Ten Years Against the Current of Rebirth

Kyoto, Kyoto University.

Li Zhibin was a little absent-minded throughout the military training starting in the afternoon. After making mistakes several times, the instructor singled him out and trained him until he was exhausted, before he slowly came back to his senses.

He doesn't care about the military training at all right now. He has been thinking about what Xu Xing told him and the upcoming Fruit Assassin.

So much so that when the military training was over and he went to eat with his roommates, Li Zhibin would take a bite and think for a while. The roommate next to him almost thought that he was stunned by the extra training from the instructor: "Li Zhibin, are you okay? Do you want to go to the infirmary?"

"

"No, no, no," Li Zhibin waved his hands repeatedly.

Night training in the evening is relatively relaxed. Most of it is just a symbolic practice, and then there will be people who volunteer to perform their talents.

Li Zhibin thought about Xu Xing recommending his tongue to twist screws and nostrils to open bottle caps, and his face couldn't help but twitch a few times.

When I returned to the dormitory at night, everyone collapsed on the bed after taking a shower. After turning off the lights, they fell asleep. Li Zhibin was the only one, lying on his side on the bed, silently watching the time on his phone, pointing to the time bit by bit.

early in the morning.

When the time came to 00:00, Li Zhibin immediately logged in to his US account, searched for Fruit Assassin, and found the first game produced by their Tianshu Studio!

Li Zhibin was a little excited. If he hadn't been in the dormitory, he would have screamed out in excitement.

Seeing the notification that the number of downloads was 0, Li Zhibin quickly completed the payment. After paying the price of US$2.99, his phone prompted that the download was in progress.

Li Zhibin quickly took out his headphones and put them on. After the Fruit Assassin download was completed, he immediately clicked to enter the game.

As the familiar music sounded in his ears, Li Zhibin immediately cut the fruit skillfully, and the points displayed in the upper left corner increased rapidly.

After all, he had played the beta version of Fruit Assassin before, and there was nothing different about the official version except that the gaming experience was smoother.

But when he thought that this game was actually made by his own brothers, Li Zhibin still felt very dreamy and incredible.

Especially since he just downloaded it from the App Store and is now using it to experience it, everything feels like a dream.

However, after playing for more than an hour and finally redeeming the third blade skin effect that he had not been able to redeem in the beta version, Li Zhibin finally quit the game.

After all, he had to get up early to continue military training tomorrow, and he didn't want to die suddenly.

But before going to bed, he took a special look at the downloads of Fruit Assassin.

There are only four.

Hmm...four...

One is almost 3 US dollars, and the four are 12 US dollars. Converted to their money, it is almost more than 80 yuan?

If you calculate it this way, Xu Xing's previous investment cost must be tens of thousands of yuan. If you want to initially recover the cost, you must sell at least 3,000 copies?

No, no, it is said that you have to give the pineapple company money, and then you have to pay taxes.

To be conservative, we have to multiply it by at least two or three times, right?

The most conservative estimate is that if you want to make your money back, you have to sell 10,000 copies?!

Thinking of this number, Li Zhibin suddenly couldn't sleep again.

Where can we find 10,000 people to pay for this?

What's more, this is just a simple return of capital.

If you really want to meet the preliminary requirements of what Xu Xing told him on QQ, you have to make profits reach millions to be considered feasible, right?

But if they could really make millions, their Fruit Assassin would have to sell hundreds of thousands or even millions of copies.

That's a completely astronomical number.

Li Zhibin's mental arithmetic ability was so good that after he quickly came to this conclusion, he felt a little restless and felt a little stuffy while lying on the bed. He quickly opened the quilt to get some air.

On the other side, Xu Xing did not wait until the early morning at all. Instead, after turning off the lights in the dormitory, he chatted with his roommate for a while and then slowly fell asleep.

Anyway, the game will be there after it is put on the shelves, and it will not run away, so Xu Xing is not worried at all.

Moreover, the time when the game has just been launched is actually not the most critical period yet. The battle will not really begin until it reaches the recommended position and gains a certain amount of exposure.

So Xu Xing didn't care about this matter at all.

On the contrary, several of my employees were particularly worried and waited until the early hours of the morning just to download and experience their studio's first game earlier.

Except for Yan Chijue, who had no pineapple phone and could only sleep and wait to play with Xu Xing the next day, everyone else was waiting by their phones.

Yao Yuanyuan also downloaded the game immediately and happily ran to her mother Pei Qinglan's room to show off.

Pei Qinglan, who was used to staying up late to work, was still very awake at this point. When she saw the Fruit Assassin downloaded on Yao Yuanyuan's mobile phone, Pei Qinglan was also very interested.

After taking it and playing a few games, I felt the initial guidance of the game above, the strong prompts and marks when cutting several fruits at once, the achievement badge wall after achieving achievements, and the points mall where skins can be exchanged.

Pei Qinglan soon realized that although this was only Tianshu Studio's first mobile game, the various layouts in it did not show the immaturity of a newcomer at all.

It was as if Xu Xing had a well-thought-out plan, and every part had been conceived in advance. There was no conflict between the finished product and his vision, and the game was produced very smoothly.

Although Pei Qinglan doesn't know much about games, she understands the game market. She has invested in many Internet game companies before. Some relatively simple conceptual content was mentioned by people from game companies.

For example, from an initial idea, to a detailed planning plan, and then to the program and art levels, to the integrated overall game framework, including core gameplay, art style, resource allocation, story content, etc.

When the final game product is launched, the final image may be completely different from the original idea or the original planned content.

But after Pei Qinglan played Fruit Assassin, she discovered that the core content of the official version of Fruit Assassin was no different from the semi-finished product she was given to try out.

It's just that the art resources are richer and the special effects are more attractive. The essential changes are not too many.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that the core gameplay of this mobile game itself is relatively simple, and there is no corresponding story content.

But despite this, Pei Qinglan still vaguely felt that she might have really missed out on a very good investment project.

"If your company encounters any problems in the future, you can come to consult me ​​at any time." Pei Qinglan returned the phone to her daughter, and then said, "I originally thought that you would do some exercise, but now it seems that this may also be your own problem.

If you have an opportunity, you should seize it."

"Hehe." Yao Yuanyuan smiled proudly. After receiving her mother's approval, she waved her big hand in a somewhat swollen manner and said in an awe-inspiring manner, "Mom, just wait. In the future, our company will become bigger and stronger. Directly

In turn, I acquired your company!"

The two mother and daughter looked at each other and smiled, but they didn't take the joke to heart. Pei Qinglan just encouraged: "If you have this ability, mom will be your deputy from now on."

Yao Yuanyuan chuckled.

But Pei Qinglan continued: "Although I admit that the game made by Xu Xing is indeed good, whether it can withstand the test of the market still depends on its subsequent performance."

"After all, no matter how much we praise it, if the market and players are unwilling to pay, then it is destined to be a failed game."

…

In the girls' dormitory in Min Da West District.

As early as early in the morning, Yu Youjia, who was in the bed opposite, felt someone crawling into her bed, and she was so frightened that she opened her eyes.

After seeing clearly that it was Xu Niannian, Yu Youjia sighed helplessly, leaned against the wall, and gave up half of the empty seats, then asked: "What time is it already? I still have a lot of things to do tomorrow."

"The game we made before has just been released!"

Xu Niannian suppressed his excitement, shook Yu Youjia to wake up, then took out his mobile phone and urged: "Quick, quick, quick, I will take you to download one together."

Originally, Yu Youjia didn't want to pay attention to this guy, but when he heard that it was the game that he had helped with before, Xu Niannian's curiosity was aroused.

One thing to note is that although Xu Niannian introduced her to the specific gameplay of this game before, Xu Niannian himself has never touched the previous beta version, so Yu Youjia still doesn’t know what the actual game experience is.

Kind of.

He only knew that he could cut fruits by sliding the screen, but Yu Youjia had no idea what the fun of this game was.

So with curiosity about this game with traces of her participation, Yu Youjia reluctantly got up from the bed and accompanied Xu Niannian to download a Fruit Assassin.

After entering the game page, you will first see a simple animated logo interface.

On the lower right side of the Fruit Assassin's logo, there is also a seven-star colander logo that belongs exclusively to Tianshu Studio. Among them, the star representing the Tianshu star at the end of the handle is specially enlarged and is different from the other six white stars.

, the color is given a golden color.

This picture and the logo elements in it were all created by Xu Niannian and Yu Youjia. The two of them were naturally more sensitive to these elements and noticed these details at a glance.

Seeing your creative work appear in a game that has been released for a fee is undoubtedly quite exciting.

Even Yu Youjia, who is usually reserved, feels a sense of satisfaction and pride emerging from her heart.

Not to mention Xu Niannian who followed the development progress throughout the entire process and provided art resources along the way.

After entering the game, following the novice guide, the two successfully entered the game interface.

When the first fruit at the bottom of the screen leaps up and reaches the highest point, the game screen stops, and the surrounding circle turns into a dark black screen. The light focuses on the fruit, and a guide arrow appears at the top of the screen to guide the player to slide.

Screen.

When the two people's fingers followed the guidance to cut the fruit, a silver-gray blade special effect passed across the screen. The apple on the screen split into two sides, and the juice splashed on the background board behind. A sound of the apple being cut came from the mobile phone.

The final sound effect.

Everything seems real.

"Wow! So this is what it feels like!" Xu Niannian had never been exposed to this kind of interactive gameplay before, and he exclaimed in surprise.

Although the smart screen of Pineapple Phone has been launched for almost two years, it has reached a new peak after the launch of Pineapple Phone 5.

However, in the field of mobile games, there are very few game manufacturers that have truly delved into touch screen interaction.

Most current mobile games are actually replicas of online and web games. They simply use the touch screen function as a computer mouse, but completely ignore the more possibilities hidden by the touch screen function.

In addition, Xu Niannian and Yu Youjia didn't play games very much. When they suddenly came into contact with a novel mobile game that featured touch-screen interaction, they naturally exclaimed how exciting it was and were immediately attracted to the game.

…

In the early morning of the 21st, Li Zhibin got up from the bed with dark circles under his eyes. After washing, he sat back on the chair and shook his head to wake himself up.

The roommate next to him saw his appearance and immediately laughed and said: "Brother Bin, did you do some crafts last night? Why are you in such a bad state of mind?"

"Go away." Li Zhibin scolded him with a smile, "I simply didn't sleep well and was just playing games."

"What game?" my roommate asked curiously, "Mobile games? What's so fun about that? Why don't we go to an Internet cafe to play hacker games after the military training is over?"

"You don't understand." Li Zhibin curled his lips, thinking that he was no longer the same as his roommate, and that he was pretending to be a sea of ​​stars.

But thinking that their game had just been put on the shelves, it would be better to have one more player, so Li Zhibin had an idea. Taking advantage of the early morning military training, he took out his mobile phone and opened Fruit Assassin. After opening it, he called his roommate to watch.

"How is it?" Li Zhibin introduced it to his roommate while operating it skillfully, "This game is pretty good, isn't it? It's very interesting."

"Holy shit, you can cut fruit by just swiping the screen?" The roommate took a look and was immediately attracted, "Pineapple Phone is awesome, can it achieve this kind of effect?"

The roommates in the dormitory usually don’t pay much attention to mobile games. Even if someone buys a smartphone, most of them use it to make calls. Most of them are used to playing games on the computer.

"Here, you can play with it too." Li Zhibin generously handed over the phone.

After my roommate took it, he was immediately addicted to it. He fired several times in a row. After he quickly got started, he couldn't help himself.

So Li Zhibin struck while the iron was hot and said from the side: "I remember you also have a pineapple phone, right? Why don't you get one yourself?"

"Okay." The roommate agreed, "Can I download it directly?"

"Uh... this is a game in the US. You have to register an account there first." Li Zhibin said quickly, "Then you have to go online and buy a gift card to redeem it. You can buy it for US$2.99."

roommate:"???"

"It's so troublesome for me to wipe it? And why do I need money?"

"People who make games rely on this to make money." Li Zhibin said matter-of-factly, "Otherwise, where will the money come from to make new games?"

"Then forget it." When the roommate heard that he had to spend money to buy it and had to go through such a long circle of operations, he immediately shook his head, "It's just such a small game. When I want to play, I can't just borrow your phone to play.

That’s it? Anyway, Brother Bin, you bought it all, so if I buy another one, wouldn’t it be a loss-making business?”

Li Zhibin: "..."

Listening to his roommate's words, Li Zhibin suddenly realized this problem that Xu Xing had been aware of for a long time.

At first he thought it wasn't too difficult, but after he recommended it to people around him, he realized how difficult it was.

2.99 US dollars does not sound expensive, but when converted into local currency, it is more than 20 yuan.

These days, it is estimated that not many people are willing to spend more than 20 yuan to buy a AAA masterpiece, let alone a lightweight mobile game like Fruit Assassin.

Thinking of this, Li Zhibin finally realized firsthand what a wise choice Xu Xing made to release the game to the US market.

If it were directly released to the domestic mobile game market in the form of a buyout system, I'm afraid it would be a sudden death...

After thoroughly understanding Xu Xing's thinking, Li Zhibin couldn't help but feel a little resentful.

He felt a little hot now when he thought about yesterday when he brazenly said that he would help him promote the school.

No wonder Xu Xing said that if he could attract one player, he would give him half of the selling price. This is simply not possible in China.

Unless he personally helps people register and pays for it from his own pocket, basically no one will be willing to go through such a big circle to download a small game.

And since he paid for it himself, wouldn’t that make it a loss-making business?

Li Zhibin was a little depressed. He suddenly felt the huge gap between himself and Xu Xing, and suddenly felt that being admitted to Beijing University was not something worth showing off.

…

At this time, Xu Xingcai had just gotten up from the bed. After washing up, he went to the cafeteria to have breakfast with his roommates. While drinking porridge, he took out his mobile phone and finally opened the App Store and took a look at the sales of Fruit Assassin.

Number of downloads: 5

Well...it's really miserable.

Xu Xing clicked to pay, and after confirming the download, he successfully changed the number to 6, then put the phone back into his pocket and ignored it.

Anyway, you haven’t been recommended yet, so don’t worry about anything. This kind of natural growth without exposure means nothing. You’ll see the real story after you get recommended.

So Xu Xing continued the military training step by step.

After the military training ended in the morning, the four people in the dormitory were walking to the cafeteria when they were suddenly stopped by Yan Chijue who came up from behind.

"Xu Xing."

Yan Chijue walked up to Xu Xing, glanced at the roommate next to him, then looked at him again, blinked and said without hesitation: "We agreed yesterday to lend me my mobile phone to play with. Let's have dinner together at noon."

"Okay." Xu Xing nodded and glanced in the direction of the playground gate. He didn't see Xu Niannian coming today, so he could use it as a wallet, "Let's go then."

What Xu Xing didn't know was that Xu Niannian didn't go to bed until three or four o'clock last night because he stayed up late playing Fruit Assassin. At this time, he was still lying on Yu Youjia's bed in the dormitory, fast asleep.

"Why can she ask Xu Xing to borrow it if she also has a Pineapple phone, but not me?" Looking at the retreating figures of the couple, Lu Pengyou was immediately aggrieved that he had arrived.

Zhang Nong was silent for a moment, and then said thoughtfully: "Brother Lu, is there a possibility that borrowing the mobile phone is just an excuse, and the real purpose is just to have lunch with Xu Xing?"

Lu Pengyou turned his head and looked at Zhang Nong faintly: "...Anong, why don't you say a few words less in the future."