October 26th, Friday …
In the meeting room of Sun Strike Studios, Zhou Muyan, Sun Xi and the other designers had already arrived and Sun Xi was distributing the design drafts.
That was the design proposal for Bullet Hole 2 that Min Jingchao had just submitted in the morning.
Zhou Muyan purposely gave up the middle seat of the meeting table and looked at the designers. "I'm really disappointed with what happened previously."
"Boss Pei came to design the game personally but none of you came up with any constructive suggestions. In fact, you didn't even get anything out of it!"
"The design proposal is out this time round. Min Jingchao will explain it once more. As for how much you can understand, that will depend on your luck."
The designers looked ashamed as they nodded. "Yes, Boss Zhou. Don't worry, we'll definitely listen carefully!"
Zhou Muyan was initially in despair but Min Jingchao had given him hope once more.
Therefore, he called the designers back.
Previously, Boss Pei's explanation was too profound and they couldn't do anything about it. However, Min Jingchao's explanation should be simpler, right?
They would definitely learn something if they listened to Min Jingchao's explanation of the design concept of the game.
As for the designers, they were more or less indignant.
It wasn't that they felt that Boss Pei was undeserving of his reputation but that he was targeting them.
Was it because this game was developed for Sun Strike Studios that Boss Pei was being so vague about it? Why are they shrouded in fog? Was he intentionally not explaining it to them?
Did he want them to mess up the game?
That was definitely not the case when Boss Pei was explaining it to his designers!
However, they felt guilty when they heard that Min Jingchao had really designed the game.
It seemed like they had misunderstood Boss Pei!
How could Boss Pei be someone who wanted the game to fail on purpose?
Indeed, it was because they were too noobs. They had to watch and learn this time round!
It was impossible for them to learn to Boss Pei's level as that was purely a matter of talent. However, it was still possible for them to learn from Min Jingchao and learn from his thoughts.
Everyone present, including Zhou Muyan, had changed into an attitude of learning with an open mind.
Min Jingchao pushed the door open and was stunned when he saw the scene. "Eh? There's so many people. "
He knew that there would be designers listening in but he did not expect there to be so many that the table was almost filled.
Zhou Muyan smiled warmly. "Brother Min, come over here."
Min Jingchao looked around and saw that only the middle seat was empty. He subconsciously said, "Director Zhou, you should sit in the middle."
Zhou Muyan immediately shook his head. "That won't do. You're the chief designer of this project. You should sit here."
"What's more, we're all learning with an open mind, so don't decline."
Min Jingchao quickly waved his hand. "Director Zhou, you're too polite."
Min Jingchao's refusal had no effect, so he sat down on the empty seat and entered the main topic of the meeting.
"Everyone has seen the first draft of Bullet Hole 2's design plan. Basically, it has slightly refined the points that Boss Pei had previously requested.
"I've already told Director Zhou and Sun Xi about this."
"The main purpose of this meeting is to talk about the core gameplay of the game and the related mechanics of the map that have not been finalized before."
Everyone nodded and listened attentively.
When Min Jingchao, Zhou Muyan, and Sun Xi tried to decipher Boss Pei's train of thought, they only went to the 'map' step. However, there was no specific design plan for the map.
Min Jingchao said that this was the result of Boss Pei's test being gradually upgraded.
Now, it was up to him to come up with a constructive train of thought.
Min Jingchao sorted out his thoughts and then said, "Since we're going to make a map, there will definitely be many players. As few as thirty to forty, as many as seventy to eighty, or even more.
"The exact number of players will definitely depend on the size of the map, and the density of players on the map will determine the rhythm of the game.
"If the density of players is too high, then the rhythm of the battle will be too fast, and many players might die suddenly. If the density of players is too small, then the rhythm of the battle will be too slow, and the battle will not be intense enough. Players will feel like they are playing solo.
"What's more, we have to consider that different players have different requirements for the rhythm of the game.
"Some players prefer to kill more people, so we need a higher density of players. Some players like to plunder good stuff and increase their resource allocation first, so we want a lower density of players.
"Therefore, if we want to make a map, we have to solve a few key problems.
"For example, how to dynamically adjust the density of players on the map, how to adjust the rhythm of the game at different stages, how to distribute the various resources to players, and so on."
Everyone nodded one after another, and some even made notes in their notebooks.
The few problems that Min Jingchao raised were real problems. The reason why it was difficult to make a map was because the rhythm of the game was difficult to control.
Traditional FPS games basically had small maps. The battles were more intense, and it could stimulate the players to the maximum, so that they could maintain a more active and excited state.
However, if they made a map, players would feel bored if they did not see a single person for half a day if the density of players was low. If the density of players was high and they were still fighting, what was the difference between a small map and a small map?
Obviously, they had to think of a gameplay that could only be completed with a large map and could retain the best of FPS games.
Min Jingchao continued, "Actually, my initial thought was that since there was a large map, the large map must have rich map mechanisms.
"For example, an air force base could provide reconnaissance and airdrop supplies, a bunker could provide suppressive fire to a small area nearby, a battlefield hospital could speed up the revival of the injured, and so on.
"These unique map mechanisms are the core advantages of a large map compared to a small map.
"In other words, I initially considered providing players with two game modes: one was a pure shooting mode, and the other was a cooperative mode for such a large-scale battle.
"But then I realized a very crucial problem, and that was the problem of balance."
"It is actually difficult to make the matching mechanism of a large-scale battle with many players so perfect. That is especially so in FPS games where there are many factors of luck and variables. That would increase the uncertainty.
"The existence of the map mechanism is to widen the gap between the two sides so that the battle would not be a constant tug-of-war. However, if the strength of the two sides is not balanced, it could lead to a one-sided crushing of the game.
"That is the problem that veteran MMORPG games like Fantasy World face in multiplayer PVP. It is also a problem that I have been thinking about in the process of balancing GOG."
The designers nodded one after another. That was obviously not difficult to understand.
It would be very boring for players to just shoot on a large map. They had to include strategic locations.
Moreover, strategic locations could not simply be used to increase points. They had to have practical functions that could bring benefits to the players in terms of the game mechanism.
For example, the battlefield hospital could definitely push forward the players' revival point or provide players with first aid kits to recover their health.
However, the existence of the map mechanism would make the already unbalanced two sides even more unbalanced. It would be easy for the battlefield to become one-sided.
That was because FPS games were inherently very random. The historical data of the players could not fully reflect their strength.
For example, there was a player who had terrible shooting skills but was extremely good at commanding. His KDA might be very bad, but he could still win. How could such players be matched?
It was also not appropriate to use the game mechanism to strengthen the weaker side. After all, to the players who had the advantage, their advantages were obtained through hard work. Why should the game mechanism target them?
Games like GOG could use heroes to solve this problem. For example, some heroes were heroes in the later stages of the game. If they dragged it out, they could fight one against five.
However, FPS games relied on shooting skills. A good player's shooting skills would not suddenly become bad, and a bad player's shooting skills would not suddenly become good.
If they really designed a mechanism that was very strong in the later stages, the end result would most likely be that rookies who chose it would suddenly die. Experts who chose it would be very strong in the beginning and even stronger in the later stages.
The difference between FPS games and MOBA games brought about this problem.
If it was not solved properly, it would seriously affect the players' gaming experience.
Min Jingchao had been in charge of GOG's design and game balance. He was very sensitive to balance and immediately realized the problem with this gameplay.
"The solution I thought of is to use the game mechanism to filter.
"Let the players fight freely first. Then, according to the players' performance in the game, we will assign them to two different camps.
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