"In order to alleviate players' fatigue, I suggest that we use the design of long and short stages. For example, the preface is a short stage used to guide players to adapt to the gameplay. It will end in about 10 minutes. The first stage is a long stage. Before defeating the Boss, you have to solve complicated riddles. It will take about an hour. The second stage is another short stage. You can directly enter the Boss battle. Then, you can mix in a few stages of riddles during the chase. The game time is about 30 minutes. The third stage is another long stage. The time is extended to one hour and fifteen minutes. There will be even more complicated riddles … "
"Through this design, we can adjust the emotional flow of players in different stages and achieve a relaxing effect."
"What's more, according to the length of the stage that we have decided on, we can decide which scene to use for a certain stage. We can combine the gameplay of the Boss battle, the background of the stage, the duration of the stage, and other elements. That way, we can leave a deeper impression on players."
Wu Zhicheng blinked. "That's right, that makes sense!"
He had not thought so much before. He had only planned 10 stages for the game with the mentality of making up the numbers. Each stage had a different background.
However, after hearing Xi Hao's analysis, there were actually so many tricks to it?
The length of the stage could control players' emotions in the game and achieve a relaxing effect. That way, players would not suddenly feel bored halfway through the game. It would bring about a better gaming experience.
What's more, the length of the game also determined the format of a certain stage. Would it be a Boss battle after a long period of riddles? Or would it be a direct Boss battle? Or would it be a Boss battle with multiple stages and add in riddles when changing stages?
Different types of checkpoints would bring completely different gaming experiences to the players.
After Xi Hao's analysis, Wu Zhicheng instantly felt that the previously blurry content had become much clearer. The parts that he did not have any clues could now be followed.
Wu Zhicheng quickly recorded it in his notebook, afraid that he would forget it later.
Xi Hao reminded him, "I'm just making a suggestion. I don't mean that we have to follow this. If you think it makes sense, we can plan it this way. If you have other ideas, we can discuss them again. "
"At the end of the day, 'Black Ink and Clouds' is a game designed by you. You have the final say. We are only making suggestions from other perspectives. It's your freedom to adopt them or not. "
Wu Zhicheng nodded. "Understood."
Wu Zhicheng was very satisfied with Xi Hao's attitude.
Obviously, Xi Hao had several years of experience in the gaming industry. Thus, he could provide a more professional perspective than Wu Zhicheng when looking at many problems.
Of course, Wu Zhicheng would happily accept these better suggestions.
However, Black Ink and Clouds was a game designed by Wu Zhicheng after all. There was no doubt that he should have the final say.
Xi Hao had no intention of interfering with Wu Zhicheng's design. That showed the most basic respect for the creator.
Xi Hao looked at the contents of his notebook and said, "Do you have any expectations for the game's resources and development time?"
Wu Zhicheng shook his head. "No."
Xi Hao did not show any contempt. He said in a normal manner, "Then, let's make a simple plan first. We can perfect the details later."
"Based on the estimated ten hours of game time and the length of the stages, there will be nine stages of different sizes. Other than the prologue and the final chapter, there will also be seven stages in the middle.
"There should be about 15 types of monsters inside. Eight of them can be used as basic monsters, while the remaining seven can be used as special monsters under special conditions or environments."
"The same type of monster can also be reused and made into different colors or skills. However, this kind of reusing needs to be restrained. What's more, it has to be in line with the characteristics of the stage. We cannot make players feel like they are fighting repeatedly."
"There are a total of eight stages from the first stage to the final chapter. We will design eight different Boss battles. We can choose one of the Boss in the prologue to be reused and make a weakened version of the Boss to pass the plot."
"In that case, we can roughly estimate the size of the map for each stage."
"Set the art resource table according to these requirements and finalize the rough workload. The editor is ready-made, and horizontal action games are very common, so the production time can be relatively faster … "
"The overall construction period is estimated to be about six months."
"Even though you have already completed a portion of the content, you still have to leave enough time for modifications. Therefore, we can temporarily set two deadlines."
"The first deadline is two months later. We will try to complete the game content before the third stage. We can test the players' feedback through trial play. If the feedback is not good, we can still modify it in time."
"The second deadline is five months later. We will try to complete the entire game, fix all the bugs, and polish some details. That way, the game can be officially released. "
"The map, characters, monsters, special effects, and other related art resources must also be completed within this deadline."
"Based on the current amount of resources to estimate the development cost … Let's first apply for 1.5 million yuan. The art of this game is very important. We have to contact a few outstanding artists and choose the most suitable style. If we don't have enough money, we can apply again later. "
"Do you think that's okay?"
Xi Hao looked at Wu Zhicheng and asked for his opinion.
Wu Zhicheng immediately nodded. "Sure!"
Wu Zhicheng only had one feeling about Xi Hao's speech: professionalism!
When he was chatting with Qiu Hong previously, Wu Zhicheng did not know anything about the development time of the entire project, how much money would it cost, and other details.
He could not be blamed for his poor professional skills. The key was that he was just an amateur and had never worked in a proper game company before. How could he know these things?
Qiu Hong still decided to invest under such circumstances. It was obvious that he admired the gameplay of Black Ink and Clouds very much.
However, with Xi Hao's help, these more detailed problems were immediately solved.
Wu Zhicheng was quite satisfied with the current plan. He even felt that this plan had changed his thoughts about the game "Black Ink and Clouds" and made it clearer.
What's more, this plan could be changed at any time. There was a high degree of freedom and he did not have to worry about his design being restricted.
Xi Hao continued, "Alright, we'll make the best use of our time to come up with the entire development plan, art resource list, and requirement list for you to take a look. If there are any problems, we can discuss and modify them at any time."
"As for you, focus all your energy on the game design. Just look for us anytime if you encounter any problems."
"We will also collect some information or similar ready-made games online according to the type of game. We will provide them to you as reference materials and continue to update them."
"When you feel that you don't have any inspiration, you can take a look and get some inspiration."
Wu Zhicheng was pleasantly surprised. "Sure, sure."
He could not help but feel emotional. This was really a nanny-like one-stop service!
There was someone to help formulate the game development plan, someone to help raise the requirements for the game's art resources, and even someone to help gather inspiration for the game!
Obviously, the mission of this three-man team was to help independent game designers complete all kinds of time-consuming but essential work. At the same time, they would serve four independent game designers.
They could make full use of the manpower of the entire team as long as they staggered the time slightly.
Soon, the meeting was over. The originally uncertain content had been finalized.
Xi Hao attended this meeting mainly to set a general direction with Wu Zhicheng. After that, he would leave the specific work to his subordinates.
Two to three days later, the development plan, preliminary plan for the stages, art resource list, requirement documents, and so on would be uploaded one after another. There would be professionals in charge of the relevant work.
As for Wu Zhicheng himself, he only needed to do the design work well.
On one hand, it was to standardize and guide his original unorthodox methods. He could create games more efficiently under a certain framework instead of continuing to run around like a headless fly.
On the other hand, it was to greatly reduce his burden. Wu Zhicheng did not need to do those inefficient but necessary repetitive work. He only needed to focus all his attention on the game design work that required the most creativity.
Wu Zhicheng returned to his desk and drank a mouthful of milk tea. He felt much more excited.
Why was he suddenly filled with motivation?
He immediately followed the details that he had previously finalized and began to redo the game's stage plan.
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