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墨書 Inktalez
Chen Rui stared into He Quanli's eyes and asked, "Is that my fault?"
He Quanli swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes, based on the feedback, I believe we should immediately halt the development of this game."
Chen Rui sighed, thought for a moment, and addressed the entire classroom. "Finally, someone from within the system dares to speak the truth! Classmates, at your age, you may not understand why, in this era of VR popularity, P-games are still so hot and why companies are eager to hire big-name celebrities for advertising! Let me ask you simply: how many domestic games do you think are truly excellent?"
Silence… Although domestic games have indeed made significant progress over the past decade, to some extent, the commercial characteristics of game developers have become more pronounced. Nowadays, games are primarily about making money; how can we talk about excellence?
Chen Rui took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Let me tell you! I’m here to share some insights from the executives at Game Company! Some things are not as rosy as you imagine!"
"There are no good games on the market! The biggest problem lies in development! Operations bear less than a third of the responsibility! In other words, those who seek profit are not the root cause! Due to the rapid market expansion and numerous loopholes, with an imperfect system, major game companies no longer pursue creating quality games."
"The reason is that the concept of a good game is too vague. What exactly is a good game? According to your planning terms, it would be: interactive design, aesthetics, user psychology, customer feedback, and so on! However, you should notice one thing: despite all this discussion, no one ever asks 'Is this game fun?'!"
Chen Rui scanned the crowd and finally locked his gaze on He Quanli. "Why is that? It's simple! Because no one dares to speak up in front of their boss! They themselves think it's not fun! Why would they jeopardize their jobs and income? But if developers think their games aren't fun, why would players be interested in them?!"
"Moreover, different types of games attract different audiences. For various demographics, the definition of fun also varies; even a game rated perfect by IGN cannot satisfy all players!"
"A fun game should determine its system type from the start and then tailor itself to the preferences of that specific group of players. That is the correct way to create a good game! Yet currently in the gaming industry, it’s quite the opposite: I have a game; I alter its internal structure and artistic style and then use high-level marketing to attract players."
"In the end, players drawn in by marketing find upon entering the game: 'Hey, this is completely different from what was advertised!' They then exclaim it's a terrible game and leave! As more people exit, the game avoids losses by launching various frustrating events, leading to a vicious cycle until it ultimately declares bankruptcy."
Chen Rui raised his voice. "These are the realities of the domestic gaming market!"
Despite addressing everyone on the surface, for most people present, this was their first exposure to such information; after all, no one had specifically gone into Game Company to understand the situation.
These words were primarily directed at He Quanli's faction that opposed development.
Chen Rui looked at He Quanli's pale face and smirked mockingly. "What I've said mostly pertains to external factors; now let's have Team Leader He share with us about internal matters!"
He Quanli looked at Chen Rui in terror, unable to understand his meaning. Since he knew about external and internal factors, why would he want to break through this windowpane?
Chen Rui smiled lightly and hinted, "No need to be overly sensitive about this topic; it's mainly about the reasons for the game's poor performance!"
He Quanli pondered for a moment, hesitantly walking to the front of the podium. With a serious expression, he began to speak. "Everyone, since you are now game producers, I won't sugarcoat things. Let me tell you about a major flaw in the current domestic game market."
"Similar to what Teacher Chen mentioned earlier, why are P-end games currently more popular than VR terminals, even though VR terminals dominate in every aspect? This is actually one of the main issues with VR terminal games: they lack a purpose and a soul."
"You might not be sensitive to this topic, but those around Teacher Chen's age or older can definitely feel it. Although P-end games do not provide an overall experience as good as VR terminals, they evoke more emotions. Even when staring at a computer screen, players can immerse themselves fully in the game, rather than just playing for the sake of playing."
"To put it bluntly, most major game companies in the country, especially those developing VR terminal games, do not have anyone dedicated to character design. Without specialized personnel responsible for character design, what can be done? Everyone just cobbles together the personalities, actions, tones, and appearances of protagonists and supporting characters. NPCs and bosses are even worse."
"Under normal circumstances, character design should be as detailed as possible. The more intricate the character, the better they can draw players into the game. It should be so realistic that you almost believe they are indeed a real person; that is what perfection looks like! Creating such characters requires a design team to invest significant effort and work under a unified vision to produce characters that are vivid and soulful."
"Some game companies can't even achieve this basic level of detail and still put these characters on display. What kind of characters are these? What kind of individuals? Do such people exist in reality? If a character is so fake that even they don't believe in themselves, how can players believe in them?"
He Quanli sighed deeply and lamented, "It is precisely because of these issues that the plots are terrible and lack any meaning. The reason the plots are poor is that the characters who should be alive within them appear lifeless, like soulless shells."
"The poor storytelling has led current game companies to invest more manpower into improving graphics and experiences while desperately trying to guess what players think instead of fundamentally providing enjoyable games."
Suddenly, He Quanli slammed his hand on the table in frustration. "What infuriates me most is that most people in managerial or supervisory positions within game development are only thinking: 'Find a reputable company with good products to secure a decent job. If luck is on my side and the game succeeds, I might get some shares; if not, I’ll just switch companies!' With such a mindset, how could these game developers possibly create great games?"
Chen Rui abruptly interrupted He Quanli's speech. He suddenly realized that He Quanli also harbored a desire to create a good game but had been mired in the game's market for years.
Chen Rui pulled He Quanli aside and smiled lightly. "The reason games fail is quite simple: players are unaware of the internal structure of game companies or what goes on behind the scenes. They have no idea how difficult it is to develop a game and are even less inclined to understand it."
"So now and then, whether it's VR terminals or P-end games, we see sentimental games released just to make some quick cash, leaving behind nothing but chaos. The players pay the price while developers profit and support countless helpless game creators who have no other options. In the end, we return to square one: terrible games!"
Chen Rui questioned sharply, "Is it really P-end or VR terminal games that are at fault? Is it truly just about sentimentality?"
He slammed his fist down on the table with conviction. "No! It's none of that! These are merely results of market forces because hardly any company has the ability to resist market pressures alone, nor would any investor be willing to take such risks. Thus, games continue to deteriorate."
As he finished speaking, countless sighs echoed from the audience below, including several people behind Chen Rui who couldn't help but express their dismay. Chen Rui was indeed stating facts; today's gaming market needs change but cannot change—who would want to be that scapegoat?
"The first person to eat crab must be very courageous but also possibly very capable." After sighing lightly with disdainful laughter, Chen Rui scanned everyone present. "What I just said was: there is hardly any game company! I mean there isn't a single one!"
All eyes were on Chen Rui as he smiled and said, "No matter when, there have always been game developers wanting to change this ruthless and tragic gaming market. Some have already found success on that path, and indeed, some have succeeded. That's why there are so many well-received mobile games; this is not without reason."
Chen Rui turned to the other five people on stage, giving a wry smile as he asked, "I will make you two promises. After hearing them, you can decide whether to continue developing this game."
"First: Funding is not an issue! Second: Game revenue can be nonexistent!"
As soon as he said this, the room erupted in surprise. These two statements felt like a declaration from a pioneer aiming to change the landscape of the gaming market. However, considering the financial strength of the Li Family, no one questioned the feasibility of his words.
"I am doing this not for any particular reason, but simply to tell those who are still struggling in various game companies that they are not fighting alone!"
After unanimous approval, the Project Team for "The World" was reactivated. At the same time, two news articles were published across various websites, magazines, and newspapers under Dawn Media:
The first news article announced that the domestic VR Terminal RPG game "The World" had released a trial version for sale in SEA at the price of one Renminbi. Players who provided bug reports or game feedback that were approved by the development team would receive rewards.
The second article stated that members of the development team for "The World" would be broadcasting live videos from their office and explaining various aspects of the game's development on all websites under Dawn Media. The explanations would be conducted by professional programmers, original artists, and planning supervisors.
The earthquake in the gaming market… had begun!
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