Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 532 You also want to kill the emperor?

"Don't think from the producer's perspective, and don't think from the IP's perspective either."

"Just think of it as a player. Imagine you open Assassin's Creed, made by Chinese developers. What kind of experience do you want to have?"

Why is it that some games, despite being great in every way, are simply not fun?

The reason is often that game developers, after a long period of development, forget how to see the game from the player's perspective. In other words...

These visually appealing but not fun games have lost their "creative drive."

This is something that is actually not very noticeable during the creative process, and it is also the most dangerous, which is why Chu Chen often makes the producers of Starry Sky think about it.

Think about what kind of game you would want to play if you were a player.

"Our protagonist could be an elite soldier from Yue Fei's 'Beiwei Army' or a scout from the 'Youyi Army'."

"He followed Yue Fei, charging into battle in Yancheng and Yingchang, striking fear into the hearts of the Jin army, who shouted, 'It is easier to shake a mountain than to shake Yue Fei's army.'"

"The game could begin with a great victory at Yingchang, where players fight valiantly and complete the tutorial. After that, we could create a victory celebration banquet, with a group of soldiers sitting together dreaming of storming the enemy's capital and recapturing Bianjing."

"However, as we all know, what awaits the protagonist is not a reward and an order to continue the advance, but twelve gold medals."

This is actually why Chu Chen chose the Song Dynasty as the background. If we're talking about things that are hard to accept, then these twelve gold tablets are definitely the kind of things that are hard to accept that are etched in the memory of every Chinese person.

Once the story reaches this point, the player's emotions will definitely be heightened.

This is similar to how the background music in "Black Myth: Wukong" can evoke emotions in players.

"From here on, the stage of the game shifts from the battlefields of the north, where swords clash and horses gallop, to the turbulent capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, Lin'an."

"Players act as scouts for Yue Fei's army, heading ahead of the main force to Lin'an to investigate the information behind the twelve gold medals and find a turning point for Yue Fei's army."

"We want to restore an authentic Lin'an. We want to build West Lake, Broken Bridge, Leifeng Pagoda, and Lingyin Temple."

"We want to create an Imperial Street, lined with a dazzling array of shops, including restaurants, teahouses, and theaters. Players can hear vendors hawking their wares, hear storytellers recounting the legends of Yue Fei's army, and even see wealthy young ladies dressed in their finest attire, preparing to go boating on West Lake."

"This is an extremely luxurious, even somewhat morbid, haven of comfort. But beneath this glamorous facade lies endless murderous intent."

"The protagonist stealthily returns to Lin'an. His enemies are no longer the heavily armored Jin soldiers wielding sharp blades on the battlefield, but the civil officials in the court who are physically weak but can kill without leaving a trace."

"Qin Hui".

"Yes, Qin Hui."

Hearing this, Tian Qixuan was genuinely surprised. Although Chu Chen's idea seemed unremarkable, it was still quite significant for a script framework.

This narrative framework is sufficient.

The player's enemies are not only foreign invaders, but also the cold-blooded "order" maintainers in the court.

This setting can generate a lot of game content, and more importantly, Chinese players have a strong hatred for this kind of "traitor".

Moreover, the most exciting part of this excerpt lies in the intense conflict between the various forces. For Qin Hui, the 'order' he pursued was to negotiate peace with the Jin dynasty and maintain a 'peace' in a corner of the country. Anyone who tried to break this 'peace' and shouted for the recovery of lost territory was an obstacle he wanted to eliminate.

For the emperor, his feelings were even more complicated.

It is no exaggeration to say that the city of Tokyo that year was abuzz with news of Yue Fei's victory.

If this can be shown, the intrigue within the city is far richer than that on the battlefield, making it a script tailor-made for Assassin's Creed!

"Considering this is a global game, the protagonist's tasks in the early stages can be quite simple."

"From July 21, 1140, when Yue Fei was forced to withdraw his troops and return to the capital, to 1141, when Yue Fei was framed and imprisoned, and finally killed on trumped-up charges, this period of more than a year is the time when our protagonist is active."

"The protagonist needs to represent Yue Family Army and engage in a covert war against Qin Hui and the emperor's forces in Lin'an City."

"He wanted to steal intelligence from the Qin residence amidst its heavy guard, seek allies at officials' banquets, and even use the complex waterways of Lin'an to sneak into the Dali Temple prison by boat."

"Imagine this scene,"

"The protagonist, dressed in unremarkable coarse cloth clothes and wearing a straw hat, walks in the rainy alley of Lin'an. The bluestone pavement is wet with rainwater, reflecting the light of the lanterns on both sides."

He crossed a small bridge, beneath which awning boats glide leisurely. In the distance, the sounds of string and wind instruments drifted from a tavern. His target was the seemingly ordinary house ahead, where evidence that could clear Yue Fei's name was hidden.

Tian Qixuan felt his scalp tingling.

This is no longer just a game concept; it's a movie trailer that's already been filmed.

"And... what was the ending?"

"Fengbo Pavilion".

"We cannot change history." Chu Chen's voice was soft, but unusually firm. "This is the inevitability of history, and it is also the source of the power of this tragedy."

"The player may have exhausted all his efforts and even found irrefutable evidence of Qin Hui's framing, but at the last moment, he still couldn't prevent the tragedy from happening."

"He could only watch helplessly as his most respected marshal was led to the execution ground on trumped-up charges."

"On that snowy night, the protagonist stood alone outside the Fengbo Pavilion, looking at that cold door. He failed. He could neither save the hero nor change history."

Tian Qixuan's heart sank. This main storyline structure did not conform to the game culture that Chu Chen had always advocated. If nothing could be changed, what would players be after playing the game in the end?
Just as Tian Qixuan was thinking of this, Chu Chen changed the subject.

"But the game isn't over yet."

"Marshal Yue died, but the spirit of the Yue Family Army did not die. The protagonist transformed from a simple soldier into an assassin who fought for his beliefs. His goal was no longer to clear someone's name, but to protect the country and the people he wanted to protect."

"In the end, the protagonist will have a final showdown with Qin Hui, or even the emperor, somewhere, and he will carry out his revenge as an assassin."

"When everything has settled down, the protagonist will come to the West Lake again, to Yue Fei's tomb, take out a pot of wine, and sit down quietly."

(End of this chapter)