Compared with the Japanese and American game industry, although the domestic development is relatively slow, and only in recent years has it emerged in the world with mobile games, but in the era of difficult development of single-player games 20 years ago, domestic game manufacturers have also created a variety of far-reaching domestic games.
Among many domestic game manufacturers, the performance of Daewoo Information is even more eye-catching. It is hard to imagine that "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" and "Xuanyuan Sword", which once opened up the unique martial arts feelings of Chinese players, are now called the "two swords" of the "three domestic swords", both from Daewoo Information.
Of course, there are many players who have another unique feeling for Daewoo Information, that is, its other IP "Monopoly" series, which has built a platform for players to have fun with friends.
In addition to RPGs and Monopoly, Daewoo Information has also made great achievements in business simulation games. Speaking of which, some people may mistakenly think that what is going to be introduced today is the Gaiden game "Fairy Sword Inn" of Immortal Sword.
However, before the launch of "Sword Inn", Daewoo Information launched a simulation business simulation game "Star Volunteer" with the theme of star agencies as early as 1995.
Pioneering management + love cultivation
Unlike mainstream business simulation games, players in Star Volunteer do not control the company's business from the perspective of God, but create a brokerage company as a male agent.
Therefore, don't think that as soon as the recruitment announcement is released, someone will apply, and players need to travel through various scenes in the game to trigger various special events in order to meet amateurs and sign them.
In this game, players can sign up to 3 artists, and improve the artist's attributes (singing art, confidence, demeanor, etc.) within the 3-year period specified by the system, and then take on various jobs such as advertising, TV shows, movie shooting, etc. in the real entertainment industry, and finally package them as big stars.
The most special thing about the original "Star Volunteer" is that the game has multiple endings, and the ending does not depend only on the operation of the brokerage company.
In the plot, the reason why the male protagonist established an agency company is mainly because the male protagonist accidentally met his high school crush Zhou Yingtong in the Su Court, and only after being moved by her singing did he decide to establish a company to complete his star dream.
Therefore, players in the game can continue to improve their relationship with Zhou Yingtong, such as sending her flowers, holding concerts for her, and so on. When the love value reaches a certain level, he can marry Zhou Yingtong.
Unfortunately, due to the limited capacity of the original DOS version, Daewoo did not allocate too many resources to the emotional plot, so on the whole, the original "Star Volunteer" is still a more orthodox simulation management game, and the love element is more like an embellishment.
However, it was "Star Volunteer" that successfully took the first step of simulation management + love cultivation, which laid the foundation for the sequel.
A second-generation sequel aimed entirely at female gamers
Three years after the original release, Daewoo Information released the sequel to the series "Star Volunteer 2".
Perhaps it is observed that the original love elements are quite popular, or it may also be influenced by the trend of Japanese otome to the rise of games. Whatever the reason, the protagonists and gameplay in the second generation have changed drastically. Of course, with the advancement of graphics technology, the second generation has also ushered in more exquisite character standing paintings.
In "Star Volunteer 2", the player no longer plays a star agent, but becomes a fledgling art school student Fang Ruoqi, who has emerged step by step in the entertainment industry to become a big star.
Therefore, the simulation business elements of the second generation have been weakened a lot, and players only need to focus on the growth of the protagonist, and the experience is more like an independent artist in reality, without joining any brokerage company, relying on their own negotiation and self-training.
Although the simulation business element is sacrificed, the work is far better than the original in terms of the number of players and word of mouth, because the plot has been significantly expanded.
Same as the original generation, players can also grasp career and love in "Star Volunteer 2", and players will also meet various artists and 4 playable male protagonists with their own characteristics when moving to various work locations.
Players can focus on a sweetheart, date him for Christmas, and gradually cultivate relationships. It can also be a courtesan and capture the hearts of multiple men at the same time.
It is worth mentioning that two years after the release of the work, Daewoo also launched the male protagonist version of "Star Volunteer 2000". The player plays the role of the lead singer of a band that has just been disbanded by a record label.
The work is not so much a sequel as a sister work of "Star Volunteer 2", after all, the gameplay and process are basically the same, and players are also working part-time to maintain their lives, while improving their various strengths, and finally gradually emerging in the entertainment industry.
The ending of "Star Volunteer 2000" is also similar to "Star Volunteer 2", which can achieve a variety of endings such as well-known influences and singers in his career, and emotionally can be associated with different female characters, including the protagonist Fang Ruoqi in "Star Volunteer 2".
"Star Volunteer 3" can be called a masterpiece
5 years after the release of "Star Volunteer 2000", the orthodox sequel "Star Volunteer 3" is belated. The work does not continue the previous generation of personal entertainment industry development and love cultivation model, but returns to the model of the original generation of playing agents to establish an agency company.
However, Daewoo Information's move not only did not cause bad reviews from fans of the previous game, but made "Star Volunteer 3" the masterpiece of the series.
The reason why it is called "Ji Dacheng" is also very simple, the original simulation business model gameplay is all there, and it is richer, such as not seeking others, relying on their own company investment to start filming film and television dramas.
The well-received relationship line of the 2nd generation has been further expanded in the 3rd generation, and the male protagonist can not only attack many female characters, but also match other artists that month. The craziest thing is that the plot also adds a BL bridge, and the male protagonist can even raid male characters...
The most important thing is that Daewoo does not rigidly stuff these emotional lines into the game, but provides enough plot foreshadowing for these emotional lines, making the character's emotional development more logical, without making people feel like the 2nd generation, "Why did you suddenly confess?" ”
Among them, the most impressive for players must be Xiao Yili, a sick and weak girl like Jilin's sister. In order to achieve Happy Ending, players kept reading files to find a way to save her life, but they didn't expect that it would take two weeks to bring her back to life.
epilogue
After the release of the DLC of "Star Volunteer 3", although fans are waiting hard for the arrival of "Star Volunteer 4", there is still no news even in 2023, and even the "spiritual sequel" of similar products has not been born, which is really regrettable.