Chapter 809: Playing Charades
Once the development progress of "Pokémon World" was confirmed, the actual development phase officially began.
Everyone had their own assigned responsibilities: unifying the art style, refining the rules, creating unique skills and animations for each Pokémon, producing a detailed Pokédex, planning the world map, and so on.
The planning of the world map, in particular, was especially important. Although it would be generated by AI based on algorithms, it still required manual review, and even Chen Mo himself would take a look. If any negative news were to arise, it could have an uncontrollable impact on the game, so caution was paramount.
In reality, for most of the current major game companies, developing an MR game posed no difficulty at all. Even if there were some troublesome aspects, they were easily overcome. After all, these games ran on smart glasses, constrained by hardware, essentially like "dancing in chains."
Thus, creativity became especially precious.
Although MR games were a hot topic at the moment, many game companies weren't paying too much attention to this area, mainly because they believed that a blockbuster MR game wouldn't emerge so quickly. While smart glasses were advancing rapidly, MR games still had many limitations. Their overall visual performance couldn't even match PC games, let alone VR.
As for a blockbuster MR game?
Many designers couldn't even imagine what it would look like.
...
While "Pokémon World" was being developed, the promotional trailer for the game was also being filmed simultaneously.
Unlike before, this trailer would use a combination of live-action and CG to create a hyper-realistic effect for the players. The various Pokémon would appear in their most lifelike, high-definition forms within "Pokémon World," presenting players with a fantastical and vibrant world of Pokémon.
As for the in-game real-world visuals...
They would be slightly inferior to the CG, but not by much—at least for the high-end version.
The budget version couldn't even run "Three Kingdoms Kill," let alone "Pokémon World." The standard version of the Matrix Glasses could run it, but with significantly reduced special effects and graphics quality.
This trailer would be filmed simultaneously in multiple regions around the world: domestically, in Europe and America, in Japan... It would extensively feature iconic landmarks from various countries, showcasing local cultural connotations as much as possible, thereby conveying a very clear concept: "This is a game played by the whole world, a game destined to become a global hit."
Everyone would wear Matrix Glasses, enjoying a brand-new experience where the Pokémon world and the real world intertwined.
...
The Matrix Glasses were selling well, and Zhou Jiangping wasn't idle either. While promoting them overseas, he was also developing various software and system optimization content for the glasses.
This was a long-term battle. Having worked in the mobile phone industry for so many years, Zhou Jiangping was clearly well-versed in this.
Just as he was busy, he received a message from Chen Mo.
"Check your email."
Zhou Jiangping temporarily set aside his work, opened his email, and found a video sent by Chen Mo.
The video wasn't long, only a little over three minutes, but after watching it, Zhou Jiangping immediately stood up and sent Chen Mo a video call request.
"How is it? Did you watch the promotional video?" Chen Mo was sitting in an experience store, asking with a smile.
Zhou Jiangping nodded: "I watched it! Is this the promotional video for the new game?"
"Yeah, what do you think?"
Zhou Jiangping said excitedly, "Great! This trailer is really well made! At the very least, the game's concept is very novel. With good promotion, it should be an excellent entry point. Even if the gameplay can't be as rich as what's shown in the video..."
Chen Mo chuckled: "The gameplay is much richer than what's shown in the video. When has Thunderbolt Interactive ever done clickbait? The actual game will be even more fun than the trailer suggests. Of course, except for a slight downgrade in graphics, since current technology can't support 100% complete realism."
"That's still amazing! And it seems like you've used all of Thunderbolt Games' major IPs this time. Boss Chen, you're really generous," Zhou Jiangping remarked with emotion.
Chen Mo said, "Since you think it's okay, I'll prepare to release the trailer. The Thunderbolt Game Platform and major forums will all promote it heavily. You guys should coordinate on your end too—update the Matrix Glasses official website, ad slots on major online shopping platforms, product pages, and so on. I'll have someone send the relevant materials to your advertising department. Make sure to check them."
"All promotional efforts will start simultaneously. The overseas market is the same—multilingual versions will be updated at the same time. Moreover, this promotion is mainly aimed at overseas players, since we need to open up the international market for the Matrix Glasses."
Zhou Jiangping nodded: "Okay, no problem. I'll arrange it right away."
...
Although "Pokémon World" hadn't been fully developed yet, progress was fast, and now was the perfect time to warm up with the trailer.
Soon, players both domestically and internationally discovered that promotional materials for a game called "Pokémon World" were flooding their field of vision everywhere. It was on the Thunderbolt Game Platform, on the Matrix Glasses official website, on major shopping sites, and on many tech and gaming websites!
Chen Mo hadn't officially released the trailer yet; he was still in the "playing charades" phase with the players.
However, besides the trailer, there were various other promotional materials, such as posters or some video clips.
These materials were all very subtle and cryptic. Many people couldn't understand what they meant and could only guess.
For example, one promotional poster showed a city square where many young people were happily running around, and some were staring at each other as if engaged in some kind of competition. Strangely, each of these young people had a black silhouette following them. The silhouettes had different shapes and poses. It was roughly possible to tell that some outlines were animals, but beyond that, nothing else was discernible.
These materials were like riddles. Players knew it was a game, but they couldn't guess which device it was for, nor what kind of game it was.
Many foreign players noticed that on overseas shopping sites, the product details page for the Matrix Glasses had more than half of its content dedicated to introducing the exclusive relationship between the Matrix Glasses and the Thunderbolt Game Platform, or the game materials for "Pokémon World," while the device's technical specifications were squeezed into a smaller space...
The sudden promotional blitz surprised many players. It was rare for Chen Mo to put so much effort into promoting his own game!
What kind of game was this that Chen Mo valued so highly?
Just as players were buzzing with discussion and curiosity reached its peak, Chen Mo released the trailer for "Pokémon World."