Chapter 262 Next-generation fighting game (Happy New Year to everyone)

Chen Ba didn’t know how each company convinced investors and the board of directors to donate a sum of money to Tianba Studio for the development of "Star Emperor 2".

They always find a way anyway!

In comparison, it was the development ideas of "Star Emperor 2" that gave him a headache.

There is a little-known fact...

Although "Star Emperor" is famous for its gorgeous special effects and exquisite game graphics, it actually uses the older Dream Building 5 engine.

Chen Ba thought of the past.

At that time, the Dream Building 5 engine had just been released, and there was no medium or large-scale game developed using this engine on the market, and no one knew what the upper limit of this game was.

Then, "Star Emperor" became a sensation, and with its amazing special effects performance and picture rendering accuracy, many people witnessed the power of the Dream Building 5 engine.

But this is all old news!

The Dream Engine 7 is already in use, so who cares about the old Dream Engine 5? It is also impossible for Star Emperor 2 to continue to be developed using the Dream Engine 5! But here comes the problem.

If we don't use Dream 5, what engine should we use? The latest Dream 7 engine? Or should we wait for the Dream 8.0 update?

Chen Ba, who had just returned to the studio, threw this thorny problem to Yang Dong, Lao Luo and others.

"Dream Building 7 is not good enough!"

Seeing Brother Ba looking at him, Lao Luo gave his own understanding: "Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the Dream 7 engine is not strong enough, nor that this engine cannot be used, it's just..."

It also depends on the situation.

There is no problem in using the DreamBuilding 7 engine to develop an ordinary game or a new game without a predecessor.

But "Star Emperor 2" is different. After all, it is a sequel. With a predecessor as a prototype, the psychological expectations of fans and players will be different.

"I understand what you mean..."

Chen Ba nodded.

Lao Luo’s idea coincides with his. In fact, he is not planning to use the Dream Building 7 engine to develop the second-generation sequel of "Star Emperor".

The reason is very simple. The improvement of the Dream Building 7 engine is too small compared to Dream Building 5, and the game will probably give people a feeling of "old wine in a new bottle".

Although...

After several rounds of iterative updates, today's mainstream PC hardware configuration is enough to play "Star Emperor" without any pressure.

But even so, when selecting games with excellent graphics and special effects, "Star Emperor" is still on the list, and even ranks among the top few.

This is enough to prove that "Star Emperor", which was built with the Dream Building 5 engine, still has certain merits even in the Dream Building 7 era.

Think about it from another angle. One is an old game from many years ago, and the other is a new game that was just released not long ago. How can they tie?

The improvement of Dream Building 7 is really not that big!

Chen Ba would definitely embezzle the sponsorship fees given by major sponsors. After all, this money was picked up, and it would be a waste not to embezzle it.

But even if it was corruption, it is not possible to use the game as a defense, right? Therefore, based on this premise, Chen Ba first denied the Dream 7 engine, and then proposed a more feasible plan: based on the Tianba engine, a new engine would be modified!

"Magic reform?"

Yang Dong was very curious about this, so he asked, "How do you plan to modify it, and to what extent? And is it necessary? I think Tianba Engine is already very useful!"

“It’s useful, but the Tianba engine is obviously not competent for the development of Star Emperor 2, so it needs to be modified.”

Chen Ba stroked his chin and thought, "As for how much we will modify it, that depends on what kind of game we want to make Star Emperor 2 into."

What kind of game is it? Hearing this, Yang Dong had a few big question marks on his mind, and he couldn't help but answer: "It's just a fighting game, what else can it be?"

"What you said..."

"Fighting games are also divided into several categories, and I'm not talking about the type of game, but the positioning of the game."

Chen Ba explained: "This is the first time that our Tianba Studio has produced a sequel to a game, which is of great significance."

The first time is always memorable.

As the first game under Tianba Studio that has a prequel and a sequel and forms a series, "Star Emperor 2" is destined to be not that simple.

Chen Ba positioned this game as a "next-generation" fighting game, and he has high expectations for it.

"Next generation?"

"I say, Brother Ba, don't just use the new words you learned randomly!" Liu Jinfu complained, "This word has been marketed for many years, and now I want to laugh when I hear it."

The word "next generation" was originally derived from Neon, and its meaning is actually a faithful, accurate and elegant translation of the English word "Next Generation".

Next generation = next generation! What is a next generation game? There are two explanations for this. One is a simple continuation of the series, such as the "Resident Evil" series, where each new game can be declared "next generation".

But this explanation is too far-fetched and not widely accepted. What people really understand as "next generation" actually refers to the earth-shaking change from feature phones to smartphones.

In the gaming world, this kind of change has happened several times.

For example, the first game that runs smoothly on a handheld console can be called a "next-generation" game.

Because it is the first game to be available on handheld consoles, allowing players to play it anytime and anywhere, it is a next-generation game.

As for the rest...

Because of marketing and publicity, the words "next-generation games" are now just heard. Most of the manufacturers who claim the so-called "next-generation consoles" and "next-generation games" are just playing word games.

The next generation they understand is completely different from the "next generation" imagined by players.

That's why Liu Jinfu felt speechless.

Brother Ba went to a meeting. Where did he learn some new words? He used them right after he came back. Next-generation fighting game! Excuse me, sir, where is the "next generation" in your "next generation"? The so-called next generation is not just adding a number 2 to the end of the game name, right? That's really funny...

"Are you kidding? Am I the kind of person who learns a few new words and then uses them randomly? I'm absolutely serious!"

Seeing that his ideas and thoughts were questioned, Chen Ba couldn't hold back and quickly explained: "I said it is a next-generation fighting game, it is next-generation, and it can change the core gameplay of traditional fighting games."

"ah?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at him.

Changing the core gameplay of traditional fighting games? How? Is Brother Ba planning to do something big again? “Let me ask you, when you mention fighting games, what do you think of first?”

Xiao Lu: "Feeling of shock?"

Lao Luo replied: "Oil-consuming roots?"

Yang Dong, who was about to say the gas guzzler, was interrupted by Lao Luo. He scratched his head and said, "Apart from the classic gas guzzler, I think it should be the joystick. After all, arcade fighting games are so nostalgic."

“That’s what I wanted to say, too.”

Liu Jinfu echoed, "No joystick, no fighting. Fighting games definitely require a joystick, and it has to be the kind you get in arcades. You put in a coin and play a round. It's so classic."

"Yes, the joystick!"

Chen Ba affirmed Dong Ge and Liu Jinfu's answers, and then said: "The joystick is the soul of fighting games. This is a fact recognized by everyone."

The keyboard and mouse are good, and the controller is also good... but these are at best inferior substitutes. If you want to truly experience the so-called "fighting spirit", the arcade hall at the school gate welcomes you!

Looking at the changes in fighting games over the years, it is not difficult to find that game manufacturers are trying their best to restore the original joystick operation on keyboard, mouse and controller.

But unfortunately, no matter how much optimization and effort we put in, the feel is still incomparable...

And the players can’t do anything about it!

After all, joysticks are not as practical as keyboards, mice, and controllers, and they are unlikely to buy a set of "joysticks" that are destined to gather dust just to play a game.

This is just like a racing game. Everyone knows that the steering wheel and gear lever pedals feel better and are more fun to play. The experience is completely different.

But how many players would buy a steering wheel and pedal lever set specifically for this experience?

No kidding.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

Except for a small number of "hardcore" players who will upgrade to this steering wheel + gear lever pedal configuration, 90% of racing players use keyboard and mouse or handles.

The same is true for fighting games.

Keyboards, mice and controllers have become mainstream, but the concept that joysticks are the soul of fighting remains unchanged. When it comes to fighting games, what everyone thinks of is the sweat-stained joystick on the machine in the arcade at the school gate.

"What I want to do is to break this concept, make the idea that joystick is the soul of fighting a thing of the past, and bring a new operating experience to fighting games."

Chen Ba fancied: "If we can achieve this, what's the problem with calling it a next-generation fighting game?"

"That's indeed no problem!"

Everyone thought about it and decided that if they could really break the old concepts and introduce a new operating mode and experience method to fighting games, it would indeed be a real "next-generation" fighting game.

But here’s the thing…

It's easy to say, but when it comes to actual practice, where should we start? Everyone can say nice things, but if we really want to achieve the effect described by Brother Ba, it is very difficult.

Actually, it doesn’t matter if it’s a little difficult.

The point is, no one has ever heard of Brother Ba’s so-called “new operating logic and experience method”, and no one even knows how to solve the problem. Isn’t this pure talk?

"Don't be so mean, this is not just talk."

"I already have a general idea of ​​the production process!"

At this point, Chen Ba rummaged through boxes and found a business card from a drawer that he had received when he attended the China Overseas Game Show.

There were two lines of words written on it: Zhonghai Mirage Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., Zhang Yi! "This is..."

Everyone was confused by the business card that Brother Ba suddenly pulled out. They didn't understand what Brother Ba meant. Why did he start taking out business cards while talking? And who was this Zhang Yi? Zhonghai Mirage? I've never heard of this company! What products do they make?

"This Mirage Electronics is a company that mainly produces consumer-grade electronic game controllers, that is, gaming peripherals."

Chen Ba explained: "During the previous Zhonghai Game Show, I had the opportunity to experience one of their new products that is still in the research and development stage, a multifunctional sensor bracelet and gloves."

The stuff is pretty good.

After wearing special bracelets and gloves, the player's hand movements and commands will be transmitted to the game truthfully with high accuracy and low latency.

Worried that people might not understand, Chen Ba explained: "For example, we can implement the handshake action in the game."

Not in code form!

When the player extends his hand, the character in the game will also extend his hand, and then bend his fingers to make a handshake gesture, and the game character will shake hands with the other party.

The whole process is smooth and natural, the delay is basically negligible, the movement accuracy is very high, even the slightest tremor of the finger can be restored.

After this introduction, Chen Ba felt that the warm-up was almost enough.

So he blinked and said, "As far as I know, this technology is not particularly difficult to achieve nowadays, and the threshold is not that high."

"And the cost is not that high. A few hundred yuan is equivalent to the price of a 3A game. There is even room for further cost reduction..."

Yang Dong understood.

Thinking of Brother Ba's metaphor and description just now, he immediately realized that Brother Ba was planning to sell a set of peripherals at the same time as selling the game!

Fighting games, peripherals...

Because he had never actually touched the product, Yang Dong was very skeptical and asked, "Brother Ba, if the technology you mentioned is applied to our game "Star Emperor 2", what would it look like?"

"Probably, left hook, right hook! Eat my Great Wilderness Star Meteorite..."

Chen Ba pretended to do it, then waved his hand and said, "Anyway, you know, after playing a game, I'm exhausted."

"What good is this?"

Xiao Lu muttered, "After playing a round of the game, I made myself sweat and feel exhausted. Is there really anyone who likes this kind of thing?"

"It's a bit tiring indeed."

Chen Ba did not deny that this was indeed one of his major concerns, that is, throwing left and right hooks while playing the game would make the player very tired.

But this problem can be solved, and compared with the benefits it brings, it is actually not unacceptable.

The so-called benefits...

Chen Ba knew that if he didn't make this clear today, he might not be able to convince everyone.

"Satisfy your chuunibyou fantasy!"

What the hell?!

Seeing everyone looking at him in shock, Chen Ba said helplessly: "Yes, it is just to satisfy the middle school fantasy that all men have."

What is the background of "Star Emperor" ?

That is the background of a serious fantasy fairy tale novel, the style that boys like most, with such stories as "Who is the peak at the end of the immortal road", "The way without beginning becomes empty at first sight", "I am the emperor of heaven and should suppress everything", etc.

Let me ask you, who hasn’t fantasized about being the protagonist when playing this kind of game?

With a flick of his finger, the distant planets turned into ashes. With a punch, the infinite power instantly annihilated half of the galaxy...

Under this kind of visual impact, let alone being exhausted, even if it meant dying of exhaustion, everyone would be willing to do it!

(End of this chapter)