This article comes from the question "If you were to lead a galgame project, how would you design it?" The author narrates the doctor's answer.
https://www.zhihu.com/question/320946543/answer/2308361880
This question is particularly interesting at the beginning of 2022. In the past, the old brothers who only knew the dead-end plot and the standing (x) painting (p) finally opened the trick and began to realize that there was a game behind the gal, and the whole living pattern opened up at once.
As a practitioner who didn't want to roll up the word count all day long and think about falling in love with gameplay, I had to throw out a prototype design from many years ago to prove that I was not an afterthought.
Before explaining it, let's first say two sentences about the research progress at home and abroad.
Novel-like works, whether the skin is gal or vn format, are gradually difficult to meet the increasingly harsh tastes of players. If you are not willing to stay in the core players to continue the tradition of small circles and hope to expand to a wider player base, some of the changes mentioned below are worth trying and are indeed being practiced.
Variation 1: gal begins to join (or return) to gameplay
The most recent example is the sudden rise and shine of Bonnie Tesco, which was launched in late 2021. In addition to the full of Zhang San-style strange stories, it also attracts attention to the gameplay of running an online store. Although the overall design is slightly simpler, and when the hard work of bringing goods to the end will definitely shout fried rice you count me out, the whole game process is still very enjoyable. As for whether it can be considered love? Woman ah no leprechaun will only affect the speed of my delivery!
Isn't the reason why the player is different from the audience is that he can participate in and advance the story with his own hands? After all, the experience created by "interaction" cannot be replaced by pure "watching", even if the operation of multiple branches and multiple endings is limited by the cost and is difficult to achieve, the hard work and planning of the battle of wits and courage to earn money to trigger the plot can also make the line that I raise you more confident and resonant.
Variation 2: Gal spirits are integrated into other genres
As the saying goes, gal doesn't die just to take away (). If you make good use of the nine-square grid thinking, there is no need to stick to the paper vertical painting + dialog box, and what type and theme cannot stop you from engaging in objects.
Especially in the field of mobile games with the largest penetration and number of users at present, whether or not you can join other virtual interaction content of love or favorability or other is a cost-effective consideration. After all, the boss doesn't care which part of the product traffic and profits come from.
Not to mention that many LSPs who were mixed in the forum and the Chinese group in the early years - I mean teacher friends, old acquaintances + teachers + friends - many of them have officially joined the game company, and when it comes to things like the Renaissance, they are full of energy.
Therefore, it is not difficult to see that gal-like content will appear in the current mainstream products as part of the overall experience, or an embedded system.
Change 3: The core value of the role is becoming increasingly prominent
Is there anything else to explain with this diagram?
Back to the prototype
Based on the above factors, after full consideration, I decided to take out the indispensable dating link in the relationship with real people or paper people to make gameplay. First, this is very cooooool, and second, I really don't want to write so many daily plots of Tianji気が良いから散歩しましょう.
Then there is the following design:
Design 1: Let's play a game of cards
Friends with a little experience in playing cards know that the game is essentially a psychological game process, which is like a stage of mutual testing of their minds to confirm their ideas, so it is logical to think of some elements of playing cards, such as drawing cards, such as comparing points.
The basic gameplay is then determined to play cards in a given turn, so that the total number of points (synchronization rate) reaches the specified value.
In terms of specific strategy, the type of card and the number of base points (love power) determine its basic effect, while the understanding of the "girl" will affect its profit and loss after it is actually played. For example, if you send Sichuan specialties to a girl who obviously does not like to eat spicy, you can only deduct the synchronization rate on the spot.
Then dating certainly can not just send a gift to eat a meal, just right, there must be multiple links, then the "card combo" is the overall dating arrangement, naturally become another strategic component that affects the final result. Whether you can eat and play with the gift to impress this day depends on the player's understanding of the situation and a little luck in the draw.
Design 2: Duplicitous simulator
After doing the core gameplay, it feels a bit unlivocal, and the spelling values are a bit too pragmatic and not very romantic, so I return to the starting point of shaping the character to show their personality, and add some elements with (e) fun (xin).
For example, "Girl's Words" gives a vague hint or misleading indication of the desired action of the round. Straightforward teenage girls may directly say what they want, provided that the hidden numerical mood is positive, and some shy or mischievous guys will often say some different lines, or carry out the riddle people to the end.
For example, "Mouth is Duplicity", which comes from the magical props of the protagonist himself in the plot, roughly equivalent to the existence of a television set that can travel through time and space, and the only function is to help the emotional intelligence to understand the speech of the girls. As for whether it works, the reliability rate has seen it...
To understand the personality of different girls, to understand their likes and dislikes, to perceive their current mood, but also to explore their inner appeals from only a few words, this is called love war (?) ）
Design 3: Wide linear plot (so what's the cost.)
With the above two designs as the foundation, what structure and content should be presented in the relevant plot are actually ready to come out.
For example, let's simply do a content planner, like this:
At a glance, you can see that the ending is nothing to say, it is all a great joy for everyone, but the scenery on the road is not consistent. Although it is still linear, at least this line has some width and variation.
At the same time, I don't want to think that the unlock conditions of each plot node can also be easily linked to the game of the hand.
For example, the conditions that trigger a plot are not numerically up to standard, but deliberately provoke her or complete a designated combo, so that the mild-mannered girl takes off her mask and confides in you the true voice: she does not want the gentleness of the step-by-step, but the spark of a fierce collision.
And that's most likely the unexpected situation that actually happens on a date. Dealing well becomes an opportunity to quickly open up, and conversely, it misses the moment of soul fusion. But either way, the ending is always satisfactory.
The reason for this is that compared to the structure of the traditional female starring series, the problem I have to solve is that the weak water three thousand one head into the water and the end of the water can be drained for several hours, uh no, it is how many characters who will iteratively update how to balance the player experience and development costs. Therefore, I am more inclined (and can only) choose 天気が良いから散歩しましょう than the cost and process of the ending CG.
It might be boring to have to exhaustive options or save favorability points to trigger these plots as in the past. But after winning a (often unfair game with restrictions attached) a new story, that's not bad, right?
epilogue
The above design only existed in the paper prototype stage of Excel+ a little VBA, and did not enter the actual development and has been dusted to this day. The main reason, of course, is that it does not match the actual situation of the project under research at that time, whether it is product positioning or development planning.
But today I re-turned it out to test two rounds, which is also a small review of my exploration of the game's narrative so far. What kind of responsibilities can a plot, story, or everything that can be called a narrative take on in the game, or even become the origin of a commercial game project? If the answer is yes, then what to do?
I don't know yet, but I'm not going to stop.
From the day "Prototype 1.xlsm" was created.