The strongest game production method

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"Ding--", an ice ax swayed to dig into the ice, splashing debris.

Birds flitted over the glacier, and their high-pitched chirping and thin chisel echoed, spreading across the sky.

The owner of the ice ax was wearing fiery red hiking boots, and the goggles shone orange against the sun.Looking from a distance, it looks like a dazzling spark dotted on the ice field, unyieldingly tore a hole in the vast whiteness.

However, this person's state does not seem to be as good as his attire.

His heart was about to jump out of his chest, and his physical strength had reached its limit. His legs were filled with lead, and he couldn't pull out his crampons to continue upward.

——Just a few seconds ago, he managed to gather enough strength to kick his crampons into the ice.

There is an energy supply snack above the 30-degree angle. I don't know which unlucky person dropped it here.

Eat it, and there is still hope.

But the more bossy the brain is, the more the hands and feet are more obedient and obedient.

He turned his head to look, and the abyss aroused the fear of death.

It is impossible to go forward, and it is impossible to go backward.

dilemma.

His palm slipped, and because there was no rope or protective frame, his entire body fell at an accelerated rate.

The cold wind passing through the chest swirled, and spread out a vast nebula shining white light around it...

In the end, the body disintegrated and scattered into countless stars, sinking into it.

[The fourth round took 4 minutes and 2 seconds, this challenge is over]

[Unfortunately, player EyeMore003 failed the challenge]

【try again?yes or no]

Meng Ai took off the headset and handle, rubbed the back of her neck, the sweat on her hands was still half dry.

The swivel chair had already been pushed aside by him at some point, and he was a little surprised - he hadn't played any VR games standing up for a long time.

Still played to the 4th round.

Although it was only 10 minutes, Meng Ai's mood fluctuated and he adjusted his state with continuous deep breaths.But behind the exhaustion, there is anticipation.

This is the last demo he tried today.

At this time, a line of large characters slowly appeared on the big screen:

【AloneOnIce】

"...Thank you for my luck today. I got the last one. I hope it will be a good finale." Yu Hanguang turned on the wireless projection screen to call up the document, and simply warmed up the scene. "Let's not talk much, let's get to the point."

"Our game, everyone has tried it just now, it is called "Lonely Cracking Ice"."

Meng Ai established the rule of "people come for demos", which made this project establishment meeting even more exciting even though it was not as lively as usual.

Since there is a demo, a trial session was added before the meeting. Several judges tried the unsigned demos in turn, and then listened to the defense.

Meng Ai predicted the difficulty and cost of doing demos. There must not be many projects this time, and the demo will not be delayed for long.

He originally thought that there were only six projects in total, and he could eliminate the chaff and save the chaff in terms of quality.But after walking around, his face turned dark on the spot, and then he fell into double self-doubt——

Is there something wrong with my thinking?Or do you have a problem with your ability?

There are two projects that have bugs during the trial stage.

Meng Ai wanted to give them another chance during the defense, but the project manager couldn't muster the courage at all and slipped away with his tail between his legs.

Victory or defeat is a common matter in military affairs, and we will fight again next time.

The demos of the other two projects are fancy, but there are obvious loopholes in the logic of the game.

The project manager even hemmed and hawed about the direction of optimization in the initial stage, and made it clear that he had just dug a brain hole and started working in a hurry.

To establish a project for the sake of establishing a project, the primary and secondary are reversed.

So the entire project approval meeting was in an atmosphere of "all relying on the opponent to set off", and there were only two projects left, standing precariously in Meng Ai's cold eyes.

"It's really a coincidence that our game is very similar to that of Sun Han in the previous group, both of which belong to the category of ice and snow sports." Yu Hanguang avoided Meng Ai's thoughtful gaze, looked around at the other judges participating in the meeting, and said with a smile .

Feudal superstitions are harmful to people, and today he deliberately put on that "Talkischeap, showmethecode." T-shirt again today, hoping that he can be tougher.

In the end, when it came to the defense, he realized that he was careless.

There is a fart use for a hard scalp.

You have to get a head start.

There are a lot of people in the conference room today.

In addition to Meng Ai, Qin Haotian and Yang Ye who attended the meeting as usual, Wan Minzhe came, Zou Haiyao was holding his purple sand pot, and even Zhao Huifeng also appeared.

Yu Hanguang clicked the laser pointer to flip the project document, and said, "Sun Han's project is skiing, which everyone is familiar with. Our game is relatively less popular——"

"Ice climbing."

He had just finished listening to the previous defense and frequently mentioned Sun Han, and indeed found that the two projects coincided very well:

Sun Han cooperated with a young colleague named Chi Yu from the art group to do a short track speed skating event.

With the joining of designers, this game makes the ice rink come alive. In addition to the speed and passion, the excitement brought by the competition is immersive, and the unique technical advantages of VR are not in vain.

Both projects are still codenamed Ice.

Not to mention the game hits the shape and the name, and the defense has been drawn to the front and back courts.

Sun Han and Chi Yu cooperated quite tacitly, and they clearly introduced the production ideas, gameplay and expectations of the game.

He is obviously at a disadvantage in the back position.

For the first time, Yu Hanguang felt that he underestimated this dude Sun Han.

In addition, he also has doubts: Although ice and snow sports games are becoming more and more common, and brainstorming is not a small probability event in the game circle, but peeling off the skin of this short track speed skating game, what do you think of the bones, and how does it compare with his original ice climbing game? Very similar.

In particular, Sun Han’s explanation of how players are acquired also starts with the data of first- and second-tier cities, and also draws on the power of offline fans.

Exactly the same idea as his.

Zou Haiyao asked: "Why do you choose niche things?"

"The smaller the audience, the less understood it is, and it reflects the deepest level of spiritual needs. Mastering these needs can greatly increase the player's stickiness." Yu Hanguang reacted from his contemplation.

He has been lurking in the rock climbing group for a long time, and he really put a lot of thought into becoming the leader of the group.

Because of their uniqueness and scarcity, these enthusiasts have a sense of superiority and have long formed a small circle.At the same time, the circle also provides everyone with identity attribution and identity recognition.

Huddle together for warmth, indestructible.

"In other words, we are relying on the long board of user loyalty to make up for the short board of user coverage. At the same time, it also makes the game have a memory point, and it does not appear to follow the trend."

Zou Haiyao curled his lips: "It's still a bit unpopular."

"It's not unpopular. I think that small crowd movements will gradually break out of the circle in the future." Yu Hanguang glanced at Meng Ai, "Anything is foregone."

"Now there is a rock climbing gym in Yizhou, which is very popular with young people. Our games, like young people, are potential stocks visible to the naked eye." He obtained a lot of information from Wei Li's classmates.

Harvesting spiritual sustenance from novel hobbies that are not humane, this is the charm of the minority.

But more thanks to the times and technology for giving the niche the opportunity to be seen.

"How to do the initial growth? Is there a set target?" His thoughts were interrupted by Meng Ai.

Meng Ai is extremely sensitive to business and data. As long as it is a number, he can basically remember the difference at a glance.

Yu Hanguang expected that he would ask this question, so he gave a detailed report on the "Seed User Acquisition Plan".

The slight difference from Sun Han's project is that he set and calculated a "number of users" North Star indicator (1) during the initial testing stage of the ice climbing game based on his experience and intuition.

Zou Haiyao took the bait and hit the point: "Game type and user growth path, the two Ices are similar. Moreover, ice climbing has higher requirements for players' cognition. Compared with ice skating, this is the biggest disadvantage. In each Under the premise that the conditions are equal, we have no reason to invest in a project that is at a disadvantage.”

Following Zou Haiyao's words, Yang Ye asked with a smile: "That's right. Ice climbing games, what are the advantages of being able to compete in a differentiated way? Or, what is the reason why players can't refuse?" He shrugged while talking. Spreading hands, it's like a leader in an American drama who takes care of his subordinates enthusiastically.

Yu Hanguang lost his expression.

It was all a joke before.

Let's get down to business.

"Everyone, in the trial play just now, has anyone lasted for more than 3 minutes?"

For demonstration work, if you want to win the attention of the audience in the first place, the most effective way is to follow the logic of the total score, first throw the conclusion, and then make an argument.

But Yu Hanguang neither directly answered Zou Haiyao's question nor gave any declarative conclusions; instead, he pulled out a small wooden block and threw it out as if playing Jenga.

The hardcore player Qin Haotian raised his hand: "I, I passed 3 minutes."

"and then?"

"Although I didn't reach the summit, the system determined it was successful, and started a new round, and the duration was increased to 5 minutes."

Yu Hanguang nodded, as if pulling out a second piece of wood: "What do you think is the difference between ice climbing and other ice and snow sports?"

There was no answer in the conference room.

But the non-existent wooden tower in front of him has begun to loosen.

He typed the draft for a long time, and then he said:

"All sports have meaning. For example, in the Winter Olympics events we are familiar with, veneering values ​​creativity and courage, figure skating values ​​technology and aesthetics, speed skating is chasing, and curling is a trade-off... But once they are put into the competition In the process, it will become meaningless, because there is only winning or losing. Whether it is comparing with competitors or comparing with yourself, it is all a comparison."

"But there are some sports that are different because they're not about winning or losing."

He asked a few rich and leisurely elder brothers in the group why they like to play this game, and they all laughed and said it was fun.

In addition to the young users that every company sees, there is another group in the game circle that needs to be tapped—middle-aged autistic players like [Half City Yansha].

Rich and loyal.

Yu Hanguang noticed a change in the expressions of several people, and continued: "For example, ice climbing. Ice climbing is not for climbing to the top, but just an experience. It's that simple. This is the first point of differentiation and competition in our game .”

In the last short-track speed skating event, he paid special attention to the gameplay while listening in. Whether it was in single-player mode or confrontation mode, the final score would always prevail.

"For a long time, the company's games, and even the games in the entire VR field, have been dominated by sports. They are too confrontational and overemphasized winning and winning."

"And we just want players to gain the power to continue working hard in ordinary life through playing games." He said sincerely.

For the first time in five years, he stood in the speaking position.

No longer fear the result of winning or losing, let alone speculate on the concept of winning or losing itself, but only show what you want to express most.

He found the key in this experience: Even if he is timid, he still has to climb up.Because the way is there.

This way, win or lose.

The key is not to be soft-legged.

Zou Haiyao is still relentless: "After all, there are quite a lot of players who play games just to win. How to solve this problem?"

"Use our second differentiated competition point: gameplay and mechanism." Yu Hanguang's eyes brightened.

"The ice climbing game weakens winning and losing, and at the same time, through the innovation of the gameplay, a new incentive mechanism is created: the surprises obtained correspond to 'wins', and the regrets lost correspond to 'loses'."

The game mechanism design of "Lonely Cracked Ice" will allow players to encounter different dropped equipment in different rounds, such as supply snacks, high-level crampons, high-level ice axes, etc.The equipment is completely random, and the player will be informed before the start of the game, and the player will explore while climbing.

"Starting from a 3-minute round, every time you successfully survive a round, the duration of the next round will increase by 2 minutes. The short, flat and fast style actually fits the data of the single game duration of contemporary mainstream players."

"They are 'surprises you get'."

He worked hard on user research.

"At the same time, although there are a lot of equipment in the game, all the protective equipment is not included. Players only have one blood in each round. Once the blood is exhausted or falls off the glacier, they can only start all over again."

"That's 'lost regret.'"

So there is the word "Gudan" in the name of the game.

Yu Hanguang turned the document to the visual design section, and explained to several people the innovations at the gameplay level: the design is also advancing with the times, integrating three types of instant actions, Roguelike (2) random map parts, and vertical scrolling.

This is the inspiration he and Wei Bo got from "Our War"——

No way, the real scene rendering effect of the glacier is too simple.Wei Bo made a decisive decision and made the adjustable part more unique, so that players can ignore the messy background:

Different random equipment is added to a cloud-shrouded ice field for embellishment, and at the same time, the scrolling interface is made into a scroll screen.

The nebula scene after the player falls is Wei Bo's masterpiece. It not only makes the picture less boring, but also adds to the novel gameplay.

Cover up short boards with long boards.

"There are almost no games of its kind on the market, and we are the first."

"I'm a little curious," Zhao Huifeng, who had been silent all this time, said, "How did you come up with so many ideas? Is there any way?"

Yu Hanguang was stopped by the question.

When he was tongue-tied, he only heard a voice coming from beside him——

"Ms. Zhao, no. The method is essentially a means of taking shortcuts. But the better the product, the less method there is."

"Because thinking and innovation will always take a detour, and always need an opportunity."

Wei Bo suddenly said something in a hoarse voice, which startled the few people present.

The voice is like a sailor who has drunk a belly of sea water, and a traveler who has been thirsty for days and nights in the desert.

His tall figure stood in the corner on one side of the podium, and because it was just outside the lighting range, he had not been spotted before.

After being hugged by Yu Hanguang so excitedly last night, Wei Bo immediately flushed from head to neck, looking a little angry.

Coupled with the exhaustion of the days, he spent the whole night changing the demo piecemeal last night. The internal and external factors were combined together, and his voice was directly disabled this morning.

Therefore, the heavy responsibility of the defense fell on the shoulders of Yu Hanguang, a stand-up comedian artist.

Zhao Huifeng still kept a proper smile on his face, Yu Hanguang couldn't guess his opinion.

Seeing that Wei Bo sacrificed the burden of being an idol and came back for himself, Yu Hanguang put an end to this cross talk more seriously:

"In fact, we not only planned the demo and alpha phase, but also extended it a little bit."

He called up a physical picture from the document: "This is a smart medical examination device produced by a local smart device manufacturer. They mainly make toB, and the product is used in hospitals. Someone must have tried it when they went for a medical examination."

"It can make physical examination self-service, and you can measure grip strength, blood pressure, pulse, etc. by yourself with a headset; the output is large and the price is low. Do you think it can be used to replace the current headsets and controllers for toC games on the market? "

He suddenly recalled that hug - it was Weibo and Woerwo who brought him the inspiration for hardware.

"VR games can not only entertain players, but also provide other positive values, such as sports and fitness. This step has gone well. In the future, we can completely cooperate with hardware manufacturers..."

Wei Li, like most girls, clamored to lose weight.This remark couldn't be more common, but Yu Hanguang also didn't miss the message from her words.

To make a good game does not require a methodology, it is a process of "getting it by chance".

He has never led a project, and subconsciously believes that he has always lacked the opportunity to "get it by chance".

But Wei Bo's words just now penetrated into his heart.

——"There is always an opportunity."

Inspiration is a proud cat, rubbing its back and stretching itself from time to time.

It won't run away silently, but it won't take the initiative to stretch out its meat pads to show its kindness to you.

If you are in a hurry to lure it out, it will grin at you instead, and then slip away into the bushes to hide itself.

piss you off.

But one day, very naturally, Yu Hanguang found a companion who made fun of cats by his side.

The slush claws that the two discovered these days, Yu Hanguang picked them up one by one:

"In the first stage, we will adopt the MVP model, which lasts about 3 months, just in time for the launch of the Winter Olympics. We have also thought about the English name, and we can also explore overseas markets. In the future, VR games will go overseas. Must do..."

"The idea is good, but it's a bit risky. Especially in the later stage, it's a powerful and unconstrained style." Zou Haiyao interrupted Yu Hanguang.

He turned to look at Meng Ai:

"Everyone is here today. Why don't we vote for two projects?"

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(1) Polaris indicator: The first key indicator (OneMetricThatMatters) refers to the absolute core indicator of the product at the current stage, shining in the sky like a North Star.For example, if the product is just starting, the North Star indicator is the number of new users; if the product is to be profitable, the North Star indicator is the number of paying users, etc. "Set a small goal first and earn him [-] million", which can also be called the North Star indicator to some extent.

(2) Roguelike: Random, map, wave-like role-playing games.Diablo (Big Pineapple) and Dungeons and Dragons (DND) are all Roguelike types.

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Finally, all the clues from the previous sections were recovered.

Because I watched the involuntary figure skating competition, I wanted to talk about the abnormality of the development of competitive sports. I think this is a complete escape and betrayal of the "Olympic spirit".

Be ambiguous in the next few sections