Game Development Giant

Itagaki Tomonobu nodded.

And Jester continued to talk.

"Then the seventh point is value. Good games give back players' investment in various ways. The investment I'm talking about is of course not money, but time and effort. The rewards can be tangible, but more often they are intangible, but they are all It is to make players feel that they have gained something from the game. They feel that playing the game is worthwhile. This is of course more difficult to achieve. Even according to the current games, not many may be able to do this, but it must be This is the direction that future games need to work towards, and it can still be summed up in one sentence: this game has given me a lot."

In fact, video games began as children's toys.

Their only value is to make children happy. However, with the advancement of technology and the development of the times, electronic games that exist only as children's toys are no longer appropriate.

In this case, we must demand change and innovation.

In fact, in the period of video game history that Jester is familiar with, this period is indeed a period of transformation for this kind of thinking.

Sony was able to rely on the rapid rise of ps and ps2 and gain a lot of support from the church because their thinking changed the fastest, or in other words, they had the least burden compared to Sega and Nintendo. .

Because they do not need to be responsible for previous players.

They don't have the previous players.

And how did Sony do it? It's very simple. It's about capturing a large number of light players into their own camp. It is no longer the case before, where the game was only a matter for children and hardcore players.

Nintendo has a large camp of kids, while Sega has a large camp of hardcore gamers.

However, the number of light players that Sony has expanded is much greater than the number of the two of them combined.

It can be said that the development of video games would not have happened without Sony's original efforts. It will not be like the situation that Jester knows well more than 20 years later, and the game being called the ninth art will never happen. Sony's role in it is the most important. .

Especially during the period when PS2 dominated the world, what Sony did was far beyond what an ordinary game developer could do.

They did not crazily squeeze the value and potential of the market because of their near-monopoly market share. They did everything possible to protect the healthy development of this industry, which is commendable. I don’t know how much better it is than when Nintendo relied on FC to monopolize the video game market and did things that were detrimental to the development of the industry. So, this is why Jester made up his mind to completely finish Nintendo. reason.

This kind of company is not worthy of making games.

certainly.

This process of changing thinking and the expansion of new player groups does not start overnight. The first thing to change is to completely reverse the concept that video games are not just children's toys.

Maybe in the future. This concept has become very popular.

Even the main audience of video games, whether it is PC games or console games, except for Nintendo, which is holding back the development of games, no one would put their main audience on children. However, the present is not the future. In the eyes of many people now, video games are the main audience. In particular, the main audience for console games is still children.

And I want people to completely change this idea.

I want to lay down a rule for future video games, a brand new rule. Let more people look at video games with different eyes, which is what Jester wants to do.

Let more people play games not just for fun.

That's why he defined point 6 like this.

Of course, this is very difficult. Even in the future, when countless game companies are working hard for this, this idea has not taken root in the hearts of the people.

However, Jester is willing to work hard for this, and he believes that one day, this will become a reality.

Video games, like movies, literature, music, painting, and other forms of artistic expression, can become true art, rather than what is generally called the ninth art.

In this world, there are many things that become the ninth art, and it’s not just video games.

"Finally, point seven."

Originally Itagaki Tomonobu thought that Jester had finished speaking, but to his surprise, Jester paused for a while, took a breath, and then continued speaking, and Jester also saw that Itagaki Tomonobu There was a look of surprise on his face, and at the same time he joked: "There is only one last thing left, and it is also the most important thing whether a game can become a classic."

After hearing what Jester said, Itagaki Tomonobu also picked up his pen again and started recording.

"This is what I call resilience."

After saying this, Jester pondered again, as if he felt that the previous wording was not very appropriate, so he re-planned and waited for seven or eight seconds before continuing.

"It's a positive emotion. It's an emotion where, after playing a game, a player has a strong feeling that they can do better the next time they play. This feeling is often coupled with a desire to play again right away. It has a lot to do with the addictiveness of the game. A game that can stimulate players to have this kind of emotion should be an incredible game. Players not only feel that their previous failures are just accumulated experience, but also feel that they can put their experience into action immediately. , and won.”

Hearing Jester say this, Itagaki Tomonobu's expression became extremely serious.

Because of the last point Jester mentioned.

It is crucial for the kind of difficult games he wants to make, because high-difficulty games want players to persevere and not give up the idea of ​​continuing to play despite being abused again and again. This kind of self The resilience that the boss mentioned is crucial.

After finishing speaking, Jester looked more relaxed.

"Okay, this is all the experience and some ideas I have accumulated in game development over the past six years."

Itagaki Tomonobu naturally knows how important these seven points that Jester angrily summed up just now are for a game designer. It can be said that these seven experiences that go deep into all aspects of game development can make his entire development process His career will be spared at least three to five years of detours, so he is naturally grateful for Jester's gratitude.

Jester couldn't help but feel a little amused when he saw Itagaki Tomonobu looking like he was about to cry.

"What's wrong, Itagaki? In fact, you don't need to thank me. I'm optimistic about your talent. I'm just a person who has been in game development for a few years before you. Even if I don't tell you this, you In the future, I will summarize these things as my own experience and speak about them in my own language. I just help you save some distance."

Saying that, Jester smiled.

"Even, I still blame myself a little, because after all, these experiences are just my personal experiences. Logically speaking, they are not suitable for everyone, because everyone has different experiences, different thoughts, and different behaviors. Naturally, Even when they do the same thing, they have different insights and experiences. I am telling you my own experience now, not because I want you to accept it in full, but just for your reference and verification. "

"Otherwise, I will be overthrowing the potential. It seems that you have made a lot of progress, but in fact, your potential will be completely destroyed."

Jester's words were very sincere, and Itagaki Tomonobu nodded repeatedly.

At this time, Jester lowered his head and glanced at the time on his watch, and then said to Itagaki Tomonobu: "That's all for today. I'm a little hungry too. You should be about the same, right? Go eat something to cushion your stomach first. , and then do other things...Also, don’t do the development planning of "Shadow Blade" now, today is a gathering time and a day to relax."

Hearing Jester's slightly kind words, Itagaki Tomonobu nodded sheepishly.

He was indeed a little too concerned about the design work of this game during this period. After all, this was the game development opportunity that Jester had approved and he had absolute power. As a newcomer, it would be wrong for him not to be excited and take it seriously. Possible, but it seems that this excessive excitement and attention does not seem to have a particularly good effect on game development.

On the contrary, it will reduce the efficiency and quality of game design.

For example, what Jester told himself at the beginning using Capcom games as examples was something he had not considered.

He has played all the games his boss mentioned before. If he could fully consider and refer to them, Jester would not need to remind himself of these things.

This also made Itagaki Tomonobu a little ashamed.

When Jester was walking outside the Carnival Convention and Exhibition Center, he found that even though it was time to eat, the trial location of "Foreign Requiem" was still crowded.

Many people just bought a hamburger or a chicken taco at a temporary McDonald's sales point in the exhibition hall and then queued up again. Some people seemed not to even bother to eat because they were almost done. It's time for them to try it out.

They must not miss this opportunity which may have taken them at least more than an hour to get.

If you come with friends, you may ask your friends to help you go out and buy some. But if you come by yourself, you may have to endure hunger and continue to queue.

Of course, only on-the-spot investigation will yield results on the specific evaluations of these players on this game. (To be continued...)