After the Arbor Day team building, Tianba Studio returned to normal working state again.

Chen Ba also convened the development team to discuss and formalize the development plan of the new game "Ancestral Tree".

The new game is tentatively set for adventure levels.

Because this game is the studio's first buyout stand-alone game since the beginning of the year, Chen Ba attaches great importance to it, not only writing the game plan himself, but even drawing a prototype picture of the protagonist Shubao.

Shubao is a code name!

He is a primitive man dressed in animal skins and his face is covered with various mineral pigments.

That's right!

The protagonist of the game "Ancestral Tree" is a primitive person according to the setting.

But that's just the early days......

When the Tree Treasure dies more than 100 times and 100 Ancestral Trees are planted in the game, the costumes and costumes on his body will evolve to the Tribal Era.

300 times is the feudal era, 500 times is the steam age, 700 times is no different from modern people, and 1000 times directly evolve to the interstellar age.

This is actually a change in the image of the main character, Tree Treasure, to reveal the time changes in the game, and by the way, to remind the player how long it has been since the first adventure......

Shubao lives in a densely vegetated forest, and one day he has a whim, climbs the tallest tree in the forest, and sees a touch of blue in the distance.

From that moment on, going out of the forest to see what the outside world is like, to see what is at the end of the world, has become the one thing that Shubao wants to do the most.

So he set out on his journey.

This is where the story begins, and where the journey begins......

Chen Ba took Xiao Lu's proposal and made "Ancestral Tree" into a complete roguelike game.

In other words, except for the first and last levels in the game, the maps are fixed, and the maps of all the levels in the middle are completely random.

Why is the map of the first and last levels constant?

"Because that's the answer!"

"Shubao died on the journey, and he didn't get to the end of the world to see the scenery he wanted to see. But his sons, his grandsons, went on his journey......"

Chen Ba explained: "It wasn't until the descendants of Shubao who don't know how many generations finally came to an end and returned to that familiar forest that they understood what the answers that our ancestors had been searching for all their lives. ”

"So what's the answer?"

Xiao Lu asked: "Starting from the forest, and finally returning to the forest, the Shubao family proved that the earth is round with their lives?" ”

Chen Ba: "......"

God treads horses, and the earth is round.

Dare to love this is not a tree treasure, this is Columbus? The answer that people are looking for obviously has nothing to do with whether the earth is round or not!

"Can the Riddler die?"

Seeing that Brother Ba didn't say anything, he had to let himself guess, Xiao Lu was speechless and said: "I hate solving puzzles the most, let's just say, can't this kind of thing be said openly?" ”

"Hahaha!"

Luo Ji on the side laughed, and seeing Xiao Lu looking at him with an unkind face, Lao Luo quickly put away his smile and explained: "Isn't the answer already obvious, look at this picture......"

Xiao Lu leaned over.

In the picture, the primitive tree treasure and the tree treasure in sci-fi armor are depicted, appearing in the same forest.

It's just that one is leaving the forest and the other is returning to the forest.

"The question that Shubao wants to explore is the classic question of who I am, where I come from, and where am I going."

Lao Luo explained: "In the game, there is no clear answer, just telling you that you will eventually return to that forest. ”

"Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going? ”

These three questions almost didn't burn Xiao Lu's brain. Accustomed to single-core thinking, this is the first time he has tried multi-core computing, and he has been thinking about such a major problem as soon as he comes.

The answer is certainly unthinkable.

"Now you know, why does Mr. Chen want to be a riddler, right?"

Lao Luo quipped: "Of course, this kind of question can't give a clear answer, and players must be allowed to think and understand by themselves in the process of playing." ”

What comes to mind, that's what it is.

As for whether the answer you realized is right, whether it is the answer that Shubao desires, you think it is right, then it is right, you think it is, that is!

"Actually...... you're wrong"

Chen Ba, who was drinking water on the side, couldn't help but shake his head when he heard Lao Luo's words and said: "I do let players think about it themselves in the process of playing, but the answer that Shubao is looking for is not the same as the answer that players are pursuing. ”

In the final level of the game, there are no traps or monsters, just neatly arranged ancestral trees, lined up on both sides of the road, and the end of the road leads to the forest.

I don't know if the players who have come here have found the answer, but the protagonist of the game, Shubao, must have found the answer.

"So what's the answer?"

Xiao Lu asked again: "Oh, I'm so annoying, Brother Ba, you can't say it directly, do you have to hide so deeply?" ”

"You want to know the answer?"

"Uh-huh!"

Seeing Xiao Lu nodding vigorously, Chen Ba smiled and said, "Then you go and ask Shubao, why do you ask me?" ”

Xiao Lu: "......"

I ask you big-headed ghost!

Shubao can't speak, where can I ask him? The Riddler is damned! This kind of person should be like a broken dog, sent to the vegetable market to be decided!

"Hahaha......"

After teasing Xiao Lu, Chen Ba put away his smile and said, "Okay, your brain is not suitable for pretending to have too much philosophical knowledge, otherwise it will be overloaded with pig brains." ”

"You don't have to worry about the plot this time, you just need to do a good job in the game level design, as well as the map monster trap."

"What about you?"

Xiao Lu asked with a broken face: "Give me the level design, the map design, and the monster trap, all the dirty work and tiring work are all done by me?" ”

"I ask you, what's the name of this game?"

"Ancestral Tree?"

"Then what am I responsible for, don't you know?" Chen Ba asked rhetorically.

It is a fact that all the dirty work is thrown to Xiao Lu, but Chen Ba is not completely fishing and paddling. On the contrary, his work is the key to the success or failure of the game.

Ancestral Tree!

The name of the game is this, which shows the importance and criticality of this mechanic.

If you do a good job in the ancestral tree system mechanism, then even if the game is completed, if you don't do well in the ancestral tree system, then no matter how well the level map is done, the game as a whole will be regarded as a failure.

This is also a relatively difficult challenge for Chen Ba.

Good thing he has a plug-in!

As the saying goes, if you don't decide in trouble, the dark blue will add points! Although this system can't add points to the host and make him a muscle brother, it can add points to the game!

"Let me see ......"

After sending Xiao Lu away, Chen Ba leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to look at the estimated rating page of the "Ancestral Tree" game.

The planning estimate score is very high, with a full score of 97. However, the estimated score of art is very average, only 75 points......

"The AI still can't draw."

Chen Ba originally thought that with the progress of AI painting, not to mention completely replacing manual painters, at least it would not solve the problem of game art.

It turns out.

AI can indeed solve problems, but this is not the same concept as "being able to eat well" and "being able to eat well".

AI is one of the types that can eat enough.

If you don't care too much, 75 points of art is not useless. It's just that if you want to make a high-quality product, then you have to mention this art score, at least 85 points or more.

No way!

With such a high planning score, if the art drags its feet and the score disparity is relatively large, the game will be top-heavy and not very balanced and coordinated.

Based on this premise, Chen Ba gave up continuing to train the AI, and instead contacted a game art god he had met at the TGA Game Conference and exchanged contact information.

This is a Gallic artist.

Although he is relatively young, he is indeed extraordinary, and has even served as the outsourced master painter of many skins and hero original drawings of "League of Legends" before, and has also participated in the production of many triple-A game masterpieces.

Of course, that's not the point.

Looking for beauty is not about the stronger the better, but the more suitable the better! The reason why Chen Ba contacted this great god was that he felt that the art style of this great god really fit the game "Ancestral Tree".

"Yes, I'll take it."

When Chen Ba briefly introduced the game project "Ancestral Tree" by email, the young artist named Morris quickly arrived in Jiangning.

"Chen, why didn't you tell me that there was no direct flight to Jiangning?"

"I thought you knew!"

"What do I know? Didn't you tell me that there is an airport in Jiangning? ”

"When did I say that?" Chen Ba was shocked, when did he say that there was an airport in Jiangning?

"I'm sure you said that."

Morris emphasized: "Jiangning Meiyou Airport, this is what you said personally. ”

Chen Ba: "......"

It seems that although this foreigner can speak two sentences of Chinese, he still can't understand this homophonic terrier or something, which is really embarrassing him.

Aside from Morris's mistaken belief that there was an airport in Jiangning, and he wanted to go directly to Jiangning but transferred to Jiangcheng, which was more than a thousand kilometers away, he turned out to be unfamiliar with the place, and called Chen Ba for help, but this trip was generally pleasant.

Morris is a funny man.

While he was still on the way, he told Chen Ba that if he called him two days late, he might not be able to take the job of "Ancestral Tree".

"Why?"

"Because my friend is also making a game, and he wants to invite me to help him ......"

"Let him go!"

Chen Ba scolded angrily: "I'm also your friend, and it's obvious that I invited you first, don't you understand if you come first and then come?" ”

"That's why I'm here!"

Morris sat in the co-pilot and said with a little excitement: "It's so cool that a family that grows trees after death!" Do you think that when I die, what tree will grow from the grave? ”

"Probably a prickly pear!"

"What is a prickly pear?"

While driving, Chen Ba explained, "The fruit is yellow and yellow, with a little thorn, the juice is delicious, and it is rich in vitamin C." ”

"I like it!"

I like a chicken feather! The stinky foreigner has never been stung by the prickly pear at first glance, and I thought this was a good compliment!

Chen Ba pulled Morris downstairs in the studio, then took him upstairs, and made room for him next to his office.

"During this time, you are working here! Don't worry about accommodation, there is our dormitory upstairs, eat downstairs, you can eat Chinese and Western food if you want......"

After Chen Ba settled Morris, he immediately asked: "I'll tell you my requirements first, you just look at the painting." ”

First up is the main character, Shubao!

The tree treasure in the game, although it is the same person in the eyes of the player, in the game world, it is indeed replaced after dying once.

In this case, it is necessary to draw a little difference between the tree treasures of different periods, so that not only the clothing, but also the faces can also see that they are not the same tree treasure.

And then there's the Ancestral Tree!

As the core of the game, the shape of the ancestral tree, most of which are fruit trees, requires Morris to find the prototype fruit tree himself, and then refer to it.

The most important thing is that the ancestral tree does not bear fruit, and it is hung with either various weapons, various props, or various abilities......

How to integrate these strange icons into these fruit trees in a natural and harmonious way is a test of Morris's creativity.

To put it mildly.

It's easy to hang these things up.,Use PS to simply P a similar meme.。

But that thing can't be made into the game.,And it's also very uncoordinated.,It looks very abrupt.,There's a strong sense of P-picture.。

What Morris has to do is not only to draw beautiful ancestral trees, but also to hang the game item icons on them as unobtrusive as possible.

That's where it's hardest.

If you can't imagine it, then imagine that the persimmon tree in front of your house bears a large ...... Steel Mixture, Bloody Battle Axe, Siren Slayer......

That's about it!

Anyway, just thinking about it is a scene that fills me with a sense of disobedience, and I must use art design to eliminate this sense of disobedience, otherwise my salary will be deducted.

"Don't worry, I think it's okay."

Morris is confident, and although the job is challenging, what storms and waves has he not seen?

It's just a prop growing on a tree, can this be difficult to defeat him? Are you kidding!

If you really want to stump him, it probably has to be a child growing on a tree......

"I won't call you if there is a child growing in the tree, I can solve it myself!" Chen Ba rolled his eyes wildly.

After watching the "Journey to the West" TV series so many times, nothing else is good, and there should be no problem in drawing a ginseng fruit tree.

"Huh? Are there really kids in the trees? ”

Morris was shocked, he just said it casually, he didn't expect that there was such a magical tree?

Out of curiosity, he used the computer to watch the episodes of "Journey to the West" about the appearance of ginseng fruit trees, and the more he watched it, the more he watched, the more energetic he became.

Not only did he watch it several times, but he even had to finish watching the TV series "Journey to the West" from the beginning.

"You're here to work, not to chase dramas......"

"That's what I do!"

In the face of Chen Ba's doubts, Morris said seriously: "I am trying to find inspiration from myths and legends, and the trees here are all beautiful, and I like them very much." ”

Watch "Journey to the West" for inspiration?

Chen Ba heard a black line, but he didn't say anything, after all, no one knew what this stupid foreigner thought.

It sounds like a bad idea, but what if he's really looking for inspiration?

(End of chapter)