Otherworldly Architect

From May 21st to 22nd, Bluestar Studio celebrated its third anniversary.

It is also the time for the first Blue Star Carnival!

The offline venue was paved early, and the invited performance team was also in place on time.

—The opening ceremony invited the local symphony band to play the theme song of the second season of "League of Legends".

After the performance, with the enthusiastic opening of the host, the whole venue fell into a sea of ​​joy.

The first day of the carnival was mainly based on performances, exhibitions and player experiences.

The entire venue covers an area of ​​50,000 square meters, which is enough for the entire team to display their strengths and allow more than 5,000 invited players to play freely.

In addition to fixed locations such as the entrance and rest area, there is mainly a central stage, an indoor exhibition hall on the west side, and then various scattered small experience areas and surrounding booths.

During the carnival, every 10:00 and 15:00 on time, there will be a performance on the central stage.

At other times, promotional trailers for several games scroll through the big screen.

At 8 o'clock in the evening, it is the time for the official cosplay team to perform. The entire cosplay team will perform a tour around the venue.

According to several major game divisions of Bluestar, each experience hall will provide the latest game version.

For example, League of Legends has just finished its second season, the version has been updated to 3.2, and the studio is actually testing version 3.3 internally.

The experience hall allows players to play version 3.3 live, even including some content that has not yet been confirmed to be launched.

Also known as the "test suit".

Many players participated in the carnival, originally wanting to play offline activities and interact with designers.

-what? Can you play games on site?

- But can't you play at home? I finally got an invitation to the carnival, how can I spend my time playing games!

…

However, when they learned that the experience hall can play the new occupation in the next version.

Immediately, "the essence of human beings is really fragrant".

On the day of the carnival, the official forum of Blue Star was basically overwhelmed by the news of the experience hall.

【Live at the Blue Star Carnival! ! There is no video, but you can vote for the beautiful lady. 】

[The new profession of the alliance is super interesting! You can steal other people's skills! By the way, I have new equipment, and the critical strike rate is doubled. Do you know? 】

[Anyone lined up for the concept release hall of the latest game? I received more than 1,400 numbers, it is said that it will be queued until 3 o'clock in the afternoon]

Blue Star's latest project, codenamed "Soul", is already known to many people.

The earliest source of information was the official forum. A player claimed: "My uncle works at Bluestar, and he explained that the new game blabla designed by the chief engineer..."

Because it is too gossip, this has even become a stalk in the forum.

After that, anyone who disclosed the gossip would be dubbed the "uncle party".

And the official news about the new game, of course, is still at the official Blue Star player meeting.

- It is said that it is a meeting, but in fact the earliest part is the press conference. After the official speech is over, it is the player's turn to have a question-and-answer session with the designer at close range.

At the press conference, the person in charge of each game first introduced the next version of the game.

Then came the highlight: Chief Master Ming personally came to talk about Bluestar's next project.

In fact, as soon as Mingyan stepped on the stage, screams came from below.

Because it was an online press conference, Ming Yan used an avatar—a puppet with a halo on his head.

And the audience under the stage is also full of strange, what kind of zombies, demons, elves...

Human-shaped things are already common, and there is even a tank in the audience—the kind that automatically rotates 360 degrees when the gun barrels on the head are cheering.

When Ming Yan appeared on the stage, the host introduced: "Have you invited our chief designer of Bluestar Studio—"

Halfway through his words, he was drowned out by the cheers of all the audience.

This is the stereo speaker installation on the central stage!

Everyone off the field stood up spontaneously and raised their hands in cheers.

The whole sound wave can be called a tsunami, which is deafening.

In one of the seats below the stage, anchor Juliet, like many others, held up a camera.

They excitedly filmed the scene of Ming Yan's appearance.

The Blue Star Carnival has an official live broadcast, and viewers are not allowed to broadcast it privately, but they are allowed to broadcast the live video one week later.

Many players have already thought about it for a long time: what is the most worth photographing at the Blue Star Carnival? What is the most valuable news?

—Of course, this is the moment when Chief Master Ming (the leader) personally went out to talk about the new game!

Speaking of Zhou Liye, he didn't actually get an invitation.

After all, Blue Star has billions of players, and only 5,000 players are drawn from it. It's like catching a glass of water in the ocean.

So Zhou Liye spent a lot of money on the invitation letter.

Unlike other anchors, Zhou Liye didn't come here to record and broadcast traffic, although Blue Star's father is indeed unmatched in terms of traffic.

But today's Zhou Liye just wants to be an ordinary player and enjoy the excitement and joy of meeting the designer he admires.

After all, Minecraft is so much fun!

There is also the newly released "Blue Star Doomsday". He has just cleared the level and is already willing to crawl under the leader's suit pants.

Amid the screams, all players saw Ming Yan's avatar sitting in the middle seat.

In the front row of Zhou Liye, two people chatted: "Wow, why does the leader have a halo on his head?"

"It's obviously a devil, even with an angel halo, it can't change his evil heart!"

"No no, I think he is a god, the **** of games!"

Zhou Liye thought to himself: Yes, that's right!

In fact, this image is clearly random.

Hmm... He usually has no interest or time, and can surf the Internet with his avatar.

Unexpectedly, this temporary random image aroused discussion among players.

At this time, Ming Yan was already seated and greeted the players in the audience.

The next ones to appear are the current directors of "Minecraft" and "League of Legends", and they are also Blue Star designers familiar to players.

When they stood on the stage, they almost suspected that it was all fake.

No one has ever seen so many players stand up and praise them at the same time.

All the players are cheering and cheering for the game they have made.

That feeling is bloody.

Then, the designers sat facing the players, chatted with the host for a while, and then officially started the press conference.

The host first switched to the big screen and briefly introduced the development process of Bluestar Studio to the players.

Every game, every milestone event, including the setbacks encountered, and the final achievements...

Fans in the audience screamed again when the screen was full of awards that Minecraft has won.

When the current data of "League of Legends" appeared on the screen, including the number of registered players reaching the third place in the history of the sixth-star provincial publishing industry, the screams almost overturned the entire roof.

Next is the latest sales of "Blue Star Doomsday".

At this time, the audience was already shouting: "Russell! Russell! Russell!"

The image of the iceberg goddess has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

But soon, the shout became: "Sect Master! Sect Master! Sect Master!"

The sound wave after wave after wave, high-pitched and full of rhythm.

After a short unanimous voice, the bottom shouted again.

"Blue Star! Blue Star is awesome!"

"New game! New game!"

…

After a long time, the audience under the stage calmed down a little.

The host asked Mingyan: "When you first established Bluestar Studio, did you imagine today's scene?"

Mingyan smiled and said, "To be honest, no. At that time, I went to register the studio by myself, and I even drew the logo myself. The staff thought it was ugly..."

There was good-natured laughter from the audience.

In fact, the Bluestar LOGO drawn by Mingyan himself is also the first LOGO of Bluestar Studio, and it will also be exhibited at the carnival.

as a unique souvenir.

Hundreds of players have already chosen to stand under the rough logo and take a group photo.

After that, the Blue Star LOGO will appear behind the title of the game every time, and there will be a little change with the theme of the game.

For example, the LOGO next to Minecraft is a pixel-style, very cute square blue star.

All these LOGOs seem to have witnessed the history of Bluestar's development.

In the first promotional video of the carnival, they were mixed and cut together, and then matched with the most amazing pictures in each game-

In the block world, the first sky city built by the player;

The first season of the League of Legends, the scene of the champion team holding the trophy;

The CG of Blue Star Doomsday, the scene of the holy white dragon emerging from the water;

…

Seeing half of it, the players' blood was surging, and goosebumps all over their bodies.

Especially those who have played every game, many people have already been moved to tears.

Until the end, a LOGO style that no one has seen before appeared -

The entire LOGO body is black and white, and the holy white icon is highlighted in the dark background.

The promo is over, but the players are extremely excited.

Because this is obviously the first-hand news about the latest game "Soul"!

Sure enough, the very knowledgeable host has already asked, "Excuse me, Chief Master Ming, what project plans does Bluestar Studio have next?"

"Next, we will further modify and improve the game version of the third season of "League of Legends", and prepare for its alienization." Ming Yan said here, and is preparing to talk about "soul".

But unexpectedly, the players of the League of Legends under the stage had already screamed.

The host also asked excitedly: "Is the League of Legends about to have another world soon?! Can I ask the estimated launch date?"

Ming Yan smiled and said, "This question can be given to our person in charge Stephen to answer."

He threw the topic to the designers around him.

The latter shook hands a little nervously and said, "Yes, we do have this plan."

After just two words, he had to wait for the cheers of the players to pass, and then continued: "We already have a suitable alien world, and the purchase is about to be completed. The League of Legends is expected to complete the entire alienization by the end of this year. process."

In the interstellar era, alienating a VR game—making it an alien game is the only way for many successful products.

This matter can be compared to the process of a platform-exclusive masterpiece, followed by porting and logging in to the entire platform.

More platforms means that the game can be played in a wider range of channels, players have more choices, and there will be many slightly different versions.

There are some special changes in making an alien game.

For example, the gaming experience is more realistic—

From a virtual VR environment, it becomes a real world that can be seen, heard and touched.

The blow of the battle is also incomparable.

Although the gameplay of the game is essentially the same, the experience can be greatly improved compared to the original, which can be said to be a "luxury upgrade".

Compare the situation with Blue Star.

It is probably equivalent to the same game, originally played on a low-end machine, and the picture effect is pulled to the lowest level.

But after transplanting it to the top-equipped machine, the whole picture is completely different, it almost seems to have changed into a game, giving people the ultimate enjoyment.

- Of course, because of the existence of marginal benefits, the cost has also increased several times.

Of course, the current Blue Star can afford this cost.

After two months of negotiation, Blue Star bought a suitable small alien world from the secondary market.

The purchase plan is still in the form of installment payment, and the deposit is about 500 million yuan.

The funds on Blue Star's book are still relatively sufficient, at least enough to support it until the end of this year.

...Speaking of which, thanks to Cruise Capital's planning book.

If this big capital didn't want to acquire Blue Star back then, and then used its strong strength and background to directly prepare a plan for Blue Star Studio, the League of Legends alienization project could not have been launched so quickly.

This plan is worth at least 100 million.

Ming Yan thought happily about the next plan.

Then I soon heard the host ask: "Then I have to ask a question that players are most worried about now. If Blue Star is going to alienize the League of Legends, will it affect the development of the new game? - From In terms of time, there are also financial considerations.”

This is a very real problem.

Mingyan thought for a while and replied: "The time plan for the project has not been completely set, but we will try our best. If the development goes well, the new game will be available during the Lunar New Year schedule next year."

wow.

The frying pan immediately exploded under the stage, as if a nest of ants suddenly fell onto the hot pan.

The whole venue was in chaos.

"Ooooooooooo-"

In the audience, Zhou Liye howled uncontrollably.

- what did he hear! Bluestar's new game, can you play it next year's festival? !

— No, wait, no! How can I play it next year?

He really wants to travel to next year and buy it directly.

Zhou Liye's reaction didn't attract much attention.

Because of him, all the fans are almost in the same tangled mental journey—

From the moment the leader said there was a new game, I was in a mood that couldn't wait.

After playing it, I look forward to the leader saying that there will be a new game!

And then fell into an anxious wait.

Fortunately, Ming Yan is a very dedicated person, and even if he doesn't work overtime every day, he can feel as if he is missing something.

Otherwise, with the hungry appearance of these players, it is impossible to guarantee that they will starve to death in the game famine.

The host also joked: "I heard that the frequency of your making games is probably maintained at the efficiency of one new work a year."

Ming Yan nodded helplessly.

From the efficiency of one game a year, you can hear how dedicated Ming Yan is!

You know, it is really normal for a game to be developed for three or four years.

Some 3A-level masterpieces, or some R&D teams with obsessive-compulsive disorder, may even take ten years to have a finished product.

And the propaganda said that it is "10 years of sharpening a sword"...

In fact, it is possible that a significant amount of time is spent overriding the redo workload.

It can also be said to be a kind of excellence.

And Mingyan's design drafts have a considerable degree of control.

He clearly knew what he wanted from the very beginning, instead of having to wait until the internal test was completed, as some producers did, before knowing that one of his designs needed to be modified.

Many game productions fail because of the lack of a leader who is visionary enough and prestige enough.

No one can tell them what the goals and directions are, and no one can see exactly whether a design is necessary.

Not enough to understand what the real needs of players are...

What's more, some designers only think that they are making an Internet product, and they don't know anything about the concept of "game".

Things made in this way are cookie-cutter and lacking in sincerity.

Whether the market will pay the bill or not is ultimately up to the player to decide.

It is precisely because of the understanding of the goal that Mingyan's design draft will appear wonderful and detailed.

Under his clear-cut leadership, Blue Star Studio's efficiency in making new games is so high.

Otherwise, for example: If the ALPHA version of Blue Star Doomsday comes out, the players will not give face, and only have a C-level rating, then there is a high probability that it will be rebuilt.

Then this game has to bounce tickets to next year, the year after, the year after...

After taking those detours, it will be like other games, after three or four years, it will be released.

It can be seen how crucial it is for the team to be led by a mature producer, which directly determines the time for the team to take detours.

Generally, the team works for three or four years, and if it comes out with a good result, it is called success.

It only takes more than a year to lead the team, so what should it be called?

"Immortal Guiding Type Extraordinary Success"?

But even so, hungry players are still not satisfied.

"We want two games a year! One VR game and one otherworldly game!" Zhou Liye shouted.

Then, he was stared at by the others around him.

One of the burly men shouted: "We want to have ten new games a year to play! If you don't give it, I will cry and show you!!"

"…"

Zhou Liye was stunned for half a second, then turned around and roared, "I want twenty a year!!"

- You are the devil! !

Ming Yan's heart beeped frantically, but he still maintained a rational smile on the surface, pretending that he couldn't hear the voices coming and going under the stage at all.

However, the host suddenly showed a shy face, and also said: "I also want to..."

Ming Yan was expressionless: "No, you don't want to."

host:"…"

Ming Yan made a decisive decision and immediately switched the topic, saying, "I don't have a complete design document for the new game, but the idea is quite clear."

The host said excitedly: "Can you reveal a little bit? Just a little bit."

He gestured "a little bit" with his fingers.

Ming Yan said: "Well, I can reveal one thing: the new game will adopt a very unique style of suspense. In the new game, we will consider adding a san value system."

"San value? Short for what, sanity?"

Ming Yan smiled and said: "Well, the san value is a saying from the ancient Blue Star culture, which describes a person's mental state. When the san value is high, we think he is mentally healthy; when the san value is low Psychological phenomena such as auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations, mental disorders and even out of control madness may occur, and subsequent physiological reactions such as vomiting and syncope may also occur.”

The host said: "It sounds like a rather novel concept."

Ming Yan said: "Yes, san value and health value will be the two main 'survival bars' of the new game. Our protagonist will need to go alone, explore an unknown new world, and challenge all kinds of powerful monsters."

The host was almost drooling when he heard it, and said, "So, the new game is also an adventure mode? Is it like going out to fight monsters at night like in Minecraft?"

Ming Yan smiled and said, "It may be a little bit harder than that. I have high expectations for our players."

He also made a "little bit" gesture.

At this moment, the hearts of the players:

Great! There are new games to play!

And it sounds like a very exciting adventure to fight monsters!

Yay, long live the leader!

At this moment, the hearts of the designers around Ming Yan:

"Slightly" means "super"!

"A little bit" means "indistinguishable"!

The boss's heart is definitely thinking "suffer it"!

At this moment, Ming Yan's heart:

Urge me to make twenty games a year?

suffer y'all :)

And the ignorant players are still cheering.

The host has already said happily: "Okay, now it's time for players to ask questions. We have prepared for fifteen minutes. Please raise your hands now if you want to ask questions."

With a rush, countless hands were immediately raised from below.

Some players are not enough to raise their hands, and even put something on their feet, pretending to be their hands raised.

Ming Yan saw it at a glance, and the corners of his mouth twitched to point him up.

This player uses the shape of a square man, and at first glance, he is a fan of "Minecraft".

After standing up, he saw that he smiled awkwardly and said, "I...I..."

After being silent for a second, he said: "See, see the leader! I want to ask you a question on behalf of the majority of the single church members of Mingjiao - please, may I ask, are you single now?"

Ming Yan tilted his head, a little surprised by this question, but still smiled calmly: "Yes."

Unexpectedly, the fan immediately flied his cheeks and asked elatedly, "Have you ever considered falling in love with a fan?! Super sweet, super sweet!"

Clearly: "???"