lerbook Chapter 242, First Batch of Internal Testing Qualifications
Chapter 242, First Batch of Internal Testing Qualifications
Lu Ran told Zhou Mingzhe over the phone that it wouldn't be long.
Zhou Mingzhe might not care, but the people in the game department of TuTu Technology definitely wouldn't sit still.
Especially after seeing the immense popularity of "Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit Seven Swordsmen" after its broadcast, they certainly couldn't resist the urge to join in.
Unlike previous games, this time everyone in the game department was highly engaged and poured a lot of effort into the game.
However, the game is destined to be released later than the anime. Lu Ran thinks it should be about a week later.
On its fifth day of release, "Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit" surpassed 50 million views.
TUTU's daily active users increased by more than three million because of this anime.
In the comments section, besides those praising the plot, another voice began to emerge:
[User "Game Fan Xiao Wang"]: This IP is so great, when will the game be released? I want to play Rainbow Cat vs. Black Tiger!
[User "Bald Programmer"]: +1! If I could choose Rainbow Cat and use the Rainbow Sword combo, I'd spend a ton of money!
[User "President of Blue Rabbit Fan Club"]: I want to play Blue Rabbit! I want to use the Ice Soul Sword to defeat all the simps in the world!
[User "Rational Anime Fan"]: Upstairs, Black Tiger is really annoyed.
These comments were initially orchestrated by Lu Ran, but gradually, people started discussing them spontaneously.
Meanwhile, some CG animations from the game "Seven Heroes of the Jianghu" began to circulate online, and many people who saw the animated fight scenes said they wanted to immediately start playing the game.
Lu Ran felt that the time was almost right.
He picked up his phone and sent a message to Zhou Mingzhe:
[Notify the technical department: a meeting tomorrow. "Seven Heroes of the Jianghu" is ready to launch.]
Zhou Mingzhe replied instantly:
【Received. Are you serious this time?】
[This is for real.]
...
The next morning, in the conference room of TuTu Technology.
The long table was full of people, including Zhou Mingzhe, Zou Xin, several key technical staff, and Xiao Yang from the operations department.
Lu Ran stood in front of the whiteboard, holding a marker in his hand.
"Everyone worked hard for half a year on the development of 'Seven Heroes'," he began. "Now, it's time to reap the rewards."
He wrote several large characters on the whiteboard:
[Internal Testing - Scarcity Marketing]
The people below looked at each other in bewilderment.
The intern with glasses raised his hand: "President Lu, what is internal testing?"
Lu Ran was stunned for a moment, then realized that the concept of "beta testing" did not yet exist in this world.
Previously, those games were released directly online, and players could download and play them immediately.
There has never been a saying of "letting a portion of people play first".
Generally, problems are discovered during gameplay, and then patches are installed.
"Closed beta testing is..." Lu Ran thought for a moment, "It's about letting a small group of players experience the game first, help us find bugs, test balance, and give suggestions. Once the game is optimized, it will be officially launched so that everyone can play."
The intern pondered, "Then why not just launch it online?"
"Because we don't know if the server can handle it," Lu Ran answered honestly. "Seven Heroes Jianghu is a real-time combat game, and its server requirements are much higher than those of the farming game. If it crashes on the day of launch, the player experience will be poor, and the reputation will be ruined."
He paused, then added, "Moreover, closed beta testing has another advantage—it whets the appetite."
"tantalize?"
"Right." Lu Ran laughed. "Think about it, a million people are competing for ten thousand beta test slots. Those who get them will definitely be smug, and those who don't will definitely be envious. What will the envious ones do? They'll keep an eye on our updates every day, beg for codes everywhere, and beg for them in the comments section."
"Once they've had their fill of anticipation, we can open up the next batch of slots, or just officially launch it. By then, their expectations will be at their peak, how could the download numbers not be high?"
The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.
Then Zhou Mingzhe pushed up his glasses and slowly said, "You're treating your users like韭菜 (a metaphor for exploiting them) to be harvested."
"It's not about exploiting people, it's about scientific operation," Lu Ran said seriously. "It's called user expectation management, a required course in marketing."
"..."
"Alright, let's get down to business." Lu Ran continued writing on the whiteboard, "The beta testing slots will be released in three batches—"
"The first batch, five thousand. Who will they be given to? Loyal fans of 'Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit'."
He looked at Xiao Yang, the operations manager: "Let's hold an event in TUTU's official 'Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit' circle. Share, comment, and like, and we'll randomly select 5,000 people to receive beta test codes. The condition is that you must follow the circle for more than three days to prevent people from spamming accounts."
Xiao Yang quickly jotted down in his notebook: "Understood. Do the selected users need to sign a confidentiality agreement?"
"No need." Lu Ran shook his head. "Not only do I not need them, I want them to spread the word far and wide."
Xiao Yang was taken aback: "Tell others? Isn't that a spoiler?"
"I'm going to spoil it for you." Lu Ran laughed. "Think about it, how do those who didn't get it feel when they see others posting game screenshots, combo videos, and ranked scores on social media, in the comments section, and everywhere else?"
Xiao Yang seemed thoughtful: "Would...would I be envious?"
"It's not just envy, it's jealousy, it's resentment, it's unwillingness to accept defeat," Lu Ran said. "This unwillingness to accept defeat will make them want to play even more. When the second batch of spots opens, they will pounce on them like wolves that haven't eaten for three days."
Zhou Mingzhe said quietly from the side, "Are you sure you didn't study psychology?"
"I'm self-taught," Lu Ran said modestly.
...
Three days later, the first batch of beta test codes were issued.
In the official fan community for "Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit," a pinned post instantly garnered over 10,000 comments:
"Please! Let me win just once!"
"I'd trade my roommate's ten years of single life for a beta test code!"
"May Rainbow Cat bless you, may Blue Rabbit bless you, may the Seven Swords bless you!"
"I won! I won! Taking a screenshot to commemorate the moment!"
"Get out of here, upstairs! Stop showing off!"
"I'm not leaving! I'm going to show off! I'll show you what true luck looks like!"
Five thousand beta test codes were distributed within half an hour.
Those who were selected started posting pictures like crazy on WeChat Moments, Weibo, and various TUTU social media platforms:
[User "The Lucky One"]: I won! A beta code for "Seven Heroes"! I heard you can use Rainbow Cat to fight Black Tiger! I'll play it first!
The accompanying image is a screenshot of an activation code.
Comments section below:
"To kill someone, you must first destroy their spirit!"
"You wait, I'm going to rob your house clean right now!"
"Please, just let me play with it for a moment, just once!"
"Hey bro, wanna sell for fifty bucks?"
[User "Non-European Doesn't Cry"]: I didn't win. But my friend did. He's playing next to me now, and I'm watching him. My current expression is like this:
The accompanying image is a meme of someone crying.
Comments section below:
"Hahahaha, that's hilarious! You're really pathetic."
"I suggest we break off all relations."
"What's the gesture for breaking up with someone?"
"Hey upstairs, do you know anything about criminal law?"
...