Chapter 872: Overthinking, Everyone
The debate between open-world and linear games had sparked considerable controversy online.
Even some pure gaming enthusiasts joined the discussion, though their conversations mainly revolved around personal preferences and feelings, inevitably devolving into people talking past each other, unable to convince anyone.
As for game designers, some indeed used various data and research to argue about the future direction of game development, while many more adjusted their own development directions based on this discussion, deciding which approach to take according to the characteristics of the games they were developing.
It had to be said that *Uncharted* and *The Last of Us* had truly revived linear games.
Saying "revived" wasn't quite accurate either; rather, these two games had redefined what a truly qualified linear game should be, giving the concept a new lease on life.
In this discussion, Chen Mo's example was inevitably brought up repeatedly.
Having won Game of the Year last year with the perfect-scoring masterpiece *The Last of Us*, and this year creating another major new IP with the first VR blockbuster *Assassin's Creed*, Chen Mo had become a benchmark figure. His approach was seen by many as representing the most advanced design philosophy in the current gaming industry.
Just like Apple phones in Chen Mo's previous life—even if many people complained about the design when a new product launched, and even though countless phone manufacturers worldwide each had their own strengths, when Apple released a new product, everyone still clearly understood one thing: the best phone was still Apple.
Just as Apple's reputation was built generation after generation with flagship phones, Chen Mo's reputation was built game after game with classic titles.
He was no longer the unknown rookie designer who faced skepticism every time he entered a new field. Now, no matter what type of game Chen Mo made, most people's first reaction was: "Is Chen Mo going to redefine this game genre again?"
And many who supported open-world games were precisely using Chen Mo's actions as an example.
While other game designers were imitating Chen Mo by creating games like *The Traveler* and *The Lost Fleet*, what was Chen Mo doing?
He was making *Assassin's Creed: Origins*.
What type of game was *Assassin's Creed: Origins*?
Open-world.
See? Chen Mo wasn't making linear games anymore; he was making open-world games. Clearly, open-world was the future direction!
Don't laugh—while this argument seemed pretty dumb, it was really convincing.
Many people were wondering: Did Chen Mo feel that after *The Last of Us*, he had fully explored the potential of linear games, and thus chose the more promising open-world genre?
On Weibo Q&A, many people were sharing their opinions on this issue, discussing it heatedly.
Then someone had a bright idea: they could pay to ask Chen Mo directly!
Last time, Chen Mo answered a question on Weibo Q&A about his new game being *PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds*. Just those four words were viewed hundreds of thousands of times, and the wealthy person who paid 9999 to ask Chen Mo actually ended up making over a hundred thousand in profit.
This time, another wealthy person decided to follow suit, paying 9999 to ask Chen Mo: "What do you think about open-world versus linear games? Which game type has better prospects? Was the success of *The Last of Us* a success for linear games? Why did you switch to open-world with *Assassin's Creed* this year?"
They asked many questions, clearly full of curiosity.
Many players were eagerly waiting, hoping to hear Chen Mo's own answer.
After all, in a sense, his answer was the correct answer for the current direction of the gaming industry.
However, some players felt Chen Mo wouldn't answer. Even if he saw the future direction of the gaming industry, how could he possibly make it public, letting competing game companies know?
If linear games were really that good, and all game companies rushed to make them, wouldn't that be very disadvantageous for Chen Mo himself?
But what these people didn't expect was that Chen Mo actually answered.
And his answer... in a sense, was both hilarious and exasperating.
"Overthinking, everyone. I just got tired of making linear games and wanted to try something different."
Players who spent 1 yuan to read this answer all spat out a mouthful of old blood.
"Just wanted to try something different???"
"Damn! I thought I was going to hear some earth-shattering inside scoop! And you trick me out of one yuan for this?"
"Someone, drag Serent out—you're supposed to answer questions, not show off!"
"Showing off like the wind, always by my side?"
"So you're saying, while everyone else is agonizing over linear games versus open-world, you don't agonize at all? You just make whichever you want, and you do both well?"
"Hahaha, other designers are probably going to be pissed to death by you!"
...
...
Although Chen Mo's answer was once again wildly viewed by netizens and received a ton of likes, it had to be said... this answer was the same as not answering at all.
The debate continued. Every designer made their own judgment about the future direction of game development.
As for Chen Mo himself... he had basically decided on his new game development plan. At the same time, he also kept an eye on the game design competition.
So far, the game design competition was progressing steadily. For this competition, graduates from various universities had shown extraordinary enthusiasm.
Because any outstanding performer could directly obtain a chance to join Thunder Entertainment. Whether joining as an employee or as an independent game designer, it was equivalent to latching onto a thigh that couldn't be thicker, with a bright future ahead.
All those other jobs—whether stable or seemingly more lucrative—paled in comparison to the opportunity at Thunder Entertainment.
After all, rumors were flying that Thunder Entertainment's year-end bonuses were calculated based on triple-digit monthly salaries.
There were also rumors that the total quarterly bonuses for all employees on certain hot projects at Thunder Entertainment even reached nine figures.
It was simply ridiculously generous!
Moreover, many among these people truly came out of a love for the gaming industry.
These fresh graduates were full of ambition, hoping to make their mark in the gaming industry, hoping to let players play the games they made, hoping their games would be like *The Last of Us*—breaking into the international market, conquering major game review media, and making their names household words...
Even if they couldn't be the lead creators, just being a participant and appearing in the credits of a perfect-scoring masterpiece was a great honor.
After layers of screening, those truly capable and dedicated contestants had basically stood out.
And now, they were all excited.
Because Chen Mo was about to give them a challenge.