136: Chapter 136 Internal Insider Network? Code Name: Zombie!

Jiang Yuan returned to her office and sat down, picked up the cup of soy milk that had already gone cold on the desk, took a sip, and then turned on her computer to start working.

About half an hour later.

Just as she rubbed her eyes, feeling a bit tired, she noticed that her work email had just received two new messages.

She clicked them open and saw that they were documents sent by Zhou Ming and Lin Zhengtao respectively; one was the project schedule for [Resident Evil] from Spark Studio, and the other was the manpower allocation plan for [dave the diver] from Star Studio.

They arrived so quickly.

It made Jiang Yuan suspect that these two guys might have already been secretly planning it in their heads while the meeting was still ongoing.

She first clicked on the schedule for [Resident Evil].

Inside, Zhou Ming had listed the time nodes for the technical plan in excruciating detail: three weeks for lighting system optimization, two weeks for the sound system, and two weeks for dynamic resource loading.

With the three tasks proceeding in parallel, the technical selection and core framework construction would be completed within a month and a half, after which they would enter the content production phase.

After reading it, Jiang Yuan nodded slightly and replied with a single word:

"Approved!"

Then, she clicked on the manpower allocation for [dave the diver].

Lin Zhengtao had divided the existing thirty-five people at Star Studio into three groups.

The programming group was responsible for the core gameplay loop and UI framework, the Art Group was split into two directions—underwater scenes and fish design—and the planning group handled numerical balancing and the refinement of the management system.

As for Su Meng, she was, of course, assigned the most important task related to the Art Group in this document.

As the only person other than Jiang Yuan who had to juggle work for both studios, serving as the lead artist for both Resident Evil and dave the diver, she was a nuclear-powered "workhorse."

Although no matter how much she asked, Su Meng always responded with a bright and gentle smile, "It's okay, I'm not tired!"

However, Jiang Yuan felt a bit guilty; she couldn't help but feel that they needed to recruit some senior experts into the company as soon as possible to help alleviate the pressure on Su Meng.

After carefully reviewing every aspect of the document, Jiang Yuan added a line at the end:

"Let the programming group release a version of the fish AI behavior tree this week! Half the fun of the fishing part lies in the fish's reactions; you absolutely cannot make them into wooden fish!"

After finishing her notes, Jiang Yuan leaned back in her chair, her clear eyes gazing out the window. She appeared to be lost in some wondrous thought, but in reality, she was taking the opportunity to slack off.

She didn't know how long she had let her mind go blank.

Finally coming back to her senses, Jiang Yuan picked up the remaining soy milk and finished it along with the fried dough stick that still retained a bit of warmth, eating with relish. Then, she put down the cup and opened the design document for [Resident Evil].

The cursor blinked on the blank page.

She placed her hands on the keyboard, thought for a moment, and began to type:

1: Core experience keywords: Oppression, scarcity of resources, unknown terror!

2: Perspective scheme: Over-the-shoulder third-person! The camera distance and angle need to be repeatedly adjusted; the goal is to make the player always feel like there is something behind them?

3: Combat system design principles: Extremely limited ammunition, avoidance is priority, every bullet is a decision.

4: Level design direction: Mansion, space reuse, gradual unlocking, establishing a sense of safety in the initial area, and shattering it completely after the first encounter.

Looking at this content, Jiang Yuan nodded with satisfaction, then furrowed her brows and added one more point:

5: Sound positioning: The sound in this game is not just an embellishment, but a core gameplay element! Footsteps, creaking door hinges, whispers in the distance, breathing nearby—the sound design team needs to be involved from beginning to end!

After typing this out, she reviewed it one more time. Satisfied that nothing needed to be changed, she sent the document to Zhou Ming.

And just as Spark Games began a brand-new journey because of a decision made by Jiang Yuan,

in the outside world,

countless players were playing Minecraft with increasing joy and enthusiasm, but they couldn't help but find time to worry about what Spark Games' next move should be.

Some believed that by now, Spark Games was already well-equipped and strong.

It should launch an assault on that never-before-touched territory in the history of domestic games—the "AAA game" that many players scoffed at, but even more players dreamed of!

There were also many who believed that although Spark Games had already achieved financial freedom,

this financial freedom still seemed somewhat fragile compared to the hundreds of millions in investment and the long, multi-year production time required for AAA blockbusters.

Therefore, compared to top-tier giants like Tencent and NetEase, which were more obligated to produce domestic AAA games but had never made any moves,

Spark Games, which did not have strong risk-resistance capabilities, should instead continue to honestly make small and beautiful indie games.

This point wasn't necessarily wrong, but it was certainly hard to convince players who held the other viewpoint.

So, this viewpoint—whose origin was unknown—spread as the arguments intensified, gradually moving to all other game-related forums, Tieba, Wei-bo, and even video platforms, sparking a hot topic that, following the release day of [Minecraft], once again swept through the entire internet gaming circle.

In the gaming section of a well-known forum,

hundreds of veteran players expressed their own opinions regarding this hot topic:

"Enough is enough. Giants like Tencent and NetEase, with net incomes of tens of billions, haven't made a AAA game, yet you expect a small studio that's just getting started to do it? To be honest, if you want Spark Games to die, just say it; there's no need to beat around the bush!"

"For sure. Anyone clamoring for Spark Games to make a AAA title is either stupid or malicious. I'm a person who likes to tell the truth!"

"You can't say that. Maybe all our arguing here is useless, and Spark Games has already started working on a AAA title?"

"Hahaha, you don't think making a AAA game is like playing house, where you can just do it whenever you want, right?"

"Idiot, why don't you say you're actually from Spark Games? If Spark Games dares to make a AAA title now, I'll live-stream myself eating a keyboard!"

"Marking this."

"I'm the guy who cleans the toilets at Spark Games. Let me tell you straight: Spark Games has already decided to invest 800 million to produce a grand masterpiece where you can fly spaceships and roam the starry universe!"

"Let's disperse. Instead of bickering here, why not play more games? By the way, did you guys mine any diamonds today? How did you know I mined two diamonds today?"

"What's a AAA game? Is it edible? I feel like Minecraft is enough to keep me playing for many years!"

"I heard Plants vs. Zombies is coming out with a DLC soon? Any insiders who can tell me what the specific content is?"

Although this thread was lively that day and reached several hundred replies, because no one could convince anyone else, it turned into a purely argumentative thread and gradually sank.

But not two days later, a piece of news from a well-known Spark Games insider made this thread resurface:

"Reliable news: The Xinghuo Team within Spark Games, led by Yuan Shen, has started production on the first domestic AAA game. Codename: Zombie!"