At this point, Yu Fei was a little confused.
Ghost General 2 had a grand structure? Was it a puzzle that was even more difficult than Real Estate Agent Simulator and Safe and Civilized Driving?
He didn't think so?
Yu Fei was the chief designer himself. He had participated in the entire design process of Ghost General 2 from start to finish and was very familiar with the current data of the game.
How could it compare to Real Estate Agent Simulator and Safe and Civilized Driving?
Both of those games had a huge impact on reality. One broke through the traditional real estate agency industry while the other led to a revolution in the driving school system.
What did Ghost General 2 have to offer? Everything else aside, it couldn't even compare to those two games in terms of sales.
Confused, Yu Fei continued to read on.
…
"Ghost General 2 is a fighting game."
"On the other hand, fighting games are in their twilight years. It's a genre that's about to go out of style. It's not wrong to say that it's a niche game.
"Since it's a niche game with a small player base, isn't it obvious that they're going to lose money by investing so much money into it?
"That's a fact that all players know. How could the game designer not know that? How is that possible?
"Then, the only explanation is that the designer knew that it was a niche game. Yet, for some reason, he still invested so much money into it and was willing to take the risk of losing everything.
"Everything that seems illogical on the surface must have a deeper motive behind it.
"If this was a huge fighting game manufacturer with many classic IPs in their hands, then this could be explained by 'inertia' and 'persistence'.
"The problem is that Tengda Games has never developed fighting games before. Their first fighting game was a showdown. They used the most elite development team among the three games studios; they used Ghost General, a well-known IP that Tengda had relied on when it was still in its infancy; and they even invested a huge amount of money into research and development.
"Considering that the chief designer, Yu Fei, isn't a designer with a lot of authority, Boss Pei must be the one behind all of this!
"If that's the case, then the deeper motive behind Boss Pei's actions is worth exploring.
"Many people are saying that Ghost General 2's sales are average, right?
"If that's what you think, then I can only say that it's too small.
"Who gave you the wrong impression that Boss Pei treats sales as the only way to measure a game?
"In terms of earning money, how many games can be more profitable than GOG and Ocean Stronghold? The other big factories might not be making games with paywalls because they did not know how to, but Tengda could not? Tengda will do everything, but it still insists on producing games like Game Designer, Struggle, and Mission and Choice. "
"Therefore, there must be a deeper meaning behind the appearance of Ghost General 2! That's the entire Tengda Games Empire! "
"That is: maintain the diversity of the game, explore the boundaries of the game, and influence the overall environment of the game!
"Boss Pei would definitely know about this, but the designers might not. Next, let me analyze them for everyone! "
…
Yu Fei blinked his eyes in confusion.
He had to admit that Teacher Qiao was right.
As a designer, he really didn't know about this so-called big picture!
Of course, it was hard to say if the other old designers in Tengda Games knew about it.
Perhaps this was a tacit understanding in Tengda Games? After all, the entire Tengda valued hard work and did not brag. The topic of 'big picture' did not look like something that would be brought up in any Tengda department meeting.
However, not talking about it did not mean that it did not exist.
A company without a big picture would not be able to go far. A company that only bragged about the big picture but did not do anything would not go far either.
Tengda, on the other hand, had formed a unique culture under Boss Pei's leadership: there was a big picture, but it was never mentioned.
Yu Fei continued reading.
…
"One of the big picture is to maintain the diversity of the game.
"This is actually very easy to understand. Everyone knows that we humans have to protect rare animals and the diversity of the natural environment.
"Many people might think that what's the point of it? Many rare animals would not intersect with normal people's lives at all. So what if they go extinct? There are so many animals that have gone extinct, but I don't see any impact on our human lives. "
"We humans protect rare animals in order to maintain the diversity of living things."
"We might not be able to see how important and decisive it is now, but at least we protect biological diversity and keep one more possibility for our future. Otherwise, when a large number of species become extinct and only remain in museums, would it be too late for us to regret it if it becomes useful in the future?
"If we keep it now, we might not be able to use it. However, if we lose it now, what if it becomes useful in the future?
"It is the same in the gaming industry.
"Have you all realized that games are becoming more and more homogenous now? This phenomenon is not obvious on other platforms, but on mobile games platforms, there are three or four types of games that basically eat up all the players on the platform.
"This is like a species invasion in nature. When a species is too strong and has no natural enemies, the living environment of other animals will be destroyed until the entire forest is occupied by the strong species.
"In the gaming industry, some games are naturally short and easy to stimulate people's senses. They rely on anxiety, hatred, and greed to create a stronger stickiness. Such games expand very quickly and have a huge advantage in the competition. They can also bring more profits to game developers.
"Of course, I am not criticizing a certain type of game. It is the players' own choice to play what they like.
"However, the problem is that if all game developers go to make such games, what about other types of games? What about players who like other types of games? Perhaps in the past, you might have more than ten different types of games to choose from, but as you play, you will realize that there are only three or four types of games left to choose from.
"In the future, you might not even have a choice at all. That is because even if there are only three or four types of games, there are only some differences in the gameplay mechanism. The internal pay-to-play system and the liver damage system that remains have also become very homogenous.
"If a game type dies, then it can no longer develop and evolve. It is equivalent to the fire being completely extinguished.
"Perhaps in the short term, this is like the extinction of a species. It does not seem to have much impact on our lives. However, in the long term, it is an irreversible loss. Perhaps it can be of great use in the future if it survives? No one can predict this. "
"Therefore, the reason why Tengda Games keeps investing huge sums of money and using the best team in the industry to develop these relatively unpopular niche games is to arouse the attention of ordinary players to this type of game so that it will not completely die out in a specific soil and leave behind a spark for the diversity of games."
"This is a thankless task. Most companies are not willing to do it. There are no large fighting game factories in the country. If Tengda does not do it, the domestic games industry might lose this type of game forever. "
"Therefore, this is the first point. Maintain the diversity of the game."
"The second pattern is to explore the boundaries of the game."
"Tengda is not only going to pass down a niche game category. At the same time, it is also going to dig deeper into this declining game category on the basis of its predecessors and find the design answers for the new era!"
"This is reflected in Mission and Choice: Tengda used its ingenious design to allow gamers who do not like real-time strategy games to continue playing, allowing this game to successfully break out of the circle."
"It's the same for Ghost General 2. On one hand, it perfectly replicated the feel and combat mechanism of fighting games and retained the most essence of the content. It made the experts of fighting games feel that this was an authentic fighting game without any serious deviations. On the other hand, it changed the niche nature of fighting games to a certain extent. It made it easier for ordinary people to get used to it, allowing it to have the possibility of breaking out of the circle!"
"How exactly did Ghost General 2 manage to do this? There are three main aspects. "
"First of all, the meticulously designed PVE combat system and levels."
"In the past, the reason why fighting games dissuaded players was that the threshold for entry was high and the fun was weak. Traditional fighting games might be divided into PVE and PVP, but the design of the PVE part is more conservative. That's why it's difficult to give players an excellent experience. "
"Because the values are conservative and the attributes of players and monsters are similar, it's very difficult to adjust the difficulty. If the monster's AI is too weak, players can easily pass it without any challenge. However, if the monster's AI is too strong, it will bring huge difficulties and strong frustration to players."
"For traditional fighting games, PVP is the true core fun. However, the problem is that PVP is even more difficult to balance and dissuade novices. Without thousands of hours of training, one would not be able to experience the true joy of fighting games. "
"Therefore, Ghost General 2 has made drastic improvements to this point. The most obvious example is the introduction of the design concept of Repent and be Saved in the PVE aspect. It strengthens the enemy's attributes and weakens the enemy's AI. The focus is on testing the players' basic operations."
"This way, the difficulty can be maintained at a more reasonable level. The players will feel the challenge and suffer a little, but they won't be too frustrated. They will be able to see their growth and improvement every time."
"Coupled with the monster mow, horizontal movement and intricate level design, the PVE portion of Ghost General 2 is filled with fun. Even players who have never come into contact with fighting games would be able to pick up the game quickly."
"In other words, the PvE section is a tutorial for beginners. It's the core of the fun PvP section. None of the other fighting games managed to do that, but Ghost General 2 did it! "
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