If you want to talk about the whole work outside the game, you have to look at NetEase.
If you are a fan of the IP of "Octopath Traveler" like Gyro, you should not miss the news of the launch of the national server of "Octopath Traveler: Overlord of the Mainland" (hereinafter referred to as "Overlord of the Continent") represented by NetEase today.
During this period, the mobile game market was full of new products, whether it was the marketing advertisements or linkage promotions of many new games, and the competition for users' attention between products was also extremely fierce. However, under the ancestral craftsmanship of the NetEase national service team, "The Overlord of the Mainland" still has a sense of presence in the player circle with a linkage choice of "it's weird, I want to take another look".
On the occasion of the launch, "The Overlord of the Mainland" first released the "Octagon Sponsorship" ("Octopath Traveler" is also translated as "Octagon Traveler"), with members including "T3 Travel", "Spring Airlines", "Nanfu Battery", "Overlord Shampoo" and so on. To be honest, none of these cooperative brands can be guessed by Gyro.
And players also gave sharp comments on this.
Then, the official invited the well-known music area Up master to perform the game theme song and a number of popular music BGM with ghost animal modeling and suona.
also received sharp comments from the audience.
In fact, today, the slowdown in user growth in the game industry is not new, and the pursuit of "linkage" in games seems to be undergoing some strange changes. Many products have gradually shifted from the linkage of pursuing large-scale traffic breakthrough and a certain number of new users to a lighter and normalized linkage, in order to bring continuous freshness and excitement to existing players. Therefore, we can also see more and more strange linkage combinations in the market.
But even in addition to this wave of successful scene-stealing operations, the launch of the national server of "The Overlord of the Mainland" has also received a lot of industry attention.
As a product that was launched on the Japanese server as early as 2020 and has been in operation for nearly 4 years, although "The Overlord of the Mainland" has a lasting vitality and has a good IP appeal, its game tonality is more single-player and slow heating, although the NetEase national server team has made some improvements (such as giving away exclusive props for the national server to reduce the rate of encountering enemies), but in the current generally fast pace of life, it still belongs to the kind of game that tests whether players can "hit the airwaves". This point was also mentioned in a detailed review article before.
In the past year, I can also return to the waist in the best-selling list from time to time
In addition, NetEase was also responsible for the agency of the Taiwan server before, if it is a fan and player who is very interested in the IP itself, many of them may have already had contact and understanding of the game, and the launch of the national server this time, more interesting may lie in whether this product can further tap more potential audiences in China, including pixel wind and JRPG players, or users who have both stand-alone experience and portability needs.
Gyro also contacted Yuto Suzuki, the chief producer of "The Overlord of the Continent" some time ago, and he mentioned that "The Overlord of the Continent" is actually more like their own favorite product, and they don't know whether they can get the love of Chinese players, but it is certain that there are indeed many JRPG fans in China, so I hope that the audio-visual look and feel of the mobile game version (HD-2D style graphics), story and immersion can still impress players.
The following is the content of the conversation with Yuto Suzuki, and the expression of the sentence has been adjusted for the convenience of reading:
Octopath Traveler: Overlords of the Continent is a unique experience compared to the average mobile game, with a focus on single-player gameplay and story.
Yuto Suzuki: While it may be considered unique as a mobile game, Overlord of the Continent was made with the concept of allowing players to experience the console version of Octopath Traveler on their smartphones. As a single-player RPG with no competitive elements and physical limitations, we hope that players can enjoy the game slowly at their own pace.
In the process of mobile gamification, how does "Overlord of the Continent" allow IP fans and new players to experience the charm of this series? What should be done with the many elements of the original?
Yuto Suzuki: As a prequel to the original Octopath Traveler, we designed a format that shares a world view and unfolds an original story at the same time, so that both fans of the IP and new players can enjoy it. I don't think you need to make a deliberate choice, and I hope you can just enjoy the gameplay.
Chinese gamers are sensitive to the nurturing elements of RPG mobile games. How does Overlord of the Continent ensure the comfort of players in the gameplay loop of training and fighting?
Yuto Suzuki: We designed the game in a balanced way by reducing the difficulty of normal battles and increasing the difficulty of boss battles to achieve an experience that is both comfortable and challenging. In addition, we have prepared content where you can get the items and experience points necessary for cultivation, so we think you can play without stress.
Do you think a pure JRPG like "Overlord of the Continent" is easily accepted by Chinese players? What are the expectations for the Chinese market?
Yuto Suzuki: Because it's purely about making things that we like, is it acceptable? Frankly, I don't know.
However, we know that there are many players in China who enjoy JRPGs, so we paid special attention to the graphics and story to enhance the immersion of the game. It's a well-crafted game, and we'd be very happy if Chinese players found it "fun" as well.
"Overlord of the Continent" has launched many characters so far, how to ensure the uniqueness of each new character in the follow-up design?
Yuto Suzuki: I hope you will pay attention to the original 8-player combat system of "Overlord of the Continent". Since many characters have a variety of characteristics, players can play a role in many situations through their own strategy and development. At the same time, we have tried to maintain a balance that is not too complicated, and we believe that many players will find it enjoyable.
Epilogue:
Although there are many RPG games on mobile, a large number of products that revolve around combat power development gameplay have not fully demonstrated the unique charm of this category. We have also been seeing players expressing their desire to experience a more immersive, nuanced, and complete narrative on their mobile phones.
Now that Octopath Traveler: Overlord of the Continent has officially launched, it has finally brought a more pure and moving adventure to domestic RPG fans. I believe that even in the increasingly fierce market competition, such a unique experience still has the opportunity to carve out its own world.