Chen Mo hadnât spent money on improving his stats since the release of Warcraft as Wulin Legend and Onmyoji werenât particularly challenging.
If he was making a large MMORPG however, not only would he have to spend money to level up his attributes, heâd need to hire more help too.
Chen Moâs current set up was as minimalistic as it could go, a main designer, an assistant, a writer, and one working the numbers. This was more than enough to work on a simple mobile game like Onmyoji, but a large RPG would be too demanding.
It was a bit of a struggle to work on a game like Warcraft. Luckily most of the content in Warcraft was done in the gameâs world editor, they were able to get by despite being such a small team.
Therefore, Chen Mo decided that if he was to make a larger game, he would need to expand his team. This time, he would need to expand it to around twenty people.
And when taking into consideration the professionals for art, animations and cinematics, music and sound effects, HR, game operations... the number would be even larger.
Chen Mo was on his computer trying to figure out how many would be the optimal number.
Everybody knew how well Thunderbolt Entertainment treats their staff after hearing about how Chen Mo gave them eighteen months of bonus after Onmyojiâs release. There were already many asking how they could join the company. Chen Mo would surely get many applicants if he said it he was hiring it online.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
At this moment, Chen Mo received a call from an unknown number.
âHello?â
âHi is this Mr Chen Mo? Iâm the cultural leader at the Game Committee, Qiao Hua.
Chen Mo was shocked to hear from the Game Committee, a leader of one of the departments at that.
The Game Committee needed no introduction, but this Qiao Hua, a head of a department called him personally?â
Chen Mo replied, âGreat to meet you Mr Qiao.â
Qiao Hua sounded elegant and polite, and even quite friendly for a head of a department. âIâd like to congratulate you again for receiving first prize with Wulin Legend. Iâd also like to congratulate you with your success with Onmyoji, and thank you for your contribution to the development of the videogame industry.â
âThank you so much.â
Qiao Hua got straight to the point, âAnyways, Mr Chen Mo. Regarding your contribution to Chinese themed games, we at the Game Committee have discussed and weâd like to invite you to join us as an honorary member, and youâve been promoted to an A-grade videogame designer.â
âUhhh...â
Qiao Hua laughed, âPerhaps you donât know what being an honorary member means. The Game Committee will take in a few outstanding designers as an honorary member. They donât have to do anything, itâs a title more than anything.
âWe invited you because of all the high quality games youâve made. You donât have designation jobs, but we might give you some assignments, like giving talks to students about being a videogame designer.â
Chen Mo quickly interjected, âAbout that, Iâm usually quite busy, Iâm worried I donât have the time.â
Qiao Hua replied ,âDonât worry, weâll communicate that ahead of time. Iâm just letting you know, and asking if you want to join.â
Chen Mo replied after a moment, âCan I think about this?â
Qiao Hua laughed, âOf course, this is completely voluntary. You can ask the opinions of others before deciding if you want to join.â
Chen Mo was dumbfounded after hanging up.
He thought that Wulin Legendâs saga was already behind him. The trophy had been given, and the promotional spots were honoured.
But the Game Committee invited him to become an honorary member? What was this about?
In theory, this is nothing but a good thing, but Chen Mo wasnât sure if it would affect his work,
Chen Mo decided to call Lin Mao.
Lin Mao was shocked too, âHuh? Honorary Committee Member? I donât know either! Iâm just a normal C-grade videogame designer, I donât know anything about that!â
Chen Mo felt helpless, thinking long and hard of who to call next.
Of course there were Honorary Game Committee members in large companies like Emperor Dynasty Entertainment and Zen Entertainment, but Chen Mo wasnât too friendly with them.
All of a sudden, someone popped into his mind, Qiu Hengyang!
Heâs the founder of afterall, heâd probably know a thing or two about this.
Chen Mo called Qiu Hengyang.
Qiu Hengyang was shocked to receive a call from Chen Mo, âChen Mo? Youâve been quite famous recently, what made you think of me?â
âI have something to ask you. What do you do as a Honorary Game Committee Member? Do I need to ojin?â
Qiu Hengyang was shocked, âHonorary Committee Member? Isnât that released at the end of the year?â
Chen Mo replied, âIâm not sure either. I received a call from a Mr Qiao today and confirmed that I can join, but I havenâtâ confirmed.â
Qiu Hengyang was stunned, âOf course you do! Why are you even hesitating!â
Chen Mo was speechless, âI donât even know what you do as an Honorary Committee Member, how could I agree to that willy nilly.â
âDo you know how many people are willing to give up an arm and a leg to become an Honorary Committee Member, and here you are contemplating if you should join?â said Qiu Hengyang.
âReally?â
âYeah! Iâm actually a Honorary Committee Member too, of course Iâm sure. Letâs put it this way, being a Honorary Committee Member is the same as recognition from the department. It benefits every part of releasing a game in the future, like their board reviews or promotions. And when you read A or S-grade, youâd get a lot of extra resources when developing VR games too. Basically you donât lose from agreeing to it.â explained Qiu Hengyang.
Chen Mo nodded, âAlright, no problem.â
Qiu Heng Yan reminded him again, âDonât reject that opportunity, itâll be hard for you to get this opportunity again.â
âAlright, donât worry.â
âThatâs it I guess. Weâll both be Honorary Game Committee Members in the future, letâs look after one another.â said Qiu Hengyang.
Chen Mo decided as it was such a good opportunity, he should accept to become an honorary member.
Itâs quite likely that larger games he makes in the future had some violence in it, and he would more than likely have to deal with the Game Committeeâs review process. If he could get on their good side now, why not.
âAnyways, Iâm an A-grade videogame designer now?â
Chen Mo looked at the game editor to check his information.