Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 70 Platform [Bonus Chapter for Smooth Story Flow]

Since Wang Chien-min was going to give a speech later, the two chatted for a few minutes, and then Wang Chien-min's secretary brought up the matter of giving a speech again.

So Chu Chen said a few words of thanks and then made an excuse to leave.

Although Chu Chen only spent a few minutes with Wang Jianmin, he immediately understood what it meant to "borrow power from others."

Almost instantly, the enthusiasm of the people around Chu Chen increased by several points, especially the officials from Suzhou and Hangzhou. Zhang Guangtai, who had been sarcastic just moments before, also made a 180-degree turn in attitude.

However, Chu Chen did not take advantage of Wang Jianmin's "tigerish" power to renegotiate with Zhang Guangtai. He just smiled and said a few polite words before sitting down in his seat.

The logic is actually quite simple: Zhang Guangtai is just a mouthpiece; intimidating him won't do any good.

Wang Chien-min's influence might make the Hard Union members be more careful in their actions, but that's all they'll do; it won't force them to make direct concessions.

And Chu Chen at this moment.

They no longer want to negotiate with the Hardcore Alliance.

Thinking of this, Chu Chen took out his phone and opened an anonymous encrypted notepad. This was Chu Chen's plan for the future, filled with numerous "information nodes" he had recalled since his rebirth.

Among these was a message about "acquiring TaTap".
The text was crossed out with a diagonal line, meaning that Chu Chen had previously rejected the plan.

First, let's explain why this text appeared in Chu Chen's plan.

The answer is actually quite simple, because Chu Chen could indeed acquire TaTap at that time.

Although TaTap was very successful in its early days, it actually had a very difficult time in its early days.

Despite advertising a 0% commission, it generated no traffic, and the company behind it, InnoGames, has very little influence in China, offering limited help to TaTap.

Without traffic, no manufacturers will be willing to pay attention to him, and without manufacturers paying attention, there will be even less traffic.

Furthermore, the Hardcore Alliance would never allow such software to appear in app stores.

As a result, the entire TaTap business chain came to a standstill from the very beginning.

From its launch in May until June this year, TaTap was considered an "asset" that was "ignored by everyone," as the former CEO of Chipone Games once said in an interview.

At that time, they considered stopping the project or selling their shares, but no one was willing to take them on.

Although Chu Chen had never been in contact with them, based on the current situation, he estimated that around ten million yuan would be enough to buy TaTap from Innosilicon Games.

So why didn't Chu Chen spend this money?

Investing in TaTap carries risks.

TaTap was able to revive itself because, after initial setbacks in promotion, it seized a unique opportunity when the game license system officially began in July.

That's "overseas Android games"

Due to licensing issues, a large number of "overseas" games that were originally distributed in China disappeared overnight.

However, while the product may disappear, the user demand will not. So, by providing various download channels such as "overseas version", "standalone version" and "Chinese version", TaTap finally gained traffic and began to enter the Android platform market.

However, TaTap's actions, taken in a year when game licenses were just being tightened, were undoubtedly a "peak act of wrongdoing."

By 17, TaTap had shown some improvement, and the Hardcore Alliance seized on this opportunity to relentlessly attack TaTap.

TaTap was soon named by regulatory authorities multiple times for providing downloads of "overseas games without a license". By November 2017, TaTap could no longer withstand the pressure and began to conduct an internal investigation.

However, "committing a crime at its peak" comes at a price. Even self-inspection was useless. In 18, TaTap was ordered by regulatory authorities to be taken down and rectified for three months.

Although TaTap eventually survived and, after rectification, leveraged its previously accumulated popularity and the explosive growth of anime-style games after 18, it experienced a "phoenix rebirth."

But what if this platform belongs to Starry Night Games?

Whether this kind of administrative punishment will affect Xingchen Games from the subsidiary is hard to say. Some things, if done by a "child," might only result in a spanking, but if done by an "adult," it's not as simple as a spanking.

Chu Chen didn't dare to gamble, and he felt he had no need to gamble.

Chu Chen always felt that with the sharing mechanism of "Final Front" and the live wallpaper, he had an Android channel under his control.

No matter what, Android is an open platform, and even ten years later, it still cannot prevent third-party installations.

Therefore, he did not place particular importance on the Android platform in his plans.

After all, whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat.

Even if he eventually gets involved in the platform, it will be a platform for PC ports.

However, the emergence of the Hardcore Alliance today has given him a harsh wake-up call. The market is ever-changing, and just because you don't provoke others doesn't mean they will give way to you.

So, it happened almost in an instant.

Chu Chen realized that he had become arrogant. Even though he never showed his arrogance to others, when he gave up TaTap and abandoned the Android platform because he was afraid of trouble, it was obvious.

His mindset had already become arrogant.

How can you entrust your development to others when you're rowing against the current?

Fortunately, today's events brought him to his senses.

Mindset transformation is one part, but how to implement it is another.

At first glance, Chu Chen considered two options: building his own Android platform and acquiring TaTap. He quickly ruled out building his own platform, because reality is not a TV drama.

The most important element in doing anything is people.

TaTap's team has already proven themselves in the past, and Starcraft currently lacks platform operation talent, so acquiring TaTap is the first option given the possibility of doing so.

Moreover, from a practical standpoint, acquiring TaTap wouldn't be difficult. So, what happens after the acquisition? How will Chu Chen drive traffic to TaTap?
Following the path Tap walked in his past life? Impossible.

Chu Chen wouldn't risk doing something that violates his principles.

So, how about driving traffic from Final Frontline or live wallpapers that haven't been released yet?
This is indeed a channel; even if the conversion rate is not high, it can always generate some traffic as initial traffic.

The next, more crucial question is how to retain players. In its previous version, TapTap used a large number of overseas software without licenses, which helped retain players.

Where is Chu Chen?
After thinking for a while, Chu Chen created a new document on his phone and wrote down several games in it: "Jump Jump," "Travel Frog," "Merge Watermelon," "Liar's Tavern," "Drinking Simulator," "Exam Simulator," and "Frozen World."

Some of these games were popular in his previous life, while others were just Chu Chen's own ideas.

However, most of them are small-scale casual games.

For example, in Frozen World, players start with two little people. By digging through the snow, they can find various resources such as wood and media.

Players need to continuously dig through ice blocks to obtain resources, build camps, recruit people, upgrade tools, continue digging around the snow blocks, and even buy excavators to continuously "mine" the snow.

Obtain the resources inside, and then continue digging through the snow.

For example, in "Dinner Simulator," the core objective is singular: to maintain the atmosphere of various dinner parties, such as "couples' dates," "workplace team building," and "class reunions."

Spread out an entire surface around this point.

Players can initiate conversations or join in others' conversations. They can also choose to pour drinks, add dishes, and perform other actions. Some of these actions can improve the atmosphere, while others can make the situation awkward.

These small-scale games can be embedded in TaTap.

By employing methods such as "built-in exclusives," "online rankings," and "shared resurrection," they retain players and rapidly expand their reach.

(End of this chapter)