Wen Li Tunmiao
In fact, China's game industry has long lacked the soil for the development of single-player games. An important reason why stand-alone games in the European, American and Japanese markets have been strong is the popularity of game consoles.
The main menu interface of the Game of Three Kingdoms.
In May 2001, at the world's largest E3 game exhibition in Los Angeles, USA, the booth of "Three Kingdoms" attracted many people to watch.
This is a stand-alone game based on Chinese history and culture, developed entirely by the Chinese mainland team, and for the first time appeared at the world's top video game exhibition. After its release in January of that year, "Three Kingdoms" was quickly represented by the international game distribution giant EIDOS, and was brought to the exhibition along with the famous works "Allied Death Squad" and "Tomb Raider" released by EIDOS at the same time.
After the curious crowd dispersed, a slightly blessed middle-aged foreigner still played for more than an hour in front of the demo computer of "Three Kingdoms of Pride". Zhang Chun, the president of the target software of the developer of "Proud Three Kingdoms" who was present, hesitated for half a day and decided to come forward to talk to him.
Zhang Chun originally wanted to explain the gameplay, but the foreigner said no, saying that he was one of the designers of "Age of Empires 2", and felt that the design of "Proud Three Kingdoms" had a lot of special features, and wanted to experience it.
The designer's reaction can basically represent the international game industry's perception of "Three Kingdoms" at that time. "Proud Three Kingdoms" was greatly acclaimed overseas, and the international first-line game media IGN gave it 8 points, and the immortal masterpiece "Diablo 2" released at the same time was only 0.3 points higher than "Proud Three Kingdoms".
Domestic sales number one in several weeks, released in Japan at the end of 2001, "Proud of the Three Kingdoms" once won the sales week champion. It has since been translated into 16 languages, distributed in more than 60 countries and regions, and sold 600,000 retail versions worldwide.
At the end of that year, "Three Kingdoms" was selected as one of the top 100 games in the global game charts. Whether it is sales or international influence, this record has not been matched by a domestic game in the following decade or so.
In the first year of the new century, China's single-player games ushered in the best moments, and they are about to usher in the worst era.
Pan
The game interface of "Proud Three Kingdoms: Three Points of the World".
In the field of real-time strategy games, "Three Kingdoms" pioneered the introduction of a physical strength system, and the combat effectiveness of hungry soldiers was greatly weakened. The dual map design inside and outside the city further expands the space for siege warfare. Weapon props with historical characteristics, such as Kong Ming lanterns and catapults, also greatly enrich the gameplay.
Three Kingdoms is also the first real-time strategy game to deeply develop the skills of warriors or heroes. The rational use of warriors and their skills has become an important part of the battle, and at this point, even the famous "Warcraft 3: Rule of Chaos" is a latecomer.
Just as "Three Kingdoms of Pride" returned from the E3 exhibition, another blockbuster work of the target software, "Qin Yan", has also been developed more than halfway through. At this time, the target software may not have noticed the online game "Legend", which began public beta at the end of September 2001.
As an online game developed by South Korea, "Legends" is common in terms of market performance in South Korea and the quality and playability of the game itself, but when "Legends" began to charge two months later, the number of people online exceeded 100,000 at the same time. By the time "Qin Yan" was released the following year, the number of people online at the same time exceeded 600,000.
Set against the backdrop of the history of the Qin Dynasty, "Qin Yan" assumes that Fu Su, the eldest son of Qin Shi Huang, who was given death in history, committed suicide in disobedience and embarked on an adventure to prove his innocence.
Zhang Chun later said in an interview with "Volkswagen Software" that the target single-player game research and development cycle is 2-3 years, the research and development promotion cost is about 3 million yuan, the domestic and foreign revenues add up to 3.5 million yuan, and the usual expenditure is basically to dismantle the east wall to make up for the west wall, "If "Qin Yan" did not survive the test of the market, the goal would be over."
Although "Qin Yan" was a hit, the pirated version also quickly spread to the order of millions of sets, and the commercial revenue could not get the target software out of the predicament.
In order to maximize the revenue of Qin Yan, the target software decided to make it an online game. Half a year after the release of "Qin Yan", the online game "Tianjiao Qin Yan World" remodeled by "Qin Yan" was launched for public beta, and 20 days after the public beta, the number of people online of "Tianjiao Qin Yan World" reached 40,700 people at the same time. Although it has not been able to compare with the user scale of "Legend", according to Liu Yubin, "the project is quite profitable."
As a role-playing game, "Qin Yan" is very suitable for use as an online game theme, and at the beginning, it imitated "Diablo 2" to make a battle net, and on this basis, the modification and adjustment of online games was relatively smooth.
The target software tasted the sweetness of the online game at the first time, and this sweetness also directly disrupted the original plan of the target software: when it was found that the online game could not only resist piracy, but also have a relatively rich return on economic benefits, Zhang Chun was determined to transform the "Proud Three Kingdoms 2" that was being developed at that time into an online game.
Liu Yubin, who had participated in the projects of "Proud Three Kingdoms" and "Qin Yan", had serious differences with Zhang Chun in this regard. In Liu Yubin's view, "Proud Three Kingdoms 2" has been developed more than halfway, if zhang Chun imagines hard from a real-time strategy game to a role-playing online game, it will inevitably hurt the bones. However, Zhang Chun did not give himself the opportunity to regret it - before "Proud Online" began to move, the target software announced that it had signed a contract with Lianbang Software to operate jointly.
Subsequently, the stand-alone game production line of the target software was fully compressed. Halfway through the development of "Qin Yan 2", the project was changed to an expansion pack called "Qin Yan: Resurrection", for which the project team had to fully compress the content. "Qin Yan: Resurrection" was hastily released in January 2004, and the obvious shrinkage of the content and traces of rush work have caused a large number of bad reviews from players.
And "Qin Yan: Resurrection" also became the last stand-alone game released by the target software.
Zhang Chunli's transformation masterpiece "Proud Online", which did not hesitate to cut "Proud Three Kingdoms 2" and was also on the horse, was finally released in early 2006, and its reputation and revenue were far lower than expected. In the early days of the game's release, it was even blacklisted by the Ministry of Culture because of the "bounty system" in the game. At the same time, a large number of online game players are being attracted by a new rise of online games, that is, the world's first in-app paid model of "Journey".
Screenshot of Proud Online. Perhaps to this day, no game company dares to say that a real-time strategy game that has developed most of the time has been directly changed to a role-playing online game. But revenue pressure eventually forced the target software to gamble.
For the target software that has been renamed "Target Online" at this time, there is no "then": they voluntarily quit the single-player game industry; the failure of "Proud Online" has made them further fade out of the mainstream online games and never return.
Liu Yubin, who left his job as early as April 2003, did not have a good time after joining pixel software.
Pixel Software's first game, Sword Seal, could have been a product of the target software. As early as the development stage of "Qin Yan", Liu Yubin, Liu Kun, Liu Yan and several other colleagues in the project team, because of a sudden whim, together made a role-playing game template that integrated fighting elements in their spare time, which was the prototype of the later "Sword Sealing Magic Record". This prototype Liu Yubin and others showed zhang Chun, but it was not affirmed, and directly led to the departure of Liu Kun, Liu Yan and other main creators of "Qin Yan" to leave and start a business.
Now it seems that "Sword sealing magic record" is also one of the top domestic games in that era, and the gameplay innovation has also gained a good reputation at home and abroad. However, at the beginning of the release of this game, foreign media have noticed that the second half of the game is very repetitive. The game creators don't deny this, because there is no money.
It is not difficult to see the continuity between "Sword Sealing Demon Record" and "Qin Yan", but "Sword Sealing Magic Record" has made a commendable breakthrough in combat experience.
Liu Yubin recalled that at the beginning of the sale, the number of pirated copies of "Sword Sealing Magic Record" quickly rolled to tens of millions of sets, and the genuine version may have only sold 20,000 sets, and all the money earned was used to pay wages.
Pixel had to make money through various channels, and once followed the "Popular Software" to release a "low-cost genuine". In addition, Pixel also rushed to make an expansion pack that was scolded to the point of bloodshed, "Sword Sealing Demon Record Ancient Legend".
When Liu Yubin joined Pixel Software, the whole team had already established the policy of online game "Sword Sealing Magic Record". "Although there were only 8 people at that time, I felt that I still wanted to do online games, because in a short period of time, we could not resist piracy, we could not resist risks, and we could only transfer online games."
In July 2004, Sohu announced that it was the agent of "Sword Online", and since then, pixel software has not produced a single-player game.
Single-player games are indispensable
In 2018, China became the world's largest gaming market, but the world's largest market share is created almost entirely by online games.
Wang Yahui, author of "China Game Storm", said that on the ability to make money, China's online games have become unique in the world. The online game companies and products that have been tapped out of the Chinese market have also shown extremely strong combat effectiveness in recent years.
Previously, due to relevant domestic policy adjustments, the release of game version numbers was suspended for a while, forcing many domestic online game companies to enter overseas. A person from a Korean game company complained to Wang Yahui in 2019: "Why does the Chinese government restrict the game version number, resulting in Chinese companies not being able to do it in their own country, running to South Korea, making Korean companies unable to survive." ”
In China, online games are very lucrative, no doubt. But a new generation of game practitioners still believe that single-player games, especially AAA -- (long-term development, high-quality, high-investment works) masterpieces, have always been a hurdle that Chinese manufacturers can't escape. Bruce Yan, game developer of Tencent's game studio NExT Studios and master planner of Metal Showdown, believes that the technological and gameplay breakthroughs that stand-alone games can bring are indispensable for the development of the game industry.
Single-player games and online games offer different gaming experiences, and there is no distinction between high and low. However, relatively speaking, due to the different nature of products, AAA-level works that represent the top technology and the richest gameplay in the game industry mostly appear in the single-player game category.
Liu Yubin believes that stand-alone and online games face different game needs, but online games are often prone to more restrictions. "It is multiplayer, a lot of people, resource consumption is very large, then the game must reduce the quality, to ensure that the server will not be stuck when playing, the operation will not appear obstacles." Compared with the picture quality and details, online games are definitely lagging behind the single machine. On the other hand, most of the online games do interactive gameplay, but the single machine can make more diverse gameplay, can deepen the experience, do not have to worry about whether multiple players will not be able to run. Therefore, from the perspective of gameplay or uniqueness, the single machine is one position ahead of online games. ”
Bruce Yan also pointed out that in single-player games, players can only interact with the game scene, and if they want to create a better experience, game developers must spend a lot of thought on the details, which will inevitably bring higher costs and difficulties.
Bruce Yan believes that only by mastering this technical standard and process of doing 3A can we better reduce dimensions. "It's like why Huawei wants to make chips, to impact the highest technology." NExT Studios also has some works developed with Unreal Engine, and major European and American manufacturers generally use Unreal Engine to develop AAA masterpieces. If we can eat this engine through, it can also feed back to other projects. Therefore, AAA works must be won for game developers. ”
In Liu Yubin's view, China's game industry actually lacks the soil for the development of stand-alone games for a long time, "doing computer stand-alone games, it is bound to be squeezed by piracy, as soon as online games come out, players begin to pay on it, and the attention and resources of manufacturers will turn to online games." An important reason why stand-alone games in the European, American and Japanese markets have been strong is the popularity of game consoles.
God of War, Wanda and the Colossus, Silent Hill, Final Fantasy and other masterpieces in game history have all been exclusive to PS2 consoles.
With the benefits of selling machines and exclusive games, as well as stronger anti-piracy capabilities, game consoles have supported a relatively benign market for stand-alone games in Europe, the United States and Japan. However, due to the serious negative evaluation of video games by domestic public opinion in the early years, and the complete ban on game consoles after the joint release of the "Opinions on the Special Governance of Electronic Game Business Sites" jointly issued by six ministries and commissions in 2000, game consoles were not unblocked until 2014 because of the establishment of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone.
The prospects are unknown
As far as today's domestic game development teams are concerned, they are more selective in the small-cost, well-made independent game mode, and begin to take the steps of stand-alone game development. The gradually mature Chinese game practitioners and player groups are also more and more actively looking forward to the advent of domestic AAA masterpieces.
On August 20, 2020, the demo video of "Black Myth: Wukong" was released, and public opinion was shaken. The video is exciting for professionals like Bruce Yan: "It does achieve a lot of AAA effects, and the layman may seem nothing, but the industry knows it's a difficult technology to achieve." So the demonstration of "Black Myth: Wukong" really gave us a lot of confidence, indicating that China is also capable of achieving this top effect. ”
However, to do AAA works, the threshold in the true sense is not only technology.
Bruce Yan said that making AAA games is a coordinated project, not only to rely on their own technology, but also to learn to cooperate across borders and regions. "For example, if you make a map, you may need a dozen or twenty art to complete together, the team in the United States to do the east, the team in China or Japan to do the west, after the map is made, how to accept it, whether the quality of the model of the building is in line with the conceptual design of the map, whether it meets the design requirements of the gameplay, this requires a set of standards and processes, and there will be a lot of pits to step on in the middle."
With the development of the market and the popularity of digital publishing platforms such as Steam, domestic stand-alone games that have been missing for more than a decade are also ushering in a slow recovery. The problem of piracy persists, but it is no longer as good as it used to be to destroy a promising work. The game portals that undertake most of the stand-alone game cracking and piracy dissemination in China have also washed their hands and landed.
In February 2016, the director of the famous domestic game cracking information website 3DM announced on Weibo that he would no longer crack any stand-alone games after the year.
The anchor "Queen Salt", who has been paying attention to domestic stand-alone games, has a deep feeling about this, whether from the awareness of fans, or the quantity and quality of domestic stand-alone games, there has been significant progress in recent years. Domestic stand-alone game masterpieces such as "Taiwu Painted Scroll", "Chinese-style Parents", "Ghost Valley Eight Wilds", and "Dyson Ball Project" have emerged one after another, and have gained considerable word of mouth and revenue at home and abroad.
However, domestic stand-alone games with word-of-mouth and market double harvest are still rare, even if studios like NExT Studios have the blessing of large factories, the development strength is called domestic first-class, and it is not easy to do it and be popular.
Jin Di, head of domestic distribution of "Metal Showdown", revealed: "We have contacted many small teams in China and will find that everyone is not in a very good situation. After all, if it is released, the platform must take away a part of the money, followed by a share with the publisher, share the cost of publicity, plus tax deductions, discount activities, etc. There are very limited things that can reach developers. ”
Bruce Yan felt that this might allow the game to reach as large a player base as possible, "Today, if a work wants to break the circle, it must play some player groups that may have a lower consumption level or not so core, and the first thing they have to face is the price problem."
The development team of the single-player fighting game Metal Showdown is full of deep loyal players of hardcore fighting games.
But Bruce Yan is still optimistic about the future of domestic single-player games: "Although it may not have reached the atmosphere of foreign players, we can personally feel the development and progress of the domestic environment, we are confident, but it will take some time." ”
In fact, the "landlord's" family had no surplus grain. At present, the international first-line single-player game manufacturers are also facing different degrees of revenue pressure.
"Queen Salt" feels that this is not surprising: "Ten years ago, in the PS3 era, a console exclusive game has been more than 300 yuan, and now, a physical disk is still more than 300 yuan, some sell to more than 400 yuan, and the price increase can not catch up with inflation at all." ”
Game development costs are rising. Grand Theft Auto 5, released in 2013, cost $260 million to develop. It is not uncommon for european and American game manufacturers to develop hundreds of millions of dollars, but no manufacturer dares to openly double the price of the work. Wang Yahui found that the price of games in the European, American and Japanese markets seems to have been hovering around the dead line of $59, and occasionally someone crosses the line, but does not cross the thunder pool too much.
The success of "Grand Theft Auto 5" is also unattainable, and the content industry never says that spending money with heart will definitely be rewarded. And due to the limitations of the subject matter, the possibility of works such as "Grand Theft Auto 5" appearing in China is almost zero.
So since 2017, first-line stand-alone game masterpieces have continued to open up revenue channels by adding networked content and additionally selling expansion packs, expansion packs, in-game props, etc. The EA that initially tested the waters was attacked by a group of players, but once someone started to dry, more and more people followed.
Obviously, the sky-high investment is still a distant annoyance for the current domestic stand-alone game developers. Even if the environment has improved significantly compared with the past, China has representative domestic AAA works and first-class stand-alone game developers in the future, and how to ensure that the works are good enough will become a new issue.
Today's single-player game practitioners may no longer have to face the cruel environment of the target or pixel of the year, but their future is still full of uncertainty.