Game Development Giant

"I wanted to make a game that is simple to play, but fun to play."

After thinking for a while, Naka Yuji seemed to be unable to think of better words to describe his thoughts, so he could only honestly say what he thought, even though this sentence sounded a bit awkward to other people's ears.

If you are listening to people from other industries, you will think that what Yuji Naka said is not nonsense. However, if you are listening to an experienced designer, you can understand the difficulty of making a simple game mode endless. It’s fun, it’s easy to say, but how difficult is it to do?

At this time, Jester remembered the game called "Sonic" by Yuji Naka.

However, Jester thought about it again and felt that this game looks simple, but it is extremely complicated to make. According to the current functions and computing power of eight-bit computers, it is probably beyond its capabilities, but he has not yet. What a great idea, he is not Doraemon, he can remember some similar excellent games with just a snap of his head. If I have to say it, he does have a simple, interesting and fun game, but...

After hesitating for a moment, Jester looked at Naka Yuji and said: "I have an idea here, but .nsb. is not a new game, but a part of a series of games. The protagonist is Balotelli. Among the characters that have appeared in the game, the protagonist is still Balotelli, or in other words, there is no protagonist or supporting role in this game. What I am envisioning now is a racing game..." But out of respect for Jester , he was still listening carefully.

And Jester also saw the expression on Naka Yuji's face at this time, and he didn't take it seriously, because what he was talking about was not a serious racing game at all, although he had just made a game that was very popular in this era. Look, a serious racing simulation game. But this game is very special.

Therefore, Jester continued with a smile and said: "This is a party game. The most suitable time to play this game is when many friends come to play, and when you have nothing to do during dinner, well, I call it Balotelli Racing. The characters in it will be all the characters in the games in which Balotelli is the protagonist - including the villains. Of course, the racing method here is to compete with who reaches the finish line first, but it is displayed on the same screen..."

Speaking of which. Although Jester has not yet said how to play this very special racing game, when he heard what Jester said on the same screen, Yuji Naka showed a wonderful look on his face. "How many are displayed at the same time?" Yuji Naka almost blurted out.

Jester just glanced at him briefly, and then said in a calm tone: "There are four controller slots designed in drembx, so my initial plan is to allow up to four players to play on the same screen at the same time."

As a game designer, Yuji Naka naturally understands the playability of multiplayer games. It's far more entertaining than a single-player game.

After hearing what Jester said, Naka Yuji's interest was completely aroused. He couldn't wait to ask: "So what is the special gameplay you mentioned in this game?"

"hehe."…

Jester chuckled lightly at first. He drank some water to moisten his throat and said: "Actually, this game was just a temporary idea. I only had the idea of ​​making a racing game for home consoles when I was designing the motion simulation arcade game, but that idea It's very imperfect. I've been thinking about how to make a serious racing game like "Rallycross America". Until you just said that you want to make a fun, simple but playable game, I guess suddenly there is This idea.”

Naka Yuji listened extremely carefully, and Jester was also considering his own words.

In fact, he has never played the game "Super Mario Kart", he has only heard of it. After all, the status of this game is there. He has also not played the new carriage on the Wii, although this game was later created. The sales record of this single game was 38 million. This sales record was not broken until gta5 seven or eight years later. Jester did not know the final sales of gta5 because when he traveled through time, gta5 The PC version has not been released.

However, he has played many games based on Super Mario Kart, um, Kart Run, for example.

Jester used his own words to talk to Naka Yuji based on his understanding of this type of game. After hearing Jester's description of this game, Naka Yuji's eyes became brighter and brighter. He even hurriedly picked up the pen from Jester's desk and jotted it down quickly.

He was indeed moved by what Jester said about the game.

"A genius idea!"

After Jester finished talking about the basic gameplay of the game, which he called "Balotelli Racing", Naka Yuji even clapped his hands and praised him. Jester almost completed the basic gameplay in a snap of his fingers. The gameplay and setting of the game are almost the simplest and most interesting model in his mind. Just like "American Cube" back then, it opened a door for him in game design that he had never opened before. door.

"Can I make this game?"

With an almost trembling tone, Naka Yuji asked eagerly. His eyes looked at Jester sincerely. He was most looking forward to the answer he expected from Jester.

Jester was a little embarrassed by Naka Yuji's look. He coughed to ask Naka Yuji to stop looking at him like this, and then asked: "Are you willing to make a game series? This game I plan to sit in Balotelli's series because this cartoony and humorous style is the most suitable for this game."

Obviously, when Jester asked this, Yuji Naka obviously hesitated.

After all, he is no longer a little-known designer. After "Phantasy Star" became an instant hit, his popularity among people is very high. Some game media almost compare him to Yuji Tsui and Sakaguchi. Hironobu, an RPG game designer as famous as Shigeru Miyamoto, even placed his "Phantasy Star" on the same high level as "Dragon Quest", "Final Fantasy", and "The Legend of Zelda".

They are called the four major Japanese RPGs, and some fanatical fans even call them the four major national RPGs.

As for Jester, Jester and his several RPGs, whose productions are no less than or even better than these four games, and which have given these game designers unimaginable inspiration when designing similar games, have been praised by many Japanese games. The media and Japanese avid players automatically forgot about it.

Because Jester is not Japanese, the games he makes cannot be considered Japanese games.

What? You said that three of our four major RPGs have a strong reference to Jester's "Fire Emblem" in style? Isn't this nonsense? It's just a place some talented designers thought of when designing games.

What? You said Yuji Tsui himself said that after playing "Fire Emblem", he burned his original design plan for "Dragon Quest" and then played "Fire Emblem" for a month continuously before completing it. A new project involving "Dragon Quest"? Isn’t this nonsense? Why didn’t I know that Yuuji Tsui said these things?

What? Are you saying that Hironobu Sakaguchi and Yuji Naka are both disciples of Jester? Could it be that if someone does something to you, you have to call that person a master? It's simply a mouthful.

Naka Yuji obviously wants to take away this idea, but he wants to set the content of the game himself. Obviously, he wants to make an independent game, and does not want to be just a vassal of Balotelli. Moreover, in his opinion Come on, such a good idea is enough to make a series independently, why do you need to rely on Balotelli's popularity?

Yes, Yuji Naka also knows that the sales curve of the game "Balotelli's Adventures in Another World" is simply terrifyingly stable. So far, this game has sold 15 million copies, ranking Although it was somewhat understood that Jester wanted to rely on the fame of "Balotelli Series" to make this new racing game more popular, Yuji Naka still said: "Bss, I think this game is enough to stand on its own. A series is not tied to a certain character at all..."

But before Naka Yuji could finish speaking, Jester interrupted him. Jester said seriously: "Naka ​​Yuji, you have to know that we have already had someone who is different from us in terms of picture and style. The game we are going to make is very similar to the game. If we create a game with such graphics and style, whether it is resetting the character or completing other tasks, it will be a waste. Moreover, with Barlow Isn’t it silly to not use the Telly series with such a good reputation?”

Jester's words left Naka Yuji speechless for a moment.