Text / Mobile game that little thing envy fish
The first time I heard about "The Essence of Things" was in 2020. At that time, it was also called "Lai Gu Mi Xin", and players were eagerly awaiting to see this unique mobile game of "artifact anthropomorphism x two-dimensional".
(Test poster from the period of "Coming to the Ancient Past")
But as the general environment tightens, players can only wait. After disappearing for a long time, "Nothing is New" finally received its edition number in January 2024.
(Edition: Greeting)
The pre-order of 300w, the top of the TapTap pre-entry list, proves that players have not forgotten this game.
On the day of Gu Yu (April 19), "Wuhua Mixin", which had been held back for 4 years, ushered in its own public beta. After its launch, the game reached the top 2 and top 22 best-selling iOS games, and the number of registrations exceeded one million.
(Millions of users registered)
This group of gamers who want to do "cultural relics anthropomorphism + Chinese culture" has finally ushered in the dawn. So, can this product bring a traditional cultural boom in the domestic second-tour track? I think it has such potential.
01
Wargames for casual players
At first glance, it sounds like the game's wargame gameplay may dissuade many players. Because for a long time, war chess has been synonymous with hardcore, with a high degree of difficulty.
I thought that the war chess system of "Wuhua Mi Xin" was also like other war chess mobile games, with a high threshold for getting started. But in the process of playing, I found that it is not so hardcore, which is perfect for playing in my spare time.
Why?
First of all, although "Materiality and Innovation" adopts the war chess mode, it has a certain strategic depth. However, it has simplified the framework of war chess, reduced complex mechanisms, and most of the chess pieces are simple attribute restraint, which is suitable for players who are less exposed to war chess games.
(Boto screen)
The game is currently divided into 5 classes, and you can win battles by defeating all of them. The duration of a single game is relatively short, and in most cases it can be solved in 3-5 minutes, and there will be no games of more than 10 minutes in traditional war chess, fully taking into account the fragmented play time of players.
(The 5 major occupations of "Nothing is New")
Second, the auto-combat of "Nothing New" has been tested and optimized many times, and after combining with attribute bonuses, it has reached a level where players can watch videos with confidence.
The production team carefully adjusted the values of the level. There is a reasonable difficulty curve between the levels, players can clearly see the impact of numerical changes on the actual combat, and the pace of the game is simple and fast.
In addition, the production team also optimized the problem of automatic battle pause and lag caused by split screen and small window when the game is running, so that players can watch the battle while watching other applications.
(Combat Optimization)
Thirdly, players can obtain resources in "Nothing Renewed" relatively easily, and can develop their favorite characters at a relaxed pace, without spending a lot of time researching tactical strategies and opening up difficult resource books.
(Robot Upgrade Material)
Moreover, the monster design of "Nothing is New" is also very distinctive. Unlike many war games, the production team designed a variety of monster images and attack characteristics to eliminate players' aesthetic fatigue as much as possible.
(Boss battle screen)
Not only is it limited to optimizing the combat system, the production team also added a new gameplay system "Dunshe" during the open beta - in fact, it is a common furniture gameplay in the game, players can collect their favorite furniture and decorations to decorate this small home with the crafter.
(Introducing Donshe)
It can be seen that "Wuhua Mixin" has absorbed the advantages of some excellent second games on the market, and made further simplifications on the basis of the mature war chess framework in the market, trying to reduce the burden on players and make them have a good performance in gameplay.
However, in addition to having a certain degree of gameplay, today's second game must also have an excellent art style and content expression, and this is what attracts me the most about "Things".
02
It integrates popular science and cultural creativity
Chinese culture has a long and lasting history, and as a Chinese, I am proud of our long history. Antiquities are the witnesses of this magnificent history, as the project team of "Nothing is New" once said: a thing, some people, an era, the story behind the cultural relics is from ancient history.
As the first national treasure cultural relics anthropomorphic two-dimensional mobile game in China, its antique theme is liked by many people. But in addition to the subject matter, players pay more attention to the expression of the content after gamification. So, did the project team succeed in integrating the cultural relics theme into the game?
I think they were successful.
First of all, in terms of plot and world view, "Nothing is New" chooses to place the story in a modern society.
After various antiquities produce souls and materialize, they are called instrumentals. Players take on the role of a collector of the Wintervalley Foundation, helping the Artifacts integrate into modern society, undo their influence, and work with the Artifacts to fight the legendary monster "Misinterpretation".
(About the Wintervalley Foundation)
(Misinterpretation)
As players play, those who can see the machine will also make some ridiculous daily routines. For example, "Wu Wangfu Cha Spear" said to "Yue Wang Gou Jian Sword": "I am not famous, but I am poorly preserved", and "Yue Wang Gou Jian Sword" retorted: "My father won your father." Unfamiliar with knowledge outside the court, the "Golden Ou Permanent Cup" will quietly tell the collector a secret: wheat actually grows on trees.
(Wu Wangfu sent a spear and Yue Wang Goujian sword dialogue)
(The casual action of the Golden Ou Permanent Cup)
In addition, as a two-dimensional mobile game, the style and quality of art are the focus of players' attention. Therefore, how to balance the expression of "historical relics" and "beautiful girls" in game design is undoubtedly a big challenge. In this regard, "Materiality and Beauty" can be regarded as giving a satisfactory answer.
In terms of artistic expression, "Nothing is New" chooses a retro style, emphasizing its warm tones in color. Every stroke, every line, is so concise and delicate, so that players can more easily distinguish the characteristics of these characters, and at the same time can experience the simplest beauty.
Specific to the character painting, such as the national treasure-level cultural relics - Mawangdui No. 1 Han Tomb T-shaped silk painting, the elements around her artifact such as the cicada, golden crow, fairy bird, flying dragon and other elements all imitate the shape of the original, and the artifact itself looks rich and luxurious, solemn and elegant against the background of the most representative red and brown background of Chu and Han art.
(PV of the T-type silk painting)
Another example is the figurative vessel made of the "Qing Yongzheng Jingdezhen Kiln Pastel Bat Peach Pattern Vase", which is elegant and demure, with a beautiful posture. As clear as the glazed bottle is her character – delicate and considerate. The peach elephant and bat patterns in the original bottle also bring her a quiet and peaceful temperament. Gentle and elegant, she wants to be a strong supporter when she gets things done with others.
(Portrait of a manta vase)
In addition to the meticulous and unique style, the production team's attention to detail of the characters has also reached a strict level.
For example, the jacket of the "Yue Wang Goujian Sword" is lined with the same diamond-shaped dark pattern as the sword itself, and the chest is inscribed with a bird's seal, and the "Tang Grape Flower and Bird Pattern Silver Sachet" has all the patterns on the skirt of the vessel reproduced according to the flower and bird patterns in the original.
(Yue Wang Goujian Sword)
In addition, the CV of "The Essence of Things" is also very careful, according to the origin and collection of each cultural relic, combined with the local language for dubbing.
For example, the "Mayan Pottery Bowl" uses a Spanish dubbing, and the "Golden Lacquered Wood Carved Shrine" at the Guangdong Museum has a wide voiceover. These voices with dialect elements are not only close to the anthropomorphic setting of the artifact, but also make the player feel relatable.
(Ryu Okami)
In addition to the brilliant character paintings, the music production of "Nothing is New" is undoubtedly the top level in the industry. Its BGM is played with a large number of classical Chinese instruments such as guzheng, dulcimer, and gourd silk, and is supplemented by modern musical instruments. The overall style of the game is cheerful and bright, allowing players to immerse themselves in the game involuntarily.
At the same time, the game also produced a number of impression songs, which were created by the well-known music producer Yan Dongwei, so that players have a deeper impression of the characteristics of different regions. As soon as the prelude to the South China Impression Song sounds, people seem to feel the summer sea breeze and smell the salty seawater.
"Link" (South China Impression Song - "Eternal Summer Blue Sea")
And the impression song of North China gives people a completely different feeling.
(Netizens' evaluation of North China Impression Song - "Shadow Wall Streamer")
Sun Shoushan, Chairman of the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association, said, "As the various attributes of the game industry continue to be stimulated, entertainment is no longer its unique attribute, and its cultural attributes have become the key driving force for the development of the game industry. ”
In my opinion, the goal of the production team of "Nothing is New" is not to achieve dazzling commercial results in the game, but to focus more on integrating traditional Chinese culture with modern games to create a rich cultural atmosphere.
The emergence of "Something Beautiful" is undoubtedly a good demonstration of combining traditional Chinese culture with two-dimensional games, and it is also an effective way for mobile game players to understand cultural knowledge and strengthen cultural self-confidence.
03
Efforts outside of the game
Seeing this, we will find that the theme, art, and character design of "Materiality" have a unique temperament. In today's mobile game market, a two-dimensional mobile game of such quality is rare, which may be one of the reasons why players are willing to wait for it for so long.
But if you want to gain a foothold in the highly competitive second-game market, game content alone may not be enough. Outside of the game content, how did the project team do?
From what I've observed, they have always maintained a good communication with the players and have built a good relationship of trust.
For example, as early as the beta stage, the production team actively listened to players' suggestions (such as low physical limit and slow recovery, etc.) and quickly made corresponding solutions, and further optimized more areas that could improve the experience: adding a sweep function, implementing a repentance function, etc. The addition of these practical systems makes players feel the intentions of the official.
(Some of the completed optimization schemes)
At the same time, the production team generously gave the server opening benefits, and also optimized the card pool system criticized by players, and adjusted the withdrawal probability of the UP pool and the ordinary pool, making it easier for players to get the characters they wanted.
(Direct Forward 10)
Even in the days of waiting for the version number, the production team continued to operate its own Weibo and TapTap accounts to maintain communication with players. Every 24 solar terms, they will make a beautiful Q version of the greeting picture to remind players of the arrival of the solar terms.
(2023 Winter Solstice Greeting)
The production team will also organize frequent comic exhibitions to respond to players' expectations in another way.
(2023 Chengdu CD26)
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In addition, "Nothing is New" also actively links with historical UP masters, sorts out the information of national treasures, and promotes them in the form of popular science videos, so that players can not only know the anthropomorphic characters in the game, but also truly understand the past and present lives of national treasures and cultural relics in real life.
(Partial list of linkage videos)
For example, the tablet video linked with the UP master "ancient cat". The inscription that reads "Don't come again, nonsense" reflects the state of mind of the literati of the Ming Dynasty who mourned more than died. These interesting linkages have enhanced the popularity of the game among cultural and museum enthusiasts and expanded the game's audience.
(Nonsense monument in the Topping Terrace Park in Qi County, Henan Province)
Valuing players' opinions, maintaining the atmosphere of the community, and operating social media are all to let players see the official "sincerity" and let players see the positive side of the game.
This strategy has won the hearts of players. It is this love that gives "Wuhua Mi Xin" the confidence to gain a firm foothold in the second-game market.
04
epilogue
Admittedly, we can see some immaturity in the gameplay design of "Thing and Beauty", such as the excessive intensity of monsters in the beta version, and the unreasonable rewards set by hidden challenges.
(Question that has been optimized)
But in general, "Nothing is New" is still flawed, with excellent and unique art design, exquisite character paintings, colorful and durable background music, and active operation, so that it can occupy a certain position in the fiercely competitive second-game market.
We don't know whether "Wuhua Mi Xin" will be able to continue the popularity of the server in the future, but as the first cultural relics anthropomorphic game in China, the production team is willing to choose the mode of war chess, and is also willing to focus more on popular science, cultural creativity and other aspects, and firmly follow the path of combining culture and games. They are undoubtedly fearless, determined, and full of conviction.
But then again, there are bound to be many difficulties when it comes to bringing this type of content to such a large and complex market and user base in China. I hope that "Something Beautiful" can find a group of people who can appreciate it and go further on the road in the future.