Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 136 Open Class

The person who greeted Hai Mao was a young employee, who probably didn't have much experience in receiving guests. After asking a colleague and confirming that Chu Chen was in the conference room, he left.

He took the sea cat directly to the conference room.

Neither of them felt anything was wrong.

Until the meeting room door opened, Hai Mao saw Chu Chen standing in front of a whiteboard, talking about something.

And in the conference room, there were seven or eight people, each with a laptop in hand, looking focused.

It looks a bit like a class.

As the door was pushed open, seven or eight pairs of eyes in the conference room turned around in unison and focused on Hai Mao.

In that instant, Umineko and the person who received Umineko finally realized what was happening.

wrong! ! !

Mr. Chen was in a meeting; he should have been waiting outside! Why did he just barge in like that?!
Oh no, this is awkward.

This detail actually reveals that Starry Sky Games does indeed have a "flat" management structure and is somewhat of a "makeshift team." However, for Chu Chen, such details shouldn't be criticized too harshly.

He glanced at the sea cat and waved casually.

The two greeted each other and chatted for a bit.

"Wait a moment, you can sit in if you want. Didn't you say on WeChat earlier that you wanted to know how we do it?"

"Oh"

About a minute later.

When the sea cat sat down, it was still a little dazed.

As someone with mild social anxiety, like many others, he found it difficult to refuse others. He had almost subconsciously agreed to Chu Chen's request, until he sat down...
That's when I started to feel something was off.

However, he was also somewhat excited, as he was genuinely curious about what the daily meetings at Starry Sky Games were like.

The core of this meeting is not complicated.

In just a few sentences, Hai Mao understood the current progress of the meeting, which seemed to be confirming the development of a game.

At first, Hai Mao was just curious, but after listening for a few minutes, his back straightened up without him even realizing it.

This isn't a meeting; it's a public lecture on game product and marketing operations!
~~~
Just then, someone was giving a work report.

"The latest version of Jump Jump has a very good internal test curve, and the new curve is very beautiful, but the retention rate has a clear downward inflection point after 72 hours."

The internal testing Chu Chen mentioned refers to the gray-scale testing that is currently being conducted on TapTap.

For any game, even one that was a huge hit in its previous life, achieving success is by no means an easy task.

Chu Chen didn't believe that simply copying a successful game from his previous life and replicating it in the present would guarantee success.

The most direct example is the game "Jump Jump".

In its previous life, this game was a huge hit, but in this timeline, its first version in early June, during the gray-scale test, did not receive a very good response, even with the same shared resurrection feature enabled.

At this time, TapTap had not yet changed its name, had not yet received any traffic, and had not yet launched any promotional activities.

Although Tap had fewer than 100,000 users and fewer than 10,000 active users at the time, the data was still quite convincing.

In early June, the first batch of over 3000 players who were given access to the game mostly played one or two rounds before stopping.

So from June until now, the game "Jump Jump" has gone through several iterations.

Ranking system, optimized jump feel, and score calculation formula.
One detail at a time was confirmed, and one optimization at a time was implemented.

That's how we got the relatively good test data we have now.

The current discussion is about how to extend user playtime, which shows that the iteration is effective.

"Under the current circumstances, we believe that the player loss is still due to the monotonous gameplay. After the novelty wears off, players lack the motivation to continue logging in and sharing, except for climbing the rankings."

Chu Chen nodded, but did not give a conclusion immediately. Instead, he looked at the person on the other side.

"Brother Feng, what do you think? What can we do at this juncture?"

Li Yifeng, the person in charge of Xingchen Tap, organized his thoughts and submitted the answer he had prepared before the meeting.

"We can add some random Easter eggs to the game, such as jumping onto certain special squares, which will trigger different sound effects and visual effects."

"Alternatively, when players log in on the second day, a branch path selection could be added, with different details appearing in different grids."

Someone echoed the idea.

"How about theme skins? Add some skins for the characters, unlockable through sharing or daily check-ins, to keep things fresh, what do you think?"

While these people were answering, Hai Mao was also pondering.

After a brainstorming session, Chu Chen gave his answer.

"Random Easter eggs, such as a certain square can be turned into a rock, and jumping on it will cause crabs to emerge from below. This can be done, including different sound effects and visual effects. You can think of these yourselves."

"No need to add branching paths for now, and skins should also be prioritized later."

"You need to understand that the satisfying feedback in 'Jump Jump' comes from the series of reactions the player experiences after landing—both physical and mental."

"The best way to improve retention is to add to the fun factor. Let's start in this direction and think about how to motivate players to jump forward more." "For example, the system we determined last time, with 10 squares as the core, allows players to have a precision jump challenge every 10 squares. Jumping to the center will earn more rewards. This system is very well done, and in fact, there was data feedback during testing."

"So, is continuing to add to this path a ranking reward, a completely different view ahead, or something else?"

"As for other content that doesn't fall into this category, put it on hold for now. The launch time is tight, so don't try to be too comprehensive. Ensuring core enjoyment is our current priority..."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Hai Mao inexplicably nodded as well.
Chu Chen then pressed for more information.

"How long will it take if we add these things?"

"If we work overtime today, we can do it tomorrow, but not the day after. This is mainly about the art aspect, based on what we just discussed."

"Next, we will enhance the scenery. The further the player jumps, the more the scenery will change. We will also add special blocks and increase the feedback after the player jumps over blocks."

"Okay, this plan is fine. Two days probably won't be enough. We'll go through one last round in four days, and then we'll prepare for launch."

Chu Chen made the decision decisively.

"understand!"

Although Hai Mao was just listening in, his worldview was constantly being refreshed. He gained a completely new understanding of the word "efficiency," and he had only one thought about Chu Chen's decision-making process.
This is moving way too fast!!

Problems were raised one after another, and then directions were quickly discussed and tasks were assigned.

Chu Chen was like a calm surgeon, precisely dissecting the surface of the problem to get to the core, and then stitching up the wound with the most concise and effective instructions.

He didn't give long speeches; instead, he asked questions, listened attentively, and then offered judgments and directions at key junctures. Hai Mao sat in the corner, initially observing, then becoming focused, and now feeling awestruck.

Just like the game "Jump Jump" we just talked about.

This game is easy to understand; it's just a simple game.

However, the decision-making "difficulties" encountered in this little game are all too typical.

When data suggests that a game lacks long-term appeal to players.

Are you focusing production capacity on skins? Or more gameplay elements? Or perhaps strengthening the core gameplay?

These are the problems that game developers face in real-world scenarios.

Brainstorming can generate many answers that "all seem to be correct".

Choosing which of these things is truly important becomes a difficult problem.

Moreover, this problem is often even more difficult for the "parties involved" who are shrouded in mystery.

Even with the simplest questions, the person involved may still get confused.

It's like there was a 2D game in a past life called "Open Space," and the game itself, whether it was the character design, the miniature garden, the art style, or the art.

It's clearly a casual game, and after launch, female players made up over 50% of the player base. However, the core gameplay at launch was surprisingly focused on character stat progression.
So, those who came for the casual gameplay ended up not getting to experience the casual simulation management content.

I came here for the character development aspect, but the art, combat, feedback, and development mechanics of this game are all terrible.

This is actually a manifestation of decision-making failure during the development process. In the previous version of "Open Space", the revenue was quickly lost after the game was launched, and the market feedback finally yielded the answer of "1+1=2".

They just started issuing announcements saying they would be carrying out a comprehensive rectification.

However, it is clear that the decision-makers paid a heavy price for this answer.

The most important factor in a game developer's success is whether they can act as a decision-maker, whether they know what they want, what is right, and what is wrong.

This was the first time Hai Mao had felt this so clearly.

Because based on that decision, if he were to make it, he would most likely choose all three.
And this answer.

After listening to Chu Chen's analysis, he was quickly replaced by a thought of "That's right! I should have considered stacking up the 'pleasure points' first. How come I didn't think of that?"
To be honest, Hai Mao had prepared a plan before coming.

But now, listening to Chu Chen's presentation, he suddenly felt that his own preparations seemed somewhat...naive.

"Our mini-game matrix, although pioneers in attracting traffic, still has to be fun first; otherwise, it's all for nothing."

"Traffic acquisition is not the core of gameplay, but the core of game operation."

"Alright, meeting adjourned."

A chorus of responses rang out in the conference room.

"Understood!"

The meeting ended with Chu Chen's last words.

Without delay, everyone took on their tasks and quickly dispersed.

Chu Chen picked up the water glass on the table, took a sip, and then turned to look at Hai Mao, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, with a smile on his face.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's talk about your problem and see how I can help you."

The sea cat suddenly stood up.

"it is good"

In that instant, he had a profound feeling that he had made the right decision to come today. He found it hard to describe his current state of mind; it was a magical feeling of witnessing a top student effortlessly achieve a perfect score.
He felt like he had really returned to university.

And sitting in front of him was his "teacher".

(End of this chapter)