Game Development Giant

Jester paused slightly and did not continue.

He looked around first, but didn't see anyone actively answering his question.

This is actually inevitable, because this is a name he named himself. Of course, it is impossible for others to know what he means by the principle of evil alliance.

Actually, I wanted to apply for a patent for the principle of evil alliance, but unfortunately, our country's patent law does not allow me to do so... When he said this, Jester also smiled. .

I think the evil alliance describes the relationship between the player and the designer to a great extent. Why do I say that? It's actually very simple. The so-called evil alliance refers to the agreement reached between the player and the designer: I'm going to pretend something Things, you also have to pretend things so we can have an amazing gaming experience together.

Jester paused for a moment when he said this. When he saw the confused and doubtful looks on many people's faces, he didn't take it seriously. He just smiled and continued talking.

It doesn't matter if you don't understand. I will explain it in detail.

How to understand?

It's actually very simple. As designers, we pretend that the players' level is very high. We want the players to have a good gaming experience and feel good about themselves when playing the game. The earliest flight simulators were easy to get started with. Just taking a ride in the sky and shooting two enemy planes...

But each subsequent remake added a little more realism and complexity. So the player's feeling quickly went from 'I'm great' to 'I'm not great, I'm dizzy, my plane is on fire. , I fell off', and the game itself has lost its fun... This is why we haven't released this type of game for many years. We must realize that the core of game design is to take care of the players, and the players are the stars of the game. .Their experience is paramount. Always making players feel like they're at a high level is an important part of game design.

When Jester said this, many people's faces showed a look of surprise.

Jester also nodded with satisfaction, but he hadn't finished what he wanted to say yet. He just took a breath and continued.

Of course, I only said half of it, and there is the other half. I only said what the designer would do, but not what the players with equal status to the designer in this evil alliance would do.

Another part of Unholy Alliance is the role you play. Players need to suspend their disbelief and fully embrace the role they play, whether it's the king of a great civilization, the manager of a railroad company, or a pirate who roams the seas.

Actually, when I go to the movies with my friends, I often ask him, 'What did you think of the movie?' and he usually responds like, 'I fell out twice. ', 'I couldn't watch it from the beginning.'. 'I haven't acted yet.', these are three answers corresponding to different situations.

I'm very aware of the importance of suspending disbelief in order to enjoy the gaming experience. So designers need to help players suspend disbelief. I feel like us old-school designers have a slight advantage here because we've been through eight-bit, sixteen-bit The age of bits. You need to do everything possible to convince players that what is happening on the screen is indeed the birth of an empire or the construction of a railway network. This experience is very helpful for us to understand the difficulty of convincing players to suspend their disbelief.”

Jester was speaking seriously, and the audience in the audience also listened attentively.

Of course, the Evil Alliance principle is far from simple. In Evil Alliance, we have other agreements with players, one of which is moral clarity.

For example, I can give you an example. I have a picture here, which is a screenshot from Civilization 2. I put it on the slide projector... Well, you see, the player in the picture is negotiating with Genghis Khan, and the trial staff gave One of the pieces of feedback I provided was this: The leaders in the game are all bad-tempered and aggressive. I had a sure victory and laid siege to their last city, but they were still shouting nonsense like - I am invincible , the country is forever solid, no coward will come to die quickly.

If I do have a win, their attitude should change accordingly, but my question is, what do you want them to say?

For example, this is it - Holy Lord Fuwei has mercy. The guilty minister has only one city left, and there are still women and children in the city. I just ask the heavenly army to show mercy... When he said this, it was not just Jester, but many people present. Everyone laughed together with him. These few words Jester said were indeed humorous.

However, after Jester laughed a few times, he immediately changed his tone.

It’s still the same problem, but the aspect has completely changed.

But, let me ask you now, is it really okay to say this?

The scene fell silent with Jester's question. After looking around with a smile, Jester nodded and continued: In my opinion, this is a moral paradox. I want to overcome it. For the characters in the game, I want to conquer their city - that is the city of the murderous king Genghis Khan! But the moral paradox is right in front of us: defeating the evil-tempered Genghis Khan is more fulfilling, because your behavior is covered with morality coat.

That's what I'm talking about, the principle of unholy alliance.

After Jester finished speaking this long paragraph, his throat was a little dry. He picked up a bottle of water and took a sip to moisten his lips and throat. He also gave those who were listening to his speech a little understanding of what he had just said. What he said was time, because what he said next was much more complicated and difficult to understand than what he said before.

After waiting for a minute, Jester started talking again.

Well, during the game development process, especially when designing Civilization with Sid Meier, I have summarized many more theories.

What follows is what I call the principle of Mutually Assured Destruction, or MAD for short.

It seems that it is difficult for you to understand just from this literal meaning, just like the previous principle of evil alliance. In fact, I only need to say that if you can understand the principle of evil alliance, then it is also very easy to understand this. What's more, I I heard your teacher, Mr. Sid Meier, say before that he once shared his entire process of developing Civilization with you in great detail. (To be continued...)