Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 467 Find the Differences

Along with the documents, an NPC character and a copy of "Program Production Guidelines V1.0" were also brought in.

[Rule 1.1: All new actors must be no more than 5 years older than the lead actor, Adam.]

[Rule 1.2: Actors' appearance must conform to the general aesthetic standards of the "middle-class community," and should not be overly stunning or ugly.]

Rule 1.3: Anyone with a real-world criminal record is prohibited from entering.

[Rule 1.4: To avoid unnecessary associations and controversies, any symbols, signs, or rituals related to real-world religions are prohibited within the program's world.]

Clearly, this part of the game involves finding the differences.

Although Su Xiaoli had never played "Please Show Your ID", the gameplay was not difficult to understand.

Turn off the program manual.

The NPCs started talking, and everything seemed normal.

Su Xiaoli checked the information and found that Adam was 30 years old and Hannah was 28 years old, which matched.

As for her appearance, she is indeed the typical American sweetheart type, not stunningly beautiful, but very approachable.

The background check was also clean.

"Hmm...it seems like there's nothing wrong."

She moved the mouse, grasped the green "Approval" stamp, and just as she was about to stamp it, she inexplicably glanced at the NPC again.

I mainly glanced at the silver cross hanging around her neck.

Something is wrong!
After clicking on the cross, Su Xiaoli learned from Hannah's conversation that this person was a devout Catholic.

Then his eyes lit up, and without hesitation he grabbed the red "rejection" stamp, aimed it at the document, and slapped it on!
A bright red "Review Failed" message appeared on the document.

Accompanied by a crisp, resounding stamp, a small green notification popped up at the top of the screen: [+10 Efficiency Points, +5 Accuracy Points, Adam Awakening Rate 0%]

"Waaah!" Su Xiaoli couldn't help but pump her little fist. "That's it? Too easy!"

The first level of the game is actually an "alternative version of Please Show Your Identification". Players need to confirm whether the actors meet the requirements at the audition site according to the rules.

However, this game is not "Please Show Your ID". Players have to handle three tasks, which correspond to three gameplay modes.

One is the actor vetting process, which Su Xiaoli has already done.

Moreover, she had a lot of fun playing this game, which was completely different from the other anime games she had played before, where you had to call a two-dimensional character your wife.

It doesn't have exquisitely detailed character illustrations or thrilling battle scenes, but the God-like perspective of playing a "mastermind" who controls the rules of the world brings an unprecedented and wonderful thrill that is a mixture of power and voyeurism.

"Family members, this game is really something!"

"I feel like I am Skynet right now!"

The only downside is that there are only 5 actors in the entire NPC review process. Although the difficulty increases with each role, it's still not very enjoyable to play.

Fortunately, a new task window popped up on the screen at that moment.

[Task: Routine Patrol]

Location: Convenience store in Haibin Town

Time: 3:15 PM

[Event Preview: The protagonist, Adam, will enter the convenience store at 3:30 PM to buy his favorite "Seagull" brand beer. This is a daily scene insert, genre: slice-of-life/comedy.] [Scene Inspection Objective: Before Adam arrives, please identify all items in the scene that do not comply with the "Program Production Guidelines V1.2".]

As Su Xiaoli clicked "Accept Mission," the game screen switched.

The previous review office has disappeared, replaced by a 2D pixel scene depicting the interior of a typical American neighborhood convenience store.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting dappled shadows on the floor, and it seemed as if tiny dust particles were floating in the air.

The shelves were filled with a dazzling array of goods, from potato chips to canned goods, from soft drinks to cleaning agents, with an outrageous level of detail.

It hardly seems like a 48-hour production.

However, this scene was not actually created on-site in 48 hours. Rather, it was a feature of the Starry Sky game engine that Chu Chen wanted to showcase: an authorized preset scene package.

It's similar to the built-in store in the Unreal Engine.

The StarCraft game engine also offers these asset packs, which developers can purchase directly or obtain for free during certain events.

Of course, the asset packs currently provided by the Starry Sky game engine are mainly focused on 2D games and 2.5D games.

However, compared to 3D games, 2D assets, especially those with built-in lighting and shadows, are actually much rarer on the market.

Moreover, the Star Engine has put a lot of effort into this area, providing a very high degree of freedom in the scene packages it offers.

You can think of these kits as a top-of-the-line LEGO set. The official kit provides you with all the parts and a basic blueprint, but how you assemble it and what it looks like is entirely up to you.

This model greatly liberates the productivity of independent developers, especially small teams.

They no longer need to waste their precious time and energy on repetitive manual labor such as building scenes from scratch, but can instead focus on refining the core gameplay and storyline.

This can be seen as a form of differentiated competition by StarCraft game engine. Instead of competing for large 3D scenes, it first secures the share of 2D game development needed by small and medium-sized manufacturers.

Then gradually work on 3D scenes and 2D rendering.

Let's get back to the game.

After Su Xiaoli enters the scene.

A pixelated NPC wearing a director's vest appeared in the center of the screen, with a speech bubble appearing above its head.

"You've arrived. This is today's rehearsal briefing."

Immediately following this, a text explaining the mission appeared at the bottom of the screen.

"When Adam comes in, the new part-time clerk 'Bob' (the actor) will pretend to be flustered, grabbing the wrong beer brand three times, and on the last occasion, he will accidentally drop a can of soda on the floor, in order to create a lighthearted comedic effect."

"Check this out and make sure everything here is 'normal'."

This is the second way to play the game.

This section is somewhat similar to many detective games, such as the "spot the difference" feature that often appears in Ace Attorney Prosecution, where players need to find things that are different.

Of course, it's the same as stamping.

The game will also provide rule hints, such as that all props in the scene, except for those from brand partners, must be fictitious brands created by the production team, and the appearance of any real-world brands is strictly prohibited to avoid copyright disputes, etc.
It will also list the brand's logo.

These rules are essentially about players finding different hints.

For example, to maintain the closed nature of the world, no information pointing to the outside world may appear in the scene, including but not limited to: newspapers, magazines, maps, calendars with real dates, etc.

(End of this chapter)