The concept of an Otome game introduced by Xie Yunfan had never appeared in this alternate world before. Since he had decided to make it, he would put in every effort to do it flawlessly.

Of course, as a man who also lacked any personal dating experience, it was impossible for him to write the character profiles and narrative outlines for a romance plotline himself; it would be far too easy for the writing to fall apart. This was precisely why he had brought in a narrative mastermind like Shen Xingye.

Yangfan Studio’s current game catalog primarily leaned toward an ancient traditional style. For this Otome game, he wanted to stick to the traditional ancient style as well. The art department had already synced their rhythm to this aesthetic, making it highly unlikely for the visual production to miss the mark.

Furthermore, a holographic romance allowed players to interact with the male leads up close. If the 3D models of the male leads were styled too modernly—looking too much like real-world, three-dimensional men—it might cause players to blur the lines between fiction and reality. If players became too deeply immersed in the romantic sensations of the game and ended up breaking up with their real-life boyfriends, or deciding never to marry in the future… that would turn into a massive societal issue!

On the other hand, ancient-style heartthrobs allowed players to clearly recognize that this was just a “game.” They could thoroughly experience the joy of falling in love during the gaming process without confusing the game with reality. It was a win-win approach.

Xie Yunfan introduced, “To enhance the players’ sense of immersion, our game this time will use a ‘time-travel romance’ background setting. Due to a certain catalyst, the player transmigrates from reality into an alternate world, where they subsequently encounter various male leads with distinctly different personalities.”

“This way, it will be much easier for players to accept the world-building mechanics.”

“We need to tell the story entirely from the player’s perspective. By having the player transmigrate into this alternate world, we can organically introduce the various factions of this world, as well as the deep-seated grievances and entanglements behind each of the male leads.”

“For now, we’ve tentatively decided to create four male leads, each belonging to one of four distinct factions.”

“The first world the player arrives in is a Wuxia world. The four most renowned factions in this martial world are: Famous Sword Villa, a traditional righteous lineage of swordsmanship; Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, the most mysterious intelligence and assassin organization; Medicine King Valley, a sacred sanctuary for medical inheritance; and the Nether Sect, also known as the Demonic Cult, which serves as the overt antagonist.”

“Our male leads will each originate from these four major factions.”

“Moving forward, the copywriting department needs to formulate highly detailed character profiles, including the male leads’ backgrounds, experiences, personalities, preferences, family members, and social networks. The personalities of the four male leads must be sharply distinguished from one another.”

“With so many women on the production team, you can all discuss among yourselves what kinds of personalities you personally prefer in a male lead, and lock down the character profiles first.”

“As for the lore surrounding the martial world factions and martial arts techniques, I will provide you with reference materials.”

“We won’t forcefully impose a specific personality setting onto the player character. Every player has a unique personality and set of preferences. Some players might want to learn martial arts upon arriving in the alternate world, while others might have zero interest in fighting and simply want to enjoy falling in love happily. There’s no need to force players to do things they don’t want to do.”

“We will introduce branching storyline paths later, allowing players to choose which male lead they want to follow. Each male lead will also require individual dating plotlines. The sheer volume of text for this game will be monumental, so the copywriting department needs to polish it with meticulous care.”

“The game will utilize a gacha system. Every rare male lead card will correspond to a standalone dating storyline. The art department’s workload will also be exceptionally heavy, so I hope everyone will seriously commit themselves to the production of this game moving forward.”

The meeting lasted for a full hour.

Xie Yunfan expounded extensively on his visions for the game. After listening, the employees of the production team felt as though a grand door to a brand-new world had been flung open.

An Otome game where players transmigrated to an unfamiliar alternate world, crossed paths with handsome men of varying personalities, and experienced a thrilling, heart-pounding adventure alongside them—it sounded incredibly entertaining.

The faction lore constructed by the boss himself was also phenomenally impressive.

The sects and martial arts systems of the martial world left even Shen Xingye utterly dumbfounded.

He had even pre-designed specific “combat moves” for several of the male leads.

For instance, the male lead from Famous Sword Villa possessed swordsmanship skills like “Throat-Sealing Sword” and “Drifting Sword Rain.” Once the special effects were rendered, it would undoubtedly leave players thoroughly swooning.

Then there was the mysterious Nether Sect, which could manipulate Gu techniques. Certain Gu poisons could ensnare human minds, turning people into puppets who would blindly follow instructions—a mechanic both mysterious and terrifying.

Medicine King Valley’s medical expertise was world-renowned. If a player got injured in the game, having a brilliant, handsome physician staying by your side to nurse you back to health day after day would make it virtually impossible for anyone to remain unmoved.

As a shadowy intelligence and assassin organization, the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion excelled in all manner of hidden weapons. One of their most famous hidden weapons, the “Soul-Snatching Needle,” was as slender as a strand of hair, capable of taking lives soundlessly and invisibly.

The more Shen Xingye thought about it, the more pumped up she became.

The boss’s imagination was truly formidable. Before the character profiles for the male leads were even fleshed out, the lore for the factions was already so detailed. With all these moves, secret manuals, and sects, it felt like it could easily be spun into a standalone RPG online game.

Wuxia? This was her very first time encountering this type of world-building, and it was fascinating.

Only when the underlying world-building was complete could the resulting male leads possess maximum charm.

At present, the game’s prototype hadn’t even been constructed yet, but she was already fiercely captivated by this gameplay loop of “heading to an alternate world to romance different male leads.”

Who said playing games always had to involve fighting, killing monsters, or solving brain-melting puzzles? Falling in love in a unique way with characters inside a game was just as valid a form of entertainment.

Among gaming manufacturers, very few producers were willing to view issues from the perspective of female players. This would be the very first Otome game dedicated to serving the female demographic.

Of course, this game might spark controversy once it was released. But regardless, the fact that Xie Yunfan had assembled a production team comprised of over 90% women was a testament to his absolute resolve.

Shen Xingye had a distinct premonition—This game was going to be an instant, explosive hit.

Upon returning to his office, Xie Yunfan carefully contemplated the upcoming roadmap.

In the world he currently resided in, the main storylines of many Otome games remained unfinished even after several years. Players might lose interest in the main plot down the line. Sometimes, when updates rolled out too slowly, players would completely forget the preceding plotpoints.

This time, he absorbed the lessons and experiences of his predecessors from his past life, deciding to accelerate the tempo of the main storyline. By rolling out monthly updates on schedule, they would cleanly wrap up this specific story of the martial world within a single year.

What would they do after that?

Since the players could “transmigrate,” the male leads could also “transmigrate.”

Using the traditional ancient style as an underlying anchor, they could transition to a brand-new world while ensuring the core personalities of the male leads remained unchanged. For instance, an imperial court world, a cultivation world, or a high-fantasy world.

The male leads would remain the exact same individuals with the same souls, but the overarching story would be entirely fresh.

This “slow transmigration” style of gaming model would, on one hand, guarantee the long-term operational longevity of the game, and on the other hand, continuously provide players with a refreshing sense of novelty. Finishing one self-contained story a year with monthly updates ensured the narrative pacing wouldn’t feel stagnant. Switching to a new world would herald an entirely new, wondrous experience.

Naturally, a companionship system also had to be developed. Ancient male leads couldn’t make phone calls or send WeChat messages, but they could write letters to the players via “flying carrier pigeons.” The players would receive these letters through the mobile client, which was functionally identical to WeChat.

This setting was very easy to justify narratively; they could simply state that the player obtained a special cheat ability after transmigrating, allowing them to maintain contact with the inhabitants of the alternate world even after returning to reality.

While Xie Yunfan refined the game’s detailed mechanics, the copywriting department led by Shen Xingye was also racing against the clock to flesh out the profiles for the four male leads.

Since the game was tailor-made for girls, the female staff members were exceptionally enthusiastic. Their discussions were incredibly lively; some favored a gentle, older-brother type of lover, some preferred a cute younger guy, while others adored a cold, aloof deity. Everyone pooled their wisdom, debating passionately for several days.

Ultimately, they assigned names and sculpted the distinct personalities of the four male leads based on their respective faction backgrounds.

When Shen Xingye brought the finalized character profiles to show Xie Yunfan, her heart was up in her throat—what if the boss found them bizarre and didn’t like them?

She knocked on Xie Yunfan’s door, forcing herself to appear composed as she handed over the file. “Boss, this is the initial draft of the male lead profiles we’ve put together. Please take a look first; we can revise anything that feels inappropriate.”

Xie Yunfan skimmed through the document.

Male Lead No. 1: The Young Master of Famous Sword Villa. Both of his parents are master swordsmen, and he has been pampered since childhood. He possesses an optimistic and cheerful personality. As a prodigy of martial arts swordsmanship, he has a vast network of friends across the martial world. He loves wearing white clothing to look stylish and is a kind, adorable, sunny, and hot-blooded young swordsman—a pure-hearted warrior.

Male Lead No. 2: The top assassin of Heavenly Secrets Pavilion. He has a tragic background, having survived the brutal massacre of his entire clan. After being adopted by the Pavilion Master, he was trained to be an assassin, turning cold, detached, and ruthless. He falls in love with the player over the course of their interactions but doesn’t dare to approach due to the blood feud he carries, choosing instead to silently guard the player from the shadows like a silhouette.

Male Lead No. 3: The elegant, witty, and humorous eldest disciple of Medicine King Valley. He possesses outstanding medical expertise. On the surface, he heals the sick and saves lives, but in truth, he is highly adept at utilizing poisons to kill silently and invisibly—a gentle, manipulative wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Male Lead No. 4: The Master of the Nether Sect. He is completely shrouded in mystery and excels at bewitching human minds. He usually wears a mask, but once the mask is removed, he reveals himself to be an absolute beauty. He possesses an untamed, rebellious personality and completely flouts all established rules.

Xie Yunfan: “…”

The background lore and character growth arcs were exceptionally detailed. He quietly read through to the very end.

Leaving an Otome game to female developers was definitely the correct choice. He simply didn’t grasp the nuanced preferences of female players, nor could he have constructed these specific male lead profiles himself.

Seeing her boss maintain a calm expression, Shen Xingye couldn’t help but ask anxiously, “Boss, what do you think?”

Xie Yunfan looked up and asked, “What I think isn’t important. Do you girls like them?”

Shen Xingye cleared her throat and explained, “We conducted an internal survey within the production team. These four archetypes of male leads basically align with the preferences of different female demographics. The passionate young wolf dog, the cold iceberg, the gentle mastermind, and the enchanting beauty—they neatly cover the character tropes currently popular in romance novels.”

Xie Yunfan didn’t read romance novels in his spare time. Hearing this, he cleanly handed the document back to her. “As long as you all like them, that’s enough. The target audience of this game is female, and I don’t know enough about their preferences. Moving forward, you will have the final say regarding character and narrative designs. I will solely handle the game framework and structural gameplay mechanics.”

Shen Xingye looked up in excitement. “Does that mean we can finalize the draft?”

Xie Yunfan replied, “Mm. Flesh them out a bit more. Right now, the characters only have flesh and bones, but no souls. You need to elevate these profiles through the narrative arcs so that players can truly empathize with them.”

Shen Xingye took back the manuscript with immense excitement.

In truth, the majority of them had assumed the first draft of character profiles would be vetoed by the boss. Shen Xingye completely unexpected that the boss would be this decisive, directly handing the decision-making power over to them.

Respecting female players began with respecting the female production team.

Their boss wasn’t the type of producer who “didn’t understand the craft yet insisted on blindly micromanaging.” He knew exactly what kind of game he wanted to make and whose opinions he ought to listen to. This quality was incredibly rare!

Shen Xingye said seriously, “We’ll draft the narrative outline immediately upon returning. I’ll write the main storyline, and I’ll assign the branching subplots of the four male leads to different writers.”

Xie Yunfan added, “By the way, the screentime and presence of the four male leads must be balanced perfectly. You must hold the scales evenly.”

Shen Xingye blanked out briefly, looking up at Xie Yunfan.

Xie Yunfan reminded her, “Every player will favor a different male lead, and the popularity of each male lead will naturally vary. It’s highly possible that after the game hits the market, Male Lead A will generate more than double the profit of Male Lead B. However, in the hearts of the players who love him—he is the absolute best.”

“Therefore, we cannot differentiate or discriminate against the characters our players love.”

“The dating content duration for all four male leads must be roughly equal. The order of their appearances in the main storyline can vary, but the high-growth highlights and screentime of all four individuals must be balanced as much as possible. Do not favor one over the other.”

“Especially you—you undoubtedly have your own personal preferences. But as the head writer and project leader, you must treat all four male leads with absolute impartiality. Do you understand?”

Shen Xingye nodded immediately. “I understand completely.”

Treating everyone with absolute impartiality wasn’t difficult to achieve in practice; the crux of the matter lay in whether you chose to do it or not.

By establishing this principle right from the outset, no matter which male lead became the most popular in the future, the official team would never treat the other male leads with cold indifference, ensuring the players who loved them wouldn’t leave with broken hearts.

This would also effectively mitigate arguments between different player factions.

Everyone could simply enjoy the absolute bliss of falling in love inside an alternate world!