He An continued. "Of course, what I'm going to talk about is also personal. I hope you can understand, Boss Ma.
"That's because there is no such thing as an absolutely objective and fair statement. Anything that goes through artistic processing will be subconsciously influenced by the 'processor'.
"However, what I'm going to talk about next is my personal vision for the development of the domestic games industry. It would be great if you agree, Boss Ma. It doesn't matter if you don't."
Seeing that He An's expression had turned serious, Pei Qian temporarily put aside his frustration and listened attentively.
"What I'm going to talk about today can be divided into two parts.
"In the first part, I'll talk about my successful experience in creating The Landlord Game. I'll also demonstrate how to keep the right 'personal goods' while maintaining restraint.
"In the second part, I'll briefly talk about my views on the current development prospects of the games industry. In other words, it's a proposal."
Pei Qian nodded.
He could clearly feel that He An seemed to be a little different from the previous two classes.
In the previous two lessons, He An was a pure 'observer'. As an industry insider, he carefully analyzed successful cases and interpreted successful elements.
However, He An seemed to be preaching and dispelling doubts today. It made people think of those old gentlemen who worried about the country and the people.
Pei Qian did not know if it was an illusion.
He An sorted out his thoughts and said, "First, I'll talk about The Landlord Game.
"Actually, the gameplay of this game is not my original creation. It came from a board game during my enlightenment period. Its earliest origins can be traced back to an American political economist called Henry …"
Pei Qian had a very vague impression of this story, but it was not systematic at all. His understanding was not deep either. It gradually became clearer after He An's narration.
This political economist called Henry was born poor. He worked as a sailor, a gold miner, and a printer. He came into contact with countless people who were poorer than him.
In the mid-19th century, the United States rose at a speed visible to the naked eye. However, this also led to an unprecedented social gap between the rich and the poor. Henry realized that the accumulation of endless wealth did not bring prosperity to the poor. Instead, it widened the gap between them and the rich. The income of the top 1% exceeded the total income of the other 50%.
Therefore, Henry began to think about the cause of this huge inequality. In the end, he completed a theoretical work, "Progress and Poverty", revealing that the root of all this was the land privatization system in the United States.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a female reporter named Elizabeth inherited Henry's ideas and decided to create a board game to verify George's theory. After a long period of development, the rules of the board game were gradually perfected.
This was the prototype of He An's "The Landlord Game".
He An took a sip of coffee and continued, "In the process of making 'The Landlord Game', I added a lot of interesting gameplay to make the game more interesting. For example, I added a variety of item cards, added special events, established a complete stock system, character voice system, lottery mechanism, and so on. I also added different maps and polished the art style … "
"These designs are all to make the game interesting and to gain the love of the players."
"Obviously, I agree with Henry's ideas that I smuggled in this game."
"Many people have analyzed this game and looked for elements that have been verified in reality. For example, the poor are poorer and the rich are richer; buying land emphasizes the advantage of first mover and first mover; location is king; one must pay attention to insider information when trading stocks; one must pay attention to accidents during the investment process; the essence of war is the redistribution of resources; people without starting capital are not qualified to enter the game …"
"Most of these interpretations were thought of when I was designing the game. A small portion was vaguely understood when I was designing the game. Only a very small portion was formed naturally during the process of making the game. I didn't have a clear understanding of it, but it was formed naturally during the process of making the game as the rules were constantly perfected."
"Obviously, I smuggled a lot of personal goods into this game. However, this game did not cause disgust among the players. Instead, they agreed with it. This is a successful example."
"In summary, smuggling personal goods has to follow three principles:
"First, convey positive value."
"Second, ensure fun."
"Third, bury it moderately deep."
"Whether it's a game or other cultural products, the quality of the game itself must be met. In layman's terms, the game must be 'fun'. Otherwise, it would not be a qualified game and would not be welcomed by players. The personal goods you smuggled would not be able to affect others."
"Bury it moderately deep so that it would not cause disgust."
"Some players will only dabble in it and only have a very preliminary and superficial understanding of the content you want to express. The main fun lies in the gameplay itself."
"Some players are more perceptive and will make their own associations with these game contents."
"There are also some players who will dig deep into the details of the game and completely understand the personal goods you smuggled. In rare cases, they will even over-interpret your thoughts …"
"Burying it moderately deep is to allow these three different types of players to play comfortably."
"Of course, what I'm talking about is theoretical. When it comes to practice, you need to make decisions based on the actual situation. Don't think that it's useless. The game industry, including most cultural industries, does not have a quantifiable success standard. "
"If there really was such a quantifiable success standard and a quick way to achieve success, then everyone would be able to create a successful game."
"What's really valuable are these theories. Understanding these theories is equivalent to finding the right direction. That is the first step to success."
Pei Qian nodded. He could tell that these were the dry goods of He An's theoretical reserves.
It did not seem to be very practical to Pei Qian, but the theory itself was valuable.
It was just like many instrumental disciplines. They could not simply and directly change one's life, but they could increase one's wisdom and subtly change one's life.
He An sipped his coffee and continued with some emotion. "Next is my current view of the game industry."
"This only represents my personal opinion. Boss Ma, don't listen to it. It's fine if you don't agree with it."
"I think that the domestic games market is becoming more and more prosperous, but it is becoming more and more hollow. Games with paywalls that sell hatred can indeed give players the feeling of gratification and revenge, but does it convey any positive value? No. "
"Of course, I'm not saying that all games have to be educational. That's a wrong point of view. Games are entertainment products, and their first goal is to entertain. That's not a problem.
"However, this doesn't mean that the game itself should be empty and meaningless. A game that sells hatred, plays with probability, and plays around the edges might be commercially successful, but it will never become a classic game that will be passed down to the world. It will never win the true respect of players.
"It's true that we emphasize that the goal of games is to entertain, but we should not laugh at the game producers who express content to players through games. They are indispensable as well.
"It's a pity that there are fewer and fewer such game producers in the current market environment.
"Everyone likes fighting and killing, grand scenes, beautiful faces, and hot bodies. The competition between game merchants is like a dish with more and more seasonings. It constantly increases the taste threshold of the players and customers, leaving the chefs who insist on their original tastes with no way out."
"That's why I'm considering retirement. I know very well that in such a market environment, even if I make another Landlord Game, it will not be successful.
"That's why I've always admired Tengda Games so much. Boss Pei of Tengda Games is one of the few game producers in the country who dares and is good at sneaking personal goods into games. What's more, these games are always thought-provoking.
"Boss Ma, if you can become an outstanding game producer in the future, I also hope that you will be someone who knows how to sneak the right goods into games in moderation and restraint.
"Of course, don't forget to carefully wrap such goods in a beautiful, easy-to-accept shell. If the naked truth is directly laid out in front of players, it is absolutely impossible."
Pei Qian listened quietly with mixed feelings.
He could hear the sadness of a hero past his prime from He An's speech. He could feel how high-spirited and high-spirited He An was when he made successful games like The Landlord Game and earned both fame and fortune. Now, in the face of such a market environment, choosing to retire seemed free and easy, but it was also mixed with some helplessness.
However, the good news was that Pei Qian felt that he would definitely succeed in incurring losses this time!
Did he sneak personal goods into Struggle?
In any case, regardless of whether he smuggled it in or not, Teacher Qiao would definitely be able to decipher it.
This game was exactly what He An had said, exposing the naked truth in front of the players. This was a huge taboo!
According to He An's theory, personal goods should be buried in an appropriate depth so that the more one dug, the more one dug. Burying a lot of real goods at a shallow level would dissuade most passerby players who only wanted to dabble in the game. This was the cause of the game's failure!
He An looked at the time. "Alright, let's end the lesson here for today."
"I hope today's lesson can be of some help to you."
"Also, remember, don't expose the naked truth in front of the players. It will only backfire."
Afraid that 'Ma Yang' would knowingly break the rules, He An emphasized once more.
Pei Qian nodded. "Alright, Teacher He. Thank you for your kind words!"
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