George Martin was chosen.

Qingzhiyuan's reason is simple:

Old Man Martin also participated in the production of "Elden Ring" in his previous life, and the background story of the Old Man Ring was written by George Martin.

Moreover, Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" can be said to be a household name, and the adaptation of this series became the most successful and highest-rated work in HBO history after it became a TV series.

A Song of Ice and Fire has not yet been published.

Qing Zhiyuan would like to talk about the copyright issue of "A Song of Ice and Fire" by the way.

If it works well, A Song of Ice and Fire can be developed into a game, and in the future, it can be adapted into a TV series.

……

George Martin has actually won several Hugo Awards and Nebula Awards so far, and he is also a little famous in the field of science fiction/fantasy.

However, most of them are short and medium-length works.

Now 48 years old, George Martin quit all his jobs to devote himself to writing a book called "A Song of Ice and Fire" at home.

Before that, this person's luck was good, but not so good.

The good thing is that he can always win some awards that many people can't envy in their lifetime for their excellent creations, such as the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award.

The bad thing is that many of George Martin's film and television works as a screenwriter in Hollywood are yellow, either they die halfway through, or they are cut before they are released.

While Martin's job in Hollywood paid satisfactorily, he was disappointed that most of the shows he worked on failed to get approved.

Because what a writer desires most is that his work can be seen by the public, but the decision-making level of the broadcaster is not the same as the screenwriter and writer.

The year before, Martin left his TV series work to continue working on his fantasy stories from three years ago, and gave his publishing agent, Kirby Macaulay, the first 200 pages of the manuscript and a two-page blueprint for a three-part series to be written.

Martin liked ambiguous titles because he felt that they would make his work more esoteric, so he chose "A Song of Ice and Fire" as the title of the entire series: the cold stranger and the flaming dragon may mean "ice and fire", and "song" appeared in Martin's books "The Song of Lyanna" and "Song of the Dead", which is a kind of Martin's fetish for "song".

Fire is love, passion is passion. Ice is betrayal, revenge, the dark side of cruelty.

Yes, George Martin is now quitting his job and is working at home to write a book called A Song of Ice and Fire.

On this day, he received a strange call.

On the other end of the line was a gentle, young man's voice, and although he spoke English fluently, Martin quickly picked out a hint of an oriental accent.

The other party is the president of a company called Pokeni, and wants to invite Martin to dinner and ask about work.

There wasn't much to talk about on the phone, but Martin probably got an idea:

They wanted to develop an epic fantasy game, and they wanted Martin to be the storyteller.

Although he didn't know why he was looking for him, Martin agreed to the invitation and wanted to talk about it after the meeting.

……

Qing Zhiyuan first flew to the United States and found two brothers, David Breivik and Scarfor, who are now the CEOs of the branch.

Explain to them what you want to do and the importance of finding a script writer.

After listening to it, several people also agreed.

After that, Qing Zhiyuan took Breivik to meet George Martin at the Brown Hotel in California.

……

In an intimate suite at the Brown Hotel Springs in California, Chi Won and Breivik await George Martin's arrival.

Qing Zhiyuan was wearing a dark suit and a neat tie.

Breivik opted for a simple white shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans.

Although the two people have different skin colors and look very different, they can both be described as handsome guys.

Especially Qing Zhiyuan, without a beard, he really looks a little too beautiful among Westerners.

Breivik glanced at him, and only thought that this man was really good-looking, and if he was not careful in a place like California, he was the type who could be fattened by street gangsters if he was not careful.

Qing Zhiyuan was also silently looking back at him.

Means I've been robbed once before.

He silently touched his chin, thinking to himself if he should grow his beard before coming to the United States?

But there is one thing he is more sure of -

After this time, when he returns to Neon, he must train his body.

It's too small.

Soon after, George Martin walked into the suite on time.

He was of short stature (168, shorter than Qing Zhiyuan had imagined), fat, with gray hair, and a wrinkled face that still had a bright look.

He has a trademark beard on his face that almost obscures his entire mouth.

This year's George Martin is only 48 years old, much younger than the white-haired and white-bearded fat man in Qing Zhiyuan's memory.

Overall, it's actually pretty cute.

And because of his large shoulders and round waist, this man looks strong, more oppressive than his height.

If you don't already know his identity and profession, it's hard to associate such a person with the identity of a writer when you walk down the road.

He warmly shook hands with Qing Zhiyuan and Breivik, smiled and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, I've been looking forward to this meeting." ”

"That's up to us." Qing Zhiyuan squeezed his hand and invited George Martin to sit down, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Martin. ”

……

After a brief greeting, Qing Zhiyuan was straightforward and said straight to the point, "Mr. Martin, that's the case, we invite you to come this time in the hope that you can be the plot writer of the new game project." ”

And he also pushed the prepared materials in front of Martin.

"Okay."

Martin took the information and looked at it silently.

When he saw the name of the game, Martin's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Eternal ashes? Are you the company that makes the Eternal Ashes? ”

"Hmm," Qing Zhiyuan nodded, smiling a little happily, "Have you played our game?" ”

"Well, I kind of like your production of Eternal Ashes."

Martin is more up-to-date than Qing Zhiyuan imagined, he not only plays games but is also a team player.

What's even more rare is that he not only played Pokeni's "Eternal Ashes" but also a player of the "Diablo" series.

"I'm a big fan of this fantasy genre." George Martin said, "When you play the game, you feel like you're playing a running group, and I think your designs of the Akashya Zerg and the Frye Inhumans and the Kaka are very interesting.

I was really fascinated by them when I was playing the game, and I wondered what kind of company could make such an interesting work.

I didn't expect to meet the makers today. ”

"Great, thanks for liking." Qing Zhiyuan said quite surprised.

The three of them had a common topic and chatted around the running group.

"We actually borrowed the gameplay of the running group game when we made Forever Ashes." "There's always a lot of unknown and imaginative things going on in the running group, and we want the game to give players the same experience. ”

Qing Zhiyuan said with a smile, "In the running group game, isn't every player a participant? Then in the setting of the game itself, there is no way to take sides, and it can only be set to be the protagonist of every player involved.

And the same is true when we play running groups, whether you are a human, an elf, a mage, or a thief, in fact, you act according to your own wishes, and play as the protagonist of this game world.

Therefore, we can see that in the running group game, many [evenly matched] complex events and scenarios will be born.

Players are very creative.

Therefore, we should also make each race in the game have its own [protagonist] and hero. ”

"Well, that's a great feeling, isn't it?" George Martin's eyes lit up.

"Yes." Qing Zhiyuan nodded and laughed.

He gestured with his hand and said, "Heroes each create their own history, but when they come together, they create an entire era, and the big world is driven by countless heroes."

That's what we want to say.

A sense of epic and epic. ”

Qing Zhiyuan's words went directly to Martin's heart.

That's what he thinks himself.

"I very much agree that history should not have only one protagonist, and it can even be said that everyone is the protagonist.

I'm a reader myself, and in the process of reading, I found that-

If the protagonist is very clear from the beginning in a book, and readers can easily guess the plot behind it, such a book is actually quite boring.

Do you know Tolkien? Mr. Qing. ”

"Hmm." Qing Zhiyuan nodded, "The author of The Lord of the Rings." ”

"When I saw Gandalf die, you knew that?" Martin laughed, looked at Qing Zhiyuan with excited eyes and said, "At that moment, goosebumps all over my body rose, and an unprecedented sense of fear and excitement flowed all over my body at once.

For the first time, I realized -

It turns out that the protagonist is also going to die.

And this kind of death directly broke my perception of the whole world.

Since Gandalf will also die, what else is impossible in this world? ”

Speaking of which, Martin lamented, "Sometimes, I wonder if it's death that makes heroes great." ”

Well?

Qing Zhiyuan was stunned for a moment, and his whole body was excited.

How did you get here?

Aren't we talking about epics and heroes?

I always feel that this person's understanding seems to be a little off.

Good guys, is that why you killed the protagonists?

Qing Zhiyuan touched his chin and couldn't help but fall into a sad contemplation.

Although he was chosen by George Martin for strategic reasons.

But he regretted it a little now.

If you think about it, Old Man Martin is also a knife maniac.

Terrible!!!

What did I do to bring together so many world-class hair knife players!?

The "A Song of Ice and Fire" that Martin is now writing is actually a similar model:

Multiple protagonists.

From different perspectives, you will find that every character in this book can be the main character.

Whether it's the members of the Stark family, or the Queen Mother......

Everyone is playing their own game of running a group.

What's even more terrifying is that these protagonists are indeed capable of dying.

You never know who the next protagonist to die will be.

Martin's knives are really fast and sharp, and even more elusive.

Qing Zhiyuan felt creepy just thinking about it.

……

Martin flipped through it for a while, and was quickly drawn to the larger world depicted in it, with many races and their corresponding world formations, beliefs, and magic...... All of this can fully mobilize Martin's imagination and passion.

It seemed like there was only one frame, but he could probably imagine the story behind it.

"If you can carefully sort out the characters and characters, and the complex social relationships, and build a chronicle that belongs to this world, I think it will definitely be another fantasy masterpiece." Martin sighed.

Since everyone has a common hobby, it is equivalent to having a basis for cooperation.

The whole conversation went unusually well.

"I'd love to take on this job. The worldview, setting, and all aspects of "Eternal Ashes" are very interesting and can also mobilize people's imagination. ”

"But......" Martin hesitated.

"Huh? Do you have any concerns? Qing Zhiyuan asked.

"Well," Martin said, "I've actually quit all my jobs now, I'm writing books from home, and I'll tell you the truth, I've got a fantasy work in my hands, and I probably won't be able to take on another task of this magnitude because of my time and energy." ”

Qing Zhiyuan nodded, of course he knew what this work was written in Martin's hand.

A Song of Ice and Fire

Epic grandeur and fantasy.

Martin's book has been written since '94 and will not be finished until 2023.

At that time, Martin was already 74 years old.

Even Qing Zhiyuan was very skeptical that he would be able to finish the book smoothly on the day he died.

If Martin had finished writing and had taken over the daylily, the daylily would have been cold.

What's more, it's not that this guy hasn't accepted other invitations halfway, for example, "Elden Ring" is the worldview and story setting that he was asked to do.

"That's it." Qing Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Mr. Martin, you are here to set our game story, help build the world view of the entire game, and write out the character settings and outline."

The rest of the filling work is really huge, and we will find other staff to take over the filling. ”

"Huh?"

George Martin was slightly stunned.

After thinking for a few seconds, "That seems like it's okay." ”

If it's just a story outline, background, and characters, then he might be able to find time.

"Besides," Qing Zhiyuan said, "I have also heard about the book you are working on, it should be a good work, if you can, can you sell us its game and film and television rights?" ”

……

……

————————————————————————————

There is one more chapter in the afternoon (end of this chapter)