This Is Not a Bug but a Game Feature-Chapter 147 - 119: Match-Fixing Rumors (Part 2)

Professional!

At first, everyone didn’t take BP too seriously, relying more on hardware advantage to crush the competition head-on, taking a wild approach.

But now it’s becoming more professional.

Plus, the engineers at AMD are fast at repairing and replacing hardware parts—within ten seconds, they can revive a near-dead machine to full "combat strength."

This is a good thing...

The successful precedent set by AMD will make other teams prioritize coaches and analysts, and emphasize the specialization of engineers.

The wild approach can win for a while, but not forever! To achieve results, you can’t have weak points; every detail must be executed well.

From this perspective, AMD now possesses the true qualities of a champion team and has the foundation and strength to compete for the championship. It’s just a matter of when NVIDIA and Intel will catch up. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"What’s a coach or analyst..."

After today’s match, the commentators Void and Wushi informed Chen Ba of something.

Betting has appeared around the competition.

The current scale isn’t very large, but it’s quite outrageous because betting can potentially affect the entire league’s ecosystem.

If not managed properly, some might succumb to temptation and start fixing matches!

"I’ll look into this later."

Chen Ba frowned, surprised that even a small GAL League would have such a dark side.

Match-fixing cannot be ignored.

Although the commentators didn’t say it explicitly, Chen Ba understood the subtext—they were sure someone was involved, but it wasn’t convenient to name names.

...

Traveling abroad, I didn’t expect to encounter match-fixing and betting in the GAL League.

This made Chen Ba very angry.

However, he didn’t explode immediately but quietly contacted the heads of major clubs, intending to conduct a round of secret investigations.

Before the results of the investigation are out, he’ll pretend not to have heard anything about it and proceed as usual with the matches to avoid alerting anyone prematurely.

But once the investigation yields results, these individuals will certainly be dealt with severely. Suspensions and fines would be the minimum; in severe cases, they might end up at a sewing machine.

A short trip of about half a month, and the studio has changed a lot.

Returning to the familiar studio, Chen Ba happily discovered that the office he requested had been renovated.

Good, good, good!

The new office’s design was entirely based on his instructions before leaving, with Tianba Studio’s various game characters painted on the walls.

The office area was partitioned...

In addition to the original workstations, a relaxation area was created, complete with large TV screens. Here, not only are there PS5 and Xbox consoles, but even a pool table.

"Isn’t it too cramped?"

Yang Dong felt the new relaxation area took up quite a lot of space, making the work area seem cramped and small.

"No worries, we have a small team."

Chen Ba waved it off, saying, "We only have a dozen people. The current space is more than enough."

Dong was concerned that the workspace might be too small, making it difficult to bring in new employees since the desks were limited and there wasn’t much room for newcomers.

But Chen Ba felt it was enough.

Since it’s enough, the issue isn’t about whether new arrivals will feel cramped, but rather how to make the workspace more comfortable.

"Zhou Jun wants to resign."

Yang Dong explained, "His mother isn’t in good health and needs someone around to take care of her. He just spoke to me about it and asked for your opinion."

"I have no issues..."

Hearing about someone resigning, Chen Ba was taken aback but soon nodded, "Taking care of his mother is more important. If he wants to leave, let him."

It’s common for employees to come and go in the workplace.

If an employee wants to resign, Chen Ba can’t exactly prevent them from leaving—there’s no sense in that.

Moreover, Zhou Jun leaving doesn’t impact Tianba Studio much; hiring someone else will be fine.

"There’s a high chance of working overtime this year."

"Ask around and see how many are willing to stay in Jiangning for the New Year. Salary and bonuses are assured," Chen Ba pondered.

Neon’s Gaming Expo just ended; either way, get the folder ready so we don’t end up with nothing to say when people inquire.

Based on this premise, the studio will undoubtedly be busy at year’s end, and going home for the New Year would be a luxury.

Chen Ba already called his father to ask him to come to Jiangning for the New Year; he wouldn’t be going back this year.

Lu and Zhong Shengwei’s families are local to Jiangning, and Yang Dong doesn’t like going home, so there wasn’t much of an issue.

Besides them, four other employees also expressed that they wouldn’t go back for the New Year, staying in Jiangning with Ba to develop new games.

Eight people, that’s enough!

Learning roughly how many would stay, Chen Ba started with the basic division of labor, introducing everyone to the general idea of the game "Love Advisor Department."

This is a 2.5D game.

It leans towards a 2D anime style, with character designs and art scenes commissioned from a team they had previously collaborated with.

"The game is divided into two parts: the male and female perspectives..."

Chen Ba looked at everyone and said, "Dong and Zhong Shengwei will handle the character design of the male lead, and I’ll handle the female lead with Lu."

"Huh?"

Before others could speak, Lu exclaimed, "I’m in charge of the female perspective, designing those handsome men?"

"Any problem?"

"I don’t understand at all! How should I know what type of male characters female players like?" Lu donned a face of pain.

He might manage designing popular female characters since, after all, men understand men the most. Their preferences should be similar.

But designing a romantic interest in a girl’s heart or handsome leading men popular in otome games is challenging—how would he understand what women think?

"Don’t worry, I’m here!"

"You?!"

Lu glanced curiously at Ba and muttered, "Ba, you don’t seem to have a girlfriend. You’re even less experienced than me, how could you understand what type females like?"

Chen Ba: "..."

What if I suddenly feel the urge to hit someone?

What do you mean by saying that just because I don’t have a girlfriend, I wouldn’t know what kind of guys girls like? Just because I haven’t eaten pork doesn’t mean I’ve never seen a pig run!

Besides, many makers of otome games are male! Not every one of them is married; being single isn’t out of the question either.

Ultimately...

Understanding player preferences isn’t closely related to whether the developer is male or female, or if they’re single or not.

"There are so many similar games on the market; summarizing others’ successful experiences shouldn’t be too difficult, right?"

Rolling his eyes, Chen Ba said, "What about being guys? Can’t guys know what type girls like?"

Seriously!

He’s played otome games before, and approaching these games from a straight male perspective, without filters, allows for a more objective view.

Character designs really aren’t that complicated.

It’s just like how most guys like gentle and cute types; women actually have common preferences too.

Don’t keep bringing up the domineering CEO trope.

Fun fact!

The aggressive CEO is just like the golden-haired tsundere girl, simply one of the more popular types among many otome game characters.

The gentle "puppy" boyfriend type, which is the opposite in personality, is also beloved by many women...

In addition,

The cheerful, sunny big brother next door, the aloof iceberg type with a warm heart are also popular types.

"These character types are quite general and might not give you a clear idea,"

Chen Ba explained, "To be more specific, it’s the genius scholar who seems strong but is actually very fragile because of childhood disappointments and bullying."

"Or the rakish heir who is uninhibited but becomes completely devoted to one person..."

Adding different background settings and their individual experiences completes these characters’ designs; they can’t simply be summed up with ’domineering CEO.’

"Ba, you know a lot!"

Zhong Shengwei admired, "You must have played quite a few otome games. Can you recommend a few good ones that might even make a straight guy bend?"

Chen Ba clenched his fists.

He was discussing serious matters, so why were they fixated on his interest in otome games?

What’s wrong with him enjoying otome games? Haven’t you all played them too?