In recent years, Soulslike games such as Elden Ring and Sekiro have become very popular.
In particular, this year's "Elden Ring," a collaboration between Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R. Martin, has achieved both critical and commercial success, garnering praise from countless players.
So much so that in the internal competition within Tencent, Chen Ran's team, the system planner wanted to create a Souls-like VR game.
The realism of VR is absolutely comparable to that of console graphics, and Tencent has no shortage of artistic talent.
Chen Chi insisted, "If we're just making an unoriginal RPG game, we'll just reskin the popular games on the market and redesign a weapon system."
"Based on this foundation, we can make some minor innovations, such as designing some unique weapon systems and combat methods. This is a more prudent approach."
“But I don’t think we can stand out from the fifty groups.”
Chen Chi is the system planner for this group. He and Chen Ran both joined Tencent after graduating from university.
Although they didn't graduate from the same school, they are from the same family and joined Tencent in the same year through campus recruitment. They are both avid game enthusiasts, so they have a good relationship.
They are not only colleagues at work, but also friends in life.
Chen Chi originally thought Chen Ran would support his idea. Souls-like game, AAA masterpiece, combined with brain-computer interface VR connection, just thinking about it made his blood start to boil.
Chen Ran insisted on his idea: "We are making an RPG game, with both PVE and PVP running in parallel, and we will make the plan as perfect as possible. I believe in the capabilities of our team."
"The same ingredients can produce different flavors depending on the chef."
He hopes to focus innovation on combat methods and unique weapon crafting systems.
Tencent Games has only one long-standing tradition: you have to spend money to become stronger.
Players can spend money to become stronger and enjoy the thrill of mowing down enemies in the virtual world.
Chen Chi was somewhat angry: "Haven't we made enough of those kinds of games? Are we destined to only make these pay-to-win games our whole lives?"
"Make the numbers match the pay-to-win curve, and then create a game that can generate extremely high profits."
Chen Ran explained, "It's very difficult to create games with extremely high profits and extremely high revenue."
Chen Chi nodded: "Of course I know it's difficult. It's boring and hard to make a hit. Why can't we take a different path this time? Mark said in an internal meeting that he encourages everyone to make hardcore VR games."
“You need to calm down. The hardcore thing Mark is talking about is probably not the same thing as the hardcore thing you understand,” Chen Ran tried to reassure him. “We can definitely make Souls-like games, but have you thought about the most crucial issue?”
Chen Chi quickly realized: "You mean the publishing license?"
Chen Ran nodded: "Yes, Elden Ring couldn't get a game license, just like Monster Hunter couldn't get one back then."
It's almost impossible for Soulslike games to get a game license. To put it simply, many foreign AAA titles that want to get a game license in China either have to make major changes or simply give up.
Even with major changes, it will be difficult to obtain.
The original PUBG game has been modified in response to feedback, but it still cannot obtain a game license.
"We are making a Souls-like game in VR, but we can't get a license to publish it, so we can't sell it in China."
"Are we going to rely entirely on Western players paying for us? Cultural barriers are probably not that easy to overcome."
"China lacks the foundation for the success of this type of game, making it difficult for us to gain the trust of players."
Chen Chi said directly, "Back then, Hidetaka Miyazaki's first game was a huge success."
"Moreover, the biggest factor in our success is the unique gaming experience brought by brain-computer interface VR."
"I believe we can combine brain-computer interfaces and VR operation methods with hardcore PVE."
The two were on the 29th floor of the Tencent building, looking at the night view of Shenzhen, which was still filled with countless lights under the night sky.
This is a rare opportunity, and everyone is well aware of it.
It's not just because the company values it, but more importantly, because after receiving the samples provided by Kechuang Future, they realized that it does indeed have technological advantages that other VR devices cannot match.
Other VR devices require chip computing power to predict the player's movement direction, but brain-computer interface VR does not, thus saving this computing power.
Meanwhile, the brain-computer interface VR device also incorporates the first-generation AI chip independently developed by Kechuang Biotechnology.
It not only features specialized optimizations for brain-computer interfaces, but also provides some computing power for graphics processing.
Chen Chi continued, "Have you forgotten our dreams when we first joined Tencent?"
"I think we shouldn't just be struggling to buy a house, working hard to meet performance targets, or fighting to avoid being laid off at 35."
Both of them earn nearly a million yuan a year. Having worked in Tencent's game development department for more than five years, they are not uncommon to reach this income level.
However, the housing prices in Shenzhen are even more outrageous than those in Shanghai, making them arguably the most outrageous among first-tier cities.
Even with their combined income, they could barely afford to buy a house in Shenzhen.
Chen Ran was moved. He pondered for a moment and said, "If we're going to do it, we must do it before the foreign game companies realize what's going on."
"If we wait for From Software to react, whether they port their Souls-like games to brain-computer interface VR or create a new Souls-like VR game, we will be in a very passive position."
From Software is the developer of Sekiro, Dark Souls, and Elden Ring, a renowned developer of Souls-like games.
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