Almighty Game Designer

With all his requirements gathered, the person Chen Mo was looking for was like so:

Young and had potential.

Well rounded skills and was competent enough to assist.

Had basic knowledge on games.

Dependable and trustworthy.

Chen Mo looked through all the resumes according to his requirements.

In the end, the results were disappointing. There wasn’t a single one that matched his requirements.

Of course, Chen Mo already had this outcome in mind, as he was very rigorous in his screening process. It was only the first day, so he didn’t need to rush.

—

Three days later…

At 10 AM, the experience store was open for business as usual. Chen Mo was at the bar on his laptop writing the design document for the next update for Plants vs Zombies.

The process went smoothly, as the new implementations were simple and based on the existing framework; the requirements were also concrete.

The foundations were almost finished, all that was left was including the details in the design document and actually executing it.

Chen Mo had received many resumes over the past three days, and had even done five interviews. In the end none of them matched his requirements, and he wasn’t able to find an assistant or a receptionist.

The few who came had some shortcomings; some of them weren’t smart enough, others were too smart for their own good. None of them matched Chen Mo’s expectations.

As there was a difference between looking at the resume and interviewing, everything they did or said reflected on their nature.

Chen Mo wasn’t going to consider anyone that didn’t meet his expectations. He wasn’t going to compromise.

—

“Hello, I’m here for an interview?”

Chen Mo looked up and saw a woman at the door, around twenty-three years old. She had short hair and neat bangs, and was quite cute, with a genuine smile on her face, making her quite attractive.

“Oh, hi, come in.” Chen Mo got up and grabbed the copy of her resume that he had printed off earlier.

Chen Mo led her into the meeting room and poured her a cup of water.

Su Jinyu, twenty-three years old, fourth-year student at a renowned art school in the Imperial Capital, received copious numbers of awards in school that could barely fit on her resume.

Chen Mo could tell that she wasn’t strong-willed and assertive like Wen Lingwei, but more kind and courteous. The awards she had received on the resume were tough work that nobody else wanted to do.

It also meant that she wasn’t the type to do everything in her self-interest, but the hardworking type who would do anything.

His impression of her was good so far!

“I’ve looked through your resume and have a basic understanding of your achievements. I just want to get to know you more, so just treat it like we are chatting, and just relax.”

Su Jinyu nodded, “Mm!”

Chen Mo felt that perhaps he was the one who was worried. Su Jinyu didn’t show any sign of nervousness. She likely had been in many situations like this in school, or perhaps she was born that way.

“You said on your CV that you’re happy being the assistant or working at the front desk, why?”

Su Jinyu replied, “Ah, I think if I’m not fit to be the assistant, I was happy to work at the front desk. I would probably still learn something at the front desk.”

This was an honest, hardworking response. Chen Mo could tell that Su Jinyu didn’t hold herself too highly, probably because she had previously failed at being a videogame designer.

“Since you’re pursuing an art degree, why not go into the art industry? Why do you want to become a video game designer? I’ve seen your artwork, they’re all very high quality. You shouldn’t have a problem becoming an artist,” Chen Mo inquired.

Su Jinyu answered, “Umm… I think that I can utilize my art skills by being a videogame designer too, but I also think that a videogame designer has even more creative freedom.”

Chen Mo said, “You’ve tried making a game, but didn’t receive the video game designer certifications. Do you feel that you lack talent?”

Su Jinyu replied, “About that, maybe I do lack talent, but I won’t give up!”

Chen Mo nodded and asked the next question, “What do you think is the most important attribute a video game designer should have?”

Su Jinyu knotted her brow. Through her expression you could tell that she needed some time to think through the vague question.

“Umm, I think that a video game designer should stand by what they believe.”

Chen Mo was shocked. “What they believe?”

Su Jinyu explained, “Ah, I don’t mean religious beliefs. I meant that video game designers should follow their heart and connect emotionally with the players, bringing them happiness and inspiring them.”

Chen Mo gave it some thought and asked another question, “If you could make a game that didn’t have a good reputation, but made a lot of money, would do you make it?”

Su Jinyu was confused, “How would it make money if it’s reputation wasn’t good?”

Chen Mo said, “Hypothetically.”

Su Jinyu said after thinking for a few moments, “Umm… I don’t know. All I could say is that if I don’t think the game is good, no matter how much money it makes, I wouldn’t make it.”

Chen Mo continued to fire questions at her, “What if I made a game like that?”

Su Jinyu was shocked, “Huh? You’re the designer of Plants vs Zombies. If you could make something like that, why would you care about money at the cost of reputation?”

Chen Mo said, “To be honest, there’s a big chance that I’ll release a game that makes good money, but wouldn’t stand so well publically. If you can’t take that, it’ll mean we won’t be working together.”

Su Jinyu scowled, showing her internal struggle with this decision.

After some thought, Su Jinyu replied, “I don’t think I’ll be able to change your view. To be honest, I really like Plants vs Zombies. I think whoever invents a game like that must be a genius designer. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot by being your assistant.

“I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed. I’ve tried being a videogame designer before, but failed. So I thought that I should start as an assistant and learn from there.

“How about this: I’ll work the front desk, but give me some assistant-level jobs from time to time. If there’s a game I don’t like, I won’t participate.”

Su Jinyu had quite a sincere attitude, not giving up her views or trying to change Chen Mo’s.

If she was the assistant, Su Jinyu would have to follow Chen Mo’s every command. If there was a game she didn’t like, she’d have to do that, too. That was what was expected from a video game designer’s assistant.

Therefore, Su Jinyu wanted to work at the front desk and be a part-time assistant, which was quite a nice compromise.

Chen Mo gave the idea some thought.

Su Jinyu was the best candidate Chen Mo had so far. Her most prominent feature was her passion for video games. Furthermore, she was filled with infectious positive energy. It would be very nice to work alongside someone like her.

However, their ideology wasn’t entirely on the same wavelength, which worried Chen Mo.

It was evident that Su Jinyu was someone who wanted to make her money standing up, whereas Chen Mo didn’t agree.

The competition in the video game industry was fierce. In front of Chen Mo were titans like Emperor Dynasty Entertainment and Zen Entertainment, and countless other smaller companies, all with their eyes on him. In order to win in an environment like this, it wasn’t enough to just rely on recreating good games from his previous life.

Chen Mo wanted to make large games, which would require a lot of money. Therefore, his only goal now was to make money, and giving up parts of his reputation for it wasn’t a problem.

This would create many conflicts between him and Su Jinyu.

Chen Mo gave it some thought and said, “How about this. Before you graduate you can work at the front desk and be my assistant part-time. If there’s anything you aren’t happy with, you can leave whenever you want. If you’re willing to stay after you graduate, we can make it official via a contract. How’s that?”