Rebirth 08: Can a mobile game company also build a tech empire?

"F*** you! How big is the map in this game anyway?"

Li Hao was utterly shocked.

He maneuvered the pixelated figure over a hill.

A vast, boundless desert suddenly appeared before us.

Golden sand dunes stretched to the horizon under the sunlight.

At the edge of the desert, the outline of snow-capped mountains can be faintly seen.

Li Hao had been walking in one direction for a long time.

Yet the boundaries of the world remain unseen.

In the game, the sun begins to set in the west, and the sky gradually darkens.

A spider covered in black hair and with glowing red eyes suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

It is half the size of a person.

Eight legs moved quickly across the sand.

The role is aimed directly at Li Hao.

"Damn! Where did all this stuff come from?!"

Li Hao frantically tried to run away.

But then they discovered that monster shadows were beginning to appear from all directions.

Skeleton archers emerge from behind the sand dunes.

The green Creeper hissed as it ignited.

Slow-moving zombies also crawled out from underground.

Li Hao was empty-handed, without any weapons or armor, and could only desperately flee.

He ran toward the nearest natural cave.

But after running only a dozen meters, a bone arrow struck his character precisely in the back.

Health instantly halved.

"It's over!"

More monsters swarmed around.

Li Hao tapped the screen in an attempt to retaliate, but his bare hands did little damage to the monster.

finally,

The screen suddenly turns red as a Creeper explodes, and the pixelated figure falls to the ground.

"grass!"

A large message appeared on the screen: "You are dead!"

Below, you can choose whether to restart the game or exit to the home menu.

"I see, no wonder it's called Survival Mode."

Li Hao stuck out his tongue and licked his lips.

His competitive spirit was aroused.

Let's start a new game.

After the loading screen, a brand new scene unfolds before your eyes.

It was no longer a desert, but a dense oak forest.

The scene now is completely different from what it was just now!

"It's a new world!"

Li Hao found it hard to believe. If this was true, wouldn't it mean that the game had countless maps, and each map was infinitely large?

At this moment, the curiosity and desire to explore hidden deep within the human soul burst forth.

Li Hao was completely absorbed in the game at the moment.

He walked to the nearest tree, aimed at the trunk, and long-pressed the screen; the character's hand began to dig.

A few seconds later, a wooden block fell into the inventory.

"I see."

Li Hao roughly understood how to play this game.

The entire world is made up of blocks.

You can destroy almost any block to obtain materials.

Then use these materials to build anything you can imagine.

He couldn't help but marvel at the audacity of the game developers.

They simply throw players into the game world without providing any tutorials or guidance.

that's it,

He cut down trees, dug up stones, assembled workbenches, made tools, and built a makeshift shelter.

As night falls

He had just finished making a wooden door and sealed the entrance to the room.

Then they heard the low growls of zombies coming from outside.

Holy crap!

Li Hao was startled.

He quickly made a torch out of the worktable and stuck it on the wall.

The warm CD player dispels the darkness.

He opened the synthesis table and studied what to do next.

Pickaxe? Armor? Or should we start mining for diamonds?

Three hours later,

When Li Hao finally looked up from the game.

He discovered that his three roommates had somehow gathered behind him, watching with great interest.

"What game is this?"

"My roommate Wang Lei asked."

"Minecraft, the new game from Journey Technology."

When Li Hao opened his mouth, he found his voice was a little hoarse.

He then realized that he hadn't even had a sip of water.

"This looks really interesting! You can build houses and fight monsters?"

"More than that!"

Li Hao excitedly began to introduce it.

"I was just having a preliminary experience."

I discovered that this game theoretically has an infinite number of ways to play.

You can build farms, create circuits with redstone, or simply wander around doing nothing.

Where did you download it?

"The official website of Journey"

The Android version is free.

It costs $9.99 on iOS.

Wang Lei immediately pulled out his Conquer Online Z1 and excitedly said:

"I want to play too!"

That night,

The lights in this male dormitory at Hangzhou University of Electronic Science and Technology were on until 2 a.m.

All four of them were playing Minecraft and occasionally exchanging tips and tricks.

"I've found a coal mine!"

"Watch out for Creepers! Those things explode!"

"Does anyone have flint? I want to make a fire starter."

"I built a two-story villa with glass windows and a balcony. Come and take a look!"

Midnight,

When Li Hao finally felt his eyelids drooping and was about to quit the game.

I suddenly remembered the module mentioned in that forum post.

He opened the in-game store.

Sure enough, I saw several items available for purchase.

"Realistic Lighting and Shadows Mod - 6 yuan", "High Definition Texture Pack - 8 yuan", "Medieval Architecture Pack - 12 yuan".

Li Hao gritted his teeth and spent six yuan to buy the lighting and shadow module.

After downloading and installing, he re-entered the game.

In that instant, he held his breath.

The same world, yet completely different.

Sunlight passes through the clouds and interacts with the air, creating the Tyndall effect.

Beams of holy light formed, and at that moment they seemed to have real temperature.

The water surface is no longer a monotonous blue.

Instead, it reflects the clouds in the sky and the surrounding scenery, creating a shimmering effect.

Leaves cast dynamic shadows as they sway in the wind.

When Li Hao walked into the small house he had built.

The torches in the room were no longer just simple light sources.

Instead, it warmly illuminates the surrounding walls, softening the boundary between light and shadow.

At night,

The starry sky forms a Milky Way, which, together with the fireflies, appears exceptionally dazzling.

The moonlight slowly shone down, enveloping the entire world in a tranquil atmosphere.

"These six dollars... are such a great deal."

Li Hao murmured.

What he didn't know was that there were tens of thousands of players like him across the country at that moment.

I'm stepping into this world made of blocks for the first time and I'm fascinated by it.

……

In early April, Hangzhou was shrouded in continuous spring rain.

Inside the new office of Journey Technology.

Lu Chen sat in front of the computer, with AcFun, a video sharing website with bullet comments, open on the screen.

He was watching a video titled "Minecraft builds the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City in three days!"

The video has been viewed over 100,000 times, with a dense barrage of comments scrolling across the screen.

"My lord, please accept my bow!"

"Is this something a human can do?"

"How many blocks did you use?"

"The uploader must have graduated with an architecture degree, right?"

"Please save the game! Please save the game!"

"Zhengtu Technology is awesome! Minecraft is awesome!"

Lu Chen had a smile on his lips.

Minecraft's data has been exceptionally good in its first week of release.

The Android version has been downloaded over 600,000 times.

The iOS version reached number one on the US paid app charts within three days of its release.

Although the price of $9.99 is not cheap.

But players' enthusiasm remains high.

What surprised Lu Chen even more was the in-game purchase data.

On average, one in three players has purchased at least one mod or texture pack.

The paid conversion rate is as high as 30%.

This conversion rate was terrifying in 2009.

The video is two-thirds of the way through.

The content creator is showing the interior structure of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The screen suddenly froze.

Lu Chen frowned and tried refreshing the page.

The buffer ring spins and spins.

Five seconds, ten seconds, twenty seconds...

Finally, an error message appeared:

"Unable to connect to the server."

After refreshing, the entire AcFun site became inaccessible.