Regarding the game "Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice," John didn't immediately jump into drafting the core design document. A project of this caliber demanded careful contemplation, especially when it came to reweaving its complex plot into a martial arts narrative that players could instantly connect with, not to mention polishing the precise mechanics of its high-stakes action system.
However, compared to the sprawling juggernaut, his other two concepts, Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy and Jump King, were practically a walk in the park.
Both fell squarely into the platformer genre. In games like these, lavish lore and cinematic visuals took a back seat. The real star of the show was the level design. Getting the platforming rhythm just right was paramount, and leveraging his vivid dream memories made mapping out these frustratingly precise obstacle courses surprisingly breezy for John.
He didn't bother calling a grand company-wide assembly, nor did he drag Koch away from his desk. These were lightweight projects, after all, and Koch already had his hands full keeping the operations gear spinning.
While the primary launch content for Warcraft was smoothly running on live servers, maintaining a live-service hit was an endless marathon. Everything required round-the-clock vigilance: patching visual icons, tuning unit statistics, stamping out game-breaking bugs, and rolling out continuous balance updates.
Custom community maps weren't just one-and-done releases either. Dedicated developers had to constantly parse player feedback to tweak balance and deploy new heroes. In fact, for DOTA and Dynasty Warriors, barely two-thirds of the total roster had actually been made playable. A shadow squad of unreleased heroes sat locked in the internal database, patiently waiting for seasonal events or sudden spikes in player engagement before being unleashed upon the world.
Meanwhile, inside the main conference room, a few newly hired grads who had joined PixelPioneers straight out of university were huddled together, whispering nervously.
"Did Mr. John summon us here to work on some top-secret, mega-budget masterpiece?" one rookie asked, leaning in.
His colleague scoffed, taking a long sip of water. "Careful with that hype, man. Don't go drinking the Kool-Aid before they even serve the food."
"Yeah, where is bro getting these grand ideas from?" another chimed in with a grin. "If you only have a bowl of plain peanuts on the table, you shouldn't be acting this tipsy."
"Will you guys give it a rest?" a fourth laughed. "The sarcasm is getting out of hand!"
"Hey, we're just being realistic! A true flagship title isn't getting handed to a bunch of fresh recruits like us. Even if he gave us a triple-A title to build today, do any of us actually have the skills to pull it off?"
The room suddenly snapped into dead silence. The heavy oak door swung open, and John strolled inside.
"I imagine you're all wondering why I brought you here today," John said smoothly, getting straight down to business. "No fluff, no time wasted. My main goal is to split you into two dedicated project teams. You'll be developing two distinct platformers designed around the scale of indie games."
John plugged his laptop into the wall projector. Instantly, two colorful, high-concept design mockups flared to life on the massive wall screen: Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy and Jump King.
"Simply put, both are pure jump-through platformers. The core loop is simple: jump, navigate treacherous terrain, and reach the final peak. I'm sure you've played something similar. I will be directly overseeing both projects, personally handling the core mechanics and map designs. Any initial questions?"
The rookies exchanged puzzled glances. After a brief pause, one bold developer tentatively raised his hand.
"Mr. John... what's the hook? What makes these two stand out? To be frank, the current market is already drowning in jumping games."
Nods ripple across the room. It was a valid point. Mobile stores and storefronts were overflowing with bare-bones jumping titles. Low development costs made it the go-to archetype for almost every solo developer on the planet. Was PixelPioneers really setting its sights on this?
"These aren't just games." John smiled, a glint of subtle mischief in his eye. "They are deeply inspirational experiences. The gameplay delivers a profoundly positive message to players."
A line of invisible question marks hovered above every developer's head. Positive energy? Inspirational?
The room collectively winced, faces twisting into uneasy smiles. Sure, PR teams loved tossing around words like "inspirational" to look good on their social account, but what developer intentionally sets out to build a platformer purely around wholesome morality?
At most, games offered classic heroic tropes, the brave knight saving the kingdom. Though in reality, once actual players got their hands on those righteous heroes, they immediately turned into menace-driven hoarders, barging into NPC houses, smashing pottery, and flipping through drawers to snatch every hidden item and Dollar they could find.
"Okay, maybe 'inspirational' sounds like a buzzword, but hear me out," John chuckled, watching the team's skeptical reactions.
Were these games truly uplifting? Think about it: after hours of agonizing toil, a player finally reaches the high summit. They learn real-world virtues, perseverance, courage, and infinite patience.
And when they slip at the very top and plummet all the way back down to the starting point? That's a masterclass in humility. It teaches players to never forget their original intentions, to remember where their humble journey began. There's even a beautiful, heartwarming metaphor hidden in that devastating fall: Visit home more often. How long has it been since you spent quality time away from your busy life?
Perseverance, courage, staying grounded... smash those together, and isn't that the absolute definition of positive energy?
As John walked them through the granular mechanics, explaining the agonizing precision, the punishing physics, and the sheer mental fortitude required, the room descended into a stunned, terrifying silence. Nobody moved. The only sounds in the entire room were the steady hum of the air conditioner and the rhythmic clicking of John's laptop drive.
"Alright," John coughed softly, breaking the spell. "Any questions?"
The developers shook their heads in perfect, synchronized panic.
"Good. Sort yourselves into your two project groups. I'll drop the complete design documents into our group chat shortly." John nodded, offering a few final operational notes before dismissing the meeting.
Neither title required massive production budgets or extensive art assets. John saw no need to overhaul the visual style beyond his original memories; keeping it crisp and straightforward was part of the charm.
In fact, he was already scheming ways to link the two games together. For instance, the main characters of Jump King and Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy could easily be the exact same person. Even without an explicit narrative, players would piece the tragic lore together themselves.
Why did the protagonist in Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy have no legs and spend his entire journey trapped in a metal pot, wielding only a sledgehammer? Because he broke his legs playing Jump King, of course.
To maximize cross-promotional fun, John figured they could even sprinkle in playful crossovers with flagship PixelPioneers titles like Resident Evil Resistance and Yu-Gi-Oh!. Give the broader player base even more hilarious reasons to jump in and experience the glorious agony for themselves.