Chapter 413 The cover-up of the plot mode


    Lilith thought about it carefully and felt that Qin Fengliang''s idea was indeed feasible.


    Of course, there are still many details that need to be improved.


    Although a ready-made mechanism has been thought of, to put it bluntly, this mechanism is still very unfriendly to players. If you want to make it as confusing as possible, you must use appropriate plot guidance and appropriate difficulty design to make players accept it as much as possible from the beginning.


    The later players realize something is wrong, the more negative emotions the game can continue to generate.


    But Qin Fengliang is definitely not good at designing details like this.


    She was not a professional game designer, so she could come up with ideas, but it was too much to expect him to complete a complete plan.


    Lilith immediately decided to complete the skeleton of the design, that is, the design concept draft, and then hand it over to Ni Tiantian to complete the detailed settings.


    Especially in terms of plot, a lot of work still needs to be done.


    "Okay, if this new game is successful, I will give you a big credit!


    "I''m going back to work first. If there is any good news later, I will share it with you as soon as possible!"


    After Lilith finished speaking, she disappeared happily. Obviously, she wanted to get the concept draft of the game out as soon as possible and then throw it to Nitian to start research and development!


    …


    …


    Two days later.


    At 7 o''clock in the evening, Lilith, Gu Fan, Zhou Yang, and Wei Chengjie were meeting in a small conference room.


    Lilith confidently distributed the design concept draft she had written to the three of them.


    Although she looked at the three people with suspicion, Lilith had to admit that these three people were the only three people in Nitian who had the ability to lead projects.


    Although Lilith also wants to promote a new producer from scratch, the stakes are high and if something goes wrong, it may seriously affect the development progress of the new game, so she still has to think about it in the long term.


    The reason why I called all three people here this time is to infer from their speeches and select the most suitable project producer.


    And this producer may also be among the three.


    Gu Fan calmly took the design concept draft and browsed it briefly.


    Strictly speaking, this is not actually a standard design concept draft, because there is a lot missing.


    There is no specific plot, no specific level design, and the name of the game has not even been finalized.


    The only two parts that are written in more detail are "dynamic difficulty mechanism" and "world view plot background setting".


    Obviously, this is Lilith''s reading comprehension again.


    At least on the surface, Gu Fan and others must understand the deep meaning behind the "dynamic difficulty mechanism" and "world view background setting", and improve the relevant combat system, plot and level design, and give this game a beautiful sugar coating , which plays a role in confusing players.


    As for how to bury the bugs in this game...that is something that can be considered later.


    Wei Chengjie was a little surprised: "It''s Cthulhu style? It''s a bit niche.


    "Although our company is more comfortable doing Western fantasy style, Cthulhu has never been done before."


    Zhou Yang coughed twice and corrected: "Why haven''t you done it before? "Ascension" is Cthulhu, just a Chinese version of Cthulhu.


    "Our company is good at Western fantasy-style art themes, and we have the successful experience of "Ascension". We should be very confident in producing a standard Cthulhu theme."


    Wei Chengjie suddenly said: "Oh, yes."


    Cthulhu itself is a niche theme, but in recent years, due to the emergence of various excellent works, its popularity in the country has become higher and higher. Therefore, it is not easy to make a Cthulhu-themed game at this time. It was a big risk.


    What''s more, Nitiantian also has successful experience in the game "Ascension".


    So far, there are still many players who believe that "Ascension" is the best Chinese Cthulhu currently made, bar none. In particular, the epilepsy of the two worlds transforming into each other can be said to perfectly demonstrate the spiritual core of the Cthulhu theme.


    The only problem is...


    Under the premise that there is already a game called "Ascension", can Ni Tiantian make some new breakthroughs in this theme?


    It would be a bit embarrassing if you made an orthodox Cthulhu game and adopted the Western fantasy art style that you are better at, but the final effect is not as good as "Ascension".


    As for "Ascension", the quality is really excellent, and it is very likely that it cannot be surpassed.


    Lilith cleared her throat and said seriously: "Have you finished reading the concept draft? In short, the two basic settings in the concept draft, including the "dynamic difficulty mechanism" and the "lying mechanism", must be carefully considered and strictly followed. of!


    “Under the premise of these two mechanisms, you can speak freely, expand your thinking, and improve this game.


    "Now is the time for brainstorming. Each of you will share your thoughts on this game and its general design ideas."


    Lilith''s eyes were dimly shining, scanning the crowd like a searchlight.


    Obviously, the previous failure of "Heartbeat Dreamland" has been put aside again by her, and she has given 120% of her expectations to develop this new game.


    It''s said to be a brainstorming, but it''s actually an attempt to catch a mole.


    Lilith wanted to use this method to see through the intentions of the three people as much as possible. By the way, she could also find a more suitable development model for this game and determine the best producer candidate.


    Gu Fan, Zhou Yang and Wei Chengjie looked at each other and knew each other well.


    However, as highly professional actors, of course they will not have any unnecessary communication and will just act out the script according to their own ideas.


    Zhou Yang spoke first: "Mr. Li, strictly speaking, this lying system should be considered part of the dynamic difficulty system, right?


    “Players can actively adjust the dynamic difficulty by lying.


    “It’s just that after the lies are exposed, they will all be returned in greater intensity.


    “I think this mechanism must be covered up by the story mode, otherwise it is just a question of two choices, not complex enough, and players will quickly figure it out.


    "We have to add some other incentives to make the system more confusing."


    Lilith raised her eyebrows. She didn''t expect that one of the insiders she suspected would come up with such constructive suggestions.


    Indeed!


    Qin Fengliang did not realize this when he proposed this system before. The lying system is a two-choice system, that is, there must be one truth and one falsehood. If it is not necessary, do not add entities. There is no need to set more than two options, as it does not make much sense.


    But choosing one from the other also leads to the fact that the lying system is not confusing enough for players.


    If the player is a little smarter, they will soon realize: there is no benefit to telling the truth, there is no way to make the battle less difficult, and there is no way to obtain additional rewards. Although lying has benefits on the surface, it may be exposed, and the game difficulty will change back after being exposed.


    Players will soon understand that this is a scam.


    So at this time, it is necessary to introduce another reward variable.


    There are also some other benefits to telling the truth. The more types of rewards there are, the more content players need to weigh and consider, which can greatly delay their progress in discovering Nitian''s true intentions.


    "What about other rewards?" Lilith asked.


    Zhou Yang thought for a while: "As an action game, there are only two types of truly useful rewards, one is linked to combat power, and the other is linked to plot.


    “Let’s talk about the plot first.


    "An intuitive setting is that if you tell too many lies, you will no longer trust the NPC, and the possibility of being questioned and exposed will increase. On the contrary, if you tell the truth too much, the trust of the NPC should be improved, so at some key nodes lies will be more effective.


    "At the same time, this kind of game must have multiple endings, so a "certain number of truths" should be a necessary condition for a good ending.


    “As for the rewards linked to combat power, I thought of some of the characteristics affected by lying in the concept draft.


    "Dolls are not good at lying by nature. They have higher defense, thicker blood, and quicker ways to repair or restore blood. As they lie more, they will become more like humans, with lower defense and less blood.


    “And if humans lie too much, there will be a side effect, which is the improvement of spiritual vision.


    "In the Cthulhu setting, spiritual vision is the inner eye. In layman''s terms, it means that you can see dirty things like ancient gods.


    “In similar themes, there is a saying such as ‘whatever is said must be known’, so lying will improve spiritual vision and see dirty things, which is a reasonable setting.


    "Then players can lower their spiritual vision if they tell the truth, which is itself a reward measure. After all, the world looks more normal and there are not so many scary monsters, which is equivalent to reducing the difficulty of the game in disguise.


    “In general, I think players should not be allowed to choose to lie or tell the truth without thinking, but should be judged based on multiple factors.


    “First of all, we need to look at what the current dynamic difficulty status of the game is;


    “Secondly, it depends on whether players are willing to choose a game process that is quick but has few rewards, or is cumbersome but has many rewards;


    “In the end, it also depends on the player’s attitude towards the plot and NPC branches in the game.


    "Combining these factors to create a chaotic system can further increase the confusion of the system, allowing players to endure the discomfort and continue playing."


    Lilith nodded frequently: "Yes, that makes sense!"


    After Zhou Yang''s modifications, the confusion has indeed improved a lot.


    When a player decides to lie, he has many issues to consider:


    First, players need to consider changes in difficulty. If the player''s difficulty is too high at this time, he can lie to temporarily reduce the difficulty; or, the player can also "earn interest" by telling the truth, making it harder for him to be exposed when he lies in the future.


    But you can''t lie all the time, because once a certain critical value is exceeded and the spiritual vision is too high, it will bring about a series of uncontrollable negative effects.


    Secondly, you can directly skip certain processes in the game by lying or not lying.


    For example, in some levels, if you tell the truth, you can only enter through the front door, but if you lie, you can go through the side door; conversely, in other levels, if you lie, you can push the map normally, but if you tell the truth, you will be directly arrested and thrown into jail.


    If players follow the normal process, they will need to fight a lot, but some useful rewards may also appear during the process.


    Whether or not to skip it should also be taken into consideration.


    Finally, there is the plot. There will be various NPC branches in the game, and the players'' truth or lies will determine their fate to some extent.


    For example, a good NPC, if the player deliberately lies and points the wrong way, he may die in that place.


    Players need to judge whether this NPC is a good person and whether they agree with it in their hearts. At the same time, they must also consider whether there will be more good rewards in subsequent branches if they retain this NPC. If there is no reward later, it would be better to kill him right away and get his clothes and weapons.


    The combination of these intricate factors, when designed well, is enough to overload the player''s brain.


    Because there are too many factors for rewards, players need to think carefully every time they make a decision and cannot see the optimal solution at a glance.


    And after they make their own decisions, their tolerance can be greatly improved.


    In this way, even if the game becomes more difficult, or there are consequences that are difficult to accept, players will feel that the main responsibility lies with themselves. Who made them make the wrong choice?


    That way, they''re more likely to stick with it.


    Wei Chengjie said: "But in this way, the plot design of the game will be more difficult."


    Obviously, the plot is like the packaging box of the express delivery. The more things you need to mail, the larger the packaging box will naturally be.


    Just to satisfy the two original mechanisms, the plot doesn''t need to be too complicated. But if Zhou Yang''s requirements are to be met, the plot must become more ambitious.


    Lilith looked at Wei Chengjie: "So, what are your thoughts on the plot?"


    Wei Chengjie thought for a while: "I don''t think much at the moment, but if I want to connect all the current contents, I must at least come up with a reasonable explanation for the many existences in the game.


    “For example, in this world, ancient gods, humans, dolls, and beast-turned-living corpses can exist at the same time, and they may transform into each other, so we have to find some rationality from the plot.


    "This is what I think. The background of the story could be a large-scale god-becoming experiment, which is human research on ancient divine creatures.


    “Dolls, living corpses, human lycanthropy diseases, etc., are essentially by-products of this god-becoming experiment.


    "Human beings have injected the blood of ancient gods into their bodies, and human blood will gradually turn into unclean blood. The so-called unclean blood is blood that will gradually solidify and no longer flow. In this blood, there are Unclean creatures will gradually erode human life and affect human consciousness like parasites.


    "After a human dies, the blood will solidify and form crystals. Because there is the power of the ancient gods in this crystal, it will carry human memories and life essence. Therefore, although it is a dangerous resource, it can also be used directly. use.


    “When humans use this special crystal as a source of power, driven dolls are born.


    “By continuously absorbing crystals, the doll can gradually improve its humanity and make itself more and more like a human being.


    "Of course, the reverse is also true. Human beings can transform their bodies and change their way of thinking, becoming more and more like dolls, but it will be more complicated and cumbersome than transforming dolls into humans. "


    (End of chapter)