Is it not a galgame?

In fact, these colleagues got half of it right.

It is true that pokeni has a backlog of some masterpieces that have not been released due to production schedules.

For example, the follow-up development content of Pokémon, two Gemini 3D multiplayer games, the sequel to Pokémon Racing, and traditional Pokémon collection battles... these are all scheduled to be released in the second half of 2001. Yes, some games won't even be available until 2002.

"Violet Evergarden" and "Mushishi 2" should have been taken over in the second half of last year if it weren't for Qing Jiyuan's delay in construction, but now they have been moved to the second half of 01.

There are many more...

All in all, it’s hard to put into words.

However, part of it is also pokeni’s marketing strategy.

According to Qing Zhiyuan, this is called thirsty marketing.

……

Just as everyone expected, a huge storm rolled up on the seemingly peaceful sea surface.

In the first half of 2001, pokeni went crazy.

Starting in March, pokeni started promoting its first game since 3.

Everyone knows something about this game, and its name is——

Shenmue.

After the publicity period is over, "Shenmue" will be sold simultaneously around the world in April. By logging onto the Dandelion game platform, you can not only download it through the Internet, but also purchase it through offline discs to play the game.

After the transformation of Shenmue by Qing Zhiyuan, it is still very different from its predecessor. It is no longer a pure QTE game.

The so-called QTE game means that in a specific part of the game, specific button prompts will appear on the screen. You must press the corresponding handle button according to the prompts within a few seconds, otherwise this section will be judged as a failure.

The QTE part has been greatly reduced and is only used for special plot tasks.

The transformed Shenmue is more like a combination of "Grand Theft Auto" and "Master", which not only emphasizes the sense of attack, but also provides players with a high degree of freedom.

In the game, pokeni used Yokosuka as the main reference object to create a port based on reality.

Except for the launch of the port, players can basically move freely in other places.

In this large map, no matter where you are, you can seek information from different NPCs through free dialogue. At the same time, you can also challenge them, or even attack them without martial ethics to obtain items from the other party. and equipment and intelligence.

On the main line, the male protagonist Ryo Ba Yue lost his father when he was young. His father was the master of the Ba Yue style, but he was killed by Lan Di. Lan Di led his four heavenly kings to attack Ba Yue Liu and killed Ba Yue. Yue Liang's father.

Therefore, Ryo Hazuki devoted himself to avenging his father. Under such circumstances, he followed his uncle to practice and master Bazuki style.

In the game, the martial arts moves of the male protagonist are also obtained through competition with others or through cheats, and they can be continuously strengthened.

As more opponents are defeated, the hero will gain more experience points and gain higher levels, and his attributes will also be enhanced.

As soon as the game came out, the players' enthusiasm was instantly ignited.

"I didn't expect that after a few months, pokeni's new game would finally be released, and it's also the "Shenmue" that I have been longing for!"

"Really, I really cried to death.

It feels like the game Shenmue has been promoted for a long time. Pokeni has been working on this game since 99, and Sega has already done a good job.

I remembered Shenmue from its stunning debut at the E3 electronics show last year. I originally thought I would be able to play it in the second half of the year, but I didn't expect that the wait would be now.

It really makes me anxious.

But, fortunately, the quality of the game is very high, it completely exceeded my expectations for it, so it is worth the wait. "

"Shenmue is a fantastic game, isn't it? Not only did it create a realistic Yokosuka port scene, but I also found that the game uses environmental factors to the extreme, including the small wooden boxes, houses, and docks that appear in the game. The goods placed on the street, the cars running on the street...

These are all useful. Occasionally, you can step on a small wooden box to reach the roof, and then there are unique caves on the criss-crossing rooftop roads.

This time pokeni feels like it has taken a step forward directly on the basis of The Witcher 2, making full and clever use of the design of the entire three-dimensional space. It not only combines the real geographical environment, but also allows us to experience the city running experience. Cool fun.

The movements and moves of the characters are even more extreme. Anyway, I haven’t seen any other game of the same type that can compare with it so far. "

"You must know that Shenmue is developed using the most advanced Trailblazer engine, and after playing this game, I deeply realized the power of Sega DC.

Not only has the accuracy of the models been upgraded to a higher level, closer to the proportions and movements of real people, but the motion capture technology is also quite impressive. In Shenmue this time, many of the characters’ moves have a martial arts style, just like watching a kung fu movie.

The fight was smooth and flowing, and it felt like I was watching Jackie Chan perform.

The feeling of hitting is also super strong, and it feels like punching to the flesh. I am completely addicted to the game now, and I am looking for someone to fight anytime and anywhere. "

"Hahaha, speaking of fighting, can you believe that a dock worker transporting goods at the port is actually a hidden kung fu master?
If you just find an old man to spar with in the park, he will beat you until your nose is bruised and your face is swollen.

But it’s funny to say that the more I can’t beat it, the more I want to give it a try.

This game is so addictive. "

"I, Ryo Hazuki, am full of martial virtue, hahaha."

"Speaking of which, Shenmue's degree of freedom is really high. No character or NPC is designed redundantly. Everyone has their own clues and information. For example, the dock workers are actually scattered into several different characters. There are small groups, there are powerful people behind them, and there are also pure individuals who are being bullied.

There are pedestrians on the road looking for help, and there are also hidden masters waiting for you to discover.

And after triggering different dialogues, if you go back to find the original guys from different forces, you will be surprised to find that their dialogues have been changed.

This feeling……

How should I put it? It's amazing.

It's like the characters in the game come to life, have their own independent thinking, and the whole world becomes real. "

Here pokeni actually combines Mushishi’s NPC AI design and expands it.

In the previous life, Shenmue itself had a similar triggering mechanism. Each character had N multiple dialogues, and many dialogue triggers had preconditions. There were even mutually exclusive events, which were also affected by the player's own behavior. Once a mutually exclusive event is triggered, another dialogue and clue will no longer be available.

This set of mechanisms is combined with the AI ​​of the insect master and reused (in fact, the planners set it through behavior trees). When the number of dialogue libraries reaches a certain level of richness, it will naturally give people a feeling of "the character is alive" illusion.

However, this mechanism is still far from true artificial intelligence. NPCs are actually unable to understand the meaning of dialogue and make independent behavioral judgments. They are just different trigger responses of the program.

But in 2001, this set of mechanisms was already amazing enough.

It is equivalent to a dimensionality reduction strike. To a certain extent, compared with the stereotyped NPCs shown in other games on the market, the characters in Shenmue are too real. So players were all surprised when they played it.

“When I watched the promotional video last year, I had a hunch that Shenmue would be a very powerful game, but when I actually started playing it, I realized that I had underestimated it.

The playability and richness of this game are really unmatched by other games, and there is too much content to explore.

I feel that even if I have completed the game once, judging from the amount of information, I have probably only unlocked 20% of it. "

"I'm already looking forward to Shenmue 2.

I originally thought that the first part would end with the defeat of Lan Emperor, but it turned out that only his subordinate bosses were defeated. It seems that Pokeni's plan for Shenmue was set according to the series.

There’s definitely more to come in the future.

I am a little excited when I think about how Shenmue will become more powerful and of higher quality in the future."

……

"Shenmue" was a game that Sega put all its efforts into in its previous life. The final trump card was absolutely unparalleled in terms of graphics. It even created a new era of image quality, with high-precision character modeling, smooth visuals and movements. Coupled with the rich scenes and NPC settings, Shenmue occupies a place in the history of games.

The only regret is that Sega was too eager for success at the time and failed to grasp the gameplay, which made the game seem a bit flashy and not very playable.

But in this life, Qing Zhiyuan's transformation successfully made up for this shortcoming.

Not only does it have a super high texture, a very distinctive painting style, coupled with era-beating technology, as well as high explorability and playability, the current "Shenmue" has successfully transformed into a game in Qing Zhiyuan's hands. A trump card.

Especially after starving players for several months, the players who are now hungry for food immediately pounce on games like "Shenmue" and devour them.

The popularity of "Shenmue" continues to rise, with sales exceeding 100 million copies worldwide in just one week.

By the end of the first month, Shenmue's total sales had reached a staggering 500 million copies, far exceeding the expectations of operations director Kazuma Takahashi.

If this continues, it will be a matter of time before it reaches 1000 million copies, and it might be possible within this year.

……

At the same time, in the Oumi region, another heavyweight product of Pokeni——

"Warcraft 3" is also officially released.

Warcraft 3 in this generation has made great progress in image quality and programming, providing players with a more comfortable visual experience.

At the same time, Warcraft 3, as the leading real-time strategy game, immediately set off an RTS craze in the market upon its release.

The newly added two races, night elves and undead, greatly increase the playability of the game and make the game rich and colorful.

In terms of real-time strategy games, Warcraft is unique. It has many innovations in content and gameplay that other games do not have. In this game, the role of heroes is added, and players can focus on the heroes of their respective races. Heroes are the core to build and match the corresponding building upgrades and troops...

The tactics and strategies of the battle are ever-changing. Each race has its own very strong characteristics, but it is also in a dynamic balance:

No race is dominant, and different races have different advantages at different stages.

Orcs, for example, are known for their rough skin and thick flesh, and their powerful individual combat capabilities.

And humanity’s late-stage technology is powerful…

What has been officially formulated is that different growth curves reflect the value of different periods. Players need to focus on their own racial characteristics and respond to the opponent's strategic changes.

As soon as such a game came out, it was undoubtedly loved by players, especially operational players who like confrontation.

In addition, the Dandelion game platform also provides a remote connection function. Players can easily find teammates suitable for them on the Internet to play against, thereby enjoying the endless joy of fighting with others.

"It's too high-end. "Warcraft 3", I didn't expect that Blizzard didn't delay the release this time. Pokeni's acquisition seems to be beneficial to them."

"Just kidding, P's technology is far ahead in the world, and the Blizzard team feels that the design is not weak. With P's blessing, it will naturally be done faster and better."

"I just bought "Warcraft 3" last week, and now I just want to stay in my dormitory and play games every day. Our university has been brainwashed by this game, and many people around me have been ambushed.

And when you play against each other, you will find that time flies so fast.

I just turned on the computer in the morning and it was already night in the blink of an eye. "

"The game is actually quite good. The only drawback is that it cannot be played with a controller because there are too many and complicated units that need to be operated."

"Indeed, the difficulty of getting started with the game is quite high. Anyway, many of my friends can't play real-time strategy games. They can play battles and so on."

This game not only has online battles that keep players hooked.

There is also a colorful and epic campaign mode.

The plot of Warcraft is not just for getting familiar with the troops, it truly embodies Blizzard’s vision of telling a good story.

In addition, the plot of Warcraft 3 paved the way for the subsequent World of Warcraft, providing an outline and a basic space for the depth of World of Warcraft. You can also see Tao World Shamans unite the tribes of the world in order to deal with the prophesied threats.

Therefore, during the initial production of the game, Qing Zhiyuan put forward very high requirements for the campaign plot, which also paved the way for the future development of "World of Warcraft".

But as players have said, games like Warcraft 3 can only be operated by keyboard and mouse. It is impossible to play it on a DC with a controller.

In other words, only half of the pokeni resources and advantages can be used, which are brought by the Dandelion game platform, but the role of the game console DC has not been fully utilized.

In addition, the difficulty of getting started with the game is relatively high, so the global sales performance of "Warcraft 3" is at a discount on the basis of Shenmue.

At the end of the first month, there were only more than 200 million copies sold.

But this is already the top existence in the industry. Qing Zhiyuan is not worried at all. As time continues to advance in the future and future events are held, the charm of real-time strategy games, or competitive games, will gradually be revealed. And slowly developed into the mainstream.

This is the necessity of the times.

……

See real results.

Kazuma Takahashi, the operations director of P Club, couldn't help but take a breath of cold air.

Hunger marketing.

Horror!
...(End of chapter)