Say Yes To Making Bad Games, What the Hell is Titanfall?, Translation

"Zoey's leading the planning?!"

In Gus Shepard's office at WindyPeak Games Inc., Luke Bennett and Jake Rivers stared at Chloe Quinn in disbelief, speaking in unison.

"Uh… yeah," Chloe said, shrugging helplessly. "Zoey's taking charge of the game for the Indie Game Expo."

"This…" Luke's face twisted awkwardly. "Chloe, does she really need to get involved?"

His tone was polite, but the subtext was clear: You're a boss who knows zilch about games. Stay out of it, please.

Chloe got it. She wasn't thrilled about Zoey meddling either. A CEO giving orders without understanding the craft? Recipe for disaster. And Zoey, usually content to be a hands-off slacker, picking now to dive into game design? Weird.

But the boss had spoken, and Chloe, as secretary, had to play along. "I told her your team's got this, but she's set on leading. What do you three think?"

All eyes turned to Gus, the game director. If anyone could talk Zoey down, it was him.

Gus rubbed his chin. "Here's the deal: Zoey stepping up shows she cares about the expo. But, let's be real, she's not exactly a gaming pro. We'll need to tweak her ideas."

His point was clear: Zoey could set the vibe—she's the boss, it's her company—but the nuts and bolts? That's for the pros. No expert wants a rookie micromanaging, especially not a CEO who barely knows a joystick from a keyboard.

Chloe nodded, relieved. "Alright, Gus, prep your thoughts. I'll talk to Zoey again. Conference room in ten."

"Got it," Gus said.

As Chloe left, the office erupted.

"Gus, you good with this?" Luke said, shutting the door. "Letting Zoey call the shots? She doesn't know squat about game design! Remember the last demo?"

The Who's the Daddy demo had been a chaotic mess—diapered babies causing havoc. Any normal CEO would've fired them on the spot. Zoey? She'd clapped and giggled like it was a comedy special.

"And she's gonna lead this?" Jake added, wincing. "She's a great boss, but a planner? Nah."

Gus just smiled. "That's why we handle the details."

He poured water for them, gesturing to chill. "Zoey's clueless about game design, which is exactly why I want her input."

Luke and Jake blinked, confused.

"Hear me out," Gus said. "She's no dev, but she's a player. A normal person who knows what's fun. And who are we making games for?"

"Players…" Luke muttered.

"Exactly," Gus pointed at him. "We make games for people like her."

Luke's eyes lit up. "Oh! You're saying Zoey's our test dummy?"

Gus grinned. "She's a pure player. No dev bias. She'll tell us what's fun or not, plain and simple. That's what we need."

Luke gave a thumbs-up. "Man, Gus, you're a genius. That's a killer angle."

"Kiss-up," Gus teased, then glanced at Jake. "You in, big guy?"

Jake hesitated, then nodded enthusiastically. "Hell yeah!"

…

Ten minutes later, in the conference room, Zoey was buzzing. For a slacker, she was scary efficient when it came to her rebate schemes.

She sat at the head of the table, practically vibrating. Me, leading a game? Watch me tank this and cash out!

"Sorry, Gus," she thought. You want to make good games, but I'm on a different mission. When I score my millions, I'll cut you a check.

As Gus, Luke, and Jake settled in, the planning meeting kicked off.

"No need to hold back," Zoey said, beaming. "This is a brainstorming session. Speak freely. If I mess up, Gus, call me out."

Gus nodded. "You're too modest, Zoey. Lay it on us."

Oh, I will, Zoey thought, smirking internally. She flipped open her notebook, packed with data on the past three years' hottest game genres, the worst-reviewed flops, and IndieVibe's lowest-selling titles.

"Let's pick a genre," she said, glancing at Gus. "Any ideas?"

Depends on my Game Vault's vibe points, Gus thought, but shook his head. "Notice came too fast. We haven't hashed it out. Got any thoughts, Zoey?"

Jackpot, she thought. If Gus had no plan, she'd pick the most doomed genre from her data.

She scanned her notes. "Let's do… a bullet hell shooter!"

Bullet hell shooters were all about dodging insane waves of projectiles while firing back. Survival was the game.

Truthfully, Zoey had never heard of them. Her data showed zero bullet hell games on IndieVibe in five years. A genre so dead even the most desperate devs wouldn't touch it.

Luke and Jake gasped. What kind of trash is that?!