Chapter 429: A Thief's End (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

In the afternoon conference room, Qin Yi, Meng Zuo, Ruan Ningxue, Yang Xin, and others were all present.

Everyone looked at the content on the large screen, filled with surprise.

“Uncharted: A Thief's End”

Type: Linear Game, Cinematic Interaction…

Theme: Treasure Hunting, Action-Adventure…

The combination of these tags reminded everyone of the previous “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare”.

However, there was one difference: “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” was a Shooting Game, while this “Uncharted: A Thief's End” was an Action-Adventure game.

Although shooting was also listed in the tags, it clearly wouldn't be the main focus.

“This new game's genre is a cinematic game; I don't need to elaborate on this point,” Chen Xu said, smiling at everyone.

Cinematic games were completely familiar to Nebula Games' core team.

“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” was a purely cinematic FPS, and “Red Dead Redemption”, putting aside its open-world gameplay, was also a very standard cinematic presentation if only considering its main quest.

“Just like 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare', the graphics will be a prominent feature.”

“Moreover, as an Exploration-themed game, 'Uncharted' has players take on the role of the protagonist, traveling the world to find legendary ancient ruins and treasures. During these expeditions, it's normal for ruins to collapse due to combat or age.”

“This allows us to reallocate computing resources. We handle the visual presentation of collapsing scenes by interspersing CG, a technique we've already employed in the ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’ series, so I won't explain it further.”

“At the same time, the new era VR gaming pods, compared to when we developed ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’, have higher loading efficiency and resource limits. This means we can attempt to push the graphics up another notch.” Chen Xu slowly began speaking to the team.

No one had any objections to this, as it wasn't their first time working on such a project.

“However, everyone should note that the game's narrative module also needs some changes compared to before. This is a family-friendly game with a very wholesome ending, so in some details, we need to inject a joyful atmosphere,” Chen Xu said to the group.

Instantly, the conference room fell silent.

Only the hum of the running computer fans and the central air conditioning could be heard.

Everyone stared blankly at Chen Xu.

Wholesome!? Thinking back to the many ‘loving’ games under Nebula Games, and then considering the new game's subtitle, ‘A Thief's End’.

The 'thief' surely refers to the protagonist; after all, it's Treasure Hunting, involving intense scenes like gunfights and car chases, so it couldn't possibly be an archaeologist. Most likely, they are involved in illegal activities.

So, if the thief has reached 'A Thief's End', how could it still be wholesome?

“Don't misunderstand, this time it really is wholesome.”

“Forget it, you'll know the truth when the full Script Outline is ready,” Chen Xu said, shaking his head helplessly.

“Additionally, Qin Yi, you and your team should first build the climbing-related action framework for the game. This is very important for ‘Uncharted’ and requires richer actions, as climbing will be one of the game's main gameplay elements.”

“Next, the Art Team should produce some Concept Art based on these contents. All right, everyone, get to work.”

After the meeting concluded, establishing the general development direction for “Uncharted,” Chen Xu returned to his office.

In his previous life, speaking of adventure-themed games, there were arguably two iconic franchises:

Tomb Raider and Uncharted.

Lara and Drake were also renowned explorers (Demolition Team members) in the gaming world.

And coincidentally, they were a male and a female character.

The “Uncharted” series, right from its first installment, was a pinnacle of visually stunning games.

It was an instant hit, making “Uncharted” take on the heavy mantle of Action-Adventure Treasure Hunting games after Tomb Raider.

By the second installment, Among Thieves, the series became world-famous, winning numerous international Game of the Year awards, and solidifying the core gameplay of the “Uncharted” series.

At that time, if you didn't know how to recommend this game to a friend, just letting them play the train level in Uncharted 2 was enough; this installment is still considered the most classic by many players.

By the third installment, Drake's Deception, the game's graphics, actions, and gameplay all saw significant improvements, earning a perfect score from IGN.

A Thief's End, as the series' magnum opus, despite losing out on the Game of the Year award, was the culmination of the entire series and provided Drake with a beautiful conclusion to his story.

If one were to list game protagonists who found a happy ending, Drake would certainly be on that list.

His brother Sam was still alive, his mentor and father figure Sully was still alive, and he lived a happy and uninhibited life with his wife Elena Fisher, even having a daughter. As for his ex-girlfriend Chloe, that's another story. It could be said that Drake was an absolute winner in life.

In contrast, Lara, the female protagonist of the other Demolition Team, had a slightly more tragic fate: her parents were missing, there were family conflicts, and her good friend Alex even died on the boat (though being kissed by Lara before death wasn't too bad). In the rebooted trilogy, her teammate Jonah was a minor player in the early stages; aside from mediating fights, acting as a peacemaker, and occasionally taking advantage of Lara with a hug every time they reunited, his presence wasn't particularly strong.

Therefore, Chen Xu also believed that “Uncharted” would give players a massive surprise, and one that fully combines the 'surprise' and 'joy', rather than having them separate.

As for the game's content, Chen Xu still decided to tell the entire “Uncharted” story using a flashback technique.

While A Thief's End had the lowest rating in the Uncharted series, the main reason was that, compared to its predecessors, it didn't introduce significant changes.

However, from a gameplay perspective, A Thief's End was actually the most refined of the four installments, with the best pacing and level design.

(End of Chapter) <>