Chapter 15


    10 oclock the next morning, in amercial building in the Capital City.


    Matters concerning the lease were settled, and Chen Xu was sitting down for a chat with Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue.


    So how much is the rent here? Is it expensive? Yang Xin asked while her eyes darted around the office.


    Not bad, but its a three month contract so we might not be here for long. The real kicker was the tech and the office equipment, those cost a pretty penny.


    5 yuan per square meter daily. There were 2 rooms with a total of 160 square meters, so it added up to 24,000 yuan per month.


    There were also property fees of 20 yuan per square meter monthly.


    Of course, if you were willing to move to a smaller town or city, the costs might only reach a tenth of those numbers.


    But that would also stifle the future growth of hispany. After all, talented people tend to favorrge cities.


    No problem. Mypany happens to be shutting down anyway. We have all kinds of development prototypes and machines just sitting there wasting away.


    When the timees, we can just grab whatever we need, Ill send you a list. Yang Xin waved her small hand magnanimously.


    But I have to ask, are we the only two main developers in thispany? She added with some slight worry.


    Currently, there were a total of four employees in thepany, including himself.


    Yang Xin would be working with him directly, while the other two were former employees of herpany who decided to tag along.


    One would be in charge of finance and administration, and the other would handle operations.


    After a short interview and a few minor tests, Chen Xu agreed to hire them.


    Right now? Yes. Itll just be the two of us. Which reminds me, our core team still has room for an artist. Chen Xu turned to look at Ruan Ningxue, who was struggling with a rapidly melting ice cream.


    While he could produce art if needed, having someone on the team with an above average level of artistic talent would y a pivotal role in his ns.


    And his target is Ruan Ningxue.


    He looked at her thoughtfully, idly counting the number of drops of ice cream that had escaped her grasp and fallen onto the sofa. Someone would have to clean that upter.


    As for having only three people in the core team? Chen Xu wasnt worried.


    After all, the industry and technology in this world is different. A small, agile and talented team would suffice.


    The number crunching, level design, and core concepts can be handled by Chen Xu himself.


    Non-technical minutia could be outsourced, as they would eat up too much time.


    Sure, it would cost more money than the time invested, but Chen Xu valued time over money.


    All that remained was to see if they could somehow trick Ruan Ningxue into joining the party.


    In fact, Chen Xu had his sights on her ever since he witnessed her in action during the development of Mirror.


    Thats right Ningxue, why not join us! Yang Xin excitedly hovered around her friend. But paused with a sudden thought, By the way, whats the name of thispany?


    Neb Games, Chen Xu replied helplessly, he would have to step in.


    Senior sister, Chen Xu leaned forward in his seat and fixed her eyes with an earnest gaze. In my opinion, there isnt much difference betweenics and games. Both can be used to tellpelling stories to readers and yers alike.


    And my ambitions arent small, sister. I do not intend to remain as just Neb Games, but instead, Neb Entertainment. Where we will be able to expand into other forms of media around our IP.


    We can have aic division, releasingics to apany our games. When the timees, and if you still remain interested, you can be in charge of this content.


    What Chen Xu is saying is not unrealistic. Having a game expand on the story of aic, or having aic adapted into a game, these are logical steps.


    Unlike his previous world, whereic book games were essentially produced as money-making machines, this parallel world had undergone a different process.


    In this world where the design concepts of most gamesgged behind those of his previous life,ic book games reigned at the top.


    Chen Xu held back a grin as he saw his words hit home. Ruan Ningxues eyes lit up and her face revealed an excited smile. She gave a big nod and said, Then I will call you Mr Chen, my lovely junior!


    Those are just titles, senior sister, you may call me whatever you like. he said as he shook her hand.


    Next to them, Yang Xin had her cheeks puffed in a mighty pout.


    Oi, why did you agree so easily? I offered you pretty much the same thing, too!


    She was happy that Ningxue had joined the team, but she was also a bit annoyed that after spending so much effort trying to persuade Ruan Ningxue to join herpany, how could she watch such a simple negotiation? Wait, there wasnt even much negotiating going on!


    Sister Xin, <em>your</em> promises were way over the top. I wouldnt have joined you even if you had made a sessful game. Yang Xin was left speechless.


    Chen Xu here at least has Mirror as a guarantee, and he has shown us a very clear direction of where he ns to take thepany. And besides, yourpany somehow got smaller with every game you release.


    Perhaps sensing that Yang Xin might burst into tears at any moment, Chen Xu decided to interrupt.


    Alright, in celebration of my senior sisters joining, lets get down to business and talk about our next project. he said as he looked at both people.


    Hearing his words, both Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue settled down with serious and expectant looks, even though they had just joined thepany and had not even received any office equipment.


    After all, they were here to get results, not let the days pass them by.


    For our next step, we will be developing a new type of game. A meta-game, if you will.


    The twodies were confused and expressed their doubts.


    Meta-game meta-game? Yang Xin chewed on the word, finding it unfamiliar.


    Were we not going to keep making 18R games? We have a foothold in this genre, why not build up the fanbase? Ruan Ningxue spoke her mind.


    No, that was never going to happen. The 18R game was made to generate our capital. Chen Xu shook his head.


    He had no ns on founding a pornographicpany in a parallel world.


    TL: (   )


    But Mr Chen, what <em>is</em> a metagame?


    Yang Xin had spent a considerable amount of time in the games industry, including the process of acquiring the official game designer title and releasing her 3 games.


    But she had never heard of this so-called <em>meta-game</em>.


    No need to mention Ruan Ningxue, who was even more clueless.


    Its a new term well be using for this game, specifically because its going to be very unconventional.


    Lets describe it as having the in-game content breaking out of the confines of the game, and interacting with the yer directly.


    Have you read Don Quixote? In the novel, the author breaks the fourth wall from time to time, being cheeky and giving the reader clues about the plot, Chen Xu exined.


    Breaking the fourth wall? Yang Xin was digesting the possibilities, and Ruan Ningxue had some realizations.


    Correct, well be trying that, but in video game form.


    Regarding the concept of meta-games, Chen Xu paid attention and found that while a very small number of game designers in this world had dipped their toes and experimented, there were no sessful or prolific examples.


    Not just games, but novels,ics, and other forms of media have just barely scratched the surface, the genre hadnt even coined.


    And therein lies his opportunity.


    The name of the game will be Undertale, I will provide more details as the work begins.


    In addition, we cant leave our current fans with nothing to look forward to. So we will also be developing a DLC pack for Mirror. This way we can squeeze out a bit more sales while the game is still trending.