Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 327 Pay to Win
Current martial arts games are mostly based on Western fantasy, with the core gameplay of warriors, mages, and healers, and players leveling up skills to increase attributes.

"Floating Dreams" is more like a "card deck". Players need to combine four kinds of skills to create their own fighting style. The changes produced by different "card decks" also make players need to acquire skills.

"So how exactly does this game make money? All the features are focused on cultivation techniques. Are they just going to sell those techniques directly?"

A group of Justice Online creators watched the battle.

It was almost etched in their minds, and they immediately started discussing how to make a profit from "Floating Dreams".

"Wasn't it supposed to be about selling the character?"

At this moment, the person sitting in front of the computer had become He Zhiyong, and while discussing this, he had already moved the mouse to the game's card-drawing interface.

"It's not as simple as just selling characters."

After a little research, He Zhiyong roughly understood the pay-to-win model of "Floating Dreams". For domestic game studios, there is nothing to hide about studying pay-to-win systems.

Because games definitely need to be profitable, the only difference between domestic game developers when discussing monetization over the years has been the weighting and balance of game mechanics.

After a few minutes, He Zhiyong's eyes showed a hint of contemplation as he looked at the card-drawing interface of "Floating Dreams".

In his view, Xingchen's balance and choices were quite ingenious.

"What we just discussed was how players 'themselves' construct their cultivation techniques, but in 'Floating Dream Song,' you can switch companions to fight."

"Switching companions is essentially switching to a pre-constructed, perfect combination of techniques."

"Let me give you an example."

Old He moved his mouse to the character claiming interface in the "Floating Dreams" DEMO test. Since it was still a DEMO, there was no card draw here, but a character claiming page was displayed.

"For example, the character you can claim is Fairy Ling Shuang, who was shown in the PV before. Her core martial art is the [Ling Shuang Sword Technique]. This sword technique also has corresponding external, internal, and light-body techniques."

"According to the official website, players should be able to learn these techniques through the storyline or by completing her personal events."

"However, this will definitely take time, and Fairy Ling Shuang also benefits from using this technique."

"In other words, setting aside the external aspects, the extraction of this character is essentially a superior replacement for the Frostbite Sword Technique; it's about selling the fusion of the martial art and the character."

Old He didn't finish speaking, but the others already understood.

Why is it so terrifying that Fairy Ling Shuang is merely a superior replacement for a set of martial arts? Because it's clear that there are many martial arts in "Floating Dream Song," and the combat system built around these martial arts means that new martial arts can be continuously added.

This means that they can keep releasing "new characters" and keep "tricking people into spending money".

"Doesn't that make it a Pay-to-Win situation?! Will players buy into it?"

Someone from the planning team nearby asked this question instinctively.

If you're in a game where martial arts are the core, and you're indirectly selling martial arts techniques, sales will naturally be no problem, but what about the players' reputation?
He Zhiyong sighed.

"That's where Xingchen's intelligence lies."

"Floating Dream Song is essentially a single-player game disguised as an online game."

Yes, in traditional online games, players who pay to win would certainly not accept this level of pay-to-win, because paying players basically have no chance in PvP against non-paying players.

Or let's look at it another way. For example, Genshin Impact is an MMORPG where you can engage in PvP anywhere in the open world. So, what about Genshin Impact's Constellation system?

This would be fatal for the average player.

But neither is Genshin Impact, nor is Floating Dream Song.

Moreover, drawing characters isn't just for paying players; regular players can do it too, although the characters won't be as strong as those for paying players.

“These gacha characters have their own stories and personalities, they will interact with you and form bonds with you. When players develop feelings for a character, it becomes much easier to get them to spend money on the game.”

"Which would make you more willing to pay more for: a cold, lifeless 'prop' or your 'wife'?"

"And this wife is really useful. I reckon that once players see this pay-to-win system, they'll just want more wives."

Those present were all seasoned professionals in the gaming industry, and they understood better than anyone what "emotional connection" and "community culture" meant for the vitality of a game.

Although they don't actually use it.

Because in the development of mainstream online games in China, numerical values ​​are everything, and the pay-to-win system is almost entirely based on numerical values.

KPIs are everything.

But that doesn't mean they didn't learn.
Especially in the last year or two, StarCraft's "Final Battlefront" and "FGO" have made "paying for emotions" and "paying for love" a "hot topic," and now a new game is being developed.

The first thing they did was promote their game as having a "good story".

"But that doesn't make sense either."

"If the companion system is really that powerful, powerful enough to be used as a 'pre-constructed' perfect combination of cultivation techniques, wouldn't that mean that as long as I draw a powerful character, such as Fairy Ling Shuang, I can directly complete the game?"

"This will also disrupt the game's balance, especially for core players who enjoy challenges and researching skill combinations." He Zhiyong turned to look at the person who spoke.

He found it strange that someone who could ask such a question had gotten into the online community, but he couldn't say it outright.

He simply noted the person's name down silently and replied with a smile.

"This problem is also very simple."

He said something very simple, and He Zhiyong directly controlled the mouse.

I clicked on the "claim" button.

In an instant, the air seemed to ripple, and specks of blue light, like ice crystals, appeared out of thin air, gathered, swirled, and finally outlined a graceful and beautiful figure.

Dressed in white, her hair flowing like a waterfall, her eyes were as cold and clear as stars, and she seemed to be surrounded by a faint chill.

She stood there quietly, a sight to behold, making everything around her pale in comparison.

"Classic StarCraft Character Demonstration"

As the character unlocks on the game interface, the previously grayed-out "Companions" section lights up, revealing a new portrait of Fairy Ling Shuang. The UI prompts the player to press the [G] key to switch characters at any time.

Immediately afterwards, He Zhiyong pressed the G key.

In a flash, the character he was controlling instantly switched from the swordsman in green robes to Fairy Ling Shuang. Fairy Ling Shuang's martial arts skills were exactly what Old He had just thought.

[Martial Arts: Frost-Piercing Sword Technique]

[External Skill: Frost-Piercing Heart Technique]

[Internal Skill: Ice Heart Technique]

[Lightness Skill: Leaving No Trace in the Snow]

"I'll just pick a random monster to try!"

He Zhiyong originally just wanted to demonstrate a very basic common sense.

In other words, the gameplay and storyline are not related to the characters in the game.

What does that mean
Just like in Genshin Impact, the game's difficulty won't change just because you recruit Barbatos, the Anemo Archon, or in The Tide, you recruit the Governor of Jinzhou.

Character development, character formation.

The core objective is to give players a character they like, allowing them to gradually become stronger with that character and develop an emotional connection with it in the process.

This is the core of character gacha and character development.

He Zhiyong only wanted to mention this point.

This highlights a common-sense issue: don't try to make a game completely realistic, because a completely realistic game isn't fun.

A development team that only cares about realism will eventually fail to make a good game.

Because the essence of games is to be fun, not to be realistic.

However, after obtaining Ling Shuang, even a seasoned veteran like He Zhiyong became inexplicably excited.

He was quite interested in controlling Fairy Ling Shuang to run out of the town, and soon found a group of bandits in the wild.

The battle is about to break out.

Fairy Ling Shuang swayed, like a fluttering butterfly, and instantly covered several meters.

With a series of light attacks, she twirled her longsword in a dazzling display. Where the blade passed, tiny ice shards condensed in the air, and a pale blue sword aura shot out, accurately striking a bandit.

"laugh--"

The bandit's body was instantly covered with a thin layer of ice, and his movements became sluggish.

"It has a control effect!"

"What a cool move!"

Immediately afterwards, He Zhiyong attempted a heavy attack.

Fairy Ling Shuang leaped lightly into the air, performing an elegant spin. Her longsword swept down in a cold arc, striking another bandit fiercely.

"boom!"

A burst of visible cold air exploded out, freezing the bandit into an ice sculpture.

"Damn... this feels amazing. Is this really their first time making a martial arts game?"

(End of this chapter)