When John led the team to develop Wolf: Shadows Die Twice, the showdown between Ansoft and Essence had already been formally announced. Practically the entire internet was smothered in advertisements for the two upcoming titles. The flagship project Ansoft was distributing happened to be a strategy game called Heroes of Flame.
Now, truth be told, while grid-based tactical strategy games still held a small, hardcore cult following, even its die-hard fans had to admit that the genre remained resolutely niche.
However, this particular tactical title, Heroes of Flame, was a bit different. It heavily integrated classic dating-sim elements into its design. Set against the backdrop of a sprawling fantasy continent torn apart by a three-way war, the game cast the player as a modern-day traveler transported into this foreign realm, where they served as a distinguished academy instructor.
And who were their students? Young prodigies hailing directly from those three warring nations. During gameplay, players had to pledge allegiance to a specific nation's storyline, deciding the fate of the realm. On top of that, they could actively romance their students along the way, completely regardless of gender.
Though it unabashedly catered to anime trope enthusiasts, its grand world-building, accessible entry threshold for strategy mechanics, and gorgeous character art tailored to mainstream tastes instantly made it a top-tier pre-order hit.
As for Essence's counter-offering, it didn't look nearly as promising. Built on an ancient, tired IP, the reveal trailer showcased absolutely nothing new or remarkable.
Of course, this was merely John's initial impression after analyzing their trailer. At the end of the day, the actual gameplay content had yet to see the light of day, and no one could make a definitive judgment just yet. Even so, based on sheer pre-release momentum alone, Ansoft was already thoroughly hammering Essence into the dirt.
"So, our game is going to launch right after these two giant blockbusters?" Inside the studio's VIP lounge, Luna, who had just finished participating in the motion capture and CG shooting for Wolf: Shadows Die Twice, scrolled through the latest industry headlines on her tablet. She turned her head toward John, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"That's the plan," John replied with a calm nod. "We're keeping quiet and developing in absolute secrecy."
For starters, time was simply too tight to force a release right now. Besides, even if they rushed development and possessed absolute confidence in Wolf: Shadows Die Twice, why bother recklessly clashing for a release slot against competitors on a prime date?
Players didn't get paid per game release schedule; they got paid once a month! Wouldn't it make far more sense to drop the game precisely on payday, or perhaps the day right after?
Furthermore, Ansoft had teamed up with UEGame, and their combined push across the three major distribution platforms was aggressively relentless.
Why force a direct, head-on collision with their massive marketing machine? Wouldn't it be infinitely sweeter to dodge their sharp edge entirely, lay low, and crush the second- and third-tier developers on a quieter date instead?
John had calculated every single detail with crystal clarity.
While John was chatting effortlessly with Luna, Boyce Zheng, the veteran action director heading the combat design, sauntered over. After greeting them, he took a seat, briefly running through a few action-choreography points with John. Soon, he sighed deeply, throwing his hands up in mild defeat.
"Honestly, President John, I really have to accept that I'm getting old. My reflexes are utterly hopeless! Take that internal game DEMO of yours, I sat there playing for two whole hours and couldn't accomplish a single thing! All I saw the entire time was that giant red word for 'DEATH' plastered across my screen!"
Boyce Zheng was referring to the raw combat demo John had let him test on the workstation earlier.
Though called a "DEMO," it was essentially just a rough scene test built from early animation captures. Most player skills and advanced combat moves hadn't even been enabled yet.
The player controlled a solitary lone wolf equipped only with basic parries, jumps, dodges, and simple slashes. The opponent standing in their way? A formidable, three-stage boss monster, a rogue monk armed with a heavy staff.
Hearing Boyce Zheng's earnest lament, John merely offered a polite, mysterious smile, keeping his lips firmly sealed.
Did you seriously think that internal dev DEMO was a walk in the park? That brutal difficulty was entirely intentional!
Likely pushed to extreme creative lengths by his previous mind-boggling titles like Getting Over It and Jump King, John realized that Koch's appetite for difficulty was far higher than anyone could have anticipated.
Setting aside mechanical models and core numerical tuning that directly dictated combat difficulty, the subtle design details in the game had an astounding impact on player survival.
For example, in the standard design framework, when a boss unleashed an unblockable special attack, a bright, blood-red 'DANGER' indicator was supposed to flash over the screen to warn the player to dodge.
Except, in this internal test build, Koch had completely omitted that red warning sign!
When John had tested the build himself for the very first time, he was thoroughly battered into submission.
Without that crucial red indicator, the game's difficulty didn't just step up, it shot straight into nightmare territory!
Players were expected to read the subtle wind-up animation of the boss's arm in real-time to guess the exact sub-second attack variation. Was that even meant for human beings to play?!
How on earth was anyone supposed to beat a boss like that?
Sure, even with a big red 'DANGER' sign glowing above the boss's head, you might still get annihilated, but playing without it was a completely different nightmare altogether!
That very same day, John had delivered a stern earful to Koch and the dev team, demanding to know why they hadn't strictly adhered to his Game Design Document.
After the lecture, however, John had decided to retain that brutal mode as an unlockable nightmare difficulty for players who managed to beat the main campaign.
And honestly, made sense, didn't it? In a real, life-or-death duel, who was going to float a bright red 'DANGER' sign above their head to warn you before plunging a blade into your chest?
If they were going to make a hard game, they might as well commit all the way!
Besides, judging by the player feedback on their social account, the gaming community always seemed to crave pain, constantly begging for even tougher challenges.
So, after a brief few seconds of wicked consideration, John not only retained the raw difficulty mode, but even added extra twists, like randomizing the order of the boss's special attacks to keep players entirely on their toes.
"Well, the core concept of this title leans heavily into the hardcore, dark-fantasy route," John explained to Boyce Zheng, his expression maintaining a perfectly serene, professional smile. "So naturally, the baseline difficulty is tuned to be just a tiny bit more challenging."
Boyce Zheng didn't know much about the broader gaming market; he had simply wanted to test the waters out of sheer curiosity since he was directing the physical action design. Seeing John speak with such calm authority, the veteran action director bought it completely, nodding in sudden realization. "Ah, so that's how it is!"
Sitting right beside them, Luna pressed her lips together into a tight line, casting a thoroughly skeptical look at John.
Look at him, talking absolute nonsense with a straight face again!
A 'tiny bit' more challenging?! Is the difficulty of "Wolf: Shadows Die Twice" really just 'a tiny bit' harder?!
"By the way, President John," Boyce Zheng suddenly asked, turning to him with genuine admiration, "you must be absolute god-tier at playing games yourself, right?"
Hearing Boyce Zheng's innocent question, John froze on the spot.
A momentary silence hung in the air before he let out a soft, noncommittal murmur, shifting subtly in his seat. "Ah... well... I'm alright, I suppose."
"Anyway, Director," John interjected hurriedly, deftly steering the conversation away from his personal gaming skills toward something Boyce Zheng actually cared about, "take a look at this combat animation sequence here. Can we refine this? Let's draw inspiration from traditional martial arts choreography, make it look fiercely grounded and impactful, but without all that overly flashy, cartoonish fluff."
He was terrified that if they stayed on the topic, Boyce Zheng might eagerly blurt out: 'In that case, President John, why don't you boot up the demo and give me a live demonstration right now?' Wouldn't that be an absolute disaster? Without enabling full God-mode developer cheats, how on earth was he supposed to survive that boss?!
Watching John deftly dodge the topic and dive into an overly enthusiastic discussion about character motion design, Luna couldn't help but quietly pucker her lips in amusement.
Ha! Look at him squirming to change the subject. An outsider like Boyce Zheng might be easily fooled, but did John really think he could hide his true motives from her?
To put it in a single sentence: the man was hopelessly addicted to gaming, but his actual skill was utterly terrible!