Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 548 Storms
On the last day before the Spring Festival holiday, in a luxury hot spring hotel in Beijing.

Although it was still a bit chilly outside the hotel, inside it was warm and cozy, like springtime.

Today, besides Tencent, Xingchen, and NetEase, many prominent figures in the gaming industry, such as Changyou, Xishanju, and others—these former kings—have sent executives or representatives here.

Although, without Tencent, StarCraft, and NetEase, it's basically like a UN meeting without China, the US, and Russia.
But overall.

It took a lot of effort for Magnesium to bring these "supporting actors" together.

The dinner was held on an open-air platform. Although it was a terrace, it was surrounded by high walls, bamboo groves, and warm breezes, so the food and drinks were naturally top-notch.

The atmosphere gradually warmed up under the influence of alcohol and heat.

After three rounds of drinking.

Guo Weiwei, the "star" producer of Nishisugi, who had not yet suffered a setback with the release of the game, said this half-jokingly and half-seriously.

"Mr. Xiao, your Wanmei team has really made headlines this time. Does this mean that those of us who make PC games will have another path to take in the future?"

For Nishisugiju...

Their feelings towards Starry Sky Games are complex. On the one hand, the anime studio located in Xishanju, Sichuan, has a very close collaboration with Starry Sky Games; on the other hand...

Xishanju's overall cooperation with Xingchen is not particularly deep, especially as Guo Weiwei, the producer of "JX3", has a more complicated attitude towards Xingchen.

This year was supposed to be the main year for promoting the HD remastered version of "JX3" (Sword Net 3), but it just so happens to coincide with the release of "Floating Dream Song".

Although the two games have completely different gameplay, the clash of themes and the terrifying public beta data of "Floating Dreams" still made him hesitant.

At the same time, he was also undecided about whether to log in to the Starry Sky Games platform for the HD remastered version of "JX3".

For games, having more platforms means having more opportunities.

Although Starry Sky has exclusive rights in China that can lead to more promotion, it is a new platform itself. Therefore, even works that are logged in on multiple platforms can still get good traffic.

Therefore, theoretically, there is absolutely nothing wrong with JX3 being released on Xingchen.

After all, every little bit of traffic counts.

Moreover, the Starry Sky platform does indeed cover a wide range of users.

However, Guo Weiwei became somewhat arrogant because of the success of JX3, and he actually didn't have a very high level of insight into game development or the game industry as a whole.

The success of "JX3" (Sword Net 3), including its remastered version and later "Unlimited Machine," has proven that its success was more due to favorable circumstances than to its inherent capabilities.

Coupled with his own jealousy, Guo Weiwei neither went to Tencent nor Xingchen, but instead proposed a plan within Xishanju to create a Xishan Games platform, using "JX3" as its launcher.
After being rejected by the higher-ups, he came to Wanmei's side to stir up trouble. I don't know what his mentality is.

Xiao Yi, of course, didn't know what Guo Weiwei's mindset was, but Guo Weiwei's words gave him room to maneuver.

"Mr. Guo is joking. It's not about adding another road, it's about adding another sea."

“In the past, when people went to sea, they had to build their own ships. Now Valve has brought their aircraft carrier over, and we at Wanmei are just helping to build a dock on the side.”

Xiao Yi's analogy sounds a bit exaggerated, but it is actually quite apt.

In the international market, Steam and Tesla are actually quite similar; both are players who have proven themselves globally before entering China. As soon as Xiao Yi finished speaking, someone immediately followed up with a question.

"Aircraft carriers are great, but I'm worried the tickets will be too expensive. Besides, these ships belong to foreigners. What if they want to change their route someday after we're on board?"

This statement is much sharper, directly addressing the core issue of the collaboration between Meizu and Steam: the issue of control.

Faced with this question, Xiao Yi remained calm and composed. He simply asked in return, "Mr. Zhang, I have a question for you. Do we have any control over the domestic distribution channels, whether it's Tencent's or Xingchen's?"

Before Mr. Zhang could speak, Xiao Yi answered his own question.

"No, whether it's Starry Sky or Tencent, we can only suggest how many recommendation slots the game will get and when to hold events. We don't have the final say. Essentially, we have no bargaining power."

These words caused many people present to change their expressions slightly. In fact, anyone who has worked with StarCraft knows that game companies actually have a lot of autonomy with StarCraft.

If your game is fun, the chances of it being recommended are high.

However, most of the companies that Wanmei was able to gather were manufacturers that relied more on the traditional user acquisition model. In other words, they were more accustomed to buying users first, even for low-quality games with only a few percent retention.

You can make money by buying traffic.

However, since stars cannot be purchased in bulk, they were able to empathize with Xiao Yi's words.

"But Steam is different."

Xiao Yi changed the subject.

"Valve is a company that is not interested in anything other than games and their commission."

"I invited everyone here today not to make empty promises. I just want to tell you a fact. We have completed the initial technical integration with Valve on the Steam platform. We have not only obtained the domestic version agency, but also the operation agency rights for Valve's Traditional Chinese platform. Moreover, we can sign revenue-sharing contracts separately with domestic online game companies."

The news caused an uproar at the dinner table.

This statement contains a great deal of information.

Everyone present was shrewd and immediately realized that this was the same approach as Tencent's previous WeGame international version, also known as Xgame.

Domestically, Steam released a domestic version of Steam Workshop, while simultaneously releasing an "overseas" Traditional Chinese version, essentially making Steam a separate platform for Chinese language content.

However, unlike Tencent, Steam's game lineup is on a completely different level. If Wanmei can really break through in terms of promotion, it's really hard to say how it will develop in the future.

"We at Wanmei are well aware that we still lag behind in terms of channel influence."

"Therefore, we never intended to become a dominant force; we simply wanted to build a good platform, serve our players well, and serve everyone well."

"We plan to hold a large-scale online launch event this spring, along with a comprehensive online promotion and unprecedented discounts, to fully establish the name of 'Steam platform'."

"At that time, we will also provide a data package for the Traditional Chinese version. I hope that your games will become the first stars to shine on the Steam platform."

Having finished speaking, Xiao Yi picked up his wine glass and stood up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the domestic PC game market has been too calm for far too long. It's time for some waves to rise. I raise a glass to you all!"

(End of this chapter)