Game Design: Is it possible? CaiGou

The sky was shrouded in layers of black clouds, and from time to time there were a few dragon and snake lightning spread across the sky.

The rain was pouring, and the big raindrops were like broken pearls, falling from the sky and washing the earth.

In the season of biting cold wind, players put on thick winter coats. Although the weather is cold now, the players' hearts are burning.

Because after days and years of waiting, the time has finally arrived on the 10th, and today is the day Stardew Valley is released.

Douyu live broadcast platform, game area.

Wang Laoju started the live broadcast early in the morning, and before the game was released, she chatted with friends in the live broadcast room.

"One thing to say, after playing too many hardcore games, I really need casual games to adjust. I'm really looking forward to Stardew Valley..."

"Starting from today, I will temporarily step down from my role as Cyber ​​Captain and enter Stardew Valley to open up wasteland. Let me, a farming enthusiast, see what's going on!"

Wang Laoju said this with confidence. In his opinion, he is a hard-core technology stream anchor. A mere casual farming management game is not a piece of cake for him?

"Jingle bells! Jingle bells! Jingle bells!"

While they were chatting enthusiastically, the alarm clock rang nearby and it was already nine o'clock in the morning.

Wang Laoju ignored chatting with water friends and immediately opened the homepage of the steam platform.

I wanted to search for the keyword Taipingdao, but I never expected to see the Stardew Valley column in the most conspicuous recommendation on the homepage.

"Tsk, tsk, the old thief really has some tricks up his sleeve."

While clicking to enter the column, Wang Laoju said with emotion: "A pixel-style game, such a good recommendation will be given at any time, and the steam platform is also generous..."

[Game name: Stardew Valley]

[Developer: Taipingdao Company]

[Type: Leisure·Farming·Management·Combat·Pixel]

[Price: 48 yuan]

[Message from the Developer: Cyber ​​Cultivation, Boundless Magic Power]

Water friend: "???"

Lao Ju: "???"

No...what's going on?

What does the message from the developer mean?

As we all know, the games released by Taipingdao have a distinctive feature, and that is the message from the developers.

Throughout the release history of Taipingdao games——

[Is that okay, CaiGou?]

【Give everyone the whole job】

[See if I smoke or not, then you’re done]

【The show is here】

[One day in the cave means a thousand years in the world]

Each of these developer messages clearly reflects the characteristics of each game.

But in most cases, the games released by Taipingdao still use the developer's message "Is it okay, CaiGou".

Once changed, in the eyes of players, it means that there is something wrong with the design of this game.

Right now, the message from the developers of Stardew Valley is something that has never been seen before [Cyber ​​cultivation, boundless power].

Everyone feels from the bottom of their hearts that the game Stardew Valley may not be as simple as it seems.

"Cyber ​​cultivating immortals, with boundless magic power?"

Wang Laoju frowned and said: "Didn't you say that Stardew Valley is a casual farming and management game? How can it be related to cyber immortality?"

In the live broadcast room, water friends were also puzzled.

"You ask me, who am I asking?"

"What new tricks is the old thief doing?"

"No? It's a pixelated game, why would the old thief change his message to another developer?"

"What happened to pixel style? Pixel style is eating your rice? Pixel games are the best games in the world!"

"That's right! I endorse pixel games!"

"Lao Ju, stop dawdling, just do it. Play the game for a while, and you will understand that cyber cultivating immortals has boundless power. What does this sentence mean?"

Wang Laoju glanced at the barrage and thought she was right.

Instead of guessing here, it’s better to enter the game and experience it.

According to the tone of Taiping Dao and Lao Thief, the answer should be revealed after just a few hours of playing the game.

Just at this time, the game was downloaded, and Wang Laoju entered the game directly without saying anything.

On the white screen, the Taipingdao icon appeared.

As the click of the mouse sounded, a soothing background music of rural pastoral style sounded.

Among the layers of lofty mountains, two big pink birds flew from east to west. As the camera gradually moved up, the five characters of Stardew Valley appeared in the sky.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

After a few soft beeps, four options were listed below——

[New Game] [Load] [Cooperate] [Leave]

The options are simple and the meaning is clear.

Wang Laoju directly entered the [New Game] option.

【name】

【Farm name】

【Favorite thing】

【Like animals】

[Skip opening animation]

"The name is Wang Laoju, and the farm is called Ouhuang Farm."

Wang Laoju muttered: "My favorite thing, of course, is the one-click three-way connection for all water friends! Like animals? Choose between cats and dogs, right? Then choose cats!"

In the live broadcast room, cat friends and dog friends among friends posted barrages one after another because of Wang Laoju's choice.

"Cat Cult wins a great victory!"

"The holy fire is shining, the holy fire is shining brightly, all my disciples, meow meow meow meow!"

"Angry! When will the dog gang stand up?"

“A farm without dogs is soulless!”

Wang Laoju joked a few words with a smile and entered the final stage of pinching people.

It's a pity that pixel-style games cannot make characters look like ancient gods. For Wang Laoju, the limitation of making faces is still relatively large.

But Wang Laoju still tried his best to make the protagonist look like the Mediterranean to the best of his ability to reflect his unique taste.

"It has to be you, the others don't have that taste!"

"The pixel style can be so abstract? You were born to be an anchor!"

"Fuck the anchor? Who wants to fuck the anchor?"

"Hundan, don't underestimate the bond between me and my hair!"

With all preparations in place, Wang Laoju rubbed her hands and explained: "A new game needs to be experienced to be experienced. We won't skip the opening animation. Let's go!"

With Wang Laoju’s click of the mouse, the journey to Stardew Valley officially begins.

The screen gradually dimmed, and as warm firelight emerged, it gradually illuminated the entire screen, allowing players to see the overall picture clearly.

In the bedroom, the wood on the side of the fireplace was burning brightly, emitting bursts of light and heat. The old man with a gray beard, wearing a hat, was lying peacefully on the bed, holding a letter in his hand.

[To my most special grandson, please accept this letter and don’t open it yet. Please be patient and listen carefully——]

【The moment you feel overwhelmed by the burden of real life! 】

【The moment when your spirit disappears in front of emptiness! 】

[If one day, my grandson, you can open this gift! 】

The envelope was not opened now. As the narration continued, the player was still touched by these simple narrations.

"Grandpa, I want to open it now. Growing up is really tiring..."

"Oh, oh, oh, grandpa, they are all bullying me..."

"Grandpa, if I had known that adults are so tired, I wouldn't want to grow up!"

"Grandpa, I want to go back to my childhood..."

[xx years later...]

As Shuiyou barraged one sentence after another, the screen dimmed again. When the screen lit up, the scene had switched.

It’s no longer Grandpa’s cozy bedroom with a burning fireplace.

It's a company lobby called [JOJA].

The dull gray tone has become the main theme of the hall.

The two neat rows of cubicles are small and cramped, but they are the only space left for office workers, and Grandpa's favorite grandson is also among them.

Office workers sit in front of computers and work hard. There are cameras above each cubicle. The work pressure is visibly high to the naked eye.

On both sides of the office hall, instead of windows, there are patrol inspectors standing with their hands behind their hands. They are observing the employees at work.

When the camera focused on his grandson's cubicle, he could no longer endure this extremely tiring life. He opened the drawer under his desk and took out the letter left by his grandfather.

[Dear Wang Laoju. 】

[If you are reading this letter, you must be in a difficult situation and looking forward to a turnaround. 】

[A long time ago, I encountered the same situation. At that time, I turned a blind eye to the most important things in life...]

[That is the connection between people and the relationship between people and nature, so I gave up everything and came to the place that really belongs to me. 】

[I put the deed of the land in an envelope...]

[There lies all my pride and joy, European King Farm, located in Stardew Valley, on the south coast. It will be the perfect place for you to start a new life. 】

[This is my most precious gift, and now it is yours! I know you will honor your family, my dear grandson, I wish you good luck. 】

【Love you grandpa! 】

[By the way, if Lewis is still alive, just say hello to that old guy for me, okay? 】

It's obviously just a pixel game.

It's obviously just an opening animation.

It's obviously just a letter from grandpa.

However, in just a few minutes, it brings continuous touches to the players.

"Just because of this letter, I've decided to buy Stardew Valley!"

"Wow, this grandpa is so good...he understands me!"

"Grandpa even thought of a retreat for his grandson? But in the real world, most people have no retreat at all..."

"It hurts my heart, old man!"

When Wang Laoju saw this letter, she unconsciously recalled a famous line from a movie in her mind——

"My parents died when I was young, and my family was destitute. I had no choice but to succeed. What about you? What can you do when you return to your hometown?"

"In addition to inheriting your father's pig farm, your father's several houses, a few cars and fifty acres of land, what else do you think you have? What else are you?"

Wang Laoju raised the corners of her mouth slightly and said with a smile: "There is no escape in real life. I didn't expect that in the game, I could return to my hometown and inherit my farm."

After reading the letter, Wang Laoju left her job, got on the bus, and arrived at Stardew Valley. She got off the bus and saw that the surrounding trees and flowers were lush and pleasant.

Next to the station, Robin had been waiting here early to welcome Wang Laoju's arrival.

Robin, who had beautiful hair and a sweet smile, saw Wang Laoju getting out of the car and said with a smile:

"Hello, you are Wang Laoju, right? My name is Robin, and I am a carpenter here. I was sent by Mayor Lewis to take you to your new home."

"He himself is already there cleaning the house for you. The farm is over there. Come with me."

Wang Laoju followed Robin to the Ouhuang Farm. Robin explained as he walked: "This is the Ouhuang Farm."

As soon as Wang Laoju stepped into Ouhuang Farm, she saw the house in front of her. Although this wooden hut was small, it was very cozy. There was a tall firewood pile in the utility room next to it. The house was kept very clean.

only……

At this moment, Ouhuang Farm is surrounded by overgrown weeds, gravel, and trees growing haphazardly. It is a desolate and miserable scene.

It is undoubtedly a very difficult thing to start from scratch, develop and grow, become bigger and stronger, and create greater glory.

"What's wrong?"

Robin saw Wang Laoju's expression and understood what he was thinking, and said: "Although it is full of weeds, the soil below is very fertile. As long as you have a little patience, you can definitely clean it up quickly."

Wang Laoju nodded repeatedly when she heard this, and Robin immediately led her to the door of her new home and showed it: "Dang, dong, dong, dong! This is your new house."

Lewis, who was wearing brown overalls and a beret, heard the noise and walked out of the house. Although he was older, he was still energetic.

"Ah? The new farmer has arrived?" Lewis walked up to Wang Laoju with a smile and said, "Welcome, my name is Lewis, and I am the mayor of Stardew Valley. You don't know, many people are very curious about you. ”

"Because there are very few people moving here, you instantly became the object of everyone's attention." Lewis turned around and asked: "So...are you moving to your grandpa's old house? This is a nice house The house has a very rustic feel.”

Before Wang Laoju could express her stance, Robin snickered from the sidelines and said, "Country flavor? What a bad adjective... Stubborn is more like it."

When Lewis heard this, he immediately angrily retorted to Robin: "That's so rude!" This roar made Robin tremble in fear.

Lewis put away his anger and turned to Wang Laoju and said: "Don't listen to her, Wang Laoju, she just wants to tempt you to buy her house upgrade service."

When Robin saw that his plan was discovered, he folded his arms in front of his chest in dismay.

"By the way..." Lewis asked kindly: "You must be tired after traveling such a long way, right? It's time for you to go and rest. Tomorrow you have to walk around the town and meet some people. The townspeople really want to get to know you. ”

After Lewis finished his instructions, he turned around and left the farm. After walking a few steps, he suddenly remembered something, turned around, pointed to the large wooden box beside him, and said to Wang Laoju:

"Oh, I almost forgot, if you have something you want to sell, just put it in this box, and I will come and collect it every night. Then... I wish you good luck!"

Lewis and Robin left Ouhuang Farm together. This desolate and dilapidated farm has been Wang Laoju’s territory since then.

The screen dimmed again, and the opening novice plot was over. It was obviously just a pixel-style opening plot, but if you sip it carefully, you will have a long aftertaste.

It was as if there was an indescribable mission that came to Wang Laoju's heart.

what is it then?

K……

When Wang Laoju got rid of the cubicle life of [JOJA] Company, she became the master of life again.

He can try to take control of his life in Stardew Valley, try to slow down the pace of his life and make his life better.

Thinking of this, Wang Laoju rolled up her sleeves and shouted:

"Brothers, Wang Laoju's Stardew Valley pioneering diary has officially begun. Fuck [JOJA] company, I won't serve you anymore!"

【Monthly Ticket】【Recommended Ticket】

PS: The fifth update, today’s update has a total of 20,000 words. Please subscribe, please vote, and support. Thank you Cai Gou.