Li Xue noticed the look Lin Shuang gave her, but didn’t say anything — she just nodded at her slightly.
That’s when Tang Yao also spoke up. “Miss Lin, sorry for making you co all the way out.”
“It’s fine. If my cousin introduces soone, I should at least et them.”
Lin Shuang turned back to Tang Yao and gave a polite smile, then asked, “So, what’s the project you’re talking about?”
She didn’t really get it.
But since she was already here.
Might as well hear her out.
On the other side...
Tang Yao understood that Lin Shuang had now switched roles — she was no longer speaking to her as Li Xue’s cousin.
So she skipped the small talk and answered straightforwardly, “A ga.”
“Hmm…”
Lin Shuang deducted a few points in her mind right away.
After all, Tang Yao didn’t look like soone who played gas at all.
And besides... who doesn’t know online gas are a money-making business nowadays?
But that money isn’t for just anyone to grab — the field is completely saturated.
“But not traditional gas — mobile gas,” Tang Yao continued. “I know online gas are a red ocean right now, but mobile gas are still just getting started... and mobile’s portability and ability to make use of fragnted ti give it a huge edge over traditional online gas. I think it’s a great direction.”
“Oh?”
That finally sparked a bit of interest from Lin Shuang, since she was bullish on mobile platforms. “So you're trying to emulate gas like Run Rush and Flappy Bird?”
The two titles she ntioned were successful buy-to-play mobile gas at the mont.
“No.”Tang Yao shook her head. “There’s definitely a market for buy-to-play gas… but I don’t think that’ll be the mainstream model on mobile.”
“Then you’re talking about…”
“Yeah, bringing online gas to mobile.”
“……”
Lin Shuang gave her another look, then nodded. “That’s true — as far as I know, the big companies are heading in that direction too...”
“……”
Tang Yao picked up on what Lin Shuang really ant — basically: Everything you’re saying, I already know. And the big companies are already doing it. So what makes you think you can beat them?
“But those big companies... they’re mostly focused on porting their existing PC gas to mobile, right?”
Tang Yao paused to organize her thoughts, then replied, “I think current mobile hardware still isn’t strong enough to handle overly complex gas. Lightweight gas are better suited to mobile. In other words… they need to be made for mobile from the start.”
“Oh?”
Lin Shuang frowned slightly but followed her lead. “Made for mobile? You an you’re not considering PC ports at all? Have you read last year’s ga industry report from China? PC gas are still seeing solid growth, and PC IPs are still very valuable. As for mobile... honestly, not much worth ntioning.”
“I personally don’t think PC ports are viable because of the hardware gap... Of course, I’m not saying we should abandon PC IPs entirely. I just think we shouldn’t force mobile gas to mimic PC gaplay.”
“……”
Lin Shuang frowned again. “So you’re suggesting a whole new gaplay system for mobile? But would PC gars go for that?”
“……”
Tang Yao paused — because she’d realized sothing.
Their perspectives… were fundantally different.
It was obvious Lin Shuang saw mobile as rely an extension of PC — just a side hustle piggybacking off successful PC gas.
But Tang Yao thought the opposite. She saw it as a completely separate track.
“We don’t necessarily have to appeal to PC gars — or rather... the very existence of PC gas makes it even more necessary to differentiate.”
After thinking for a mont, she said, “Because there’s a hardware gap. If the mobile version is exactly like the PC ga, PC gars won’t bother with it. And mobile gas that are just watered-down ports are at a natural disadvantage.”
Lin Shuang gave no comnt. Her face remained unreadable. “So this ‘made-for-mobile, lightweight ga’... what exactly is it?”
Tang Yao noticed her expression and felt her heart sink — but didn’t show it. She answered seriously, “I call it a 2D gacha ga. The gaplay is relatively simple, with visual style based on traditional animation and manga aesthetics. It focuses on character storytelling, and items are acquired via gacha draws.”
“2D?”
“……”
Tang Yao hesitated. It would take too long and be too vague to explain out loud.
So.
She handed over the proposal she’d brought. “Actually, I wrote up a full project proposal. If you have ti... could you please take a look?”
Lin Shuang looked at her, then at the proposal in her hand. After a brief pause, she reached out and took it.
Then...
She started flipping through it.
Throughout it all, Li Xue sat beside Tang Yao without saying a word.
She didn’t help out, didn’t chi in.
Not until Lin Shuang was fully engrossed in the proposal did she turn to glance at Tang Yao.
But Tang Yao didn’t notice.
She just kept her eyes on Lin Shuang, face calm, completely unaffected by the other woman’s subtle disapproval.
Li Xue smiled faintly.
Lin Shuang flipped pages quickly.
No idea if she was just that talented, or if she was used to reviewing proposals like this.
In less than twenty minutes...
She’d already reached the final page of the thick docunt.
Then...
She closed the proposal and handed it back to Tang Yao, giving her verdict: “Very creative.”
Tang Yao took the proposal without saying anything.
Sure enough…
The next second—
“But I do have a few questions.”
Lin Shuang tapped the table lightly with her finger, speaking calmly. “This ga only has PVE mode, right?”
“Yes, just PVE — to keep it lightweight.”
“Then I’d summarize this ga’s traits as ani-style visuals, low social interaction, low competition, light gaplay, and heavy focus on story and character design.”
Lin Shuang couldn’t hold back anymore. She lightly shook her head. “Honestly, it doesn’t sound like an online ga at all. How are you planning to make money long-term? To be blunt, online gas make their revenue by encouraging competition and comparison among players. Your ga — it’s more like a visual novel than a ga.
Can sothing like this really turn a profit?And how do you plan to get enough players?”
Tang Yao fell silent for a mont. Then she took a deep breath and replied, “As for getting enough players, I’ve done so prep. In short, it’s tied to a manga IP…”
She brought up Fate/Zero.
But after listening, Lin Shuang showed a polite but apologetic smile. “Sorry, I’m not familiar with manga, so I don’t know much about that... But even if everything goes smoothly like you said, how do you plan to make money later on? You ntioned gacha in the proposal?”
“Yes.”
“Are there any successful cases of that in the market?”
“...No.”
Tang Yao shook her head and replied softly.
And her heart sank to the bottom.
But she still didn’t show it — and didn’t bring up the manga-ga synergy again.
Because clearly, Miss Lin Shuang wasn’t soone who read manga.
So she changed approach and explained, “Currently… mobile storage and performance just can’t handle hyper-realistic 3D gas. Even if you forcibly port a simplified PC ga, the graphics are barely passable.
In that case, PC gars would never choose to play on mobile. But lightweight 2D gas that aren’t resource-intensive are different... As for revenue, I don’t think it has to rely on player competition or comparison. At the end of the day, gas are entertainnt products. Even visual novel gas, which you ntioned earlier, have buyers.
This ga could be deeply tied to the 2D fandom, using…”
“Mm.”
Lin Shuang nodded, then directly cut her off. “It’s definitely creative. But... your ga’s monetization model is vague, the investnt return is low, and there are no successful precedents in the market… so I’m sorry.”
“……”
Tang Yao’s body tensed, and her lashes trembled slightly.
But in the next second—
She smiled again. “I see... then thank you for your ti. Really appreciate it.”
“No problem. You’re Li Xue’s friend.”
Lin Shuang definitely noticed Tang Yao’s disappointnt.
And honestly, she was a bit surprised at how quickly the girl composed herself... But she didn’t comnt. Instead, she asked, “So you left your job to start this? You were an editor before?”
“Yes.”Tang Yao politely replied, “I’ve always received a lot of help from Miss Li.”
“You two known each other long?”
“Not really, actually.”
The two chatted briefly.
Then Lin Shuang turned to Li Xue. “How are things at the magazine lately?”
“Sa as always.”Li Xue finally spoke. “What about you?”
From there...
The three of them chatted idly.
The topic had nothing to do with gas anymore.
Naturally, the conversation didn’t last long.
Soon after...
Lin Shuang glanced at the ti, then said apologetically, “I should probably get going…”
She paused, hesitated for a mont, then looked at Tang Yao again. “I’ll keep an eye out for any angel investors who might be interested in your project. If I find soone, I’ll try to recomnd it to them.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Tang Yao smiled and gave a genuine thank-you.
“No problem.”
Seeing the smile on Tang Yao’s face, Lin Shuang was a little surprised.
So young...But still so polite, and emotionally steady.
Unfortunately...
Her ideas were just a little na??ve.
Still in that dream-chasing phase of life.
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