Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 507 Dominating the Headlines
The internet in the early morning has no darkness.

The lingering effects of the starry night event are spreading rapidly across major gaming forums and social media.

"To be honest, the best cosplay tonight has to be the American hardcore cosplay. I never dreamed I would see an M4 Sherman firing at a gaming party."

"All you guys remember are guns and cannons? Aren't the FATE symphonic suites good? Even I, who don't play the game, get excited listening to them."

The players were very enthusiastic about the party's programs, from the live-action cosplay short films to the magnificent symphony concert, and then to the exciting rounds of prize draws.

However, for astute game media and industry observers, these are just appetizers; the real focus is on the discussion surrounding PUBG Mobile.

Especially after the gala ended, related content quickly sprang up like mushrooms after rain, and its popularity even surpassed that of the gala itself.

reason?

It's actually quite simple. From the perspective of a gala, "Starry Night" was undoubtedly a success, and there's no denying that. However, the launch of "PUBG Mobile" and the initial reveal of "Final Zone" are still uncertain matters.

This is actually a topic of considerable debate.

The focus of the debate is whether the mobile version of "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" will be a hit.

"It's bound to be a hit! Is there even a question? 1.3 million people worldwide watched the PV of 'Night of the Stars' online. This level of promotion is unprecedented!"

"I agree, and it's free! How many people were deterred by the 98 RMB entrance fee for the PC version? Now you can play it on your phone, and it's officially licensed by Bluehole. Won't that crash the servers?"

Those who are optimistic are full of confidence, firmly believing that with the dual support of the "PUBG" IP and Starry Night, the launch of this mobile game will be a crushing victory.

However, pessimistic voices also exist, and their logic is clear.

"Everyone, calm down. Promotion and conversion are two different things. The audience for the gala is so diverse, how many of them are core gamers? They're just watching for fun, and maybe 30% will remember downloading it tomorrow?"

"I also think it's risky. The launch was too rushed, with zero pre-launch hype and zero pre-downloads. They release a PV today and launch the open beta tomorrow, leaving players no time to react. This kind of 'surprise' launch might just be a 'shock'."

"That's right. How many S-class masterpieces in history have died because of problems with their marketing and distribution? StarCraft has gone too far this time, taking too big a step, which could easily lead to disaster."

Both sides stuck to their own versions of events, and neither could convince the other. However, this debate didn't last long, because the answer was revealed too quickly.

~~~
August 1, early morning.

As the first rays of the new year's sun shone upon the earth, while countless people were still asleep, the servers for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Mobile were simultaneously launched globally.

There was no ribbon-cutting, no congratulatory messages; it was as quiet as if nothing had happened.

However, the backend data of major app stores began to fluctuate wildly at this moment.

Apple's App Store charts, spanning 155 countries and regions worldwide, resemble a pre-arranged domino effect, with each domino falling one after another.

In the China region, it ranks first on the free app chart.

It's number one on the free app charts in the US.

In Japan, it ranked number one on the free app charts.

In the Korean region, it ranked number one on the free app charts.

Britain, Germany, France, Brazil, Southeast Asia... without exception.

In every region where StarCraft Games has set up servers, PUBG Mobile has risen to the top with an abrupt and irrational surge.

While the PUBG IP itself has a huge appeal, the global spectacle of Night of the Stars was undoubtedly the biggest spark that ignited this tinderbox.

What surprised all the analysts even more happened that afternoon.

The game was only online for eight hours.

The icon for "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds: Mobile" has begun to appear at the top of the best-selling charts.

Moreover, it climbed upwards with an even more ferocious momentum than climbing the download charts.

#1 on the bestseller list in China!

Number 1 on the bestseller list in South Korea!

Number one on the bestseller lists in five Southeast Asian countries! ...

In one fell swoop, it soared to the top of the bestseller lists in more than a dozen countries and regions.

For a moment, the entire industry fell silent.

Horrible, so terrible.

Everyone knows that the PUBG IP has a huge influence, but even the most imaginative person could not have imagined this scene: On the first day of the launch of Tencent's version of "PUBG Mobile" in the previous life.

It's only on the iPhone that it's ranked number one on the free game charts in over 100 countries and regions.

In this timeline, the StarCraft version of PUBG Mobile, which is a game optimized and remastered using the StarCraft engine, has similar graphics but is far superior to the Tencent version in terms of optimization.

In addition, there was the promotion of Starry Night, and the strategy of making it completely free to download.

The combined effect was so stunning that even Chu Chen himself was taken aback, let alone others.

More importantly, the previous version of "PUBG Mobile" did not have a Chinese server, while this time the Chinese server "Game for Peace" was launched on the same day.

Because of the large number of people logging in, even though Starcraft only launched one pay-to-win feature in the early stages of its operation.

In other words, it's a pay-to-win pass.

Unlocking this feature grants you character skins, and leveling up unlocks weapon skins. This single pay-to-win feature alone could outspend the top-ranked game in over a dozen markets.

In Japan, the StarCraft series of games, including PUBG, FGO, Final Battlefront, and Azur Lane, have successfully entered the top five thanks to the StarCraft Project.

In Europe and America, PUBG inspired countless people to start playing against each other, while in China, the strategy of launching and operating the game immediately has opened the eyes of many gaming media outlets.

At this point, many media outlets dug up the approval documents for Xingchen's game licenses, which had been approved two or three months prior.

"Goodness, they hid it so well?"

The shock to the industry goes far beyond this.

Not long ago, people were debating whether "Starry Night" was a good thing or a bad thing because it attracted too many people, but now they have all fallen silent.

It's not that I don't want to talk, it's that I don't know what to say.

Any flowery language pales in comparison to the devastating combo of Xingchen's attacks.

From the Christmas special offer to the release of the remastered game, and then to the Starry Night event, PUBG has taken the world by storm.

Throughout December, the stars dangled a carrot, keeping hundreds of millions of players entertained.

A well-known gaming industry analyst recently wrote a lengthy article in his column titled "On StarCraft's Rash Adversity: A High-Stakes Gamble That Could Lead to Collapse."

The article, citing numerous sources, provides a detailed analysis of everything from the promotional pace to user psychology, concluding that Starry Night's promotion was too ambitious and would inevitably collapse.

At the time, the article received thousands of likes.

But this morning, the comment section under his social media account had turned into a massive mockery session.

"Teacher, please come out and analyze this?"

"Don't be so harsh on us. We StarCraft players love this kind of unreasonable behavior."

"On My Rashness: A Gamble That Resulted in a Slap in the Face."

The analyst was caught in a dilemma: whether to delete it or not. After much deliberation, he silently changed his account signature to: "The world is complicated, I know nothing about games."

In contrast, there was a media frenzy.

Various sensational headlines, coupled with that jarring data chart, spread virally on the internet.

People in the gaming industry are watching, people in the financial industry are watching, and even many people who don't usually pay much attention to games have been attracted by this staggering number.

On the first day of 2018, the name Starry Night Games burst into everyone's view with an unprecedentedly strong presence.

(End of this chapter)