Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 135 Sea Cat's Encounters
July 23rd, less than a week until CNJOY at the end of the month.

Hai Mao stood at the entrance of Yufeng Industrial Park, momentarily dazed.

Before he arrived, his impression of Starry Sky Games mostly came from the internet and Chu Chen's "complaints" on the show.

Most of these "complaints" came from spin-off programs on the final battlefront and from "Identifying Starry Sky Hot Comments".

He claimed that Xingchen Games' remote location was ideal for focused game development, and that its biggest advantage over other game companies was the availability of barbecue skewers downstairs at night, along with the delicious braised pig's trotters by Sister Hong, which he ate every time he worked overtime.
Anyway, you need to learn about Starry Night Games from Chu Chen.

That game company is probably the most down-to-earth game company in the entire industry.

Hearing this, Hai Mao's impression of Starry Sky Game was very down-to-earth. He even felt that the other party was probably similar to himself, maybe just in a bigger place.

But when Hai Mao actually entered the Starry Sky Game, he realized he was wrong about this influence.
How wrong it is.

The Yufeng Industrial Park is really big, and the facilities are very complete. As soon as you enter the park, there is a huge metal sign for "Starry Night Games" on the side of the building.

"Is this the small sign that Chu Chen complained about on the show, which the industrial park insisted he put up in order to attract manufacturers to set up shop?"

"This is what you call a small brand?!"

This surprise and disbelief became even more pronounced after Umineko went up to the second floor.

Because Yufeng Industrial Park had already allocated the entire second floor to Xingchen Games, you can see a fairly spacious reception area as soon as you go upstairs.

At that time, the 1.1 version of "Final Front" was in full swing, and the receptionist was constantly answering and making phone calls.

"The receptionist's demeanor really does resemble that of the AR15."

Hai Mao explained his purpose, echoing what Chu Chen had said on the show.

Soon, someone from Starry Sky Tap Studio came to pick him up.

Come to think of it, even now, it seems like no one has explained why the sea cat appeared here.
The answer is actually quite simple: his purpose in coming was twofold—to invest and because he encountered problems in game development.

Since receiving an interest-free loan from Starry Sky Games at the end of May, HaiMao's game demo has entered the acceleration zone.

However... while the pace of development accelerated and a significant number of people were recruited, the game he was developing ran into trouble.
It's not a matter of money, but rather that he and his core creative team have been unable to finalize the core gameplay.

They did manage to create a demo, but they felt that this pure tower defense was somewhat similar to Final Frontline. So, a group of people started brainstorming, and the more they brainstormed, the more conflicted they became.

This kind of dilemma is actually quite normal, and it's not just Umineko who's struggling with it.

Many large game companies and projects face this problem: what might be conceived as a top-down game ends up being a 3D game.
For example, Justice Online was initially developed using a 2.5D top-down perspective to showcase the world of martial arts. However, as the game progressed, Moonlight Blade became popular, so Justice Online was switched to 3D.

There are countless examples like this. If even large companies are facing this dilemma, small manufacturers will naturally be caught in the same predicament as well.

After much deliberation and indecision, as time passed day by day and money dwindled, some people finally spoke up.

"Why don't we ask President Chen?"

This was originally said in jest.

Six months ago, this might not have been a big deal, but now, Starry Games, while not a major company in China, is certainly not a small one either.

Especially in the field of anime-style games, they are definitely in the top tier.

But ironically, after these words were spoken, Hai Mao took them to heart. He thought about it over and over again, remembering that he had indeed "tipped the barrage" on Chu Chen before.
He actually asked on WeChat, and to his surprise, Chu Chen actually replied.

And so, today's meeting came about. After entering the Starry Sky game, Hai Mao's first feeling was like returning to his university days.

A straight and spacious corridor runs through the entire floor, with large glass windows on the left side facing the central courtyard of the park, and office areas on the right side of the corridor.

Each office area has two glass sliding doors, one at the front and one at the back. This arrangement of sliding doors, along with the nameplates hanging above each door provided by the park, further enhances the overall effect.
【Starry Sky A3 Studio】

Starry Sky Dubbing Studio

Starry Sky Animation Studio

【Starry Sky Tap Studio】

【Starry Sky A2 Studio】

It's even more like a school now!!!
As Hai Mao looked at the names one by one, he felt less like he was visiting a company and more like he was touring the various departments of a top university.

As Hai Mao passed by the Starry Sky Animation Studio, he subconsciously slowed down.

No anime fan can resist the allure of the animation production site.

Through the glass of the sliding door, he could see some of the scenes inside, just as he had imagined.

"It's great to have your own animation studio."

"If I had money... I'd get one too, no matter the price."

"Why is someone crying while hugging someone? Huh???"

Actually, this is because the Japanese employees at Starry Sky Animation Studio are about to have their two-month contract expire, although the group didn't seem to realize it when they arrived.

But now that it's time to leave, some emotions inevitably arise.

Especially recently, Starry Games has absorbed a lot of practitioners from the domestic animation industry. As mentioned before, the number of 2D animation practitioners in China is actually similar to that in Japan.

They all have poor pay, high workload, and are only doing it out of love.
Under such circumstances, Xingchen's recruitment efforts are highly attractive to the entire industry.

Moreover, once these people arrive, they can be integrated into the existing Starry Sky animation system.

That's how it is with everything. Starting anything is always the hardest part. It would be almost impossible for Chu Chen to set up an animation studio in China from scratch, but once you have a core studio, it becomes much easier.

The employees of Xingchen Animation Huaxia joined Xingchen around late June, and it's been exactly one month now. Some employees who get along well have even become friends.
It's said, it's said, that someone actually managed to date a Japanese girl...
Chu Chen initially had doubts about this, until he received several calls from Japanese female employees wanting to apply for long-term work visas to stay in China... then he realized...
There really are people who need to eat it!!

How did you do that?! And it's only been a month!!

In any case, Chu Chen was greatly shocked.

anyway.

"Star Tap Studio is ahead."

Seeing that the sea cat had stopped, the receptionist gently reminded it.

Hai Mao snapped out of his daze, composed himself, and followed the receptionist to the Xingchen Tap Studio, perhaps because the Yufeng Industrial Park was indeed quite large.

Each of Starry Sky Games' studios is actually quite spacious.

(End of this chapter)