Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 350 The Micro-Era and the Wandering Earth
The progress of both games can even be described as somewhat slow.

There are objective reasons for this. For example, Chu Chen thought he could manage multiple projects simultaneously, but in reality, there is often a limit to how much he can manage.

If it were other projects, such as spin-offs of "Final Front," then even if Chu Chen didn't have time to "take care of them," the projects could still get started.

Ultimately, after leading a team for a long time, there will always be a few core members who have already developed certain abilities.

With just a little guidance, the project will stay on track.

However, Micro World and The Wandering Earth are different because these two projects are science fiction projects.

In China, there is a severe shortage of talent in fields such as science fiction and strategy.

Over the past few decades, almost all the well-known science fiction games have been made by foreign teams. There are very few domestic science fiction teams that can be considered successful.

The few so-called "sci-fi online games" available are basically all the same, just MMORPGs disguised as sci-fi games.
The lack of talent reserves in the overall environment has resulted in these two projects becoming extremely, even heavily, dependent on Chu Chen after their inception.

The problem is, Chu Chen had never made a similar game in his previous life.

All he could offer was a framework. For these two games, he needed to learn from and analyze successful games before creating his own based on his intuition.

Naturally, the project becomes difficult to move forward.

Take "Micro Era" as an example.

This project team, established at the beginning of 17, is not lacking in talent.

是 的
At this point, Starcraft was neither short of money nor manpower. Although it had only been established for three years and had only been famous for a little over a year, the success of a series of games, coupled with the profit-sharing system, had given Starcraft the ability to "select personnel".

Therefore, those who can join the Micro Era project are all quite capable.

It could even be said to be quite good.

Their technical skills are quite solid; each of their original artworks could be used as wallpaper. Their renderings of futuristic cities are cold, precise, and full of high-tech texture.

The character design features smooth lines and detailed equipment; it's clearly a high-spending product.

However, when Chu Chen first reviewed the draft, he felt something was wrong. The problem wasn't whether it was drawn well or not, but whether it was drawn correctly.

These art designs are indeed from a science fiction work.
But I always feel like something's missing.

The premise of "Micro Era" is that in order to survive, humanity shrinks itself to its limit and enters a vast, unprecedented microscopic world.

However, these concept art images still present a sense of "futurism" on a human scale.

After being shrunk down, it's more like putting a bunch of models in a sandbox; they look similar, but not the same.

"So what should we change?"

In the project development meeting room, the question from the lead artist of "Micro Era" really got Chu Chen to the point.

He didn't know what the problem was, so he could only let the development team continue.

A month later, Chu Chen suddenly realized something, and then several express delivery boxes were delivered to the public area of ​​the "Micro Era" project team.

The package didn't contain gaming equipment, but rather a high-magnification electron microscope for scientific research.

Then Chu Chen found some "materials" he had casually picked from the garden downstairs in the company: a few different leaves, a small piece of moss, a handful of soil with humus, and even a ladybug that had unfortunately been captured.

With the arrival of these "amplification devices," some people probably guessed what Chu Chen was going to do.

However, once the equipment was connected, and a very ordinary broad-leaved leaf was placed on the slide, the focus was adjusted, and the image under the microscope was projected onto the conference room screen via a projector.

The whole world changed instantly.

The originally unremarkable leaves, when magnified hundreds of times, reveal a chilling sense of unfamiliarity.

The veins on the leaf surface resemble bottomless canyons, and the rough texture is like a dried-up riverbed.

Those tiny hairs, almost invisible to the naked eye, are now clearly visible, creating a wonderful sensation.

It could even be described as miraculous!!
Because such magnified shots are almost ubiquitous on the internet, the "Micro Era" project team's material library contains countless high-definition materials from various documentaries, movies, and photos.

But what you see in person is completely different from what you get from the photos.

The biggest difference is that you know what the leaf originally looked like, and what it looks like when it's put in the container, witnessing the difference in scale firsthand.

The stimulation to the brain is completely different.

Moreover, much of the material available on the internet is completely different from what was imagined in "Micro Era".

This feeling came when Chu Chen brought over a piece of moss.

As the camera zoomed into the miniature "forest," everyone fell silent. The damp, tangled plant fibers formed a bizarre, three-dimensional labyrinth.

Several tiny creatures, barely visible to the naked eye, were no longer insignificant, but rather grotesque behemoths foraging in the dark jungle.

These microorganisms are even more impressive when they come to life.

"I know what's wrong with our original artwork!!! It doesn't convey a sense of difference!!"

Yes, that's what Chu Chen wanted to express: the microscopic world. It's not about shrinking normal things, but about creating a sense of unfamiliarity, especially since it's a game.

The art director also needs to carefully consider this sense of unfamiliarity and then amplify it, further expanding the player's perception of both the micro and macro worlds.

That's what makes it feel novel.

"That's right! It's so simple! How could I not have thought of that?!"

Yes
How could I not have thought of something so simple? But when developing a game with a similar theme that no one had ever done before, these are things that just don't come to mind.

Questions like these.

Chu Chen encountered many problems while developing "Micro Era". If "Micro Era" could barely rely on the previous project plan and Chu Chen's efforts to promote its development.

So, *The Wandering Earth*

Chu Chen really didn't have the energy to think about the details anymore.

Even after StarCraft Games invested in the movie "The Wandering Earth," thanks to the film's production, StarCraft actually had a lot of materials that could be shared.

Moreover, Chu Chen in "The Wandering Earth" also has a framework, which focuses on the "braking era".

Just like "Micro Era".

A simulation game must have a core pressure, and in Chu Chen's framework, this pressure comes from the player's need to manage a "forcibly opened" dungeon.

In short, you'll be in charge of an underground city that wasn't fully completed, shouldn't have been open, but was forced to open anyway.

(End of this chapter)