National Game Producer

The loading page you see when entering the game is not pitch black, but a loop of in-game screenshots.

Yinsong looked at these screenshots, opened his mouth, and asked honestly:

"The picture is quite exquisite... Is this a game composed of static textures?"

"No, this is a first-person shooter."

Zhou Kaiyuan raised the corner of his mouth slightly, "You can refer to "The Stanley Parable" for the scenes in the game."

"The Stanley Parable?" Yinsong showed a puzzled expression.

"..."

Zhou Kaiyuan looked at him in disbelief, "You don't even know "The Stanley Parable"?"

Are you sure that letting such a person be responsible for game education is not harmful to children?

"Of course I've heard the name of the game, but I don't have time to play it."

Yinsong said calmly, "Unlike you, I have a bunch of graduate students helping me with chores. I can rest whenever I want every day and play whatever games I want."

"You have separated yourself from the public." Zhou Kaiyuan sighed and shook his head.

"Maybe." Yinsong responded calmly.

While the two were talking, Lao Qi over there had officially entered the game.

From the first-person perspective, the protagonist opens his eyes and slowly regains his vision from the strong light.

The initial scene of the game is in a small, but clean and tidy bedroom.

The protagonist has just woken up from bed.

At this time, a mechanical broadcast sound suddenly sounded.

A subtitle appears at the bottom of the screen in a very user-friendly manner.

[System broadcast: Good morning. You have been dormant for 50 days.

[In accordance with state and federal regulations, all testing candidates at the Aperture Technology Extension Recreation Center must wake up regularly and perform mandatory physical and mental health exercises.

[You will hear the buzzer sounding. When you hear the buzzer sounding, please look up at the ceiling. [Buzzer Sound]]

…

"This is the most basic novice operating instruction in the game. It is mainly to prevent people like you who have never played this type of game from being blinded after entering the game." Zhou Kaiyuan explained.

"Oh..." Yinsong responded, his eyes fixed on the projection screen.

This scene, this picture...

Can today's high school students already make such a game?

Well...it's so good at superficial skills, no wonder so many young people like to play it.

In the game world.

Yinsong followed the instructions on the radio and after completing the compulsory health exercises, he returned to bed and continued to sleep.

The screen slowly turns blank, suggesting that the protagonist has entered a state of hibernation.

After three seconds, the blank space gradually faded away, and the screen returned to the bedroom scene again.

However, this time the bedroom scene has become dilapidated, as if it has experienced decades of erosion.

[System broadcast: Good morning, you have been dormant 999...999 - now notify all subjects, please evacuate immediately!]

The sound on the radio became somewhat distorted, as if it would interrupt at any time.

At this moment, a knock on the door suddenly sounded.

Yinsong walked to the bedroom door and opened it.

Outside the door is a spherical robot with a pair of oversized eyes.

It hangs on the track overhead and slides from the ceiling into the bedroom while saying hello.

In the following plot, the robot named "Whitley" claimed to help the protagonist escape from the Aperture Technology Laboratory, and then began to use a large machine to grab and move the entire bedroom, taking the protagonist to an old experiment

outdoor.

“‘Firebringer’ makes games and especially likes to bury the plot outside the main flow of the game, allowing players to explore on their own…”

While watching Lao Qi advance the plot, Zhou Kaiyuan explained, "The plot line of this game is very deep, and there will most likely be prequels and sequels to connect the whole story, so if you want to understand the plot, you must

You have to observe everything in the game carefully and not miss any detail."

"oh……"

Yinsong responded thoughtfully, "So, the protagonist that Lao Qi is controlling now was originally a tester at the Aperture Technology Laboratory, but for some unknown reason, she now wants to escape from the laboratory?

"

"Probably because the experimental test itself imposes restrictions on personal freedom." Lao Qi, who was playing the game, expressed his conjecture.

"Well... and when the protagonist woke up this time, it seemed that decades or hundreds of years had passed. During this period, something major happened in the laboratory, or there must have been some changes, causing the laboratory to be in a state of half-term.

Abandoned state?" Yinsong continued to guess.

Zhou Kaiyuan and Zhou Kaiyuan both participated in the analysis of the game plot and couldn't help but curl their lips.

That's right.

As long as they are brought into the game world, he does not believe that they will not be addicted.

The game continues.

The robot Wheatley confessed that the desolation of the laboratory prevented the two from escaping.

Therefore, he needs the protagonist to go to an old laboratory, get a gun that can punch holes, and then use it to overcome many obstacles and escape from the huge Aperture Technology Laboratory.

Whitley used the protagonist's bedroom to force open the outer wall of the abandoned laboratory, allowing the protagonist to enter the interior of the laboratory.

As soon as Lao Qi jumped into the laboratory from above, the previous mechanical broadcast rang again.

[System Broadcast: Hello, once again welcome to the learning center of Aperture Technology.

[Due to uncontrollable disasters, our laboratory is currently experiencing some technical problems.

[However, according to the emergency testing protocol, testing can still continue...]

After a bit of chatter on the radio, the emergency test officially began.

Lao Qi was originally in a closed glass box with glass on three sides and a white wall on one side.

As the broadcast counted down 3, 2, 1, an orange portal suddenly appeared on the only white wall.

Through this portal, Lao Qi saw a girl not far away, standing in front of the orange portal in the glass box, looking into the orange portal.

From his current angle, he could only see the side of the girl.

Lao Qi frowned slightly, and it took him a while to react:

"This girl is the character I control?"

"Yes." Zhou Kaiyuan responded with a smile.

"...What perspective is this, and why can I observe myself from this perspective?" Lao Qi was confused.

For those who are exposed to this kind of science fiction setting for the first time, such spatial changes are really beyond imagination.

"That's the essence of this game."

Zhou Kaiyuan saw the same confused Yinsong next to him, and the pride on his face could no longer be concealed. He was as happy as if he had made this game, "You can imagine the portal in this game as

We punched a hole in the front wall and then punched a hole in the left wall."

As he spoke, he used the wall of the study room as an example, "After both holes are drilled, some kind of high-tech power will connect the two holes together. In the end, it will be equivalent to a hole in the wall.

It became the back of the hole in the other wall.

"When I put my hand through this hole in the front wall, my hand won't go into the bedroom next door. Instead, it will come out of this hole in the wall on the left. Do you understand?"

"Yeah... that's understandable." Lao Qi only thought about it for two or three seconds before he understood the principle.

"..." Yinsong still looked dull.

Seeing the situation, Zhou Kai couldn't help but shook his head.

This guy's head is probably rotten.

He was too lazy to continue explaining and turned his head to watch Lao Qi advance the game process.

Lao Qi came out of the portal, passed through a circular door, and entered the next room.

There is a huge red button on the floor in this room.

When a person steps on it, the circuit connecting the button to the exit will be activated, and the exit door will open.

But when people leave the red button, the exit door will quickly close again.

At this time, it is obvious that other heavy objects are needed to hold down the red button.

As it happens, there is a white square in the corner of the room.

"This puzzle is not an insult to our IQ, but it introduces us to a gameplay mechanism in the game and allows us to learn and remember this gameplay logic."

Zhou Kaiyuan explained seriously, "With this kind of gameplay logic, when we encounter complex comprehensive levels in the future, we can use this to quickly find the direction to solve the puzzle."

"Oh, I understand." Lao Qi responded.

Zhou Kaiyuan turned to look at Yinsong again.

"...How did those students come up with such an idea?" Yinsong was a little confused.

"Ah, is this button considered creative?" Zhou Kaiyuan was stunned.

"I'm talking about the two portals just now."

"Portal...is your reflex arc too long?"

"I'm understanding the principles."

Yinsong frowned slightly and said, "Can this idea of ​​spatial overlapping be naturally integrated into a game, and then use it to set up puzzles... Do young people today have such rich imaginations?

"

"In fact, only He Jiu and them can come up with the creativity of this new type of game. Other young people have been poisoned by us to the point where they can only play word games."

Zhou Kaiyuan glanced at him and said, "How is it? Do you want to admit defeat?"

"The game has just begun, why should I admit defeat?"

"The game has just begun, and your brain is almost overloaded. Where do you get the confidence to think you can win?"

"..." Yinsong was silent for a moment and said, "Lao Qi is playing the game now, not me."

"..." Zhou Kaiyuan also fell silent.

Since the other party has indirectly admitted that his brain is not good, he has nothing to say.

The game continues.

Lao Qi pressed the red button with a white square, successfully passed through the exit, and took the elevator to the next level.

The next novice teaching is basically a process of [introducing new mechanisms] plus [getting familiar with the mechanisms] - [proficiently using the mechanisms] - [comprehensive use of all mechanisms].

During this period, Lao Qi also successfully obtained the teleportation gun.

The teaching of the game allowed him to start with using one portal and gradually transitioned to using two portals proficiently.

The whole process is smooth and natural, and you won't feel any discomfort.

As time goes by, both Lao Qi and Yinsong have gradually realized that this game has exquisite gameplay design.

This step-by-step guidance process from easy to difficult... really feels like a game design textbook.

"The logic is clear and well-organized... In terms of game design, 'Firebringer' is indeed ahead of everyone."

Lao Qi took off his VR glasses, turned around and said, "You two don't have to gamble anymore, I admit defeat."

Zhou Kaiyuan turned his head and looked at Yinsong.

"Has 'Firebringer' been playing games like this before?" Yinsong asked.

"Otherwise?" Zhou Kaiyuan chuckled.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I told you earlier, did you go to play?"

"...I don't have time to play."

Yinsong looked away and looked at the projection screen, "I will find time to try it in the future."

After a pause, he added, "I'll try it tonight."

"Remember to play "The Stanley Parable" first."

"good."

"Then let's put aside our prejudices and appreciate this game." Lao Qi concluded.

After saying that, he put on the VR glasses again and continued to advance the game process.

As a researcher who focuses most of his attention on scientific research, this is the first time that he has devoted all his attention to playing a game seriously.

The excellent and brain-burning gameplay of "Portal" made him never feel like he was wasting his time.

Perhaps, this is the direction that the game should really strive to develop...

On the other side, Zhou Kaiyuan and Yinsong were already talking about online games.

"Last night, my son and I tried the online mode of this game. I feel that it is a very good development direction for online games, and it is completely worthy of our careful analysis and study."

Zhou Kaiyuan raised his chin and said, "When Lao Qi is done playing, you can try the online mode with him again."

"Then let's wait until we try it."

Yinsong nodded, his attitude no longer as tough as before, "But I will never accept an online game that overemphasizes social attributes... At least in our educational community, this kind of game will definitely have more negative effects on students than

positive influence."

"I agree with this."

Zhou Kaiyuan smiled, "But since online games have already appeared on the market, and they have appeared on foreign game platforms, we basically cannot rely on containment and interception to restrict these online games, so in the end we will just

I can only think of other ways."

"Use a gentler way to limit it?" Yinsong said thoughtfully.

"It would be a good idea to classify the game into different levels and reclassify the game review standards."

"Well...I'll go talk to the people at the Ministry of Culture when I have time."

"With your words, I feel relieved."

Zhou Kaiyuan smiled and said, "Finally, let's talk about the 'Fire Bearer'."

"What?" Yinsong tilted his head and looked at him.

"Now do you think it is necessary to carry out some reforms in game education in our country?" Zhou Kaiyuan asked.

"..."

When Yinsong heard this, he reacted instantly, "You want those students to participate?!"