2022 is the 13th year of the official public beta of "Sword Net 3". In the past 13 years, "Sword Net 3" has left several brilliant achievements and wonderful anecdotes for the history of domestic online games: it is one of the few original IP in domestic games, and has completed the goal of "using games as a big IP center to derive the Sword 3 universe"; it is the first game that makes domestic manufacturers aware of the potential power of fandom publicity; it even allows the national cultural theater to use game plots to create traditional dramas... From the initial wind and rice fragrance to today's infinite rivers and lakes, this virtual Datang world has also left countless players with unforgettable memories.
(Photo: Cantonese opera "Decisive Battle of TianceFu" appeared on the 2019 Guangdong Satellite TV Spring Festival Gala)
Among them, there is such a group of players, they entered the "Sword Net 3" when they were still students or social freshmen, and the accumulation of several years has not only made them have a deep experience and understanding of the game, but also have a great interest in the behind-the-scenes world of the game. They gradually entered the gate of Xishanju as Sword 3er, transforming from a player into a practitioner in the game industry, at night, they are still heroes who roam the rivers and lakes, and during the day, they sketch a more perfect blueprint for this jianghu in their posts.
For these practitioners who are both players and gamers, we can't hide our curiosity: what kind of experience is it for them to cross the identity transition of the virtual world? Is the work of intertwining interests and responsibilities satisfactory to them? With such doubts, we conducted an interview with several employees of Xishanju, hoping to bring guidance and reference to more players and practitioners.
Good games bring not only happiness, but also a place where dreams begin
In today's game market, "Sword Net 3" is mentioned, and almost all of them are unanimously praised, believing that it has characteristics, innovation, and cultural heritage, which can immerse players in the Tang Dynasty. But only old players remember, these "creativity, culture, characteristics" is what kind of exploration and research has been experienced to take shape, in ten years ago (players call it the 70s-80s), "Sword Net 3" is the only domestic martial arts online game that relies on its own creation background, if you want to make players more substitutionary, you need ups and downs of the plot, fresh and interesting copies and close-knit social networking, in the continuous exploration, "Sword Net 3" stood firm, but also left the most memorable memory of that generation of players at that time, Let them send out the feeling that "domestic online games can still be so fun". Among this generation of players, there are many future gamers who are determined to enter this industry.
Dahong, who is currently working as a programmer at Xishanju, is one of them. When he first came into contact with "Sword Net 3", he was still a college student in the computer department, with the perception of this major, he decided that this was a very technical game product, and once he "boasted about Haikou" to his friends, claiming that sooner or later he would also appear on the list of game makers of "Sword Net 3", quite a bit of "big husband should be like this" courage. After graduation, Dahong really joined Xishanju through social recruitment, engraved his name on the list of game producers, and a few years later, he transferred from the "Sword Net 3" project team to another project related to sword 3 IP to continue to be a client, and continued to spread his love for this jianghu and worked hard for it to become an IP universe in the future.
Before the launch of "Sword Net 3", he was already a loyal player of the IP of "Sword Man Love", from stand-alone to online games, from Sword Net 1 to Sword Net 3, from 2009 to 2022, nearly two decades of player experience has made him have a long understanding and interest in the game industry. But interestingly, Lao Jin did not directly complete the transformation from a player to a practitioner, majoring in accounting, he was an employee of a state-owned enterprise at the beginning, after realizing that the working atmosphere there was not suitable for him, he quit the job that was regarded as "stable" by his family, starting from an e-sports media editing career, through several years of learning and growth, and finally successfully joined the Sword Network 3 department of Xishanju and began to engage in brand publicity work.
For Dahong and Lao Jin, "Sword Net 3" brings them not only a wonderful jianghu, but more like opening a door for them that has never been opened before, reminding them that there can be such a possibility. Through this door, they are faced with a new beginning, watching themselves being gently pushed by dreams and interests, and finally sliding into an interesting future.
This feeling is probably similar to the first time they stood at the entrance of Daoxiang Village and climbed into the carriage that was about to leave?
Turn interest into work, and interest will not wither away
We often hear pessimistic prophecies such as marriage as the graveyard of love, such as not turning interest into work, etc., which convey the idea that "once you need to go deeper into what you like, then you may not like it anymore".
So, will those Sword 3ers who chose to join Xishanju because of their strong interest in "Sword Net 3" gradually lose interest in this jianghu after working for a few years? With a little nervousness, we asked this question to several interviewees. But unexpectedly, all respondents gave the same answer.
Greendull is the director of the Xishan Jujian Network 3 video group. "Sword Net 3" is the most talked about is its brilliant fan culture, in addition to the writer and painter, the scissor hand that directly "shoots the movie" with the shooting plug-in is also a common group of creators, and Green degree is one of the players who began to try to shoot game videos in the fan circle of "Sword Net 3", he joined the official team of Xishanju, and was also the result of receiving an invitation in the environment of official strong support for creators. For him, part of the charm of the game comes from the player's recognition of his own work, after becoming a member of the West Mountain Residence, the creation needs to shift from self-amusement to the player's love, so colleagues work together to make the work full, to lay more Easter eggs for the player, but also to make him more excited and happy.
(Pictured: The fan creation on the official website of "Sword Net 3" has become a milestone in the online game industry)
This feeling of "making interest richer through work" is also the experience of game planner Aki. When he was still a player of Sword Net 3, Aki was fully curious and interested in game production, and every time he encountered a game design that he thought was unreasonable, he would spit and think: If I designed this system, what would I do? This "mock debate" allowed him to get an interview invitation after a chance to plan an exchange with Sword Net 3, and thus became an employee of Nishiyamaju and really began to join the team of game design. For him, the planning work gave him the opportunity to see the game from a different perspective than the player's, and the difference between the two allowed him to better polish his designs and look forward to the sparks that would come out of the new content he produced when it was integrated into the old system. This kind of innovation and challenge fun, not only did not lose his enthusiasm for the game, but also stimulated the charm of the game.
Perhaps, some people think that "interest becomes work will lose interest", essentially because his interest is still at the level of "pastime", and the more exploration and research energy required after "becoming work" makes the "pastime" he wants more than he loses. In this regard, Lao Jin made a summary: "Although the game has become our work, it is precisely because of our love for the game that we can better devote ourselves to the work and make more innovations and attempts." I personally feel that as long as you love the game and do the game to make a good game, the charm of the game will not be attenuated. ”
Breaking down the barriers of games and life, perhaps we can see a possibility for the future of this industry through "Sword Net 3" and Xishanju
After "interest and work", we inevitably think of another topic: if work and hobbies do not conflict or even complement each other, what do they mean for the lives of practitioners? After all, in the enduring "game harmful theory", the love of games will affect normal daily life, which is also one of the common misunderstandings.
In this regard, several Xishanju employees interviewed, AKA Sword 3er, shared their "Sword Net 3" life with us.
Old Jin frankly said that "Sword Net 3" has a very big impact on me", because he and his wife met through this game, and now that they have been married for almost 5 years, they will still play the arena and the next copy together at home, and the husband and wife will be happy with their swords together, and they are happy in the dark - this answer is not surprising to us, because in "Sword Net 3", the players who are happy to tie the knot can be described as endless, and the official has also held a theme wedding.
Ludu and Dahong also said that they met more relatives and friends through "Sword Net 3", everyone not only played games together online, but also developed a more intimate friendship offline, sharing life together, growing together, from dinner parties to going to comic exhibitions together, game partners gradually became close friends for many years, and the three-dimensional and two-dimensional dimensions are no longer so clear-cut.
(Photo: Xiao Lingcheng at the 2020 Xishanju Annual Meeting)
Another Xiao Lingcheng, who is in charge of product dissemination in Xishanju, is more representative, and she likes cosplay, and she is also attracted by the fan culture of "Sword Net 3" and joins this Datang world. In 2017, the cosplay stage play in which Xiao Lingcheng participated won the Best Drama Award of the National Stage Drama Competition and the Special Award of "Sword Net 3" at Chinajoy, taking this as an opportunity to complete the transformation from a player to a game practitioner step by step. After entering Xishanju, it became her job to plan and promote game-related content, so that she enthusiastically passed on the chivalrous concept and national style culture in "Sword Net 3" to more people, whether it was content creation or information dissemination, she was well done.
(Photo: Xiao Lingcheng at the 2022 Xishanju Annual Meeting cos huatai)
Bringing hobbies into life Allows players to change the gaming industry
This kind of "hobby into life", let us think of the current fire of the "meta-universe" concept, for the sword 3er, the jianghu is illusory, but the emotional experience is real, in the virtual world can also feel the meaning of work, can enjoy the joy of emptying, can participate in the gathering of relatives and friends, such "Sword Net 3", may be the game and the entire game industry can bring us new possibilities.
(Beautiful office environment in Xishanju)
As a group of post-80s and post-90s who love to play games, perhaps everyone was taught by teachers or parents when they were young, "You play games now, what will you do when you grow up?" ”。 And every player has a dream when playing the game, to make a game of their own.
Therefore, the players who come to work at Xishanju are the happiest, they not only find a job that takes into account hobbies and lives through games, but also realize their "game dreams" in their innocence. Through the efforts of Xishanju and its lovely players, the game "Sword Man Love" is still affecting the next generation, the next generation of people, and these young people who are being affected are also very likely to enter the game industry again in the future and become a new blood.
We believe that China's future game products will be excellent, because the people who are making games today are a group of hot-blooded teenagers who have come from the wind and rain. They have their own ideals, they have their own persistence, and they are using their own strength to make the whole industry better and better.