Game Development Giant

Jester took a pen and wrote something on the paper.

There are seven or eight pieces of paper scattered around him that are filled with his own writing. All of them are his opinions on the types of 3D action games and how to develop them.

These are all the things he recalled just now. He plans to record them all now while he still has some time to remember them.

After Itagaki Tomonobu finished the development of "Tekken", it was almost time for the new console to be released. At that time, he would hand over this experience to the other party, let the other party understand it carefully, and create an action game that can truly shock people. Of course, Jester will not talk about the specific criminal law regarding the game, but only talks about some of his thoughts on the production of action games.

Jester continued to remember.

Why is "Monster Hunter" a textbook for action games? In fact, this involves the question of what theory is used to make an action game.

Very simple.

It’s a game of time and space, and Monster Hunter is an example of this design theory.

The game's AI is not complicated at all, and it relies on the actions of the monsters themselves to make the real difference. As for how to do this? That is the spirit of craftsmanship. There are no shortcuts or even theories. It all depends on the understanding of movements and doing it bit by bit. The biggest advantage of Monster Hunter lies in the action design. The three types of actions before He has all the advantages of the game, and performs them all perfectly.

Jester once discussed with a person who likes "Monster Hunter" what the game is about.

I thought it was a game about fighting monsters, but he said it was a game about combining equipment. After struggling for a long time, I finally unified my thinking. This is a game about combining equipment for fighting monsters... In fact, this conclusion is still a game about fighting monsters.

"Monster Hunter" is really good at controlling the rhythm of monster hunting. I said earlier that Monster Hunter’s AI is simple, but what I’m actually talking about is that the underlying AI is simple. But in terms of special processing of AI, Monster Hunter is extremely complicated: control of anger, changes in actions after anger, changing zones, sleeping, special actions in special zones, etc. These complex processing not only make each monster's personality extremely distinctive and easy to remember, but also regulate the rhythm of the game very well. It is not a constant fight, which can be said to be a stroke of genius.

If we have to talk about shortcomings, apart from the recognized problem of poor graphics, we cannot say that there are none at all.

In other words, this is not a shortcoming.

That’s the difficulty of getting started. This is a game that doesn’t seem difficult, but it’s very difficult for novices to get started. There is basically no teaching in the game. The designer fully expects players to go to the training center to practice weapons on their own. In modern games, this method can basically be said to be seeking death; if the first 20 hours are not passed (take 2G as an example), it basically feels like a garbage game (for Anyone who comes into contact with Monster Hunter for the first time), as long as you insist on getting through the Boom Dragon completely on your own, you will love it to the death. However, 20 hours is really too long...

Why?

Do you know how long it takes to play through Naughty Dog's masterpiece "Uncharted 3"?

Just thirteen hours.

Maybe when it comes to difficulties, many people will talk about the problem of enduring the dragon. Regarding the difficulty of enduring the dragon, it may be a common convention or even recognized by the players.

In fact, Jester has said it before. The reason why a game is difficult is because the game designer's design intention is not understood at all. As long as the designer's design intention is understood, any game can be played. It can't be called difficult.

Many people say that it is difficult to endure the dragon because AI is difficult... In fact, this is wrong. For action games, AI is always a sub-item of action design. The difficulty of an action game is most focused on the enemy's attack speed and retraction speed, and then the numerical values ​​(offense and defense, etc.). This is the most important part in determining the difficulty. AI can only be an auxiliary, as I said before. Ninja Dragon 2 is an action-oriented game, which is about the control and game of time and space.

The essence of Ninja Dragon 2 is that it has very strict requirements on time and space, because the enemy moves and retracts very quickly, and does not even give you time to react - you must appear in the very right place at the very right time. , to damage the enemy.

At the same time, because these requirements are too strict, when designing, the enemies of Ninlong must not have a lot of health. Under such harsh conditions, if the enemy's health is like that of "Monster Hunter", then don't play it. .

It can be said that Ninja Dragon and Monster Hunter are taking two completely different paths when it comes to the game and use of time and space.

Of course, different paths lead to the same destination.

In fact, this strictness is also the success of Ninja Dragon, because it creates the feeling of "life and death in an instant". This is the best approach for ninja-themed games. From the game "Shadow Blade", Jester can also clearly feel that Itagaki Tomonobu's ideological immaturity lies here, that is, he has not completely understood how to make a ninja game, which is the most appropriate.

Therefore, the strict requirements and the enemy's low blood volume work together, resulting in the "sense of luck" we have when playing Ninja Dragon. The same enemy is sometimes killed in a short while, and sometimes he is beaten to death. It's like a dog... In fact, as long as you are lucky, you just need to happen to appear in the right position two or three times, and it will be extremely easy to pass here, because the enemy has low blood volume; and if you want to It is very difficult to reach that appropriate position through human control because the requirements are too strict.

On the contrary, when Capcom makes games, their philosophy is to give players enough reaction time to control, and the control of space and time is very strict, which is very different from strict. This means that the boss's blood volume must be long enough to check the "error rate" of player control... For example, in Monster Hunter, you may have been fighting the boss for half an hour, but all your previous efforts were wasted because of a greedy mistake...

And at the end of the day.

Ninja Dragon's main game is how to create an opportunity to attack the enemy; while in "Monster Hunter" and "Devil May Cry", I use a freeze of the boss to cause maximum damage, because the boss battle time is shortened to reduce the number of enemies. Error rate, long time is the biggest risk of errors.

Some people may wonder that it took so long for these two games to be difficult, but why did they say before that the game is not difficult at all?

Very simple answer.

You need to understand the designer's original intention when designing the gameplay.

First of all, we must understand the so-called difficulty.

The game "Monster Hunter" is very consistent with Capcom's concept of making games, and it is an enlarged version of the concept.

Kapong has made many classic action games (and fighting games) since the arcades. Their understanding of action games is roughly this: if a player keeps hiding without wanting to be beaten, then no one can beat him; just the player It is most dangerous when attacking.

You see, Monster Hunter is like, if you put your weapon away and keep hiding, no one can hit you. Therefore, the real game of the ordinary card game all lies in: the time game between the launching and closing of one's own moves and the closing of the enemy's moves~ It is almost only at this time that there is a possibility of being beaten. Then, here comes the first difficulty of "Monster Hunter": you need to truly understand the performance of the enemy's moves and your own movements. As long as you calm down and figure out the reasons, it is impossible for the enemy to hit you. So, looking at it this way, it doesn't matter at all. Not difficult.

In the games we grew up playing, which boss can’t be defeated within 10 minutes? If you insist that it is easy to kill someone quickly and difficult to kill them after a long time, then "Monster Hunter" is indeed difficult... The bosses in "Monster Hunter" have very long HP. The reason for this design has been mentioned before. , a battle lasts a long time, so the second difficulty in "Monster Hunter" is patience.

Because this game lasts a long time, people who are impatient can easily become impetuous and fall to their knees when they become impetuous... Therefore, as long as you are prepared for a protracted war and don't be greedy, it's not difficult at all.

As long as you change your past thinking: don't think that a battle will end quickly, and be prepared to fight a protracted war. As long as this idea changes, the game will suddenly become very simple. Because these are the rules designed by the designer, this is how he stipulates how to play the game, so you have to adapt. Once you enter the rules, it is easy.

Let’s talk about Ninlong.

If you insist that dying often is difficult, then it is indeed difficult to endure the dragon.

Jester remembered that he had achieved a trophy when he was on Jonin level, called Indomitable Spirit, which meant dying fifty times.

But on the other hand, in Ninlong, is there really any price to pay for dying? If every battle is like Monster Hunter and takes 30 minutes or even longer, then it will be really depressing to die and fight for so long in vain... But everyone can think about the death of Ninlong, which costs nothing at all, and then fight You can start over at any time after death... Under these conditions, is it necessary to regard death as difficult?

In fact, for the general public, the gameplay of Ninja Dragon 2 is: find the best way to pass this place while constantly dying; after determining the way to pass, try it over and over again, and sooner or later you will get over it.

Therefore, it is not difficult to endure the dragon.

Or as long as you change your past thinking: don't think that you have failed when you die, and be prepared to die constantly. Find the correct way to pass in death, and then execute the method in death and pass. Because this is also the rule designed by the designer, you have to adapt to it.

There are actually many such examples in action games.

For example, the "Dark Soul" series is recognized as the most outstanding act game after Ninja Demon Fighting. (To be continued...)