Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 509 Physical Cheat
In fact, many of Starry Sky's games follow this approach: first, dig the pond big enough, fatten the fish up enough, and then start hauling in the net.

Although StarCraft has a license for this timeline, allowing it to be commercialized directly.

But this 'fish-raising' process cannot be omitted.

Not only should we not cut corners, but we should also further lower the barriers to entry, both in terms of entry requirements and operational procedures.

The entry barrier, of course, is that it's free to play.

The goal of lowering the barrier to entry is to allow more people to get positive feedback on their phones. To be honest, the feel of playing shooting games on a mobile phone is indeed very poor.

It is also very difficult to operate.

However, this is something that "PUBG Mobile cheats" make up for.

In the past, all sorts of "PUBG gadgets" could sell hundreds of millions of units because they could indeed change the experience of shooting games.

In Chu Chen's view, it's better for him to earn this money himself rather than let other parts manufacturers make it.

The little gadget that Huang Wenfeng showed to the camera is the "mobile phone auxiliary shoulder button" that was quietly launched on the Xingchen e-commerce platform.

This thing was incredibly popular in its previous life.

Various kinds, various designs.

Chu Chen selected three of the more classic styles and divided them into three price ranges.

The one priced at 19 yuan is the "entry-level" version.

Its structure is extremely simple: a transparent plastic buckle connects two plain physical buttons.

Its principle is the most primitive lever transmission, which converts the pressing action of the index finger into touch commands at the top of the screen through a simple mechanical structure.

Its mission is pure and direct: to allow players to experience control at the lowest possible price.

The mid-range option is the "Advanced Version," priced at 39 yuan.

This version features significant improvements in materials and design, with the buckles replaced by a more robust spiral fixing structure to prevent the parts from loosening during vigorous operation.

The feel of the buttons themselves has also been adjusted, with a shorter key travel and a more powerful rebound.

The one priced at 99 yuan is somewhat similar to a "portable handle," with a spring-loaded clamping structure and Bluetooth connectivity for operation.

To be honest, Huaqiangbei can also do these things, so Xingchen has a special advantage, which is software optimization.

In the game, players can directly set button adaptation, which will be automatically adjusted.

Plus, this thing is official and starts at 19 yuan. Chu Chen felt that even if he couldn't capture the entire market, capturing 80% shouldn't be a problem.

In the future, they might even release a controller version for 199.
When they were working on it, Chu Chen took these little gadgets very seriously and often went to the factory with Yue Xiuyuan. Moreover, this was one of the few things that Xingchen had completely developed and operated in-house.

Incidentally, there are currently three types of Star Mall.

These are self-operated products, collaborative products, and self-developed and self-operated products.

Let me briefly introduce the three types. Self-operated products are similar to those on JD.com, which are sold directly, such as PS4.

Collaboration products are created by reworking existing products. For example, collaborations with Xiaomi phones, keyboards, headphones, and other products like Starry Night are based on the principle of minimizing price increases and focusing on boosting the revenue of distribution channels.

The third type is completely self-developed products, such as the Type 95 figurines, stardust stationery, and laser tickets from Starry Night.

Most of Xingchen's self-developed products are focused on peripherals. This is the first time they've made something like this "peripheral," and Chu Chen is leading the effort and personally overseeing it.

This piqued Yue Xiuyuan's curiosity.

Chu Chen had also told him about this before.

"We're not just making a gadget; this is our winning formula in the mobile game industry." "Winning formula?"

Yue Xiuyuan was a little confused. Wasn't this just a physical shoulder button?

"Think about it, what is the biggest shortcoming of mobile phones as a gaming platform?" Chu Chen asked.

"operate."

"Yes, it's about operation." Chu Chen snapped his fingers. "So, what problem does this shoulder button solve?"

"It frees up the index finger, allowing players to perform four actions simultaneously: moving, aiming, firing, and scoped in."

Yue Xiuyuan has a very good understanding of the product.

"This is just the surface."

Chu Chen walked to the whiteboard, picked up a pen, and drew a simple outline of a mobile phone.

“We’re not selling shoulder buttons; we’re selling two ‘customizable physical buttons.’ Today, in ‘Peacekeeper Elite,’ they’re called ‘fire’ and ‘scope.’ Tomorrow, in some action mobile game, could they be called ‘dodge’ or ‘dash’?”

Yue Xiuyuan was stunned for a moment.
"The day after tomorrow, we're going to make a racing game. Could it have 'accelerator' and 'nitro boost'? And after that, we're going to make an open-world ARPG. Could it have 'jump' and 'heavy attack'?"

For each sentence Chu Chen spoke, he wrote a line of text on the whiteboard.

"Through the wildly popular game 'Peacekeeper Elite,' we have deployed this 'standard interface' to millions, and in the future tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of players at an extremely low price. This is called 'hardware pre-installation.'"

"When a player buys these shoulder buttons and enjoys playing 'Peacekeeper Elite,' one day he sees that we have launched a new MOBA game with an advertisement that says 'Perfectly compatible with the Starry Night shoulder buttons, bringing you a brand new MOBA experience.' Wouldn't he want to give it a try? He already has the hardware, so the cost of trying it is almost zero."

In the past, shoulder buttons on mobile phones, or what we might call "PUBG Mobile gadgets," were indeed popular for a while, but very few manufacturers actually adapted them for use.

At most, we'll add a custom UI and let players customize it themselves.

This is because the market for PUBG-like gadgets was too chaotic in the past, and manufacturers would not benefit from adapting them.

Naturally, it's better to avoid trouble.

But it was different for Chu Chen.

Just like when he remakes classic games, many things are done by starting with specific examples and then expanding to the whole picture.

"This……"

Yue Xiuyuan opened his mouth, glanced at the small button again, and felt that his understanding had been completely overturned.

"This thing can actually create a... closed-loop ecosystem?"

He found it hard to imagine how Chu Chen had taken such a small gadget, expanded it from a single point to a broader scope, and ultimately deduced the "winning formula" for the stars.

This formula looks a bit ridiculous.

But upon closer examination, it seems quite reasonable. While other manufacturers can copy, Huaqiangbei can also produce counterfeit goods.

But a brand is a brand because it is a brand.

It's because they are the creators and the leaders.

Moreover, StarCraft has a significant advantage: it is currently pursuing a platform strategy, so the shoulder button adaptation can be launched quickly.

A large number of mobile games on StarTap can be adapted.

For gamers, once they start using this portable "physical cheat," there's no going back.

(End of this chapter)