own game. Why don't you consider it?"
Lang Xi whispered in Yu Nan's ear like a devil, "I'm putting in the effort, not for you personally, but at least for money, right? Letting me take the money will make you feel better than owing me a favor... Right now, Yu Miao can't find a better partner, can she? Who else would want to work with a game producer with a bad track record, suspected of running away with the money...?"
Yu Nan remained silent for a long time, then shook hands with Lang Xi with a complicated expression. "My brother is really in a bad situation. All the people in his studio are probably going to leave."
Lang Xi smiled slyly, as if she had secretly tasted honey, "I can also recruit him into the government."