Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 313 High-Intensity "Self-Search"

same moment.

Internet meaning.

Justice Online project team.

"Old Liu! Old Liu! Look at this!"

Li Ming, the operations manager of the Justice Online project team, practically rammed into the office of Justice Online producer Liu Tianlei.

You could feel the excitement on his face even from three meters away.

He was holding a tablet in his hand, the screen displaying a colorful array of news headlines.

Liu Tianlei was writing a proposal at the time. Hearing this, he looked up, pushed up his glasses, and was not annoyed, but just a little helpless.

"What happened now? Our approved funding has been blocked again? It can't be that bad. The boss said he'd fully support us this year, it shouldn't be like this..."

"Pah! It's not about funding!"

Li Ming rushed to Liu Tianlei's table and shoved the tablet in front of him.

"Look for yourself! The whole internet is going crazy! Another martial arts game is a hit!"

Liu Tianlei didn't quite react. The tablet was already in front of him.

"Is martial arts anime style like pineapple rice with a simmering center, or a new fusion dish?"

"'A product from Xingchen is guaranteed to be a masterpiece.' The PV for 'Floating Dream Song' heralds a new direction for domestic martial arts games!"

Liu Tianlei randomly clicked on a few news articles.

These media reports were filled with the excitement of discovering a new continent.

Phrases like "detail maniac," "atmosphere ceiling," and "redefining the essence of everyday life" are piled on top of him like they're free.

Of course, there are also some relatively calm analyses that explore the risks and opportunities of this "emphasis on atmosphere over competition" approach in the current market.

Overall, however, it received widespread praise.

Out of curiosity, Liu Tianlei also took a look at the PV for "Floating Dreams and Long Songs," and then...
He fell silent.
"The spirit of the martial arts world, the spirit of life."

Liu Tianlei had mentioned these words more than once within their project team, and they had even planned to include them in the next phase of the publicity plan.

In some ways, "Floating Dreams" aligns well with Liu Tianlei's initial plans for "Justice Online," both featuring a top-down 2.5D perspective and emphasizing a "breathing world of martial arts."

However, many of his ideas were lost after the success of "The Magic Blade" last year.

They were forced to change.

Unfortunately, in China, being a game producer is never about "what you think" but rather "what the boss thinks." So when a successful game case appears on the market...

Even if your line of reasoning is self-consistent, it often has to be changed.

Li Ming, standing next to him, was carefree. He wasn't a producer; as a pure game developer, he was in the same state as an ordinary player—purely experiencing excitement upon seeing something new.

"This PV, wow, it's really awesome! I've watched it three times, and I discover something new every time!"

"There are quite a few people in our work group talking about this."

"We're discussing this in our work group!?"

Liu Tianlei was stunned for a moment.

"Yes, there are news reports online saying that posts discussing 'Floating Dream Song' on the Tianya Mingyue Dao forum were deleted..."

"Is its influence really that great?"

Liu Tianlei had always thought that Starry Sky Games' main audience was young players who preferred anime and manga or were more interested in new gameplay.

Unexpectedly, in the traditionally conservative field of martial arts, they were able to create a huge stir, and quite a big one at that.

"That's not surprising, boss."

"These days, who sticks to just one genre of games? There are so many people who play everything. As long as the game is good, it doesn't matter what genre it is, there will be a huge influx of people." The player base itself contains a large number of "omnivorous" players who play everything.

If a game's promotional video is of high quality and has a suitable theme, it will naturally attract attention from various circles.

"The martial arts world is getting more and more complicated."

Liu Tianlei sighed, picked up the tablet again, and thought, "Perhaps this is a good thing?"

With a new player entering the martial arts genre, it should be easier for him to raise funds.

"Hey Li Ming, could you write a summary? We'll need it when we go over the budget next month..."

"what???"

Li Mingren was dumbfounded.

No!! I was just gossiping a bit, why do I have to write a report?!
~~~
As time goes on, the release of "Floating Dreams" has garnered a wider and wider response from the player community.

Although most players weren't excited enough to have a heated discussion online, they still remembered the name, and videos related to "Floating Dream Song" started to appear more frequently on Bilibili.

In particular, the first PV saw its views jump from hundreds of thousands to millions, and then to millions more, with a growth curve as steep as a drawn sword, without any hesitation.

This was followed by countless analyses from content creators and independent media outlets.

The analyses and speculations, though mostly nonsense, do indeed demonstrate the popularity among players to some extent.

This also proves that players are not indifferent to martial arts, but rather indifferent to the martial arts games made by Tencent, NetEase, and other companies that rely on pay-to-win elements.

This overwhelming feedback has made the past few days feel like a dream for everyone at A2 Studio.

Compared to other studios under Xingchen.

A2 Studio itself originated from Tencent, and most of its members are seasoned veterans who have been working in the industry for many years.

Having witnessed the ups and downs of projects, and accustomed to the criticisms from players.

Such an experience, where a project is still just a demo, yet it has already received countless praises and is even hailed as the "shining light of domestic martial arts films," is something they have never had before.

Jiao Xiaofei is an example of this.

At Tencent, he was only responsible for the weekly revenue figures and the KPIs presented in the PowerPoint presentations.

Player praise is merely a trivial embellishment on the data report; as for player abuse, that's the job of operations and public relations to put out, not him.

To put it bluntly, Jiao Xiaofei has been making mindless, low-quality games for the past few years, simply piling up pay-to-win elements.

The cash-on-delivery model made him almost forget that making games actually requires facing players.

Now, the overwhelming praise has become a huge boulder weighing on his heart.

In the studio, a young, recent graduate excitedly pumped his fist: "Brother Jiao! Our PV is trending on the Bilibili homepage! It's reached five million views!"

Jiao Xiaofei simply lit a cigarette, silently staring at the screen without uttering a word.

Amidst the swirling smoke, his face, etched with weariness and anxiety, began to emerge in the corners of the internet, along with the explosive popularity of "Floating Dreams."

Jiao Xiaofei has been watching videos and reading comments lately, and after doing so much...

I've picked up a new "bad habit": excessive self-searching.

[In-depth analysis! Jiao Xiaofei, producer of "Floating Dreams," was formerly the lead planner for a Tencent project. Can you believe his resume?]

[Warning! Don't be fooled by the Starry Sky Games logo; this game is a remake of a Tencent game that they abandoned!]

[Hilarious! Someone who's been making pay-to-win reskinned mobile games for five years suddenly changes after joining StarCraft? I don't believe you for a second!]

These posts are hidden deep within various gaming forums, but every word is piercing.

Although Jiao Xiaofei knew that many of these posts were just "competitors" using the issue as an excuse, he would just laugh it off whenever he saw such titles. But whether he actually did or not, only he knew the truth.

(End of this chapter)