Chapter 302: Heart-to-Heart Talk
Jin Jieguang let out an "Oh," pretending to focus on his game while saying, "I'd love to hear more, boss. This hero feels like it has a lot of depth—you must have put a ton of effort into it, right?"
Chen Mo chuckled, waving his hand with a hint of embarrassment. "Well, it definitely cost me some brain cells, but hey, that's what we designers do. We squeeze out creativity like crazy, all to make players have more fun."
Jin Jieguang nodded admiringly. "Exactly, exactly. Boss, you're absolutely right. You're practically a role model among game designers."
Chen Mo clearly enjoyed the praise, basking in it while reminding Jin Jieguang, "With this hero, you can use the Q skill to last-hit minions in the early game. It basically replaces basic attacks."
Jin Jieguang quickly nodded. "Got it. Oh, by the way, boss, you said this hero was designed specifically for newbies, but I feel like he's pretty hard to play?"
Chen Mo explained, "You don't get it, do you? This hero can still use skills even after dying. Who dies easily? Newbies. If you're a veteran, you might go a long time without dying once, so you're essentially missing out on a skill, right?"
Jin Jieguang nodded, half-understanding. "Yeah, that's true."
Chen Mo continued, "Plus, this hero's ultimate is a full-map damage skill that hits all enemy heroes. Even if you're terrible, when you see an enemy hero low on health, you pop the ult and snag a kill, right?"
Jin Jieguang glanced at the description of the Death Singer's ultimate and felt it made sense.
"So, this hero is a newbie hero. No problem there," Chen Mo said.
Jin Jieguang nodded eagerly, feeling he had successfully gained Chen Mo's trust and sparked his desire to show off. If he probed a bit more, he could definitely extract more intel.
On the surface, Jin Jieguang was playing the game, but in his mind, he was constantly thinking about how to steer the conversation toward the design philosophy of *League of Legends*.
After a moment, Jin Jieguang decided to stick with flattery as his main approach. "Boss, you're really thoughtful. Worried newbies wouldn't know how to play, so you designed such a simple hero just for them."
Chen Mo gave a mysterious smile. "Actually, this hero has a deeper meaning."
Jin Jieguang's heart leaped with excitement, but he kept his face neutral, feigning mild interest. "Oh? Really?"
Chen Mo hesitated, as if holding something back. "Well, it's tied to my big strategy and overall plan going forward. It's... not easy to talk about."
Jin Jieguang's heart sank. *Don't do this to me. You've already gotten this far—don't leave me hanging!*
Before Jin Jieguang could figure out how to respond, Chen Mo started speaking again.
As if wrestling with intense inner conflict, Chen Mo stammered, "Actually, telling you probably wouldn't hurt. You're an old regular at the experience store, after all. But you absolutely can't tell anyone else, or you'll screw me over."
Jin Jieguang quickly pledged, "Don't worry, boss. I'm your biggest fan. I won't blab!"
Chen Mo hesitated, then finally said, "Alright, I trust you. You know that Imperial Dynasty Entertainment and the Divine Fantasy Game Platform have been targeting us, right?"
Jin Jieguang nodded. "Yeah, I've heard a bit."
Chen Mo lowered his voice. "They want to create a blockbuster PC game that dominates the platform. I'm thinking the same thing. So, *League of Legends* aims to rule the PC gaming market. But how?"
"You've played COG, so you can probably tell that *League of Legends* has been simplified, right? Actually, simplifying games is the trend, because most players are casuals with slow reflexes, right? Hardcore players have already been pretty much divided up. So now, the key is winning over the casuals."
Jin Jieguang nodded vigorously. He genuinely believed this—Chen Mo's words sounded like gospel to him.
Imperial Dynasty Entertainment's *Project: S* and Zen Entertainment's *Three Realms* both followed this logic: lower requirements, simplify controls, and attract more players.
So, in this regard, their thinking was surprisingly aligned.
Jin Jieguang asked, "So, boss, is that why you made so many simplifications in *League of Legends*?"
Chen Mo paused, then continued in a mysterious tone. "Actually, *League of Legends* is just in its early stage right now. I've saved the most crucial tricks as a backup plan to screw over Imperial Dynasty and Divine Fantasy."
Jin Jieguang listened intently.
Chen Mo went on, "I'm going to simplify *League of Legends* even further! I'll remove last-hitting and the equipment system, make the whole team share levels and kills, hide game data, and completely eliminate negative feedback. I'll turn it into a paradise for newbie players!"
This was a lot of information, and Jin Jieguang's hand twitched, causing him to accidentally run under a tower and get killed by the AI.
Remove last-hitting and equipment?
Share levels and kills?
Hide data?
These all sounded like massive overhauls!
Jin Jieguang asked doubtfully, "Will that... actually work?"
"Why wouldn't it?" Chen Mo was clearly on a roll. "Look, *League of Legends* is the basic version now. We removed deny mechanics, and newbies' experience is way better, right? We also clarified build paths, simplified item operations, designed dedicated newbie heroes, and even added auto-gold items. Isn't the newbie experience in this version fantastic?"
"Yeah... it is," Jin Jieguang nodded.
Chen Mo explained, "But this version is just to trick Imperial Dynasty. I can't release a perfect game from the start, or they'll copy me. First, I put out an incomplete version. When they're halfway through copying it, I'll drop the complete version! Then, tsk tsk, the scene will be beautiful beyond words."
Jin Jieguang couldn't help but shiver, thinking, *Chen Mo is so cunning!*
Chen Mo didn't notice his expression and continued enthusiastically, "Eliminate negative feedback so everyone has fun. For example, if a newbie gets out-leveled, out-last-hit, or out-geared, no problem—I remove levels and last-hitting, ditch the equipment system. If a newbie dies too many times and their stats look bad, no worries—as long as they get an assist on a kill, it counts as a kill. That way, their stats look good! Protect newbies' privacy and let them fully enjoy the game. Then, the player base will explode in growth. It'll be impossible not to be a hit!"
Jin Jieguang gave a thumbs-up. "Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! Boss, hearing you talk is better than reading ten years' worth of books. No wonder you've made so many awesome games."
Chen Mo waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing, nothing. Just some small tips and tricks, not worth mentioning."
Jin Jieguang probed, "So, do you think those S-class designers at Imperial Dynasty Entertainment could figure this out?"
Chen Mo's expression turned serious. "I don't think they'll get it. If they do, that would be really bad for me."
Jin Jieguang quickly nodded. "Right, they definitely won't figure it out!"
Genius remembers this site's address in one second: