A month ago, Stockholm, Sweden.

Taylor looked at the document in front of him, scratched his hair, and sighed.

When he put his hand in front of him, he found that he had grabbed a few more hairs from the scratch just now, which made him even more melancholy.

Taylor is the lead designer of a new project at DICE and is responsible for the development of a new game series.

DICE is one of the important studios under the AE umbrella right now, with the famous Frost Engine and several famous game series.

DICE's signature is first-person games like Battlefield and Mirror's Edge. DICE's Battlefield series is their trump card, and each one is in the spotlight.

Since last year, Taylor has been in charge of the development of a new game, DICE intends to launch a new game series, and Taylor has won the opportunity to take charge of this new project.

DICE's new project uses the all-new Next Generation Frost Engine, which was originally intended for DICE's next-generation Battlefield and is now being used on this new project.

This new project by DICE is also supported by AE headquarters. HQ wanted DICE to make another game that would become a signature series.

However, more than a year has passed, and the progress of Taylor's project can be said to be very slow, and the entire project team has encountered many problems.

Taylor wanted to be a brand new signature for DICE in the series, so he put forward relatively high requirements for this game, including some difficult technical implementation of game design, requirements for game graphics, and abandoning DICE's original signature first-person and planning to make a third-person shooter game, that is, a TPS game.

Although the new project team approved the project, it has been accompanied by controversy since its birth, and as the project progresses slowly, these controversies have grown, leaving Taylor with a lot of pressure.

"Hey, Taylor."

Taylor looked away from the document and saw Richard from the project team walking over.

Richard is the technical leader of the new project, and Taylor is not very good when he sees him, and the reason is that the cooperation between the two is not pleasant.

Richard asked bluntly, "Taylor, have you read the report I sent you?" ”

Taylor nodded and said, "Yes, I've seen it, and we can revisit the specific matter at the meeting." ”

Richard then said: "Actually, I'm here to emphasize to you that your idea can't be realized at all. In a scene larger than Los Santos, you have a crazy idea to make the actions of tens of millions of NPCs fit into such a complex logic of action. ”

Los Santos is a scene in the game GTA, a fictional city known to many as GTA5 takes the world by storm.

Taylor said helplessly: "Richard, I know that this requirement is a bit difficult, and we can take it slowly and not give up here." ”

Richard shrugged his shoulders and said, "This project has been stalled for a long time because of your needs, and we can naturally spend five or ten years to overcome these technical problems, provided that this project can have so long to develop." ”

The conflict between Taylor and Richard is almost on the surface. From the establishment of the project team to the present, the two of them have repeatedly quarreled in front of Frederi, the head of DICE and the general manager of the AE branch.

Taylor said at this point: "Richard, don't you think these designs are interesting? These things are not impossible to achieve, and the future Oasis "Shadow Secrets" sets an example for us, and the NPCs in it have such a logic of action. In fact, I'm asking for something a little less than what actually works in Shadow Stories. ”

Richard is unequivocal: "In fact, no one has ever understood the technical approach of the future Oasis to accomplish these design realizations. If we do this with our current methods, I think you'll need to propose to HQ to support our 500 programmers, or you're abusing the members of the project team. ”

Just as the two were about to break out into the next argument, a crisp female voice interrupted them.

"Sorry to excuse me."

Both of them stopped arguing, and Miss Frederick's secretary stood behind them, smiling and saying, "Mr. Taylor, Mr. Frederick has invited you to come over." ”

Frederick is the general manager of DICE, and Taylor doesn't know what Frederick is looking for him. He glanced at Richard, and there was no expression on his face.

"Okay, I'll go over here."

Taylor nodded and followed Miss Secretary to Frederick's office.

"I'm sorry, Taylor, I'm sure you're going to be busy right now, but I'm going to have to make a trip to you." After the secretary closed the office door, Fredery, the general manager of DICE, said to Taylor.

"Sit down and talk." Frederick gestured to the couch in his office.

Taylor sat down on the couch and said, "Fredery, is there anything you're in a hurry about, the project team is busy right now, I'd better not leave for too long......"

Frederick interrupted Taylor with a wave of his hand, saying, "Don't worry, Taylor. I think it's time for you to take a break and look a little tired from working on a new project. ”

Taylor didn't understand what Frederick meant, but said, "No, the project is at a critical juncture, and we're going to have new progress soon." ”

Frederick looked at Taylor, was silent for a moment, and said, "Taylor, I think we all know about this project. I'm sorry, but I have to tell you that the head office and DICE have decided to dismantle the project team. You may be able to take a long vacation and then dedicate yourself to a new job. ”

Frederick stared at Taylor and spoke slowly.

Taylor immediately got up from the couch and said, "Fredery, what does this mean?" ”

Frederick said to Taylor, "Taylor, calm down. This is a deliberate decision made by the headquarters and DICE. Unfortunately, we don't think this project is of much value in its current state, DICE has just over 300 employees, and we can't afford to invest so much in this project. ”

Taylor shook his head and said in a somewhat agitated tone, "No, Frederic, the project is going to progress soon, trust me, it's going to be a great game." ”

Frederick shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, Taylor. It's a matter of decision that the project team will be laid off, and your idea is great, but maybe now is not the time. You are a good designer, and I am sure you will be able to make a difference in your new project team. ”

Taylor stared at Frederick and said, "Fredery, tell me the real reason. Where will my members go when the project team is laid off? ”

Frederick glanced at Taylor and said, "They're going to have a new job." DICE will be working on another project in the coming period. The next-generation console is about to be released, and that's our most important task right now. ”

"Sorry, Taylor, your design might be great, give you three or five years, maybe you can challenge GTA5. But DICE doesn't have five years now, and it doesn't have three years, and we need to prepare for the new generation. ”

Taylor was silent and stopped talking.

At the beginning of next year, both SN and MS will release their next-generation consoles one after another. With the popularity of 4K TVs over the years, the next generation of consoles will optimize support for 4K resolution with powerful skills. At the same time, the increasingly mature VR technology will also become a hot topic for the next generation.

It is clear that DICE will focus its resources on firing the first shot of the new generation. In such a situation, the project will be directly abandoned by the company, and the project team members will be transferred to the main project of DICE.

Seeing Taylor's silence, Frederick said, "I know this is a big blow to you, but I'm sorry, Taylor, it's a joint decision between the headquarters and the company. You can take a long vacation and come back to work, and we can do it again in the new generation. ”

Taylor looked up, took a deep breath, and said, "I understand the company's decision, Frederic, but I don't need to take a vacation." ”

"I'm sorry, I'm quitting."