My game, you have no right to award

Chapter 163 Expectation
After inserting the USB drive into the computer, Zhou Kuang opened the folder and found many documents inside. Then he turned to look at Hong Nianlong.

Hong Nianlong came over quickly, smiled embarrassedly, and pointed out the document he wanted Zhou Kuang to see.

Zhou Kuang turned around, looked at the screen, and opened the document.

He had just opened the document and hadn't had time to read the content when the first thing he felt was that the format was very beautiful.

Although it does not necessarily refer to any specific format, the text size, line spacing, title size, and key points of Hong Nianlong's document are all very beautiful.

It gives people a feeling that the person who made this document knows what he is doing.

As a developer, Hong Nianlong is indeed very mature. Even though he suddenly changed the language environment, his professional qualities and work habits have been preserved.

For developers, any work experience in the development process is transferable.

Including how to create an easy-to-understand document to make it easier for other colleagues who read the document.

Zhou Kuang nodded slightly and began to read.

Ok……

Just as Zhou Kuang requested, this is a plan for a first-person shooter game, or FPS.

But what’s with this role-playing thing in the label?

A survival game? Or even a simulation?
Zhou Kuang was stunned. For a moment, he couldn't think of any game that could fit all these labels together.

He scrolled the middle mouse button and continued to look down.

The zombie apocalypse story setting...

Zhou Kuang shook his head slightly.

how to say?

To put it nicely, this is a timeless gaming theme.

To put it bluntly, this topic has been overused.

Many players subconsciously feel nauseous when they hear that it is another zombie game.

I even want to slap the zombie game developer in the face!

Don’t you know how to make games without zombies?

Every player who has played any zombie game in its entirety can fully imagine the content of the game.

It must revolve around human nature, resources, mutation, etc.

At the beginning, people were very passionate about it, but as game developers frantically copied zombie games at a rate of dozens or even hundreds of games a year, players were really fed up with it.

Don't want to play...

Not willing to play...

I don't even want to see it.

Zhou Kuang now understood why Hong Nianlong included the word "survival" in the label he gave to this game.

After all, if it is a zombie game, it would be strange if the word "survival" was not in the label.

Continue to scroll down the document...

The background is set in the redwood forest city that has been invaded by zombies and has been completely blocked.

As a mercenary, the protagonist needs to enter and find an important person, the VIP.

Ok?
Zhou Kuang suddenly felt that this setting was inexplicably familiar.

Keep looking down.

Players need to search for weapons, food, medicine and other resources in the open world, bring them to the gathering place, and sell them in exchange for better equipment.

The game has a campaign mode and an online mode, but it seems that the online mode takes up a larger space?

In online mode, players can cooperate with other players or even betray each other.

Real body damage system...weapon modification system...dynamic sound system...

High death penalty mechanism, all equipment lost...

After reading the entire document, Zhou Kuang began to fall into deep thought.

He saw the shadows of several games in this game: including H1Z1, one of the ancestors of the battle royale type of game, Escape from Tarkov, Dying Light and even State of Decay, etc.

However, these are only approximations in some elements, not complete similarities in the game itself.

There is a big gap between this game and the game Zhou Kuang had in mind.

But from the perspective of game design, Hong Nianlong is obviously very creative and has made innovations in many design points.

And the best part is, none of these innovations are overly risky or out of line; each one is just the right amount of detail.

When any player experiences the game, they will not notice these superficial changes at the first time, but each innovation will subtly enhance the player's gaming experience.

Zhou Kuang didn't know whether Hong Nianlong did it on purpose or accidentally.

But it is obvious that he has achieved a delicate balance between innovation and conservatism.

This degree is difficult to grasp.

Zhou Kuang raised his head and saw Hong Nianlong waiting patiently, with a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

This was the first time he had written a game plan entirely by himself in the professional field, so naturally he wanted to strive for a good result.

It doesn't necessarily mean that your work will be approved by your boss immediately and you will kneel down to worship his masterpiece.

But at least his ideas should not be directly denied.

"That's great, I think it's an interesting idea."

"But I'm a little worried that players might get tired of the zombie setting."

"I can't give you an answer for now. I need to think about it again."

Hearing Zhou Kuang's answer, Hong Nianlong nodded quickly and felt greatly relieved.

The boss's answer was very clear. He liked the setting of the game, but still had doubts about some details.

But overall, it is quite acceptable.

As for the statement "still needs further consideration" later, it naturally means that a multi-faceted evaluation is needed, which is a very normal process in a game company.

"Okay, got it."

Zhou Kuang stood up and patted the other person on the shoulder.

"Do your best. My expectations for your project are no less than those for Netherworld Mountains and Seas."

Hong Nianlong was a little flattered when he heard that.

What is the project "Netherworld Mountains and Seas"?
That is China's most impressive game right now, and even from an international perspective, it has a huge influence.

Because Hong Nianlong himself had worked in the United States before, he was naturally more sensitive to the public opinion about "Netherworld Mountains and Seas" abroad.

He had never seen before that so many people in the European and American industry would praise a game that was 100% original from China.

No matter what those company bosses say, they cannot represent the thoughts of people in the gaming industry.

I heard that many people said that "Nether Mountain and Sea" should be nominated for this year's Game of the Year, or even win the final award directly.

Hong Nianlong was so excited that his heart was pounding.

This is also why he applied to Kuangshi Games and applied to become the person in charge of the combat system of the "Netherworld Mountains and Seas" project, because he felt a calling, a strong call deep in his heart.

This is what a man should do!
And now, Zhou Kuang, the boss behind Netherworld Mountain and Sea, actually said that his expectations for his own project are even higher than Netherworld Mountain and Sea?!

Doesn’t that mean that this project also has the hope of reaching the level of “The Netherworld”?

And this is Hong Nianlong’s dream!

No matter how successful "Netherworld Mountains and Seas" is, it is not my own success.

Although he is also a Chinese and is excited about the emergence of "Youming Shanhai", as a gamer, his first reaction is to catch up with the other party.

"Tell me, if we follow your current plan, how many people do you need and how long will it take?" Zhou Kuang asked the core question straight to the point, catching Hong Nianlong off guard.

He panicked for a second, then calmed down.

After thinking carefully for a long time, he was ready to speak, and Zhou Kuang did not interrupt his thoughts during this time.

"Two hundred people, four years." Hong Nianlong said slowly.

After hearing the other party's answer and looking at the determination on Hong Nianlong's face, Zhou Kuang was a little surprised.

He thought the other party would say less, but he didn't expect that the other party would actually say a number that was not small.

Maybe for his original company, the size of a team of 200 people is nothing, but for any other stand-alone game company, a game team of 200 people is a very large scale.

"why?"

Zhou Kuang asked, staring closely into the other person's eyes.

He wondered if Hong Nianlong was thinking about this problem completely rationally.

Or is it just to expand their own power, or to ask for an exorbitant price only to pay it back later?

Hong Nianlong explained very seriously.

"An FPS game, unlike an action game, has many aspects to consider."

"The difficulty of just tuning the shooting feel is comparable to the entire combat system of an action game."

"If you compare the complexity and time required for the two tasks, FPS games are clearly the more demanding."

"So a team of 3 people is the minimum requirement for producing a AAA-level FPS single-player game."

"As for time, I think four years is the minimum. Although the pace needs to be tighter, at least every part of the game can be completed."

Zhou Kuang nodded when he heard the answer, but then he got a headache.

He nodded because he knew that Hong Nianlong's answer was purely rational, without any selfishness or personal emotion.

The headache was because he obviously couldn't satisfy the other party's request.

Two hundred people!!
The main team of Megvii Games has only recruited 300 people now, and will gradually expand to about 500 people in the future.

Hong Nianlong asked for two hundred people, and the production cycle was four years.

The most important thing is that what he said were the minimum requirements.

Zhou Kuang couldn't possibly think in this way.

Even if the game is produced according to the minimum standards, will players buy it?
Will the resulting decline in quality affect players' gaming experience?

These are all issues he must consider.

Therefore, when Zhou Kuang was preparing to develop "Netherworld Mountains and Seas" more than two years ago, even though he was very short of funds at that time, he did not save a penny on the development.

In order to make the team perform at its best and let everyone show their strength, Zhou Kuang gritted his teeth and persevered no matter how difficult it was.

Now that Kuangshi Games has made a lot of money from "Netherworld Mountains and Seas", he would not think in this way.

hiss……

How to start.

Zhou Kuang was a little troubled. He gave Hong Nianlong a project, but was unable to meet the other party's requirements.

This is equivalent to limiting the opponent's room for maneuver.

But there are indeed some geniuses who need people to meet their high demands in order to perform at their highest level.

For example, in the football world, Guardiola as a coach is a good example.

His tactics inherently require extremely high personal qualities from each player.

You really can't play Tiki-Taka without some skills.

Even the goalkeeper needs to have good footwork.

Even though it's been 25 years, we still can't beat Nottingham Forest.

Seeing Zhou Kuang's expression, Hong Nianlong also saw the other party's hesitation.

As expected, no one could agree to his request.

Hong Nianlong had already anticipated this before he said it.

Even if the boss trusts me, it is impossible for him to give me so many resources.

No matter how much I say, I am still a novice producer.

He still chose to say it out loud, but Hong Nianlong just didn't give up.

Sure enough, Zhou Kuang spoke.

"A project of this scale is still too risky. We can discuss the scale of this project later."

“The content of the game will be determined based on the finalized scale and development time.”

After hearing this, Hong Nianlong was not disappointed, but just nodded in agreement.

It is also part of the producer’s job to modify the overall design of the project based on the cost.

The two discussed the project for a while, and then Hong Nianlong said goodbye and left Zhou Kuang's office.

Zhou Kuang also breathed a sigh of relief.

A team of two hundred people...

Four years...

That’s a lot of money!

How to reduce the production cost of an FPS game?

Zhou Kuang began to recall the FPS games he had played before he traveled through time.

Which one has the lower development cost?

……

……

……

As the employees of Megvii Games who had previously participated in the production of "Nether Mountain and Sea" ended their vacation and returned to the company, Megvii Games headquarters also immediately entered formal working status.

The condition of these employees is not very good and their efficiency is not high.

Coupled with the many new employees joining the studio, many problems with the above coordination suddenly arose, resulting in very slow progress of the work.

Zhou Kuang could only wait patiently for them to slowly get used to each other, while silently setting a deadline in his heart.

Before a certain day, he would accept the team slowly getting used to each other, but after that day, he would start putting pressure on each department.

As the end of the year approaches, the sales of "Netherworld Mountains and Seas" have reached new highs, steadily approaching the goal of 10 million copies.

For domestic players, those who should have completed the game have already done so, and those who are not interested naturally still have no interest.

Even the popularity of secondary creations related to "Netherworld Mountains and Seas" has declined.

At this time, the biggest expectation for players who love this game is the various game awards at the end of the year.

There are really no particularly outstanding masterpieces in this year's games. Even if we find the best games, they would not have become the best games of the year in previous years.

But this year, these games all have a chance.

This made domestic players start to imagine. Although "Youming Shanhai" received low media ratings, it has a very good reputation among players after its launch.

Coupled with the difficulty of this game, it is gradually accepted by more ordinary players.

Therefore, many people were quite critical of the gaming media's initial evaluation of "Netherworld Mountains and Seas".

So, does Netherworld Mountain and Sea have a chance to win some awards or even the ultimate "Game of the Year"?

(End of this chapter)