76: Chapter 76 Protect the Carrot

Chen Fan picked up a marker and wrote the words "Mobile Game" on the whiteboard, then wrote "Tower Defense" below it.

"Our first project will be to make a tower defense mobile game."

"Boss Chen, do you mean something similar to 'Robo Defense'?"

Before this meeting, Chen Fan had already conducted research on the games currently on the market. He was aware of this game called 'Robo Defense'; it had been out for over four months and was selling very well.

"The game genre is the same, but what I want to make is different from 'Robo Defense'."

He pressed the remote in his hand, and the projector screen behind him lit up.

An image appeared on the screen, showing mechanical-style turrets, dark tones, and dense swarms of enemies.

"Engineer Zhang, what do you think of the art style of 'Robo Defense'?"

He thought for a moment and said, "It's quite hardcore. Strong mechanical feel, dark colors; you can tell at a glance it's meant for guys."

Chen Fan nodded and looked at the others.

"What about you all? What do you think?"

The meeting room was quiet for a few seconds.

The company's newly hired UI concept artist—a girl in her twenties wearing glasses—stared at the screenshot on the screen and whispered, "I... don't really want to play that kind of game."

"Keep going."

Upon hearing this, the girl gathered her courage and continued, "It just feels a bit tiring to look at. The visuals are grayish, and I have absolutely no desire to play it."

Chen Fan nodded and continued to look at Zhang Tao.

"Besides the hardcore art style, what other features does 'RD' have?"

Zhang Tao pondered for a moment, then looked up. "The game mechanics."

He stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and drew a few simple strokes—some winding paths and a few schematic symbols for turrets.

"The best part of 'RD' is its strategic depth." He pointed at the paths with his pen. "Players can freely place turrets in the scene; the position, type, and upgrade order of the towers all affect the subsequent battle. Furthermore, enemies don't just come in one wave; there are often dozens or hundreds of waves, and the pressure increases as the game progresses."

He paused and added, "This design is simply addictive for players who like to use their brains. You can figure out new strategies in every round, and the sense of achievement is very strong."

After Zhang Tao finished speaking, Chen Fan chuckled. "Engineer Zhang is right; this is its strength, but it is also its greatest weakness."

Everyone present heard what Chen Fan said, and expressions of confusion appeared on their faces. It was clearly a strength, so why did the boss say it was its greatest weakness?

"Have you ever thought that the more hardcore and brain-burning a game is, the higher the barrier to entry?"

Chen Fan slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the meeting room before finally landing on the dense defensive towers and winding paths on the screen.

"The strategic depth of 'RD' is its greatest asset, but it is also this very depth that keeps the vast majority of casual players out."

He tapped the map lightly with the tip of his pen: "Free tower placement, changing routes, dozens or hundreds of waves of monsters, meticulously calculating resources... For us game developers and for core players, this is called replayability and addictiveness. But what about people who are tired after a long day and just want to take out their phones to play for ten minutes to relax? What if the player is a girl? They can't understand, learn, or beat this kind of complex game. Just as they finish setting up the towers, the monsters rush the base; they panic when trying to change routes; they can't even make it past the third wave, so they just uninstall it."

"Strategic depth is indeed a strength for you developers who ponder games every day, as well as for some pro gamers. But for the 'tower defense for everyone' that we want to make, it is a barrier."

"What do I mean by everyone? It includes office workers, students, people on the subway, people waiting for the elevator, and even girls who can't play complex games."

He paused and delivered his conclusion: "That is why I say it is both its strength and its greatest weakness."

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds. Expressions of surprise appeared on the faces of those present; they hadn't expected Chen Fan, this seemingly young boss, to be able to see the issue so clearly.

And Qiao Linlin, who had been temporarily pulled in to take meeting minutes, looked at Chen Fan with a hint of admiration in her eyes.

Zhang Tao pushed up his glasses and nodded thoughtfully. "So, Boss, you mean to make the strategy shallower?"

"Not shallower, but faster." He picked up the pen and wrote a few words on the whiteboard: Three-minute rounds, instant gratification, low barrier to entry, high skill ceiling.

"Strategy can be retained, but it must be condensed. Let casual players clear the level by just clicking randomly, and let core players pursue a three-star rating. Three minutes per round; it's satisfying once you finish. You can play without using your brain, but using your brain gives you more of a sense of achievement."

"Besides strategy, there is also the art style. Since it is aimed at everyone, the art style must be suitable for the general public." He picked up the pen and wrote a few more words on the whiteboard: Bright, cute, healing.

He turned around and looked at Liu Yuan, who was in charge of art in the corner. "What we want to make is an art style that makes girls want to play when they see it, children love it, and office workers feel relaxed when they see it."

"Boss Chen, what specific style? Moe? Cartoon?"

Chen Fan thought for a moment, walked to the whiteboard, and casually drew something round—it didn't look much like a carrot, but rather like a potato. "Something like this." He pointed at the odd-looking thing. "Rounded, cute, and brightly colored. The monsters should also be cute, the kind of visuals suitable for all ages."

Liu Yuan stared at the potato for a few seconds and nodded. "Understood. I'll come up with a few sketches later."

Chen Fan nodded and looked at Zhang Tao again. "Engineer Zhang, is there any technical difficulty?"

Zhang Tao shook his head. "The art style doesn't affect development. The key is the game mechanics; I need to figure out how to condense the strategy into three minutes."

Chen Fan gave an affirmative grunt and swept his gaze across the meeting room. "Are there any other questions?"

The meeting room was quiet for a few seconds.

Zhang Tao pushed up his glasses, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke up: "Boss, there are a few things that need to be decided—which platform will the game be on? Will it be paid or free? If it's free, how will it make money?"

After he finished speaking, the other few people also looked up at Chen Fan.

"iOS and android platforms," Chen Fan said without hesitation. "By the way, what is the general situation of the android market in China now?"

Zhang Tao took over the conversation: "I happened to have looked into this recently. It's quite chaotic."

He picked up his phone from the table and shook it. "First, there's the official channel—Google's android Market—but the access speed in China is slow, and it's all in English, so ordinary users can't use it at all. This means the official store is practically paralyzed in China."

A developer next to him chimed in: "That's right. I wanted to download an app last month, but I couldn't open it after trying for ages, so I finally had to find the installation package on a forum."

Zhang Tao nodded and continued: "Then there are various third-party stores. How many are there? I know of over a dozen just by myself."