Since the birth of the oracle bone in the late Yin Shang period in the 14th century BC, the evolution of Chinese characters to this day has a history of about 6,000 years. Even from the first interactive video game with an electronic display in 1947, the history of video games is only about 75 years. The good news is that the development age gap has not formed a "generation gap" between the two, last year, the domestic developer Team9 Studio released a demo demo "Word Game: Chapter Zero" cleverly combined Chinese characters and video games, and with a not conventional "Dragon Quest" story and decryption gameplay, not only in Steam received rave reviews, but also let people look forward to what kind of quality the official version of the game will show.
After the official release of word games on January 21, I also tried this game for the first time. After experiencing a number of different endings, I think that compared to the amazement brought by Demo, the official version of the game is very good at deciphering the Chinese character puzzles, but it does not prevent us from appreciating its excellence, as one of Steam's comments said: "Please cherish this kind of game that only every newborn production team can make." ”
>>> hands-on experience: When Chinese characters make up the picture, it is simple and blank, but it is not simple
When we first entered the game, we found that "Word Game" closely followed the title of the work, and all the visual parts of the process, whether it was the protagonist, the enemy or the environmental scene, were made of Chinese characters piled up and visualized. At first, I thought that it was difficult to maintain a long-term freshness based on Chinese characters alone, and the game flow would inevitably feel boring. In fact, the images and scenes composed of Chinese characters in the picture are blank, giving people a more interesting and complex fantasy space, and it is very much in tune with the story of the brave man finding the princess and saving the world.
And in the picture part, I also want to praise the ingenuity of the production team, they see Chinese characters as pixel-like combination elements, using different dynamic effects and colors to add many visual features to this text world. For example, the hem of the word "bell" will swing like a clock, when we pass through the "door", it will open and close the door, the golden "holy" word composed of the sword and the dynamic effect form a visual power, and the dragon composed of the turquoise "dragon" word is not angry and oppressive.
>>> plot story: you are me, I am man, and man is the source of power
First of all, I must emphasize that personally, rather than the logic and rigor of the decryption part, I appreciate the Kafka-like story direction of the plot of "Word Game". Under the slightly simple Chinese character screen, it tells a different story framework of the brave in the past, the choice of the brave in the game ending is different from the past, and the details of the content of the foil are quite real, the whole is full of symbolic meaning, the atmosphere rendering is very in place, especially in a certain ending, the plot suddenly reverses the tension to show the tension to the fullest, I really feel a touch of modern allegorical meaning.
We have heard too many stories of the brave, and the direction of searching for the Hallows in the middle of this game to defeat the dragon and save the princess is not new. However, in the late final part of the game, it is unusual to give an unconventional plot, when we experience hardships and finally become the "person" in waiting, how to choose the fate of this fantasy world is the real highlight. In order to avoid spoilers, this article will not expand on how this story reverses the ending to distinguish it from other "brave" stories, and how to break the shackles of words and introduce realistic metaphors into the game. The answers to these questions are left to the people in front of the screen to find out for themselves.
>>> gameplay: words for the eyes, push and pull and tear down
The gameplay part of Word Games is clearly commendable, and we take control of the word "I" as the protagonist to embark on an adventure in the fantasy world. The development team has set up many puzzles around the characteristics of the Chinese characters, such as partial initials, character meanings, shapes, etc., and the process of solving the puzzles to promote the development of the plot is the core gameplay of the game. To take the literal example, even if the developer says that there is no door here, we can find a way out of the word "door" to easily pass the pass.
In the process of solving the puzzle, this game mainly involves 4 specific operations related to Chinese characters.
The first is the "push word" similar to the push box game, moving the position of the Chinese character and then changing the meaning of a word or phrase to solve the puzzle.
Then there are the "group characters" spliced together between the plural chinese characters, such as when "I" is blocked by a small river, as long as the small "bird" on the shore forms a big "goose" to cross the river.
There are combinations and splits, and the "word splitting" in the game can also help us solve many dilemmas, and after becoming a "goose", we can also become "I" again to continue the journey.
In addition, "deleting words" is also a common operation in the process, delete the "no" of "no life", and the vitality of life will re-emerge.
At the same time, the difficulty curve set by the development team is relatively reasonable, from simple spelling to rotation order, Hidden Head poems, Chinese character chase battles... The step-by-step puzzles polish a fun-filled gameplay journey.
I think the interactive gameplay of this game fully demonstrates the particularity of the semantics of Chinese characters and the process of composing words from the parts to the beginning, it is true that there is no gorgeous scene in this game, but the Chinese character screen and decryption gameplay that are tightly bound to the narrative make my game experience as a Chinese player very smooth, and there will be no drama in the process. And if you are a player who has become a father and a mother, then having your child experience this game in their spare time should play a positive role in understanding the meaning of common side radicals and understanding the meaning of Chinese characters.
There are a lot of praises, but it is still necessary to emphasize that the puzzles of some puzzles in the late period of "Word Game" have not been able to maintain a high standard, and even some sentences are somewhat forced and abrupt, such as "conservatively estimating their own lives is the most practical" Although it can be read in combination with the context, the main and predicate guest structure is somewhat confusing to the monk, and such sentences are really quite a lot if you look carefully. If you have to compare it, it is a bit like the shallow foundation of the text, I have to write ligatures, the writing is very smooth and quite elegant, but the final product has become a "ghost drawing symbol" without any beauty to speak of. Although the production team also set up a convenient prompt system not to be stuck, it is inevitable to disappoint friends who value decryption gameplay and language grammar.
>>> Summary:
"Word Game" gives me a different feeling than today's mainstream games that pursue the ultimate sound and picture performance, and China's unique Chinese character culture with puzzle solving gameplay, supplemented by an unexpected and reasonable story, can also present a very good effect. Although the puzzle content in the late stage of the game will still give people some regrets, but in the end, as a domestic indie game can show different "scenery" and maintain good playability, I think this is enough for me to write something for it and recommend it to everyone.
In general, if you have little interest in pixel graphics or various low-quality games, then the "Word Game" composed entirely of Chinese characters is basically out of your favor. On the contrary, puzzle lovers and friends who want to experience how Chinese characters can become game screens, then the uniqueness of this game is enough to be your reason for purchase. Friends who value the game plot and want to experience an unusual "Dragon Quest" story do not need any psychological burden, and I believe that "Word Game" will not disappoint you.
Word Games was officially released on January 21, 2022, for 48, and currently receives 94% of the 2531 reviews on the Steam platform.