Chapter 168: Honorary Committee Member
After creating *Warcraft*, Chen Mo stopped spending money on upgrades, because the subsequent games *The Legend of the Heroes* and *Onmyoji* weren’t particularly difficult to make, so he didn’t need to enhance his abilities further.
If it were a large-scale MMORPG or a big single-player game, he would not only need to spend money to fully upgrade his skills but also hire more people.
Right now, Chen Mo’s setup was basically the smallest possible configuration: one lead creator, one assistant, one story writer, and one numbers designer. Making a relatively simple mobile game like *Onmyoji* was fine, but developing a large RPG would be way too strenuous.
In fact, even making *Warcraft* had been quite a struggle, but the good thing about *Warcraft* was that most of the content could be done directly with the map editor, so it wasn’t as hard as a large RPG. Chen Mo’s small team could barely manage it.
So, if Chen Mo wanted to develop a large game next, he’d need to expand his team. This time, the expansion might aim for around twenty people.
If he also considered having dedicated staff for art quality, animation CG, music and sound effects, personnel management, game operations, and so on, the number would need to be even larger.
Chen Mo was planning on his computer, thinking about how many people he should hire.
There was no need to mention Thunderbolt Interactive’s benefits. After hearing that *Onmyoji* had made a huge profit and Chen Mo had given each of his assistants an 18-month bonus, countless people were already asking how to join Thunderbolt Interactive. If Chen Mo posted a recruitment notice on Weibo, a flood of people would be crying and begging to get in.
Just then, Chen Mo’s phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number.
Chen Mo picked up: “Hello?”
The voice on the other end said, “Hello, is this Mr. Chen Mo? I’m Qiao Hua, the director in charge of game culture at the Game Committee.”
Chen Mo was startled. The Game Committee? A director?
The Game Committee was the relevant authority overseeing the entire gaming industry. This Qiao Hua was a director, a mid-level leader. Why was he calling Chen Mo personally?
Chen Mo said, “Hello, Director Qiao.”
Qiao Hua’s voice was refined and polite, without any arrogance: “Mr. Chen Mo, the *The Legend of the Heroes* you developed last time won first prize, and this time your mobile game *Onmyoji* has been a huge success. Congratulations, and thank you for your contributions to the development of the gaming industry.”
Chen Mo quickly replied, “I don’t deserve that.”
Without much small talk, Qiao Hua got straight to the point: “Here’s the thing, Mr. Chen Mo. In light of your contributions to Chinese-style games, after discussions within the Game Committee, we’ve basically decided to appoint you as an honorary committee member, and your rating has also been upgraded to A-level designer.”
Chen Mo: “Uh…”
Qiao Hua chuckled: “You might not know what an honorary committee member means. It’s like this: every year, the Game Committee regularly recruits some outstanding designers to become honorary committee members. You don’t have to take on any work; it’s just a title.”
“This invitation is mainly because we value the high-quality games you’ve created. You won’t need to handle specific tasks, but if the opportunity arises, we might arrange some activities for you, like giving lectures at schools to students majoring in game design.”
Chen Mo quickly said, “Well, I’m often very busy, so I might not have much time.”
Qiao Hua replied, “No problem. We’ll communicate with you in advance and arrange the time. I’m calling today just to give you a heads-up and ask for your thoughts.”
Chen Mo thought for a moment: “Can I think it over?”
Qiao Hua laughed: “Of course, it’s entirely voluntary. You can ask other designers and decide whether to join.”
After hanging up, Chen Mo was a bit stunned.
He had thought the *The Legend of the Heroes* matter was already settled—the trophy had been awarded, the recommendation spot had been given, and that should have been the end of it.
But now the Game Committee was inviting him to be an honorary committee member? What was that about?
Logically, it had to be a good thing, but Chen Mo wasn’t sure. Mainly, would it affect his normal work?
Chen Mo couldn’t decide, so he called Lin Mao to ask.
Lin Mao was also baffled: “Huh? Honorary committee member? You’re asking me, but I don’t know either! I’m just an ordinary C-level designer—how would I know about something like that?”
Chen Mo was helpless. After hanging up, he thought for a long time but couldn’t figure out who else to ask.
Big companies like Imperial Dynasty Interactive or Zen Interactive definitely had people serving as honorary committee members in the Game Committee, but Chen Mo didn’t have a good relationship with either of them.
After racking his brain, Chen Mo slapped his forehead. Right, Qiu Hengyang!
As the founder of Hengyou Network, Qiu Hengyang might know something.
Chen Mo dialed Qiu Hengyang’s number.
Qiu Hengyang was a bit surprised: “Chen Mo? You’ve been stealing the spotlight lately. What made you think to call me?”
Chen Mo said, “Here’s the thing, I want to ask you something. What exactly is the position of honorary committee member in the Game Committee? Is it worth joining?”
Qiu Hengyang paused: “Honorary committee member? Isn’t the list usually announced at the end of the year?”
Chen Mo replied, “I’m not sure either. Today, a Director Qiao from the Game Committee told me they’ve basically confirmed I can join, but I haven’t agreed yet.”
Qiu Hengyang was taken aback, then quickly said, “Agree! What’s there to hesitate about!”
Chen Mo was speechless: “I don’t even know what an honorary committee member does. How can I just agree right away?”
Qiu Hengyang said, “You have no idea how many people are breaking their necks trying to get this honorary committee member position and can’t, and you’re actually thinking it over?”
Chen Mo said, “Really?”
Qiu Hengyang laughed helplessly: “Really! Because I’m an honorary committee member too, so I know. Let me put it this way: being an honorary committee member is like official recognition from the authorities. It helps with game approval, promotion, and so on. Plus, when you reach A-level or S-level designer status, you’ll get a lot more resources for developing VR games. In short, just agree first—it’s definitely the right move.”
Chen Mo understood and nodded: “I see. Okay, no problem.”
Qiu Hengyang urged, “Don’t you dare turn down this honorary committee member position. I’m telling you, if you refuse, it’ll be hard to get it again later.”
Chen Mo: “Alright, don’t worry.”
Qiu Hengyang: “Then that’s it. From now on, we’re both honorary committee members of the Game Committee. Let’s look out for each other.”
After hanging up, Chen Mo made his decision. Since this was a good opportunity, he would accept the honorary membership.
After all, in the future, he would be making large games, many of which involved guns, cars, balls, and fighting. They might easily touch on violent elements, and when submitting for review, he’d inevitably have to deal with the Game Committee people. So, he might as well join from the start.
“Speaking of which, I’m already an A-level designer now?”
Chen Mo opened the editor and checked his designer profile.