Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 61 Winter Front
For example, the first difficulty level is called "Spring Front".

The gameplay of each level is very similar to that of auto chess PVP, which involves spawning minions round by round and then fighting. However, in PVP, after each round, players need to assemble characters and lineups to engage in PVP with other players.

In the PVE gameplay, after each round, players need to collect buffs and adjust their lineup to counter the enemy's lineup.

Once you clear one battlefront's difficulty level, you can unlock the next difficulty level. The number and stats of enemies differ depending on the difficulty, and the rewards you receive also vary.

Combined with the off-front development system, this is the core of the roguelike mode.

With good luck, you might be able to clear all five battle lines in about ten days. But if you're unlucky, or if you don't play much PVE and your character isn't skilled enough, you might not even have cleared the highest difficulty yet.

In this new version, in addition to adding a rating system to all previous PVE simulation battle lines, the system will score and rank players based on their "completion time" and "kill efficiency".

Furthermore, this roguelike mode has been enhanced with the addition of a "season map," providing two new maps.

These two new maps are called "Winter Front" and "Parallel Front" respectively.

The recommended team levels are LV50 and LV60 (the new level after the open beta).
The overall PVE season rewards are divided into two parts: one part is the completion rewards, which you can get as long as you complete the season.

This part accounts for almost 50% of the total rewards. The remaining 25% of the rewards are obtained by completing various "special missions," such as using a XX doll to deal XX damage, etc.

The final 25% reward is awarded based on the ranking stage.

Compared to PVP gameplay, PVE mode, being a roguelike game, allows for the testing of many mechanics and gameplay elements.

For example, the Winter Front.

This map adds the "Winter" system to the original mode. In short, when players enter the scene, it will snow.

Players will fight their way through the "normal" scene and all the way to the winter scene.

After entering the winter scene, parts of the chessboard will gradually become covered in snow.

Humanoid characters placed in these areas will receive a series of debuffs, such as reduced rate of fire and reduced evasion.

Meanwhile, a new resource called "Campfire" has been added to the "Winter Front," which is a lantern-shaped object that can be placed on the chessboard to remove the snow.

However, the acquisition of "campfires" is limited, making it impossible to ensure that all characters can enjoy a campfire every time they are deployed.

As a result, a series of new game strategies have emerged.

In short, the "Winter Front" instance upgrades the traditional auto chess "static lineup competition" to "dynamic tactical confrontation" through environmental mechanisms and resource restrictions.

In PvE, in addition to gathering buffs, players also need to allocate the scarce resource of campfires.

Furthermore, the impact of the snow debuff varies depending on the team composition. For example, some "tank" compositions can withstand the relatively low debuff in the early game.

They were able to leave behind a precious campfire.

However, this lineup doesn't have enough damage output, so once you have enough campfires, you need to find the right time to switch lineups.

In addition, the timing and location of setting up the campfire also test the player's understanding of the game.

Since the Winter Front was a mechanics update, there were no guides to refer to during the early stages, making it incredibly enjoyable to play. Almost at the same time that this mode was updated, players who mainly played PVE were lamenting their situation.

"When a humanoid character stands in the snow, its movement speed, rate of fire, and evasion all decrease. What's the point of fighting like that?"

"Those few campfires are simply not enough; on any slightly larger map, half the chessboard is freezing!"

"The planners were definitely doing it on purpose, trying to kill us clumsy players!"

"Who said you can get through with your feet? Step forward, and I promise I won't kill you!"

Some people even posted screenshots of themselves frozen into ice sculptures, with the caption: "This is what happens during the Winter War."

The comments below were full of replies like, "+1, my wife has turned into an ice pop too."

"This is so true, everyone has Parkinson's."

However, despite the complaints and grievances, many players who originally only played PVP have started playing PVE after seeing this new gameplay.

After all, the official announcement made it very clear.

In the future, some content from the "Winter Front" PVE mode will be gradually introduced into the PVP gameplay as a special mode.

So, whether it's based on "getting familiar with the mechanics in PVE first" or simply "there's something new!? I'll have to try it out."

After this update, the number of players in PVE mode of "Final Front" has increased significantly.

The most obvious change is that after this update, many streamers who mainly play PVP have also started playing PVE.

"Damn, another team wiped out! This snow is too treacherous!"

"Damn, I almost beat the boss!"

"One more round! I refuse to believe this!" "Quit the game? Go to sleep? No way! Tonight we have to take down this 'Winter General'!"

For most veteran players and streamers, although they may verbally criticize the game developers for being inhumane, they actually find the game genuinely enjoyable.

At this point in time, "Final Front" has been online for two months. Version 1.0 added a storyline but the gameplay remained unchanged, so after the 1.0 storyline ended...

The popularity of "Final Frontline" also declined rapidly. Just then, with the launch of the Japanese server and the release of the season update, not only new rewards but also new gameplay was introduced.

In addition, although Winter Front may feel quite difficult when you play it for the first time, especially if your character level is not high enough, the pressure is not due to the numerical values, but rather to your unfamiliarity with the mechanics.

This unfamiliarity with the mechanics doesn't cause the same frustration as simply stacking numbers. It easily creates the illusion that you'll pass the next round if you've developed well earlier.

Soon enough, players started discussing it enthusiastically on social media.

"What's the most cost-effective way to set up a campfire? Any experts out there who can help?"

"Which team should we practice with to pass?"

"I tried it out, and at the start of the game, I used a heavy armor unit to tank the debuffs in front, which saved me from having to use a campfire in the early game."

"But the damage output isn't enough later on. We still need to switch to a damage-dealing team for the boss fight, and we can't skimp on campfires."

"Timing is very important. We need to wait until the enemy's key units enter the snow before setting up the campfire to protect our own damage dealers."

"Have you noticed that some terrain features allow you to hold your position and avoid getting snow?"

"This new map seems interesting. figuring out how to pass it is much more interesting than mindlessly grinding before."

~~~
Sano Yujun looked at the four large characters "Congratulations on your victory" on the screen.

My hand holding the mouse is still trembling.

Anyone who's played roguelike games knows that the tension when fighting the final boss is no joke.

My heart rate easily reaches 120.
At the same time, the more tense he was when fighting the BOSS, the more exhilarating he felt when he finally defeated the BOSS. Sano Yujun felt incredibly clear-headed at this moment.

The fatigue and irritability that had accumulated earlier were instantly washed away by a huge sense of satisfaction, and every pore felt comfortable.

Although he started updating at 10 a.m. and it's now 6 p.m., he has been working for 8 hours straight, excluding mealtimes.

But he felt those few hours were worth it!

From initial chaos and confusion to gradually figuring out the tricks of setting up campfires, and then to using the terrain to avoid the negative effects of snow accumulation.

He felt that his understanding of this mode had improved by several levels. Before this playthrough, he had already approached the BOSS several times.

At its most successful moment, the boss was brought to near death, but ultimately the mission failed.

He had originally planned to rest and come back tomorrow, but when he checked his LINE group, he found that many people had already posted screenshots of their successful completion of the game.

He felt unwilling again.

I tried again, and finally finished the game without any major mishaps.

"It's finally over!"

Seeing the message "Season Map: Parallel Front has been unlocked" pop up on the screen, Sano Yujun breathed a sigh of relief, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.

I took a screenshot, sent it to the LINE group, and added a comment.

"The difficulty level isn't too exaggerated, it's nothing special."

Immediately afterwards, Sano Yujun started waiting for replies from his group members on his phone. At first, there were indeed a few replies saying "Great job, master" and some people even told him to quickly draw a manga strategy guide for Winter Front.

But soon, with the appearance of another screenshot, Sano Yujun broke down.

That picture is also a screenshot of the Winter Frontline victory.

The image itself is fine, but the one above with the following information: [Clearance Rating: S] [Current Server Rank: 1210] [Current World Server Rank: 4998]

And the comment that person made after the picture: "Hey, finally made it into the top 5,000 of the world servers. There are just too many Chinese players."

To be honest, there's nothing wrong with that statement itself.

But do you have to send it after I send it on LINE?

Sano Yujun thought for a moment, then looked at his completion score, and saw that it was rated as "Completion Rating: B," and ranked in the top 70% of current servers and the top 91% of current world servers.
He suddenly didn't find the food very appetizing anymore.

"No!! Let me try again!!"

(End of this chapter)