Chapter 719: The Ultimate Game Details
Qian Kun suddenly understood: "I see! If you funnel all the performance of the VR game pod into a single level, then you can indeed push the current game graphics to a whole new level! The results could easily surpass even some works from major Western studios!"
Chen Mo corrected him: "Classmate, please mind your wording. For us now, major Western studios are no longer some unattainable peak. It wouldn't be wrong to call Thunder Interactive a major Chinese studio."
Qian Kun: "Awesome."
Chen Mo continued: "So, 'Uncharted' should give players an unparalleled sense of immersion. All UI in the game should be minimized as much as possible. I want every single frame of the game to be screenshot-worthy. Furthermore, the entire visual effect—including textures, lighting, water surfaces, and animations—must reach the absolute peak of the current industry standard. Oh, and for the actors used in motion and facial capture, we need the best."
"If I'm not satisfied with the facial expression capture results, I'll manually tweak them myself."
"Additionally, regarding the physics engine, the Pangu Engine is indeed incredibly powerful, even omnipotent, but our workload is still heavy. To make 'Uncharted' a true cinematic game, the most important thing is detail."
"Details are the most crucial element for building a sense of realism. I want the art team to carefully remember the following details, and I want to see them all fully realized in the game."
"Light can pass through a character's ear cartilage."
"When the protagonist picks up a rope from a winch, he will automatically switch hands based on the rope's position."
"Getting in and out of a vehicle from any direction will result in different animations."
"Climbing, diving, swimming—all actions must be sufficiently professional. When holding breath underwater, the mouth must be puffed out."
"When a character approaches a wall, he will naturally touch it, rather than bumping into it stiffly."
"Dialogue between characters should include transition lines. If interrupted, they will naturally pick up the previous topic."
"Climbing over a companion will trigger different animations and reactions."
"There will be numerous special events, such as driving under a waterfall, which triggers unique character actions and dialogue."
"The character's phone will have a complete UI."
"When the Jeep's windshield is shattered by bullets, the character will automatically remove the windshield himself."
...
Chen Mo listed various details, and everyone else was shocked.
So many details...?
Of course, with the power of the Pangu Engine, these details could undoubtedly be achieved, but they still required human effort to implement!
One detail is nothing, but when the entire game world is filled with similar details, the level of realism instantly jumps up several notches!
Combined with the previously mentioned zero loading screens and dedicating the pod's maximum performance to each level, it was easy to imagine just how realistic this game would turn out!
Clearly, Chen Mo's talk of a "cinematic game" wasn't just empty words. He had a very complete set of design concepts and methods.
No matter how technology advances, game design will always be constrained by the performance of the gaming hardware. For designers, how to better use limited capabilities to present more stunning effects is also an art worth studying.
Even in the parallel world, during the VR game era, it was impossible to endlessly create a boundless game world.
What Chen Mo was now doing with 'Uncharted' was to push the performance of the VR game pod to its absolute limit.
For Chen Mo, this was a necessary step and also an attempt at a genre of game.
After the design concept presentation, everyone felt their blood boiling.
"Incredible! It feels like, following the boss's plan, we can really make a game as exquisite as a movie?"
"Fully real-time rendering, every frame directly screenshot-worthy?"
"Oh, right, what about the script, boss?"
Chen Mo smiled: "No rush on the script. Start working on the art assets first. I'll write out the entire plot outline later. Alright, everyone, get to work."
...
For the 'Uncharted' series, each installment had its unique strengths.
'Uncharted 1' was the groundbreaking work of the series, establishing it as a high-quality franchise.
'Uncharted 2' showed a leap in every aspect, winning over 100 Game of the Year awards and being regarded by many players as the pinnacle of the series.
'Uncharted 3' received a perfect score rating.
'Uncharted 4', as the final installment of the series, didn't win Game of the Year, but in terms of story, it provided a perfect conclusion to the entire series.
Chen Mo followed his usual production approach: start with 'Uncharted 4', then release the stories of the first three games as DLCs over time, eventually making the 'Uncharted' series a complete collection.
If only comparing vertically within the series, 'Uncharted 4' undoubtedly had the highest overall quality. However, its innovation in gameplay wasn't as significant as 'Uncharted 2', which somewhat affected its ratings.
Besides, Chen Mo didn't know how to count to 2; releasing a sequel was absolutely out of the question.
...
'Uncharted' quickly entered a hectic development phase. As a VR game, it also differed from the console platform games of Chen Mo's previous life.
The main difference stemmed from immersion.
In Chen Mo's previous life, limited by the console platform, the game used a third-person over-the-shoulder perspective. Although the immersion was top-tier among games of that era, it still fell far short of VR games.
After porting to the VR platform, the perspective changed to first-person, greatly enhancing the player's sense of immersion.
Additionally, the force feedback system in the VR game pod was far more complex than that of a console.
When the player leaped high and grabbed the edge of a wall, a clear vibration would be felt in their hands; when hit by a bullet or thrown to the ground by an explosion, there would be a slight pain effect in the corresponding body part; furthermore, effects like vehicle shaking and debris flying from explosions could all be made more realistic.
When playing the game, the player felt as if they had soul-transmigrated into Nathan Drake's body, experiencing the thrill of climbing, driving, and gunfights.
Although the VR game technology in this world hadn't yet reached the absolute realism described in many novels, it was foreseeable that the release of 'Uncharted' would elevate the expressive power of VR games in this world to a whole new level!