Top game producer

A week later, thanks to Wang Jian's bold salary offer through the Personnel Department, recruitment proceeded quickly.

In simpler terms, it was like, "I was hesitant, but they were offering too much."

Because there were more 'tools' (staff), the meeting was moved to a larger conference room.

Wang Jian looked at the energetic, albeit balding, planners below and nodded in satisfaction, beginning to speak: "The game we're going to make is called 'League of Legends.' Like 'Dawn Battlefield,' it's a MOBA, a multiplayer online battle arena game. Have you all played 'Dawn Battlefield' recently? I assigned it as homework before."

The planners all nodded.

Wang Jian said, "Multiplayer online battle arena is just the literal meaning. What are your personal understandings of MOBA games?"

The hairy-legged planner was the first to speak: "I think a MOBA game is like a 30-minute RPG. Players play a hero and complete a match in 30 minutes."

Wang Jian nodded: "Anyone else?"

The fat宅 (otaku) planner pondered: "I think MOBA games are more like fighting games. The player's individual skill level and skill execution are more important. The game should focus more on the feeling of control and action."

Bai Li'ao said: "I think the most important thing about MOBA games is teamwork. Five players, whether they know each other or not, form a team through a game to defeat another team. That's what makes this new type of game so attractive to players."

Wang Jian gradually wrote down words like hero, equipment, jungle, cooperation, operation, and role-playing on the whiteboard.

Finally, he summarized: "MOBA games do have a lot of complex content. First, players need to control a hero, which is role-playing. Then, things like equipment, jungle, and levels are about growth. Team fights, cooperation, roaming, and support are about collaboration and competition.

Heroes are the core of MOBA games and are undoubtedly very important. The uniqueness of a hero determines whether players can form a role-playing relationship with the hero.

Growth is also very important. It can be said that the entire process of a MOBA game is about creating asymmetry between the player and the opponent. The asymmetry is used to gain a combat advantage and gradually achieve combat goals, such as pushing towers and destroying the crystal. Growth provides players with a way to create this asymmetry.

Therefore, in the game, we need to provide players with various growth channels so that players can freely choose different ways to achieve their goals.

As for cooperation and competition, this part is also emphasized in MOBA games, but today I mainly want to talk to you about hero design."

The planners below took out their notebooks and began to take notes.

"The birth of a hero requires considering the character setting first. For example, is it a warrior or a mage? Also, their worldview. They can't be without a background. Secondly, there are playstyle and positioning. How are each hero's skills used, and in what scenarios are they used?

Then there's uniqueness. There should never be two identical heroes. A hero needs to have a strong core experience to support them. This core experience is not just a framework. For example, skills like casting small fireballs, big fireballs, or meteors are not acceptable."

Wang Jian gave an example: "For example, Garen is the most basic novice hero in 'League of Legends.'

First, let's give him a character setting. He's a warrior. Because he's a novice hero, he should be relatively easy to get started with and not too difficult to control. So, we can refine it further. He's a hero who's tough, brave, charges forward, and absorbs damage for his teammates.

Then, let's consider his image. The characteristics of being tough can be reflected through full-body heavy armor, a large build, strong muscles, and a resolute square face. As for bravely charging forward, we can design him with a greatsword wider than a door panel. Imagine a muscular man in armor, charging with a greatsword. Doesn't that create an image of a fearless and brave warrior?"

After clarifying Garen's character setting, we can combine his image and positioning to design his skills.

For example, Garen's passive should be designed around his most core characteristics: being tough, able to fight, and able to withstand attacks. Therefore, the passive I designed for him is Perseverance. If Garen hasn't taken damage or been hit by enemy skills recently, he will recover a certain percentage of his total health per second.

The characteristic of bravely charging corresponds to the Q skill, Decisive Strike. Garen removes all slowing effects from himself, gains a short burst of movement speed, and silences the nearest enemy, and in the next attack, he will painfully strike the enemy with his greatsword.

The heavy armor corresponds to the W skill, Courage. After activating the skill, he can gain a continuous shield, reducing incoming damage.

However, these skills are not enough to reflect Garen's uniqueness, so we need to add some more distinct and unique skills to give him his own core experience, so that players can deeply remember this hero after playing him once, or after fighting against the enemy's Garen.

Therefore, his E skill is Judgment. Garen quickly spins his greatsword, forming a storm of blades, dealing continuous physical damage to surrounding enemies.

The R skill, Demacian Justice, Garen holds his sword with both hands and plunges it downward, summoning a giant sword from the sky, dealing an execute effect to the enemy. The screen will also shake when casting the skill, giving players a hearty feeling by executing enemies in this way.

Perseverance, Bravery, Courage, Judgment, Justice, this is the Power of Demacia, Garen."

After listening, the planners below all showed expressions of understanding.

Wang Jian continued: "A hero's gameplay design, art design, and character story should be a trinity. Only when these three echo each other can it present players with a coherent and consistent experience.

After Garen's gameplay and artistic image have been determined, we can arrange a background story for him.

The world background of League of Legends is a place called Valoran. The entire continent is composed of many complex and numerous forces and factions. Among these forces, the most irreconcilable are Noxus and Demacia.

Garen is the supreme military leader and moral model of Demacia, a warrior with the title of "The Might of Demacia". He is loved by his comrades and respected by his enemies.

He is entrusted with the important task of defending Demacia's territory and ideals. He wears heavy armor that resists magic and wields a broadsword, ready to face all magic-wielding maniacs head-on on the battlefield with a righteous storm of steel.

In the war with Noxus, Garen encountered a worthy opponent - Katarina the Sinister Blade. Those soldiers who participated in the war and survived believed that Garen and Katarina's battle was not like a fight, but like a dance.

Although some players may not care at all about the game's worldview and the hero's background story, but just want to play the game and compete with others, the background story still needs to be carefully done, because when players really love a hero, they will actively learn about the hero, which is also a way to deepen the player's bond with the hero."