You were supposed to have a fake marriage with the diva, so how did you become her father?

Chapter 258 "Three Kingdoms Kill"

The grand "League of Legends" drama of Sakura Games ultimately ended in a somewhat awkward manner.

More than a dozen small and medium-sized game companies that received investment from Sakura Games failed to secure the expected collaborations with major game companies.

Tencent, NetEase, and Perfect World all refused to join the alliance, rendering the so-called "Dragon Kingdom Game Industry Alliance" virtually an empty shell.

Some in the industry have even started to joke:

"Is Sakura Game just a waste of money?"

"One hundred and eighty million US dollars, just to make a sound?"

"You can't say that. They acquired more than ten companies, after all. Even though they were all small fry, small fry are still meat."

"Meat? Is that little bit of meat even enough to fill a tooth gap?"

Lu Ran scrolled through the comments and took a sip of tea in a pleasant mood.

Zhou Mingzhe leaned over and said, "You seem quite relaxed."

"Otherwise what?" Lu Ran put down his teacup. "Worrying about Sakura Games? They have plenty of money; they can afford to lose money."

"That's true," Zhou Mingzhe pushed up his glasses, "but aren't you worried they might have other plans? If they didn't succeed this time, they might try again in a different way next time."

Lu Ran nodded: "Yes, I am worried. That's why we need to prepare in advance."

He stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and picked up a marker.

This action has even become his signature move; whenever he has a new idea, Lu Ran picks up his marker.

"Brother Zhou, have you noticed? This wave of foreign giants entering the market, although it wasn't smooth sailing at first, will definitely continue. EA is still hesitant, and although Sakura Games ran into a snag, they have plenty of money, so they can just change their strategy and keep throwing money at it. That 'China Market Strategy Department' isn't just for show; it'll make a move sooner or later."

Lu Ran didn't believe the other party would just let it go like that. Moreover, although it seemed like a joke now that so many small and medium-sized game companies were linked together, if they could really be integrated, they would not be underestimated.

Zhou Mingzhe agreed with Lu Ran's assessment, nodding and asking, "So what do you plan to do?"

"Seven Heroes of the Jianghu has only been online for a short time now, and the operational pressure is immense. The technical department is constantly monitoring the servers, balancing, and bug fixes, and they're almost short-handed. Launching a new large-scale game at this time would easily please neither side." Lu Ran paused, "But doing nothing isn't an option either."

He wrote a few words on the whiteboard: board games.

"Is there still a market for card and board games?" Zhou Mingzhe asked doubtfully.

Unlike games like "Seven Heroes of Jianghu," the market for card and board games is already extremely saturated.

"Look, on Tencent's side, traditional board games like Mahjong, Dou Dizhu, Chinese Chess, and Gomoku are deeply rooted, with a large user base and high user engagement. Although we have games like 'Skill Gomoku,' they are just for entertainment and it's difficult for us to compete with Tencent's mainstream board games." Lu Ran briefly explained the current market situation.

Zhou Mingzhe seemed thoughtful: "So you mean, let's bypass chess and cards and do something else?"

"Yes and no," Lu Ran laughed. "Let's bypass traditional card games and do something different."

After saying that, he picked up a marker and wrote three large characters on the whiteboard:

【Three Kingdoms Kill】

Zhou Mingzhe was taken aback: "Three Kingdoms Kill? What does that mean?"

"It's a card game," Lu Ran said. "It has low operating costs, simple gameplay, but high replayability and strong balance. Most importantly, it has a wide audience, especially among boys who like history and 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms.' There should be a lot of people playing this."

In the early stages, "Three Kingdoms Kill" did not generate much revenue, but fortunately, its operating costs were also low. Lu Ran's idea was to use this game as a way to retain customers.

The gaming community is predominantly male.

Zhou Mingzhe thought for a moment, then his eyes slowly lit up: "Card battles? Like playing cards, but with characters from the Three Kingdoms?"

"It's similar, but the gameplay is a bit different, and relatively more complex." Lu Ran drew a simple diagram on the whiteboard. He was going to explain the gameplay to Zhou Mingzhe first. "There are identity cards—Lord, Loyal Minister, Rebel, Traitor. There are general cards—Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Quan, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun... Each general has their own skills. There are hand cards—Kill, Dodge, Peach, Strategy Card, Equipment. Players achieve their victory conditions by playing cards, activating skills, and determining identities."

Zhou Mingzhe listened attentively, but his brow furrowed slightly: "It sounds... a bit complicated?"

"It does take a little time to get the hang of it, but once you start playing, you won't be able to stop," Lu Ran laughed. "This game is different from regular poker; it requires more strategy and skill. It can be played by two, three, or even more people."

Zhou Mingzhe thought for a moment, then slowly nodded: "That's interesting. Shall we start the project now?"

"No rush." ​​Lu Ran waved his hand. "I'll first gather all the information about this game and register the copyright. Learning from the experience with 'Happy Farm,' I need to secure the rights first this time. I'll also register the copyright for 'Hero Kill' while I'm at it."

He paused, then added, "The core gameplay of this game is very clear. If another company copies it, we can easily win the lawsuit. Unlike those games with universal gameplay, which are impossible to win in court."

Zhou Mingzhe nodded, then suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, you just said... there's also Hero Kill?"

"Yes, that can be used as a backup," Lu Ran said. "The Three Kingdoms Kill game focuses on the Three Kingdoms theme, so its target audience is clear. The Hero Kill game can use other historical figures, and we can use them directly if we want to expand the theme in the future."

"You mean... you've prepared two trump cards?"

"It's all about being prepared," Lu Ran laughed. "What if 'Three Kingdoms Kill' becomes popular and someone wants to copy it by making versions set in other dynasties? Now we can just pull out another game, 'Hero Kill,' and block their path of plagiarism."

Zhou Mingzhe gave a thumbs up from the side: "Brilliant, absolutely brilliant."

"Keep it down, keep it down." Lu Ran waved his hand modestly, "It's just basic stuff, don't be silly."

That evening, Lu Ran locked himself in his study.

The system panel unfolds before your eyes:

Current popularity rating: 78,234,567

Seventy-eight million.

During this period, "Super Girl" continued to be a hit, "Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit" gained positive word-of-mouth, and "Seven Heroes of the Jianghu" operated steadily, with its popularity rising faster than expected.

Lu Ran typed in the search box:

[Complete Set of Data for Three Kingdoms Kill (including Basic Edition, Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain Expansion Pack, and Mythical Rebirth Series)]

—The search requires 1,000,000 popularity points. Confirm?

One million.

For Lu Ran, who now possesses over 70 million, this is nothing.

confirm.

The next second, a massive amount of information flooded into my mind—

Game rules, general skills, card design, balance data, expansion pack content, and even update logs from each version and... classic complaints from the player community?

Lu Ran closed his eyes, letting this information flow through his consciousness.

Five minutes passed before he opened his eyes and let out a long breath.

"This game... was really popular back then."

He recalled those years in his previous life, in his university dormitory, a group of people sitting together, their shouts of killing deafening.

"kill!"

"flash!"

"Creating something from nothing!"

"Stealing while one's can!"

"A volley of arrows!"

"Zhuge Repeating Crossbow! Watch me unleash a barrage of kills!"

"May God-like Dog suffer a terrible death."

"A traitor can brag about winning a single game for a year."

"The lord blindly snipes at a loyal subject, a classic opening move."

"The rebels switch to loyalty, the loyalists switch to treason, and after a whole game, I still don't understand who I am."

"Pick Lu Meng, camp from start to finish, and unleash your power in the last round to take down the whole team."

……