Chapter 523: Hehehe!
Chen Mo began writing the design concept draft for *Dark Souls*.
In truth, *Dark Souls* is a game with very distinct characteristics. Whether it's the story background, combat system, level design, scene design, side quests, or any other aspect, each element stands apart from the games currently on the market when examined individually.
It's a game with its own unique style, and Chen Mo's design concept draft mainly aimed to clarify two points.
The first point is that the game's core selling points are its rich and varied combat system and its difficulty level, which is slightly outrageous for the average player.
In reality, all of this serves the game's combat system. Whether players are navigating complex levels to outwit the designer's traps or defeating powerful bosses, it's all about better utilizing this combat system and deriving enjoyment from it.
A newbie might get utterly wrecked by a Knight, unable to function, but later on, they can take down that same Knight in one combo through shield parrying or shield breaking. That's the kind of joy the combat system offers players.
Once you've mastered the rules of Souls-like combat, simply using those rules becomes an incredibly satisfying experience in itself.
The second point is the worldview of the entire game.
The worldview of the Souls series is completely different from that of other games. It incorporates many Western fantasy elements, but in reality, many of these concepts differ from traditional Western fantasy.
This worldview has a unique charm. Chen Mo had to first explain these concepts clearly to his own team so they could better implement them into the game.
For example, what is Linking the Fire? What are the Lords of Cinder? What role does the player character play, and why must they Link the Fire?
The most basic worldview content was still fairly clear, and some deliberately hidden details had already been unearthed by players through various clues.
However, the game still had many different mysteries. Hidetaka Miyazaki didn't provide specific answers but left them for different players to speculate on independently.
(According to Miyazaki, when making *Dark Souls*, they built the content first and then attached the story, so it's very possible that he himself didn't have a very clear or complete game script...)
This is like many suspense films that leave an open ending. Everyone has a different interpretation of the ending, and the creator won't tell you which one is absolutely correct.
Chen Mo certainly had his own views on these matters, but he still decided to preserve the mysteries of the *Dark Souls* series. This kind of open-ended conclusion inherently has a special charm. Forcing the official narrative to explain everything too thoroughly would actually detract from it.
Instead, this just right kind of blank space better inspires players to continuously explore every detail of the entire world.
It took two days to finish writing the entire design concept draft.
This was because Chen Mo had to consider, on one hand, how to describe things so that others unfamiliar with *Dark Souls* could better understand the rules of this world, and on the other hand, he needed to recall the various processes within the game.
However, what surprised Chen Mo was that this time he didn't use that many memory recall potions. He remembered most of the scene layouts, levels, and boss fights quite clearly.
After thinking it over, this must be the aftereffect of suffering, right?
Any player who dies dozens of times in the same spot should have a firm grasp of that area's terrain by then...
*Dark Souls* is inherently a game that requires rote memorization. You must firmly remember the monster placements, terrain, and monster skills of a specific area to clear it smoothly. If you never learn from your mistakes, the game's difficulty increases exponentially.
...
After finishing the design concept draft, Chen Mo called everyone in for a meeting.
News about the new engine had already been circulating online over the past few days. Although the vast majority of domestic designers couldn't get access to the Pangu System, that didn't stop them from heated discussions about it.
In fact, many designers were offering suggestions, saying things like, "If I were making this, the game should be like this or that." For a time, many keyboard warriors emerged.
Others in the company were also discussing the matter.
"The boss is an S-rank designer now and has such a good relationship with the Game Committee. He'll definitely be invited to try out the Pangu System, right?"
"That means our next game could be made with the new Pangu System?"
"That's possible, but I wonder what the boss is thinking."
"Today's meeting should be about the new game, right?"
Chen Mo walked into the conference room, and everyone fell silent.
Chen Mo looked around at everyone. "You've all probably heard by now. The domestic Pangu System has built a brand-new physics engine. The Game Committee is currently soliciting ideas domestically, hoping everyone can develop a game that showcases the Pangu System's features. I'll skip the small talk. Let's go straight to the design concept draft."
The title of the design draft appeared on the projector: *Dark Souls* Design Concept Draft.
Chen Mo began his introduction. "First, a brief summary. This is a Western fantasy-themed game with a combat system completely different from anything on the market. In terms of art style and story background, it's somewhat similar to the *Diablo* we made before."
Qian Kun exclaimed in surprise, "Oh? Boss, are you finally releasing a VR version of *Diablo*? No, wait, this game doesn't seem to be *Diablo*. The name is... *Dark Souls*?"
The others were also a bit confused.
If it were any other game company, it might be different, but Chen Mo still had the major *Diablo* IP in his hands!
Previously, *Diablo* had achieved decent results on PC. Most of the veteran employees had just joined the company back then, so they remembered it well.
When *Diablo* was first released, many people, both inside and outside the project, were pessimistic about it. But once it was actually made, *Diablo* set off a trend at the time.
Later, it even spawned Dizhao Interactive Entertainment's *Thousand Hells*. Although that game wasn't as successful as *Diablo* on PC, it was still considered a decent VR game.
Strangely enough, many companies tried to replicate *Diablo*'s effect on the VR platform but failed. After that, Chen Mo seemed to have completely forgotten about it and never released any sequels to the *Diablo* series—even though the series' story was very classic and could have been reused.
Why would Chen Mo abandon the major *Diablo* IP and create a new game instead?
Chen Mo looked around at everyone. "This game is called *Dark Souls*. Although it has a dark style, it has nothing to do with the story of *Diablo* itself."
Everyone was still a bit puzzled.
Chen Mo explained, "I know what you're wondering. Let me put it this way: the reason I'm not using the *Diablo* IP is that these two games are completely different, both in terms of gameplay and spiritual core."
"*Diablo* is a game about grinding and looting. Its main purpose is to make the player feel powerful. Players can raise a hand and instantly kill hordes of monsters, causing a shower of equipment to drop."
"But *Dark Souls*..."
"Hehehe!"