Fifth, in terms of online mode and in-depth gameplay, the game will continue with Diablo 3's online mode, but won't release the Hidden Realms and Stairway System.
Diablo 3's Hidden Realms system was a relatively successful design, but it was a double-edged sword.
When players wanted to grind, they would naturally choose the story stages that had the highest drop rate. Because of this, Blizzard in his previous life created a secret realm system that allowed players to comfortably grind in secret realms. They didn't need to repeatedly grind through the story stages.
This was good news for players who were addicted to grinding, as it saved them a lot of time. However, the Hidden Realms system also affected the lifespan of the game to a certain extent, making many people feel that Diablo 3 was a very boring game.
Chen Mo's plan was to wait until after the game was released to the public before opening the Secret Realm System. By then, only the core players would be left in the game, and they would be bored of the story mode, so they would naturally go back to the Secret Realm System.
Seasons, Stairway, and Expert difficulty would all be added in the new version, as a way to extend the lifespan of the game.
… …
With a rough plan in place, all the research and development was progressing at a steady pace.
Once the story was finalized, the art resources could be developed at the same time. Chen Mo gave concept art for a few of the more crucial scenes, so that Zhou Hanyu could better control the art style of the game.
Chen Mo explained some of the key elements of the scenes to Zhou Hanyu.
"Leoric's Palace gives off an eerie and scary feeling. In order to reflect its age, the ground can be purposely made to look damaged or dirty. The corners of the walls can also be made to look like spider webs. Add some cool colors to emphasize the feeling of ghosts lingering around.
"Don't make it too flashy, and don't make it too bright either. It'll make the players feel like it's not real.
"The players will have a very wide field of vision in the Garrison Stronghold. The walls will give off the feeling that they've been through a lot of war. Make more damage, and even add a lot of damage animations when the players pass by. The monsters will appear from many different angles, so the players have to feel like they're being surrounded at all times … "
Chen Mo explained every scene in great detail, to make sure that Zhou Hanyu could accurately understand the meaning of the scene.
Zhou Hanyu nodded as he listened. "Okay, no problem. I understand."
He was also very surprised. From what he saw, although he was in charge of the art department, he didn't have to rack his brain to think too much. Chen Mo had already decided on the art style for each scene, and even drew out the concept art for each scene!
Moreover, Chen Mo's art skills seemed to be better than his!
In his previous company, Zhou Hanyu would first look at the game concept, then come up with two or three versions of the art style. The designer would pick the most suitable version, then slowly create the specific game scenes.
There was no need for that here. Chen Mo had already drawn out the art style, setting, and monsters. All he had to do was perfect it and send it to the outsourcing company.
Fu Guangnan was the same. Chen Mo had provided a few BGM melodies for the game's music. They were all very distinct, and even indicated which instruments would be used in the music, including the scene in which the BGM would be used, and the general style. It was all written very clearly.
This way, there was no need to spend so much time communicating and thinking. They could just focus on research and development, which saved a lot of time.
Including the other employees, they were all dumbfounded. They didn't know that developing a game was this easy.
There were no endless meetings.
There were no redoes.
There were no debates.
Just rolling up their sleeves and saying, "Do it!"
"You can make a game like that?" Zhou Hanyu and Fu Guangnan felt like they had learned something new. This was the first time they had seen a designer like this in their seven or eight years in the industry!
…
Many people were confused on the forums after Chinese New Year.
"This is boring. Do you have any games to recommend?"
"Nope, I'm just as bored."
"It's after Chinese New Year. Many companies are probably just starting work. Even a game that was developed last year would probably only be released in March."
"Sigh, I'm sick of it. The development cycle for good games these days is too long. "
"Oh right, who watched Heavenly Ring 3 during the Chinese New Year?"
"Wrong question. You should be asking who didn't watch it. Who wouldn't watch such an awesome production?"
"Yeah, the box office for that movie is already over a billion USD. It's probably going to keep rising. Those who like this should have watched it already, right?"
"But it's weird. Why can movies be popular in China but not games? Heavenly Ring was ambitious enough to enter the Chinese market two years ago, but died not long after. "
"It's probably because of the gameplay. Foreigners don't suit our tastes."
"I really like this theme, but unfortunately there aren't any good games."
"Previous poster, I recommend Warcraft."
"That's an RTS game. I can't play it."
"There are maps in Warcraft that aren't RTS games. Go look up Holy Realm."
"Holy Realm? Isn't that another western fantasy novel? "
"Yeah, there's an RPG map in Warcraft. It's like a doujinshi map. Go play it, I think it's pretty fun."
"Alright, I'll try it."
What many people didn't expect was that a foreign fantasy movie Heavenly Ring 3 during the Chinese New Year would become a huge hit, making Warcraft's RPG map Holy Realm a little more popular.
There were obviously more guides for Holy Realm on the official site. There were thousands of people playing this map every day.
This was actually quite normal, as western fantasy was in an awkward position in China in the parallel world.
There were many blockbusters in Europe and America, but most of them didn't suit the tastes of Chinese players. Without games like World of Warcraft in his previous life, it was difficult to enter the Chinese market.
Although the Chinese game makers knew the tastes of Chinese players, it was difficult to make authentic western fantasy games. Most of them had a strong sense of imitation, and the players didn't buy it.
Therefore, the Chinese game makers mainly focused on Xianxia and Xuanhuan themes, and weren't interested in western fantasy.
The end result was that it was hard for Chinese players to find a western fantasy game that suited their tastes, and it was because of this that Warcraft became so popular so quickly.
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