game development designer

Chapter 510
Encino, California

Chu He, who left from EA, came to the office of Respawn Entertainment on the second day.

This is an affluent area of ​​California, south of the San Fernando Valley.

Respawn Entertainment is located in a 36-story office building near the west.

Led by the Respawn Entertainment employees who came to receive him, Chuhe walked towards the office building. There were employees from other companies in the office building along the way, but they didn't attract much attention.

"President Chu!" Zampella and West, who are the main managers of Respawn Entertainment, came up to say hello.

There was nothing on the surface of the two of them, but there was a little uneasiness in their hearts.

They already knew not long ago that the current Respawn Entertainment is no longer from EA, but was bought by the Tianhe Network in front of them.

West and Zampella didn't have much resistance to being embraced by Tianhe Network. In a sense, they felt that it was better to be embraced by Tianhe Network than in EA.

Because the pressure they have to face in EA is really big, but they are also a little bit worried. For example, after Tianhe Networks takes over Respawn Entertainment, will there be a change in management, or for their projects, Tianhe Networks Will it intervene.

You must know that when Activision Blizzard left, its main willingness was not only the distribution of interests in the COD Modern Warfare series, but also the main part of Activision Blizzard's intervention in game development.

And the most important thing to invest in EA's arms is because EA has money, and also promised not to interfere with their projects.

But it's different now. Now that the studio has been sold to Tianhe Network, their arms can't twist their thighs. If Tianhe Network really wants to do something, they have no way to resist.

At most, he can only resign as he did at Activision Blizzard.

But West and Zampella didn't want that anymore.

If it is not a last resort, who is willing to abandon the studio he created?

Especially self-supporting, it sounds cool, but in fact the real difficulty is only understood by those who have done it.

Even for the two of them who once created the Modern Warfare series, it was extremely difficult when Respawn Entertainment was first established.

Even when they fooled EA into signing the Titanfall project, they didn't even have a computer to develop the game, and even the office space was the utility room of the rented real estate agent in order to save money.

Even commuting to get off work every day has to get the key from the other party.

Until the prototype of Titanfall was completed, EA gave a part of the remuneration in advance, and then EA spent money to acquire Respawn Entertainment.

Along the way, West and Zampella talked to Chuhe about the current situation of Respawn Entertainment and some ongoing projects.

"The sequel to Titanfall?" Chu He asked after listening to Zampella and West's simple description.

"Similar to the first generation series, it focuses on the multiplayer mode, not the campaign mode." West and Zampella said.

This can be regarded as one of their plans. After all, Titanfall 2 has a very good reputation, including IGN, GameSpot and other media sites, which have given extremely high scores.

But the sales are there, only 50 copies were sold on the first day, and only barely broke 200 million copies by the end of the first month. As a 3A-level production, it can be said that the loss-making pants are gone.

It can be said that the game was impacted by the two FPSs of Battlefield and Call of Duty, which led to poor sales at the beginning, but the follow-up update and operation of Titanfall 2 did not make this game come alive, which illustrates a problem.

Although there are many players who like it, and major media websites have also given high praise, but if you look carefully, this part is limited to the campaign mode.

The evaluation on the multiplayer mode can only be said to be average, and it is not as amazing as it was when Titanfall was released.

For a commercial 3A game, word of mouth is important, but what is more important is profitability and sales.

If the sales are not good, everything is empty talk.

"Multiplayer mode? A good direction." Chuhe nodded.

After chatting casually, we entered the exclusive elevator, swiped our card and went to the floor where Respawn Entertainment was located.

The logo brand affiliated to EA has been replaced with the logo brand of Tianhe Network, and most of the internal employees of the company are already waiting except for those who are in charge of special tasks.

After saying hello, Chuhe brought the management of Respawn Entertainment, West and Zampella into the conference room.

"Everyone, sit down." Chuhe nodded, sat on the main seat, and then glanced at the work cards placed in front of them.

The main content of the meeting was nothing special. Regarding the financial aspect, Tianhe Networks dispatched two people from the headquarters to take charge of collaborative management. At the same time, they learned about Respawn Entertainment's specific business and ongoing projects.

As for the original positions in the company, Chuhe has not changed, and still maintains the original structure.

At the same time, it also expressed its own attitude. Just like QD, Platinum Studio, Longzu Studio and other Tianhe Network acquisitions, Respawn Entertainment still remains independent.

Tianhe Network will not interfere too much with their strategy and project development.

After more than an hour of the meeting, after a brief explanation, West and Zampella stayed, and the rest of the management returned to their respective jobs.

After taking a sip of the coffee on the table, Chuhe looked at the work report on their new project provided by Zampella and West.

A multiplayer FPS game based on Titanfall, the main gameplay design is still derived from the idea of ​​battle royale, but the concept of heroes in DOTA2 and League of Legends has been added to it.

They have different occupations, and at the same time have a passive skill, an active small skill, and a big move that needs to be charged.

"A game that combines FPS with heroes?"

No formal investment has been made yet, and the project is still in the GDD stage, but Chuhe also has a sense of sight.

"Similar to the FPS type that Blizzard is developing." Chu He said.

After Blizzard's large-scale sci-fi MMORPFG Titan announced its death, they are secretly developing a shooting game, and also revealed some news, such as the combination mode of shooting and hero skills.

Respawn Entertainment's GDD called Pinnacle Legend probably also refers to this design.

And what interests Chuhe the most is that compared to the current PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds co-developed with EA, Respawn Entertainment's legendary battle royale game has a bit of a slanted flavor.

(End of this chapter)