Chapter 184: A Grinding Game
Zou Zhuo asked, "Wow, boss, you just got back and you're already starting work? That's way too dedicated! By the way, can you give me a hint? What kind of game is it?"
Chen Mo smiled. "Don't rush. Let me check online first to see if this genre is even feasible."
Zou Zhuo nodded. "Alright, boss. Any game you produce is definitely trustworthy!"
……
Chen Mo did a quick search online about MMORPGs. They had too many advantages, the most prominent being the interaction between a large number of players, which could greatly extend the game's lifespan while boosting revenue.
Traditional single-player RPGs still existed, but they had lost much of their former attention, and naturally, good works were becoming fewer and fewer.
This was one of the pitfalls this world had fallen into—overemphasizing MMORPGs had triggered a series of chain reactions.
These large-scale multiplayer role-playing games all adopted a first-person perspective, with relatively bright art styles.
The main reason for this was that a first-person perspective made players feel more immersed, helping them blend into the game world more easily. Meanwhile, the bright art style ensured that players wouldn't feel oppressed or depressed when spending long hours immersed in that world.
However, the problem this brought was that in a first-person perspective, the information players received was very limited. Their field of view could be blocked, making it difficult to handle large groups of monsters effectively.
In many MMORPGs, players formed teams to fight. With so many players, if there were also a lot of monsters, the entire screen would become chaotic. On a PC monitor, it was impossible to tell who was who, resulting in severe information overload.
The effect was much better on VR platforms, but most VR games were ported over only after succeeding on PC, so they more or less retained the PC settings.
Various reasons led to one key point: this world was severely lacking in "grinding" games.
Thus, the popularity of RPG maps in *Warcraft* was precisely due to this. Players enjoyed the satisfying feeling of "mowing down enemies like cutting vegetables," but they themselves weren't very clearly aware of it. This demand wasn't strong, so many game developers didn't pay attention.
Of course, even if they noticed, they might not necessarily do it well. Because "grinding" games seemed simple on the surface, but in reality, they had a lot of intricacies. If the design philosophy was off, players wouldn't stick with it for long and would quickly get bored.
Fortunately, Chen Mo had a very good "grinding" game in mind, perfect as a transitional work to pivot toward RPGs and fill a gap in this world.
Going to the front desk, Chen Mo opened his laptop and began writing the design concept draft for *Diablo*.
For Chen Mo himself, developing *Diablo* was more difficult than *Warcraft*. The *Diablo* he developed would definitely have to reach the level of the previous life's *Diablo 3* in all aspects, so the resource requirements were much higher than for *Warcraft*.
Most of the level maps in *Warcraft* could be directly created using the map editor, but that wasn't the case for *Diablo*. The maps in *Diablo* were dynamically generated and extremely rich in elements, which posed a challenge for Chen Mo.
*Diablo* was a decent transitional product. Chen Mo had never made any RPG before, so jumping straight into an MMORPG would be too risky.
Moreover, even in the previous life, *Diablo*'s style, gameplay, and theme were unique. There were many "Diablo-like" games, but none could truly surpass it.
It remained one of the most iconic representatives of "grinding" games.
Next came the question of which generation to make.
*Diablo 1* was too old, and its gameplay design was relatively monotonous, so it was out of the question.
*Diablo 2* was regarded as an eternal classic and truly pioneered the "Diablo-style" genre, inspiring many copycat games. Its atmosphere and gameplay were also the most fitting for the "Diablo" theme.
However, *Diablo 2* was quite old. While many of its design concepts still held up today, its combat system, interface controls, and art presentation were somewhat outdated.
*Diablo 3* was still a very successful work, but for hardcore fans of the Diablo series, many felt it didn't reach the classic status of *Diablo 2*. Although the visual quality had greatly improved, it had, to some extent, lost the essence of the Diablo series.
Given Chen Mo's current design skills, making either *Diablo 2* or *Diablo 3* was no problem. The art quality and game quality could fully reach the level of *Diablo 3*. So the only things to consider were atmosphere and gameplay.
After some thought, Chen Mo decided to base it on *Diablo 3*, using its world setting, storyline, and art style as a foundation. At the same time, he would make small-scale adjustments, tweaking some gameplay elements and fine-tuning the art style to make the overall feel lean more toward *Diablo 2*.
In fact, the main reasons *Diablo 3* had weaker immersion were its art style and gameplay.
In *Diablo 2*, the dark dungeons, twisted monsters, scattered bloodstains, and dismembered limbs all created a terrifying atmosphere. Even the field of view was somewhat restricted, keeping players on edge. Combined with the music and sound effects, players were always immersed in a very oppressive environment.
But *Diablo 3* had, to some extent, abandoned this art style. Perhaps it had unconsciously become too flashy, losing the bleak, eerie, and terrifying tone.
At the same time, *Diablo 3* had relatively relaxed difficulty levels. Without manually increasing the difficulty, most players could clear the game smoothly. The sense of crisis when challenging powerful bosses was greatly diminished, and the satisfaction of defeating them was reduced.
For Chen Mo, he wanted to create an authentic "Diablo" game. Only by building this kind of atmosphere could this "grinding" game become more interesting, keeping players engaged for the long term instead of getting bored after a month or two.
Of course, there were some obstacles to making this game.
The biggest obstacle was censorship.
If the gore and violence in *Diablo* were placed in the previous life, it would definitely have a hard time passing censorship. *Diablo 3* itself was only approved after a long review process.
However, in this parallel world, there was relatively more tolerance for gore and violence. The game could pass censorship, just not for minors. Moreover, Chen Mo was now an honorary committee member with some connections to the Game Committee, giving him an advantage in game censorship.
He would first write the game's concept draft and communicate with the censorship department at the Game Committee in advance. Passing the review shouldn't be a big problem.
Next, he would roughly outline the design ideas and plan all aspects of this game.