Only After I Was Reborn Did I Realize That I Had Childhood Sweethearts

In Guo Yun’s portfolio, Mei Fang saw an image of a girl with short black hair, a white triangular skirt, and pencil-like legs. The character’s color block design was very simple.

The girl in the character design was looking up at the sky, leaving only her back view, giving off a somewhat melancholic and lonely feeling.

“Guo Yun, where did you find the inspiration for this character?”

“That… I found the inspiration myself from some picture books, the kind of fairy tale storybooks, not the overly childish ones, you know… Umm, Mei Fang, I don’t know if you’ve seen them.”

Xia Yuan chimed in from the side, “I’ve read the picture book The Little Prince^[1] before. Is it that kind of simple, soothing illustrative style you’re going for?”

“Yes, exactly… That kind. Girls love it. This one just has a different art style. The picture book I saw had characters with more distinct polygonal designs…”

Mei Fang was currently contemplating his next game project. Although he didn’t have a clear design theme, he had a firm design direction.

To create an indie game that could be called the Ninth Art.

In his mind, he had countless design ideas for potential hit games. Based on the current synergy with his team, as long as the art resources were in place, they could quickly bring the project to life.

He had always hoped that the gaming industry he deeply loved could receive more positive recognition in China, rather than being seen as a waste of time by adults and elders.

The harsh reputation of the gaming industry in China was undoubtedly partly due to traditional educational concepts. But game developers’ eagerness to manipulate players into spending money through various profit-oriented methods also contributed significantly.

Games have always been referred to as the Ninth Art because, compared to works such as literature, movies, and anime, they offer interactivity.

Players can embody characters in the game world, complete missions or make choices themselves, leading to high levels of immersion and involvement.

This interactivity should not only exist in the form of players fighting and pursuing fame and fortune in a virtual world but should also manifest in the genuine emotional communication and exchange established between developers and players through games.

For an outstanding indie game, the most important thing is an interesting and innovative gameplay mechanic. However, to be considered as a ninth art, an indie game cannot lack artistic expression in music and visuals.

These two elements are not necessarily the only determining factors. Many acclaimed indie games from later generations had simple art styles, but their music had the power to touch souls.

For example, the renowned masterpiece with a perfect score from IGN, Undertale^[2], its 8-bit dynamic music design earned it many points and sparked a wave of fan creations.

Even without mentioning things so far-fetched, the success of To the Moon definitely did not come from its visuals alone. Its winning formula lies in its perfect storyline combined with beautiful and touching piano music.

Mei Fang currently had a lot of resources in the music department. Besides himself and Xia Yuan, he knew that Gao Kan, the producer of To the Moon, was an exceptionally talented game music composer. Now that Guo Yun’s art had grown to be independent and outstanding, Mei Fang naturally had higher expectations for his first Ninth Art project.

“I plan to make this girl character designed by Guo Yun the protagonist of the story. We might need to make some adjustments to her color scheme, but we’ll use her to create a puzzle-solving platformer game.”

“A platformer…?” Xia Yuan scratched her head. “Ah Fang, can you please not use such technical terms? I don’t really understand.”

“Platformer, like Super Mario, the game we used to play on the Little Tyrant console.”

“Ah? Using this girl for Super Mario? Why does it feel a bit funny… weird…”

Lin Youxi added, “I think what Ah Fang means is a gameplay style similar to Super Mario, with left and right movement and jumping… The actual gameplay experience should be quite different.”

“So, what kind of story are you planning to write? How many words are you aiming for?”

“This story will lean more towards a self-discovery narrative. We won’t use too much text in the story… or rather, there will be almost no text.”

Mei Fang explained, “It’s a concept called environmental storytelling. We’ll rely on artfully crafted scenes, in-game interactions, and cutscenes to showcase the essence of the story, allowing players to fill in the meaning of our story themselves.”

“It sounds a bit like a silent film. But isn’t it more interesting to have dialogues… Why can’t they speak?”

“So… like Machinarium^[3], right?”

“That game with the junk-collecting robot, right?! I remember! We played it together at Ah Fang’s house when we were in our second year of middle school. That game was so difficult; I had to look up walkthroughs every time to progress.”

Machinarium, considered a pioneering work in the indie game industry, was released as early as 2009. Lin Youxi and Xia Yuan played it at Mei Fang’s house who were still in their second year of middle school during that time.

“To be precise, the game I plan to make will be even more silent than Machinarium, because the main character in that game often communicates through pictographic text in the story, so there’s actually quite a bit of dialogue.”

Mei Fang gestured to everyone, “The protagonist in our game is a princess from a black-and-white world. She embarks on an adventure to seek the colors that belong to her world. Different colors represent different nations, with each color being a chapter. Each chapter presents the protagonist with different challenges, and these challenges have reflections in the real world.”

“Reflections in the real world…” Xia Yuan pondered for a moment. “Ah Fang, are you saying… it appears to be a fairy tale on the surface, but in reality, it’s about an ordinary girl’s inner world?”

“As expected of our Chinese class representative. Yuan Yuan, you understand things quickly.”

Mei Fang gently rubbed Xia Yuan’s cheek as a gesture of encouragement. “What I actually want to depict is the story of an introverted girl opening up her heart, striving to find herself, eventually reconciling with herself, and arriving at the shores of her dreams. This is the spiritual core of our project.”

An introverted girl opening up her heart, striving to find herself, and reconciling with herself…

As soon as Mei Fang finished speaking, sharp-eyed Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi immediately turned their gaze towards Guo Yun. Guo Yun also realized Mei Fang’s intention and blushed.

“Ah Fang… Is this game’s protagonist based on Yun Yun’s story?”

“Well… to some extent, it definitely has Guo Yun’s influence.”

Mei Fang smiled and said, “And considering the theme, I think Guo Yun has the artistic inspiration and expression for it. What do you think, Guo Yun?”

“I… I… I can give it a try. But I’m not sure if I can do it well…”

Upon hearing this, Mei Fang immediately encouraged Guo Yun, saying, “Don’t worry, your aesthetics are already top-notch in my eyes. However, there will be a lot of art workload, so I think we might need to outsource some resources. Or maybe… since you are studying art, see if you can find someone from your classmates who can help. It’s easier to communicate when working together.”

“Should I… ask for their help?”

Mei Fang nodded and said to Guo Yun, “You’ll be the lead artist of our Ximilu Studio, so you’ll definitely need assistants to work together. I can help you by paying them wages. Also, let me give you an idea of how many art resources we’ll need… Let me think…”

Hmm…

Feeling a tinge of jealousy, Xia Yuan watched Mei Fang and Guo Yun chatting happily. However, she didn’t let her jealousy show on her face.

She didn’t want to disturb her beloved childhood sweetheart’s pursuit of his gaming dream.

It’s true that Ah Fang likes music or sports like roller skating.

But what he truly loves, even to the point of surpassing his feelings for me and Youxi, is only gaming.

Just like Lin Youxi, Xia Yuan rested her cheek on her hand and quietly watched Mei Fang speak passionately.

During a break in the conversation between Mei Fang and Guo Yun about the art, Xia Yuan quickly brought over a cup of milk tea and fed it to him as if she were feeding a child.

“Ah Fang, you’re truly amazing.”

“You just decided on the game character, and you’ve already come up with a whole series of storylines.”

“Well… this is just a preliminary concept. Implementing it will take a lot of time.”

Lin Youxi looked at Mei Fang without saying a word, simply placing her hand on his leg.

She seemed to have the habit of wanting to touch Mei Fang, without any malicious intent, just occasionally caressing him. Mei Fang didn’t say anything in response.

Mei Fang, upon seeing Guo Yun’s character design, immediately thought of a game called GRIS^[4], which is known as Grace’s Journey in Chinese.

It is a platformer adventure game with excellent puzzle design and storytelling. However, Mei Fang felt it still fell short of being a timeless masterpiece.

However, its art style can truly be called a masterpiece of the Ninth Art, and almost every scene can be considered wallpaper-worthy.

This time, Mei Fang didn’t simply rely on his memory to copy that game, Grace’s Journey. Apart from its impressive art, he had almost forgotten the process and story himself, only retaining a vague impression.

The creative design of a game often involves the fusion of the game creator’s rich gaming experiences and some personal insights. Both aspects are almost indispensable.

In the process of conceptualizing this project, Mei Fang had already gathered excellent core elements from works such as Monument Valley, Celeste^[5], GRIS, Journey^[6], and Sky: Children of the Light^[7] in his mind. It’s something he could accomplish as a veteran game developer and lead designer, drawing upon his experience from previous life.

In fact, this was also Mei Fang’s true cheat—the talent he hadn’t been able to fully unleash in his previous life.

In this life, however, there were no bosses ordering Mei Fang to create garbage pay-to-win mobile games anymore.

Mei Fang didn’t need to toil for meager wages anymore.

Now, Mei Fang was his own boss.

“In addition to art, the design of music and sound effects will also be very important. This is where I need your help, Yuan Yuan.” Mei Fang looked at Xia Yuan with a serious expression. “Excellent music and art are both indispensable.”

Xia Yuan nodded, her expression filled with tenderness. “Ah Fang, you just tell me your requirements, and I’ll fulfill them.”

Lin Youxi, who had been quietly observing her beloved Ah Fang showcasing his passion and talent, finally spoke up:

“C Site doesn’t have much work to handle recently. I can take care of the programming design for this game. Ah Fang, you can focus your whole heart on the game concept.”

“That was my plan as well… You truly understand me, Youxi.”

Mei Fang finished speaking and turned his head to look at Xia Yuan and Guo Yun. “Once we’re done with midterm exams, we’ll have to start working hard on this game.”

“Oh, right… There’s still the midterm exam!”

Xia Yuan expressed surprise and a hint of anxiety, “By the way, does the school rules mention anything? If… if I don’t perform well… I won’t be expelled directly from the school, right?”

“No, that won’t happen… Just perform at your usual level, and don’t worry too much about grades.”

Mei Fang gently patted Xia Yuan’s head, then smiled faintly. “Think about it, isn’t this the reason we originally chose to enroll in Jiangcheng NOHS?”

Translator's Notes:

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