74: Chapter 74: Choosing Between Two Options – Truly an Age-Old Dilemma!

Jiang Yuan pushed through the crowd and walked to the workstation, where a simple physical simulation scene on the computer screen caught her eye.

A structure built of blocks was collapsing naturally under the influence of gravity.

The collisions, friction, and fragmentation effects between the bricks all appeared extremely realistic, and the entire process seemed to run without any stuttering.

Lin Zhengtao, who was sitting in front of the computer, also noticed Jiang Yuan's arrival. His face, which usually lacked any extra expression, was now filled with excitement and shock as he said enthusiastically:

"President Jiang, look, this is running directly on the Aurora Engine 1.0's physics system without any additional optimization. For the same scene, using mainstream engines on the market would require at least three times the performance overhead to achieve this level of smoothness."

"This is simply terrifying. How on earth did you hand-craft such a top-tier engine? I feel like the word 'genius' is somewhat insufficient to describe you, President Jiang!"

To make such a person, who usually didn't say much, suddenly turn into a flatterer and spout such a series of words, was enough to show just how much of a shock Aurora 1.0 had caused to his psyche.

Jiang Yuan nodded. Her exquisite, pretty face appeared expressionless, but she was secretly marveling and feeling a sense of satisfaction in her heart.

The things given by the system were indeed incredibly impressive!

Even though she hadn't created this thing with her own hands, something created by her system could, in a sense, be considered her own, right?

Amidst her happiness, Jiang Yuan maintained a calm expression and instructed:

"Continue testing, go through all the modules, and record any problems you encounter. I will take time every week to handle them collectively."

"Understood!"

Lin Zhengtao responded with unconcealed excitement and turned back to continue tinkering with the engine.

Jiang Yuan stood behind the crowd with her hands in her pockets for a while and noticed that the faces of the programmers around her all wore the same expression.

It was the excitement of having "gotten something good," like receiving a Subor console for a birthday as a child, seemingly itching to study it inside out immediately.

Having lived two lives, Jiang Yuan understood this feeling quite well.

Seeing that there was nothing else to do.

Jiang Yuan was about to turn back to her office when she was suddenly stopped by Qin Gong, who appeared out of nowhere holding a stack of documents, and asked:

"President Jiang, I've made a summary of the preliminary research for the platform. Would you like to take a look?"

"Um, okay!"

After a light response, Jiang Yuan reached out to take the documents, flipping through them as she walked toward her office.

Qin Gong followed behind her, reporting at a steady pace:

"Our Publishing Department analyzed seven existing domestic game platforms, including Tencent's WeGame, NetEase's Fever Games, and several other small platforms. We feel the common problem with these platforms is low user retention; except for a few top-tier online games, the sales of single-player games are generally dismal."

"In a sense, these platforms can't even be called qualified platforms; they are more like launchers for hit games, such as Tencent's crossfire, Age of Magic, and other hits."

Jiang Yuan nodded slightly upon hearing this. She naturally knew all the reasons why domestic platforms in both worlds had never managed to take off, but she still asked softly:

"Then what do you think the reasons are?"

Qin Gong spoke with a serious expression upon hearing this:

"Our Publishing Department believes it can be boiled down to two main reasons. First, these platforms don't have enough attractive exclusive content. Second, the platform experience is too poor—slow download speeds, too few games, a lack of an official workshop, and the community functions are practically non-existent."

As they spoke, the two had already walked back into the office.

Jiang Yuan sat down at her desk, placed the documents on the table, and looked at Qin Gong with clear, black-and-white eyes, asking in a calm tone:

"Then does your Publishing Department think our Spark can solve these problems?"

Facing this question, Qin Gong's expression instantly became much more solemn. He carefully weighed his words and said slowly:

"We believe Spark Games does have exclusive content. If nothing else, 'Minecraft' and 'Resident Evil' alone, if made exclusive, would be enough to pull in the initial user base for a platform."

"However, this is a very risky decision that requires careful and repeated consideration. For now, we cannot guarantee that the sales of new titles won't be significantly affected after leaving Steam."

"As for the platform experience... if we build the platform's underlying structure using Aurora Engine technology from the start, and push basic functions like downloading, updating, and cloud saves to the limit, we should be able to form a huge advantage domestically, not to mention the international market."

Jiang Yuan nodded thoughtfully and said:

"What you said is generally correct, but regarding the platform, we'll wait until the basic version of 'Minecraft' is out before pushing it fully. Spark's main focus for now is still on the games themselves."

Qin Gong naturally had no objections. Having completed his task and ensured Jiang Yuan knew the Publishing Department was working, he took his leave to continue his own business.

The office fell quiet again.

Jiang Yuan opened her computer and clicked on the development panel for 'Minecraft.' Looking at the dense list of tasks already laid out, she took a deep breath, suddenly feeling an invisible pressure on her shoulders.

The goal for the first version was very clear.

That was to produce at least a playable, shaped Demo within two months, complete the development of core content by the third month, and ensure it enters the testing phase by the fourth month at the latest.

Put that way, the time was tight and the task was heavy.

But Jiang Yuan did not plan to compress the development cycle, nor did she plan to sacrifice quality.

In her previous life, she had seen too many good games ruined by rushed work, and too many messes that were never fixed because they were launched first with the intention of being patched later.

How to maintain a balance between the two would be the test for her as the Chief Producer.

Regardless, while she didn't plan to let the players of this world have all the fun right away, 'Minecraft' certainly deserved a sufficiently perfect start.

And besides all that.

The most urgent and heavy problem weighing on Jiang Yuan's mind right now.

Was actually whether the launch of Minecraft and Resident Evil should sacrifice a certain amount of sales to help the Spark Game Platform complete its initial accumulation, or if the platform grand plan should be delayed so as not to affect the sales of the two games?

These two questions.

To be honest, even with Jiang Yuan living a second life, she couldn't immediately make the most correct choice.

If she chose the former, building a successful platform from scratch was, in a sense, one of Jiang Yuan's ultimate missions since coming to this world and establishing Spark.

But if she chose the latter... although Jiang Yuan had enough confidence in the quality of these two games, no matter how confident she was, the moment she thought of the phrase "leaving Steam," even someone as confident as Jiang Yuan couldn't help but feel uneasy.

If platform exclusivity really caused sales to collapse, while Spark Games wouldn't necessarily fall from grace, it would likely become the biggest laughingstock of this world's gaming circle, mocked by countless companies and players...

Choosing between the two was truly an age-old dilemma!