Game Development Giant

Jester didn't ask what was going on on the phone. Logically speaking, he and Claudia were just partners, and he had no need or obligation to agree to her slightly rude request.

But when Claudia said the request in a completely different tone of confidence and calmness than before, Jester couldn't help but think of the few days he had spent with the other party, and what the other party had said in traditional English. In the traditional tavern, I told myself about the traditional past of the tavern. I remembered the scene when I was sent back to the hotel after drinking Irish stout for the first time and I was a little drunk. I remembered a lot.

Therefore, Jester agreed almost involuntarily. In his heart, he not only regarded Claudia as his partner, but also regarded her as his friend, and he also understood the other party's experience and knew This girl who seems to be wrapped in steel, a woman who shows off her abilities everywhere, is actually a very fragile woman.

The reason for not asking is very simple. When the other party wants to tell you, they will naturally tell you. Asking rashly is naturally inappropriate and untimely.

However, according to Jester's guess, what made Claudia so distraught may be that something happened in her family, or something happened to her relatives. Jester first booked a flight from Los Angeles overnight and flew from Los Angeles tomorrow morning. tickets to London, and then he closed his eyes and began to think. From what he knew about Claudia, she had no feelings for her two half-brothers, but she was not interested in driving her out of the house. This is not the case with his father. Gradually, Jester seemed to realize that Claudia had hidden something from herself from the beginning. The stories she told herself did not seem to be all true, especially her description of her father. The expression and eyes on Claudia's face at that time flashed through Ste's mind, when she talked about her two good-for-nothing brothers. Her eyes were cold and ruthless, and the corners of her mouth were raised to show disdain.

But when it came to her father, her expression was completely different.

Jester took behavioral psychology as an elective in college. In this school of thought, it is believed that people cannot hide their micro-expressions because these micro-expressions are subconscious actions and are not controlled by the brain at all, just like unconditioned reflexes. , this is an ability that people are born with, do not need to exercise, and cannot be changed no matter how hard they exercise.

Because it is just an elective course. He only talked about the superficial aspects of this subject, and Jester was not very familiar with it. He was not so good that he could analyze the subtle changes in a person's expression like an FBI agent from the Behavior Identification Section. He couldn't tell the person's specific thoughts, but he could see that Claudia had the same look but completely different micro-expressions when describing her father and her brother. Because the idea of ​​this game was first proposed by Jester, no one else has really been exposed to what an excellent SRPG game should be like. Maintaining these separately developed systems under an overall style is the most important task of the producer.

If a huge game does not have a producer to correct and coordinate, there will be serious problems. For example, it is like an arpg game with a turn-based combat system, slg or srpg style. grid map. It has become four different things.

However, members of the development team also expressed understanding, and in the early stages of development, there were not too many areas that required coordination. And it only takes a few days, so they can just discuss it themselves.

After arranging everything, Jester boarded the plane to London.

During the long flight of more than ten hours, which spanned the entire day, Jester did not sleep. Although he left the United States, his work did not leave, and even if it was just Mars Entertainment, he was not the only one who was personally responsible for it. "Fire Emblem", such as "Dawn" being developed by Sean Dabbili and Sid Meier, was also the first to propose the plan, and the framework and settings of the entire game were completed by him. There is Seve Doublewater who has established his own independent studio. His "Contra" is also in intensive development. He is even famous for "Balotelli's Adventures in Another World" Will Wright of the United States is also developing the next game with Balotelli as the protagonist.

The development problems of Cypher Dabowater's "Contra" are minimal, because his team has already made a similar type of game before - side-scrolling, beat-em-up, platform shooter "Ba". Sheriff Lotley," so they just had to do it again at a tighter pace.

Therefore, Jester only gave some suggestions of his own in their development report. For example, it is best to add a hidden level that cannot be entered through ordinary methods, such as eight underwater levels. Others have not been carried out. Lots of corrections, as these guys can handle it just fine.

However, the differences between Sean Dabbili and Sid Meier are very big on "Dawn". Because "Dawn" has a huge content, it must not be supported by the capacity of the home computer. This is okay. It is said to be the first large-scale arcade game produced by Mars Entertainment.

When some required effects and technical preparations were completed, and the team began to accelerate the final sprint of the game, the two had some conceptual conflicts in the game, such as Sean Dabbili's advocating battle. For simple pleasure, he believes that there is no need to make the game too real, which will increase the difficulty and make it difficult to obtain pleasure.

But Sid Meier's philosophy is exactly the opposite. He believes that it is easiest for players to enhance their sense of immersion when the game simulates reality. Only with a sense of immersion can players be attracted to the game day and night. Neither of them can convince the other. , so they each wrote a report on the game "Dawn" and gave it to Jester, allowing him, the real designer of the game, to make a decision.

To be honest, Jester essentially agrees with Sid Meier's suggestion, because his suggestion represents the development direction of future games, and everything is closer to reality, but now is not the future, and the current technical conditions simply cannot do it. When it comes to simulating real air combat as requested by Sid Meier, if we do this forcefully, it will only increase the difficulty in vain, and the gain will not be worth the loss.

Sean Dabili's traditional view of playing games just for fun is very consistent with the current situation, especially when there are many players in the "Dawn of Dawn" team who he personally led and played "Saloman Snake". 》Development employees, these people have been baptized in the development of "Saloman Snake", and they will definitely be comfortable in making a game of the same type and style.

Therefore, after Jester thought for a while, he decided to personally write a letter to Sid Meier. This time, Sean Dabbili, his choice for the development of "Dawn", would inevitably make people unhappy. Sid Meier was unhappy, but Jester also asked in the letter how the other party was preparing for the pirate-type Age of Discovery game that he had discussed with him before. If possible, after the development of "Dawn" is completed, You can start developing this game right away.

As for Will Wright's report, it is much simpler, because they just completed "Balotelli's Adventures in Another World" two years ago, and they have been working with the hardware development team for nearly half a year. I have fully understood the development process and overall performance of Dreambox, and there is basically no time to rest. It can be said that these people are the game development team that best understands the performance and limits of Dreambox. Therefore, Jester follows the practice of later game companies. , directly gave them a month-long vacation.

Just in the middle of this month, Will Wright's team ended their vacation and returned to the company to report on their work. Originally, based on the sales results of "Balotelli's Adventures in Another World", Will Wright was fully qualified to propose the establishment of his own company. independent studio, and Jester also asked Mark Saini to ask Will Wright for his opinion, but Will Wright unexpectedly declined. It was not that he was unwilling, but that he felt that his ability was not enough. In order to support a studio, he planned to continue studying at Mars Entertainment.

Therefore, Jester also handed over the next game with Balotelli as the protagonist to Will Wright.

During this period of time, Will Wright's team was also discussing what kind of game the next game with Balotelli as the protagonist should be. Although there were many discussions, the selected game was not satisfactory. Very satisfied, and in this report, Will Wright's team decided to choose several types, hoping to get Jester's guidance.

Balotelli was created by Jester to replace the original historical Mario. Seeing as Shigeru Miyamoto has now started the development of Zelda, the Super Mario game may really be stillborn. Therefore, Jester attaches great importance to Balotelli as a game character.

And the current hot sales of "Balotelli's Adventures in Another World" and the shortage of demand have further confirmed this point.

The game style of the Balotelli series is cartoony, it is funny, it is easy to play, but it can maintain depth. In short, it is fun and you can never get tired of playing it. Jester briefly looked at Will Wright's team The results discussed are generally in line with Jester's classification of games with Balotelli as the protagonist.

ps: I recommended a book from a friend, "Shadow Supreme", which is a very different kind of infinite flow.