I Just Want Players to Save Money, They Insist on Giving Me!
Chapter 606 - 190: Making an Open-World Mini Game to Practice!_2

Chapter 606: Chapter 190: Making an Open-World Mini Game to Practice!_2

Within the constraints that were hard to balance, there were still masterpieces of linear games.

However, the room for development was too limited, which was not conducive to digging up more new content for the entire gaming industry.

Then, some game designers realized something.

If linear games were too directive, making it difficult for designers to choose what content to include or exclude,

could we simply break out of this framework?

Could we let players disregard those damned main quests,

and directly experience the content of the game itself?

Let the players take control of the game, let them define what content they want to play.

Instead of whatever content the designer could let them play.

At this point, the initial concept of the open world was born.

An open world doesn’t just mean a large map where players can run around anywhere and be considered open world.

No matter how large a game’s map is, if players still methodically follow the route laid out by the designers, going to point A, then to point B, defeating this boss before they can challenge that boss,

they would still be locked within the framework of a linear game.

Only by focusing on the word ’open,’ allowing players to go wherever they wish, take on whatever tasks they desire, and freely arrange their actions, can a game truly be called an ’open-world game.’

And with the birth of the open-world concept, the long-standing dilemma troubling designers of whether to opt for a ’strong main narrative or strong gameplay’ was gradually resolved.

Game designers could craft a game through a weakly attractive main quest, or through some fragmented, hazy storylines.

Even more, you could have players finish the game without knowing what the main quest was about, not remembering the name of the boss, not remembering the face of any passerby NPC, just knowing that they had fun, felt free, and were happy.

Such a thing would have been unthinkable in the original linear world.

Now, this gave designers much more room to exert their creativity.

But the open world was not without its faults.

Due to the weak main storyline, players might lose the strong driving force toward an ultimate goal.

In a linear world, lots of text or plots would be used to make players fall in love with the princess character, then embark on a mission to rescue her.

In an open world, however, what’s the princess’s name? No idea. What does she look like? Not very clear. What’s her personality? What has she done? The player is only partially aware.

And you want me to rescue her? You’re telling me this is my ultimate goal as a player?

Sorry, I’m really not interested.

Hence, while immersion may be good to have but not essential in a linear world, it becomes extremely important in an open world.

Immersion might even replace the main storyline to become the biggest motivation driving players to continuously explore an open-world game.

"What do you all think is beauty in a game?" Ke Jin asked again.

"Refined art style or magnificent architecture?" an employee pondered for a moment before responding.

"I think the beauty of humanity integrated into the story," Cheng Bage immediately added, "I feel that some stories with moments shining with human glory are very attractive, embodying a sort of grand aesthetic beauty."

"I think ’awesome’ is also a form of beauty. This game made me have a lot of fun, it was thrilling, and I felt great...not sure if that counts?" Secretary Qiao Yuan also participated in the meeting and was brave enough to offer her opinion.

In the senior meetings at Player Number One, Ke Jin always encouraged any staff member to boldly share their thoughts.

It didn’t matter if they were wrong.

Perhaps the answers were incorrect, but they could provoke divergent thinking in others.

"I believe there is another type of beauty that is..."

"Oh, right, does this count? My view is..."

Several department heads also expressed their ideas one after another.

Having listened to the round of opinions, Ke Jin nodded slightly.

"You’re all not wrong, but there’s a kind of beauty that transcends all that, which is of utmost importance in our innovative open-world design philosophy this time around," he said.

At his words, everyone’s gaze turned toward Ke Jin, filled with curiosity.

Scanning everyone, Ke Jin then spoke more slowly.

"The beauty of intuition."

As his words fell, the conference room immediately burst into a cacophony of surprised voices.

"Ah?"

"Uh...?"

"That definition... It’s so abstract."

"Can Mr. Ke explain it a bit clearer...? We’re not gifted enough to get that point..."

"Intuition I understand, but why does intuition create beauty?"

In the face of the bewildered crowd, Ke Jin was not surprised at all.

The wisdom that so many outstanding designers from his past life had gleaned from their life’s experience, if these employees could easily grasp it, then the gaming industry of Blue Star wouldn’t be in its current sorry state.

After thinking about where to start, Ke Jin once again paced toward the window and said,

"It’s winter now; it must be very cold outside."

Not understanding what their boss was getting at, the employees could only nod, unanimously saying, "Mhm."

"So, how did you determine it’s ’cold’?"

"Uh... because the temperature is low," Cheng Bage scratched his head, igniting laughter across the conference room.

Another employee said, "The main reason it’s cold is not just today. It’s been getting colder since last week, and you can clearly feel the seasonal change when coming out to the company."

"And there are also weather forecast notifications on our phones."