Chapter 30 The game is not just about guns and cars
Although the three of Xu Hong had doubts, they would not casually ask their boss on this occasion.
Because other companies participated in this meeting, even if they wanted to ask, they would ask first.
Sure enough, a male voice rang out from the notebook, and it was the person from Unlimited Online Entertainment who first asked the question.
[Well, Mr. Meng, hello, just to interrupt, I am the deputy director of domestic distribution channels, my surname is Li, you can call me Mr. Li. You just said the player can't fight, I wonder what that means. ]
Meng Shuyang smiled and answered patiently.
"Literally, in my plan, players have no weapons and cannot fight. After encountering ghosts, they can only flee in a panic, and return to the original place to continue the game when they are safe."
"In addition, I plan to add a sanity system. If the player is in a dark environment or sees a supernatural event, his sanity will gradually decrease. When the sanity drops to a certain level, he will lose his sanity, and the ghost will immediately appear and come out Chase down the player."
His words directly shocked people on both sides.
Even Deputy Director Li remained silent for a long time, not knowing what to say.
Nowadays, when players play a game, don’t you let them fight monsters?
Is this plausible?
Is this still called playing a game?
Deputy Director Li coughed after a while and asked.
[Mr. Meng, I'm not sure if the market can accept your innovation. ]
[But you are a game practitioner, you should understand that the mainstream games in the market are shooting, racing, and ball games. Because these are very popular and popular in Europe and the United States, and gradually affect other types of games, making them more and more fast-food, just to highlight a cool word, this is the meaning of developing games. ]
[Your game allows players who enter the experience to not be able to fight, but to run away when they encounter danger, and there will be ghosts chasing and killing them from time to time. This is really too aggrieved, and it can't cheer up the players at all. ]
[Mr. Meng, I have no intention of condemning your plan. We have seen your production level for all to see. We are still studying the secret of success in the two works. But your "Face". As a deputy director of publishing, in my personal opinion, the game has failed just because the players can't fight and escape.]
A sigh came from the notebook, as if the game was worthless.
Meng Shu couldn't help smiling.
This parallel world itself is frighteningly declining, barren and withered. Over time, in the eyes of the public, it has become a stereotype of no market, no audience, and no attention.
Even after Meng Shu has used "Dark Forest" and "Blackjack" to prove that as long as the game has quality, there will be a market and audience, it is still difficult to eliminate these people's prejudice against horror genres.
Therefore, this world does not have the concept that players cannot fight like "Escape".
In their view, players play games to fight and kill, to enjoy the pleasure and coolness.
Either it is the sense of accomplishment of racing to win the first place and the pride of leading the team to victory with one's own strength.
So it is understandable to question his style of play.
After all, knowledge is limited.
Otherwise, the horror genre would not have fallen into decline.
"Mr. Li, have you tried it?"
Meng Shu asked casually.
This stunned Deputy Director Li at the other end of the meeting.
What to try?
Will anyone pay for the innovation of 'players can't fight'?
Do you still need to try this horse riding?
If you think about it with your feet, you will definitely fail!
To tell the truth, if it wasn’t for the fact that Mr. Meng has made two hit games, he would definitely wonder if this person is half-baked, why he doesn’t even understand such simple market rules.
What's more, developing a game is not just for fun, it requires a lot of investment and a long development cycle.
How can you just try it as a test of water?
[This. No need to try, right? People in the industry basically understand this way]
"Then you are wrong."
Meng Shu grinned.
At this moment, the aura of Mr. Qin in his previous life faintly emanated.
The tone also became confident and unquestionable at this moment.
“It’s a bit disrespectful to the industry to judge the market just by studying the market without trying it.”
"Players are a diverse group, and games are also diverse. Why can you conclude that 'cool' is the mainstream trend of the market just based on the market?"
"You said that the mainstream of the market is the gun car ball, but have you ever thought that it is precisely because you think so that you have been developing in this direction, resulting in the games on the market now being either shooting games or racing games. Is there a choice? No. Since players don’t have a choice, it’s not like you come up with one, and they play one. Is this called the mainstream of the market? It’s not.”
After a pause, Meng Shu smiled again and said his conclusion.
"This is called captive breeding. I thought of a story. A farmer would go to the farmhouse to throw feed every time it was time. I don't know if the feed is good or not, but the poultry have no choice. They will eat what the farmer gives. The farmer gives feed every day, and they can only eat feed every day. And the farmer also euphemistically said that this is the favorite food of poultry, and it is the mainstream food.”
"What do you think players are? Think about this so-called mainstream market, does it make sense? To put it bluntly, most developers have already regarded players as banks that pay for their template games."
As soon as these words came out, there was a complete silence.
Xu Hong and the three of them stared wide-eyed.
The other end of the meeting was also stunned.
For a while, no one answered.
But Meng Shu didn't care.
If he wants to break this concept, he needs to release one game after another to prove that this market is not just about cool games like guns and balls.
Now even the concept of 'players cannot fight' cannot be accepted.
Wouldn’t the combat system of the Souls of the Soul series drive these people crazy?
The three of Xu Hong stared at Mr. Meng, their hearts agitated.
According to Mr. Meng, does he want to break the current market structure?
etc
Seems like he's already doing it
The two games are both survival horror games. Didn’t they start to touch the market’s position in the market due to sales?
The three of Xu Hong didn't understand, and they didn't dare to think too much about it. They are just doing their own business. They don't understand or understand this kind of marketing planning.
After a few seconds of silence in the conference room, another mature voice sounded from the notebook.
[Very interesting story, Mr. Meng, hello, I am one of the directors of Unlimited Online Entertainment, my surname is Liang. ]
Meng Shu raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.
He knew there was more to say.
[Mr. Meng, we will not doubt your ability to make games. To be honest, when you first said that you want to make VR games, I was very opposed to it, thinking that you would definitely not be able to make it. But the fact that you did it, and did it well, is great! But the market is changeable and cannot be controlled by people. Are you so sure that your innovation will make players pay for it? ]
"certainly."
Meng Shuhui was decisive.
It surprised Liang on the other side of the meeting.
[Then can you tell me the reason? After all, innovation is a thing that can easily cause losses without absolute certainty. ]
Meng Shu smiled, and replied with a reply that surprised Wuwuwangyu.
"Because I was first."
President Liang was stunned.
What kind of answer is this?
Because you are the first, can you be sure that your innovation will make players pay?
[Mr. Meng, I don't quite understand the meaning of this sentence. ]
Meng Shu put away his smile, put his hands on his chest, and explained plainly.
“I make horror games because the market for this genre is blank and no one is competing with me. What does this mean? It means an advantage!”
"The first to enter the market has taken advantage of the market. But this entry is not for the manufacturers who used to make games perfunctorily and wanted to put money in sacks, but to provide games that meet the quality and standards of the market."
"Once you get the player's approval, it means that there is a market, and you will enjoy the dividends of the blank market. This is the benefit of being the 'first'. Rare things are expensive, and they are generally fodder farms. If there is such a small piece of meat, the result is that there is not enough meat."
"This can be seen from the sales of "Dark Forest". The player's choice is not the car ball, but the current developers are following the trend to make the car ball, so players can only play the car ball."
"But this 'first' advantage will pass. How to maintain this advantage is the biggest headache for developers. And my solution is."
After a pause, Meng Shu laughed.
“.Innovation.”
After hearing it in the notebook, he pondered for a few seconds, and then came Mr. Liang's rhetorical question.
[Mr. Meng, your success is a fact, and I will not refute it. But have you ever thought that this blank market will allow other developers to enter because of your success? At that time, a bunch of horror games will compete with you. Can your innovation guarantee that every game has it? ]
Meng Shu smiled again when he heard this. The knowledge of his previous life gave him absolute certainty.
"Mr. Liang, no one has ever been able to monopolize the market. You should understand this truth better than me."
"These new and old manufacturers can enter the market to get a share, that is the rule of the market, and no one can decide."
"But how much cake can these manufacturers get? The answer can be seen from the gun car ball market. The big head is always on the old IP, and those who follow the trend can only get a small head."
"So I'm not worried at all about how many manufacturers follow the trend to make horror games. On the contrary, only when there is competition can the value be displayed. And the rules of the market will sooner or later eliminate those works with poor quality."
Hearing this, Mr. Liang fell silent.
After a while, he continued to ask.
[Mr. Meng, you mean, if you are among a bunch of horror games in the future, can you ensure that your game has enough sales? ]
Meng Shu pondered for a few seconds, and nodded.
"The chances are more than six floors, if their game quality is hard enough."
[What if the quality is not good? ]
"Over eight floors."
Meng Shu replied decisively, with an extremely calm face.
The reason why he is so sure and confident is that in the original world, there are many games that have proved it.
As early as 2010, there was a landmark horror game "Amnesia: The Dark Descent", which is famous for its features such as "players cannot fight" and "the protagonist has a San value".
Coupled with its excellent quality and enough scary atmosphere, it sold more than one million sets within two years.
This was achieved in 2012, when horror games flourished.
It is enough to explain the merits of this mechanism, and many subsequent horror games have used this mechanism and achieved good sales, so it is not that players do not like to play.
In addition, there is another person who has fallen from the altar, and he used his own game to prove that players do not just like to play cool games.
They also enjoy the satisfaction of coming back after death, pushing hard and achieving success.
Some players are not interested in the so-called cool game. They have reached the extreme of Buddhism and enjoy the ease of driving and delivering goods in "Euro Truck Simulator 2".
The players in the original world have already proved that the so-called cool tour is just for fun, just like fast food.
The players in this world who eat fast food every day don’t have the idea of changing their taste?
there must be!
"Dark Forest" and "Blackjack" have already proved it.
It means that the player has no problem.
The problem is the market, and these manufacturers in the market!
If the players in the original world are divided into Buddhist, masochistic, and food-addicted, then don’t there be players in the parallel world?
What's more, the player base here is even larger.
so.
"Don't underestimate players."
Meng Shu's words made the people at the other end of the meeting full of question marks.
President Liang took a deep breath and collected himself.
[I understand Mr. Meng, I still say the same thing, we will not doubt your production level, since you have an eye for the market and have two successful works, we will choose to believe you. ]
[Now, please continue the meeting, let us understand the other settings of your new project "Face". ]
(end of this chapter)