Chapter 524: Game Features and Worldview
That "hehehe" sent a chill down everyone's spine.
What does "hehehe" mean?
Why does it feel like there's something going on here?
And looking at Chen Mo's expression, why does he seem so hesitant to speak?
"Why do I feel like there's some kind of conspiracy here..." Qian Kun couldn't help but shiver.
"Ahem, back to the main topic." Chen Mo cleared his throat twice.
Su Jinyu asked, "Store manager, you didn't finish that half-sentence earlier? What kind of game is *Dark Souls* exactly?"
Chen Mo explained, "Well... it's a role-playing game that combines elements like parkour, character customization, outfit swapping, musou-style combat, dating simulation, walking simulation, and more..."
Everyone: "..."
What the hell!
We can tolerate parkour, character customization, and musou combat, but dating simulation and walking simulation? What are those?
Su Jinyu pointed at the projection screen. "But store manager, your concept draft clearly says 'high difficulty'?"
Chen Mo coughed again. "Ahem, don't dwell on the details. Once the game is made, you'll understand these hidden elements when you play it yourselves."
"Alright, let's get back to business. This game has a combat system completely different from all previous games, and it's tailor-made for the Pangu System. It's also because of this combat system that we can't use the *Diablo* story background—the two games have entirely different characteristics."
"This extends to the worldview, story plot, level design, monster design, and so on. Let me explain these step by step."
As Chen Mo spoke, everyone felt both intrigued and confused.
The intrigue came from hearing about the combat system—it sounded very interesting.
Different judgments based on cutting different body parts?
And the damage gap would be particularly wide. Each weapon would have unique combat skills. The same cold weapons included straight swords, curved swords, ultra-greatswords, various types of shields, and a large number of armor sets.
Moreover, players would have many attributes, and each level-up would allow free allocation of attribute points. Different weapons would have different attribute requirements. The player's class wouldn't overly restrict their playstyle. As long as the points were allocated appropriately, a mage could wield a greatsword, and a warrior could cast magic. For players, this offered high freedom.
And most attributes would be useful. Even for a typical strength-based build, players would need to consider the allocation of points among health, stamina, strength, endurance, and other elements.
This combat system was unprecedented because no one had made such a large-scale RPG before. It was a challenge for everyone.
The confusion, on the other hand, stemmed from Chen Mo's emphasis on the game's difficulty: it would be harder to get into than any previous game. Some players might even be discouraged by the first boss, unable to last even half an hour.
Everyone was a bit baffled. Chen Mo had long emphasized "easy to pick up, hard to master." Why had the script suddenly changed?
What happened to "easy to pick up"?
Seeing their confusion, Chen Mo explained, "Don't overthink this for now. Our focus is on building the game mechanics first. As for difficulty, we can adjust it later."
No one raised many objections. On one hand, they trusted Chen Mo. On the other, it was true that during game development, difficulty was something that could be tweaked later—there was no need to dwell on it now.
Qian Kun, as the numerical designer, understood this well. Game difficulty was very easy to control. If players found a boss too hard, the designer could just nerf it here and there, and suddenly it wouldn't be difficult anymore.
No matter how strong the boss, it couldn't withstand two cuts from the designer...
Additionally, the entire game's worldview design amazed everyone.
"Regarding the specific worldview, I'll discuss it in detail with Zheng Hongxi. For the rest of you, just have a basic understanding of the game's background."
"In this world, fire is the origin of everything. From fire, the Lord Souls were born. Those who obtained the Lord Souls ended the reign of the dragons and ushered in the Age of Fire. But fire will gradually fade, and when it goes out, the entire world will fall into darkness."
"Thus, some powerful lords offered themselves as kindling to prolong the flame's burning—these are what the game calls Lords of Cinder. The protagonist is an Unkindled Ash, burdened with the mission of linking the fire."
"As for the details, there will be a comprehensive story draft later. For now, just get a general sense of the world. Once the game is finished, you can experience it yourselves."
Soon, the concept design presentation was over. Most people understood the game's characteristics.
In truth, many hadn't fully grasped the essence of *Dark Souls*. They still thought it would follow *Diablo*'s style, with the dark fantasy setting merely meant to make players' grinding more satisfying.
To this, Chen Mo smiled without saying a word.
Next came the core design challenge: adapting *Dark Souls* into a VR version, with the combat system being the most critical part.
In fact, during the development of *Overwatch*, some design solutions had already been established, and they could be carried over to *Dark Souls*.
In *Overwatch*, there were issues with skills altering the player's perspective, such as McCree's roll or Reaper's ultimate.
The solution was simple: during these skill states, the player's view remained freely controllable, not tied to the hero's actual perspective. It was like temporarily switching to a god's-eye view, then reverting once the skill ended.
Another issue was the field of view.
Most AAA titles on PC used a third-person follow camera, positioned behind and above the character, allowing players to see their character's back and movements.
The reasons for this were multifaceted, but the biggest one was that it felt more comfortable for players.
On PC, the first-person field of view was 90 degrees, while in reality, the human binocular field of view was 124 degrees. This was why most first-person games felt severely restrictive.
Thus, many shooting and racing games switched to a third-person follow camera to reduce the discomfort caused by the limited FOV on PC.
Most AAA titles involved melee combat, where enemies could attack from any direction. In such cases, the field of view became even more critical.
Genius remembers this site's address in one second: