Chapter 224: Come Forth, My World
As for why there were no knockoff products, there were many reasons.
First was the issue of sales volume. The cost of a high-precision mold was very expensive. Without a guarantee of millions in sales, bankruptcy would come in no time. Those knockoff manufacturers simply couldn’t afford such a large investment, nor could they achieve such high sales.
Second was the issue of craftsmanship. There were over a hundred types of parts, with 12 assembly lines. The cost of each mold for these parts ranged roughly between 40,000 and 200,000 euros.
The tolerance for spot-checked Leggo parts produced could not exceed 0.01 centimeters. Then, specialized machines were needed to test whether the grip of each part was just right. For every 100,000 parts, the defect rate could not exceed 12.
Each mold maintenance team had to maintain around 300 molds per week. Considering the corresponding wage levels, to ensure product quality, the price simply couldn’t be lowered.
Most importantly, the core competitiveness of Leggo bricks lay in creativity. A new product would come out one day, and another the next—airplanes, ships, tanks, cars, special buildings, and so on. Selling points were constantly being refreshed, making them impossible to copy.
So, knockoff Leggo brick manufacturers faced a dilemma: if they lowered costs, quality became completely unguaranteed, and shoddy workmanship couldn’t grace the halls of elegance; if they ensured quality, then the price was almost no different from the genuine product, so why would players buy knockoffs?
Thus, for various reasons, although Leggo bricks were very fun, they remained a pastime for a minority, and this joy was not taken seriously.
So, bricks weren’t widespread enough, and games with “building with bricks” as the core fun hadn’t appeared in this world either.
Chen Mo wanted to seize this market gap and let everyone know that the joy of creation was endless.
…
After the trial run of *Don’t Starve*, Chen Mo had roughly figured out the tastes of players in this world. Many people liked sandbox games, and the players’ creativity was no weaker than that of the previous world.
Now, *Don’t Starve* had sold over 4 million copies, and the number was still rising. Players were constantly churning out various mods.
From *Plants vs. Zombies* to *Warcraft* to *Don’t Starve*, the players of this world had fully demonstrated their ability to modify games.
Chen Mo thought it over. The timing should be ripe now. It was entirely feasible to launch an even more popular sandbox game.
This game would serve as Chen Mo’s first step into the VR field, a relatively safe and promising attempt.
Of course, more importantly, this was a good opportunity for Chen Mo. If this game could shine brightly and create a buzz alongside Imperial Dynasty Interactive Entertainment’s VR games, it would be like free publicity, very beneficial for the game’s spread.
After thinking it through, Chen Mo sat down at his computer and began writing the design concept draft for *Minecraft*.
The reasons for choosing this game were very simple, just two: first, it was so successful that it was impossible to avoid when discussing the topic of “sandbox games”; second, it was very easy to make, making it the most controllable choice for Chen Mo at the moment.
Actually, for Chen Mo, making a VR game now was still somewhat risky.
Because the production method for VR games was vastly different from PC games. Setting aside the differences in production methods, just the difference in design philosophy would infinitely amplify the risk of making a VR game.
For Chen Mo, whether it was design ideas from the previous life or experience from the parallel world, they were mainly focused on mobile and PC platforms, with little knowledge of VR games.
Even if some game development experience from console platforms could be partially transferred to VR platforms, there were still significant differences.
Moreover, the closer a VR game was to reality, the higher the cost, the more details needed attention during production, and the amount of resources would multiply.
The most suitable thing about *Minecraft* for Chen Mo was that it was a pixel-style game, so it required fewer resources. Modeling, animation, etc., were relatively easy. With experience from the previous life, the design philosophy was also relatively mature.
The goal of the first phase of development was mainly to realize the prototype of *Minecraft* and perfectly port it to the VR platform. This would allow players to freely gather and build on the VR platform, recreating the core fun of *Minecraft*.
The goal of the second phase of development was to optimize *Minecraft*, comprehensively improving it in terms of texture materials, art quality, setting details, etc., to better suit the aesthetics of players in this world.
The goal of the third phase of development was to innovate in gameplay. After all, in the previous life, many interesting gameplay ideas were limited by technical levels and couldn’t be realized. In the parallel world, production technology was higher, making it entirely possible to achieve many brainstorms that couldn’t be completed in the previous life.
The core fun of *Minecraft* was relatively simple, mainly building, which was similar to playing with bricks. As for other special gameplay modes like survival mode, they were derivative gameplay elements that could be added gradually later.
…
The concept draft was written quickly, completed in one evening.
The next day, many people were still in the experience store’s conference room, tackling the biggest brick toy.
Zheng Hongxi’s cathedral was the third-to-last to be completed. Because its structure was relatively clear, although there were quite a few parts, following the instructions step by step didn’t cause any major problems.
The finished product looked very beautiful, especially the spires and narrow windows, almost identical to a real cathedral.
Zhou Hanyu’s miniature stadium was the second-to-last to be completed. Although the stadium’s structure was relatively complex, fortunately, the surrounding facilities were easier to assemble.
Qian Kun’s interstellar mothership was the last to be completed. Mainly because the mothership was too large, with many single-person aircraft inside, making assembly very troublesome.
After finishing the interstellar mothership, Qian Kun leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath: “Oh man, I’m exhausted. This damn thing was really a pain to put together!”
The current conference room looked like a brick toy exhibition, with a very eclectic style. There was a Tyrannosaurus Rex, an ice castle, a race car, a train, a cathedral, and a sci-fi interstellar mothership.
Of course, there was also Chen Mo’s single dog.
Zhou Hanyu sighed with emotion: “You know, although these brick toys include ancient, modern, animal, and mechanical themes, the overall style is quite cohesive. The designers at Leggo really have high artistic skill.”
Zheng Hongxi was also reluctant to let go of the cathedral, taking several photos.
Chen Mo pushed the door open and walked in: “Let me see. Hmm, not bad, everyone has finished assembling.”
Qian Kun let out a long breath: “Great, at least I didn’t hold things up. Thanks to all you bystanders for your generous help…”
Su Jinyu said, “Store manager, you said that once we finished assembling, we could see the concept draft for the new game. Where’s the draft?”
Chen Mo smiled: “Alright, come with me. Let’s go to the studio and talk slowly.”
[Reminder: Your output must contain ZERO Chinese characters. Translate or transliterate everything.]