Chapter 752: Coincidentally Wanting to Make a Zombie Game
As Qian Kun said this, everyone else also realized it—hadn’t they heard this introduction somewhere before?
Thinking carefully, wasn’t this exactly the same spiel as Josh Wilson’s new game!?
Post-apocalyptic theme, zombie theme, focusing on narrative depth, exploring human nature??
All the points were colliding with each other, for crying out loud!
Qian Kun coughed twice: "Boss, are you planning to go head-to-head with GA? Whatever theme they do, we do too? First it was exploration, now it’s zombies?"
Chen Mo shook his head vigorously: "Hey, don’t say things carelessly. If the gaming media spreads this, you’ll be held responsible. How is this going head-to-head with GA? This is clearly our development ideas ‘coincidentally’ aligning. It’s not like Josh Wilson wants to make a zombie game, so we can’t, right?"
Su Jinyu’s mouth twitched slightly: "Boss, in my opinion, you’re just petty. Josh Wilson said bad things about you, so you want to get back at him."
Chen Mo chuckled: "You talk too much. Alright, let’s look at the design concept draft."
The design concept draft for *The Last of Us* wasn’t actually that complicated, because many of its gameplay and combat systems shared similarities with *Uncharted*—shooting, stealth, assassination, and so on. Moreover, *The Last of Us* didn’t involve frequent wall-climbing; instead, it focused more on solving puzzles through the environment and interacting with companions to reach the destination.
In terms of scene design, *The Last of Us* and *Uncharted* could be said to come from the same lineage, both achieving seamless, loading-free gameplay that gave players an unforgettable immersive experience.
Of course, if you only discussed it from a gameplay perspective, *The Last of Us* didn’t have any particularly shocking gameplay innovations. Its greatest charm lay in its storytelling.
This was a story that made everyone who experienced it exclaim it was a masterpiece. It wasn’t just that the script was well-written; it was more that the game’s atmosphere and pacing reached a pinnacle state, making the entire game a flawless work of art.
Naturally, this kind of narrative depth was hard to explain in just a few words. Chen Mo couldn’t make everyone understand the greatness of *The Last of Us* through just a few hundred words in a concept draft. However, once the game was made and everyone experienced it, they would naturally understand what made it so enjoyable.
...
In Chen Mo’s previous life, *The Last of Us* was regarded as an eternal classic of game art.
Many new PS players would always ask what games they should buy, and many would answer that the first game must be *The Last of Us*.
Of course, this claim was somewhat exaggerated, but there was no doubt that if there was a game you had to play after getting a PS4, *The Last of Us* was definitely one of them.
In the PS4 era, the remastered version of *The Last of Us* received nearly perfect scores from over 30 media outlets, including IGN, and by March 2016, public statistics showed it had sold 10 million copies.
The UK’s *Empire* magazine ranked *The Last of Us* at the top of its list of "The Greatest Games in History."
*The Last of Us* was widely recognized as a classic under traditional game development thinking (traditional linear levels), redefining the upper limit of quality a game could achieve.
Looking solely at the theme and gameplay of *The Last of Us*, there weren’t actually many standout features.
The overused zombie theme, traditional linear level design, and a marketing approach that used beautiful graphics as one of its selling points.
On the surface, it didn’t seem as "distinctive in style" as certain other game genres. For example, when talking about games like *Uncharted*, *Assassin’s Creed*, or *God of War*, players could clearly describe how their gameplay differed from others.
The biggest characteristic of *The Last of Us* was that it had almost no big spectacle scenes like "blowing up trains, jumping out of planes, or causing everything to collapse wherever you go." Keep in mind, *Uncharted* was also made by Naughty Dog...
This was restraint. They could have easily created those adrenaline-pumping grand scenes, but they chose not to, relying purely on game level design and storytelling to move players.
Its greatest charm lay in complete interactivity, along with the persistent sense of unease and the unknown that the game’s internal mechanics provided.
Moreover, the protagonist of *The Last of Us* was an ordinary person.
In other games, the protagonist might be an adventurer, assassin, hero, savior, hacker... or have some remarkable lineage, or a cursed fate. But the protagonist of *The Last of Us* was just an ordinary person, which actually allowed players to gain a deeper sense of immersion and better connect with the story.
And finally, *The Last of Us*’s controversial ending was the key factor that elevated the game’s ideological depth.
A game that moves people, makes them doubt, and makes them reflect—then it can already be considered a good game.
...
After finishing the design concept draft, Chen Mo went to the third-floor VR game experience area.
"So, the old man still hasn’t come out?" Chen Mo asked.
The front desk girl shook her head: "No, he’s still playing *Seaside Mansion*."
Chen Mo found it a bit intriguing. This old man was pretty trendy!
Currently, the main gameplay of *Seaside Mansion* was essentially "dress-up and decoration," but for someone of Grandpa Zhang’s age, why would he like playing a dress-up game?
This was usually content that appealed to younger female players.
Could he have some special preference for this type of game?
Chen Mo himself thought this idea was a bit too absurd.
He was very curious and wanted to ask Grandpa Zhang why he played this game. After all, there were so many games in the gaming pod—why not go farm some vegetables in a farm game? Why did he have to play *Seaside Mansion*?
After waiting nearly another half hour, the old man finally came out of the gaming pod.
"Oh, Xiao Chen, you’ve been waiting outside all this time?" Grandpa Zhang saw Chen Mo as soon as he came out, a bit surprised.
Chen Mo chuckled: "Not at all, I just finished a meeting and came down to check on things. How did you enjoy it?"
As he spoke, Chen Mo led Grandpa Zhang downstairs.
Grandpa Zhang nodded: "Pretty good. Being cooped up at home alone for too long gets boring. Chatting with that little girl in the game makes me feel much better."
Chen Mo was taken aback: "Sir, do you live alone?"
Grandpa Zhang nodded: "Yeah, my wife passed away from illness last year. My daughter works in another city and can only come back once every two or three months. Earlier, my daughter said there was a game where you could go in and have a little girl chat with you, and she helped me apply for an account. When I tried it today, that little girl really was quite cute, and she could actually talk to me. It seems technology is advancing really fast. I can’t keep up with you young folks’ thinking anymore."
Chen Mo said: "Sir, if you feel lonely, you can come hang out at the experience store and chat with other players. That would be nice too."
Grandpa Zhang quickly shook his head: "Ah, you young people have your own things to do. I’m an old man, I don’t want to cause you any trouble. It’s fine just chatting with that little girl in the game. Her age reminds me of my daughter when she was little."
Chen Mo escorted Grandpa Zhang to the door: "No problem, sir. You can come by often in the future. I’ll take you to play other games."
Grandpa Zhang nodded: "Alright, thanks a lot today, Xiao Chen."
Chen Mo smiled: "It’s nothing, sir. You can come often. When the new game comes out, you can come and try it too."