Chapter 341 Doubt

Pei Qian glanced at the others, their expressions varying.

Old Song and Cai Jiadong hadn't interacted much with Boss Pei, so they wore expressions of subtle pride.

They were in charge of the VR glasses and the *Animal Island* game, respectively, and now that the finished products were out, they felt very proud and eager to show off to Boss Pei.

Even Boss Pei would be very satisfied when he saw these finished products, right?

As for Lin Wan, Ye Zhizhou, and others, they remained relatively calm because they had collaborated with Boss Pei many times.

They knew very well that no matter how excellent a product or game was, Boss Pei would always find something wrong with it; it could never be perfect.

Boss Pei would inevitably judge from a higher perspective, seeing flaws that others couldn't!

Even if this product or game truly reached perfection, it wouldn't be anything particularly surprising for Boss Pei, because it would all be within his expectations.

Seeing everyone's expressions, Pei Qian fell silent.

He was a little flustered at the moment, but he couldn't show it at all.

His persona and image must not crumble!

Especially with Meng Chang looking at him like that, he couldn't reveal any weakness in front of him!

Pei Qian nodded slightly. "Well, it's not bad."

"However, I have two small suggestions for changes. Whether you want to make them or not is up to you."

Lin Wan's eyes lit up instantly.

As expected, Boss Pei had seen the problems and was here to give guidance!

She immediately nodded. "Please tell us, Boss Pei."

Pei Qian considered for a moment before saying, "The first suggestion is about the logo on the forehead of these VR glasses."

"My idea is to draw a horizontal line through the middle of the logo on this forehead plate, running through the entire logo."

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

Especially Old Song and Cai Jiadong, who were completely bewildered.

What did this mean?

Telling the manufacturer to modify the pattern slightly wasn't difficult, since the VR glasses hadn't entered mass production yet.

Even if they had, it wouldn't be a big problem; the hexagonal part was detachable. Old Song had considered the possibility of future new models or collaborations with other IPs, so he had designed this area with detachable modules that could be used to print other logos.

But the problem was… what was the point?

Pei Qian didn't explain much, because he couldn't reveal his original intention.

Besides, he knew that even if he didn't explain, these people would naturally find a suitable explanation.

In fact, his intention was very simple: feng shui.

After seeing the forehead plate of these VR glasses, especially the very flat hexagon, Pei Qian was reminded of the ninja headbands in a certain anime.

And in that anime, a horizontal line drawn on the headband meant that the ninja had a major problem and had defected from their original village.

Therefore, Pei Qian hoped that all the VR glasses would have such a line drawn on them, implying that the product was destined to have major problems, to fail, and to betray Chixing Studio.

It was just that there was no similar anime in this world, so no one got the reference.

Old Song took a piece of paper, drew a rough sketch on it, and studied it for a long time.

Suddenly, he seemed to realize something. "Huh, it seems better with a line drawn on it!"

"I see, this line changes the structure and layout of the forehead plate's pattern to some extent. The Chixing Studio logo is displayed in the center of the hexagon, and the two sides of the logo seem empty, as if there isn't a very good sense of interaction with the hexagonal forehead plate."

"But with this line drawn, the entire hexagon and the Chixing Studio logo are connected as one, making it look more pleasing to the eye!"

Lin Wan pondered for a moment and said, "Well, I think this can achieve a unique effect."

"Other companies all print their own logos on their products; this behavior is too common. In fact, apart from certain companies with a built-in cool factor, no matter how good the logo design is, it won't look much better when printed on."

"Drawing a horizontal line like this completely sets us apart from other companies, highlighting a unique personality!"

"Moreover, this line also represents a breaking and subversion of tradition. VR glasses are already a product that transcends the times, and the VR glasses we've developed have made many subversive designs, which perfectly matches the spiritual core!"

Ye Zhizhou and Wang Xiaobin also exclaimed, "Wonderful!"

"Before the line was drawn, it was just an ordinary company logo, nothing special."

"But after the line is drawn, it can convey such a spiritual connotation, matching our studio and the VR glasses product, and leaving a deep impression on the players!"

"Is this the effect of adding the finishing touch? Can a true design master turn something rotten into something magical with just a horizontal line?"

Everyone marveled.

Even Meng Chang was a little conquered.

He hadn't thought there was anything special about adding a line, but after listening to everyone's analysis, it did make a lot of sense!

Adding this line not only improved the aesthetics but also added cultural connotations; it was simply the finishing touch!

Lin Wan hurriedly said, "Boss Pei, what are the other suggestions?"

Pei Qian cleared his throat and continued, afraid that these people would continue to overthink and come up with something incredible.

"The second suggestion is to reduce the amount of beginner's guidance in these small games."

This was even more straightforward and clear in its purpose.

*Animal Island VR* provided a completely new game interaction model, and the players' learning curve would definitely be high.

It wasn't like those PC games; if you made an FPS game, players would know to use the left mouse button to fire, the right mouse button to aim, and the R key to reload after entering the game. After all, these settings were the same in all FPS games.

But there wasn't currently a highly popular VR game with a large number of players that had established VR game operation standards, so after coming to *Animal Island VR*, players would have to learn from scratch how to draw a bow and arrow, how to cast a fishing rod, and so on.

Pei Qian didn't expect that there would be no beginner's guidance at all, scaring off all the players; that was impossible.

Because if something went wrong, the game might be judged by the system as a semi-finished product, and then what would happen if it didn't allow settlement?

But reducing the amount of beginner's guidance slightly was still possible.

If he could scare off a few players, he would scare off a few players. Scaring off one wasn't too few, and scaring off a hundred thousand wasn't too many.

Anyway, as long as it could scare off players, it was a good design.

This time, everyone was even more confused.

This behavior was even more counterintuitive, because all game designers learned a basic design concept when they first entered the industry: the more detailed and richer the beginner's guidance, the better.

Because you can never imagine what will happen when players experience a new game.

People's game IQs are different. Some people are naturally smart and can pick up a game and play it right away, while others are very confused in the beginner stage and can't even do very simple operations.

Moreover, sometimes players aren't stupid; it's just that their thought processes don't match the designer's, so they get stuck.

The game's player base is large enough, so there will inevitably be a few players with relatively quirky thought processes. Once there isn't enough beginner's guidance, causing them to get stuck, they might be lost.

Therefore, beginner's guidance is sometimes made particularly idiotic, looking like it's prepared for three-year-olds, and that's unavoidable.

Lin Wan frowned and pondered again.

Suddenly, she had a flash of inspiration. "I understand!"

Pei Qian hurriedly raised his hand, interrupting her. "It's good that you understand; you don't have to say it every time!"

Good heavens, now you're misinterpreting my words in person, instantaneously, without even waiting overnight? How can this be allowed?

It's your business how you interpret it; just don't say it in front of me and make me feel bad, okay?

Lin Wan immediately understood. "Okay, Boss Pei."

"Uh… there's another question."

"Why don't you give these glasses a name?"

Pei Qian was a little speechless.

Why is all the naming work being given to me now?

He couldn't even remember how many names he had already come up with.

But on second thought, so be it. Who asked him to be a naming genius? Besides, coming up with a name himself could bring good luck.

"Alright, then."

Pei Qian considered it for a moment. In his memory, most VR glasses were named with a single English word, and they all had a certain meaning, which was more cool.

Individual Chinese characters weren't bad either, but Pei Qian didn't want to overemphasize the glasses' domestic identity, lest it stimulate everyone's psychology of supporting domestic products. Coming up with an English name would be more in line with the trend.

Other people's names were similar to Quest, Index, and Rift.

"Then… let's call them Doubt."

Pei Qian's intention was that the success of these glasses was full of doubt; it was impossible to succeed.

And the word "doubt," using "question" or "problem" would have a neutral meaning, while using "doubt" might be more negative.

It meant completely uncertain and unreliable.

Lin Wan nodded slightly.

Although she couldn't fully understand the deeper meaning of this name yet, she would definitely figure it out later.

"In any case, thank you so much, Boss Pei!"

"It's like seeing the sun through the clouds."

Pei Qian waved his hand, indicating that it was just a small matter, not worth mentioning.

"Alright, I'll leave if there's nothing else."

After holding the fort, Pei Qian waved his hand and left with Meng Chang.

Pei Qian's last actions completely stunned Old Song and Cai Jiadong.

They had originally thought that the glasses and the game were already perfect, but they didn't expect Boss Pei to easily find the problems.

And they weren't insignificant little problems, but key issues that would greatly improve things after being changed!

This made them exclaim in admiration that he was indeed Boss Pei!

They had always heard everyone praising Boss Pei as if he were a god, and they were even a little skeptical, but now it seemed that the praise was not exaggerated at all!

Besides those two, Meng Chang was also stunned.

Meng Chang had originally been looking at Boss Pei with the mentality of wanting to make things worse, but now he didn't dare to act presumptuously at all.

There was no need to mention the first suggestion; everyone present had already provided an explanation.

Although there wasn't a clear explanation for the second suggestion, judging from Lin Wan's expression, it was obviously a huge improvement to the game.

After coming out, Meng Chang looked around to make sure no one was around and asked curiously, "Boss Pei, are you really so confident?"

"You think the reverse promotion plan will definitely succeed, so even if you offer suggestions and improve the product, it won't have any impact on the promotion plan?"

Pei Qian thought to himself, "Heh."

Which eye did you see me offering suggestions and improving the product?

The two suggestions I made were to try to reduce the difficulty of next month's promotion plan!

It was just that they had misinterpreted it a little…

But this kind of thing couldn't be explained, so he could only remain silent and refuse to answer.

Seeing Boss Pei's profound expression, Meng Chang became even more certain of his guess.

As expected, Boss Pei wanted to both use reverse promotion to prove himself to me and make the VR glasses and games become popular and profitable!

If the game's sales were poor in order to prove that reverse promotion was feasible, it would obviously be a loss for Boss Pei.

Only by achieving the purpose of reverse promotion and making the VR glasses and games a lot of money would be Boss Pei's ultimate goal!

But… was this really possible?

Not to mention insisting on it for a month, Meng Chang felt that it would be impossible to persist for even two weeks.

But looking at Boss Pei's composed appearance, he obviously didn't consider this a problem at all.

As expected, the feeling that Boss Pei was difficult to deal with before was completely an illusion.

He should just obediently watch Boss Pei's actions from the sidelines!

…

After Boss Pei left, Cai Jiadong asked, "Why did Boss Pei tell us to reduce the amount of beginner's guidance? This seems… a bit counterintuitive."

Ye Zhizhou and Wang Xiaobin looked at each other and then at Lin Wan. "We have some ideas, but they might not be comprehensive."

Lin Wan nodded. "Then I'll explain it."

"Considering that many players are playing VR games for the first time and don't know how to operate them, it's important to provide more beginner's guidance; this is what most designers would think."

"But how could Boss Pei be an ordinary designer?"

"He must have thought of a higher level!"

"What Boss Pei said definitely doesn't mean that we should give up beginner's guidance and scare off players."

"Boss Pei's meaning is that while completing the beginner's guidance, we should reduce the complicated steps and make the whole process more smooth, concise, and natural!"

"The best beginner's guidance isn't to tell players what to do with long paragraphs of text or voiceovers, but to allow players to immediately use common sense to judge how to use something the moment they see it!"

"For example, put a few raw apples far away from the campfire and then put a few cooked apples next to the campfire. There's no need to tell the players, 'Campfires can bake apples'; players will immediately understand this game mechanic when they see this scene."

"*Animal Island VR* is the same. If we teach players with interrupted voiceovers or text, it would be cumbersome on the one hand, and it would make players feel out of place on the other."

"If we guide players in a more natural way, it would be both concise and allow players to naturally learn these operations while experiencing the fun of the game. Most importantly, this teaching method would also better showcase the superiority of VR games!"

"Take archery as an example. In computer games, which key to press to draw the bow and arrow completely depends on the designer's ideas, and it's difficult for players to guess. Unless many archery games have fixed the use of the right mouse button to shoot arrows, players will form a memory."

"But in VR games, there's no need to teach at all; players will naturally explore using their left hand to draw the bow, their right hand to nock the arrow, and release the arrow."

"Therefore, we should abandon those tedious instructions and guide players in a more clever way."

"For example, find ways to let players see the feathers of the bow and arrow that they're carrying on their backs, extending to their right shoulder, implying that they can directly draw arrows from their right shoulder; let a small animal that hunts make hunting movements to guide players to make similar operations."

"Cleverly integrate guidance into the game content, allowing players to naturally explore and think about how to do things. Wouldn't that also bring a great sense of accomplishment to the players?"

Cai Jiadong suddenly understood. "I see!"

"With a different game mode, the way of providing beginner's guidance naturally has to change as well."

"Boss Pei's idea is the result of considering the special form of VR games and thinking about the problem from a higher level!"

Old Song couldn't help but nod as well.

Although he didn't understand game design, after listening to Lin Wan's explanation, he immediately felt that Boss Pei was too amazing.

"However…"

"I don't really like the name Doubt. It's not a particularly good word."

As the project manager of the VR glasses and the person who actually designed and developed the glasses, Old Song was a little dissatisfied with this name.

Lin Wan said, "There must be some special meaning in the name that Boss Pei came up with."

"The reason why everyone thinks this name is not good is mainly because the meaning has not been revealed and has not been given a special humanistic aura."

"Once Boss Pei's true meaning is revealed, this name will definitely be memorable!"