Chapter 439: Chen Mo Takes the Stage
Chen Mo actually came too?
This was something he had never expected.
After all, for other designers, this exchange meeting was a chance to learn something. But for Chen Mo, he was already too skilled at competitive games—what use was there in attending this kind of event?
Still, since he was here, he obviously couldn't just be let off easily.
The organizer hadn't initially invited Chen Mo to participate, mainly considering the relationship between Chen Mo and Imperial Dynasty Interactive Entertainment. But now that Chen Mo was already at the venue, they had to get him up on stage to speak.
The organizer slipped away from the crowd and approached Chen Mo: "Hello, are you Mr. Chen Mo? You should have a lot to say on this topic. Could we trouble you to come up and speak?"
Many other designers also began to notice Chen Mo in the back row.
"Huh? Isn't that Chen Mo?"
"The designer of *League of Legends* and *Overwatch*?"
"Wow, how did he stay so low-key? He's been sitting in the back the whole time? I didn't even notice."
"Why isn't he going up to speak? On this topic, isn't he the one with the most authority?"
"Chen Mo, go up and say something!"
"Yeah, let the big shot Chen Mo give us a talk!"
More and more people started to notice, and the calls grew louder.
Chen Mo had originally just come to listen to the lectures, with no intention of speaking. But seeing the overwhelming enthusiasm, he could only stand up with a hint of resignation and walk to the stage amid the applause.
The designers below were buzzing with discussion.
"Nice, we really need to listen carefully when Chen Mo speaks. Especially since President Lin said that our company still doesn't have a good competitive game yet. If we can make one, we'll definitely get major channel resources and skyrocket to success just like *League of Legends*."
"Yeah, President Lin has been eyeing *League of Legends* for a long time, but no one has been able to make one. Hopefully, Chen Mo will let slip a little bit this time, so we can all make competitive games too!"
"Sigh, *Ancient Cataclysm*..."
"Alright, stop talking. Listen up."
Chen Mo swept his gaze across the designers below. He didn't know most of them, but he could roughly guess their identities.
The vast majority were designers from Imperial Dynasty Interactive Entertainment, Zen Interactive Entertainment, and other game companies. Since this exchange meeting was organized by designers from Imperial Dynasty, it was no surprise that most attendees were from there.
Of course, there were also a few independent game designers, but they were mostly sitting in the back row, and many of them knew Chen Mo.
Chen Mo touched the wristband on his left hand with his right hand and thought for two minutes.
By now, the topic of the exchange meeting had basically shifted from *League of Legends* to *Overwatch*.
Regarding *League of Legends*, it had already achieved absolute dominance in the MOBA field.
Trying to shake *League of Legends*' position with other MOBA games? Basically impossible, because as it stood, *League of Legends* had already far surpassed everyone else in terms of character design, gameplay, and related tournaments.
Competitive games are different from single-player games; they have a certain uniqueness. That is, once players start playing *League of Legends*, unless the game dies out, they basically won't touch other MOBA games. In a segmented market, there can only be one winner.
MOBA game players won't buy every new game that comes out like single-player game players do.
So, everyone turned their attention to the VR field, to *Overwatch*.
Although *Overwatch* currently had no ranked matches or related tournaments, most designers guessed that this game would definitely follow the path of *League of Legends*.
The reason was simple: *Overwatch* was completely free with zero barriers to entry, the battles were absolutely fair with no progression system, and it had rich tactical depth. All these features were extremely similar to *League of Legends*.
Many designers naturally assumed that Chen Mo created *Overwatch* to replicate the success of *League of Legends* in the VR field.
Of course, whether that was actually the case depended on what Chen Mo himself had to say.
Chen Mo cleared his throat and began to speak: "A few designers have already spoken before me. I believe that competitive games will become the mainstream game type in the future. Obviously, the success of *League of Legends* has already proven this."
"Why is that? Actually, many people before me didn't hit the nail on the head. The fundamental reason is that competitive games are games of people versus people, so they have strong replayability and satisfy multiple player needs: getting stronger, showing off, cooperation, socializing, studying, and so on. Moreover, their depth is greater than that of most other games."
"I've always believed that as a designer, you can be ignorant of games, but you cannot be ignorant of human nature. You can know nothing about game design principles, but you must understand what players want."
"Obviously, in this regard, competitive games are absolutely superior to any other game type currently on the market, and they also have extremely high derivative value, which is esports tournaments."
"The global viewership for the *League of Legends* Season 1 World Championship exceeded 8 million. Although the *League of Legends* tournaments haven't turned a profit yet, just this number alone reflects its immense value."
"After the New Year, Thunderbolt Interactive Entertainment will also establish a special department to handle esports-related matters."
"So I think this exchange meeting today is great. Obviously, everyone has a good sense of smell and recognizes the bright prospects of competitive games."
Chen Mo's words came to a temporary halt, and the audience below erupted in warm applause.
"Indeed, when a big shot speaks, it's different. It feels much more convincing than what those before him said!"
"Yeah, and as the designer of *League of Legends*, he really has the authority to say that!"
"That line is really well said: 'You can be ignorant of games, but you cannot be ignorant of human nature.' Look at those earlier designers analyzing from all sorts of angles, saying competitive games won't work here or there. Chen Mo just shut them down with one sentence: human nature is like this—players just love to play!"
"Listen carefully. I feel like Chen Mo is going to drop a lot of real knowledge this time! Let's listen more, and maybe we can write a good design draft and earn President Lin's appreciation!"
"Yeah, as long as we get President Lin's approval, resources and channels will be no problem. Maybe we can even skyrocket to success like *League of Legends*!"