As a mage, I just want to pursue the truth

Chapter 138 Chinese Cthulhu

It’s not that Chinese game manufacturers lack talent or technology, but they are unwilling to invest in single-player games with unpredictable returns.

They are not familiar with this style of play.

Especially for companies like Tencent, online games use QQ and WeChat to attract traffic.

Buy a famous IP, then develop a mobile game based on the IP, then attract traffic, and then set up various krypton gold methods to lure players to spend money.

Traffic is instantly monetized.

What’s more important is that if players are willing to spend money, the data of this game will immediately give managers positive feedback.

Let the managers know that I can allocate appropriate resources to this game, and the traffic is almost free for Tencent.

Just like Qidian used to have editors select good works for recommendation based on the editors’ taste and certain data, but now it all depends on the readers. This is the thinking behind Internet operations.

Novels that you read a lot can be promoted to a better recommended position. Now the recommended position during the new book period of Qidian is also purely for breeding.

Data is everything.

The same is true in games. Games with high revenue and high profits will get more traffic, more development, art, planning and other resources, forming a positive cycle.

In the years when anime IP-based mobile games were the most popular, Tencent developed many anime IP mobile games:

Naruto, Dragon Ball Fighter, Saint Seiya, Dengeki Bunko: Cross Zero, Naruto: New Ninja Generation, Fairy Tail, Dragon Ball Strongest Battle, Fox Spirit Matchmaker, Hunter.

As a result, the only one that still has voices now is Naruto. The last update of Saint Seiya, which was quite popular before, was more than a year ago.

The time point here is the end of 2022. By March 2022, Tencent's Saint Seiya has not been updated for 3 months.

Naruto is the surviving Gu King in this group of anime-adapted IP mobile games.

Tencent’s approach is simple and crude, and the profits are huge.

However, if you make a stand-alone game, the investment and return are not clear.

The first is that the range of game types available is very limited, otherwise you won’t be able to get a game license, and the second is the problem of piracy.

Another crucial point is that the players cultivated by the domestic game industry over the years do not accept the one-time payment method.

They don’t think it’s expensive to spend 648 yuan on in-game items, but most of them would think it’s too expensive to spend a few hundred yuan to buy a console game.

(This is my own psychological activity. Before, I played Onmyoji and spent 648 yuan without any feeling. Later, I bought a NS and spent two or three hundred yuan to buy the game. I felt it was a bit expensive.)
Fortunately, with the existence of Steam in recent years, more and more Chinese players are willing to pay for console games.

Domestic companies that specialize in console games can also find a way to survive.

But the general environment is such that Genshin Impact is a rare masterpiece in the Chinese gaming industry in recent years.

Genshin Impact has borrowed from The Legend of Zelda to some extent (to put it mildly), but Genshin Impact's innovation in krypton gold and the profits it brought to miHoYo are probably also an eye-opener for Nintendo.

On one side are pay-to-win games with a stable return on investment, while on the other side are console games with unpredictable input and output.

It is clear at a glance what choice a company will make.

But Chen Chi and Chen Ran always have fantasies. What if this time is different? What if there is a change this time?

Maybe Tencent is willing to invest in making a Souls-like console game?
A man remains a boy until he dies, and he will always have fantasies.

Invest everything you can in order to pursue your passion. "I don't think we have to make a Western fantasy-style soul-based game. Song Lin and I have never worked on Western fantasy art styles before, so it's hard to get the right balance."

“Although we have played many console games, are familiar with Souls-related games, and are familiar with Western fantasy worlds, it is difficult for us to achieve the same flavor when making this type of game.”

"For example, those British slangs that make people smile, and some jokes that only deep DND fans can understand, these are insurmountable gaps. Rather than making a Western fantasy background that we are just fans of."

"Why not make something with Chinese characteristics?"

"I think it's entirely possible to make a Chinese-style ancient Cthulhu soul-based game, linking ancient Chinese architecture, myths and legends with Cthulhu."

"In fact, Black Myth: Wukong is a very good case study."

2022年底黑神话发售时间宣布跳票了，原本预计在2023年5月30日发售，结果游戏科学宣布跳票到9月底。

The scene artist shared his ideas and showed everyone the scene design he made.

The Chinese-style buildings with flying eaves, carved beams and painted buildings appear particularly eerie against the dark background, and the endless black mountains behind them give off a unique sense of oppression.

He has always been passionate about this style of painting, but has never had the opportunity to show it.

As the producer and team leader, Chen Ran asked, "It's a simple question. How does this style of painting look in VR?"

“Because VR images are 3D, we cannot think about scene art design in a two-dimensional way.”

"Also, when we choose a subject, we must not choose the Four Great Classics, let alone Journey to the West."

"It's almost impossible to get a publishing license for a dark game based on the Four Great Classics."

Someone asked, "What about Black Myth Wukong?"

Chen Ran sneered, "They will definitely go the route of selling it on a platform. Most likely, it will be sold on Steam, and they won't be able to get a version number."

"We can think in the direction that Xiao Li just proposed. I also think that Chinese Cthulhu is a direction that is easy to create highlights."

"But there are a few questions you need to think about. First, if you can't get a license, you can only sell it overseas. How can you attract overseas players?"

"It would be best if we could get a license, but how can we avoid players accusing us of plagiarizing Black Myth: Wukong? Even if the art styles are similar, we can't avoid this title. Of course, this question is not important, we just need to have an excuse when the time comes."

After working at Tencent for a long time, I am used to being accused of plagiarism, whether it is games or business models.

"In addition, the PVE difficulty design, combat system, and combat mode are the most critical."

"For soul-like games, background stories, art scenes, character designs, and prop designs are bonus points, but the battle mode and battle design are the most critical. How to make players feel happy while also torturing them to death?"

"This is an important point."

"It's not just the high difficulty that can attract players. The high difficulty is just a superficial phenomenon."

“How to form positive feedback through small amounts of growth, so that players can feel their own growth, is what can continue to attract players.”

"Of course there are many things I haven't thought of. We need to think about them slowly and form a complete plan."

"The time is tight and the task is heavy. We need to come up with a relatively complete plan within one month."

I have always hoped that domestic game companies would make a Cthulhu Souls-related game set in the Ming Dynasty, but I guess it is unlikely. I can only fantasize about it in my own novels.

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(End of this chapter)