Chapter 711: The Bewildered Players (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

Chapter 711: The Bewildered Players (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

It can be said that DOTA is definitely an IP no weaker than World of Warcraft, and in fact, its vitality is even stronger.

In his previous life, DOTA players would say every year that DOTA was dying, that it was a dead game.

Yet, every year it would thrive, outliving countless other games, like an unkillable pest. So for Chen Xu, DOTA is clearly a very long-term project. The project studio currently being assembled, like the previous World of Warcraft project, will be a dedicated workgroup serving DOTA.

At the same time, regarding the characters and worldview, in his previous life, because DOTA initially started as a Warcraft 3 map and mostly used in-game models, many players basically linked it to Warcraft’s background, with a bit of their own imagination added in.

For example, the Anti-Mage and Terrorblade models weren’t much different, both using the Demon Hunter model. Especially Terrorblade’s transformed great demon was the Demon Hunter’s level 6 ultimate ability. So many players roughly assumed that Anti-Mage and Terrorblade were twin brothers, but due to a disagreement, one of them fell and became a demon.

It wasn't until DOTA2 was released later that the corresponding Radiant and Dire and Mad Moon worldviews were established.

Of course, as Valve, who perpetually acts as if money grows on trees, their approach to their own games often feels very Zen. Not to mention DOTA, which was essentially adopted, even their own flesh-and-blood son Half-Life, and Counter-Strike which originated from a mod, took countless years to produce anything new.

Compared to League of Legends, it can be said that DOTA's promotional operations, even if only slightly effective, wouldn't be completely useless.

For Chen Xu, it’s still very necessary to use comic and animation formats to help players understand DOTA’s background and capture the broadest possible player base.

In this area, Chen Xu plans to start with Dragon's Blood, launched by Netflix in his previous life, taking Dragon Knight Davion as the first entry point.

On one hand, the Dragon's Blood animation itself, while not a masterpiece, can certainly be called excellent. The only point worth complaining about is that in many places, it was evident that the budget was somewhat insufficient.

This aspect is the easiest to solve. After all, for Nebula Games currently, anything that can be solved with money isn’t an issue. The animation’s primary purpose is game promotion, so there’s no need to consider profit costs in this area; it can be fully recouped from subsequent games and merchandise.

Secondly, the characters appearing in the Dragon's Blood story are actually quite suitable as beginner-friendly and engaging heroes: Dragon Knight, Mirana, Luna, Terrorblade.

As for Marci and Invoker Carl, cough, cough... let's temporarily skip that topic.

Of course, besides these, there are also some detailed aspects that need modification, such as the mysterious merchant.

In his previous life, the mysterious merchant in DOTA2 was based on Gaben.

Now, Chen Xu plans to personally take on the role of this 'shrewd merchant.'

Care for a look at Mr. Chen’s benevolent smile? Regardless of whether you’re Ancient Apparition, who existed before the universe’s birth, or Arc Warden, who shares origins with the Ancients, if you want to buy equipment, you'll have to come and see Mr. Chen’s kind smile, then pull out all your life savings from your pocket. And once you've bought it, if you use it for ten seconds, it's considered second-hand. Interested in a 50% buyback?

………………

As DOTA's general framework was finalized, the team and lead creators began intensive development.

Unlike previous games, a large portion of DOTA's workload was in numerical balance and art.

Furthermore, the final version Chen Xu decided on was that the Town Portal Scroll would still cost 135 Yuan, just like in the earliest version. A Town Portal Scroll would be granted upon player death, and the Town Portal Scroll merchant would not buy it back at 50%.

Talent System and Neutral Items would not be included, maintaining the Yellow Attribute Points system.

The Defense Tower mechanism would also adopt the earlier version, where each tower has its own built-in invincibility period. When a hero uses a Town Portal Scroll to teleport using the Defense Tower as the unit, rather than the surrounding area of the Defense Tower, it will trigger the Defense Tower's invincibility period.

Besides these, there were also adjustments to map resources, jungle creep experience, and the bounty mechanics for minions, kills, and assists.

Of course, subsequent tests would be gradually conducted.

As for heroes, many heroes had their skills reworked over time. For example, the earliest version of Faceless Void was practically two different heroes depending on one's luck. A lucky Faceless Void was essentially invincible, potentially shrugging off five ultimate abilities without a scratch, while an unlucky one was like having two fewer skills.

However, in this area, Chen Xu and the team plan to test things bit by bit, and they can also make adjustments based on player feedback later on.

………………

The popularity of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has slowly subsided.

After all, this is purely a single-player game, and as a Souls-like game, while Sekiro’s combat system, with its sword clashes, did indeed provide a very satisfying experience compared to previous Bloodborne and Dark Souls titles.

However, for many players, they wouldn't engage in long streaks of battles, multiple playthroughs, or Despair Mode. Most just completed the first playthrough, watched videos to understand other story paths, or observed master players' techniques, and then put the game aside.

Nevertheless, after Sekiro, many new games released by other game developers attracted a lot of player attention.

First and foremost was FOW's new title, 'Glory Warrior,' which still focused on the medieval theme they excelled at. After the launch of their previous sequel, Wasteland 1981, it also received decent reviews, but its score was still slightly lower than the original.

Apparently, for this very reason, although continuing to release sequels would still rake in profits, FOW put on the brakes. They didn't rush to release another sequel for the Wasteland IP, instead returning to the medieval theme.

However, it's not a single-player game but a multiplayer game primarily focused on PVP. The combat system is more complex, but clearly benefiting from Sekiro's influence, the sword clashing depicted in its promotional trailer became the main selling point.

Next, Atari also launched a new game called 'Battlefield (Game Title),' also a multiplayer PVP-focused game. But unlike Glory Warrior by FOW, Atari's title focused on large-scale battlefields, with 30v30 multiplayer battles as its main gimmick.

At the same time, several other game developers focusing on the VR platform also launched their own games, mostly action-themed titles.

Players were discussing these games animatedly. After all, whether they were fun or not remained to be seen, but at least judging from the promotional gimmicks, they were quite appealing.

Just at this critical moment, an official Weibo post caused an uproar among players and in the industry.

Chen Xu: 'Nebula Games presents, the first season of the animation Dragon's Blood, co-produced by Nebula Games and WIS Studio, will be launched for free across the entire network soon. Stay Tuned!'

Below the official Weibo post were attachments showcasing several main characters from the animation: Mirana, the Moon Princess with a White Tiger, Dragon Knight Davion, the fire dragon Slyrak, Invoker Carl, and Terrorblade.

As soon as this official Weibo post was released, the surrounding players were stunned.

What is this? An animation?

An animation co-produced with WIS Studio?

Many players had speculated that after Sekiro’s Despair Mode, Nebula Games had been quiet for so long because they were secretly working on a big project.

But what is this animation!?!?

People used to joke that Nebula Games was a film and animation company disguised as a game company, but now you're actually making animations?

And co-producing it with WIS Studio, a rising star in the animation industry in recent years?

Countless players were utterly bewildered. (End of Chapter) <>