Game Making: The Latest Chapter Begins With Healing the Player

Chapter 786: Open world

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The ratings for "Xenoblade Chronicles" came out quickly. GameSpot, the industry's most authoritative media and an old friend of Nebula Games, gave it a rating of 9.4.

For other game manufacturers, being able to get a score of 9.4 is obviously something worthy of celebration, and their fans and players will also be very excited.

But for Nebula Game players, there is a feeling that this score is normal. After all, this is Chen Xu's new work, so it is strange not to get such a score.

Including in the rating test article, GameSpot even praised "Xenoblade Chronicles".

It even gave a very high evaluation: a revival of traditional RPG.

This evaluation is not a low one. Although some players have criticized it, more players agree with it.

Because in terms of traditional RPG, it has really been many years since a game as amazing as "Xenoblade Chronicles" has been released.

To say that it is amazing does not mean that it is amazing in terms of sales, but that it is amazing in the core concept of "Xenoblade Chronicles".

It combines traditional RPG with open world map exploration, and at the same time, it does not completely abandon the traditional turn-based strategy mode in terms of gameplay.

The combat system of Xenoblade Chronicles can be said to be a good combination of turn-based strategy and action.

This also makes players very fascinated when they get familiar with it and start playing.

It even made me wonder why this strange blood bar was so brittle.

As for the plot, as a passionate RPG, the plot of "Xenoblade Chronicles" is not amazing. At least for many players, it is not as profound as the original "BioShock" games, but it is not. It also created some very classic characters.

The traditional RPG itself is weak, and there is nothing that can stand out in this genre. When "Xenoblade Chronicles" came out, and its quality is very good, it was naturally pushed to the top position. .

At the same time, the concept of open world has once again been brought out by designers in the game industry.

Open world is no longer a new genre nowadays.

The emergence of "Red Dead Redemption" and "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" sparked a trend of openness throughout the gaming industry.

It seems that if the game does not include open world elements, it cannot be considered a game.

But in the end, there are very few games that successfully sell open worlds.

Leaving aside the products of Nebula Games, only overseas game manufacturers such as Zeus and FOW have made several good open worlds.

Especially in some front-line games, after spending high costs to produce open-world games, but reaping dismal sales, the popularity of open worlds has gradually decreased.

On the contrary, thread games that are particularly suitable for VR experience have become a mainstream direction in the game market.

But this time the emergence of "Xenoblade Chronicles" has allowed many designers and players in the industry to see the potential of the open world.

After all, the reason why "Xenoblade Chronicles" is very different from traditional RPGs is the stage frame on which it appears.

If it weren't for this concept that favors the open world, it would be difficult to create such map design and gameplay elements.

However, Nebula Games or Chen Xuze did not pay too much attention to various controversies from the outside world.

As for "Xenoblade Chronicles", the follow-up Golden Kingdom Ira is under development. As for the story of Mecha and Titan, and the background of the subsequent integration of the two worlds, it is a future development plan.

Currently, Chen Xu himself has more important things to do.

While "Xenoblade Chronicles" was finalizing the follow-up DLC arrangements, Chen Xu also mobilized some members of the technical team and arranged a brand new task to develop a new event engine.

When everyone heard the keyword Chen Xu, they were a little confused and had no idea what this thing was.

However, after the project team was established and Chen Xu explained it, everyone became clear.

The so-called event engine is, to be honest, more of an application of AI technology in games.

With the development of the game industry, in addition to the graphics and other places that bring the most intuitive experience, there is another place.

That is the AI in the game, whether it is a passerby NPC, an enemy, or a teammate.

Being real enough can give players a stronger sense of immersion, just like Elizabeth in "BioShock" developed by Nebula Games.

The super powerful AI brings a strong sense of immersion and a sense of identification with Elizabeth.

But that was only limited to one NPC. Now, according to Chen Xu's introduction, this new set of event engines will contain a large amount of computing logic to create all aspects of the world's rules.

There are bandits, villagers, mercenaries, mages and thieves in the game. Different professions or monsters have their own living conditions.

And these different existences have AI interactions with each other.

For example, robbers will rob villagers on the way, and mercenaries will attack the robbers. This is the most complicated part of the whole event, because it needs to create a sense of randomness, which can be said to affect the whole body.

In addition, there is another point, and that is openness.

In terms of bones, AI, event feedback, etc. in the game, it can be said that almost half of the reserved interfaces in the game need to be opened.

… … …

"Mr. Chen, is this too much to put on a VR game?"

In the project room, Qin Yi looked at the relevant data and open reserved interfaces and said with some uncertainty.

What exactly the new game is, I haven’t counted so far.

But for the current brand-new engine, the entire core team of Nebula Games has been working hard for nearly two months, including the Golden Kingdom Ila, which has slowed down the progress.

And this new engine structure is obviously meant to serve the new work.

But the key point is that it is too free. Simply put, it is like "Minecraft" and "Warcraft". It is equivalent to handing over a set of development tools to the players.

Of course it is more difficult for ordinary players, but for some producers who understand this aspect, it is completely different.

To put it simply, once this thing is opened up, it will not be up to you what the characters in the game wear and do in the future, and it is also very easy.

"It's an attempt, and we've been doing very well in the player community." Chen Xu smiled but didn't pay too much attention.

"So, the new game will be a game with MOD as extended content?" Meng Zuo guessed.

After all, judging from these contents, they are all convenient settings for MOD developers. Will it be a game like "Minecraft"

"Of course not. Don't get the wrong relationship between primary and secondary. The interactive functions of the new engine and creating a more realistic world are the most important. As for the reserved interfaces, they are just an add-on." Chen Xu shook his head and said.

"In addition, I believe you can all guess what type of games this organization serves." Chen Xu said.

"Open world..." Meng Zuo said.

Everyone is also a top practitioner in the industry, and naturally it is clear that this is an engine tailor-made for the open world.

And this is the strength of their Nebula game.

"That's right, no matter what game it is, it has unique attributes. Business simulation is about careful planning (random construction), shooting and action is about being hot and refreshing (manual abuse), and real-time strategy and strategy is about platooning. Formation (IQ is exploded), and the open world can be said to be the most special category."

Qin Yi, Meng Zuo and others in the project room also became quiet, waiting for Chen Xu's follow-up words.