Chapter 4: Adapting to Market Demands, Adapting to the Game Characteristics of the Internet Era.
IV. Rewards
After the end of this quarter, the Game and Virtual Reality Technology Committee will form a review panel to evaluate the games. While ensuring the spiritual connotation of the Three Kingdoms, player feedback and market response will serve as important evaluation criteria.
This event has 1 first prize, 3 second prizes, 5 third prizes, and several honorable mentions.
Winning designers will receive certificates, and the winning games will receive a one-month official recommendation spot on the app store.
The signature is from the Game Committee, and the date is yesterday.
The format of this announcement was almost identical to the previous Chinese-style game solicitation event, except that it had been narrowed down from Chinese-style games to Three Kingdoms games.
However, what caught Chen Mo's attention were the design requirements this time.
Besides the two points of no platform restrictions and the theme conforming to Three Kingdoms culture, there were two other special requirements: there must be innovation, and it must adapt to market demands and the game characteristics of the Internet era.
Chen Mo read it again. Indeed, although these clauses seemed quite understated, they clearly reflected some of the tendencies of the Game Committee's game solicitation this time.
What does "adapting to market demands" mean? Obviously, it means the game must be fun for players and make a lot of money.
What does "adapting to the game characteristics of the Internet era" mean? It means the game should preferably be an online game, capable of supporting multiplayer online play, and the more players it supports, the better.
Chen Mo summarized these requirements, and a few words flashed through his mind: Three Kingdoms, online game, strategy game, pay-to-win.
The spiritual connotation of the Three Kingdoms is vast, but the most prominent aspect should be strategy.
The Three Kingdoms was an era where strategists, generals, and lords all shone brilliantly, and the various battles embodied the wisdom of the classical age.
Things like Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage, the Bitter Meat Trick, the Burning of Red Cliffs, the Empty Fort Strategy—these are all deeply ingrained points in Three Kingdoms culture. Of course, some events might have been fabricated by later generations and weren't true stories from the Three Kingdoms period, but it's undeniable that these tales have become deeply rooted in people's hearts along with the timeless classic *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*.
If he absolutely had to make an RPG or a hack-and-slash game, he could, but to best reflect the characteristics of Three Kingdoms culture, the best choice was still to make a strategy game.
Chen Mo began to consider exactly what kind of game to make.
There were indeed many Three Kingdoms games in his previous life, but not many met the requirements. Some super classic Three Kingdoms games from his previous life, like the *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* series, were excellent in many ways, but the problem was they weren't online games and couldn't meet the need for hundreds or thousands of people to play together online.
Furthermore, according to the Game Committee's requirements, the game also had to be "popular in the market" and "conform to the characteristics of the Internet era." A single-player game meant it could only be sold by copies, with much weaker profitability, and it also didn't fit the characteristics of an online game.
Another factor was that Chen Mo was currently in Magic City, and he wasn't planning to make a special trip back to the Imperial Capital this time. He intended to handle everything for the game himself, except for the art resources. Making a large PC client game would be relatively more troublesome.
*Three Kingdoms Kill* was also good, but Chen Mo felt it should be categorized as a board game. Although its gameplay and packaging perfectly matched the Three Kingdoms content, it was ultimately confined to the "board" scope and couldn't express the characteristics of large-scale national wars and vying for the world.
After thinking it over, Chen Mo had a relatively suitable game in mind.
Before starting development, he planned to make a phone call to Su Jinyu.
Soon, the call connected.
"Hello? Store Manager, have you seen that game solicitation event?" Su Jinyu asked.
Chen Mo: "Yeah, I saw it."
Su Jinyu: "So, are we not participating? Or should we temporarily ignore the S1 finals and head back to the Imperial Capital?"
The current timeline was quite tight. The finals wouldn't end until November 5th. If they went back to the Imperial Capital to make the game after that, it would be equivalent to being a month late, which was why Su Jinyu asked.
Chen Mo said, "I'll handle this one myself. You guys just keep watching the matches."
Su Jinyu: "Huh?"
"Yeah, I'll spend a month making a mobile game myself. It's not hard to make. You don't need to do anything. I'll send all the relevant art requirements to the art team in the Imperial Capital to produce the assets. I'll handle everything except the art myself," Chen Mo said.
"Uh, Store Manager, Qian Kun, Zheng Hongxi, and I don't have much to do lately either. We can help," Su Jinyu said.
Chen Mo chuckled: "No need. The game I'm making this time isn't hard. Doing it myself is just a matter of convenience. If I need your cooperation, I'll find you guys."
"Alright then, Store Manager. Good luck," Su Jinyu said, bewildered.
...
It wasn't just Chen Mo; other designers had also seen this themed game solicitation event.
"The Game Committee has another new game solicitation event? This time it's a Three Kingdoms theme."
"Three Kingdoms games... not easy to make."
"Huh? Why? Isn't the Three Kingdoms the easiest genre to make?"
"You wouldn't understand. Sure, you can slap a Three Kingdoms skin on any game and call it a Three Kingdoms game, but making it good, making it unique? Too hard! This genre has been done to death. There are plenty of mediocre works, but very few outstanding ones!"
"Also, the Game Committee has extra requirements this time. It has to meet market demands? And preferably be an online game?"
"Tough. Think back to the last Chinese-style game event. The winning work was Chen Mo's *Wulin Heroes*. With its rich story and highly free gameplay, no one in the country has been able to make a similar martial arts game since. This time, making a Three Kingdoms game, even more people will participate. Breaking through the crowd feels difficult!"
"I just want to ask, Chen Mo probably won't participate this time, right?"
"Hmm... I don't think so. *League of Legends* is blazing hot right now, and the World Finals are at a critical juncture. He should be in Magic City keeping an eye on the World Finals. Besides, with his current credentials, he probably doesn't care about the awards from this solicitation event anymore."
"Yeah, he's been an honorary member for a long time and has a good relationship with the Game Committee. He shouldn't need to curry favor with them anymore."
"That's great! With Chen Mo not participating, I have confidence. And the Three Kingdoms theme happens to be a genre I'm good at. I'll definitely do my best this time!"
Genius remembers this site's address in one second: