Some readers might be fooled into thinking that it's the fourth night of the novel.
。
But this time, there are still a lot of useful information, and I don't need to pay for subscriptions. Everyone can just take it as reading a question and learn some superficial knowledge.
I don't like to argue with others about the details. It's the same for games and novels. When this book was first published, many people said that it was unreasonable here and there. When the original game came out, many people also said that this is not possible.
I don't like to reply to such comments. But if I don't reply, it will make me look guilty. It will make me look like I'm stumped, as if there's a problem with what I wrote. I can't tolerate that.
Therefore, I put all these together to explain some common sense questions to everyone.
I'm not just talking about games. In fact, novels, the internet, technology, self-media, marketing, traditional business, etc. This is a universal rule, and most people who find fault with it don't understand this principle.
So, if you want to start a business, enter the game industry, write a book, or become a WeChat merchant, or create a public account …
The following content should give you some inspiration.
…
First, everyone must understand that there is no such thing as a perfect product in this world.
That means, if you want to find a flaw in anything, you can definitely find it.
Let's take the mobile phone industry that everyone is familiar with as an example. Can you find a perfect mobile phone?
Even if Apple looks like it's perfect in every aspect, it has a fatal flaw … It's expensive.
You must say that Xiaomi can't get the goods! Huawei has low quality-price ratio! Samsung will self-destruct! Apple's quality-price ratio is terrible! Yes, you're right, but this can't hide the fact that you're a contrarian.
Because there is no such thing as a perfect product in this world. You can't create a cheap, good, and superior phone in every aspect.
You don't have a high-tech system, right?
It's the same for mobile phones, games, novels, and almost every product you see is the same.
…
So, if I want to make a mobile phone/game/novel, what should I do?
Since there is no such thing as a perfect product in this world, does that mean I don't have to make it? It can't be perfect anyway?
Of course not.
Making something, from a material point of view, was to sell it for money; from a spiritual point of view, it was to satisfy the needs of some people.
As long as what you make is needed by society and can bring you benefits, then it is meaningful and valuable.
As for whether or not it had any flaws … it definitely had, and probably quite a few.
This wasn't to excuse the "defective product", but to say that as a producer, you had to understand that you weren't a god. Within the limited resources, you had to make choices.
…
Why didn't I like to discuss this problem too much? It was because the vast majority of people who nitpicked on me, no matter if it was a game or a novel, had the mindset of a "consumer" rather than a "producer."
If they can't think from a producer's point of view, then I'm just wasting my breath trying to explain it to them.
What does that mean?
As a consumer, you can scold Xiaomi for not being able to get it, scold Android for being dumb, scold Apple for being expensive and pretentious. But as a manufacturer, if you say that, then you might be … Gongsun Taijun?
If you were a producer, then you had to understand that there was a reason for all the shortcomings you criticized. Most of the time, it was a deliberate choice.
Why was there such a trend?
For many authors, it wasn't that they couldn't write a classic novel. They also knew that writing a classic novel would cause them to have a low star rating and be scolded by classic readers. However, a classic novel sold well.
While you were laughing at the author's terrible writing and childish plot, you didn't know that the author might have written it that way on purpose and it did sell well.
Therefore, it was meaningless to criticize a producer from a consumer's point of view.
Because you were evaluating something based on your personal preferences and not the market rules.
…
If you understood the difference between a "consumer" and a "producer", then continue reading.
Consumers are asking questions, while producers are solving problems.
So, if I was a producer, starting a disruptive app, or writing a self-media article for 100,000 +, what should I do?
The first step is to figure out who you're producing for.
That is, your target users.
If I was making Civilization, then I could design a game to be 10 hours long.
If I was making Honor of Kings, then I would need to compress a game to 15 minutes long.
See, the target users are different, so the things you are making are completely different.
Many people like to talk about specific parameters without the target users. The mistake is that they tacitly agree that the product is targeted at the most ordinary people.
The same argument can be used for many successful games.
There are more than 100 heroes in MOBAs? The learning cost is so high, who would play?
How many hours does it take for Civilization to start a game? Is this a joke?
Onyx Soul is completely masochistic. How can there be so many masochists?
See, the mistake of this argument is that you don't understand the target audience and think that these games are to satisfy everyone's needs.
But in reality, for the core players of these games, what you think is a problem is not a problem at all.
…
So, I want to make a game or write a book.
First, I should understand who I am making it for.
If you want to compare Rainbow Six to PUBG, then in terms of numbers, you can't win, but that doesn't mean that both are good games.
If Rainbow Six can perfectly satisfy its target audience, then it will be considered a success.
I never said that World of Martial Arts is going to be as popular as League of Legends or PUBG. It just needs to be popular among a specific group of players.
In other words, it is a type of game with a good reputation, but it is not to satisfy everyone's needs.
…
In reality, innovation means that it is definitely different from the existing successful games.
If World of Martial Arts is two hours long, someone will say that it is too long, three times longer than PUBG. Who would play it?
If World of Martial Arts is half an hour long, someone will say that you can't show many things about Wuxia in half an hour.
If World of Martial Arts removes its Wuxia content, someone will say that it is just PUBG with a different skin. If you can get PUBG, who would want to play it? It is a badly done gameplay.
See, who doesn't know how to find fault?
First, choose a successful game as a benchmark. If you do something different, then you will not succeed. If you do the same, then you will be plagiarizing.
I am not arguing who is right or wrong. I am saying that this kind of discussion is meaningless. It is just a waste of life.
You like it, he doesn't like it. You think it is okay, he doesn't think it is okay. None of you can represent the target audience.
…
Since when would players spend money on a game?
When the game has something that attracts them.
In other words, the flaws of the game are not important. It is just that you remove the target audience. Even if you do not have this flaw, they will not buy it.
The key is the merits of the game, and whether it is irreplaceable.
It is the same for novels, media, and even WeChat merchants.
Hence, the difference between consumers and producers is that consumers find faults, while producers look at merits.
Learn from the structure of I Eat Tomato, learn from Pork Shoulder's humor, learn from Little Dragon's reversal, learn from Third Young Master's diligence.
Even if you are not talented, you can write better and better.
If you have to say that Tomato and Third Young Master are too dumb, Pork Shoulder's writing is not good enough, and those urban Gods lack logic …
If you continue to nitpick, you will be a flop for the rest of your life.
Everyone can nitpick.
The problem is, can you create a highlight in a situation where there are many flaws?
…
In the process of making a game, you have to make a choice at every moment.
For example, why do you have to work hard in Onmyoji?
You have two choices.
If you don't work hard, the reputation of the game will increase, and the players will relax, and their lifespan will decrease.
If you work hard, the reputation of the game will decrease, and the players will get tired, and casual players will quit. But the game will increase, and the players will live longer, and the income will increase.
There is no such thing as the best of both worlds. No matter what you choose, there will be merits and problems.
So what should you choose at this time?
It's simple, think about who your target audience is.
If the game is made for students, of course you have to work hard. Students have so much time, and they will not leave even if you work hard.
But if the game is made for office workers, you can't work hard, because they don't have the time. You have to come up with designs that save time and money.
If you don't understand, and just jump out and say, who will play such a game?
Sorry, there are a lot of people playing it, and you can't represent anyone.
…
Hence, regardless of whether it is a game, novel, software, or hardware, you have to look at the whole picture, and look at the underlying rules.
There is no point in dwelling on a single point.
You are like a blind man groping an elephant. You don't even know what the elephant looks like. If you touch the trunk and say that the elephant looks like a snake, it will only be a joke.
…
This is why I don't like to discuss these problems.
Because the majority of people who ask questions do not think from the perspective of a "producer", but from the perspective of a "consumer".
Of course, I am a professional author now, not a designer who leads the industry, so my authority is not enough to determine whether a game will be popular or not.
In reality, even people at the top of the industry have different opinions on the same problem. Otherwise, there would not be a bet between Rebs and Auntie Dong.
In the video game industry, it is normal to have different opinions on the same game. For example, I do not think highly of OW, but some people in the industry like it very much.
This is normal, because everyone has different tastes, and looks at the problem from a different perspective.
However, why did I seem so aloof and lazy to explain? It was because most of the people who raised the questions didn't even know the basics. They didn't even understand the most basic rules. They criticized this and that based on their own preferences. I really couldn't be bothered to explain these things.
You have to say that I solved the math problem wrong, and I have to teach you junior high math from the beginning so that you can understand it?
Of course, if there is someone who can use objective rules and professional knowledge to systematically analyze whether a game will be successful or not, then I will be happy to discuss it with you.
If I find that this thing really has a flaw that cannot be justified, then I can just change the settings later, right?
But if you have this kind of judgment, you should be like me. When you look at something, you should look at the good points first, and not arrogantly criticize it.
…
Back to World of Martial Arts.
If you want to ask whether this game will be successful, whether it will be profitable, think about these questions.
Does it have a bright spot?
Is it irreplaceable?
Does it satisfy the needs of a specific group of players?
Is its weakness fatal?
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