Chapter 77: Some Changes to Game Attributes
Chapter 77: Some Changes to Game Attributes
In the office, Chen Xu was refining the details of design concept drafts for two games.
Sanguosha was relatively simple.
In his previous life, this game had borrowed the design philosophy of BANG! and adapted it locally to fit the Three Kingdoms theme.
For instance, the roles of Lord, Loyalist, Rebel, and Spy in the game corresponded to Sheriff, Deputy, Outlaw, and Criminal in BANG!.
Of course, compared to the single gameplay mode of BANG!, Sanguosha introduced many innovative improvements, such as giving each Three Kingdoms general character unique Skills.
Additionally, Sanguosha made detailed modifications to the effects of the cards, differing significantly from the original BANG!.
Setting aside balance issues, Sanguosha actually had very high replayability.
It could be considered a game that combined luck and strategy.
Many veteran players in the previous life gritted their teeth when mentioning Sanguosha, not because of the game itself, but due to Youka, the company operating it.
It could even be said that the fact the game survived 13 years under Youkaâs operation and still retained some vitality was nothing short of a miracle.
If listing Youkaâs crimes, there were new complaints every year.
But if discussing the most infamous and earliest frustrating misstep, the Rise of a General event could not be overlooked.
Originally, Rise of a General had nothing to do with the online version of Sanguosha.
It was simply a benefit provided to players of the physical card game.
The generals featured were designed by players, with the official team making minor balance adjustments.
Its primary purpose was to fulfill playersâ desire to have their own custom generals.
As a board game, imbalanced cards could be excluded when playing offline with friends, so it wasnât a serious issue.
But the most bizarre aspect of Sanguosha in his previous life was the implementation of "one game, two systems."
It split into Southern Youka and Northern Youkaâ one handling the physical offline board game, the other managing the online version.
Then, the online versionâs operations team had a sudden idea.
"These ready-made generals are great!"
"Not adding them would be a waste, right?"
"Add them! Absolutely add them!"
"And not only add them, but sell them to players too!"
This decision completely shattered Sanguoshaâs balance. Ma Dai and Bu Lianshi in 2012, Cao Chong and Empress Fu in 2013â
These releases marked the beginning of the era of unbalanced generals.
How unbalanced were these generals?
Some players even started voluntarily banning Cao Chong and Empress Fu.
Such overpowered generals completely disrupted the game environment.
Why? Everyone knew why.
This also set the stage for what followedâ each new generation of generals grew stronger than the last. Early generals who relied on basic cards like Attack and Dodge were rendered obsolete.
The game had officially transitioned from the Wuxia era into the Cultivation era.
Of course, from a game development perspective, especially in card games where new cards (or in Sanguoshaâs case, generals) gradually grow stronger over time, this was an inevitable trend. The key was maintaining an appropriate degree of balance.
Although this had already frustrated a large number of players,
There was still some room for recovery.
But do you think they finally realized their mistakes, and that this was the peak of frustrating players?
Then you clearly underestimated Youka.
Right after announcing an event where purchasing any 23 paid generals would grant a permanent Left Ci, they immediately tossed the gameâs most popular and affordable generals into the membership free pool.
They claimed the game would undergo an engine upgrade, improving graphics and enhancing player experience.
How thoughtful!
But hereâs the catchâ veteran players couldnât inherit their previously owned generals and skins in the new version!
The official team announced a generous event to distribute 200 million ingots. By evening at 11 PM, only over 3,000 players had participated. But in the final ten minutes, suddenly over 400,000 phantom soldiers appeared.
The official explanation? There really were that many players; it was just a coincidence that these 400,000 players all logged in during those final ten minutes.
How coincidental!
Coupled with the statement, "Our game is thriving," it undeniably carried a strong sense of black humor.
Of course, there were other aspects to consider, such as the gameâs Art.
In the early days of Sanguosha, the artwork was essentially a mishmash.
After all, Sanguosha started as a small operation run by Huang Kai and his girlfriend Li You.
Most of the early characters were sourced from materials from Dynasty Warriors, and even the official release borrowed heavily from various comics.
For example, the basic Attack cardâs prototype was inspired by Gin Ichimaruâs actions from Bleach.
However, these werenât major issues, as Sanguoshaâs core strength lay in its mechanism architecture.
Therefore, regarding Sanguosha, Chen Xu didnât need to change anything about the gameâs rules and content.
For now, he would refrain from adding overpowered generals and focus on maintaining broad balance in subsequent work.
Operationally, the focus would definitely be on the online version, and Sanguosha would be offered as a free-to-play game.
Revenue would primarily come from decorative items such as skins.
As for generals, a progression-based model would be adopted.
In addition to basic generals, several generals would rotate weekly as free-to-use options.
Players would earn gold coins after each match, and daily quests would also reward gold coins upon completion.
These gold coins could be used to purchase generals and certain skins, or players could directly top-up to buy them.
The purpose of this system wasnât primarily profit, but rather to increase player progression and the stickiness cost associated with abandonment.
Besides cosmetic skins, all of Sanguoshaâs content would remain completely free to play.
Moreover, Chen Xu wouldnât deliberately make players grind excessivelyâ for example, requiring a month of grinding to buy a single Hero. Such a design wouldnât exist.
After all, the core purpose of Sanguosha was to strengthen player stickiness on the Nebula Games Platform.
Of course, there would also be finer optimizations. In offline board games, the Spy role wasnât significantly different from the Loyalist, Lord, or Rebel, since the social attribute outweighed the game attribute.
But in the online version, the opposite was trueâ the game win-loss attribute outweighed the social attribute. Additionally, matching would be based on player rankings.
This led to a particular issue: many players were unwilling to play as the Spy.
In Chen Xuâs previous life, Sanguosha had faced this exact situation.
Many players, when randomly assigned as the Spy, would either disconnect immediately or instantly reveal themselves and kill the Lord to end the game quickly.
At one point, Sanguosha was even nicknamed "Rebel Kill."
This was clearly unreasonable.
Therefore, Chen Xu planned to balance the Spy role through external factors.
For example, combining rewards with the Spyâs control-the-field gameplay.
The Spyâs win rate was extremely low because the victory condition was so difficultâ they had to eliminate everyone except the Lord, then kill the Lord.
Any other outcome resulted in a loss.
Under these conditions, even if the penalty points were minimal, who would willingly endure the effort of controlling the field only to lose and still lose points?
This was the main reason many avoided playing the Spy.
Thus, in Chen Xuâs design, the Spyâs score and rewards wouldnât be based solely on win or loss, but on their control of the field.
For example, a Spy who wins earns 20 points; if the Spy loses in a final duel against the Lord, they earn 15 points; if one Lord, one Rebel, and one Spy remain, the Spy earns 10 points upon losingâ
And so on. As a unique third-party faction, the Spyâs score couldnât be judged purely by victory or defeat.
Of course, the actual effectiveness would depend on player feedback during official operation, which would then inform further macro adjustments.
Compared to Sanguosha, the other game, Fall Guys, was tasked with a direction of rapid popularity.
In terms of player stickiness, Fall Guys was definitely inferior to card battle games like Sanguosha.
But in terms of short-term popularity, Fall Guys would undoubtedly surpass Sanguosha.
In his previous life, it sold tens of millions of copies on Steam in a single monthâ
This alone proved the point. Fall Guys was an incredibly addictive game.
And unlike Overcooked, Fall Guys was a more comprehensive entertainment experience.
Even in solo mode, players could still enjoy a great experience in Fall Guys.
This was something cooperative games like Overcooked couldnât achieve.
After all, most players were actually "lone wolves."
It wasnât that these players had no friends or girlfriends.
It was just that their friends or girlfriends either didnât enjoy gaming or couldnât find the time to play.
Similarly, compared to Sanguosha, Fall Guys could also integrate the Workshop, allowing players to create their own levels.
In terms of gameplay structure, Fall Guys wasnât particularly complex.
The only aspect requiring attention was its emphasis on physical performance.
The reason Fall Guys had such charm in his previous life was closely tied to its physical effects.
The seemingly clumsy bean characters wobbling toward the finish line, with springy, rubber-like physics feedbackâ
This was the gameâs hidden selling point. Such games were often called Silly Games by players.
Games like Gang Beasts, Party Animals, and Human: Fall Flat all relied on the chaotic, humorous feel created by exaggerated physics to indirectly attract players.
But the difference was, Fall Guys was a multiplayer competitive game, blending the traits of a variety show obstacle course. In other words, for "lone wolf" players, the experience in this game was even better.
Thus, in terms of sales and popularity, it completely overshadowed those games.
(End of Chapter) <