Chapter 1307 Choosing a Name

Naming this game was proving difficult.

Its theme wasn't particularly clear.

Yan Qi's game was intended to evoke the desolate atmosphere of a chaotic era, a sense of "bones exposed in the wilderness, not a rooster crowing for a thousand *li*," a feeling that "it's better to be a dog in times of peace than a person in times of chaos," a world where demons roamed and human lives were as cheap as grass.

Relatively speaking, it wasn’t suitable to name the game after the protagonist's identity or actions.

Because in the game, players could choose four different identities for the protagonist, each leading to a different ending.

Naming it after the protagonist's identity would be difficult, as it would be hard to encompass the four different identities. After all, the philosophies of Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and the military had vast differences, making it difficult to find common ground. And even if a common point was found, it might not be appropriate or fitting.

Similarly, naming it after the protagonist's actions wasn’t ideal.

The protagonist's attitude depended on the player's attitude. Players might be proactive, striving for a perfect ending and saving the world from its suffering, or they might be more easygoing, taking things as they come, simply acting as a wandering hero without trying to change the world.

So, it was hard to definitively define the protagonist's actions.

It was best to name it after the overall cultural tone, highlighting the chaotic nature of the era and emphasizing how players could follow their own *dao* and choose their own path within it.

Moreover, the name needed to have some depth of Chinese culture and not be too straightforward, or it would cheapen the game's *bige* (class, style).

The game's name also had to be easy to remember and pronounce, and not too obscure.

Yan Qi racked his brains, searching through his meager knowledge of classical Chinese, but ultimately came up empty.

He couldn’t think of anything!

The names that did come to mind were either too straightforward and lacked *bige*, or they weren't fitting and were off-topic.

Yan Qi knew that his level of classical Chinese was limited, and there was no point in racking his brains any further. He could only seek help from outside.

But where could he find help?

It wasn't like writing a novel, where he could just crib from book reviews.

Should he ask in the player groups?

Ask the players who were busy with the mobile game *Empire of Blades* to do something that required so much brainpower and technical skill? Yan Qi was highly doubtful.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.

What about going to Rabbit Tail Streaming?

Rabbit Tail Streaming had a large group of young scholars and graduate students in classical Chinese!

Although they didn't stream every day, there were a few hardcore users who were often online. Wouldn't it be perfect to ask them for help?

This was a technical task after all, and required the expertise of professionals.

With that in mind, Yan Qi immediately opened Rabbit Tail Streaming and chose the livestream of one of the big names.

At that moment, the streamer was chatting with the audience, discussing everything from poetry and songs to historical texts.

These scholars didn't usually have a lot of viewers in their streams, as streaming itself was a low-information-density activity. Combining it with academics didn't make for a very effective livestream.

However, collections of their lectures had very high view counts and were continuing to grow.

These scholars could earn money from their lecture videos, from creating content for Useful App, and also from the occasional gifts during their livestreams.

More importantly, chatting with viewers and sharing knowledge was an interesting activity in itself. That's why several of the "hardcore" streamers streamed often and became well-known faces.

The scholar in this livestream had the online name Murong Tieshuan. From his username, it was clear that he was humorous and liked to joke around. He had lectured on classical Chinese and some history, and was one of the hardcore streamers on Rabbit Tail Streaming, and quite popular.

Yan Qi thought about it, sent a few small gifts first, and then sent a barrage of comments saying that he hoped the streamer could talk to him, as he needed his help.

Since there weren't many people in the livestream and Yan Qi had sent some gifts, he quickly caught Murong Tieshuan's attention, and a phone number was sent in a private message.

Soon, the two were on the phone.

Yan Qi described the background of the game in detail, emphasizing a few key requirements.

First, it had to highlight the desolate feeling of a chaotic era.

Second, it should preferably have a classical allusion, with a certain level of *bige* and cultural depth.

Finally, it had to be easy to say and remember, and not too obscure. The name shouldn't be too long either.

In other words, it had to use a classical allusion, but not be overly pedantic, expressing a certain cultural connotation without being too obscure.

Murong Tieshuan was also lost in thought, as this was quite a tall order.

But after all, he was a professional and had organized and summarized relevant topics while creating content for Useful App, so he quickly came up with some ideas.

"I have two names in mind right now, you can choose one yourself."

"The first name is, *Da Dao Ji Yin*."

"This allusion comes from the *Book of Rites*, and describes two different states of society. One is 'When the Grand *Dao* prevails, all under heaven is for the common good,' and the other is 'Now that the Grand *Dao* is hidden, all under heaven is for the family.'"

"*Da Dao Ji Yin* means that the current state is not an ideal society, but a society where people are selfish and self-serving, full of contradictions and strife, the terrible reality where 'those in power leave, and the masses consider it a disaster.'"

"In this state, people fight for power and wealth, ministers kill their rulers, sons kill their fathers, brothers kill each other, and uncles harm their nephews. Like what is recorded in the *Spring and Autumn Annals*, thirty-six rulers were murdered, fifty-two states were destroyed, and countless feudal lords fled, unable to protect their state."

"Of course, the interpretation of this passage is quite complex. As the thought of the ancients, its view of society is not entirely correct, but it can express what you want to convey."

"The second name is, *Shu Li*."

"This allusion comes from *Book of Songs*, in the *Wang Feng - Shu Li*, a poem expressing feelings about the rise and fall of a nation."

"'Those who know me say my heart is troubled, those who do not know me ask what I seek' comes from *Shu Li*."

"The background of this poem is that a traveler passed through the ruins of Haojing, the capital of the Western Zhou dynasty. Seeing the remains of the ancestral temples and palaces, without the prosperity and glory of the city, only a field of millet growing luxuriantly, he 'lamented the downfall of the Zhou dynasty, and lingered, unable to leave', composing a poem to express his feelings about the rise and fall of the nation."

"This poem has been widely circulated and has had a great impact. Later generations of scholars, when writing poems about historical events, often used it, such as Cao Zhi's *Love Poem*, Xiang Xiu's *Rhapsody on Old Themes*, Liu Yuxi's *Lane of Black Robes*, Jiang Kui's *Yangzhou Slow - Capital of Huai Left*, and so on."

"Later, this feeling of lamenting the rise and fall of a nation was called 'the sorrow of *Shu Li*.'"

"What do you think of these two names? You are the original creator, so you have to decide which name is more appropriate."

Yan Qi was overjoyed.

As expected of a pro, he came up with ideas so quickly, and there were even two names to choose from!

After considering for a moment, he said, "I think *Shu Li* is better."

"On the one hand, *Da Dao Ji Yin* talks about Confucian ideas, which are relatively biased, while the game has four systems: Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and the military, so there can't be an obvious inclination."

"On the other hand, *Da Dao Ji Yin* is four characters, while *Shu Li* is two characters, which is more concise."

"And I suddenly thought that the whole story is fictional, but the historical background can be brought forward a bit, making it feel like it's set in a more distant ancient time, which would better fit the background of the name *Shu Li*."

"Thank you so much!"

Murong Tieshuan smiled, "It's nothing, just a small favor. You've decided to make a game with a Chinese background, which is a good thing, and I'm really looking forward to it!"

"If you have any questions in the future, you can ask me anytime, I'm happy to help!"

After thanking him profusely, Yan Qi left the livestream.

Yan Qi had always thought that Rabbit Tail Streaming was an unconventional streaming platform, but at this crucial moment he realized that it was really useful!

And the Useful App that came with Rabbit Tail Streaming, when you really wanted to do something serious, you could really find the answers you wanted in specific professional fields.

The only pity was that the content on Useful App was still being filled in too slowly, which was a bit impatient. After all, it involved knowledge from all walks of life, and needed professionals to record it little by little, which was a physical task.

With the name settled, Yan Qi spent some more time completing the design concept for *Shu Li*.

He even came up with the promotional image for the game.

An ordinary person with no special skills enters a chaotic world and sees demons rampant and people suffering. He naturally has a compassionate feeling.

The protagonist's back is in the palace ruins overgrown with lush millet, holding a sword and moving forward, while in the distance is a hazy red sky with demons wreaking havoc and smoke rising from the battle.

Many details that hadn't been confirmed before were also straightened out along the way.

However, Yan Qi soon realized a more serious problem, the scope of this game seemed a bit too large.

It was completely beyond the capabilities of his small studio!

Of course, if he had to go for extreme operations, it couldn't be said that it was completely impossible.

With the official editor and the significant improvements in technical skill, if everyone in the studio worked overtime like crazy, and if he sold everything he owned and poured all the previous income from *Empire of Blades* into it, or even mortgaged his house...

Maybe it could be developed, but the time frame was hard to determine.

It could be a year, or maybe two or three years or even longer.

This was even with the official editor, which greatly shortened the game development time.

However, doing it this way would be a bit too reckless.

Or rather, too stupid, leaving no room for retreat.

Yan Qi felt that he couldn't be stubborn and reckless, and had to think of other ways.

For example… attracting investment and hiring people?

Right now, he didn't have enough money or people, and if he forced the development, what if the quality of the game didn't meet the standards? Wouldn't that be wasting a good idea?

If this idea was only made into a half-finished product, it would be very painful for Yan Qi.

Hiring people was relatively easy to solve, since it all came down to money in the end.