Design department.

"I'm sure you've read through the classic chapters of the Cthulhu Mythos, including "Call of Cthulhu", "Mountains of Madness", "Shadow Beyond Time" and so on.

For the element of Cthulhu, everyone should have a certain definition in their hearts. ”

Luo Bai sat at the top and had an open conversation with all the employees of the design department, including "monster design", "map design", and "character design".

"When human beings are confronted with those unspeakable beings, their reason will be crushed, and the whole person will fall into irreparable madness.

But among them, there are also human beings like investigators, who use their courage to fight madness, showing the hymn of humanity.

The core selling point of the game "Dark Dungeon" is to transform this state of descent into madness from a description in words into a game.

After a week of precipitation, the discussion within the group should have produced some results, and the reason why I am holding this discussion meeting today is to hope that everyone can brainstorm ideas. ”

Looking around, Luo Bai first stretched out his right hand towards Shu Boyo, the leader of the monster design team.

"Biryo, there are many different kinds of monsters in the Cthulhu Mythos, so let's start with you."

Although Shu Boyo, who had just graduated from college, had participated in similar speaking activities in school, it was the first time he showed himself like today after entering the society.

He was a little nervous.

But after seeing Luo Bai's encouraging gaze, he still made up his mind.

"Speaking of the monsters of the Cthulhu Mythos, well, we have to mention the most famous of them all, the deepdivers, well, this monster is a species of marine humanoids with fish characteristics.

Well, despite their appearance as imbeciles, the Deep Divers are a highly intelligent race that will be immortal unless killed, and will trade fish and gold for human sacrifices with the inhabitants of the island......"

Although he didn't know why he became the leader of the monster design team in a daze, he had liked these strange things since he was a child, and after being directly "entrusted with important tasks" by Luo Bai, he didn't dare to relax.

In addition to working hours, he is also enriching himself after work, looking up various materials on the Internet.

He's just nervous, not out of stock.

"Well, according to the plan given by Mr. Luo before, we can know that there are two kinds of blood bars for characters, one is blood volume, and the other is pressure.

Um, so, we also designed the monsters into two kinds, um, one is a warrior-type diver who can deal direct damage, and the other is a deep diver who can deal stress damage.

Well, according to the setting that deep divers are actually highly intelligent races, they also have their own civilizations within them, and the kind of deep divers who cause pressure can be set up as deep diver priests, prophets, and the like.

Mr. Luo, my sharing is over. ”

Luo Bai took the lead in applauding, and then the entire design department burst into warm applause.

"Thank you!"

Schuber sat down with a blushing face, took a few deep breaths, and continued to focus on the audience.

"Jiang Qiyi."

As Luo Bai pointed out his name, Jiang Qiyi, the leader of the map design team, stood up and bowed to everyone.

"When it comes to the Cthulhu Mythos, the Deep Diver is indeed an inescapable monster.

Due to the nature of the species Deep Diver that inhabits the sea, if the Deep Diver is to be one of the main monster types in the game, the location of the dungeon must be close to the ocean, or even into the ocean.

The protagonists of the Cthulhu Mythos are mortals of extraordinary courage and will, and there is no supernatural elemental power.

That's why we made the bay one of the main dungeon types in the game.

According to the article "The Haze of Innsmouth", some folk tales about the sea mention the existence of strange jewels, huge stone artefacts, and strange underwater structures in the sea.

The main interactive objects in the bay should be related to corals, shells, and stone crafts worshipped by divers.

That's it for my sharing, thank you. ”

"Smack! Syllable! Syllable! ”

Jiang Qiyi bowed slightly, and then sat down.

"Li Shuo."

Li Shuo, the leader of the plot design team, pushed his glasses and said with a smile:

"Mr. Luo, we are also studying the literature of the Cthulhu Mythos in our group, but the things we think about are relatively fragmentary, and there are no systematic ideas.

But based on the statements made by my two colleagues before, I have some ideas. ”

Li Shuo coughed lightly twice and cleared his throat:

"Since the dungeon has a major map in the bay, the main location of the story is either the island or the coastal land.

But the dungeon dungeon must have land to become a dungeon, and the island is too cramped to be conducive to subsequent development.

According to the setting of stories such as dungeons and dungeons in the past dynasties, the background is generally set on the fief of a lord in the Western Middle Ages.

Therefore, we can set that the main location of the story lies in the nobles of a fiefdom along the coast.

Even, our protagonist can be such a down-and-out nobleman, otherwise why would he be able to gather a team of four to explore the dungeon?

Moreover, this nobleman can't be too strong, he must be down-and-out, because only down-and-out does it make sense for him to pursue something as terrifying as Cthulhu.

And this can be deduced, has this aristocrat always been so down, or has he gone from being strong to being down?

And what led him to despair was also related to other supernatural forces? ”

Li Shuo's deduction and addition of the plot made many people present bow slightly.

Obviously, through keywords such as "coastal fiefdom" and "down-and-out aristocracy", new inspirations and new ideas emerged in the minds of the members of the design team.

And this is exactly what Luo Bai wants to see.

Even if he has a ready-made plot in his head and a ready-made design idea, he can't say it directly.

Because, he's cultivating a team.

A team that only needs Luo Bai to provide core ideas and core selling points, and can create games that Blue Star players love according to local conditions.

Only in this way can Luo Bai move the ninth art on the earth to this world one by one with higher efficiency.

Next, the character design team, the special effects design team, and the animation design team all gave their own opinions and ideas on the entire dark dungeon.

After four hours of sharing and discussion, the exchange seminar was successfully concluded.

The results of this meeting will also be announced throughout the game development department.

However, Pu Xingyu and the planning team led by him are busy.

Let's match the watch!

As a dog planner, Pu Xingyu is very busy with work every day.

First of all, I want to go to Mr. Luo to report on the development progress of the various departments of the entire Dark Dungeon project team today.

Then Luo will always put forward new needs for everyone according to their existing workload.

After collecting, summarizing, and sorting out the needs put forward by Mr. Luo, Pu Xingyu needs to summarize all these needs into a demand table in a way that the following departments can understand, and guide the following departments to complete the work at hand.

For example, for the program group:

"Make a character data template for heroes and monsters", "Make a basic framework for a 4v4 turn-based battle", "Make a range of rewards that may appear inside a treasure chest".

Aside from the original mechanics of "Death's Door", "Pressure System", and "Floating Battle Values", the combat system of the Dark Dungeon is not much different from the common turn-based RPGs on the market.

And because the design team has not yet finalized the unique mechanics of "virtue" and "torture", the tasks given to the program team are relatively simple and can be completed quite smoothly.

There are also those for the art group:

"Draw a Fishman Monster Based on the Design Team of the Monster", "Draw a Dungeon Style with a Bay Background", "Draw an Interactive Item with Shells, Pearls, and Other Elements"

Compared to the program team, the characters can be completed smoothly every time, and the art team can be called a bad fate.

Every time the manuscript that is finally drawn, it is always redone by Luo Ge, of course, when it is returned, Luo Ge will also attach his own revisions appropriately.

This caused the entire art team to fall into a burst of low pressure during that time.

Pu Xingyu still remembers that Qian Fei, the leader of the art team, couldn't bear it anymore, and rushed directly into Brother Luo's office, and there was a quarrel.

"Mr. Luo! Do you have better talents in your hands and just catch people's use? If you are not satisfied with what we have made, why are you recruiting us? Don't you just fire us? ”

"I need to control the whole project as a whole, a game can't just be art, how can I have time to focus on art like I used to draw Ori?

Besides, didn't I give a revision? I'm not the kind of Party A who makes weird requests, and I have called you back according to my revised opinions? ”

"Mr. Luo? Ori's artist is you?! ”

Of course, after that, the two of them were still talking about something in the office, and Pu Xingyu didn't dare to eavesdrop, anyway, he would never say a word about this kind of thing.

It's just that Qian Fei was overjoyed after he came out that day, and later when Pu Xingyu listened to Brother Luo's needs, he could often see Qian Fei directly sending some pictures to Brother Luo for advice, and Brother Luo always replied helplessly.

Since then, the art team has had no complaints since the manuscript was returned.

For the story design department, the monster design department, and the map design department......

Pu Xingyu has been busy flying during this time, but he must admit that he has made considerable progress.

This progress is not in technology, but in a global ability to control.

Follow Luo Ge's side to see how he puts forward requirements according to the existing development progress, how to overcome the development difficulties in the future, and how to organize a fruitful exchange seminar quickly and efficiently......

It's a lot of benefit.

However, work wasn't always smooth sailing, and as the development of the Dark Dungeon officially entered its third week, some discordant voices began to emerge within the team.

"It's not good to look at this kind of art.,The starting point of the makers to make the game is to disgust the player's mechanics.,I knew I was going to die before I made it.。

And every day we are asked to see what broken wall "The Cthulhu Mythos", what is so beautiful about that kind of thing that I don't know what to say?

Someone really has a problem with their brain, and they don't do it on a good 'Olympiad Day', they have to run across the border to do something they have never done before.

When the game comes out, sales will teach this guy how to behave! ”

Luo Bai was a little angry when he looked at Pu Xingyu's unusually exaggerated "performance", and he threw out the watercolor pen in his hand and smashed Pu Xingyu's clothes:

"Why are you adding oil and vinegar, do you believe it or not? Even if you are dissatisfied with me, no matter how imbecile you are, you can't say such things, at most you dare to be weird. ”

Pu Xingyu smiled and hurriedly came up:

"Brother Luo, although I added a little more oil and vinegar, the core meaning has not changed.

This kind of guy who shook the morale of the army just started to do it, don't you take it out and torture it hard? ”

"The guy who shook the morale of the army put it aside."

Luo Bai raised his right hand to signal Pu Xingyu to stop, and then asked with a smile,

"What do you think of the Dark Dungeon?"

"The game that Brother Luo made, it must be God Blocking and Killing God and Buddha Blocking and Killing Buddha! Back then, a mirror, punching Ren Hell and kicking ......

Yes! Brother Lo, I was wrong, I won't kick! ”

Damn, this living treasure.

Luo Bai rubbed his forehead and realized that the reason why Pu Xingyu believed that this game would succeed was only because he believed in himself.

But there is still nothing to worry about why the dark dungeon is attractive.

"Grandma, I thought my plan was very clear, it seems that you guys are not very good at basic skills, I have to make up for you well."

Luo Bai shook his head and sighed, and at the same time, he was also a little angry in his heart.

Although Pu Xingyu is adding oil and vinegar there, it is not a big deal to watch the fun.

But the basic meaning of the guy who shook the heart of the army has not changed:

"It's not good to look at this style of art.,The starting point of the makers to make the game is to disgust the player's mechanics.,I knew I was going to die before I made it.。

Die?

Do you understand the gold content of the Dark Dungeon, where the sales of the ontology + DLC exceed 10 million?

What you think is a disgusting player mechanic is the essence of this game, and it's where the real gameplay of this game lies!

"Then let's put the development progress of the last two days first, and then find this guy out first."

Pu Xingyu doesn't know why the mechanism of the dark dungeon is fun, which means that people who don't understand the mechanism of the dark dungeon must still have a lot of people inside.

There is certainly nothing wrong with unifying one's mind before doing things.

Luo Bai doesn't want his employees to just see the job in hand as a job.

They should understand what is interesting about the game they are about to make, and what kind of spark they are about to spark in this world.

That way, they'll be honored for the job they're doing, and they'll really find the joy of making games.

Thirty-two-year-old Liu Cheng is also an older employee for the entire original game production team.

He has a bright resume, and he jumped ship from another major domestic game company, because of his excellent basic qualities, and the monster design team is really not full, so Luo Bai also signed him.

Liu Cheng must admit that Chuxin Game Studio is good anywhere.

The salary level of more than 15,000 is not as good as before he changed jobs, but he works from 9 to 5, with eight days of vacation per month, as long as he can ensure that his group does not run idle.

In addition, allowances such as canteens, housing, and commuting are also considered to be top in the industry.

But the only thing that made Liu Cheng very unhappy was that he was not reused here.

obviously has more than ten years of experience, but he was taken the position of the leader of the monster design team by a young man who had just graduated from college.

This is undoubtedly a contempt! It's Luo Bai's contempt for him!

Why? He Liu Cheng has been in the industry for so long, and he has also served as the leader of the monster design team of many popular games, so in terms of qualifications, he can be regarded as your predecessor Luo Bai.

It's okay if you don't maintain due respect for your seniors, and you even arrange for a college graduate to ride on his head and.

Of course, Liu Cheng would never admit that he was jealous of Luo Bai's ability to make a work of art like Ori.

In addition, he is also older, and many things are far less easy to accept than young people.

Just like the "Cthulhu Mythos" that everyone in the design team had to study this time, he really couldn't stand it, and he felt dizzy and uncomfortable when he saw this thing.

As for learning something, that's even more nonsense.

When the Dark Dungeon had not officially started, he was studying every day with a book in his hand, but secretly he was paddling and fishing, secretly speculating in stocks.

Of course, as a social person who has been in the industry for so many years, Liu Cheng will not put his joy and anger on his face, so when he first joined the company, he was still very obedient to the arrangement on the surface.

Even when facing Shu Boyo, he smiled all day long, and did not put on a stand of his predecessors, but vigorously praised Shu Boyo for his young and promising.

Of course, this is not what he thinks of Schuberyo, it is just a kind of killing.

He fished and paddled on this side, and did not provide any help to Shu Boyo, in his opinion, this kind of hairy boy with no experience would definitely lose face in the group meeting.

When Luo Bai is angry, shouldn't the position of this team leader fall on his head?

Unexpectedly, I originally wanted Shu Boyo's kid to stand higher and fall harder, but he made a splash at the group meeting, and the design results given made Mr. Luo take the lead in applauding!

Liu Cheng's teeth were about to be crushed below, but he could only have a smile on his face and applaud.

Liu Cheng's experience is a common problem of many old fritters in the workplace, these people are not good at business, and they don't know that they have come to this day because of the dividends of the times, and they always want to come up with a high-ranking predecessor, as if this can't highlight how awesome they are.

The multiple blows made Liu Cheng feel indignant, and one day he went out for a drink during the lunch break, and then there was the passage that is currently circulating throughout the game development department.

At the beginning, Liu Cheng still had a lot of regrets.

It was impossible for him not to understand the truth that if he said too much, he would not understand, but when he found out that Luo Bai did not send anyone to find him, and there were still people secretly discussing the future of the game "Dark Dungeon" with him, he also made up his mind.

What!

It turns out that not only me, but so many people in the entire development department are not optimistic about the future of the Dark Dungeon.

Heh, this Luo Bai can be regarded as Jiang Lang's end.

Ori's cold rice is not fried, and I have to run across borders to make this kind of turn-based RPG, just do it, and add some Rogue elements to my own cleverness.

I don't know where I saw that bullshit "Cthulhu Mythos", and I think it's a new thing that wants to catch the trend and add mechanics like pressure and death doors that exist completely to disgust players.

When the time comes, who will die if your sales don't die?

When the time comes, I will put on a leather to make an Ori 2......

Liu Cheng suddenly realized that even if it was fried cold rice and made Ori 2, it would definitely be able to catch fire, and he only felt a sour feeling rushing to Tianlinggai.

Phew! Such a person is also worthy of the Olympiad? It's disgusting!

The entire development department adds up to only a few dozen people, which is quite simple to find the guy who shakes the morale of the army among the helpers.

This morning, when Luo Bai stopped all the work in progress and summoned everyone to the conference room, Liu Cheng vaguely felt that he had happened.

But there is always a fluke mentality in his heart.

Even if there were people around him looking at him with vague eyes, he smiled and questioned them as usual.

But what should come will come.

Luo Bai stood on the stage, looked at all the current employees of the development department with a smile on his face and said:

"There have been some bad rumors within the development department in recent days.

The main questions about the rumors are what the future holds for the Dark Dungeon project, whether the game will be popular with players, and whether there are any problems with the design of the game's mechanics. ”

"It's over......"

Liu Cheng was shocked in his heart, Luo Bai made such a big move this time, and his fate would obviously not be too good in the end.

But he really can't bear this job!

The eyes around him that couldn't stop being cast openly and secretly made him feel like a man.

But later, Luo Bai's words made him breathe a sigh of relief.

Looking at the silence of the audience with his head down, Luo Bai realized that his lesson today is indeed very necessary:

"Now I'm bringing everyone together, not to ask everyone to identify each other as the purgators of that rumor, it doesn't make any sense.

The reason why rumors have the soil to exist must be that there are doubts in everyone's hearts.

And today, I'm here to dispel everyone's doubts.

Honestly, I can understand this concern, after all, the core mechanics of the Dark Dungeon are pretty much already known, and on the surface, it is indeed designed to be purely disgusting to players. ”

Speaking of this, Luo Bai chuckled a few times, which suddenly relaxed the solemn atmosphere of the audience.

Liu Cheng couldn't help but murmur in his heart, "Mr. Luo's big pattern".

Everyone raised their heads one after another and looked at the man on the stage whose face was full of infinite confidence.

"Before I explain why the Dark Dungeon project is a success, I'd like to tell you something else.

What is 'gameplay'? ”

We hear this all the time.

A game has a good story, but its gameplay is not good, or the gameplay of the game is okay, but the other aspects are poor.

So, I'd like to ask you all what gameplay is. ”

As practitioners in the game industry, of course, everyone in the audience is familiar with the word gameplay.

But because it's too familiar, it's a little hesitant at the moment, and I don't know where to start.

Luo Bai didn't sell it to everyone, and said directly:

"The so-called gameplay, in a broad sense, actually refers to the fun of the game, the essence of a game to be fun.

But there is no doubt that this statement is relatively abstract, because there are so many factors that determine the fun of a game, so is there an indicator or theory that can intuitively describe the gameplay? ”

At this time, the vast majority of the players on the scene were still immersed in the thinking that Luo Bai brought to them.

But there are also a few people with particularly good business ability and extremely quick thinking.

Mo Yun is one of them.

He raised his head and looked at Luo Bai who was talking eloquently on the stage, and his pupils contracted for a while.

Although he already has a high enough evaluation of Mr. Luo, at this time, he seems to be witnessing a change in the game industry!

Of course, Luo Bai himself didn't know anything about this, and he was very satisfied when he saw the reaction of the audience's thinking.

He picked up a piece of chalk from the small table next to him, and sprinkled six large characters on the blackboard added behind him:

"Risk-Reward Theory".

Luo Bai didn't stop at this moment, he opened his mouth and continued to elaborate:

"Let's take Super Mario Bros., the immortal masterpiece of 'Let Hell Be' as an example.

One of the great pleasures in this game is to quickly clear out the many miscellaneous soldiers in a line by pushing the turtle shell after stepping on the green turtle, and in the process get valuable rewards such as points and lives.

Here, we assume that 'Turtle Shell Kill' is a prerequisite for 'Bringing Joy to the Player'.

After all, not everyone finds this design fun, right? ”

In the end, Luo Bai smiled, and everyone present also let out the same laugh.

"Super Mario Bros.", the childhood memories of everyone present at the scene, recalling the refreshing feeling of the plumber who controlled the red hat, sat the turtle to death with one kick, and then pushed the turtle shell to clear the screen, how can you control the refreshment of not hooking the corners of your mouth?

However, Mr. Luo is really rigorous.

"After we assume that 'Turtle Shell Kill' is a prerequisite for 'bringing joy to the player,' let's recall how we were when we played the game.

At that time, you were manipulating our protagonist Mario to walk forward, and at this time, a green turtle came in front of you.

At this time, Mario is still far away from the turtle, and the turtle has no way to attack Mario, so Mario's risk is relatively low. ”

When he said this, Luo Bai's fingers focused on the two big words "risk" behind him and poked twice.

"But as the turtle keeps walking towards you, the distance between you is gradually shortening, and at this time, Mario's risk is gradually rising.

As the turtle moves in front of you and is about to touch you, your risk is at its highest, and if you don't respond, Mario will die. ”

Everyone present was also constantly infected with Luo Bai's narration and held their breath.

Someone couldn't bear such a big pressure, and shouted directly below:

"Jump!"

"It's jumping!"

With Luo Bai's short sound, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief as if they had been released.

Mo Yun froze in place, his mind seemed to be experiencing a brainstorm.

"When the turtle is very close to us, the opposite of the highest risk is the reward, which is the timing of Mario's attack!

All we need to do is manipulate Mario to jump up and step on the turtle's head, and we can turn it into a turtle shell.

The fun, that's how it comes. ”

Luo Bai chuckled and stood on the stage, but the audience seemed to really play Super Mario Bros., enjoying the little fun in their memories.

I don't know who whistled excitedly in the crowd, and then the whole meeting erupted in fierce applause.

Luo Bai enjoyed the applause until it slowly stopped.

"And when pushing the turtle shell all the way forward, we also manipulate Mario to run all the way forward to chase the turtle shell, and in the process, the turtle shell hits the monsters in the way, bringing us points and lives.

This return is quite substantial.

But what happens if a water pipe suddenly appears on the way of the turtle shell? ”

"The turtle shell will bounce back and knock me to death!"

"Hahaha!"

The audience burst into cheerful laughter.

Luo Bai also hooked the corners of his mouth:

"Yes, there is a strong connection between risk and reward, taking risks to get rewards, that's the nature of 'gameplay'!

Of course, the so-called gameplay is just one feature of the game.

In addition to gameplay, there are many other things that can keep players coming back and forth to keep playing the game.

It can be a fascinating plot, a game movie with a strong interactive genre, an adaptation of a big IP novel, or a rhythmic audio game.

Either way, as long as we get the gameplay right, it's at least a game that players can keep playing. ”

At this point, the words came to an abrupt end, causing a lot of deep thought in the audience.

Mo Yun raised his left and right hands.

The left palm represents the risk, and the right palm represents the reward.

And when players use strategies to avoid risks and get rewards......

His left hand was clenched, and Mo Fan looked at his right palm blankly.

Bring the teacher! I'm enlightened!

"And when we figured out the risk-reward theory, we went back to the project we were working on, Dark Dungeon.

We will find that the gameplay that exists in the Dark Dungeon is traceable.

Those, mistaken by everyone as the malicious design of the developer, 'dead door' and 'pressure', are actually the real core of this game! ”

Use strategy to get out of the dead door, relieve stress, and emerge victorious.

Under extreme pressure, players use their own actions to avoid the mechanical risk of death punishment breaking through the skyrim and obtain the final reward.

How can this be malicious on the part of the production team?

It's the ultimate in gameplay!

………………

I wrote about it at the time, and you can read it after chapter 54.

Because I wrote about corporate culture and other things before, I was thought to be too procrastinating, so I could only reluctantly cut 9,000 words here.

Send it out now, so don't waste it.