On Monday, after 263 days, the version number reopened, and the gamers also felt a different atmosphere from the restart of the 18-year version at the same time as "tears and joy".
The first is in terms of quantity, after the restart of the approval of the version number in 2018, the number of the first batch of issued version numbers was 87. The number of the first batch of distribution this month was 45, and the sense of existence of the total amount of regulation and control policies continued to increase. In terms of specific products, the products of Tencent and NetEase, two major manufacturers, have not appeared in the game team that has passed the review, but small and medium-sized game companies are getting more version numbers.
At the 2021 China Game Industry Annual Conference, the leader of the Publishing Bureau of the Central Propaganda Department pointed out in his speech that in 2022, the State Press and Publication Administration will implement the "Online Game Positive Energy Leading Plan" to promote the creation of a number of excellent original games with good themes, good creativity and high quality.
In this batch of new games that have obtained the version number, what has attracted the attention of GameLook is a red-themed mobile game called "The Way Forward".
The red-themed game won the first edition number this year, and revolutionary education is entertaining and educational
The Way Forward is the first red-themed mobile game to receive a version number this year, and this type of game has been extremely rare in game approvals over the past few years.
According to the Party School of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Communist Party of China, the red theme refers to "works that reflect the heroic deeds and heroic figures of the war years and the period of socialist construction."
Usually, the carriers of red theme works are mainly dramas, movies, film and television dramas, such as "The Age of Awakening" and "Chosin Lake", but red theme games are relatively rare. However, with the further popularization of games in recent years, the rise of functional games, and the strengthening of the awareness of corporate social responsibility of games, many game manufacturers have launched red-themed game works, such as "Breaking Dawn" launched by the Publicity Department of the Huangpu District Party Committee of Shanghai and Sheng Qu Games.
Unlike many other red-themed games of a public welfare nature, "The Way Forward" is a mobile game product that has obtained a version number, which means that "The Way Forward" will be one of the few commercially available game products in the red theme game.
In the plan, the "Way Forward" was originally scheduled to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, but the plan could not keep up with the changes. However, the game was tested on WeChat in July 2021.
The story of "The Way Forward" is set in the Long March of the Red Army, and the player will play a squad leader in the game, leading the soldiers of the class to re-walk the Long March Road, and feel the hard-won victory of the revolution through the life and death choices of major historical events such as the breakthrough in western Hunan and the four crossings of chishui.
The gameplay is based on placement, and the game screen is divided into two parts, the upper half shows the location of the large map and the large troops, and the lower half shows the player's class travel.
During the march, the player will encounter various events, such as losing supplies by bandits, and can also collect supplies through various commands. The harsh natural environment on the Long March Road, the encirclement of the enemy and other harsh conditions contrast with the spirit of perseverance of an ordinary soldier, which reflects a positive outlook on life and values.
The game also combines reality, allowing players to receive the in-game "march ticket" reward through the number of fitness steps in reality. With the advancement of the Long March, players can also unlock the customs and objects of different revolutionary holy places on the Long March Road, and learn new knowledge while playing, edutainment and education.
Official guidance and expert "supervision" ensure the quality of the game
According to public information, "The Way Forward" was developed by Empyreangames (Qian qian network), the publishing unit is Datang Network, and the operating unit is Langyi Interactive Technology.
The game launch interface shows that under the guidance of the Propaganda Department of the Longyan Municipal Party Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Propaganda Department of the Sanming Municipal Party Committee of the Communist Party of China, "The Way Forward" is jointly produced by the Yongding District Committee and the District Government of Longyan City, Fujian Province, and the Beijing Qianqi Network.
Founded in March 2021, the core team is from Hong Kong Leyou Technology, and less than a month after its establishment, qianqi network has received tens of millions of investment from Kaiying network. After "The Way Forward" got the version number, Tang Ning, CEO of Qianqi Network, said that at present, including many central enterprises, state-owned enterprises, listed companies and local governments, they have shown strong interest in red-themed games, and the potential market size may reach billions, and some have reached cooperation.
Tang Ning is not only a former Huaqing Feiyang VP and senior producer, but also a red industry consultant in Yongding District, Longyan City, Fujian Province. He revealed that after "The Way Forward" gets the version number, the company will strengthen the exploration of the main theme theme.
Similar to many IP adaptation games, the biggest difficulty of red theme games lies in how to grasp the restoration of historical reality, as well as the balance of gameplay, fun and commercialization.
At this point, red-themed literary and artistic works often invite experts and scholars and relevant government agencies to participate, which can help game manufacturers check in terms of gameplay details, historical materials, and ideological height. For example, Qian Qian Network invited the School of Animation and Digital Arts of communication university of China to serve as technical director for "The Way Forward".
The policy encourages that the "red market" of the game industry has quietly opened
In December last year, "The Way Forward" was well received by the party magazine "Half Moon Talk" because it was well received by players. In this article titled "Can You Still Learn the History of the Long March Like This?" In the article "Functional Games Explore the New Way of Red Education", Qian Qian Network revealed that the development of "The Way Forward" lasted 8 months, and a lot of work was spent on learning party history and understanding the culture of the Long March in the early stage.
Because the user is positioned as an all-age group, "The Way Forward" chooses a more cartoonish, but not serious art style, but also in order to make it as easy for everyone to get started, the game also uses four or five ways to play, and finally uses "light cards".
In addition to the aforementioned Wind and Material History system, the game also has the Long March Q&A and Party History Answer System, which cleverly integrates the history of the Long March into the gameplay. In fact, whenever the player travels to a place, the game will pop up the corresponding information to help the player understand the real historical events.
"Half Moon Talk" commented that "The Way Forward" recreates the history of the Long March very well, "allowing players to understand the history of the Long March and feel the glorious course of the party in a relaxed and pleasant experience, and subtly obtain the nourishment of red culture."
"The Way Forward" is not the only domestic mobile game aiming to explore the potential of red themes. Also in 2021, China Mobile Game exposed a red theme mobile game "Bright Sword" IP genuine authorization "Bright Sword My Independent Group". In the game, the player will play as a new recruit, follow the leader of the independent regiment Li Yunlong to defend the family and defend the country, and grow into a new regiment leader step by step, inheriting the "bright sword spirit".
Different from "The Way Forward", in the planning of the mobile game, "Bright Sword My Independent Regiment" is also planned to be launched in overseas markets this year.
Of course, not only games, the red theme has also been quite popular in the script killing industry in recent years, and it can be said that it is ahead of the game. "Letter with Wife", "Peerless", "Lonely City", "Soldiers Under the City" and other red scripts are all market hits. The reason for its popularity is that some analysts believe that it is not unrelated to the 100th anniversary of the founding of the party in 2021, the people's patriotic sentiment of loving the party is high, and the local governments are planning gift projects.
In fact, the red theme has always been quite marketable, "Bright Sword" broke the rating of 10%, and the total box office of the "Chosin Lake" series of movies of nearly 10 billion yuan is enough to show that the literary and artistic works with red themes can take into account both commercial value and social value.
The game authorities also support the red theme works, and the most effective way to encourage domestic game companies is to issue version numbers.
In March this year, the head of the Publication Bureau of the Central Propaganda Department also said in an exclusive interview with China Press, Publication, Radio and Telegraph that the "Positive Energy Leading Plan for Online Games" should guide and guide the vast number of book, periodical publishing units and online publishing enterprises to "carefully create a number of excellent chinese traditional culture, revolutionary culture, advanced socialist culture, carry forward the core values of socialism, and deepen the publicity and education of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the Chinese dream."
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