Chapter 75: To Copy or Not to Copy?
Tang Dagang said, "Alright, let me elaborate. Obviously, *I Am MT* is an original animated series, but relying solely on the anime's popularity won't bring enough users to the mobile game. Plus, the anime's runtime is limited and can't fully showcase the entire setting of the Azeroth world."
"So, Chen Mo launching the 'Azeroth Universe' is a supplement to the anime, designed to generate enough buzz and highlights for the *I Am MT* mobile game, while also making it easier for everyone to understand some of the content in the anime."
"As for why I say Chen Mo is ambitious, the reason is simple: I think his provocation was premeditated! If he had made that bet on impulse, how could he have been so calm after winning? This shows he knew his goal from start to finish—he only wanted that recommendation slot. Qiu Bin was completely played by him!"
"Since Chen Mo is so ambitious, what he wants to do is obvious. The worldview of Azeroth is so vast and complete, even refining the rules down to a single Hearthstone. This shows Chen Mo has ideas about turning this worldview into a large-scale game."
"And this worldview couldn't gather so many players from the very beginning. He needs to slowly warm it up, gradually update it, and present the entire world step by step, until he feels the players' anticipation for this world reaches its peak. Then, he'll release the game."
Tang Dagang paused for a moment, then said, "So, I think we should copy it."
The other designers in the conference room looked at each other, some whispering.
Qin Xiao frowned and said, "Copy? How do you plan to copy it? Copy the worldview? The Azeroth worldview is a complete fantasy world. If we copy it, we'd have to change the names of the races, the names of the locations, the names of the characters... After all that, what's left? It's basically a different world. What's the point of copying it then?"
Tang Dagang was stunned. He thought for a moment and said, "But we at the Imperial Dynasty have so many writers and designers skilled in storytelling. Wouldn't it be easy to modify this worldview a bit?"
Qin Xiao was speechless. "Modify it to what extent? If we change too little, others will see through it immediately. What's the point of that? Isn't that just burying our heads in the sand? If we change too much, it's essentially rewriting. If we're going to put in that much effort, why bother copying someone else? Why not just write our own Western fantasy worldview?"
Tang Dagang froze, racking his brain for a way to counter that.
Qin Xiao continued, "Besides, does everyone here not know whether Western fantasy can succeed in China? Hmm? Last year, the adaptation of the major foreign IP *The Supreme Ring* into a game flopped horribly in China. It hasn't even cooled off yet, and you've all forgotten?"
Tang Dagang said, "Alright, but even if we set aside this worldview, the Azeroth Universe still has plenty of usable mechanics, like running back to your corpse to revive, using a Hearthstone to return to an inn, unlocking achievements, and so on..."
Qin Xiao rolled his eyes and tapped the table impatiently. "Can you think before asking questions like this?"
"First, all the mechanics you mentioned are tied to the Western fantasy worldview. Without that worldview, would these game mechanics still be as impressive?"
"Second, even if we add these mechanics, so what? Can just a few mechanics support an entire large-scale game?"
Tang Dagang was left speechless. After thinking for a moment, he said stubbornly, "But if this thing has no future, why would Chen Mo go through all this trouble..."
Qin Xiao said, "Chen Mo is Chen Mo, and we are we. Chen Mo has the complete setting of Azeroth, and the intellectual property belongs to him. What do we have? Hmm? For us, the Azeroth world is great, but we can't use it."
"Let me put it this way: if you could give me a worldview comparable to Azeroth right now, I'd immediately make a VR game for you. Do you have one?"
Tang Dagang defended himself, "We... we can adapt it based on the Azeroth Universe!"
Qin Xiao retorted, "Will an adaptation be the same as the original? Do you think our writers' adaptation could surpass *The Supreme Ring*?"
Tang Dagang: "..."
Seeing that Tang Dagang had fallen silent, Yan Zhenyuan stepped in to smooth things over. "Alright, everyone is just sharing their opinions. Sometimes words get a bit heated, but don't take it to heart."
Tang Dagang was speechless. How could he dare take it to heart? Qin Xiao was an S-rank designer, a tough guy who would even go head-to-head with his own boss, Lin Chaoxu. How could he have any objections?
Still, Tang Dagang was a bit unconvinced. He was still puzzled: why couldn't they copy it? Why could they copy *I Am MT* but not Azeroth? The only difference was that one was a card game and the other was a large-scale role-playing game!
Yan Zhenyuan looked at Qiu Jiang, who had been silent the whole time. "What do you think?"
Qiu Jiang glanced at him. "Are you playing dumb? You can only copy gameplay mechanics, not worldviews. Qin Xiao made it so clear, and some people still don't get it?"
"Chen Mo might indeed be planning a large-scale role-playing game, but the few mechanics he's released so far can't possibly support a large-scale game. In my opinion, he's being sneaky. He's keeping the good stuff for himself and only releasing things we either can't copy or that wouldn't matter even if we did."
Yan Zhenyuan was also helpless. He had originally wanted Qiu Jiang to mediate, but this guy was even more direct than Qin Xiao.
Yan Zhenyuan sighed. "Ah, well, I don't think it's that absolute. Tang Dagang, you're an A-rank designer yourself. If you're really interested, go ahead and make a PC client game. If it works out, then apply to Boss Lin for VR development."
Tang Dagang nodded happily. "Alright! I'll do my best!"
Yan Zhenyuan said, "Resource quotas and budgets won't be too generous either. Just treat it as a standard role-playing client game."
Tang Dagang nodded. "Alright, no problem!"
Yan Zhenyuan looked at the others. "Does anyone else have any other opinions?"
The other designers gradually shared their views, but no decisive progress was made.
In the end, they still couldn't reach a consensus. However, most of the designers, led by Qin Xiao, felt that while the Azeroth world was good, it wasn't usable.
Still, just in case, Yan Zhenyuan didn't completely rule out the possibility. He simply assigned Tang Dagang to take the lead and create a game imitating the Azeroth worldview, essentially as a way to test the waters.
If the situation looked promising, they would then consider developing a VR game.
As for this, Qin Xiao said disdainfully, "A waste of time."