A game of dreams

"Mirage" was finally released as scheduled, and the public beta date was set on Lixia.

Yuan Chong was full of anxiety. This is the painstaking effort of him and his team for three years of development. Although it is not perfect, it also has its own characteristics.

As a stand-alone RPG game, "Mirage" tries a multiplayer gameplay mode, the screen adopts European and American style, and the character setting decisively abandons the pursuit of "beauty", emphasizing recognition and individuality; the background of the story is set in the end of the wild, In addition to the main story line and PVE gameplay, elements of simulated management such as base culture and ranch culture have also been added.

As a veteran stand-alone player who has supported multiplayer mode since the "Witcher" series, "GTA" series and "Dragon Age", Yuan Chong has always had a dream of playing multiplayer stand-alone.Many people have persuaded him that the living space of stand-alone games in China is too narrow, especially in the past few years when online games have flourished, going against the trend is simply asking for a dead end.But Yuan Chong's goal at the beginning was not the domestic market - "Mirage" was to be released globally, which is one of the reasons why he abandoned domestic elements and designed the game to be closer to European and American culture.He even simply abandoned the "beginner's guide" part of the game, and didn't even think about selling guns in China.

Stand-alone games are better than stand-alone games, Yuan Chong always believed so.

There are only a handful of people in China who are dedicated to single-player games - online games make money, and the cashability of stand-alone games is low. Who will make stand-alone games?But a good stand-alone game is no worse than online games in terms of design and game experience.In addition, the multiplayer mode has quietly become a trend in global stand-alone game production in the past few years. Yuan Chong believes that looking at his work from a global perspective, the results are not necessarily bad.

On the day of the public sale, sales counters were hung in the company's largest conference room, and the entire team was packed, staring nervously at the huge machine.

Holding a half bowl of cold instant noodles in his hands, Yuan Chong checked the time again and again irritably, becoming more and more nervous the more he looked.

As soon as twelve o'clock came, the counter started to jump.After the "0" of everyone becomes "1", it starts to turn up crazily, and the tens, hundreds, thousands and ten thousand digits increase sequentially.Yuan Chong's lips trembled while holding the instant noodle bowl, and he felt dry and hot all over.

"99997-99998-99999-[-]!"

Intense cheers erupted in the conference room, Yuan Chong jumped up from his chair, and the head of the planning department rushed in front of him and hugged him fiercely.He stared intently at the number that was still rising, and his mind went blank for a moment.

Several strong boys also squeezed to the front, lifted Yuan Chong up, and threw him into the air——

"Achong——Achong—Achong——" There was the sound of mountains roaring and tsunami in his ears, and Yuan Chong smiled in a trance. The moment his body was detached from the support and frozen in the air, his heartbeat seemed to be stagnant.This was a super-experienced pleasure, he couldn't even utter a word, all he could say was cursing.

"Where's the champagne? Where's the champagne? Open!" Someone shouted.

Only then was Yuan Chong put down, and went to get the champagne on the table. He shook the bottle violently. The moment the cork came off, the splashed wine shot more than one meter high, and a glistening water column shot out from the snow-white spray. , and threw it into the air together with his jumping heart.

The pyramid-shaped glass cups are more than two meters high, and the golden waterfall falls from the sky, pouring his dream with fragrance.

Zhao Shouyu came to clink glasses with him: "Thanks for your hard work."

There was a red light on Yuan Chong's face, and he trembled when he spoke: "Thank you, thank you."

Without Zhao Shouyu, he couldn't have made "Mirage", and he wouldn't be where he is today.

It is rare for Zhao Shouyu to say a few good words: "It is your own ability, and you deserve this achievement."

He spoke sincerely, Yuan Chong's heart palpitated slightly, he covered his eyes with his cup in a panic, and took a sip of the wine without even thinking about it.

For a stand-alone RPG game, although this result is not amazing, it is still acceptable.Yuan Chong calculated in his mind that Zhao Shouyu's 500 million investment had at least paid off.Of course, it is definitely not enough to just pay back the cost. When talking about investment, Yuan Chong set a goal of three to four times the profit, so that more money can be invested in subsequent productions.

Zhao Shouyu said: "Prepare well for the next few exhibitions, I think there will be no problem."

Yuan Chong was excited: "I have already contacted the outsourced advertiser, and I will show you the finalized booth plan in two days. I will fly to Germany to see the scene next week. Will you come then?"

Not every exhibition Zhao Shouyu will go to: "I will not go to Cologne, I will fly directly to Tokyo and wait for you there."

The Cologne Game Show in August is one of the largest game exhibitions in the world. It lasted for 5 days and attracted nearly 400 exhibitors, attracting game players from all over the world.In the past, Yuan Chong only went there as a tourist and a player. This year, the roles and tasks are different, and the experience is particularly fresh.He received the badge of the staff, and immediately took pictures with great interest.

The booths of independent game companies have separate areas, each of which is a half-sized company like Yuan Chong. There are not many works and a small team, but their style and characteristics are obvious.Pioneering works of experimental nature from European companies emerge in endlessly, driving the most avant-garde artistic game concepts and design styles, often carefully digging out, and there are always pearls revealed.

Yuan Chong's booth was mixed in the middle, and the "taste" was a bit "light". There were not many players coming and going, and the crowd was a little deserted.

"Yuan Chong?" Someone shouted in Chinese.

Yuan Chong only thought it looked familiar, but he couldn't remember the name all at once.The person who came laughed loudly: "I forgot about the seniors, I just helped you with your homework."

Yuan Chong slapped his brain: "Senior Fu, why are you here?"

Fu Lien hugged him: "I happen to be on a business trip in Germany this year, so let's take a look."

"After graduation, the seniors haven't changed much."

"It's old. Is this your company's game? RPG?"

"I have been working for more than three years, do you want to try it, senior?"

Fu Lien is a game design major, which can be considered as a professional background.He was eager to try: "Okay!"

Yuan Chong took him to the trial area. Fu Lien got started quickly, and the operation was smooth and proficient. While controlling the character, he was still thinking about chatting. He could see Yuan Chong's careful thinking in the character design: "This is the 'coconut milk'. A unicorn, right? Sure, it's trendy."

It was the emotional branch of "The Witcher 3", which was released not long ago. Yuan Chong liked the supporting actress Yennefer (nicknamed Coconut Milk), and the passion on the back of the unicorn was even more unforgettable.Adding unicorn toys in "Mirage" is indeed Yuan Chong's selfish intention.

Yuan Chong was overwhelmed by his feelings, but he was happy: "This is what we planned to add after discussion."

Fu Lien continued to operate: "Very good, the action is very smooth, and the story is also innovative. Is it officially released? How is the sales?"

"It's just been released for a month, and the sales volume is about 15. I'm satisfied."

"Okay. Don't worry, I will help you promote it."

The two made an appointment at noon to rest in the coffee shop next to the exhibition hall, chatting from games to personal development.After graduating, Fu Lien went to the UK for further studies, and finally stayed there to work. Today, one foot is no longer in the game industry. He still has the title of "Senior Designer" on his business card, but the identity of the "Partner" at the beginning is the main one. .Yuan Chong felt ashamed. He and Fu Lien were only a year away from graduating, and now the other party can already make money lying down. He is still a wage earner who looks at the boss's face.

"Actually, there are also disadvantages," Fu Lien said frankly: "Now more energy has to be put on marketing and marketing. Game companies are not doing charity. Guaranteeing sales and increasing sales are hard targets. In the past, I was only a designer. At that time, I could concentrate on the game, and the plot and story would be fine for a day or two. Now it’s not good, you see, I can’t even come to the exhibition, 360 for five days, I see customers every day, I’m joking with them, I’m just a senior Sale."

If it was a few years ago, Yuan Chong could still be fooled by him, but not now.He knows that money is not easy to come by: "When I was making "Mirage", I tried my best to convince the boss. Investment is hard to get, money is the master. People always ask me, why do I make stand-alone games? I said, give me 600 million for the first issue. Making online games? Dreaming is not bad! I really like single-player, and I also have the ideal of doing single-player, but stand-alone is indeed cheap, what can I do?"

Fu Lien felt that he had matured a lot: "A Chong, I'm really happy that you can persevere."

The two chatted deeply, and Yuan Chong confessed the confusion in his heart: "Actually, I don't know how long I can last."

Fu Lien understood what he was thinking: "I also went through this stage. I felt more fatigued at work, and sometimes it was very hard."

"Yeah, I don't know what's the point of doing this myself."

"Maybe we can change the path and make some transformation."

"Like you, senior?"

"Pure design is really good at the beginning of your career, but when you go up, you need a bigger vision and can see the entire industry and industry. At that time, your ideas will be different. Designers always think that they are the best. Know what a game is, but don't we Chinese always say that the outsider knows. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Yuan Chong sighed: "The domestic game industry is still immature. I have no background and a criminal record. It will be difficult to go up."

Fu Lien asked: "Why must it be in China? The development of the domestic game industry has been delayed, and it is difficult for talents to find a way out. Have you never thought about going abroad? Europe, the United States, Japan, South Korea... to a truly mature game industry chain How about a challenge?"

Yuan Chong actually had this idea: "Do you think it's feasible?"

"Don't you know if you look at me?" Fu Lien pursed his lips and smiled: "There are many Chinese in our company, and the girls in the 3D and special effects departments are all black-haired and black-eyed. If you think Japanese and Korean languages ​​​​are not fluent, English is also fine." Ah, your English is still passable."

Yuan Chong was moved slightly by what he said.

Fu Lien gave him his business card: "If you are interested, I can also introduce you. For the sake of old classmates for many years, if you can make a good development, I will be happy too."

It was a bit late to get back to the hotel at night.In the afternoon, a lot of players poured in from nowhere, and Yuan Chong's booth became very lively. Yuan Chong was so busy that he didn't even have time for dinner, so he stayed on with a cup of cold coffee until closing.

Foreign things are expensive and unaccustomed to eating, so he asked the hotel waiter for instant noodles in boiling water, and enjoyed junk food while watching TV while shutting himself in the room.Zhao Shouyu called him, and he picked up after chewing noodles——

"What are you eating?" There was a light laugh on the other side.

Yuan Chong took a sip of the soup: "Whether it's hamburger sausage or barbecue beer, no one can stand it, it's better than instant noodles."

Zhao Shouyu laughed at him: "What can you do when you are given public money to eat and still complain?"

Yuan Chong reported his work honestly: "The number of people should be the largest on the first day, and it will decrease gradually in the future. I also invited several producers and well-known online testers to come and try the game. It would be great to get one or two good words, more useful than any advertising.”

"You decide for yourself, you don't have to tell me everything." Zhao Shouyu was very relieved of him.

Yuan Chong was at a loss for words and did not report to work, so he and Zhao Shouyu really didn't have much to say.

Zhao Shouyu made a dissatisfied nasal sound: "Did you go shopping? Buy what you like, do you want to give you some more money?"

Yuan Chong shook his head subconsciously, regardless of whether the other party could see it or not: "I have money."

"It's okay to go to Europe if you want to. Isn't it possible to go to many places in Schengen? You haven't been to France or the UK, have you?"

"It's troublesome to book a hotel and itinerary temporarily. Besides, everyone else has left, so it's not good for me to go out and have fun."

"Can't you just bring two people? I'll reimburse you when you come back."

Since the boss is so generous, Yuan Chong has no reason to be harsh on himself: "Let's go around Germany, just go to CRYTEK* to have a look."

Zhao Shouyu seemed happier than him: "Go, be careful."

(*1. The "novice tour guide" is a unique function of domestic games. Many European and American games do not have it. Since European and American players like to explore the gameplay by themselves, setting up a novice guide limits the freedom of gameplay to a certain extent. Therefore, in game design Among them, if the "novice tour guide" part is discarded, there will be a symbolic meaning of abandoning the domestic market.

2. CRYTEK: A German video game developer, established in 1999, once had a studio in Shanghai, China, and its well-known works include "Far Cry" and the game engine CryEngine. )