Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 571 Show off your skills

Is this still not quite right?
It's no exaggeration to say that if a layman had said this, Feng Yi and his team would probably be cursing, but the person who said it was Chu Chen.

Even though it was Chu Chen who spoke, his words still left everyone somewhat puzzled. After all, the demo scene that Feng Yi presented was already a scene specially tuned for the PV.
It's like taking an exam, knowing the test paper beforehand, and it's an open-book exam. You think you got a perfect score, but when the paper is handed out, you only get 60 points.

Even if it's high or low, you still have to ask why.

Standing next to Feng Yi, Yang Qi, the lead artist of Black Myth, had this mindset at that moment.

"Mr. Chen, what aspect do you think is lacking?"

Yang Qi originally intended to say this in a tone of seeking advice, but after saying it, it sounded somewhat strange. This wasn't entirely his fault; he simply couldn't think of anything more impressive that could be made with the current technology and time available.

In addition, Yang Qi's personality is such that he is not one to admit defeat.

With the added emotion, the tone of voice was also quite normal.

However, Chu Chen didn't answer immediately. He just looked at the screen. The demo in front of him already had a basic art style and decent technical skills, but compared to the "complete version," it was indeed missing that crucial element.
This spirit is the determination to use grand scenes to achieve a groundbreaking performance effect.

"Some details are missing."

As Chu Chen spoke, he looked around, his gaze finally settling on the pen holder on Feng Yi's desk. He walked straight over, pulled out a pen, and then casually picked up a blank sketchbook.

"Come on, let me draw it for you."

Under the questioning gazes of everyone, Chu Chen opened his notebook, his pen flying across the paper. He didn't draw any detailed original artwork, but simply sketched the outlines of the storyboard with simple lines.

The trailers for the previous version of "Black Myth: Wukong" often featured scenes that were specially processed based on the strengths of the Unreal Engine.

For example, in the first trailer in 2020, what was most impressive was its extremely rich scene details, especially the forest scenes.

For example, many water elements were deliberately added to the scene, such as the water on the ground, as well as various special effects elements, such as the "glowing arrows" shot out in the classic martial arts segment, Guangzhi's flaming double swords, the mist that appeared when the Earth God appeared, and Lingxuzi's hair.

This is especially true of his final act of wreaking havoc in Heaven.

It's no exaggeration to say that Black Myth: Wukong is both a game trailer and a trailer for the Unreal Engine, showcasing the strengths of the Unreal Engine to the fullest.

In addition, the first trailer for "Black Myth" has a strong storyline, including the few lines spoken by the old monkey at the beginning.

You must have all heard his story.

These elements together constitute the first promotional video for "Black Myth: Wukong," and even form the basis for many aspects of the Black Myth universe.

In this timeline, since Black Myth is built on the StarCraft game engine, in addition to the StarCraft engine's proudest lighting and shadow system, as well as the real-scene scanning technology that Chu Chen pointed out in advance, it also features other features.

The demo that Feng Yi and Yang Qi provided was their imagined version.
No... to be precise, it wasn't a demo, but rather the entire game development process. The usage rate of element effects was relatively low, while extra care was put into various lighting, shadows, architecture, and scenes.

Even in the demo, there are light and shadow puzzles.

This is actually quite impressive for ordinary players, and even professional game development teams, because the technology of combining lighting and real-world scanning is truly stunning even 18 years ago. But as I said before, Chu Chen's standards are different.

Those who have seen the answer have a completely different understanding of the PV presentation of "Black Myth: Wukong".

"What you're thinking about is how to make a scene realistic and atmospheric. But a PV, especially one that's going to make a splash at E3, needs to be impactful, a visual spectacle that leaves players' minds blank and makes them just scream 'Holy crap!'"

Chu Chen spoke as he drew.

Under the puzzled gazes of the crowd, Chu Chen's pen moved swiftly across the paper. In this situation, it was impossible to draw in great detail; he simply outlined the scene with lines.

"Take this scene for example. The opening staging can be the same as before: an ancient temple, desolation, and ruin. The atmosphere should be established first."

As mentioned earlier, for a promotional video to be impactful, the first step is to showcase the advantages of the game engine. In fact, Feng Yi did a better job of this than Chu Chen had imagined.

This kind of scene is indeed very suitable for showcasing the lighting and shadow characteristics of the StarCraft game engine, and it can create a great atmosphere.

However, what followed was something that Feng Yi and the others had not yet noticed.

"When the camera focuses on those statues, there needs to be a change."

"You're looking at it at eye level, or slightly upwards, but that's not enough. The camera needs to be lowered further, looking up from the cobweb-covered ground at an upward angle at the weathered statue, to show its immense size, the interplay of light and shadow, its terror, and its desolation."

"Then, a bell tolls, and the camera zooms in sharply with the sound, giving a close-up of the face of a statue, with a very deep crack in the eye area."

Chu Chen's writing speed increased, and with just a few strokes, a composition full of pressure appeared on the paper.

“Then, the most crucial step came.” He emphasized. “A drop of water dripped from the dilapidated roof, striking the crack in the statue's eye socket. The moment the droplet splashed out—”

He scribbled a stroke and turned to a new page in his sketchbook.

"The music abruptly stopped, and cracks began to appear on the surface of the clay sculpture. With a 'crack,' a fragment fell off, revealing not the stone core inside, but a piece of armor gleaming with a cold light!"

"Then came the chain reaction! The four statues shattered simultaneously, and amidst the flying dust, the four statues rapidly expanded, the dilapidated temple disappeared, and in its place appeared a corner of a magnificent, cloud-shrouded heavenly palace!"

"The statue we just zoomed in on is no longer a lifeless stone sculpture, but a living, breathing deity clad in golden armor and wielding magical implements! The camera rapidly pulls upwards from his feet, revealing the Four Heavenly Kings: Virupaksha, Vaishravana, Virudhaka, Dhritarashtra... standing majestically in the four directions, radiating golden light and auspicious energy!"

“We can even set up the plot as a scene where the Heavenly Court ambushes the Great Sage, or an ambush of the Chosen One. You can think of it yourselves, but the scene will be like this.”

"We need to let others know that our version of Journey to the West is not the Journey to the West you imagine!"

After Chu Chen finished speaking, the entire office fell silent.

Everyone was stunned by the scene Chu Chen described.

(End of this chapter)