Entering the game, Abe no Seimei, who was in the middle of the screen, was gently fanning himself. The scene looked like the residence of a Onmyoji during the Heian period. Under the cold moonlight, the beautiful cherry trees swayed gently, scattering many petals.
"Haimei-sama!!"
"Haimei-sama!!"
A masked white fox shikigami called out, and the story began.
The game's graphics were very clean, without the messy UI of other mobile card games. At the top of the screen were only the character interface, mail, and chat buttons. Apart from that, there were only exclamation marks and lines above the characters' heads. There wasn't even a single extra module.
This kind of layout, coupled with the beautiful scenery, exquisite character models, melodious and elegant music, and the unique voice acting of the characters, made the entire game very immersive.
This was completely different from other mobile card games.
Every time a new character appeared, there would be character sketches and introductions to help the players get into the story as quickly as possible.
Soon, following the appearance of Inugami, the players began to experience the first guided battle.
It was then that the players realized that the game really was 3D, and you could rotate the camera at will?!
"What the hell, what happened to a mobile card game? You can rotate the camera at will, it's pure 3D! "
"And the accuracy of the models is insane, it's almost as good as a PC game?"
"The special effects and attack moves are also perfect!"
"I noticed that the monsters' heads are always looking at the moving people, it's so cute."
"It's still turn-based, but you can control it yourself, there's so much freedom!"
"I won, oh, I can draw cards now!"
"Hm, this is a new way of drawing cards, it's drawing talismans?"
"Wow, I got a cute girl, a purple SR Snow Girl!"
"Don't get too excited, I got this too, looks like it's a guaranteed first draw …"
"Ahhh, hurry up, I'm going to charge money and draw cards!"
Soon, the players were immersed in the game.
The early stages of Onmyoji were well planned, all the features were inserted into the story, and the players' psychology was well controlled.
The story of Inugami and the bird also caused a wave of criticism from the players.
"That Akita is so cute!"
"Wow, it's so honest, so warm."
"A love that transcends species … The ending is not bad. Although the story is short, it's very heartwarming."
"Nice story, graphics, voice acting. I feel like Chen Mo really has a heart. He's the designer of Warcraft after all, he's able to make such a high-end card game now that he's rich!"
"I've fallen into a trap, I've fallen into a trap!"
…
It wasn't just the players, but other mobile card game designers were also downloading Onmyoji, wanting to see what kind of innovation Chen Mo would bring to the table.
It was only after playing that he realised that this game couldn't compare to I Am MT at all. Even the recently released Demon Slayers 2 was crushed!
"The graphics, the dubbing … For Chen Mo to make a game like this, it must be worth at least ten million RMB, right?"
"Yeah, Chen Mo sure is willing to spend a lot of money!"
"He has money now."
"You can't play like this even if you're rich. Does Emperor Dynasty Entertainment have no money? The problem is, the gameplay is the key to mobile card games, the graphics aren't that important. Wouldn't it be better to spend the money on marketing? "
"Chen Mo has done marketing too, and it's going really well."
"I thought Emperor Dynasty Entertainment was ambitious enough, but it turns out Chen Mo's ambition is even bigger than that! Emperor Dynasty Entertainment was planning to use Demon Slayers 2 to test the waters, then use a few different IPs to split the market. But Chen Mo wants to take over the entire mobile card game market with just one game! "
"I don't think so. Chen Mo's taking too big of a step. The gameplay is completely different from I Am MT. The combat has been changed to turn based, and the entire card training system has been changed. Will the players be able to accept this?"
"We'll have to wait for the monthly revenue to come out to see if they can accept it."
…
Qiu Bin was probably the most nervous person. He downloaded Onmyoji as soon as it was released and played non-stop, wanting to understand the gameplay as soon as possible and see what changes Chen Mo made to card games.
But he was completely dumbfounded.
This couldn't be compared to I Am MT at all!
Qiu Bin originally thought Chen Mo only changed the theme and used the same core as I Am MT. But after playing, he realised that it wasn't just the theme and packaging, the gameplay was completely different too!
Take for example, Onmyoji completely ditched the training system from I Am MT. Levelling up and rising stars were easier to understand, but what about Awakening and Spirits?
And with the concept of the main character, there were four Onmyojis and a bunch of skills?
There was also the exploration of the map, story, shops, and card drawing. Although the gameplay still had some resemblance to mobile card games, the packaging and gameplay were completely different. It didn't look like a mobile card game at all!
What confused Qiu Bin the most was that Onmyoji had completely overturned his understanding of mobile card games. The three keywords he mentioned before were completely overturned by Onmyoji.
Fragmentation, low cost, big IP, Onmyoji didn't have any of those?
Fragmentation? This game was way too tiring to play. The players wanted to play for five to six hours on the first day, and it didn't feel like it was relaxing afterwards either. As long as you were online, there would always be something to do. There was no use for fragmentation at all.
Low cost? That wasn't cheap at all. Not only did they burn money on graphics, they also spent money on voice acting. The entire game was worth tens of millions, more than most PC games!
Big IP? What IP did Onmyoji have? The theme was only known to a few people, but most players wouldn't pay attention to the stories and monsters of that period.
At most they would know Abe no Seimei and Shutendoji, they didn't know any of the other monsters!
The three keywords that Qiu Bin spent so much effort on were completely overturned by Chen Mo's Onmyoji.
"Impossible, I don't believe it. It's not that easy to change the players' tastes. You're creating a new gameplay, that's innovative, but have you considered the learning and acceptance costs of the players?"
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