Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 151 Star Tap's Three-Pronged Approach
So what constitutes success for a platform?

The answer is selling goods.

A very real question arises: why is Steam able to snowball and grow so large globally? Why do so many developers choose to use Steam, which takes 30% of the profits, instead of EPIC, which only takes 10%?

It's because developers can sell their games on Steam, but not on Epic Games.
It's that simple.
Similarly, why did App Store, which boasts hundreds of millions of users, ultimately fail to defeat the hardware alliance? In short, users don't download software from App Store.
Don't worry about whether the Hardcore Alliance draws a 50% cut or not.
That's geared towards developers. For ordinary users, they don't need it, nor would they choose to give up the app store that comes pre-installed on their phones because of that.
This creates a paradox: "New platforms need developer support to attract users, but developers are only willing to join when the platform already has users."

This is why even Tencent and NetEase have to be mindful of the Hardcore Alliance's stance.

Against this backdrop, for Chu Chen, the next step after gaining popularity is more important than the current situation.

"Mr. Chen? Uploading it first thing tomorrow morning? Isn't that too fast? What if the phone manufacturers on the Hardcore Alliance list our app as a third-party application and then remove it?"

Chu Chen smiled.

"Tomorrow is the best day. While Apple is keeping the manufacturers in check and while everyone is watching, we need to prove ourselves quickly."

At the beginning of Star Tap's launch, Chu Chen formulated the Star Tap Three-Pronged Plan.

As originally planned, Starry Sky Games will conduct its first "traffic monetization demonstration" after the traffic picks up, which will involve updating the Starry Sky Tap homepage.

Three new events have been launched.

First, the demo of "Final Front: Origins" was released and pre-registration was opened.

Secondly, the pre-registration interface for the Chinese version of "FGO" was launched.

In addition to these two first-party games, StarTap will also release a Chinese single-player game ported from Steam.

This is Startap's second move.

Chu Chen intends to use this second wave of traffic to leverage the two key manufacturers in the third wave, persuading them to use Xingchen Tap as their primary distribution platform.

One is miHoYo's "Honkai Impact 3," and the other is NetEase's "Onmyoji."

Just as Zhang Guangtai said, Xingchen Tap, this nascent platform, is indeed a supermarket that doesn't yet have enough "products".

The Starry Night Games press conference looked promising, but players' interest in such things only lasts a few days, maybe a week at most.

These "promises" are unlikely to materialize for at least another year.

Therefore, even if the mini-games that come with StarTap are very popular now, it's useless if the games that are added to the platform don't take off.

unfortunately
Zhang Guangtai, like a frog in a well, had no idea what Xingchen was up to. It didn't matter that Xingchen Games couldn't produce a hit game right now, as long as he could find one in the future.

This year, all Chu Chen needs to do is bring "Honkai Impact 3" and "Onmyoji," two powerful games, into his camp and bind them to Star Tap.

Everything will then fall into place.

As the number of users on StarTap surged globally.

When phenomenal mobile games like "Final Battlefront," "Fate/Grand Order," "Honkai Impact 3," and "Onmyoji" were not listed on the Hardcore Alliance's channels, and didn't even pay any channel fees to mobile phone manufacturers, their revenue still easily skyrocketed.

Then all manufacturers will realize that the so-called "channel is king" is just a false proposition under a specific era.

That will be the time when Startap truly completes its transformation.

~~~
CNJOY has many summits, and they come in various forms, but generally speaking, there are two main types.

One type is the free exhibition, which is also known as a technology exhibition.

This part of the exhibition area also has exhibition halls, which look similar to the game exhibition halls outside, except that each company's booth is very small.

The main purpose is to facilitate negotiations between companies regarding agency distribution, IP licensing, and technological cooperation.
The other type is the summit forum.

It's basically a large exhibition hall where the organizers invite guests to share their valuable insights. Today, in the main forum's conference hall, the person about to take the stage to share is none other than Zhang Guangtai from the Hardcore Alliance.

Although he looked a little haggard due to the sudden attack by Star Tap last night, he still mustered his spirits and forced out an authoritative and confident smile the moment he stepped onto the stage.

The topic of his speech today is...

Hardcore Alliance: Building a New Mobile Game Ecosystem

This is a topic that the Hardcore Alliance talks about every year. It's the same old story, just a change of name. It's nothing more than emphasizing the value of the alliance and consolidating the voice of channel partners in the industry.

"Good morning, colleagues and partners."

Zhang Guangtai cleared his throat, and his voice was transmitted throughout the entire venue via the microphone.

"It is an honor to be here with you all to discuss the future of China's mobile game market..."

For the first half of the speech, everything was normal.

The audience members were mostly representatives from various manufacturers. Some listened attentively, some looked down at their phones to work, and some were dozing off.

But as he was talking, Zhang Guangtai keenly sensed that something was amiss.

At the back of the venue, some faint, barely suppressed conversations began to rise. At first, there were only a few scattered voices, like pebbles thrown into a lake, but soon the ripples spread and turned into a continuous buzzing sound.

"Our Hardcore Alliance is committed to providing a fair and efficient distribution platform for developers."

Zhang Guangtai unconsciously quickened his pace, trying to drown out the noise with his voice.

But it didn't work.

The commotion in the audience did not stop; instead, it intensified.

More and more people took out their phones, and the light from the screens filled the dimly lit hall. The expressions on their faces quickly changed from initial confusion to shock, bewilderment, and finally disbelief.

"Fuck..."

"Really? It's only been online for half an hour, right?"

"Are you crazy! A single-player game?"

"Is the traffic on Starry Sky Tap really that exaggerated?"

The faint sound of the words "Star Tap" made Zhang Guangtai frown deeply.

Then he saw the CEO of a publishing company in the front row. He had been sitting upright, but now he couldn't help but turn his head and whisper something to his subordinate next to him, his face full of surprise.

In the end what happened?
Just then, an barely suppressed gasp of surprise came clearly from the middle of the hall.

"It's over 100,000! Holy crap! Single-player game sales on StarTap have surpassed 100,000!!"

That shout was like a bomb that detonated throughout the entire venue.

The order of the entire venue collapsed instantly.

"What? One hundred thousand?"

"Let me see! Holy crap, it really is 100,000! This... this has only been half an hour?!"

Zhang Guangtai increasingly sensed something was wrong, but he couldn't touch his phone while on stage, so he forced himself to continue speaking. However, by then, no one in the audience was listening anymore.

(End of this chapter)