In the conference room, I explained the relevant content of Undertale to Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue.
The DLC issue with Magic Mirror isn't very big. We can develop it on the sides. Following the previous template, adding the corresponding vertical painting, new character and story plot is straightforward.
Now, the main focus is the content development of Undertale.
Undertale is a work created by American indie developer Toby Fox, It is rated 10/10 on the steam with nearly 200K reviews. It has touched countless players around the world. I'd say it's a classic META game.
Unlike other meta games like Pony Island, Ashe, and Stanley's Fables.
Undertale effectively combines META elements with RPG elements, even subverting player's traditional RPG gameplay and setting.
The core idea of the game is clear. It revolves around a reversal of the story and its META characteristics, while the gameplay serves merely as a flavouring.
Of course, I'm ready to improve some aspects of the game. For instance, compared to the previous version, Undertale must excel in-game art and graphics.
The simple pixel style and hand-drawn lines in the previous iteration weren't the stylistic choice; they were born out of a lack of funds, given that it was a personal independent game by a lone developer.
As for the popularity of Undertale, the so-called connoisseurs and media praising its unique art style are mostly talking nonsense, they just need something to hype or something to cling on. Pixel games can be done well; for example, Octopath Traveller used pixel art to create a modern yet nostalgic aesthetic, while some nostalgic games intentionally employed pixels.
As a META game focused on plot, better graphics will undoubtedly enhance the user experience, not mar from it.
For instance, Minecraft chose a pixel style because its block-like gameplay matched the pixel performance and style. However, the art style of Undertale won't have any compromise on its gameplay, so the graphics are going to be the real deal this time.
Aside from the visual performance, the plot and music can be described as classics and the Soul of it. In the end, Shansi's "Arrogant Man" and Yujie's "Fight with Real Heroes" stand out as iconic pieces.
After a brief introduction to the core content of "Undertale," I showed Ruan Ningxue a picture of the core characters: the kind and gentle sheep mother, who looks warm before the battle but becomes a majestic king wielding a trident once the fight begins, and the two skeleton brothers, one tall and one short, who appear kind yet are the little flowers of Emperor Yan Yi. (cough...cough.....)
I'll personally check the character design for the main characters. As for the ordinary mobs, they'll be handed over to the outsourcing team and accepted as long as they meet the requirements.
Next comes the plot: the common line, the kindness line, the massacre line, and the hypocrisy line. I described the relevant plots for these different lines using the memory capsules I had drawn from the system earlier.
After arranging the responsibilities of the two of us, I sat in my position and entered the backstage of the official engine, preparing to work on the basic structure of the game "Undertale."
"Ning Xue, did you develop games like this when you were working on Magic Mirror?" Xin asked, glancing at the manuscript that was so detailed it seemed almost overwhelming.
Ruan Ningxue, already deep into the design, looked a bit puzzled at her reaction to character design and story requirements. "Yeah, what's wrong with it Sister Xin? Is there any problem with developing game like this?"
"The problem is too big! This is too smooth! The thinking is too clear!" Xin exclaimed, trying to keep her voice down. (Chen Xu is a Genius, You know!)
Even though "Undertale" might seem like a small-scale game, the clarity of the plan gave her the impression that even a dog could develop it.
~~Why dog? Why compare with dogs? Don't dogs have any basic intellectual rights~~
She couldn't help but reflect on the chaos she had experienced when developing games in the past, and wondered if the employees she had hired were just playing around and scamming her.
With a sigh, she carefully reviewed the story of "Undertale," looking for ways to fill in the gaps and plot holes.
Meanwhile, Chen Xu didn't dwell on those messy thoughts of Yang Xin for long. He focused on experimenting with the official engine. The computing resources available to him now were almost twenty times more than before.
In the background, I noticed the resources I could use were 1024MB. In the context of my previous life, which amounted to roughly 1GB, and having read the tutorial of the game platform, I understood that in this parallel world, it was more than sufficient to develop Undertale.
Of course, if I wanted more resources, I'd either need to upgrade the designer's title level or spend some money on the subscription. Improving is a way that goes through seniority and years of experience in game development. I also knew I needed to win awards both domestically and overseas and gain a lot of positive recognition in the game industry.
I shook my head gently, dismissing those faltering thoughts, and returned my focus to developing "Undertale." The game wasn't too difficult for me to develop. With the technology and platform available in this parallel world, it wouldn't take much effort to develop it.
The real challenges lay in the plot, character portraits, and music, which is the soul of the game. In "Undertale" the music had to be memorable, as is not so often in other independent games. I understood that plot, music, and gameplay creativity were the three axes that made Undertale shine.
Suddenly, I noticed Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue engaged in some conversation.
"What's going on?" I asked, curious about their distraction.
Yang Xin picked up Ruan Ningxue's phone and pointed it toward me as she said, "There's a guy here who specializes in causing trouble for others."
I took the phone, which displayed a video edited and posted by a company called GameTime and SpaceMedia.
After I clicked on it, I saw a middle-aged man on the screen commenting on my game, which featured a standing painting wearing clothes.
"To win the attention of players, Newbies can do anything. They have no shame. They are willing to fall to new lows! Just to get record sales and game developer titles," he said.
"Vulgar, Vulgar, disgustingly Vulgar!"
"Games is a very artistic industry with its soul. To call such works a game feels like an insult to this artistic industry. This type of game corrupts the very soul of our gaming industry, and(5 sec pause in a serious manner) it is our responsibility to fix them."
"Can such game designers have a role in promoting the game industry~ Are they going to be our future?"
"We shouldn't let this happen!"
"If there's such content in the upcoming 'Blooming' developed by me, I will be shameless, and I will quit this artistic industry."
"So here I hope that the majority of game designers watching my video can reduce such gimmicks and focus more on making perfect games instead of resorting to vulgar content to increase sales, gathering titles, and corrupting the gaming industry." (Quite a Hippocrates)
In the two-minute video, he made a passionate speech. But when I looked at the comments, I noticed something more interesting.
In addition to a handful of applauding players~ promising to take some critical actions, there were also many sarcastic ones.
"Zhong Dabao, are you here again?" (╬ಠิ益ಠิ)
"Vulgar? Then I have to criticize it!" ┗(｀O ´)┛
"Games made by others are vulgar! While Yours are art!" ┐(-.ー;)┌
"Come on, why are you promoting your new game?" (￣x￣;)
"Brother upstairs, you didn't catch the firing of Zhong Cannon? Didn't you already see the game called 'Blossom'?" (⌐▨_▨)
After watching the video and some comments, along with Yang Xin's explanation, I gathered my thoughts and I know what the guy is pointing toward.
The man is called Zhong Dabao, a designer under the Hepai Style, and he's also the boss of that company.
His reputation in the gaming world is mixed. While he has produced some outstanding works in the past, the quality of his recent games has been inconsistent—not terrible, but not groundbreaking either.
His tactic often involves belittling other popular and controversial games to promote his projects. I realized that many other game designers, like myself, have felt the sting of his criticisms while he wants to swim comfortably on our winds.