Chapter 948: Chinese Style
Chen Mo suddenly thought of another matter: "Oh, right, there's also the issue of game pacing."
"Whether a single match lasts exactly two hours isn't set in stone yet. We'll adjust based on map size and game rhythm, but it can only be shorter, not longer. In fact, two hours is already quite tiring for players; if we can compress it to one hour, that would be better."
"However, two hours isn't too long either. It's roughly equivalent to the time spent on a small dungeon instance in some online games. Even running a prison instance in Storm City takes over an hour. Moreover, during those two hours, players spend most of their time searching and farming wild areas, with only a small portion actually fighting, so it won't be as exhausting. On the other hand, many players might be eliminated within ten minutes, finishing a match in just a few minutes, so they won't feel fatigued either."
"This is different from 'PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds.' PUBG is an FPS game. Although searching for loot is relatively relaxing, you constantly have to run from the toxic zone, and your focus needs to be razor-sharp while traveling or in close-quarters combat, making it more tiring. But 'Jianghu' has fewer players than PUBG, and unlike FPS games, you don't need to constantly watch distant areas, so it will be relatively easier."
"Additionally, we need a mechanism similar to PUBG's 'toxic circle.'"
"The distribution of these sects has geographical locations, and these locations serve the game mechanics. They don't need to correspond to real-world geography in martial arts stories. The three major sects—Shaolin, Wudang, and Beggar's Sect—are positioned relatively near the center of the map. The other righteous sects are further outward, while the three evil sects are even more peripheral, each in different directions."
"Outside these sects, various locations are scattered, randomly spawning encounters, martial arts skills, and so on. The entire game flow progresses from the outside inward."
"In the first phase, righteous players operate around their own sects, while evil players try to cause trouble. The conflict between the two sides is concentrated on the outer edges of the map. As the game progresses and the outer encounters are mostly claimed, players begin to converge inward."
"At the same time, players gain the strength to organize sect annihilation battles. Evil sects can destroy both evil and righteous sects, while righteous sects can only destroy evil ones. Successfully doing so yields a large amount of resources."
"Furthermore, the inner part of the map has more and better encounters, but most require certain conditions to obtain, so players can't just rush in at the start."
"Through attrition warfare, the focus of the righteous and evil players will increasingly shift inward. Eventually, the righteous side will elect a Martial Arts Alliance Leader, forcing a decisive battle between good and evil to determine the ultimate winner."
"Alright, that's the general design. We'll discuss the detailed rules when we start the actual development. Does everyone understand?"
Everyone nodded in unison: "Understood."
...
After introducing the concept draft for "Jianghu," everyone went off to handle their own tasks.
In fact, there were quite a few martial arts-themed battle royale games in Chen Mo's previous life, but none of them were particularly well-executed. Most were just a superficial reskin, and their fun factor fell far short of PUBG.
The vast majority of RPG and MOBA games that tried to add a battle royale mode were generally not well-received because their combat systems weren't suited for it.
The appeal of battle royale lies in the fact that different players can adopt different strategies. Weak players can go looting in the wild or play as campers, still managing to ambush skilled gunfighters. At the same time, players with good aim have a significant advantage.
However, in most RPG games with a battle royale mode, combat power is often driven by numerical stats. That is, if I have better gear than you, I can just blindly rush at you and attack, and you'd have little to no way to counter it. The gap in strength between the two sides is too vast.
What makes battle royale great? It's that even if you have an AWM with an 8x scope, a level-three helmet, and level-three armor, if I ambush you with an M4, it only takes a few shots to take you down. As long as a player's gear is decent, they can still compete.
But in RPG and MOBA games? If I have six items and you only have four, I can just fight you with my eyes closed.
So, if this problem isn't solved, the battle royale mode won't work.
A martial arts-themed battle royale game needs to address the combat system, giving players who ambush or strike first enough of an advantage. But due to the limitations of these games' combat systems, very few have done it well. What's more, most similar games are just a superficial reskin, failing to showcase the strengths of a martial arts game. Players try a couple of matches, realize it's far inferior to PUBG, and never come back.
Therefore, to create a martial arts-themed battle royale game, you can't just copy PUBG outright. Two issues must be resolved.
First, there needs to be a dynamic balance of power between players, giving skilled players a certain early advantage while still allowing novices a chance to win.
Second, the game must incorporate enough martial arts elements, whether in the combat system, the interplay between sects, and so on, to create its own unique features and advantages.
Only by achieving these two points can it be considered a qualified game. Otherwise, it's just a cheap imitation with a new coat of paint, making it hard for players to get deeply invested.
Of course, in Chen Mo's previous life, no one could make such a game, and a very important reason was a lack of capability.
They couldn't create a combat system on par with "Dark Souls," couldn't produce high-quality AI, couldn't deliver high-quality graphics...
At the end of the day, they lacked money, talent, and resources, so they could only slap a martial arts skin on a battle royale game to scam players out of their money.
But Chen Mo was different from those game companies. He had ample resources to develop this game.
Fragmented playtime, zero-sum game mode, a certain degree of randomness, a top-tier combat system, a deep martial arts background, diverse gameplay... All of these would make "Jianghu" stand out from other games on the market.
For players who love Chinese style and martial arts games, this would undoubtedly be a must-play. After all, such games are rare to begin with, and since it's made by Chen Mo, who knows when the next one like it would come out.
However, Chen Mo's goal certainly wasn't limited to the domestic market.
There aren't many martial arts enthusiasts abroad who love Chinese style, and they don't understand the essence of martial arts spirit. But aside from its cultural background, "Jianghu" is an excellent work in every other aspect. Even if this game doesn't become a huge hit overseas, it would still attract a group of foreign players to try it, spreading Chinese culture to some extent.
So, Chen Mo chose this game as the year's finale. After accumulating experience from so many previous games, he finally had the confidence to release more Chinese-style games.