In June this year, the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name, "The Valkyrie of the End", was launched on the streaming platform Netflix, and because the background of the work is based on Norse mythology, the well-known Norse mythological terms - Thor, Valkyrie, valkyrie, and twilight of the gods - appeared in the animation.
The problem is the "Twilight of the Gods". Viewers soon discover that everywhere in the subtitles Chinese animation appears "Twilight of the Gods", it is replaced by another term. This wonderful mistake is naturally justified: "Twilight of the Gods" originally meant "Ragnarok", and it also happened to be the name of a classic MMORPG - Wonderland Legends. For domestic players, it has another simple and clear abbreviation, RO.
Translating "Twilight of the Gods" as "Legend of Wonderland" is a wonderful and rather anachronistic mistake
<h3>All kinds of memories</h3>
Ragnarok (hereinafter referred to as "RO") is an MMORPG end game developed by the Korean manufacturer Gravity, and has been launched in South Korea, Japan and other places since August 2002. In 2003, "RO" agent to Chinese mainland, becoming an unforgettable memory for many "post-80s" and "post-90s" players.
Soon after its launch, "RO" became a fresh wind in MMORPG with its cute characters, 2D and 3D combination of pictures and exquisite music. After all, at that time, people were playing games like "Stone Age" and "Legend", and the Q version of the character and the cute character "Polly" in "RO" seemed to stand out from the crowd. Affected by it, the aesthetic tendencies of many players have also embarked on the road of fresh and cute, and this tendency was not fully assimilated by the "European and American 3D painting style" until 2005 when "World of Warcraft" opened its national costume.
The fresh and cute painting style is an important feature of RO
After this, after experiencing the replacement of agents, the departure of players, the flood of private servers, etc., RO has continued to operate for more than 10 years, which can be called longevity. In this process, it is worth noting that the player's game experience and the agent's operating strategy are not completely consistent - senior RO players have more or less played private servers, and private servers themselves are directly related to problems such as game career balance, hang-up time, and rampant plug-ins, especially "plug-ins". 12 years after the launch of "RO", someone once asked on social platforms: "What is the significance of "RO" to the history of Chinese games?" Someone below replied: "It is better to ask what the significance of "RO" is to the history of China's plug-ins..."
This answer is somewhat unfair, but it also reflects the player's complex attitude towards nostalgic games – many times, feelings are a double-edged sword. When it is good, it will tolerate all the shortcomings of the same thing and leave behind good memories; when it is not kind, it will magnify all the shortcomings of the same thing and leave a bad impression.
To put it bluntly, people have feelings, but they do not want their feelings to be simply and rudely consumed, but they hope that those works that carry feelings always coincide with the image in memory. This is actually quite a high requirement – for most people, memory also changes with time and experience, and this change is a delicate balance in the game: on the one hand, to maintain the "original", on the other hand, to adapt to the needs of players at different times.
This may sound a bit contradictory, but at the end of the day, when players talk about nostalgia and nostalgia for games, the real focus is still on their own experience. For many people, feelings are very important, the inheritance of feelings is also very important, the former "feelings" game should continue to move forward with feelings, keep up with the growth of old players, and create new memories for new players.
<h3>Times have changed</h3>
In 2016, for the first time, global mobile game revenue surpassed that of terminal games, and China also became the world's largest game market with the rapid development of mobile games. Established manufacturers and classic IPs have transplanted their original works to mobile phones, hoping to occupy a place in the new era.
RO is no exception. In January 2017, the MMORPG mobile game "Wonderland Legend RO: Guardian of Eternal Love" (hereinafter referred to as "RO ShouAi"), officially authorized by Gravity, developed by B Ge cat studio under Heartbeat Network, and distributed by Heartbeat Network, was officially launched.
"RO Shou Ai" is an MMORPG mobile game licensed and developed according to the original "RO", and the new version of "Fantasy Island" will be released on June 30.
Compared with other game types, MMORPG porting mobile phones has many advantages: although the touch screen area is limited, the buttons are limited, but MMORPG is not a game that strictly tests the accuracy of the player's operation, story, music, Easter eggs, substitution sense... There are also many elements that attract the attention of players. For the cute style of the game "RO", the improvement of mobile phone performance in recent years and the improvement of the acceptance of touch screen operation by a new generation of players have also helped "RO ShouAi" to have new exploration space from the screen, gameplay to social and emotional, while ensuring "perfect reproduction".
A typical example is the interactive and photo system. In RO, players have been able to hold hands, sit down and other actions, which strengthens the communication between players in a fairly intuitive form. However, limited to the hardware function at that time, when the player wants to take a group photo, it is generally done through the screenshot of the game, and the character position and camera perspective are inevitably unsatisfactory. In "RO ShouAi", the game has a built-in camera system, and the location and perspective can be customized, giving players more choices. More importantly, the camera system is not static, but combined with the adventure manual, as the adventure manual level increases, the camera can also unlock more perspectives and lenses, the camera effect is better, for leisure players who do not have enough leisure time and "scenery party" willing to explore the map to provide a better experience.
The photo function makes "group photos" more convenient
For works with feelings, extensive linkage is also a good way to operate, especially those works with commensurate temperament and high degree of overlap among players. Despite the suspicion of flooding, "double kitchen ecstasy" is still the first reaction of many players to face linkage.
The more linkage, the player's mind naturally has a high and low point. Generally speaking, it can resonate with the content and characteristics of the work, so that the core fans of both sides feel "that flavor", which can be called excellent linkage. On the contrary, if you only make a few skins and backgrounds hastily, and lack of interaction, it is not far from the player's "insincere" and "circle money" evaluation.
Due to its own characteristics, "RO ShouAi" can also be roughly divided into two parts in terms of linkage: the linkage of classic works with the main feelings, and the cross-border linkage for new players and new trends.
The linkage with the three classic introduction animations of "Liaoyi" can be said to be the most representative of the nostalgic linkage of "RO ShouAi". Liaoyi is the abbreviation of Liaoning Children's Art Theatre, since the 1980s translated a large number of foreign film and television dramas and animation, under their efforts, many "post-80s" and "post-90s" impression of animation is not "original sound plus subtitles", but on TV to watch Chinese version. In 2020, "RO ShouAi" opened the linkage with 3 classic works such as "Demon God Altar Fighter", "Legend of the Demon God Hero", and "ShowPlay Magician", which were all introduced and translated by Liaoyi that year.
In conjunction with classic animations such as "Demon God Altar Fighter" and "Legend of the Demon God Hero", "RO ShouAi" produced a special program for the Liaoyi voice actors of that year
To this end, during the linkage period, the development team of "RO ShouAi" specially interviewed the voice actors who participated in the translation of the animation that year and asked them to share the dubbing story. Considering that these animations have not since launched high-impact remakes, this "back to the 90s" operation undoubtedly pokes at the pain points of old audiences and old players, and these two groups themselves have a large part of overlap.
The linkage between "RO ShouAi" and "Ultraman" and "EVA" generally follows this line of thinking, the difference is that "Ultraman" and "EVA" are series of works that continue to launch new works over time, and their development process itself also has some meaning of inheriting the past - the same "Racing Rabbit" or "First Number Machine", the feelings in the minds of new and old audiences may be different, but they can still become people's common memories. In time, these memories will become new feelings and expand into more directions.
"RO Shou Ai" and "EVA" also take into account the worldviews of both sides when they are linked
<h3>New story</h3>
There are not only "Ultraman" and "EVA" that continue to have feelings, but Disney is even more successful than them. As an entertainment giant operating since 1923, Disney has made "childlike heart" and "innovation" well reflected at the same time with mature commercial means - on the one hand, Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, Daisy, Goofy and other characters have repeatedly appeared in animated film and television works in different periods to attract the attention of new and old audiences; on the other hand, they continue to interpret the classic story for different eras: in the era of Snow White and Cinderella, the princesses are mostly waiting for the image of the prince to save, waiting for Mulan, When the Aishas appeared, the "princess" had become the master of her own destiny.
Over the years, Disney's "Princess Series" story has had a new interpretation
The game has a similar logic. For those players who love nostalgia and are willing to give affection, they are actually looking for themselves who have grown up, but still retain their original intentions, which is the same as the feelings of adults going to Disneyland and immersing themselves in it. Therefore, players will ask the game to be both "original" and leave room for play. In the case of "RO ShouAi", it is to retain the classic MMORPG gameplay while reflecting the design for mobile platforms and new generations of players in the operation process. This is also the core fun of the game.
At the end of June and the beginning of July, the linkage activities between RO ShouAi and Disney will be launched soon. The whole activity lasted for nearly half a year, and it is also a linkage with the most linkage roles, the longest cycle and the most diverse forms since the linkage of "RO Shou Ai". Over the course of six months, players can get kits, furniture, and decorations that include the "Mickey Family" and "Princess Series" and experience the Disneyland-style parade of floats.
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The elaborate CG embodies both the "RO" and Disney styles
Players dressed in Disney princess costumes pose for a group photo in the main city of Prondera
It is worth mentioning that in order to reflect the style of "RO" and Disney at the same time, "RO Shou Ai" and Disney's linkage activities have adopted elaborate CGs in the details of scenes, characters, performances and so on. This has already begun to appear in the event trailer: the Q version of the game's characters wear crystal shoes and transform into "Cinderella" under the magic effect, and the soundtrack and special effects also have a strong "Disney flavor". The CG design of the garden party, fireworks, and float parade also highlights the sense of immersion, allowing players to experience the cheerful atmosphere of Disneyland with relatives and friends in the game without being limited by realistic conditions.
"RO Shou Ai" Disney linkage activity atmosphere in the main city of Prondera
In addition, just as audiences around the world can watch Disney films, television, animation works, and go to Disneyland to feel the atmosphere, "RO ShouAi", as a work released in North America, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, will also open a global synchronous treasure hunt in the linkage with Disney. For players who like to challenge, this is a new subject - on the one hand, the impact and satisfaction of challenging players with all servers around the world is far beyond the reach of a single player; on the other hand, the sense of honor of "world number one" may be a more valuable gift than the winner can receive high rewards in the game.
In RO Keeper, players can also see a Disney-style fireworks show
<h3>A new beginning</h3>
Regarding nostalgia and fried rice, how the classic works continue to move forward with the feelings of players, similar stories we have heard countless versions, and the future will continue. For those classic IPs that continue to operate in the new era, how to prove themselves, how to continue to move forward with the feelings of players, how to show more vitality, and become a link to maintain the emotions of new and old players and new and old eras is the direction they need to work towards.
It's not easy for the game to do this, but it's easy to change the protagonist to a player: when an old player logs on to RO ShouAi with memories of his or her past RO, the first thing he/she sees is the familiar South Gate, hears the familiar BGM, and there is a new friend there, smiling and holding out his hand.