Zhou Muyan hesitated for a moment before saying, "Boss Pei, I have some doubts. Can I trouble you to explain?"
"It's not that I don't trust you, I just want to learn more advanced design concepts."
He was too embarrassed to say it out loud because he did not believe him.
It was not that he did not believe in Boss Pei's ability or his moral integrity. The key was that moral integrity was not absolute.
There was a saying that went, 'there is a difference between close and distant friends'.
Boss Pei would definitely give his all when designing games for Tengda. However, Boss Pei was only in charge of coming up with an idea now. The specific development and operations were done by Sun Strike Studios and Long Yu Corporation. Could Boss Pei still give his all?
Would he come up with his best ideas?
Would he analyze the market situation in depth and seriously dig into the details?
What's more, as an FPS game, Bullet Hole 2 was originally a direct competitor of Ocean Stronghold. If it snatched too many users, would it affect Ocean Stronghold and cause its revenue to drop significantly?
Considering all these factors, it was completely understandable that Boss Pei had held back on the design of Bullet Hole 2.
He could not ask such things too directly, but he still had to ask.
After all, this game would cost millions of yuan to make. Tens of millions of yuan would be spent just to pay attention to the details. It would be very heart-wrenching if so much money was really wasted.
Pei Qian chuckled, not panicking at all.
He had experienced similar situations too many times. If everyone did not ask, he would feel uneasy.
As long as you ask, all kinds of fallacious arguments will definitely come out of your mouths. I guarantee that you will be obedient.
Pei Qian smiled and said, "What doubts?"
Zhou Muyan thought for a moment and said, "First, the game's feel.
"Back then, Bullet Hole had a huge disadvantage compared to Ocean Stronghold. That was that the feel was too close to Counter Strike, causing newbies to not feel so comfortable playing it.
"At that time, I kept thinking that I would definitely learn from Ocean Stronghold when I make FPS games in the future and lower the threshold for newbies as much as possible.
"Why do you want to continue the feel of Bullet Hole?"
After Bullet Hole had failed, Zhou Muyan had practically brought the entire project team's designers to learn from Ocean Stronghold. Many of the problems had been analyzed very thoroughly.
Learning from successful experiences was an ability that every designer had to have.
That was why Zhou Muyan felt that Boss Pei's words were unreasonable.
After a moment of silence, Pei Qian said, "That was then, and this is now. After all, Ocean Stronghold is a thing from two to three years ago. If I were to learn it now, wouldn't it be like carving a boat to seek a sword? "
The corners of Zhou Muyan's mouth twitched. "Boss Pei, are you saying that Bullet Hole's design is two or three years ahead of its time? He failed because he was born at the wrong time? "
That sounded ridiculous, but that seemed to be what Boss Pei meant!
Otherwise, why would he continue to use Bullet Hole after two or three years?
Pei Qian smiled awkwardly but politely. "Well … you can't analyze the game in such a static and one-sided way."
"Some wind tides are a cycle of reincarnation. For example, in the fashion industry, when the trendiness reaches its peak, it often reverts back to retro. However, this kind of retro is not a complete copy and imitation of the past, but a kind of spiral rise and transcendence … "
"Think about it. Ocean Stronghold's mode has been played by gamers for two to three years. Many gamers are sick of it, and their standards have also improved. Isn't it time to change to something more difficult?"
"That's why it's not accurate to say that your design was born at the wrong time. You should say that you chose the wrong coordinates on the ever-evolving spiral of trends. If you move back a little or move up a little, you will be able to meet the trend. "
Pei Qian did not dare to talk about the specific details of his philosophy. The more he talked about it, the easier it would be for him to expose himself.
On one hand, he did not have much professional knowledge in this area. On the other hand, the more detailed and clear he was, the easier it would be for him to expose himself.
It was just like when a fortune-teller was trying to bluff someone; he could not explain things too clearly. He had to talk about it in broad terms and in a mysterious way.
Sometimes, no matter how he explained it, it would make sense. That was the only way.
If he gave a very accurate answer, wouldn't that be a slap in the face?
After listening to Boss Pei's explanation, all the designers hurriedly lowered their heads and took notes in their little notebooks.
Indeed, Boss Pei's way of speaking was different from the other designers. He was obviously on a different level!
According to martial arts, most experts would be obsessed with techniques when discussing martial arts. They would be obsessed with specific martial arts techniques and would be very detailed.
However, real experts would have mastered all kinds of techniques. Why would they need to talk about the details?
They might be talking about the concept of martial arts. On the surface, it might look like something big and empty, but it represented a higher realm and had a very strong guiding effect.
Just like what Boss Pei had said, the fact that 'trends are always evolving spiral' was enough to guide everyone in choosing projects and researching market trends.
Zhou Muyan nodded slightly; he was much more convinced now.
Actually, he would not be particularly satisfied with Boss Pei's answer to the question 'Is Bullet Hole two or three years ahead of the others?' whether Boss Pei answered yes or no.
If he answered yes, Zhou Muyan would feel that he was being perfunctory. He had a clear understanding of his own capabilities. If he answered no, it would contradict what Boss Pei had said previously.
However, Boss Pei's answer was somewhere between 'yes' and 'no'. Trends were not a straight line but a spiral. Bullet Hole's design was actually very close to the trend in a straight line, but in reality, it was very far away.
As expected of Boss Pei; even a simple explanation was so philosophical!
Zhou Muyan immediately expanded on what Pei Qian had just said. "Boss Pei, are you saying that we should continue to use Bullet Hole's design but not copy it completely? Instead, we should continue to build on this concept and make some modifications?"
Pei Qian, "En … yes."
He had wanted to say no at first because it would not be easy to incur losses if this thing was modified. However, on second thought, he had been blabbering for so long just now. Wasn't that what Zhou Muyan understood?
He could only bite the bullet and admit it now.
However, he added, "However, you have to be careful with these modifications. You can't overdo it even if you make a little less.
"Going too far is as bad as not going far enough.
"You have to try your best to maintain the original core. You have to control the degree."
This could be considered as a slight remedy to make the game stay on this wrong path for as long as possible.
Zhou Muyan nodded. He had no problem with this point. Boss Pei's exquisite explanation had completely convinced him.
However, there were other problems.
Zhou Muyan coughed lightly and looked at Sun Xi. "Regarding Bullet Hole 2's charging model … Sun Xi, what do you think? We're not outsiders here. Speak your mind. "
Sun Xi was very smart. He understood immediately.
He wanted me to raise my doubts!
Obviously, Zhou Muyan was the one with doubts. However, Zhou Muyan was the producer after all. He could not keep asking questions like a primary school student. That would be embarrassing!
What's more, the other designers were watching coldly from the sidelines. It was not right for Boss Zhou to ask questions here and there.
Thus, it was time for a younger brother to step up and solve problems for the older brother.
If Sun Xi dared to answer 'I think Boss Pei's design is quite good and there are no problems', he would probably pack his things and leave the next day.
It just so happened that Sun Xi had his doubts as well. Or rather, the more normal designers present all had similar doubts.
"Boss Pei, I do have some doubts about the charging model as well.
"Bullet Hole's charging model for props has been criticized badly. This model cannot be used anymore. We have to change to a new charging model. We are all very clear about this.
"But why don't we use Ocean Stronghold's charging model?
"Ocean Stronghold's free-to-play model with the Red Kilin's paywalls has been proven to be a rather successful model. It is indeed very popular. What's more, gamers have basically accepted it.
"The charging model would not be copied or copied. Gamers would not feel disgusted just because the charging model of the two games is very similar.
"Why don't we use Ocean Stronghold's charging model for selling epic weapons and sell skins instead?
"After all, in an FPS game, gamers cannot see their own bodies. They can only see the guns in their hands. The effect of selling skins would be very different from that of a MOBA game. "
Sun Xi's meaning was very clear. The charging model was not copying. Why not use a method that gamers were already familiar with?
For example, there was already a MOBA game in the market that charged for selling skins. If another MOBA game was released, wouldn't they just charge for skins? Wouldn't they just use other charging points?
That obviously did not make sense.
It was the same for FPS games. Reality had already proven that this group of gamers especially accepted Ocean Stronghold's charging model. It was a free-to-play game with a limited number of epic weapons. At the same time, it satisfied both commoners and ballers. The income was good, and the reputation was good.
What's more, the charging model did not match the game's design concept of 'spiraling up'. There was no technique involved in this; it was purely a matter of choice.
Then, why should they change?
Pei Qian remained silent for a moment and said, "Indeed, there is no such thing as plagiarism in the charging model of the game. However, if there is a sense of deja vu, gamers would still feel disgusted.
"Charging for time, items, skins, and the like have been used too often in other games. It has already become a norm. That's why people would not find it strange if they used it again.
"However, Ocean Stronghold's epic weapons are only used by itself. Most of the other games have failed after using them.
"That's why gamers would still feel disgusted with such a sense of deja vu.
"What's more, Ocean Stronghold's charging model is related to its gameplay. It takes care of new gamers. That's why overall, it is not a very 'professional' shooting game. It doesn't matter if it is slightly unfair. Gamers are more tolerant.
"However, if it is a more 'professional' game, any unfairness might cause gamers to feel disgusted.
"Combining these two feelings of disgust, Bullet Hole 2 would leave a very bad first impression on gamers.
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