Chapter 44: Version Update

Alex Parker explained, "What I mean is that your thinking is too limited. These two design plans basically have no innovative points and just slightly expand on my outline."

"Uh..." Amy Johnson was a bit puzzled.

Earlier, when Alex handed her the document outline, he did mention "to add some of your own designs," but Amy didn't take it to heart.

Most of the time, an assistant to a game designer just does repetitive tasks, and many designers don't like their assistants making changes to their designs, even minor adjustments.

So, Amy simply followed the outline, expanding on Alex's design document without adding any of her own ideas.

However, it turned out that Alex wanted her to design according to her own thoughts.

Alex said, "It's okay; I'll give you three more days. Remember, I want to see your own ideas."

Amy nodded vigorously, "Okay, got it!"

Back on the first floor, Amy continued to rack her brains.

After Amy left, Alex reviewed her design document a couple more times.

Indeed, the basic skills were solid, and the logical thinking was good, but the biggest problem was a lack of creativity. At this point, Amy could only perform as an executor, but to become a qualified designer? She was still far from that.

Very diligent, hardworking, and versatile, but lacking inspiration—that was Alex's current assessment of Amy.

This might be due to her long-standing way of thinking or her inherent character.

Alex could certainly use Amy solely as an assistant, assigning her pure executor tasks, but in that case, her growth would be minimal.

Given Amy's meticulous yet unimaginative nature, Alex realized he needed to guide her a bit. At least within a few months, he wanted to develop her into a more well-rounded designer, which would also save him more effort in the long run.

...

Amy spent every day revising the design plan, thinking hard.

The second draft showed some improvement but was still not up to standard.

The third draft had one or two highlights.

The fourth draft finally made Alex nod in approval.

"Well, although there's still some gap from what I envisioned, it's acceptable." A slight smile appeared on Alex's face.

Amy beamed with joy, "Really? That's great!"

Alex nodded, "Yes, you've worked hard. Take a break. I'll make some revisions tonight, finalize it, and show it to you tomorrow."

"Alright, thank you, Manager!" Amy happily left for the day.

Amy spent nearly two weeks writing these four drafts, finally earning Alex's approval.

In fact, Alex was concerned primarily about specific highlights in the design. Even if he approved a design without any highlights, the players wouldn't accept it.

Alex could see that Amy's ideas in the fourth draft were the result of her brainstorming. Asking her to develop better ideas wasn't likely to yield much more.

And time was running short. Alex originally planned to complete development within two weeks, but now it was overdue. Delaying further would affect the progress of the next game, and Alex didn't have that much time to wait.

Alex turned on his computer and found the design document he had written himself.

While Amy repeatedly revised her design document, Alex had also written his own. However, Alex didn't want his ideas to influence Amy, so he didn't tell her.

When compared to the two design documents, Amy's revised drafts paled in comparison. From the UI design to specific features, they were completely overshadowed.

Using Amy's document as a reference, Alex incorporated better parts of his own design into hers, adding annotations explaining his design intentions.

For optional aspects, Alex fully retained Amy's design.

Working late into the night, Alex finally finished the revisions. He reviewed the updated version of the design document to ensure there were no major issues.

Since this update was still within the framework of "Plants vs. Zombies," there was no need to create a new project. It could be directly modified within the existing project.

...

Early the next morning, the experience store opened on time.

Yawning, Alex said to Amy, "I've sent you the revised design document. Follow the rules and update the content into 'Plants vs. Zombies' using the editor."

"Okay," Amy nodded.

Still feeling sleepy, Alex returned to the second floor to catch some more sleep.

Amy opened her computer and reviewed Alex's revised design document.

"So many changes!"

Amy was shocked. The document Alex sent was more than twice the size of her previous one, and nearly 70% of the content had been modified.

However, Alex didn't delete Amy's original plans. Instead, he inserted the revised plans with annotations explaining the changes.

"Amazing…"

Amy was astounded as she reviewed the changes. The interface had been completely overhauled, and many functions had been modified.

As she worked through the updates in the editor, she felt her previous work paled in comparison.

"The manager is truly amazing, getting so much done in one night? Such efficiency is terrifying!"

Amy's admiration for Alex grew even more.

In reality, Alex had prepared most of it in advance...

...

A week later, the new version of "Plants vs. Zombies" was officially released!

After completing the new version, Alex first updated the computers in the experience store, playing with Jessica, Paul, and the others for a few days to fix some minor bugs.

Once Alex was confident there were no significant issues, he submitted it to the app market.

Soon, players of "Plants vs. Zombies" noticed a new 40MB update and began downloading it.

"Hmm? 'Plants vs. Zombies' has an update?!"

"A single-player game getting an update, that's impressive!"

"This is awesome! I wonder what new content is included? New plants or zombies?"

"Check the update notes; there are developer tools and multiplayer modes!"

"No way, this is amazing! I need to check it out!"

Players eagerly downloaded the update, and the "Plants vs. Zombies" communities exploded with discussions about the unexpected update.

In the parallel world's gaming scene, it was rare for single-player games to receive updates because there was no way to charge for them again. Most designers were unwilling to put effort into something with no return.

This was different from the previous life where designers had mastered the art of selling DLC as the main game.

Moreover, "Plants vs. Zombies" had only been out for less than two months and was still quite popular. Although the earliest players were starting to get bored, new players were constantly joining.

Updating so soon was quite proactive!