After explaining Diablo's new patch and Don't Starve's design concept, everyone went back to work.
Chen Mo's main focus was still on Diablo. He was in charge of the new settings, classes, and story, so he was quite busy.
Zheng Hongxi and Qian Kun were in charge of the expansion pack, while Su Jinyu led a small group of people to work on Don't Starve.
In his previous life, Diablo 3 wasn't very well received when it was first released. A large number of players left the game in a short period of time, especially after Diablo 2 was released. Many veteran players didn't recognize Diablo 3 as the sequel to Diablo 2, and the reviews were all over the place.
This situation only improved after the release of Reaper of Souls.
Before the expansion pack, Diablo 3 only had a non-negative Metacritic rating of 41%, but after the expansion pack was released, this number increased to 72%.
After the release of Reaper of Souls, Diablo 3's reputation greatly increased. It could be said that Diablo 3 before and after the expansion pack was released were two completely different games.
And the way to save the game was through Chen Mo's analysis.
Adding leaderboards, removing the max level cap, closing the auction house, changing the color scheme, adding new playstyles, redefining the difficulty levels, adding a new season mode …
These actions allowed the players to find joy in Diablo 3 again and pulled the game back from the brink of death.
Although Chen Mo made a lot of changes to Diablo 3 in the parallel world, making it close to Diablo 2 in terms of art quality, there was still a risk that the game wouldn't be as popular.
The most important reason was that the players' tastes had changed. Diablo 2's design was very classic, and it set a lot of precedents. That was true, but there weren't any strong competitors at the time, and the nostalgia that the veteran players had for it was also a factor of nostalgia.
If they really wanted to make an HD version of Diablo 2, they might not be able to succeed. After all, the market environment was completely different now.
In Chen Mo's previous life, the original team of Diablo 2 made Torchlight after leaving Blizzard, and games like Dawn of Terror also existed on Steam.
However, no matter if it was Torchlight, which was made by the original team, or Dawn of Terror, which had a very "Diablo" style, they were both far less successful than Diablo 3.
The reasons for this were rather complicated, but the change of times was clearly a very important factor. Times change, and looking at the problem with the method of carving a boat to find a sword was obviously not going to work.
Diablo 3's Reaper of Souls was Blizzard's most successful third person RPG after learning from their mistakes. Therefore, Chen Mo wanted to learn from Reaper of Souls to extend Diablo's lifespan.
As for Don't Starve.
Just like when they were making Lifeline, Chen Mo hoped that Su Jinyu and the others could have some fun and inspiration while making Don't Starve.
Therefore, Chen Mo didn't give them too many settings, and instead let them think about the settings for the game and let their imaginations run wild.
In Chen Mo's previous life, Don't Starve was an indie game, but it definitely wasn't a niche game.
The online version of Don't Starve sold five million copies on Steam in China, and it broke through the one million mark in two weeks on TGP, selling over five million copies in the first month.
As a high quality standalone game, Don't Starve's appeal was undeniable. Chen Mo made this game to test the players' acceptance of open world and sandbox games, as well as give his employees something to do so they wouldn't be slacking off.
… …
While developing Diablo and Don't Starve, Chen Mo was also busy with the international version of Diablo.
Meteorite Technology's representative didn't try to bargain with Chen Mo after working with them on Warcraft, and the two quickly settled on the international version of Diablo.
It was mainly because of the success of Warcraft, and the fact that Diablo was doing well in China, so Meteorite Technology didn't have much to worry about.
The marketing strategy was the same as before, releasing it worldwide at the same time.
With Warcraft paving the way, everything went smoothly. Chen Mo didn't have to worry too much. He would only occasionally ask about the translation to ensure that the English version was able to represent the spirit of Diablo as best as possible.
Chen Mo didn't pay too much attention to Diablo's performance overseas. Even if it wasn't popular, it definitely wouldn't be bad. His priority now was to get Reaper of Souls right.
… …
Today, Chen Mo received a phone call while he was busy.
It was from Xu Xiaojun, Emperor Dynasty Entertainment's marketing department.
Chen Mo was shocked, why was he calling?
The two of them had been in contact before, during the bet on I Am MT, when Lin Chaoxu asked Xu Xiaojun to talk to Chen Mo about the promotional spot.
However, the two of them didn't contact each other after that. Everyone knew that Chen Mo was ambitious, and he and Emperor Dynasty Entertainment were natural enemies.
Chen Mo picked up the phone, "Hello?"
Xu Xiaojun said, "Hello Mr Chen Mo. It's like this. I'm calling to discuss a collaboration with you. "
"Collaboration?"
Xu Xiaojun said, "Yes. Diablo has been selling well, do you have any thoughts of making it into a VR game? "
"Not at the moment, but if there's nothing else …" said Chen Mo.
Xu Xiaojun immediately said, "Please wait, let's hear what we have to say. The world of Diablo leans towards darkness and despair, and the atmosphere of the game is very immersive. Considering that the players are playing as heroes that save the world, the thrill of killing monsters is very strong, so it's a good fit for a VR game.
"Emperor Dynasty Entertainment would like to collaborate with you to make a VR version of Diablo. Of course, considering that you're the creator of the game, we'll respect your opinion.
"You probably don't have the ability to make a VR game on your own, and you're short on funds, so we would like to arrange for an S-grade videogame designer to collaborate with you to make a VR version of Diablo. What do you think?"
Chen Mo said after some silence, "I don't think it's a good idea. I'll make a VR version of Diablo myself, so you don't have to worry about that. "
"Don't be in such a hurry to reject me, hello?"
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