"In order to alleviate the fatigue of players, it is recommended to use a long and short level design. For example, the prologue is a short level that guides the player to the gameplay and ends in about 10 minutes; The first level is a long level, which requires complex puzzle solving content before defeating the boss, and it takes about 1 hour to play; The second level is another short level, which can directly enter the boss battle, and then in the process of chasing the boss, it is mixed with several stages of puzzle-solving elements, and the game time is about 30 minutes; The third level is another long level, which is extended to 1 hour and 15 minutes, and there will be more complex puzzle content ......"

"Through this design, the emotional flow of players in different levels can be adjusted, and the effect of relaxation can be achieved."

"Moreover, according to the length of the level time we have finalized, we can decide which scene to use in a certain level, and combine elements such as boss battle gameplay, level background, and level duration, so that players can be more impressed."

Wu Zhicheng blinked: "Yes, it makes sense!" ”

He didn't actually think about it so much before, just in a kind of mentality of making up the numbers, planning 10 levels for the game, and each level has a different background package.

But listening to Xi Hao's analysis, there are so many doorways in this?

The duration of the level can control the player's game mood and achieve the effect of relaxation, so that the player will not suddenly feel bored and boring in the middle of playing, which can bring a better game experience.

Moreover, the length of the game also determines the form of a certain level: is it a boss battle after a long puzzle solving? Or is it a direct boss fight? Or is it a multi-stage boss battle and a puzzle-solving element added during the transition phase?

Different forms of levels bring players a completely different gaming experience.

After Xi Hao's analysis, Wu Zhicheng instantly felt that the content that was very vague before became much clearer, and the clueless places became traceable.

Wu Zhicheng hurriedly recorded it in his notebook, for fear that he would forget it after a while.

Xi Hao reminded: "I'm just making a suggestion, not that I have to follow this. If you think it makes sense, then you can plan it like this, and if you have other ideas, we can discuss it again. ”

"At the end of the day, Ink is a game you design, and you have the final say. We just make suggestions from other perspectives, and it's your freedom to adopt them or not. ”

Wu Zhicheng nodded: "Understood." ”

Xi Hao's attitude also made Wu Zhicheng very satisfied.

Obviously, Xi Hao has several years of experience in the game industry, so when looking at many issues, he can provide a more professional perspective than Wu Zhicheng.

For these better suggestions, Wu Zhicheng will of course gladly adopt them.

But after all, "Ink and Smoke" is a game designed by Wu Zhicheng, and he should have the final say, there is no doubt about it.

Xi Hao has no intention of interfering with Wu Zhicheng's design, which reflects the most basic respect for the creator.

Xi Hao looked at the content recorded in his notebook, and said, "Do you have any expectations for the approximate amount of resources and development time of the game?" ”

Wu Zhicheng still shook his head: "No." ”

Xi Hao didn't show any contempt, but still said with a normal attitude: "Then let's make a simple plan first, and some details can be improved later." ”

"According to the previous estimate of 10 hours of game time and long and short level planning, there are roughly 9 levels of different sizes, in addition to the prologue and the final chapter, there must be 7 levels in the middle."

"There are about 15 kinds of mobs in it, 8 of which can be used as basic mobs, and the remaining 7 can be used as special monsters that appear under special conditions or environments."

"The same kind of mob can also be reused and made into different colors or skills, but this reuse needs to be restrained, and it must be in line with the characteristics of the level, so that the player cannot have the feeling of repeating the battle."

"There are a total of 8 levels from the first level to the final chapter, and we design 8 different boss battles, and the boss of the prologue can be reused by choosing one of the bosses to make a weakened version of the boss and use it to pass the plot."

"In this way, the map size of each level can be roughly estimated."

"Based on these needs, we will set the art resource table and finalize the approximate workload. The editor is off-the-shelf, and side-scrolling action games are common, so the production time can be relatively fast......"

"The overall construction period is estimated to be about six months."

"Although you have completed some of the content at present, there is still plenty of time for subsequent revisions, so we can tentatively set two deadlines."

"The first deadline is two months later, and we strive to complete the game content before the third level, and we can test the player's feedback through the trial, and if the feedback is not good, we can modify it in time;"

"The second deadline is five months later, and we try to finish the game, fix all the bugs, and polish all the details. In this case, the game can be officially released. ”

"Maps, characters, monsters, special effects, and other related art resources must also be completed within this deadline."

"If you estimate the development cost based on the current amount of resources...... Let's apply for a fund of 1.5 million first, the art of this game is very important, we have to contact a few more excellent artists, choose the most suitable style. If you don't have enough money, you can apply again later. ”

"Do you think that's okay?"

Xi Hao looked at Wu Zhicheng and asked for his opinion.

Wu Zhicheng immediately nodded: "Yes!" ”

Regarding Xi Hao's speech, Wu Zhicheng has only one feeling, that is, professionalism!

When chatting with Qiu Hong before, Wu Zhicheng didn't know anything about the development time of the entire project, how much money it would cost, and other details.

This can't be blamed for his poor business level, the key is that he is just a wild man, and he has never worked in a regular game company, how can he understand this?

In this case, Qiu Hong also decided to invest money, which shows that he really appreciates the gameplay of "Ink and Smoke".

But now with Xi Hao's help, these more detailed problems will be solved immediately.

Wu Zhicheng is quite satisfied with the current plan, and even feels that this plan has made some changes in his thoughts about the game "Ink and Smoke" and become clearer.

And this plan can be changed at any time, with a high degree of freedom, without worrying about your own design being restricted.

Xi Hao continued: "Okay, we will hurry up and make the entire development plan, art resource table and demand table for you to see, and you can communicate and modify any problems at any time." ”

"As for you, just put all your energy into game design, and feel free to contact us if you have any problems."

"Depending on the type of game, we will also go to the Internet to collect some information or similar ready-made games, provide them to you as reference materials, and continue to update them."

"When you don't feel inspired, you can go and have a look."

Wu Zhicheng was pleasantly surprised: "Okay, good." ”

He couldn't help but sigh, this is really a nanny-style one-stop service!

Someone helped make a game development plan, someone helped with game art resources, and even someone helped collect game inspiration!

Obviously, the task of this three-person team is to help indie game makers with all sorts of time-consuming but essential tasks, and to serve four indie game makers at the same time.

As long as the time is slightly staggered, the manpower of the whole group can be fully utilized.

Soon, the meeting was over, and the originally uncertain content had been preliminarily finalized.

Xi Hao's participation in this meeting was mainly to set a general direction with Wu Zhicheng, and then the specific work was handed over to his subordinates to do.

Two or three days later, the development plan, preliminary level planning, art resource table, requirement documents, etc. of "Ink and Smoke" will be uploaded one after another, and there will be a special person responsible for promoting the related work.

As for Wu Zhicheng himself, he only needs to do a good job of design.

On the one hand, it regulates and guides his original wild path, so that he can make games more efficiently under a certain framework, instead of continuing to run around like headless flies;

On the other hand, the burden is greatly reduced, and Wu Zhicheng no longer needs to do those inefficient but repetitive tasks that he has to do, and only needs to focus on the game design work that needs the most creativity.

Wu Zhicheng returned to his workstation and took a sip of milk tea, feeling a lot more excited.

What's it about being so motivated all of a sudden?

He immediately began to redo the level planning of the entire game according to the details that had been finalized before.