Text / Mobile game that little thing The devil touches the cat
More mature, stylized World Building capabilities.
Unknowingly, the public beta of "Phantom Tower" has been online for a year and a half, and the version has also come to 3.0. Interestingly, there is gradually more discussion about "Tower of Fantasy" around me.
Late last year, the game won the Game of the Year award from Unreal Engine and was also nominated for TGA's 2022 Best Mobile Game.
In January this year, "Phantom Tower" partnered with NVIDIA to become the first mobile game products to use DLSS 3 technology. Subsequently, in March, the game successively announced cooperation with brands such as OnePlus mobile phone and Lenovo Savior tablet, and released exclusive ray tracing technology and the first Dolby Atmos sound effect.
In recent days, before and after the update of version 3.0, the unique "Cyber Xiuxian" open world in "Phantom Tower" once brushed major social media platforms, causing a large number of players' attention and discussion.
Looking at a series of awards and achievements, I have to admit that in the past, I seemed to underestimate the strength of "Tower of Fantasy" a little.
In fact, from the earliest Yaxia World, to the highly acclaimed Cybercity, and then to the ecologically complete underwater world, "Phantom Tower" has been exploring the boundaries of categories in its own way, constantly trying various forms of expression of the open world.
The reasons behind its approach are not difficult to understand. Internally, it conforms to its own content development plan and makes different innovations on the basis of the same set of sci-fi styles. Externally, the game should differentiate itself from the existing competitors on the market and take a path of its own.
(Screenshot from in-game scene)
It is precisely because of this that "Tower of Fantasy" will win the recognition and love of core players. Whether it is the 2.0 version of the Vera Desert or the 3.0 National Style Nine Domains, it has helped the game grow all the way to the counterattack and achieve a word-of-mouth turnaround after the controversy of the server.
So, what surprises does the 3.0 version of "Tower of Fantasy" bring to the outside world? And behind the world of "Cyber Xiuxian", what progress and innovation can we see?
01
When "Cyber Cultivation" meets the open world
After the game update yesterday, the most discussed by players is undoubtedly the world map with the style of "Cyber Xiuxian" - "Nine Domains".
To be honest, I was actually a little worried before I actually experienced it. On the one hand, "Cyber Xiuxian" is a very cutting-edge concept, there is no fixed impression label, how to visualize it in the game is a big problem.
On the other hand, it's not easy for open-world products to do stylized innovation. Whether it is the production volume or the gameplay design, it puts forward high requirements for the research and development capabilities of the production team.
But to my surprise, the "Cyber Immortal" open-world experience of "Phantom Tower" this time is quite good, and it can be seen that the production team has put a lot of thought into it.
First of all, the atmosphere shaping part, the game combines the aesthetic elements of oriental architecture with the original sci-fi world view, forming a unique art style.
(Screenshot from in-game scene)
Taking the "Lizhou Capital" as an example, its main body is composed of different buildings such as mountains, the Great Wall, the castle, and the floating boat, and there is a close connection with each other. From it, players can see the decoration of traditional cultural charm, such as Changming Palace lamps, landscape painting screens, etc.;
(Screenshot from in-game scene)
You can also see neon lights, floating buildings, etc., buildings with futuristic sci-fi elements.
(Screenshot from in-game scene)
It should be emphasized that these scenes follow a design principle, that is, "what you see is what you see", they are not simple maps, but each scene has its own unique tasks and content. At the same time, the game also sets up stylized landmarks to guide players to explore.
(Screenshot from in-game scene)
In order to further strengthen the sense of atmosphere in the world of "Cyber Immortals", "Phantom Tower" also draws inspiration from ancient myths such as the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", and designs more than ten kinds of map creatures based on the ancient mythical beasts.
For example, the external image design of the boss "Zhu Wei" is transformed into the description of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" as "its shape is like an ape, and the white head is barefoot". Then, it incorporates the game's sci-fi worldview to give it two different forms, not only spraying molten fire, but also summoning mechanical weapons to fight.
The same design concept is reflected in the character part. Take the recently debuted "Durian", she is wearing a national style cheongsam and tied two ball heads, looking like a big show;
In the actual battle, she wields a huge mechanical brush as a weapon, and there are a large number of "Suzaku" flame effects between moves, which is easy to impress players.
It can be seen that "Phantom Tower" is through the contrast and integration between traditional oriental culture and future technology, so as to give players a strong enough impact at the visual level, and in the most intuitive form, let them feel the core charm of the "Cyber Xiuxian" theme.
Of course, the production team's expression of the subject matter will not only stop at the visual level. As the experience deepened, I found that they were trying to truly integrate the cultural core of "Cyber Xiuxian" into the exploration of the open world.
For example, in the map of the nine domains, the form of opening the map becomes "stargazing platform" and "Suzaku statue". Players need to observe the shape of the stars through the former and activate the corresponding gods to get map information.
Then, players can upgrade the level of the "Suzaku Statue" by collecting domain energy scattered on the area map to unlock more chests and secret realms.
As the level of the gods increases, a new mechanic, the "Star Monument", will appear on the map, which will not only increase the exploration of the surrounding area, but also lead to a rich series of small puzzle gameplay.
These puzzle gameplay is very different. For example, the "Flowing Domain Spring" needs to be attacked by specific elements to unlock; The "Order Lost" is activated in the correct order;
There are also "de-domain calibration" of shooting elements, "domain can find" and so on. The production team used this content to add as much detail as possible to the open world and enrich the gameplay experience.
It is worth mentioning that in order to make the map exploration experience more interesting, "Phantom Tower" can be said to have put a lot of effort into the gameplay of running maps in the past - different weapons, source devices, and vehicles will have different flight attitudes and effects.
For example, Arashi will hold an umbrella when flying; Alice transforms into a dragonfly; Rebilia can glide with her mechanical wings open.
In this nine-domain map, the production team added a new exploration mechanism. The first is to "carry out the fast". Players can walk and run freely on walls and mountains, freeing themselves from the limitations of stamina bars to a certain extent, making the actual exploration experience smoother.
The second is the unique way of moving on the map, such as the maple leaf road linking mountains to mountains; Flying vehicles "Dragon Boat", "Suzaku Wings" ..... Wait a minute.
On the one hand, they can help players achieve long-distance and fast movement, open maps and collect resources more efficiently; On the other hand, it is actually to provide players with a new perspective on the game world, reducing the boring and boring feeling caused by running pictures.
From the designer's point of view, the open world of "Tower of Fantasy" this time has a significant improvement compared to before, both in depth and playability. Among them, I think the biggest feature is a growth gameplay similar to the "cultivation of immortals" experience built into the game.
If the previous open-world exploration gameplay cycle was "open the map - find resources - strengthen the character - fight the boss - the next new map", then this time the nine-domain map is another logic "open the map - find resources - strengthen the character - break through the map level - and then continue to explore the new content unlocked".
Comparing the two, you will find that "Phantom Tower" does not show everything in the map, but will shape a growing process that is constantly getting stronger - and this is just in line with the user's perception of the theme of "cultivating immortals".
Then, in this process, the game gradually unlocks various mechanical content, pulls the playability of a single area map as high as possible, and continues to stimulate the player's desire to explore, so as to establish a stronger positive feedback mechanism.
At the same time, considering that after the major version update, the game may have many returning users or new players who have just entered the pit. Then this step-by-step form of exploration can effectively lower the entry threshold and facilitate them to deeply experience the charm of the "Cyber Immortal" world.
To sum up, whether it is external artistic expression or internal exploration and gameplay, "Phantom Tower" can be said to truly integrate the characteristics and charm of "Cyber Xiuxian" into open world products, creating a unique sense of world atmosphere.
(Screenshot from in-game scene)
To some extent, this also represents that the World Building capabilities of the "Tower of Fantasy" production team are becoming more and more mature.
But then again, there is still some room for improvement in the current version of the game. But I believe that in the future, with the change and improvement of content, we can see a vivid and three-dimensional "Cyber Xiuxian" world appear in "Phantom Tower".
02
Break the dimensional wall
Trying to bring "Cyber Shuxian" to life
As mentioned earlier, "Cyber Immortal" is a relatively new concept for most people, even the first time to understand. Therefore, how to let more user groups recognize the charm of the theme is the focus of "Phantom Tower" at the publicity level. Specifically, its publicity strategy can be divided into the following three forms:
First, the continuous revelation of official news has increased the heat of the topic.
As early as the first exposure at the end of last year, the content about "Nine Domains" and "Cyber Immortals" attracted the attention of many players. Since then, the game has continued to release news, such as character introduction, world view setting, etc., which has aroused widespread discussion.
And the fiery atmosphere continued until the PV version in April this year. Up to now, the number of views of this video on station B has exceeded 1.05 million.
However, what is even more rare is that there are not only memes in the comment area where core players are tirelessly playing the game, but also many messages from peripheral players announcing their return to the pit or entering the pit.
Even some people will take the initiative to reply to the big UP master, trying to help the official matchmaking and talk about cooperation.
At the end of the day, this form of warm-up is not complicated, but the most basic and simple things are often the most effective. Because for two-dimensional products, serving the core user group is the key, and they are often the same people who will always pay attention to the subsequent content development of the game.
Therefore, "Phantom Tower" chose to pass the concept of "cyber immortals" to the original user circle, establish a preliminary cognitive image in the minds of this group of players, stimulate their interest, and then use this as a basis to gradually spread and spread.
Second, cooperate with top KOLs to expand product exposure.
Not long after yesterday's 3.0 version update, the well-known game UP master of station B, Old Tomato, released a video with the theme of "Cyber Xiuxian".
The film cuts into the perspective of "Old Tomato" crossing into the nine-domain world of "Tower of Fantasy", and through the story of "repairing bugs", the game official and the UP master become "terriers" and "terriers", using an intuitive and interesting form to convey the unique charm of the cyber-Xiuxian theme.
Finally, the video profoundly expresses the theme idea of "moderate memes" and further sublimates the theme. In addition to entertainment, it has also triggered discussions among many users.
In addition, many in-game characters appear in the video, such as "Xia Zuo", who is cold-faced and kind-hearted and obeys the rules; For example, the "grenade" who speaks a dialect and persists in selling headphones...
With these impression tags, it's easy to attract interested user groups and then be channeled onto game products to form conversions.
With the unique charm of the cyber-Xiuxian theme, "Phantom Tower" can also attract the attention of some big game anchors, who will take the initiative to broadcast game content, expand the exposure of products, and reach more user groups.
Third, cross-border linkage, focusing on brand effect.
"Phantom Tower" has always attached great importance to cross-border linkage marketing methods, and the objects they choose often have a strong impression label. For example, last year, he collaborated with Science Fiction World magazine and Spirit Cage animation to expand the influence of games among young science fiction groups.
In version 3.0, the game chooses to link with traditional Su embroidery culture, inviting Mr. Yao Jianping, the representative inheritor of Su embroidery of the national intangible cultural heritage project, and Mr. Yao Lan, the young inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage project Su embroidery, to design fashion for the characters.
According to the information currently exposed, this fashion will be a Chinese-style cheongsam, incorporating local cultural elements in Suzhou, such as lotuses, landscape paintings, etc., highlighting the unique aesthetic style of Su embroidery, which not only improves the cultural precipitation of the product, but also strengthens the user's cognitive foundation.
Imagine a beautiful girl character wearing a Chinese-style cheongsam who fights, explores and adventures with machinery in the "light science fiction" game world of "Tower of Fantasy", which obviously gives birth to a cognitive feeling of "cyber cultivation", which is the purpose of the game.
In the end, through the above three ways, on the one hand, "Phantom Tower" will pass the novel concept of "cyber cultivation" to players in different forms, so that people who were not interested in this theme can feel the unique charm of the theme, and then become interested in it and lead it into the game content.
On the other hand, "Tower of Fantasy" shows the characteristics and advantages of the game to the maximum extent to players who are already interested in this theme, and provides them with more memory points. Even though these players may not have played the game yet, the first thing that comes to mind when they think of related topics is Tower of Fantasy. And this invisible brand influence will eventually feed back to the long-term operation of the game.
After talking so much, I believe you can now understand why from 1.0 to 2.0 and now 3.0, "Phantom Tower" can achieve a counterattack in word of mouth and rise all the way.
03
Less than two years
"Tower of Fantasy" has forged a path of its own
So far, "Tower of Fantasy" has been online for a year and a half. I still remember that when it first opened the service, although it had a brilliant result of 500 million in the first month, it also experienced a series of controversies and turmoil.
By the later version 2.0, "Phantom Tower" began to counterattack word-of-mouth, whether it was a desert map containing the structure of the "inner world"; It is also a cybercity that integrates life and entertainment; Or the ecologically complete underwater world, which reflects the increasingly mature content control of the production team.
Then to version 3.0, "Phantom Tower" not only ignited the concept of "cyber cultivation", but also innovatively made it into an open world, once again refreshing the outside world's perception of them. Each of the above changes is almost an iteration and evolution that reshapes itself.
After more than a year of long-term operation, "Tower of Fantasy" can be said to have truly embarked on its own path in the open world category.
It proves that the project team now has a deep technical accumulation and can continue to produce high-quality content. Take the puzzle solving mechanism of the "Nine Domains" map, covering more than a dozen forms such as shooting, chasing, and treasure hunting, each of which is very different.
In addition to the advancement of technology, more importantly, you can see the unique insights of the "Tower of Fantasy" production team on the market, players and even the track.
To be honest, Cyber City, Deep Sea World, Cyber Xiuxian... From the production level, each of the content directions chosen by the game is quite difficult, and even cannot find objects to learn or draw on.
So that most of the time, the production team needs to "cross the river by feeling the stones" and invest more time and labor costs in research and development. However, it is precisely because of this that the content of "Tower of Fantasy" can move players, let players see the determination and sincerity of the production team, and accompany "Tower of Fantasy" all the way further.
I believe that version 3.0 is just another starting point for Tower of Illusions, and they will continue to move forward in the future.