After rebirth, I found out that I have a childhood sweetheart

Xia Yuan made a prohibitive gesture, and Lin Youxi on the side also dissuaded him:

"Actually, the name Afang has a special meaning to us, so Afang himself doesn't like people other than us calling him that, otherwise he would be very angry. Am I right, Afang?"

"Yeah, that's right..." Mei Fang smiled slightly, "Yuanyuan and... and Youxi calling me Ah Fang is acceptable to me... but other people should avoid it. I have a psychological trauma."

"Yeah... I won't do that, don't worry!" Guo Yun smiled slightly.

"Me, me too..." Liu Xiaoyu responded softly.

Seeing this, Xiang Bingbing did not continue the topic, but started to eat.

Only Mei Fang was still holding Lin Youxi's wrist under the table to prevent her from making further threats. This was also the reason why he suddenly trembled in the middle of his words just now.

Okay, okay...I understand that you two are asserting your sovereignty.

But no matter what I say, don’t touch me! I’m talking about you, Youxi!

It makes us look like a psychopath with dirty thoughts!

Chapter 172 New Game Development Plan

After enjoying the sumptuous barbecue at the buffet, everyone's energy quickly ran out. Only Xiang Bingbing ate two servings of ice cream desserts in a row, and then she held her stomach and burped with satisfaction at the end.

"I've been in Jiangcheng for so long, and I finally have a full meal... I'm so happy."

Looking at the table full of clean plates, everyone was impressed by Xiang Bingbing's powerful fighting ability and silently mourned for the buffet owner.

Mei Fang looked at Guo Yun's simple dishes and couldn't help but sigh:

"Guo Yun, you really don't eat much now... The girl who always carried Defu chocolate with her is gone."

"Uh...don't make fun of me about the past."

"This isn't a joke, this is about reminiscing about the good old days, okay?"

Mei Fang was actually very pleased that Guo Yun had undergone such a big change.

In his previous life, he did not stand up for Guo Yun and fight against those who maliciously bullied and ridiculed Guo Yun. It was not until they parted that he realized how much she valued her relationship with him, and he always felt a little regretful.

But now she is living a good life, which is due to her small help. Mei Fang is very relieved to know this.

Not to mention that she is now one of Mei Fang’s most important art connections.

"When I was in junior high school, I was actually always afraid to go to school because I knew that everyone would always laugh at me, overtly or covertly. I also wanted to change, but I could never make up my mind. As a result, I was always laughed at and could never make friends."

Guo Yun said seriously, "But since I met Mei Fang, the class monitor, and you guys, and played games with you, I suddenly felt that going to school became interesting. Sometimes I really feel that I am very lucky, and you don't look down on me... it's just..."

As Guo Yun was talking, she suddenly blushed, "Well, I suddenly became pretentious, and I seem a little ashamed. Just pretend I didn't say anything!"

"Hehe...I understand. There's nothing to be ashamed of, Yunyun."

Xia Yuan held her chin with her hand and smiled, "Even if you don't lose weight, you have your own shining points. You have a good personality and are good at drawing. You will be popular sooner or later."

"I think so too." Lin Youxi nodded, "You are the only artist in Ximilu Studio now. We want to release a game, but we need your input."

"Well... I know this. I will continue to work hard and not let everyone down, nor let Mei Fang down."

Xia Yuan pulled Mei Fang's arm at this time, "By the way, Ah Fang, do you have anything else to talk to Yunyun about regarding the new game today?"

"Well, this is business. I have to talk to her later. If you don't want to listen, you can go shopping or something. You don't get many opportunities to come to the city."

Xiang Bingbing nodded and said, "Yes, yes, I am planning to go shopping with Xiaoyu. Do you want to go together?"

Xia Yuan immediately shook his head, "Maybe later... Bingbing, you and Xiaoyu go shopping first, I need to listen to some things related to game development."

"What about Youxi?"

Lin Youxi shook her head, "I'm with Yuanyuan and Fang too."

Since they are going to develop a new game, the three giants of Ximilu Studio must understand the subsequent development process together.

Ah!

That's it!

It's not that I'm here to monitor whether Guo Yun wants to take advantage of this opportunity that she thought she was alone to launch an offensive against us, A Fang!

Although Guo Yun's appearance has improved a lot, according to Afang's preferences, there should still be a lot missing.

Xia Yuan stared at Guo Yun's back and thought.

If she continues to work out, maybe one day she will indeed get a very toned and attractive body, but by that time it will definitely be too late.

After all, our Afang is not such a vulgar and lustful person.

He will definitely cherish the relationship we have had over the years even more.

After Xia Yuan figured it out, he walked with a proud air, and even pulled Mei Fang's arm close to him.

Wandering around in a shopping mall like this is no different from a young couple.

"Let's sit in this milk tea shop for a while and help digest our food."

Mei Fang looked at the menu and said, "This shop has unsweetened green tea, jasmine tea and oolong tea. You should be able to drink that, right?"

Guo Yun nodded, then stood up and took out her wallet, saying, "Um... I'll treat you to milk tea this time. I can't always trouble you to pay."

"Well...sure, I'd be remiss if you don't agree."

Mei Fang mainly remembered what Xia Yuan said to her, so it would be better not to pretend to be the boss here.

Guo Yun ordered milk tea for everyone, and then took out a tablet computer, iPad, from her bag. This was the beginning of the tablet legend.

"This is the concept design that Mei Fang asked me to draw based on some art works. There are characters and scenes. You can take a look and see if you find them attractive."

Mei Fang took the tablet from Guo Yun and began to appreciate Guo Yun's portfolio with Lin Youxi and Xia Yuan.

"Ah Fang, why did you ask Guo Yun to draw these? What is a concept design drawing..."

“In the early stages of game development, we need to decide on an art style. We first come up with an idea, get some concept drawings from the artists, and then find an art style that better fits our ideas, and then we start creating a new work.”

"It sounds much more complicated than the previous games. Fang, are you going to make a great game?"

"The scale is a matter for the future. It's better to look at the resources we have before making a decision."

The concept design drawings provided by Guo Yun have three styles: low-poly polygonal characters and scenes; early cel-lucky style painting characters; and fine-grained pixel art style.

The first style that Mei Fang wanted to match was the famous work of the previous life, "Monument Valley". In the early stage of U3D development, this low-polygonal 3D style of scenes and characters were very distinctive compared to traditional game works. In simple terms, it had a "fresh" feeling.

The cel style was a very popular painting style in the early 21st century. Many works of Master Hayao Miyazaki and well-known animations such as "Cowboy Bebop" were produced in the cel style.

This type of work has very many layers, bright colors and mostly in blocks, giving it a very delicate feel, so the drawing cost is also very high. It is suitable for some plot-heavy galgames or RPG games.

The third type of fine-grained pixels are relative to most traditional pixel works on the market today, and have smaller color blocks and action surfaces than traditional pixels.

When we say traditional pixels, we are actually referring to those very early FC games. At that time, there were actually not many comparable products on the market.

In the early 10s, everyone was keen on using U3D engines and Unreal Engine to develop next-generation visual technology. Pixels, as an "outdated" painting style, were less popular.

Of course, after 16 and 17, many pixel works became popular again due to their excellent game quality or combined with new 3D pixel technology, such as "Dead Cells" and "Celestine", but that's a story for later.

Mei Fang was carefully flipping through Guo Yun's portfolio. Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi couldn't figure out what was going on, so they could only follow Mei Fang silently.

"I think they're all good... Ah Fang, have you decided to start your new game in that style?"

Mei Fang nodded, then pointed to a character design picture in the portfolio and said:

“This role… feels very interesting.”

Chapter 173 What is the Ninth Art?

Mei Fang saw the image of a girl with short black hair, a white triangle skirt and pencil legs in Guo Yun's portfolio. The color block design of this character was very simple.

The girl in the character looks up at the sky, with only her back visible, looking a little desolate and lonely.

"Guo Yun, where did you find the inspiration for this character?"

"This... I found inspiration from some picture books. They're fairy tale picture books. They're not very childish. They're... well, how should I put it - I wonder if you've read them, Mei Fang."

Xia Yuan reminded, "I've read a picture book about The Little Prince before. It's the kind with a very simple style of painting and a very healing story, the kind that..."

"Yes, yes... It's the kind that girls love to read. This one is just a little different in style. The characters in the picture book I read all have this kind of clear polygonal design..."

Mei Fang is now thinking about his next game. Although there is no clear design theme, he has a firm design direction.

Make an independent game that can be called the "ninth art".

He has countless design prototypes for hit works in his mind. Judging from the current situation of his collaboration with the team, as long as the art resources are in place, the project can be launched quickly.

But it is enough to have completed a few of those projects, and that is not what Mei Fang is really pursuing.

He has always hoped that the gaming industry he loves so much can receive more positive recognition in China, rather than being viewed as a spiritual oppression by adults and elders.

The traditional educational philosophy certainly bears an unshirkable responsibility for the poor gaming environment in China. However, the developers’ enthusiasm for guiding players to spend money on games and their various profit-seeking project standards are all self-inflicted.

Games have always been called the ninth art because they have the potential for interactivity compared to works such as text, movies, and animation.

Players can play characters in the game world, complete the game character's mission or make choices themselves, and gain a high sense of immersion and involvement.

This interactivity should not only exist in the fighting and killing between players and the virtual world of fame and fortune, but should also exist in the real emotional communication and exchanges established between developers and players through the game.

The most important thing for an excellent independent game is interesting and creative gameplay, but independent game works that can be called the ninth art cannot lack the artistic expression of music and art.

These two are certainly not necessary and sufficient conditions. Many famous independent game works that have been passed down to later generations may have simple graphics, but the music can touch the soul.

For example, the famous IGN full-score masterpiece, Undertale, its 8-bit dynamic music design added a lot of points to it, and also ushered in a lot of secondary creation crazes;

Even without talking about things that are so far away, the success of "To the Moon" is definitely not due to its visuals. The perfect plot combined with the beautiful and touching piano music is its winning magic weapon.

Mei Fang now has a lot of resources in the field of music. Not to mention himself and Yuanyuan, the producer of "To the Moon" Gao Gan, whom he knows, is a gifted game music designer. Now that Guo Yun's art has grown into an independent figure, Mei Fang naturally has higher aspirations for his first "ninth art" work.

"I plan to use this character designed by Guo Yun as the protagonist of the story. Her color scheme may need to be slightly adjusted. We will use her to make a platform jumping puzzle game."

"Platform jumping..." Xia Yuan scratched his head and said, "Fang, could you please not use such professional terms? I don't quite understand."

"Super Mario, we used to play it on Subor."

“Ah! Using this girl to make Super Mario? Why does it feel a little funny… weird…”

Lin Youxi added, "Afang probably meant the same control method as Super Mario, with buttons like left, right, and jump... The actual experience should be very different."

"So what kind of story are you going to write? How many words do you plan to write?"

“This story is more of a story of self-searching. We don’t use too much text in the story… or, in other words, there is basically no text.”