On the first day of the 2022 N.GAME NetEase Game Developer Summit held on April 18, The president of Mingyue Studios and the chief producer of the "Rulong" and "Eye of Judgment" series, Name Yue Minoru, conducted an online experience sharing. This is also the first time that Nagoshi Studio has officially "met" with domestic game developers since the establishment of Nagoshi Studio at the end of January 2022.
With the title of "How Games with Cultural Characteristics Break Into the Global Market", Minoru Nagoshi shared his production concept and innovation process on the "Like Dragon" series, how the game plot is integrated with the gameplay, and his understanding of globalization and future prospects.
This article excerpts from the sharing content of "Understanding Globalization and Prospects for the Future" and organizes it:
I think the progress of the times is always marked by the progress of science and technology, just like the PlayStation series from the PS, PS2, PS3, PS4 to the latest PS5. Technological progress means progress in "numbers", but also progress in "speed".
For example, action-adventure games of the past were bound to load cutscenes when they needed to switch battles. This load time is now getting shorter and shorter, even to the point of being seamless. Playing more and more smoothly, the sense of immersion is getting stronger and stronger, and the touch can be conveyed to the user more smoothly. In general, technological advances not only make the game smoother, but also allow the game to continue to convey emotions.
The same is true for VR and AR, where the device itself doesn't move the player. Therefore, what really tests our creativity is how to use these devices and what kind of ways or means to make users feel moved.
I'm very, very interested in all kinds of technologies, and I'm also interested in them. I'm happy that hardware is constantly evolving, device options are increasing, and infrastructure like the metaversity is really pleasing to me, but I don't think these alone will make users feel satisfied. What else can we do on top of these devices to start with after figuring out your goals, I've been thinking about it this way.
Because we're Japanese... Set up a studio in Japan to make games. For us, the games we make are global, and that won't change, but more importantly, we want to be emotional at all times. In essence, the need for "entertainment" is common in all countries in the world, but to be honest, whether it is European and American comics or movies, I will not imitate them.
One of the advantages of Japanese games is that they are "elaborately crafted". I'm not saying that overseas games are rough, but Japanese games have a feeling of shouldering the spirit of craftsmanship, so exquisite to every detail to make the game, so I think Japanese games are very good.
Of course, there will be no such simple thing as "if you do a careful job, you can grow sales". I hope that this care can be effectively conveyed to the user's heart, so that the user feels that we are doing a good job, so that they can be moved. Especially as a producer, from the sales level, you must ensure that this care can be rewarded.
Today's gaming user base includes not only teenagers and adults, but even those in their 50s and 60s who are starting to play games on their smartphones. The gaming population is really growing, and any game from a commercial point of view wants to expand its audience, but I think it's still a bit too greedy. For example, a work proposes a very interesting concept, in fact, the number of users who can accept this fun is limited, if you can meet these users to the greatest extent, then there will be the next version or even the next version, and the number of users will increase. In short, it is to expand the content step by step, and eventually gain a very wide range of users. Developing the fan base in this down-to-earth manner and slowly catching fire is the best "shortcut" for me.
"Only this can be done, and the only way to sweep the world is to use this method", this kind of good thing I think does not exist. If you want to keep up with the trend, you need to do proper research, and invite people who know the target culture to join the team, and then everyone works together to fight, which I think is very important. On the other hand, if you want to participate in the market competition with the originality and uniqueness of the product, then you need people who are confident that they can make such content, and confidently use the best form of expression to complete this content. I think it is roughly divided into these two roads. If it were me, I would choose to decide with content that is highly original and unique, and eventually this may become the style of our studio.
Overall, our studio now wants to make future games based on the premise of challenging globalization. I've said before that this road is difficult, in other words, I am also determined to challenge globalization again before joining NetEase Games, so I will definitely fulfill my promise.