Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 130 CCTV.com

Besides.

At the same time that Star Wallpapers had around 30 million installed users when "Final Front" was updated to version 1.1, it also tried to attract users with the new version for the first time.

The approach taken was to push special live wallpapers to players who hadn't logged into the game for more than a week but were still using the Starry Night wallpaper.

Three versions were pushed based on the mascot character whose wallpaper players used.

The scene depicts 95 standing in an empty command room under the moonlight, shielding the lamp on the table with their hand, and will be triggered when a player clicks to unlock.

"Even if the light is faint, it's good enough to preserve this direction for you, to record this small trace."

"The candlelight may be warm, but it cannot ward off the darkness. Commander..."

"Commander, the rekindled starry sky and hope outside need your guidance."

[Click to learn more: Final Frontline 1.1 version content update & new base opening]

~~~
The effect of the Starry Sky wallpaper in retaining users was better than expected.

Of the players who were pushed back, 28% returned on the first day, and 39% returned on the second day after the new version gained positive word-of-mouth. In total, nearly 67% of the players returned.

Of course, this high regression rate is achieved through both factors.

On the one hand, these players have a short playtime, and most of them don't like PVP and have a long, unpleasant storyline. On the other hand, the new version has indeed received good reviews.

Anyway, whatever.

The return of veteran players and the addition of new players have set a new record for the number of online players in version 1.1, which was reached on the second day after the new version was launched.

For the first time, the peak concurrent online users of The Final Frontline exceeded 80.

This number, when compared to top-tier domestic games like Tencent's League of Legends and Dungeon Fighter Online, is naturally inferior.

After all, just last month, in June 2016, Tencent officially announced that DNF had achieved a record of 5 million concurrent online users.

However, 80 is an absolutely staggering number when applied to anime-style games. You should know that in its previous life, FGO's peak concurrent online player count in the Chinese server was only 30 in 16 years.

When Onmyoji became a huge hit in 16, its peak concurrent online users were only 100 million, but its revenue at that time was an astonishing 10 billion!

to some extent.

With nearly 80 million registered accounts, daily active users once reaching almost 2 million, and a peak concurrent user count of 800,000, "Final Front" only generated a monthly revenue of over 200 million. The estimated revenue for the 1.1 new version is likely to be around 300 million.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them "a disgrace to pay-to-win games".

However, on the other hand, Chu Chen always felt that it was precisely because his revenue was "only this size" that he had such a large player base.

This is a classic chicken-and-egg problem; there's no easy answer.

In any case, Chu Chen was ultimately very satisfied with the result.

Moreover, judging from the monetization of "Final Front: Origins" and the popularity of the 1.1 version, the scale effect is indeed making the "Final Front" IP more and more valuable.

~~~
In addition to PVE players, PVP has also entered a new season after this update.

The new season brings two changes: the addition of three five-star dolls and three four-star dolls, all of whom appear in the main storyline.

For example, there's the M4 SOPMODII from the M4 squad, the German gun girl "G36," and the Italian "Benelli M4."

Although they weren't in the center position in the story, they still managed to become somewhat familiar faces.

In addition, a new bond extension system has been added to the PVP mode.

For example, the 97 doll can form a bond with the Chinese doll, and due to its "export" attributes and its high sales in Canada, it has a very high ownership rate.

In version 1.1, she can also form the "Maple Leaf Bond" with the most common Canadian-owned Glock 19 and Benelli M4.

These newly emerging "hybrid synergies" help alleviate "strategy fatigue" for players who primarily engage in PvP, by providing a solution to the problem of "routine fatigue" caused by consistently using the same team compositions.

In addition, the new version also introduces a PVP "entertainment mode".

Winter Simulation Battlefront

In this mode, the chessboard will become a 6x6 square chessboard, and other functions such as team formation and refresh are the same as in the regular PVP mode.

During battle, instead of both players' pieces being refreshed onto a single board, the two players' boards are combined to form a 6x12 rectangular board, and then they launch an attack on the opponent's board.

During this process, snow will appear on the chessboard. In each PVP session, each player has two campfires and one freeze bomb. The campfires can remove the negative buffs from the snow, while the freeze bomb can worsen the buffs.

How to use these three items becomes a variable in PVP.

This gameplay mode has not been added to ranked matches. For a long time to come, the developers will adjust this mode based on player feedback.

If players find it fun and can play it long-term, then this gameplay will be retained, continuously optimized, and made permanent.

If players don't really like it, that's fine; it can be removed in the next version.

~~~
With the injection of these new systems, the discussion surrounding the Final Front is naturally heating up.

In just two or three days, everyone noticed that the popularity of "Final Front" seemed to have returned, and not only did it return, but it also seemed to be even more popular than before.

The media response was equally swift.

"Final Battle: Version 1.1 Takes the World by Storm, with Over 800,000 Players Playing Simultaneously!" — GamerSky
"A phenomenal domestic game! The secret to the success of 'Final Frontline': innovative gameplay and cultural resonance!" — 1717
"Icelandic Dark Horse Appears on PVE Leaderboard, 'Final Front' National Competition Mechanism Sparks Heated Discussion!" — Game News

Various eye-catching reports sprang up like mushrooms after rain.

And this time.

It's not just the gaming industry that's paying attention to Starry Night Games; some mainstream media outlets have also begun to focus on this domestically produced game that's gradually gaining popularity globally.

~~~
Yufeng Game Industry Park.

Chu Chen wore a relatively formal shirt, which was uncommon for him.

An interview with CCTV.com carries significant weight.

This not only represents the official media's attention to the product "Final Frontline," but more profoundly, it also reflects recognition of StarCraft Games, this emerging Chinese game company.

Although it's CCTV.com, not CCTV TV.
For both Xingchen and Chu Chen himself, this was a very novel thing. This interview was a video interview, and the interview location was the Hall of Honor in Yufeng Industrial Park.

When Chu Chen entered the Hall of Honor, a capable female reporter and a photographer carrying a video camera were already waiting there.

"Mr. Chu, hello, I am Lin Xi, a reporter from CCTV.com."

The female reporter proactively extended her hand.

"Hello, Starry Sky Games, Chu Chen."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the interview officially began.

Lin Xi's questions were professional and direct, without much formality, getting straight to the point.

"President Chu, first of all, congratulations on the tremendous success of 'Final Front' version 1.1, with the number of concurrent online players worldwide exceeding 800,000, which is a phenomenal achievement in the domestic game industry."

"Thank you, this is the result of the team's and players' joint efforts."

"We have noticed that 'Final Battlefront' has not only received a warm response in the domestic market, but has also gained a great deal of attention and a large player base overseas, not only in Japan, but also in Europe and America."

"This is a remarkable breakthrough for a domestically produced game. Does Starry Sky Games have any special insights to share regarding its operation and promotion in overseas markets?"

Chu Chen was somewhat surprised.

He had thought the interview would at least start with a discussion of the game's design philosophy or its successful experience in the domestic market, but he didn't expect the other party to show such a strong interest in the overseas market right from the beginning.

(End of this chapter)