Chapter 414
Lilith listened carefully. Wei Chengjie's suggestion was very valuable.
There must be all kinds of creatures in the game. If you want to make the world view of the whole game smooth and natural, and make it easier for players to find the pitfalls of the lie system and the dynamic difficulty system, then the world view must accommodate all these creatures.
There are three basic creatures: ancient gods, humans, and puppets.
However, after these three creatures influence and transform each other, other creatures may be derived.
For example, the blood of the ancient gods affects humans, which may create a clan, may make humans suffer from beast disease and become terrible monsters, and may also affect ordinary wild beasts and become more ferocious monsters.
The life crystals formed by humans with unclean blood can drive puppets and give them life. But if the pollution of the ancient god's blood to the puppet gradually intensifies and exceeds the critical value, then there will be weak ancient gods parasitizing on the puppet's body, turning into a new life with a strong outer shell and filthy inside.
Similarly, humans can also use puppet technology to change their life form.
If only arms and legs are missing, mechanical prostheses can be used to replace them. However, if a large area of the body is damaged in the process, or if humans want to change their fragile life forms, they may gradually create new creatures that are neither puppets nor humans.
Some people with ulterior motives may deliberately develop large puppets that look like giant beasts. If such puppets lose control, it will become a terrible disaster.
Not only that, when the puppets absorb more life crystals, they will also produce incomprehensible changes.
It may become more and more like humans, and it may even be difficult to distinguish between true and false at first glance; it may also become a terrible creature that is as cunning as humans, as strong as puppets, and as indescribable as ancient gods.
In the context of this world view, the game mechanism can indeed be perfectly covered, seamless and very confusing.
Lilith is very satisfied with the current results of the brainstorming. Obviously, this brainstorming has been very effective.
However, there is still a very important problem that has not been solved, that is, the name of this game.
Lilith looked at Gu Fan: "Then, let Mr. Gu decide the name of this game!"
Gu Fan was a little surprised. He originally didn't plan to speak in order to avoid suspicion. After all, in Lilith's eyes, his threat level was likely to be off the charts, and the danger of speaking was incomparable to the other two.
But unexpectedly, Lilith took the initiative to ask him to determine the name of the game.
But on second thought, naming is indeed the least harmful thing - compared to directly designing the gameplay and plot.
In this case, there is no need for Gu Fan to refuse. If he pretends too much, it will appear deliberate.
He thought for a moment, and then suggested: "Blood of Lies, what do you think?"
Zhou Yang and Wei Chengjie's eyes lit up: "Blood of Lies? What a good name!"
Obviously, based on the current core mechanism and world view, "blood" and "lies" are the two most core concepts.
First of all, as a Cthulhu theme, almost everything in this game is directly related to blood.
Humans injected the blood of the ancient gods into their bodies, infected with parasites, and their own blood became unclean blood. After death, the unclean blood that completely solidified became life crystals, becoming the internal power to drive the puppets.
The infectious diseases and beast diseases that swept the human world were also intuitively presented with "blood".
The blood of the ancient gods is both a gift and a curse, which runs through the whole process.
And "lies" are also the core mechanism of the game.
Humans may open up their clairvoyance when they lie, and gradually become crazy because of looking directly at the ancient gods; puppets will become more and more like humans when they lie, changing their life forms.
In the plot of the game, countless lies run through the whole process.
Not only do players have to lie constantly for the content of the game, but the NPCs in the game actually live in lies.
Whether it is a researcher who studies with the blood of the ancient gods, a doctor who uses unclean blood to treat diseases, or a workshop craftsman who deliberately conceals the source of life crystals and claims that it is a gift from God, they are all using bigger lies to cover up the original lies.
Throughout the game, players are not only constantly lying, but also constantly exposing the lies left by their predecessors.
Those predecessors may have gone crazy, died, or experienced a more terrible ending than either, but the lies they left behind are still spreading endlessly, harming those who want to save the world in the future.
And the combination of these two words has a different connotation.
Why is it "blood of lies" instead of "blood lies"?
Because the directionality of blood lies is too strong, and its intention is relatively fixed, which is "a lie about blood".
But "blood of lies" contains much more information.
It can refer to the fact that humans are born to lie, and human blood is the blood of lies. After the puppets get human blood, they also learn to lie;
It can also refer to the fact that the unclean blood created by researchers using the blood of the ancient gods is also the blood of lies, because these people lied that blood therapy can cure all diseases, and deliberately concealed the more serious beast disease and madness it may cause;
Of course, it can also be understood as a broader concept, used to allude to all the content related to lies and blood in the game, giving players a lot of room for imagination.
Even Lilith couldn't help but nod frequently: "Well, it is indeed a good name!"
Giving the game a loud and catchy name is also a good thing for Lilith.
After all, if you want to collect negative emotions, you have to trick as many players as possible. Preliminary publicity is very important, and a good name is also very important.
"So, does Mr. Gu have anything to add to the other mechanics of the game?" Lilith continued to ask.
It can be seen that Lilith seems to have had some changes in her thoughts. Originally, she did not want Gu Fan to speak, but after hearing this name, Lilith felt that Gu Fan's suggestions were indeed indispensable, so she decided Let him add a few more words.
Of course, Lilith will still be extremely vigilant and only adopt the parts she thinks are useful.
Gu Fan pondered for a moment and said, "Should the combat system of this game also need some planning?
“If the world view and game mechanics are designed accordingly, but there is nothing particularly innovative about the combat system, it probably won’t match well.
“You still have to do the whole thing when you’re acting.
"What's more, the combat system is core to adjusting the player experience. After all, this is an action game."
Lilith couldn't help but nodded after hearing this: "Yes, indeed, it makes sense!"
In order to cover up the lie system, a rich world view was made, and in order to match this world view and further cover up the lie system, it was best to make a special combat system.
Otherwise, it may still be quickly exposed by players.
And a good combat system, once it reacts chemically with the lie system, can create more negative emotions for players.
Therefore, this issue really needs to be considered in the long term.
But how to do it?
Lilith was the first to speak: "We must not use the combat mechanism of "Ascension" this time. We in the game Nitian must have pursuits and constantly break through ourselves!"
Apparently, she was seriously injured by the combat mechanics of Ascension.
The core combat mechanism of "Ascension" can be put simply in two words: flicking knives.
At the beginning, Lilith didn't understand the tricks of this mechanism and was chopped off by the monsters in the game. She thought it was some kind of particularly unnatural and difficult mechanism, so she happily agreed.
When players first played it, they were really not used to it.
But players quickly found the rules of this mechanism. In short, they can pursue the knife after a perfect bullet, and they must defend after being hit by a perfect bullet.
After the players mastered the rhythm, this combat system not only stopped generating negative emotions, but also had the opposite effect, greatly increasing the positive emotions the players gained from the battle.
Every time you learn something, you gain wisdom. This time, Lilith said that she should never use this combat system again, otherwise she would be digging her own grave.
Unexpectedly, Gu Fan agreed with this. He nodded and said: "Indeed, the combat mechanism of "Ascension" is designed for "Ascension". "Blood of Lies" has a unique world view, so the combat mechanism naturally needs to be adjusted accordingly.
"I think that the combat mechanism of "Blood of Lies" should be centered around one thing, and that is: encourage offense!
“On the one hand, encouraging offense can make players take higher risks and generate more negative emotions; on the other hand, encouraging offense is also more consistent with the world view and background setting of the game.
"Players holding up shields and spears to poke at the boss obscenely are absolutely not allowed to happen."
Lilith thought for a while: "Encouraging offense? Doesn't "Ascension" encourage offense?"
Gu Fan shook his head: "Of course not.
"The core of the combat system of "Ascension" is the "transformation of offense and defense". It does not simply encourage offense or defense. Players who blindly attack will inevitably be beaten, while blindly defending cannot cause damage to the enemy, so they must do the right thing at the right time. things.”
Lilith nodded slowly: "Well, it sounds reasonable."
Obviously, she can't accept any shield poke from the player.
In most action games, especially in adventure games with a Western fantasy background, "Shield Poke" is a very wheelchair-bound and brainless play method.
As the name suggests, it is to find the shield with the highest damage-free rate in the game, raise it, and then use some longer weapons that can be used while raising the shield to attack.
Highlight one: you fight yours, and I fight mine, making the battle "full of interactivity."
Using this method, even players with handicaps can defeat the boss relatively easily.
For ordinary games, providing players with routines such as shield pokes can ensure the lowest limit of their experience and allow even the most inexperienced players to pass the level. But for Lilith, this routine will greatly reduce the negative emotions that players can generate, and is of course not allowed.
Just encourage offense, how to encourage it?
Zhou Yang said: “If we talk about encouraging offense, the first thing that comes to my mind is the blood-sucking mechanism.
“If you break it down, there can be three different situations.
"The first one is to suck blood indiscriminately, until it is full.
"The second is that after it is full, you can also generate a special blood shield for yourself based on excess blood-sucking. When the shield exists, it can resist part of the damage.
"The third type is that after being injured, the blood bar will not disappear immediately, but will become empty blood and continue to decay. The blood-sucking when the player attacks can only restore the empty blood part.
“In general, the third method is better in terms of balance and experience.”
Wei Chengjie thought for a while: "I think it can also be handled with 'GP'.
"Add invincibility frames or even bounce frames to the player's specific attack actions, so that when the player fights with the boss, the two attack actions collide, which may trigger invincibility frames or even bounce frames, allowing the player to gain benefits.
"Or there can be other auxiliary actions, such as puppet prosthetics can have special action buttons, which can also produce GP effects if used properly."
Lilith felt something was wrong as she listened: "Hey, hey, wait a minute!
"You are both bloodsucking and GP, isn't this making the players happy? ”
There is no doubt that if these two designs are combined, it does look a bit like a fun game.
There are various damage reduction props in the game. If the player wears heavy armor, uses damage reduction props, and finally fights with the boss mindlessly, not only can the blood be restored, but it is also possible to trigger the invincibility frame because of the right guess, and the boss will be ejected and stiff...
It does encourage offense, but it is completely contrary to the original purpose of creating negative emotions!
Gu Fan coughed twice: "Mr. Li, this is actually very easy to do.
"First of all, we must strictly limit the damage reduction props in the game.
"There can be no shields, even if there are, they are toys with a very low damage reduction rate; there can be no heavy armor, and there can be no props that greatly reduce damage.
"If the player wants to fight with the boss, then no matter what props he uses, what clothes he wears, and what weapons he holds, the final result must be that he will be killed by the boss instantly, there is no doubt about it.
"Secondly, both the blood and GP mechanisms can exist, but we can use specific restrictions to create a feeling for players that "they look strong but are actually difficult to use." ”
Lilith was a little confused: "It looks very powerful, but it's actually very difficult to use?"
Gu Fan nodded: "Yes, blood sucking and GP, it sounds very powerful, which is exactly your first reaction when you heard it, Li Zong.
"However, if this mechanism deviates a little, it will be a thousand miles away.
"Take GP for example.
"If we set the player's GP action to raise his hand instantly, then this will be an extremely powerful skill. With a little practice, the player can bounce the boss to death.
"If we add a little pre-shake before raising the hand, then it will become the bouncing knife in "Ascension". Although it takes a certain amount of time to adapt, it can basically be bounced back without thinking after learning it.
"But what if we continue to add more pre-shake before raising the hand? For example, we set the invincibility frame and effective frame of GP in the middle of a certain action.
"Then this GP will have extremely strict conditions. Only a very small number of backboard masters can use it perfectly. For most players, it is a daydream to rely on luck to GP the opponent's attack action, and they can only be beaten.
"The same goes for bloodsucking. We certainly can't just make it bloodsucking, but should make it a 'trap'.
"From the plot point of view, unclean blood is the source of madness. Why can you suck blood when you chop monsters? Because when you chop monsters, unclean blood will spurt out of the monsters, and this blood can heal human injuries and provide power for puppets.
"If you follow this setting, then sucking unclean blood is obviously not without cost.
"First, other people's blood entering your body through the wound will inevitably accumulate the player's madness value, making the player's movements slow, deformed, and even directly produce a small stiffness. Although it is only a trivial detail change, it will greatly affect the player's feel.
"Secondly, bloodsucking will suck unclean blood into your body, accelerate your beast transformation process, improve your spiritual vision to see dangerous creatures, and you may also be hunted by specific hunter NPCs.
"After that, we will combine the concept of 'virtual blood' to make bloodsucking a trap, so that players will be entangled. Should they use such powerful functions as bloodsucking and GP?"