Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 254 Derivative Microcontrollers

Chu Chen's creation of this "derivative micro single-player game" is itself an attempt to break into new markets. This type of game, with a total playtime of 4 to 8 hours, can essentially be understood as a "major version update".

However, this major version update is separate.

For veteran players, this single-player game is an extra treat from the major update.

For new players, this single-player game is a shortcut to experiencing Final Frontline without any barriers.

Furthermore, in terms of marketing and distribution strategies, the marketing and distribution of a "single-player" game is essentially an expansion of the IP, rather than an addition to the original IP.

Therefore, during the planning stages, after *Final Front: Origins*, there were two other *Final Front* spin-off games, one of which was called *Final Front: Squad*.

Since Chu Chen was responsible for all three projects, the game has "development continuity." In addition to its storyline, the core gameplay of "Final Front: Origins" also lays the groundwork for "Final Squad."

To put it simply, in the project, "Final Squad" is a roguelike game with two progression systems: an in-game progression system and an out-of-game progression system.

There's also an in-game progression system, which is very simple: after killing a certain number of monsters, you'll get a card with three options.

This gameplay, which has become quite "mature" in later generations, is called "Survivor" LIKE.

This is a gameplay style that has been followed by countless people since "Vampire Survivor" became a hit in 2022. Similar games include "20 Minutes Before Dawn" and a series of other games.

Even if you haven't played these games, similar gameplay elements appear in many derivative works.

Moreover, this gameplay style is difficult to make "hard to play." Even in "Girls' Frontline 2," this gameplay style has been praised by many players. If even Yu Zhong can copy a fun game like this, you can understand how easy it is.
Simply put, the character is on a fixed map, constantly fighting monsters to gain experience and level up to obtain a buff card that can be chosen from three options.

Then keep fighting stronger and stronger monsters.

This type of game is the most blatant practitioner of the "sharpening stone" theory because the feedback is extremely direct: "grinding monsters," "getting stronger," and "more satisfying monster grinding."

This process is just like a short video; it comes very directly and very quickly.

So it's really fun to play.

Final Frontline: Squad is also a gameplay based on this core by Starcraft, except that Chu Chen added an off-game growth system on this basis.

That is, "Squad Level" and "Weapon Components".

Squad levels can be understood as a tech tree, which is self-explanatory; the key point is weapon components.

Each time a player enters a map for combat, there is a chance to obtain weapon attachments of different colors, or you could think of them as "equipment" of different levels.

This "equipment" can be taken out.

In other words, if you get a gold accessory after playing this game, you can directly enjoy the bonus from the gold accessory in the next game.

This solves the pain point of survivor-like games.

As mentioned earlier, this kind of game is like a short video; it's fun to watch while you're scrolling through it, but the time commitment is short. Once you've played through the game a few times, the SurvivorLike game becomes boring.

Chu Chen couldn't completely solve this problem, but he could make it last longer. Thus, the prototype of "Final Squad," a fusion of "Darkness Like" and "Survivor Like," was born.

The combat gameplay of "Final Front: Origins" is a test of this gameplay.

The game does not have a "choose one of three" option, meaning there is no in-game roguelike element. However, players can retain the equipment they acquire from the first to the last level, and Final Front: Origins has a "reroll" mechanism.

In other words, after you pass this level.

Players can choose a higher difficulty level specifically to grind for powerful equipment. This is the "testing" part; StarCraft will retrieve player completion data from the backend to see how many people are grinding for equipment and how many times they are doing so.

There's also player feedback, which influences adjustments made to derivative games.
Of course, these things.

Current players don't realize this yet, especially many players who only play "Final Front" rarely play this kind of grind-heavy game, such as Ye Feiyang.

When he was playing through the story, he would just grind through several battles, and if any equipment dropped, he would take a look and equip it on his humanoid character.

He was quite familiar with the system.

Because the PVE mode of the main game "Final Front" has its own equipment system, and there are also different levels of rarity in "Final Front".

until
After he killed a boss, a golden light appeared on the ground.

【Item Name: Rebel Tactical Grip】

[Quality: Legendary (Gold)]

[Attributes: +10% shooting stability, -15% recoil]

【Set Bonus: Rebel (1/2)】

[(2-piece set): Increases rate of fire by 15% and reload speed by 20%.]

Upon seeing this number, anyone who's played Diablo will immediately recognize the familiar equipment quality tiers and those damn set bonuses... Isn't this the standard template for loot-based games?!
Although Ye Feiyang had never played Diablo.

But when he saw the effect of this equipment...

I was still a little stunned. The effect of these two pieces is quite strong. The rate of fire is increased by 15% and the reload speed is increased by 20%! For a machine gunner like the RPK-16 who relies on bullet hell, this is simply an epic upgrade.

"Should I... try again?"

There's an inherent magic to set items; it's like collecting. Once you have one, you want to collect the whole set, even though Ye Feiyang doesn't actually play grinding games much.

We played it several times.
So, while others were already discussing how A-017's wife was the best, he was completely absorbed in the joy of grinding in the game.
What's interesting is that there are actually many "grinding" levels in the game.

For example, the "defense" in the final stage.

Because Ye Feiyang had played the game many times before, his equipment was very complete. Even though he chose the hard difficulty from the beginning, he still had a lot of fun playing it.

And after clearing the final map.

His subconscious reaction wasn't to check the plot, but to look at the map for any new difficulty increases. At that moment, if it weren't for the anniversary update of "Final Frontline", Ye Feiyang might have continued grinding for quite a while.

Even so.

After exiting the game, the first thing he did on the forums wasn't to look for plot analysis, but for equipment analysis. And what he did made a big difference.

There are quite a few people who are "addicted" to this brush-playing method, just like him.

[(Guide) Practical Review of the 'Vanguard' and 'Sentinel' Armor Sets: Data Speaks for Itself!]

[Newbie question: Which map has the highest gold drop rate?]

[Showing off my newly acquired gold magazine, are these stats considered top-tier? (with pictures)]

(End of this chapter)