Chapter 79: The Positioning of Two Games

Extremely stress-relieving, unparalleled fun, harmonious and heartwarming.

Judging from normal vocabulary, there's nothing wrong with these descriptions.

Yet when Chen Xu says them, it somehow makes people feel a bit uneasy.

After all, Outlast and Overcooked were both precedents.

Previously, he claimed Overcooked was a harmonious and heartwarming cooperative game.

Yet it ended up causing countless friendships to end—'Friendship over'.

And yet, the official Weibo account even presented a set of arguments that sounded perfectly logical.

Now online, players are already calling Chen Xu a big fraud.

And now, here he goes again with the same familiar rhetoric.

It's hard to believe!

"Don't be influenced by the recent online controversy. We're all adults—we should have our own judgment," Chen Xu said with a cheerful smile, observing everyone's expressions.

Hearing Chen Xu's words, the others nodded on the surface, but inwardly they were skeptical.

It's precisely because we have our own judgment that we realize the players were absolutely right!

However, soon everyone was drawn to the design concept drafts being presented.

"Variety show obstacle course? Like 'Rush Forward, Boys and Girls'—those summer programs aired annually by regional TV stations?"

Looking at the main gameplay rules of Fall Guys, Ruan Ningxue, who often watched variety shows, was the first to speak up.

"Though there's one difference—those variety shows have participants go one at a time, with winners determined by who clears the course fastest. This game, however, has everyone competing together."

"Reality and games are naturally different. In real life, with too many people on each track, trampling incidents could occur—especially in physically demanding programs like these. But games are different."

"Still, wouldn't 60 players feel too chaotic?"

Looking at the game's design concept drafts, the team whispered among themselves, discussing animatedly.

Clearly, the design concept of Fall Guys had surprised them.

"Alright, everyone, quiet down. Let me explain the core aspects this game will focus on," Chen Xu said, tapping the table as he looked around.

"First, the game's positioning: This is a lighthearted, casual collection of mini-games inspired by variety show obstacle courses. The Art should feature exaggerated characters, comical actions, and bright, vivid color schemes. The background audio should be extremely cheerful, putting players in a deeply relaxed state so they can fully immerse themselves in the game."

"The game's physics should be even more exaggerated—bordering on the unrealistic—to enhance entertainment value and promote secondary sharing and dissemination later on."

As Chen Xu analyzed Fall Guys' core elements, the team listened with growing excitement.

Especially veteran employees like Qin Yi, who felt particularly at ease.

Because whether it was Sanguosha or Fall Guys, these concept drafts still retained the same characteristics as previous hits like Outlast and Overcooked.

Namely, an exceptionally high level of completeness—covering Art, Level Design, and core gameplay elements—all present and accounted for.

They were concise and clear. Just by looking and listening, everyone could already visualize the games in their minds.

"As for operations, Zhang Yida and Zhao Mo—both of you from marketing and operations—prepare two separate plans for me. Sanguosha will be a free-to-play game with in-app purchases, focused on long-term operation to increase user retention."

"Fall Guys, on the other hand, will prioritize short-term popularity. Prepare marketing and promotion strategies accordingly and show them to me."

Chen Xu addressed Zhang Yida and Zhao Mo, the newly appointed head of Nebula Games' operations team.

Hearing Chen Xu's words, Zhang Yida and Zhao Mo nodded in agreement.

From Chen Xu's explanation, the basic positioning of the two games was now clear.

Fall Guys would adopt a buy-to-play model, but in Chen Xu's vision, it was a fast-food-style game—meant to generate massive short-term popularity, attract sufficient users, and earn profits quickly. Simply put, it was like chasing short-term gains in finance.

Sanguosha, however, was intended for long-term operation—aimed at increasing user stickiness for Nebula Games. The free-to-play with in-app purchases model was designed to give the game a progression element, raising the cost for players to abandon the game.

With different positioning and attributes, the marketing and promotion strategies naturally differed.

"Lastly, this part isn't very important. At this exhibition, we're mostly just teasing players with promises—we won't be launching anything soon," Chen Xu said directly, since everyone present was one of their own.

As for the third folder, Chen Xu had no intention of showing it—it was truly just an empty folder.

"Ruan Ningxue, Yang Xin, and Qin Yi—stay behind. Take some time to carefully review these two design concept drafts. Gather any questions you have, and we'll discuss them in a follow-up meeting."

As Chen Xu finished speaking, the other employees stood up and left the meeting room to return to their workstations.

Looking at Ruan Ningxue, Yang Xin, and Qin Yi, Chen Xu continued, "Besides these two games, there's another larger project. I'll handle the script and Storyboard for the CG animation part. Ruan Ningxue, you'll be in charge of following up on that."

"Yang Xin, I'll write up the worldbuilding and background lore later. As for you, Qin Yi—once you've completed the action system for Fall Guys, start working on a prototype action demo. Get some experience under your belt so you're not starting from scratch later."

Chen Xu assigned tasks to each of them.

Hearing his words, they all nodded.

Because for these three, Sanguosha and Fall Guys didn't actually involve much workload.

………………

With the formation of the Fall Guys and Sanguosha project teams, Nebula Games began operating at peak efficiency.

And while these two games were being developed,

there were also some side stories unfolding in the gaming industry.

First, in the independent gaming community—after Overcooked became a hit—many designers and second- or third-tier game developers rushed to release similar cooperative games.

But unsurprisingly, none of them made much of a splash.

Because for this genre, without a clear Core Aspect, it's extremely difficult to capture players' attention.

For example, the Core Aspect of Overcooked was essentially conflict arising from cooperation.

Through videos and live streams, it generated the 'breakup' meme, which fueled secondary spread of the game's popularity.

But this unique trait isn't something that can be replicated just by making any cooperative game.

It's intricately tied to the game's Level Design and Numerical Design.

If not handled well—if the game is too easy—then the 'breakup' drama becomes meaningless.

And if it's too extreme, players won't break up—they'll instead unite in cursing the game as stupid.

Clearly, these other games failed to grasp this key point.

And naturally, they made no waves.

(PS: Daily request for recommendation votes and Monthly Pass; one more chapter coming, won't be too late)

Just noticed Sanguosha has appeared on Steam... what a coincidence.

(End of Chapter) <>