Otherworldly Architect

The development work of "Assassin's Way" continued to be carried out in a mess.

One of the more headaches for the program team is that this semi-open game has more bugs than any previous games.

It may be because the setting is too grand, the number of systems is large, and the ways to complete tasks are ever-changing...

To some extent, the more freedom a game provides players, the more bugs it is prone to.

For example, some games deliberately prevent players from jumping and climbing rocks, not for other reasons, but because they are afraid that players will run out of their designated map range over mountains and mountains.

So Blue Star Studio is really painful and happy.

While developing, we gather people to test every day, and at the same time, we need to modify the newly discovered bugs.

Some players may think that things like bugs should be revised by the entire studio after the entire game is finished. After the bugs are corrected, it can be released and released online happily.

But it's not...

According to the words of Schrödinger, the program leader: "Bugs are interspersed in every link of the game development cycle. Bugs exist in every part of the game body. Bugs are endless. Bugs are the only constant thing in this changing world. "

——Programmers really have a lot of resentment towards bugs.

Even if it is a game that has been on the market for many years, it can still have many, many bugs. The difference is that players have not discovered it, or players do not care about it.

Games under development, of course, will have more and more bugs.

Game company testers are used to do this job.

Take Maynard, a newly joined tester, as an example. When he comes to Bluestar Studio every day, the first thing he does is to download the under-development version that has just been packaged today.

While downloading, he checked how the bug submitted yesterday was fixed.If the progress is not satisfactory, just hit the corresponding programmer.

In the afternoon, he began to test the development version, running the main line and branch lines in it, running tasks in various ways, reproducing the found bugs N times, and giving the program boss a bug location as accurately as possible.

Next, he took a look at the new content submitted by today's designers and programmers.

For example, if the designer makes a new small task today, the tester will conduct various tests specifically for this small task, so that the process is normal and there are no bugs before the submission can be passed.

Finally, before leaving get off work, Maynard was responsible for packaging today's game version into a complete and stable version available for download.

……

Each company may have slightly different details.

But in short, making games is actually developing and testing at the same time, struggling in the ocean of bugs every day.

The beta version of "Assassin's Way" hadn't been completed until April of this year.

On the one hand, it is because the map of the semi-open world is relatively large, and on the other hand, it is also because there are many plots, and the plot animations that require special production have to be done slowly.

The production of every game animation is not easy.

First, the designers will confirm the complete plot flow of the animation, and then hold a meeting with the animation production team to communicate. At this time, there is a high probability that the latter will be able to draw the storyboard script;

Then the relevant technicians will prepare and provide the resources needed for the animation, including but not limited to: all characters, all scenes, required dubbing and soundtrack, lighting and special effects...

Then, there will be a division of labor within the animation production team.

Someone has to be responsible for the action of the character, which is divided into three different methods: motion capture, human production and AI simulation, each with its own advantages and disadvantages;

Someone is responsible for adjusting the scene, lighting, special effects, etc., just like a set designer in a movie;

Someone has to be responsible for the soundtrack, which includes both the selection of music and the matching of the rhythm of the music - when it is time to climax, there must always be a climax;

There are also people who need to be responsible for the camera movement, such as the cameraman when shooting a movie.A good photographer may make the audience feel comfortable watching, but they can’t tell why, but a poor photographer can definitely make the audience confused, and even the basic storyline cannot be understood;

Someone has to be in charge of communicating with the voice actors, from the initial release of the script to the final obtaining of the original soundtrack, during this period may have to go through several rehearsals...

Of course, all of this is inseparable from a "director".

In Bluestar Studios, each plot animation is ultimately followed up by the corresponding designer, and the responsibility of the director is very clear.

And the plot planner is equivalent to the screenwriter who follows the director, always ready to adjust anything that is not right.

—Of course, everyone will pray that nothing is wrong.

Because once the script changes, it is very likely that everyone's work will be in vain and they will have to do it all over again.

When all the above work is completed and the designer nods OK, it's time for technical art.

"Technical Art" is a position, referred to as "Technical Art" for short.

He will be responsible for importing the completed animation into the game, and complete the program logic before and after.

Until this step is completed, the player can see this carefully crafted animation at the predetermined logical node.

According to preliminary statistics, the total number of animations in "The Way of the Assassin" is expected to exceed one hundred episodes, with a cumulative duration of more than 100 minutes, which is almost as long as a movie.

Of course, compared with the more than 200 minutes of "Blue Star Doom", it is still insignificant.

50% of the space is the main plot, which is something that players will definitely experience, and obviously requires careful preparation.

Besides the main character, the most frequently appearing characters in the plot are obviously the wizard Copernicus, the senior assassin Odin, the mentor of the assassins in the Blue Bell Flower Organization, and several villain bosses in the church.

In this long and precise process, if there is any mistake, the familiar roar can be heard again in the Blue Star studio.

"Maynard! Make an order! Animation No. 017 has a bug again!"

"What bug? You should describe it to me!"

"All the NPCs are bald! I need to find Jimei to confirm if there is a mistake in the model import!"

"OK! Transfer this bug to him directly, let him fix it before night, don't package it into today's version for me!!"

Ok.

Many employees have ridiculed this point: in our place, finding bugs basically depends on yelling, and fixing bugs basically depends on ignorance...

In short, today's Blue Star Studio is also very lively.

……

In the spring of this year, Blue Star Studio was in the midst of intensive R&D work.

The main reason is that they hope that the beta version of "Assassin's Way" can catch up with the Blue Star Carnival on May 5st.

Unfortunately, this may not be possible.

Due to the huge amount of work, until the beginning of May, the completion rate of the beta version of "Assassin's Way" was still around 85%.

Most of the art resources have been completed, the game system is basically done, and the game process can be advanced to the finale——

However, the animation and dubbing are not finished yet, so there are places where "here is a black screen" and "this NPC's voice is suddenly gone?"

If this is the case, this year's carnival will basically not open the beta version of "Assassin's Way" to players.

So Mingyan also decided happily: just hold a press conference and let Luke play "The Way of the Assassin" for the players to see.

Anyway, I just made the first promotional video!

Record Luke's actual play process again, isn't this the second promotional video?

perfect plan

This year's Blue Star Carnival, the overall process is not much different from previous years.

The first is the venue area of ​​each game, which provides demos of new versions, visits to original paintings and design drafts, and a small peripheral souvenir shop.

This is followed by the opening and closing performances.

It is worth mentioning that this year's opening ceremony clearly invited several unique guests to form two "League of Legends" teams for an exhibition match.

The specific list...let's keep it a secret.

Finally, it is the main content of this year's conference.

The most important thing is of course the public announcement of "The Way of the Assassin".

Although the studio has already finalized the September schedule for this game, it still has to say to the outside world, "We will probably finish it by the end of the year".

It's not the first time Boss Ming has played this trick. Speaking of it, I still have to blame those players who urged the update for being too frantic...cough.

In addition, there is a new version of "League of Legends".

Although "League of Legends" has new seasons and new heroes every year, this version is still worth promoting.

Because the designers have added a unique gameplay in the new version: allowing players to return to the more traditional battle royale gameplay instead of pushing towers in a new map.

Equipment basically depends on picking up, and killing basically depends on Yin...

Judging from the studio's internal tests, this new "Battle Royale" gameplay has received unexpected praise, so they soon decided to officially launch the new map.

This year's carnival has a lot of content, and the preparation activities of Blue Star Studio have been quite substantial.

Of course, there are players who are more fulfilling.

Because of this year's carnival tickets, except for 50% of the invitations that are still drawn randomly through the system, the remaining 50% have flowed into various game channels!

This is what the players have been asking for——

[I beg the dog to plan to give the African chief a way to survive! ! !I have participated in all the activities for four consecutive years, but I still haven't drawn an invitation letter!Is this TM a human life? ?Please don't just test your luck, but give us a place to show our strength! 】

When the designers saw this request, they all showed kind smiles.

"Okay, okay, no problem, then let's select some qualified players in each game. Of course, the number of places is limited, first come, first served."

So, the month before the opening of the carnival...

The part-time players who rushed to the market, appeared!