Top game producer

It wasn't just Luo Shuai; the others also looked curious.

Having entered this industry, they had all heard of the game development smart console, but they didn't know if it was as magical as the legends said.

Wang Jian stroked his chin: "I bought the basic model, 'White Wolf.' It should arrive in a few days."

Even the cheapest basic model costs 7 million, which is almost a month's earnings from 'To the Moon' spent clean.

Wang Jian was able to buy one decisively, first because he wasn't short of money now, and second because he had experienced the smart console at Xinghe Game University before and understood its powerful auxiliary functions.

If he were to introduce the smart console using the system's method of labeling items, it would be something like this:

[

Item: Basic Game Development Smart Console - White Wolf

Function: Summons 20 C-level robots to assist in development, can independently assign programming, art, and other tasks.

How to Use: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, BA

Description: Destroy human tyranny! The world belongs to the Trisolarans! (

]

In short, the smart console has its strengths and weaknesses. The stronger the developers using it, the more it can do. If used well, it can reduce a lot of workload and shorten development time.

For some small and medium-sized game companies, the smart console is a double-edged sword, not as cheap and easy to use as manual labor.

But for Wang Jian, using the smart console for development is very cost-effective.

When the difficulty of game development increases in the future, and he wants to produce ultra-high-quality games, he will need top-notch employees. Wang Jian can use points to improve the strength of his employees, but the experience books in the points store double in price with each level up, and the more elite the employee, the more points need to be invested.

A few elites plus smart console assistance - this is the development route Wang Jian has decided to take.

Next, Wang Jian assigned tasks again: "Ye Meng, you are responsible for the models of monsters and heroes. Remember that the game has a cartoon style, so don't draw the monsters too ferociously or realistically. Tong Ke, you are responsible for drawing the maps of each level, defense towers, soldiers, achievement icons, cutscene illustrations, and particle effects."

Ye Meng clenched her small fist, looking full of energy: "Understood!"

Tong Ke lay on the table like a salted fish, tilting her head and looking at Wang Jian miserably: "Boss, that's too many tasks! Can you lighten the load a bit?"

Wang Jian smiled: "It's okay, the smart console's auxiliary functions are very powerful. You'll know once you use it. I'll send you the specific requirements later."

"Okay, understood."

Wang Jian said: "Bai Xueyao, you are responsible for the game's music and sound effects. This shouldn't be too difficult for you."

Bai Xueyao nodded gently: "Okay."

Having experienced the training of 'To the Moon,' and having been given several music composition experience books by Wang Jian, Bai Xueyao has a certain level of skill in composition in addition to performance.

Unlike the music of 'To the Moon,' which closely revolves around the plot, the music of 'Kingdom Defense' only needs to echo the game scenes and create an atmosphere. There is no need to replicate it exactly.

So Wang Jian plans to let her use her own discretion based on the situation this time.

Wang Jian added: "Bai Li Ao, you and I will be responsible for the attribute design of the defense towers, monsters, and heroes, as well as the adjustment of the level difficulty - this is the part that best reflects the charm of the game, and it is also the most difficult part. Do you have confidence?"

Bai Li Ao felt like he was going to challenge a high-difficulty boss in the game. Pressure and excitement surged at the same time, and his blood was stirring: "Yes!"

Wang Jian nodded: "Good! Then let's begin!"

So everyone got busy.

...

After developing 'Kingdom Defense' for several days, Wang Jian recruited three new customer service representatives to manage the forum, game groups, and Weibo, and to collect player feedback.

Another thing was that the smart console finally arrived, so the development speed suddenly increased.

Luo Shuai used the smart console to first develop a simple demo of the first level, making it easier for Wang Jian and Bai Li Ao to design and test.

The degree of simplicity... the defense towers were square, the monsters were round, marked with different colors, and had a health bar on top of their heads.

Although crude, it was quite intuitive.

The first level only had one monster spawn point, the monsters had no skills, and the advanced forms of the defense towers and heroes were not unlocked. Even the simple demo was enough for testing.

The difficulty of 'Kingdom Defense' is divided into three levels: Novice, Normal, and Veteran. The same level is also divided into three modes: Campaign, Hero, and Iron.

Different difficulties and different modes have different tolerances for resource allocation and skill release.

Wang Jian and Bai Li Ao repeatedly tested and adjusted little by little.

"The time when this wave of monsters appears seems like it can be brought forward a little."

"There can be two more of these small monsters to increase the difficulty a bit."

"The difficulty of this wave is enough. Two more monsters would be a bit too much resources. Block a little resource so that the next wave of monsters can leak two past. After the front is finished, there will be just enough economy to build towers in the back to make up for the damage."

In addition to the lack of strategy, another major shortcoming of the tower defense games on the market is the imbalance of difficulty.

When the defense system is built, the mid-stage is too easy, failing to allow players to feel the joy of eliminating monsters. The difficulty in the later stage is too great, losing the fun.

The balance of difficulty and interesting level design is a challenge for developers that combines difficulty and fun.

The relationship between defense towers and monsters is like kneading dough. First add a little flour, then add a little water, just enough to knead evenly. Add a little more flour to break this balance, then add a little more water - if the resources to defeat the monsters can be reasonably allocated, it will be just enough to cope with the next wave of monsters. This will allow players to experience the pressure and fun of the challenge, and they will feel very happy and have a sense of accomplishment after winning.

The difficulty must be just right, neither too easy, making players feel "How boring, I passed even if I played randomly," nor making players slap the table and curse "*expletive* producer, why is this broken game so difficult."

Instead, after failing, players will feel "If I had adjusted the position of my tower, I might have been able to defeat that wave of monsters just now!", or "What a pity! If I had released my skill a little earlier to clear the field, I could have cleared the level with three stars!"

From a development perspective, the design difficulty of tower defense games is mainly reflected in the ambiguity of numerical calculations, which are not as clear as other games.

For example, in an RPG game, if you have 10 points of strength and slash a monster, subtracting the monster's defense coefficient, you can deal 8 points of damage with one slash - even if you add the fluctuation of damage and critical hits, there is a fixed range.

In tower defense games, as the map changes, the attack range of defense towers changes, and the movement speed of monsters changes, the calculation of damage suddenly becomes ambiguous.

A turret with a slow attack speed and high damage may only hit once when it encounters a fast-running monster, and the monster will run out of its attack range. A low-level arrow tower, although it has low damage, has a fast attack speed and a wide range. When a monster passes through its attack range, it can attack three times and shoot the monster to death.

How should the firepower of the tower be calculated?

Therefore, the numerical design of tower defense games generally leaves a large elastic range for players to cope with each wave through their own operations and resources, after initially calculating the monster's health and the firepower needed to defend against the monster's attack.

The size of this elastic range is a reflection of the designer's strength and experience.