As a new link in the e-sports ecosystem, mobile e-sports has experienced more than 5 years of growth. From the beginning of not being optimistic about the outside world, to now beginning to take shape, mobile e-sports is entering the rapid construction stage of diversification and specialization.
The 5 years of mobile e-sports development are also the 5 years of the new MMO events of the "Fantasy Journey to the West" mobile game from trying to explore to accumulating and upgrading, and then establishing a brand, opening up a new track for the vertical subdivision of China's e-sports industry.
On December 16, the "Fantasy Journey to the West" mobile game "Martial Arts Summit League" S3 playoffs were officially opened in Guangzhou. Compared with previous editions, the S3 playoffs have been comprehensively upgraded in terms of event rules, visual effects presentation and derivative content, showing the mobile e-sports professional league that highlights the characteristics of MMO to the outside world, and also bringing players a new experience that is more ornamental and entertaining.
At the scene of the Martial Arts Summit League, Guo Yuxiang, senior operation director of NetEase Games, the planning period and ink of the "Fantasy Journey to the West" mobile game, and the participants of each team were interviewed by the mobile game matrix, telling about the creation of the new event brand and ecosystem of the league, what construction and reform were invested, and how it affected the event, players, and the "Fantasy Westward Journey" mobile game.
The MMO e-sports system has been fully upgraded, and the professionalization of events has become more and more mature
From the setting up of the league committee in the S1 season to the opening of the strong league operation mode in the S2 season, the process of professionalization of MMO e-sports is constantly advancing. At the same time, how to create a professional and long-term e-sports ecology and enhance a more comfortable viewing experience for players has become the top priority of the S3 season.
Regarding the comprehensive upgrade of the professional development and long-term operation of the S3 season of the Martial Arts Summit League, Guo Yuxiang said: "On the basis of continuing the previous strategy, we will further strengthen the ecological construction of the MMO professional e-sports system, focusing on the two major items of alliance and league. ”
Guo Yuxiang, Senior Operations Director of NetEase Games
Allianceization refers to the "Fantasy Journey to the West" mobile game event system, which first serves the core PVP players, guides the main players to participate in the development of the event as members of the organizing committee, and also allows players to transform from the previous part-time to full-time. On the other hand, NetEase E-sports and the "Fantasy Journey to the West" mobile game project team, as the event party, have also built an event command and certification platform, established a standardized e-sports standard and regulatory control mechanism, and served the event and the team from the perspective of long-term operation.
Under the guidance of the official, the work of the league organizing committee for the new season, in addition to leading the guild to assist the team operation, also focused on supporting the mid-waist server team. Guo Yuxiang believes that support work is more important for the long-term development of the event system, more teams, more stable personnel flow, more professional training life, more exposure and promotion, etc., all contribute to the rapid growth of the basic plate of professional leagues.
In addition, with the advancement of the league in recent years, the PVP planning period of the "Fantasy Journey to the West" mobile game also said that "after exploration and practice, we have embarked on the right path". From the intuitive data, it can be seen that before the Martial Arts Summit League, the cycle of the event content was only about one week, and now it has been extended to several months, and the players watching the game and the players participating in the competition have more goals.
At present, the Martial Arts Summit League not only brings players a sustained and stable output of e-sports content, but also allows the event ecology to achieve a breakthrough from quantity to quality.
Explore the unique charm of MMO e-sports, explore and seek innovation to improve the viewing of the event
The "Fantasy Journey to the West" mobile game and its IP series are all phenomenal products in the Chinese market, and the popularity of many years has not diminished. However, creating a professional mobile e-sports competition system, especially in the MMO category, is undoubtedly a pioneering expansion from the inside out for the player audience and even the wider circle audience.
Rich and hardcore professional sects, pet systems, formations and other elements, how will the official ensure the viewing and spread of the event? This problem has been deepening since the original Martial Arts Arena event and the X9 League of the "Fantasy Journey to the West" mobile game, along with the reform and upgrading of the official event.
Combined with years of experience, Guo Yuxiang summed up the cool points of today's users on the "Fantasy Journey to the West" mobile game e-sports, which are mainly divided into three parts: event content, visual effects and derivative content. To put it simply, the e-sports charm of the "Fantasy Journey to the West" mobile game is rooted in the game fun brought by turn-based gameplay and the unique cultivation elements of MMOs.
The three cool points of event content, visual effects and derivative content are aimed at different audiences from hardcore to pan-circle layer, and explore the unique charm of turn-based MMO e-sports. For example, in terms of event content, the "Vulcan Summit League" added a ban mode in the S3 playoffs, that is, the common Ban & Pick on the MOBA project, which brings a more diversified strategic game for the event confrontation.
In terms of visual effects presentation, the stage design, cultural themes, director editing and other aspects of this competition have also been upgraded. Taking the promotional video of the S3 playoffs as an example, the player's Rapid 3D + facial three-dimensional data scanning, which was used for the first time, combined with the full post-production of the UE scene, made a creative attempt to create a star conductor; the introduction of AR/XR black technology on the e-sports stage, and the cloud audience presented the rescue group on the spot through the virtual image, etc., to jointly create a breakthrough dimension of the event atmosphere and dream characteristics. This not only strengthens the audience's sense of substitution for the account role, forming a "player + role" dual attention, but also brings more vivid emotional resonance after the account role is strengthened.
At the S3 playoffs, the creativity of combining trendy technology and traditional culture brings a new visual effects experience to the audience
The cloud audience who appeared on the scene with a virtual image also strengthened the atmosphere of the competition
As for the derivative content part, it is designed to lower the viewing threshold for external public and light players. That is to say, in order to make it easier for the audience to understand the game, in addition to focusing on the cool points of the competition through means such as review commentary and highlight playback, the event side also invited different professional groups such as anchors, players, and UGC authors to interact with the audience. In addition to a series of pan-entertainment programs such as "Pinnacle Treasure Hall", "Eat a Melon", "Shenshi Daily", and "Heartbeat Girl Group", there are also online interactive games such as help and quiz. Judging from the data feedback, the continuous output of integrated and diversified derivative content has played a good role in cultivating the audience's viewing habits and narrowing the distance between the players and the players' homes.
Guo Yuxiang said: "This is a new exploration of the e-sports industry by turn-based MMOs, and it also reflects the similarities with traditional sports. Just like racing and horse racing, the audience will not only appreciate the wonderful performance of professional players, but also the emotional growth of the competitive carrier (car, horse, game character). ”
Grasp the direction of new breakthroughs and complement the player ecology and culture
Players familiar with the "Fantasy Journey to the West" mobile game know that the most attractive part of the game is not only the experience behind the character development, but also relies on the virtual social atmosphere full of "jianghu atmosphere" between players. Guo Yuxiang and the development team's ideal "Fantasy Journey to the West" mobile game event system integrates this unique attribute into the e-sports ecosystem.
The person in charge of PVP planning and development believes that the most testing place for the planning team at present is that "the content must be guaranteed to be viewable, and at the same time, it must not affect the experience of ordinary players in the game." "It is gratifying that from the S1 season to the current S3 season, the original intention of complementing the player ecology after systematization has been initially realized.
"Fantasy Journey to the West" mobile game planning full stop pen and ink
Today, the "Valkyrie Summit League" has a two-month regular season every season, attracting more teams and ensuring the basic needs of players to often have games to watch. The new event rules adjustment and the expansion of derivative content have also further reduced the viewing threshold, and after the transformation of major teams into professionals, they have also had a more enthusiastic interaction with players through online interactions such as CC live broadcasting and in-game, which initially showed a trend of stardom.
One of the most intuitive feelings is the new format and balance adjustment of this year's S3 playoffs. Major professional teams have said that the new BP model has given confrontation more strategic play and brain-burning games, and some team commanders are still working on new tactics at 4 a.m. before the game. On the other hand, with the continuous development of the league, the players also feel that the attention and enthusiasm of players are getting higher and higher, especially the obvious improvement of CC live data during matches.
Team players interviewed before the game
The development of these event ecology also makes the players feel the professionalism and professionalism of the league, making them believe that the future games will become more and more exciting.
epilogue:
In the past two years, the changes and growth of the "Martial Arts Summit League" have brought long-term and stable event content to the "Fantasy Journey to the West" mobile game, and also allowed players of different circles to obtain diversified choices from pan-circle layers to hardcore directions. Especially in addition to the competitive content, the "Fantasy Journey to the West" mobile game Martial Arts Altar Peak League attaches great importance to the content production of pan-entertainment and new cultural creation. For example, entertainment variety shows based on the characteristics of MMO e-sports, such as Jian Bao Tang, Eat a Melon, and Heartbeat Girls' Group, the promotion of cultural creativity that combines trendy technology with traditional culture, the introduction of AI real-time subtitle functions, and the "barrier-free viewing plan" of professional sign language commentary, are all positive value transmission practiced to break through the circle.
Of course, for the expectation of breaking the circle, Guo Yuxiang still hopes to make steady progress every year, so that the event presentation effect adapts to more light players, and promotes it as a long-term plan.
In the eyes of the planning period, the systematization of professional events has both phased results and areas that need to be improved. For example, like the mature and standardized professional club model, NetEase E-sports and PVP Planning Group also said that they hope to achieve more lucrative event realization and team profitability for the team, and will learn from popular e-sports projects and traditional sports leagues.
In the final stage of the interview, in fact, it can be found that everyone's topic focus is focused on the new format, balance and derivative content, Guo Yuxiang told the mobile game matrix reporter that the systematic construction of the "Martial Arts Summit League" is actually based on these points. Only by laying a good foundation can we ensure that the continuous content output is good enough, the derivative content related to pan-entertainment and new cultural creation can form a cultural atmosphere, and the interaction between the audience and the team will be closer and more enthusiastic. At the same time, Guo Yuxiang also believes that the breakthrough and growth of the systematic development of the "Fantasy Journey to the West" mobile game still need time to cultivate the background of the team and the audience, and the content and derivative content of the event also need to grow space. The road ahead is still very long, but the original intention of developing and growing MMO e-sports is unchanged. From the team to the planning to the event operation, it can be seen that they all believe that the Martial Arts Summit League can give a more perfect answer in the future.