Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 531 How was the Song Dynasty?

What do you think of the Song Dynasty?

Chu Chen suddenly asked.

"Song Dynasty?"

Tian Qixuan was somewhat surprised.

The Song Dynasty was certainly glorious, but the impression it left on posterity was more about commerce and prosperity, which seems to be quite different from the grim atmosphere of the Assassin's Creed series, which depicts the struggle against tyranny in the shadows.

Chu Chen nodded.

"If you're looking for a global perspective, the Tang Dynasty is actually a good choice."

For Chu Chen, and for a game in general, choice is often more important than effort, just like with NetEase's "Gui Tang" in his previous life.

Although "Return to Tang" encountered many problems due to the promotional strategy of NetEase, the subject matter of "Return to Tang" is actually very interesting.

The story of the previous game, "Return to Tang," takes place after the An Lushan Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty.

In short, the northwest defense of the Tang Dynasty was weak, and the entire Hexi region fell to the Tubo. In the second year of the Dazhong era of the Tang Dynasty, the people of Shazhou, which had been occupied for more than 60 years, formed a righteous army under the leadership of Zhang Yichao, the leader of the righteous army, and drove out the Tubo occupying forces and recovered Shazhou.

However, the entire Hexi Corridor remained in the hands of the Tibetans and various bandits.

Therefore, Zhang Yichao, the leader of the rebel army, decided to send out ten small teams to deliver the news to the Tang Dynasty.

The messenger departing from the isolated city of Shazhou had to traverse the deadly deserts of Longxi and southern Gobi, evade the Tibetan army's relentless, brutal searches along the way, where they were willing to kill the innocent rather than the guilty, and withstand the biting winds and blizzards of winter in Hexi.

The story of "Returning to Tang" thus begins.

Players will become one of the messengers, stepping into the endless yellow sands to save Hexi and return to the Tang Dynasty.

This topic is actually quite good. On the one hand, the historical narrative is grand enough, and on the other hand, there is a lot to show in this historical segment.

The murals of Dunhuang, Tang Dynasty clothing, and Tibetan armor

In the game, players can see the lone smoke rising straight from the desert and the setting sun over the long river. They can also feel the loneliness of "no old friends west of Yangguan" and experience the desolation of "the spring breeze never reaches Yumenguan".

But
In Chu Chen's view, this selection is not entirely without problems. Its biggest problem is that this period of history is not well-known.

Low brand recognition is neither good nor bad for a game; as long as it's well-made, any theme can be outstanding.

But in terms of publicity...

This is a serious matter.

Let alone NetEase, even within Game Science, the level of hype surrounding "Black Myth: Wukong" and "Black Myth: Zhong Kui" after their initial reveal was completely different.

As far as the stars are now.

What Chu Chen needs is a popular theme, one that people will want to play at first glance.

The story of "Returning to Tang" is indeed grand enough, with words like "lone army," "messenger," and "return journey" all filled with a tragic epic feel.

However, the name Zhang Yichao is unfamiliar to most people who are not familiar with that period of history.

To make players empathize with an unfamiliar hero, a great deal of effort needs to be put into setting up and developing the character. For a creator trying out a AAA game for the first time, this is undoubtedly a huge gamble.

Even if this team is led by Chu Chen.

"So, we chose the Song Dynasty because of Yue Fei?"

“Not entirely.” Chu Chen shook his head. “The reason I wanted to choose the Song Dynasty is because it’s the most suitable.”

After all, the Assassin's Creed IP itself has a somewhat mystical or superstitious premise.

In short, in the world of Assassin's Creed, before the birth of humans, there existed a species on Earth called the Forerunners. They were much more intelligent than humans, but their population was very small.

So, this pioneering civilization wanted to create some not-too-dumb species to help them, and that's how humanity came into being.

But humans are intelligent beings after all, and even the pioneers feared that humans would get out of control.

So some controllers were created to tame humans, such as the classic Apple of Eden in Assassin's Creed. These things are referred to as Pieces of Eden in the game.

However, despite the forerunners' extensive preparations, they ultimately perished for various reasons, leaving behind a series of Eden fragments and the forerunners' knowledge base, scattered throughout the world.

Based on this, two factions emerged in Assassin's Creed: the Hidden Ones and the Order.

The former advocates "nothing is true, everything is permissible" and pursues freedom, while the order maintainers believe in "order and control" and think that centralized control can bring peace.

This ideological conflict runs throughout the entire Assassin's Creed series timeline.

Finally, the Unseen Ones gave rise to the Assassin Brotherhood, while the Order of the Order ultimately gave rise to the Knights Templar.

This is the basic setting of Assassin's Creed.

Of course, as Chu Chen has always emphasized, the game's setting must be created because of the story, and this can also be seen in the development history of Assassin's Creed's own IP.

When discussing IP licensing, Starry Sky obtained significant autonomy in adapting the content.

In addition, Chinese history and the main storyline of Assassin's Creed are quite different, so for Chu Chen, it's better to first have a good story and a good framework, and then use some Assassin's Creed settings to help improve the story.

What he wants to do is to leverage the established IP of Assassin's Creed to showcase the historical landscape of China to a global audience.

"The core of the Assassin's Creed IP is not a simple conflict between enemies, but a clash of ideologies."

"It is a struggle between the Assassin Order and the Templars, who have chosen different paths for the future of humanity. This struggle often takes place in the most prosperous and also most corrupt core of a civilization. It requires a complex stage where multiple forces are deeply intertwined."

“The Tang Dynasty certainly fits the bill, for example, Chang’an during the An Lushan Rebellion. But Lin’an in the Southern Song Dynasty has a unique character.” Chu Chen slowed his speech.

"That was an era of extreme contradictions. On the one hand, there was the national and personal hatred of the Jingkang Incident, the millions of compatriots in the occupied northern areas, and the ambition of Yue Fei's army to 'break through the Helan Mountains'."

"On the other hand, the peaceful and prosperous life in Lin'an, where 'the warm breeze makes tourists drunk and they mistake Hangzhou for Bianzhou,' reflects the rulers' complacency and lack of ambition in keeping to their own corner of the country."

"This intense sense of tearing apart is itself the most powerful dramatic conflict."

"What does the player, as an assassin, see amidst all this? He sees decadent songs on West Lake, extravagant rich and powerful figures in taverns, and naked refugees from the north on the streets."

"And what did he hear? The eloquent speeches of the pro-war faction, the obsequiousness of the pro-peace faction, and the whispers of Qin Hui's henchmen in the shadows."

Tian Qixuan did not answer.

But he could indeed imagine that world, that prosperous yet decadent Lin'an city where light and darkness intertwined, as if it were right before his eyes.

"Let's go back to the topic of brand recognition."

Chu Chen then changed the subject, becoming more realistic.

"Yue Fei, Qin Hui, Emperor Gaozong of Song, Fengbo Pavilion, fabricated charges. These names and stories are etched into the bones of any Chinese person."

This is similar to why Sun Wukong was chosen for the film *Black Myth*. The image of Sun Wukong embodies the deepest rebellious spirit and heroic fantasies of the Chinese people.

(End of this chapter)