The immense popularity of DOTA created a whirlwind across the domestic and international gaming industries.
Just like with open-world games back then, many Game Designers were analyzing DOTA's recipe for success, including detailed analyses of all DOTA's settings.
Its operating mode, art style, core gameplay, and various other aspects were all scrutinized. At the same time, many Game Designers and developers started to have ideas.
That was, should they hitch a ride on DOTA's success? After all, when Nebula Games previously shocked the gaming industry with sandbox game and open-world genres, similar games had reaped considerable rewards.
And soon, a game developer was the first to make a move. It was FOW, Nebula Games' old rival.
In the project office, Grayson felt a little 'pained expressions' watching the online popularity of DOTA from FOW. Unlike his previous good luck, this time Grayson didn't know whether he was unlucky or fortunate.
The fortunate part was that he once again encountered Nebula Games' new work. Although he stubbornly promoted and launched his game at the same time, he didn't suffer a devastating defeat. Even though DOTA's popularity later 'exploded', it was on a different platform, and DOTA was also a free game. So, while the previously released Glory Warrior was somewhat affected, it wasn't fundamentally harmed. Also, the game's solid foundation ensured that FOW greenlit a sequel.
The unlucky part was that DOTA's popularity gave FOW ideas. Especially after realizing that Nebula Games had only released DOTA on the PC platform and not on VR, FOW made a grand gesture, stating they would pursue a similar type of game.
After all, anyone with eyes could see DOTA's potential. And this time, FOW wasn't acting recklessly; they were prepared to have their ace designer, Alex, lead this competing product project. However, Alex stated that the third installment of the Wasteland trilogy was already in the planning stages.
Thus, Grayson, who had just finished the Glory Warrior project, became the head of this new project. But honest to goodness, he absolutely did not want to be the project lead. Why did Alex refuse? As a Game Designer, Grayson could somewhat guess the reasons.
It was simply too difficult to make! While he didn't know why Nebula Games hadn't developed a VR version of DOTA, Grayson knew there had to be a reason. Lack of funds?
That reason was laughable. Moreover, if they wanted to do it, a radical overhaul would definitely not work. On one hand, there was the time constraint, and on the other, FOW wouldn't give him that much time.
So, it would inevitably involve making detailed modifications based on DOTA's existing content, which was somewhat unappealing for a Game Designer. However, unlike Alex's standing, Grayson didn't have that much power within the company, and he had already achieved some success.
So, this task fell to him. He didn't want it, but he had no choice. To this end, Grayson diligently studied DOTA for over a month. After the ladder system was introduced, he even insisted on playing about eight games of DOTA every day, striving to understand the game's core and magic.
He even climbed to the Immortal tier and mastered his signature Storm Spirit with a 60% win rate.
"For a VR version, with a first-person perspective, players can't see many things outside their field of vision, which is very detrimental to information gathering. Just like RTS games, in addition to operations, information is crucial for these types of games.
"Hmm... shared vision, where players can see the perspective of their teammates. Also, the method for last-hitting needs to change in first-person mode. Combining melee and ranged attacks, incorporating FPS gameplay."
Grayson sat in front of his computer, pondering how to prepare for the new project. As an Immortal-tier player, Grayson had gained a considerable understanding of DOTA.
………………
Likely wanting to catch a wave of DOTA's popularity, FOW quickly announced its new project, 'Olympus', led by Grayson. Its background would be based on Greek mythology, with the Greek gods serving as the heroes controlled by players.
However, while announced, FOW's new project was clearly still in a 'newly created folder state,' and they hadn't revealed much substantive content. But for many players, it still garnered considerable attention.
After all, it was a game for the VR platform. It even prompted many DOTA players to @-mention Chen Xu on the official Weibo account, asking why a VR version of DOTA wasn't being released.
However, Chen Xu didn't pay much attention to these external messages. Could DOTA be made into a VR version? Yes, but it wasn't necessary.
For this type of game, there was a crucial issue that couldn't be resolved in a VR version: the perspective. Even if it were made into a VR mode, it would still essentially be a God's-eye view, unable to fully leverage the characteristics of VR, and the controller aspect would also be a relatively troublesome point.
As for FOW announcing a competing product, Chen Xu wasn't particularly concerned. After all, if they were releasing a similar game on the VR platform, Chen Xu could only say they were overthinking it.
And if it somehow succeeded, Chen Xu could only say that this game, named 'Catastrophe of the Gods', would have an absolutely different core from DOTA. At most, it would just ride on DOTA's coattails, and it wouldn't truly be a competing product for DOTA, nor would DOTA be a competing product for it.
As for the PC platform, as long as DOTA's content and promotion were handled well, he was currently in an invincible position. Because players' habits are very difficult to change, just like in PC FPS games, left-click is always to shoot, right-click is always to aim, and WASD is always for movement.
In the Parallel World, the release of DOTA also created a habit for players: heroes have three minor skills and one ultimate, lanes are always divided into three, and there's a jungle in the middle lane. At the same time, the gameplay mechanics had already given players a preconceived notion.
In this situation, trying to snatch players from DOTA would be 'harder than ascending to heaven' unless Nebula Games itself chose to 'rot away'. So, for Chen Xu, doing DOTA well and then waiting for the mainstream player skill level to mature, and subsequently promoting the corresponding leagues and global tournaments, was enough.
However, in addition to DOTA's arrangements, Chen Xu was also preparing for the next project.
He had previously promised to bring players a satisfying and stress-relieving game, but then he 'threw Sekiro in their faces', leaving him with a tiny bit of guilt. Now that DOTA was largely on track, Chen Xu was ready to truly bring players a stress-relieving and satisfying game.
As for what it would be, seeing FOW's 'Olympus', Chen Xu also got a 'wicked sense of humor'. Using Greek gods as a selling point? What a coincidence!
'God of War' — this was the dessert Chen Xu was preparing to offer players. Of course, the New God of War with a Norse mythology setting, Chen Xu wasn't ready to release yet. Instead, it would be the original trilogy with a Greek setting, including some plot from God of War: Ascension, defined as a prequel in his previous life's memories, which Chen Xu would integrate as appropriate.
'God of War's' original trilogy and the New God of War have different styles. The latter leans towards RPG in its gameplay, while the former is ACT.
But for Chen Xu, the truly crucial part, besides gameplay, was the plot. If players didn't understand Kratos's past story, they would struggle to grasp Kratos's emotions in the Norse mythology-based God of War. They also wouldn't be able to resonate with the story.
Therefore, the Greek mythology original trilogy was essential. For example, without the trilogy's story, players would find it hard to understand the emotional impact when Kratos returned home and retrieved the Blades of Chaos from a chest.
They also wouldn't grasp Kratos's final resolve, admitting his past in front of his son. Nor would they understand why Kratos chose to hide the fact of his divinity from his son.
Considering these reasons, Chen Xu decided to first bring the Greek trilogy to players.
(End of Chapter)
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