Translated by Coldtaco
Edited by Aelryinth
“Where did this drama queen come from? Don’t talk smack if you haven’t played it. It’s so obvious that it’s two different games. Who’s your copying Plants vs Zombies*?*
“You should see an optometrist, even your perspective on the world is not normal. How is this plagiarism?”
“Hah, it’s plagiarism when the playstyle has a tiny bit in common? Then wouldn’t Plants vs Zombies be copying Emperor Dynasty Entertainment’s Fantasy Tower Defense*? They are both tower defense games, after all.”*
“What’s good about a rabid dog biting others? Did your owner make you a promise?”
“What level is Emperor Dynasty Entertainment on? What level are the developers of your Plants vs Zombies*? Emperor Dynasty Entertainment copying you? You’re just trying to leech of Emperor Dynasty’s popularity!”*
“Hehe, sure Plants vs Zombies is a good game, but you can’t be so illogical about this. Can nobody else make a game of a similar genre?”
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Soon, the arguments between the two of them got more and more intense. People were gathering others from their community to fight for their side, and it became a war between two sides.
The arguments got more and more intense as the two of them argued throughout the night. When dawn came along, Chen Mo was dragged into it.
Both sides were really into it. Many fans of Emperor Dynasty Entertainment who had lost their sense of logic were also insulting Chen Mo. His Weibo had plenty of comments now!
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“A few hundred people looking for trouble in a few hours. I refuse to believe there wasn’t someone behind them. So who’s that scheming dog?”
“Brother, just focus on designing games, stop trying to make everything you do viral.”
“Stop trying to create all this drama about you. You’ve only made one game, so you better pay your seniors more respect, understood?”
“Brother, you should probably say something soon. You still have time to distance yourself from the others. If you keep your mouth shut, you don’t have anyone to blame for being in the crossfire.”
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Chen Mo scowled. –What does this mean? Why can you call my players idiots?-
Before this, Chen Mo was quite open to this type of copying, as he had seen this many times in his previous life. Furthermore, Chen Mo wasn’t a special snowflake, and was already mentally prepared.
-Being targeted? That was nothing. But there are guys taking advantage of the situation and insulting my players! How can I continue holding back?
-Just because I’ve been nice, doesn’t mean I’m not going to do anything!-
Chen Mo sent out a Weibo: I didn’t want to pay attention to this, and you guys thought you could just walk all over me? The video game designers haven’t said anything, so what are you guys arguing about? @Qiu Bin, say something!
The discussions underneath the post exploded as soon as it was sent.
The players of Plants vs Zombies were all quite tired after fighting throughout the night, so most of them didn’t have a good night’s sleep. This Weibo was undoubtedly a stimulant for his fans.
If the players had been fighting hard for Plants vs Zombies, but the designer just wanted to settle things the peaceful way, how disappointing would that be? Luckily Chen Mo wasn’t a sissy. So what if it’s Emperor Dynasty Entertainment?
The fans of Emperor Dynasty Entertainment were also shocked; hot-headed people like him still existed?
They even forgot to retaliate immediately!
—
The Weibo was all over the place as soon as it was posted. Many video game industry professionals were starting to notice.
Within an hour, Chen Mo received DMs from other video game designers, one of whom was from Qiu Hengyang: Emperor Dynasty Entertainment is the biggest channel and the biggest developer. There’s no point trying to go head to head against them. Delete the Weibo and give it a rest, no need to be so stubborn.
It was very clear what Qiu Hengyang meant.
Why would he explicitly mention that Emperor Dynasty Entertainment was the biggest channel? In the video game industry, channels like these held the most power! Even if your game was terrible, as long as the channels are willing to promote your game, you would probably still make money. Even if your game was good and the channels had you boycotted, you would only be able to have your game on the official app store, and might only get a tenth of the sales possible.
Emperor Dynasty Entertainment was the biggest gaming platform in China; what kind of video game designer would want to offend them?
Therefore, Qiu Hengyang’s reminder only meant well.
Chen Mo replied: Can I ask you something? You’re not brothers with that Qiu Bin guy, right?
Qiu Hengyang answered: Nonsense! We just happen to have the same last name!
Chen Mo replied: That’s great, now just watch how I’ll get at him.
Qiu Hengyang responded: … Maybe you have your own plans, but I still have to say, keep calm!
The other DMs were similar in spirit, advising Chen Mo to not be so stubborn and go head to head with Emperor Dynasty Entertainment.
Of course, there were plenty others in Chen Mo’s DMs attacking him, but Chen Mo had filtered all of it out of his vision.
—
Another half an hour passed, Qiu Bin’s Weibo was still the same.
Maybe he was still asleep? That was impossible; even if he wasn’t awake, someone must’ve called him.
It was clear that by not saying anything, Qiu Bin didn’t want to respond.
In reality, everyone in the industry could tell that Guardian of the Holy Spring took inspiration from Plants vs Zombies. But this kind of referencing wasn’t even close to plagiarizing. He would probably get some flak, which would be quite normal.
However, if Qiu Bin came out and said that he wasn’t copying, he would just become a laughingstock.
Therefore, the best move was to not say anything and keep quiet until all this was over so he could sell his game and make money.
It was fine as long as it didn’t affect the sales. So what if the players were attacking him? Qiu Bin and Emperor Dynasty Entertainment weren’t losing anything!
“Tsk, you’re quite good at playing dead.”
If it was some newbie on the receiving end, they probably would’ve cracked. But evidently Qiu Bin had experience under his belt and was quite composed.
“Don’t be like that, if you don’t say anything, how can I lead you into my trap?”
Chen Mo was going to seize this opportunity, baiting Qiu Bin into having an argument, and leading Emperor Dynasty Entertainment into his trap as well, paving the way for the next games. However, Qiu Bin didn’t take the bait, and kept it all under control.
It would be easier to mess with someone with a simple mind, like Shi Huazhe, but Qiu Bin and Emperor Dynasty Entertainment wouldn’t be manipulated that easily. Furthermore, they were on completely different levels than Chen Mo. Even if they wanted to start something, it wouldn’t look good.
“I have to try and make him say something.”
Chen Mo wasn’t saying it because he could; he was taking the opportunity to get what he wanted through a “friendly bet with good intentions”.
If Qiu Bin didn’t want to say anything, there was nothing Chen Mo could do.
Chen Mo took out the Anger Interferer from his bracelet and used it on Qiu Bin.
“Come on, play along with me and say something.”
Anger Interferer consumed.
Chen Mo still hadn’t receivef a reply from Qiu Bin after one minute.
“Did it fail? Impossible. Maybe I just lack firepower.”
Chen Mo sent another Weibo: @Qiu Bin. Brother, you’re from Emperor Dynasty Entertainment, you can’t just admit defeat.