EFB Chapter 38 The Interview, The Beginning
Chapter 38 The Interview, The Beginning
Building the three-tiered structure behind the scenes requires money, and the top-level fund of funds, Vanguard Vision Fund, needs a substantial amount of start-up capital to truly get it running.
In the early stages, everything depended on self-sufficiency.
Right now, the only shortcut to quickly accumulating a large amount of cash is: playing games.
Geng Zhi needed to consult the game company's organizational structure again, but in order to reduce the risk of exposure, he decided to switch to another law firm.
He switched to a different voice changer mode, spent 750 Dragon Coins, and consulted a tax lawyer at another well-known law firm to get a thorough understanding of the relevant policies for registering an offshore gaming company.
This consultation was once again very fruitful.
Originally, Geng Zhi planned to establish a game company in the Cayman Islands, wholly owned by Vanguard Vision Fund, to directly handle game publishing, and then outsource game development to studios in mainland China.
But a tax lawyer's words were a wake-up call: there is no tax treaty between the Cayman Islands and the United States.
This means that when the App Store pays revenue to his game company, it will be required to withhold an additional 30% withholding tax in accordance with U.S. tax law.
Simply put, if the App Store was supposed to give the company $1000 million in revenue after deducting its share, but now it's forced to deduct another $300 million, the company will only receive $700 million.
The lawyer's suggestion is to add another layer. Vanguard Vision Fund could wholly own another company in the Cayman Islands, which in turn could hold a controlling stake in a Hong Kong game company, which would then distribute the games.
Because Hong Kong has a tax treaty with the United States, this 30% withholding tax can be directly reduced or exempted. Furthermore, registering a game company in Hong Kong is low-cost and fast.
Once his thoughts were clear, Geng Zhi immediately began preparing for the registration of the Hong Kong game company.
The next step is to get Hao Pengxiang on board as soon as possible and arrange for him to start the art design for "Fruit Ninja".
This is a 2D casual game, which is relatively easy to develop.
Hao Pengxiang can basically handle the initial art work by himself, and he can hire an assistant later. As for game development, Geng Zhi can handle it by himself, and hiring two part-time programmers will be enough for subsequent iterations.
With that in mind, Geng Zhi adjusted the voice changer again, ready to call Hao Pengxiang directly via Skype for a "formal" phone interview.
Once the play has begun, it must be performed in its entirety.
Meanwhile, in room 518 of the male dormitory of the Fine Arts Department of Jiaotong University.
The computer screen was ablaze with light and shadow, and the sounds of clashing swords and skill effects filled the air.
Three art students were intently attacking a dungeon boss in the game "Dungeon Fighter Online," their keyboards clattering and shouts echoing throughout the room.
"Heal me! Quick! I'm dying, I'm dying!"
"Damage, damage! Don't hold back your skills!"
"Holy crap, another pink-tier item dropped!"
Unlike his three roommates who were having a blast, Hao Pengxiang, wearing noise-canceling headphones, was diligently practicing a motion graphics tutorial video in a corner near the balcony.
"Xiangzi!" A roommate called out, turning around briefly. "Stop studying! Come on over and play a couple of rounds, we've been waiting for you! The drop rate seems super high today!"
"No, no, you guys go first. My juice splashing effect is still a bit lacking..." Hao Pengxiang waved his hand without looking up and immersed himself in the motion effects practice again.
In the past, he would play Dungeon & Fighter, a game he never missed, every weekend without fail, from morning till night.
But ever since Gengzhi mentioned the bait of "long-term stable part-time job" to him last time, he has become a different person. He stopped playing games and started frantically studying various art tutorials and animation examples in order to prepare for the upcoming interview.
"Ring ring—!"
My phone suddenly rang; it was an unfamiliar number.
Hao Pengxiang stared at the screen for two seconds, his heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason, and then decisively pressed the answer button.
[Hao Pengxiang]: "Hello."
[Teacher Wang]: "Hello, are you Hao Pengxiang? I'm Mr. Wang, the person in charge of Hongzhang Games Studio. I received your resume recommended by Geng Zhi. Would it be convenient for us to have a brief phone interview now?"
[Hao Pengxiang]: "Ah, Teacher Wang, hello, is this convenient? Please wait ten seconds while I find a quiet place."
Hao Pengxiang instantly became excited, ripped off the headphones hanging around his neck, and rushed out of the dormitory in his slippers, heading straight for the large terrace at the end of the corridor.
[Hao Pengxiang]: "Teacher Wang, I'm ready, please go ahead."
Teacher Wang: "Okay, please introduce yourself first."
[Hao Pengxiang]: "My name is Hao Pengxiang. I am currently a third-year student majoring in Fine Arts at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. I have several experiences in game outsourcing, mainly responsible for 2D scene concept art and..."
Hao Pengxiang delivered his prepared speech fluently, especially elaborating on his personal strengths.
On the other end of the phone, "Teacher Wang" casually asked a few more basic professional questions about software proficiency, color sense, and how to understand "game sense," as well as the approximate time he could dedicate each week.
Hao Pengxiang answered the questions one by one and felt that he had performed well.
[Teacher Wang]: "Hmm, I understand the basic situation. Your professional background is a good match for our needs."
[Teacher Wang]: "I've finished asking my questions. Hao, do you have any questions for me?"
[Hao Pengxiang]: "Teacher Wang, I can accept the condition of a 20% reduction in salary for the first two months. I want to confirm that our salaries are settled at the end of the month, right?"
[Teacher Wang]: "Our studio uses a unified T+2 settlement system."
[Hao Pengxiang]: "T+2? What... does that mean?"
[Teacher Wang]: "For example, the salary you receive for the work you completed in January will not be paid until March."
In his past life, Geng Zhi was a good boss who never delayed paying wages and was also quick to distribute bonuses.
He didn't want to reduce Hao Pengxiang's salary or delay paying his part-time wages, but right now, he was truly penniless.
[Hao Pengxiang]: "Teacher Wang, isn't this way of paying salaries a bit late?"
Hao Pengxiang tried his best to keep his tone tactful; he desperately wanted to get this part-time job offer.
But alarm bells were already ringing in his mind. The salary was only paid every two months. What if the other party was just taking advantage of him and running away after finishing the work? Who would he turn to?
Countless stories of "being scammed out of manuscripts while doing part-time work" flashed through his mind instantly.
[Teacher Wang]: "Don't worry, Hao. Our studio is a long-term business. We've been doing art outsourcing for overseas indie games for many years and have a great reputation. We won't take your work for free."
Hao Pengxiang held his phone, speechless for a moment.
This tone, this sales pitch… it sounds more and more like the same line I used to use to fool Ma Chunmei when I was selling PPT templates? "Long-term business," "Excellent reputation"...
Could it be... he really is a fraud?
[Hao Pengxiang]: "Teacher Wang, this is a long-term part-time job, so will we sign a part-time contract?"
[Teacher Wang]: "Of course! We are a legitimate studio, and our contracts are always properly signed. To be honest, we're also worried you might abandon us halfway through!"
[Hao Pengxiang]: "No, no! I'm a serious and reliable person. Once I take on a job, I'll see it through to the end."
[Teacher Wang]: "That's good. We've been working with Geng Zhi for almost two years, and it's always been a pleasant experience. We trust the people he recommends."
Hao Pengxiang: "Thank you for your trust, Teacher Wang! I have no other questions."
Upon hearing Geng Zhi's name and the fact that they had been working together for "almost two years," Hao Pengxiang's doubts immediately dissipated.
With Senior Geng's endorsement, it should be reliable.
Besides, even if you are scammed, you will only lose a month or two at most, and you won't lose money.
[Teacher Wang]: "Okay. Although you were straightforward in your introduction and passed the phone interview, you still need to complete two test questions as part of the process. I'll send them to you later; you need to submit them within 48 hours."
[Hao Pengxiang]: "Okay, Teacher Wang, no questions!"
Just when Hao Pengxiang thought the interview was about to end, a tempting supplement came from the other end of the phone.
[Teacher Wang]: By the way, Hao, this project has performance bonuses, the amount of which depends on the game's market performance after launch and your contributions. Normally, the bonus will be much higher than your fixed salary.
This was a sweet treat that Geng Zhi gave him to stabilize morale among the troops.
Hao Pengxiang: "Ah! Thank you, Teacher Wang! I will definitely work hard!"
After hanging up the phone, Hao Pengxiang was excited and immediately sent Geng Zhi a QQ message.
[Hao Pengxiang]: "Senior Geng! I passed! I passed the phone interview with that game studio, and I only need to take a test to get the job! Thank you so much for the recommendation!"
[Straightforward]: "Congratulations! If you have time, bring your laptop to the third floor of the library at 8 pm tonight and find me. I'll give you some tips to help you pass the test."
[Hao Pengxiang]: "Haha, okay, senior, thank you so much!"
After hanging up Hao Pengxiang's call, Geng Zhi's lips unconsciously curled into a smile.
He spent some time designing two art test questions, and then developed a set of basic art design guidelines, which he then documented.
After finishing all that, he strolled over to the third floor of the Jiaotong University Library.
Geng Zhi keeps his schedule quite tight every day.
His fixed study time for the postgraduate entrance examination is from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
After 4 PM, I'll do some work related to the "Jiaotong University Matchmaker" project. After 7 PM, I'll focus my main energy on the design and code development of the "Fruit Ninja" game.
……
At 8 p.m., Hao Pengxiang arrived at the library on time with his computer.
"Senior, why can't I find their name 'Red Palm Studio' online?" Hao Pengxiang asked curiously.
"This is a newly established studio that specializes in making casual games and is still in the registration process. The games they've worked on before were all RPGs and FPSs."
"Oh, I see."
While explaining to him, Geng Zhi skillfully opened the Cocos2d-iPhone game development engine.
The moment Hao Pengxiang saw Geng Zhi typing away at the computer, all his doubts vanished instantly.