Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 398 Real-life FGO Kill?

This atmosphere wasn't created by any one person, but by the sounds of hundreds of staff members wearing vests with different logos bustling about in the huge space.

The atmosphere was created by the interlocking sounds of walkie-talkies, the friction of moving equipment, and various commands.

"Look! Those are people from TV Tokyo!"

With sharp eyes, Sayuri Matsumura pointed to a group of staff members adjusting cameras not far away and exclaimed in surprise. Their dark blue uniforms were printed with the iconic logo of TV Tokyo.

This discovery naturally caused a stir among the Nogizaka46 girls; there was no doubt that the huge studio was indeed a large-scale program recording site.

However, after this answer emerged, another question arose.

What exactly is this project, and what is the plan? It's so extravagant that they can record a TV program in a movie-quality studio.
Unfortunately, no one could answer the questions in the hearts of the Nogizaka girls at that moment.

"Let's go in first." The manager kept urging them on, his expression quite serious. Judging from their demeanor, the staff members who followed Nogizaka into the venue seemed even more nervous than the girls.

The group followed the guides through a temporary passageway made of scaffolding and soundproofing panels.

After rounding the last corner, they arrived at the "hall," where everything suddenly opened up before them, and the main studio was fully revealed.

No one spoke; everyone instinctively stopped in their tracks. If the feeling outside the shed was "grand," then now it was "shocking."

In the center of the enormous studio, a "town" rises from the ground.

At the center is a church with a strong Gothic style.

Under the professional lighting from the ceiling, the stained glass windows of the church refracted a hazy and sacred glow, as if moonlight were truly shining through the clouds.

However, this church has no exterior facade for filming purposes, so you can see the interior structure at a glance. For example, there are no tables and chairs in the center of the church, only a round table and chairs that look somewhat familiar.

In addition, there are several buildings surrounding the church, forming a large circle.

These buildings, like churches, are not just simple backdrops, but actual rooms that can be entered.

There is a classic library, a warehouse full of miscellaneous items, a gloomy second-floor entrance, and even a small clock tower.

Like a church, each room has an empty facade facing the outer ring of cameras, making it look like a sitcom filming location.

These rooms are connected by streets and corridors paved with bluestone slabs, and in the corners there are even a few artificial dead trees with their branches reaching out to the sky in a menacing manner.

"This? This is a variety show filming studio?!"

"That's...that's way too exaggerated!"

"Isn't this a scene from the FGO game?"

As a "hot topic" for everyone, Xingchen has advertised extensively on television and websites, making the church appear on screen quite frequently.

"It really is!!"

"This is outrageous! How much money did this cost?!"

The girls chattered excitedly, their expressions shifting from initial confusion to pure shock and excitement.

~~~
"The scene is bigger than I imagined."

Just as the girls were chattering away, Chu Chen, who had just gotten out of the car and was walking into the photography studio, also made a similar remark. "Indeed, it's all thanks to the ample budget approved by you, Mr. Chen."

As the person in charge of the FGO project, Shiokawa would naturally know how much the project cost. Although he wasn't the person in charge of the project, the budget still had to go through his hands.

Actually, this project wasn't initially that ambitious. Six months ago, in his discussions with TV Tokyo, it was just a "late-night variety show."

The main purpose was to invite some voice actors to participate in the program, and the set was just a round table and a church in the background.

The overall presentation was similar to the previous FGO livestream, with the main focus still being the game itself.

However, as the date drew closer, Chu Chen attached greater importance to the "FGO Anniversary Celebration," in addition to the fact that the development of the FGO Killer version was nearing completion.

By the end of August, Chu Chen's definition of the FGO anniversary celebration had changed from tapping into domestic demand to going global.

The project's concept evolved from inviting guests to play games to a "live-action FGO (Fate/Grand Order) killing game" project, with the original game becoming a "side program."

The cast has also changed from voice actors to celebrities.

Its overall approach is quite unique; it's like Xingchen is trying to learn from Tencent's methods.

In the previous life, the only game in the domestic gaming industry that truly moved towards pan-entertainment was probably "Honor of Kings" during its promotional period.

Tencent has indeed invited many celebrities and sponsored some programs, creating an atmosphere where everyone, including celebrities, is playing "Honor of Kings".

Of course, at that time, both Shiokawa and Li Suhao believed that Chu Chen was worried that the anniversary celebration of "FGO" would not meet expectations, so he increased the publicity.

So, if we have to say something, Li Suhao and Yanchuan at that time didn't actually fully understand Chu Chen's thinking.

But this did not prevent them from implementing Chu Chen's publicity plan.

To some extent, this is also why a company can "succeed repeatedly" during its growth phase. When the founder has enough prestige, it can offset many of the debuffs.

So, when September arrived, budgets and marketing efforts continued to increase.

The program has also changed from its initial late-night slot to prime time on TV Tokyo and simultaneous broadcast on major online video platforms.

They even signed a performance-based agreement with TV Tokyo: if the ratings dropped, they would gradually shift to the late-night slot; if the ratings were high, they would be able to maintain their prime-time slot.

"Mr. Chen, did you already foresee things turning out this way back in August?"

As the two walked from the car toward the studio, Shiokawa, who had been holding back for a while, couldn't help but ask one more question.

That's how many things are.

You can't think about it too much, because if you do, you'll easily fill in the blanks in your mind. After Shiokawa confirmed the future direction of FGO's operation in the car, he quickly connected it to this program.

This hugely expensive "live-action FGO killing" variety show was filmed at this particular time, amidst widespread public discussion—it's truly "perfect timing."

It was appropriate to go back to Shiokawa several months ago.

Before FGO Killer had been validated by the market, Chu Chen invested so much in this project. Could it be because Chu Chen foresaw the explosive popularity of FGO's anniversary celebration at that time?

If that's really the case.
That would be terrifying!!
(End of this chapter)