Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 220 Can Light Social Networking Also Promote Sales?

Sighed.

The sound of light footsteps interrupted Wang Xuyang's thoughts.

"Boss, here's the recent report you asked me to compile."

Upon hearing the voice, Wang Xuyang knew it was Zhang Guangtai. He didn't even bother to lift his eyelids, merely snorting through his nose while his gaze remained fixed on the green space outside the window.

"Is the whole report going to be just another one praising how amazing Xingchen is?"

To be honest, although he was the one who initially asked his subordinates to include an analysis of "competitors" in their reports, after a few months, not to mention his subordinates, no one else was doing it anymore.

He himself was already "tired" of seeing it.

Zhang Guangtai felt a little embarrassed after hearing what Wang Xuyang said.

Anyone who has ever been a corporate slave knows that once a company's performance starts to decline, everything really suffers. The same applies to the Hardcore Alliance; it used to be a time when they could just sit back and collect money.

Zhang Guangtai lived a life of luxury.

现在
Not only is it difficult to develop external business, but Wang Xuyang is also interfering in the operation more and more, and his temper is becoming increasingly eccentric.

Some time ago, Wang Xuyang said something similar, mocking them for turning their reports into a summary of Starry Sky Games' victories. As a result, Zhang Guangtai and several senior executives subconsciously reduced the amount of information that the boss didn't want to hear.

Then they were given a severe dressing-down.

"You're already in this mess, and you still aren't studying your opponents? Do you even want to stay in this business?!"

no way..
This single thread has become blocked at both ends.

Therefore, the newspaper still needs to be published.

The key point is that "The End of the World Survival Guide" has indeed become very popular these past two days, and this popularity is "very strange".

Just as no one expected that Chinese players would be so supportive of "buy-to-play single-player games" before the release of "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds," the payment model of "Final Survival Guide" is indeed something that many traditional game developers cannot understand.
What's that feeling like?
It's like this: the kid who gets first place in the class smokes, drinks, and gets perms every day, yet he still gets first place. Then a group of people start to wonder why smoking, drinking, and getting perms can help him get first place.
Nobody seems to think that this might be because the game itself is good, which is why it can be marketed so well.

Everyone thinks that the game sold like hotcakes because of StarCraft's effective marketing on TapTap, especially for game operators like Hardcore.

"As of today, 'Final Survival' has surpassed 10 million downloads worldwide, and this morning's first-day sales exceeded one million. After breaking one million, the official team released a progress bar for five million, saying there would be an extra surprise upon reaching five million globally. Currently, sales have reached 1.5 million and are still rapidly increasing..."

"Wait a minute..."

"Didn't the first round of that game only cost 150,000 yesterday? I remember that?"

Zhang Guangtai was stunned for a moment.

Boss, if you didn't tell me, if you didn't pay attention to Xingchen, how did you know the first poster yesterday sold for 150,000?
"Yes, it was indeed 150,000 yesterday afternoon... but sales have been rising since last night."

"Moreover, the popularity of this game in the live streaming field is terrifying."

"Starting yesterday afternoon, the gaming sections of Bilibili and Douyu were almost entirely dominated by this game, and starting this morning, in addition to the one-life completion mode, the multiplayer mode between two streamers has become incredibly popular."

In China, or rather, in the world.

The best way for a game to become a bestseller is to let "users" create their own "viral" spread. Why did so many single-player and online games in the past insist on having three-player or four-player squads? The core reason was "social interaction." Once one player gets hooked, they will invite their friends to play together.

although
People often joke online that "friends" is the most difficult part of the game.
In reality, Chinese gamers have a very strong demand for online multiplayer. Before Black Myth, most of the wildly popular games that broke out of their niche in China were multiplayer games.
Even if you're a second-time player and reach the top, you still need to play online.

why?
Because "having no friends" does not mean "having no social life".

Chen Xinghan, the producer of Sky: Children of the Light, once developed a single-player game called Journey, which had a very unique feature: the game could be played online, but there was no voice or text system.

Players can only communicate by emitting sound waves of musical notes through pressing buttons.

Online gaming where you can't speak is like a high school girl wearing a mask; it's not like you can just rush in as long as you're pretty and have good eyes.

The online multiplayer mode in Journey reduces the psychological burden of social interaction for players. On the other hand, the actions of two people getting close, following each other, and solving puzzles together in the game can also become an emotional bond.

For example, walking side by side in a blizzard truly gives you the feeling of having companions.

This feature was also applied to "The Last Survival Guide". After paying, players can invite friends to play online and also start matchmaking at specific points in the game.

Once a match is successfully made, the other character will be handed over to another player to control.

In this mode, there is no voice chat and you cannot type.

However, you can trigger interactions such as map markers, drag the other character forward, wave, etc., through a circular "interaction panel".

For single-player gamers, this kind of light social interaction is a viable gameplay option. Because typing and voice communication are prohibited, negative emotions such as "malicious insults" are fundamentally eliminated.
If you feel that the two of you can't play together, you can simply exit the online mode and go back to your single-player mode.

The transition is seamless.

For friends and family who enjoy playing online, they often communicate through third-party voice chat.

This mode was quickly brought up by streamers for entertainment on the second day. Since the online mode could only be unlocked by paying, even players who got it for free on the first day, after watching the streamers play online and learn about this "unique" online mode, found it very popular.

Impulsive purchases can also occur.

"So, you mean that StarCraft used a light social gameplay style to lower the social barrier for players and used the online system to attract players to pay?"

"Aren't you kidding me? Single-player gamers would pay for multiplayer? Can't I just not play online?"

Light social networking... paid features
These words sounded so awkward coming from Zhang Guangtai's mouth.

Wang Xuyang's ability to become the boss of Yinghe was not solely due to personal connections.

He has been working in game operations since the beginning of Shengda Legend. Over the years, which domestic game has succeeded without looking at data, traffic, and conversion rates?
Can social media attract new users?

It might be possible, but that's something games like League of Legends, Honor of Kings, and Overwatch should be doing.
You're making a story-driven single-player game and trying to include social elements?
It actually succeeded? That just sounds weird.
Seeing Wang Xuyang's expression, Zhang Guangtai could only grit his teeth and continue with his analysis.

"Boss, this isn't just empty talk."

"Many media outlets have reported that the online mode is just a catalyst."

"The key point is that there's a claim that started somewhere, saying that the online matchmaking for 'The End of Survival Guide' will prioritize matching players whose gender is listed as opposite in Xingchen's TapTap profile."

(End of this chapter)