Chapter 876: Are You Even Speaking Human Language?

For many players, Smash Bros. is a game that excites them immensely.

And as time progressed, some master-level players had basically gained a certain understanding of Smash Bros.'s mechanics and concepts. Chen Xu's previous display of Link's moves, for example, was no longer particularly stunning, as it was only performed against a wooden dummy at the time.

However, in true high-end online matches, when a player's combat power with a certain fighter reached its peak, they could unlock VIP tournaments. Players capable of competing in VIP tournaments were essentially those who had mastered a fighter to perfection.

Ordinary players bestowed a very fitting title upon these individuals: Monsters!

Each fighter, in their hands, was played with incredible flair, and in combat, they could easily defeat an opponent three times over with just one life.

Of course, this situation is normal for many games. For example, in the Souls series game Elden Ring, some players might have grinded a level 300 well-rounded character, equipped with a +10 Bloodhound's Fang and either a +10 Black Knife Tiche or Mimic Tear, yet still couldn't defeat Malenia. Meanwhile, other players could conquer Malenia flawlessly at level 1.

As for competitive play, players were unaware of Chen Xu's positioning for Smash Bros. Without any official tournaments announced, there was inevitably some regret. However, various third-party organized tournaments were abundant, which managed to divert a significant portion of player attention.

As Smash Bros.'s popularity remained stable, it even spurred a resurgence in Switch sales.

This led many players to complain, lamenting that it was “another year of patching things up.” VR gaming pods had already released Pro versions, and the next generation was rumored to be on its way. Yet, this old handheld console from Nebula Games, which had been online for several years, remained the same, apart from a mid-cycle update to its screen, memory, and battery life. Its sales, surprisingly, remained incredibly resilient – it was simply unbelievable!

Chen Xu, of course, was completely unaware of these online complaints from players. But even if he knew, Chen Xu would remain unmoved, perhaps even feeling a slight urge to laugh out loud.

Although Nebula Games genuinely wanted to release new versions, they simply couldn't keep up with the players' overwhelming enthusiasm! Production couldn't keep up with demand, so how could they possibly focus on developing a new generation?

And compared to all this, Chen Xu currently had more important matters to attend to.

………………

Game Department's Science and Technology Park Laboratory

Chen Xu and a group of top domestic game designers watched the blueprints on the computer screen, and the corresponding demonstrations, completely dumbfounded. What the blueprints demonstrated was simply too shocking.

It was a perfected neural interface technology.

The existing VR technology already supported this aspect. Moreover, major manufacturers had already implemented it, with many games, including World of Warcraft, utilizing this technology. However, it was only for information reading.

At the same time, the visual effects brought by VR technology were already approaching a bottleneck. For example, ray tracing, haptic feedback, sound effects, and graphic fidelity, from a game performance perspective, could infinitely approach reality as long as game developers were willing to spend a fortune. Further improvements were simply not possible. And games aren't necessarily better the more impressive the graphics are; it's just the most direct way to show improvement in this area.

However, the next-gen VR gaming pod that Chen Xu and the others were seeing was different. It employed a semi-sleep mechanism, a type of hypnosis that made players subconsciously believe they were in the game world. One could only say that this thing was absolute black technology.

“Holy cow, this is too awesome?!”

“If it’s really as they say, it might just revolutionize the future of the gaming industry!”

“Indeed, and in terms of game controls, including camera design, everything would need to be completely overturned.”

“Absolutely. However, I think we should feel a bit sorry for the game design students in universities. If this really becomes widespread, then they’ve wasted these past few years of study!”

The designers attending this secret invitation were all among the best in the country, but at this moment, none of them cared about their image; some even cursed aloud.

“Mr. Chen, what do you think?” someone suddenly asked Chen Xu.

Hearing this, some other designers who were still discussing also turned their gaze towards Chen Xu. After all, if there was one person in the world who could be called the number one designer, it was undoubtedly the man before them.

“Safety issues are the key. Minister Yang, I hadn’t heard anything about this next-gen VR. Wasn’t the VR gaming pod put on the market after we specifically participated in safety tests?” Chen Xu said, hearing the question.

This was the perplexing aspect for him. After all, when the VR gaming pod was launched back then, they had participated in safety tests. But as for the new gaming pod’s technology, involving cutting-edge neural interfaces and information transmission, he didn’t understand those. The only thing that truly baffled him was how the safety aspects were approved so quietly, without a sound.

Other game designers also showed curious expressions.

“It’s all thanks to you, Mr. Chen!” Yang Chen said with a smile.

“Thanks to me?!” Chen Xu looked bewildered.

“Of course! The Silent Hill PT demo you developed back then was quite useful. We optimized the graphic fidelity a bit, and had people who had never played the demo test it. One test, one accurate result. And over the years, you’ve developed quite a few games, Mr. Chen. The full version of Silent Hill and Resident Evil – removing the combat system from them makes for excellent testing material. Even the Forbidden Woods in Bloodborne and the Royal Capital sewers in Elden Ring, which you developed not long ago – adjust the brightness a bit, and they’re all absolutely perfect content!” Yang Chen said, laughing heartily.

The other designers around showed very strange expressions, but upon closer reflection, they thought about it carefully.

It seems… it actually makes a lot of sense!

If one hadn't played these games before, and were encountering them for the first time, removing the combat system, and then appropriately adjusting the in-game brightness and specially handling the camera…

Hiss… it’s like, whatever style you want, it has it!

If you want psychological oppression, there’s Silent Hill. If you want bloody horror, there’s Resident Evil. If you want eerie and bizarre, Bloodborne and Elden Ring can both satisfy.

Thinking about it that way, the design of these games is just too perverse, too grim!

And then, recalling Mr. Chen’s earlier developed Payday, with its vivid robbery gameplay.

It’s a good thing Mr. Chen became a game designer, otherwise, he would be absolutely no good for society!

“So, Minister Yang, this time it’s mainly for us to innovate on the content for the next-gen VR?” Chen Xu asked Yang Chen.

“That’s right. Although this generation’s Huanyu VR has completely surpassed Zeus’s market share, it hasn’t secured a decisive victory yet. And this time, with the next generation, we’ve lowered the cost of the new era VR, making it completely affordable. This is a good opportunity to establish a new round of industry rules,” Yang Chen said, his expression becoming serious.

Chen Xu understood.

To put it simply, it was all about securing market share and then setting the rules for the gaming industry.

Chen Xu and the other designers then continued to observe the display of the new VR’s effects, getting a general idea of its performance and characteristics. Concerns about the market and safety were not for them, the designers; the Game Department had very mature plans for those areas.

For them, the key was content. Moreover, this time there was an added difference: there needed to be clear market targeting. Both themes and types of games needed to support the new VR.

The designers present began an intense discussion.

“FPS, RPG, and ARPG – these are merely the three most mainstream types.”

“No, no, based on the content experienced just now, the next-gen VR clearly emphasizes immersive presence. Action-adventure games like The Last of Us and Uncharted, I think, would be even better.”

“And themes, setting aside genres, there are also more suitable directions for different regions.”

“And there’s one crucial point: this time it’s a ZZ Task, right? For the next-gen rollout, censorship will be somewhat relaxed, so we can be a bit bolder!”

“You’re thinking too much. We’re different from ordinary designers. The current line is already considered the bottom. If we push any further down, then we’ll be ‘taken out’!”

“Don’t make it sound so scary! It’s the works that get ‘taken out,’ not the people!”

“By the way, Mr. Chen, do you have any thoughts?”

A group of designers gathered, discussing relevant information, and eventually, the conversation turned to Chen Xu, given his status and position.

“My thoughts? I do have some. Actually, setting aside game types, whether it’s FPS, RPG, or ARPG, I believe there are fundamentally two directions,” Chen Xu said after a moment of contemplation.

“The first direction is gameplay. And what constitutes gameplay is nothing more than various systems extended from collecting and progression. Whether it’s an action game, an FPS game, or an ARPG, it cannot escape these two elements: collecting and progression. They are like the foundation of a house; these two points are the root!”

“The second direction is the experience brought by the storyline. There’s no need to elaborate on that.”

“From the early performance of the next-gen VR, content focused on the story will clearly be even more outstanding.”

Everyone present nodded thoughtfully; those who could be there were the industry’s elite. They naturally understood what Chen Xu meant. It wasn’t that gameplay wasn’t important, but from the current performance and features of next-gen VR, story-driven games that could directly provide an immersive experience clearly had a greater advantage.

And for them, the important thing was to have the most intuitive content when the next-gen VR launched, to attract players to their camp. Just like in the previous generation, every new generation would focus on graphics. When graphics hit a bottleneck, they would focus on things like hard drive read speed. And when those aspects also reached a bottleneck, controllers, sound effects—the points where players could feel direct changes—would all become areas for innovation.

“Regarding game development, I think everyone can discuss it. Try to avoid conflicts with similar genres and themes as much as possible. Even if there’s a conflict, try to stagger the subsequent promotion and launch times as much as possible,” a designer brought up.

After all, this occasion was no small matter; it was different from typical commercial competition. However, after the words fell, everyone’s eyes were fixed on Chen Xu. Clearly, everyone present had the same thought: who among those here wasn’t skilled enough to be afraid? But there was only one person who made them feel a bit intimidated.

“Cough, cough. For new games, I do have a few ideas.”

“Domestic, Japan, and Europe and America. Our Nebula Games will be responsible for these three markets in the future. As for the genre, it will be RPG and action-adventure.”

Everyone: ?????

Everyone was completely stunned. Are you even speaking human language?! Responsible for three markets? These three are the biggest directions in the entire damn gaming industry. Why don’t you just throw in Africa too?!

Ending with two favorite games, should be easy to guess~~~

(End of Chapter) <>