The designers looked at the design plan and Min Jingchao's explanation with different expressions.
Obviously, this design plan was quite subversive to traditional FPS games.
What's more, it was not subversive on a whim. Instead, it was an improvement on FPS gameplay that Min Jingchao had made after accumulating experience from GOG in terms of game balance and mechanism innovation.
Would this playstyle be more fun than the traditional explosion mode or the 'tututu tutu' mode?
Not necessarily.
That was because the classic mode was called a classic mode because its fun might gradually fade, but it would never become outdated.
At least for the next few years, the classic mode of FPS games would still have a large number of players.
However, the mission of Bullet Hole 2 was not to surpass it but to find another path.
Just as Min Jingchao had said before, Boss Pei had hinted very clearly that if they continued to take the classic mode, they would definitely clash with games like Ocean Stronghold and Counter Strike. As a latecomer, Bullet Hole 2 did not have any accumulation of players and was actually at a disadvantage.
Therefore, choosing this new battle mode was equivalent to providing a different gaming experience for FPS players. It was a form of misplaced competition with other FPS games.
From this point of view, Bullet Hole 2 did not need to surpass Ocean Stronghold and Counter Strike. As long as it did the best in this niche and was able to generate stable profits, it would completely achieve its goal.
Some designers were moved by Min Jingchao's ingenious ideas and felt that this plan was very bold and subversive. Others were full of doubts.
Would such a highly original gameplay work?
Sun Strike Studios was influenced by Zhou Muyan to make games for profits and to avoid risks. Overall, it was better to focus on stability.
Before developing a game, it was best to find a prototype from a successful game so that there would be no more doubts.
Otherwise, a few million to tens of millions of R&D funds would go down the drain if it failed. That was not something ordinary games companies could bear.
However, they looked at Zhou Muyan and realized that he did not raise any objections. Thus, they remained silent.
Of course, Zhou Muyan was feeling guilty.
That was because Bullet Hole 2 had been unreliable from the start to the development process!
At the beginning, Boss Pei had only made a few simple suggestions during the meeting. Then, Min Jingchao had created a bold and imaginative design, and the prototype of the game had been created.
The prototype of a successful game? Market research? Feasibility study?
Not a single one!
This was completely different from the development process that Zhou Muyan was used to.
However, he could not say much. After all, Boss Pei's reputation was right there. Min Jingchao was also a very capable designer under Boss Pei. He had GOG's successful experience as a foundation. That was not something he could question.
Moreover, this plan seemed to be relatively perfect in theory. Min Jingchao had considered all aspects of the problem, so it was not considered risky.
Sun Xi raised his hand and said, "I saw some special character mechanics written in the design plan, such as class settings."
"This class is different from the one I know."
"At first, I thought it was a combat class. I didn't expect it to be more like a lifestyle class."
"Are there any special considerations in this regard?"
The so-called combat professions were professions that had a direct impact on one's combat ability.
For example, the traditional settings of Warriors, Assassins, and Mages. Different classes had different ways of fighting. Some could run fast, while others could deal high ranged damage.
In a game like Bullet Hole 2, Sun Xi's understanding of the professions would also affect one's combat ability.
For example, snipers could deal higher damage with sniper rifles. At the same time, they would have certain concealment and anti-detection effects. Assault soldiers could mainly use submachine guns and have rapid movement skills. Heavy-armored soldiers moved slower but had stronger firepower, and so on.
It was not easy to distinguish between professions in a game with a modern war background, but it would not be a problem in a future battlefield.
All these skills could be explained by advanced technology.
From Sun Xi's point of view, since these mechanisms had been added to the map, and Min Jingchao was GOG's designer, wouldn't it be normal to add some skills to the players?
However, the professions written in Min Jingchao's design plan were more inclined towards lifestyle professions. In other words, professions that would not have a direct impact on one's combat ability.
For example, doctors could save people faster. At the same time, it would be easier to obtain medical supplies when looting. Medical supplies scattered on the map would also be highlighted. They could carry more medical supplies. They could also use a certain amount of time to modify these supplies so that they could recover more health or have other effects.
Engineers had the ability to repair the machinery in the stronghold. They could use supplies to increase the lethality of some weapons in the stronghold and repair the outer walls of the stronghold.
The only profession that was slightly related to combat ability was the Machine Gunner. When operating the heavy machine gun in the stronghold, they could reload faster and shoot more accurately. However, such an increase was also very limited. Moreover, in order to use this ability, they had to first occupy the next stronghold and occupy the fixed machine gun before they could use it.
In addition, there were a series of limitations such as blind spots and limited number of bullets.
Some abilities that could be made into professions were not made into professions. Instead, they were made into props or conventional skills, such as anti-reconnaissance.
There were two different anti-reconnaissance methods in the game. One was optical camouflage effect, and the other was anti-radar effect. The former allowed players to blend in with the environment, making it difficult for other players to find them with the naked eye. The latter made them disappear from radar detection.
Players could only choose one of these two detection methods, and it had to be changed according to the actual situation. For example, large strongholds had radar coverage, and it would be better to use optical camouflage in places where radar could not cover.
Of course, in order to prevent situations where optical camouflage was everywhere, these resources would be limited. At the same time, players could also have a countermeasure like 'small portable radar'.
This ability could actually be used to develop a profession similar to 'Specter', but Min Jingchao did not do so. Instead, he made it into a universal item that could be used by anyone who found it. Of course, there was a certain number and time limit.
Min Jingchao said, "In this regard, my consideration is … Although combat professions seem to be more differentiated and have more varied gameplay, it can easily have the opposite effect in an FPS game.
"In other words, it looks like there are more varied gameplay, but in fact, it makes the gameplay more monotonous.
"It's very difficult to balance an FPS game with combat professions. It might even conflict with the core of an FPS game.
"An FPS game is definitely a game where you kill me, I kill you. That's the main premise. If we were to make it as balanced as a MOBA game, we would have to let the ranged professions fight the melee professions. That's obviously not suitable."
In a MOBA game, many shooters were clearly holding guns, but they still needed a lot of attacks to kill some tank heroes and assassins.
This was because the shooting range of the shooters was already long. If the damage was higher, the team battle might become a brainless four to protect one, and it would all depend on which side's damage output was higher.
In order to ensure the game's balance, there must be a cycle of restraint, and some restrictions on the shooter's damage output.
However, an FPS game could not do that, or else its most basic fun would be lost.
If they wanted to retain the core gameplay of an FPS game and add combat professions, it would be very difficult to balance it.
Min Jingchao explained, "I'll give you a more common example. Let's say there are a few different types in an FPS game: Tank professions, slow movement speed, high defense, and many bullets; Assault professions, fast movement speed; Sniper professions, with a certain stealth effect, high ranged damage; Healer professions, able to heal teammates."
"Then let me ask you, which profession should a newbie choose?"
Sun Xi thought about it, "Tank or Healer?"
Min Jingchao shook his head, "If you choose the Tank profession, you'll realize that you're a live target. If the pros choose the Assault profession, you won't be able to catch them, and then you'll be hit by a series of attacks. If you choose the Healer profession, you'll realize that you'll be obediently following behind your teammates, but any enemy can cut you to death."
"So the Healer asks, 'Why don't you protect me?' Others might think, 'This healer is so noob, why does she die so easily?'
"At this time, you might think, 'If the Assault profession is so strong, I'll play it too. Then here's the problem, although you're indeed stronger than before, if you meet other pros who also play the Assault profession, you'll still be useless."
Sun Xi was confused, "That's not right, if the Assault profession is so strong, then the game will be unbalanced, it needs to be nerfed."
Min Jingchao asked in return, "Then how much do you think is appropriate?"
"The setting of the Assault profession is to be flexible in terms of displacement, when the pros use it, they can kill without leaving a trace. If you change its damage to be like Scraping Sand, then the pros might as well play the Tank or Sniper, this game might become the world of the Tank or Sniper again."
"MOBA games have different professions because they can do a cycle of restraint. Players can accept something like a ranged player giving Scraping Sand to a melee player."
"But in FPS games, everyone is holding a gun, a ranged player giving Scraping Sand to a melee player is equivalent to directly destroying the fun of FPS games."
"But under the premise of retaining this fun, FPS games are a game of 'you kill me, I kill you'. The Assault profession naturally has a huge advantage. You can either cut them until no one plays anymore, or you can't achieve the effect no matter how much you cut them, and when the pros use it, there's still no solution."
"For the newbies, it's an endless loop. If they don't play the Assault profession, they'll be beaten up by the bigshots, and if they play the Assault profession, they'll still be beaten up by the bigshots."
"Apart from the bigshots who can play the Assault profession, the other players' gaming experience will be destroyed."
"The fun of FPS games is that you can kill quickly and die quickly. Newbies can also kill the pros through sneak attacks. As long as the gap between their ranks is not too big, there's no way they won't be able to fight back."
"Therefore, these special mechanisms must be restrained. Displacement abilities, whether it's teleportation, acceleration, or gliding, should not be given out if possible. The more you give out, the bigger the gap between the players, and the worse the gaming experience for the newbies will be."
"The distinction between life professions is very obvious, to allow the players to have a division of labor in the second stage of the battle. Some will be responsible for turning on the cannons, some will be responsible for searching for medical supplies to save people, and some will be responsible for repairing machinery."
"If you want to quickly restore operations after occupying a foothold, you'll need the cooperation of players of different professions, and the commander will also have to allocate manpower."
"Regardless of the profession, the gap in combat will not be too big. That's the best way to guarantee the gaming experience of the newbies, and not to see the situation of a bigshot player killing dozens of people in a game."
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