Lin Wan gestured slightly. “What about the other three fingers?”
Old Song still shook his head. “The other three fingers need to hold the controller, otherwise it would fall. Besides, those three fingers are far less dexterous compared to the thumb and index finger. Even if we let players press buttons with them, they might not get used to it.”
Ye Zhizhou thought carefully and said, “Not necessarily. If we add a strap to the controller to bind it to the hand, the other three fingers wouldn’t need to grip it all the time. Those three fingers could press buttons to simulate gripping actions.”
“This way, the controller could distinguish each finger’s precise movements, creating different effects when simulating actions like archery, fishing, shooting, or grabbing things.”
Old Song considered this. “Hey? That’s actually a good idea, we could try it. But since this hasn’t been done before, I’m not sure if the money will be enough…”
Lin Wan immediately said, “Don’t worry, just spend freely. If the money isn’t enough, I’ll find a way.”
Ye Zhizhou also smiled slightly. Saying there’s not enough money in front of Tenda Group and Shenhua Group?
There are only times when money can’t be spent, never times when there isn’t enough.
Lin Wan continued, “Good, so the controller issue is settled. We’ll add buttons for each finger, which will allow our game to leverage this controller’s capabilities.”
“Any thoughts about the game itself?”
Ye Zhizhou thought for a moment and said, “Mr. Pei has already specified a casual game with cartoon-style graphics. I think the advantage of this approach is that it makes the screen door effect of VR headsets less noticeable, making the graphics look better, and also reducing psychological pressure on players.”
“Because VR immersion is so strong, if it were a shooter or horror game, many people might be too scared to continue playing. But with a casual game, these issues wouldn’t exist, making it easier for players to persist.”
“The key question now is, as a casual game, we must ensure the gameplay is sufficiently diverse…”
The two of them exchanged ideas back and forth, with Lin Wan constantly taking notes, and many details emerged one by one.
The lead designer Cai Jiadong was simply overwhelmed, completely unable to keep up with their train of thought.
Just from these few simple requirements, they had analyzed so much?
It was amazing—how did they manage this?
Cai Jiadong had worked on projects before, but when he designed, it was always based on conventional gameplay. Although they also had brainstorming sessions, they basically obsessed over minor gameplay details.
In simpler terms, the core remained unchanged, with only the external packaging being flipped around.
For pay-to-win games, the gameplay mechanics were all the same set of features. Changing any function would affect profitability, so they couldn’t be altered carelessly.
But things were clearly different at Chi Xing Studio. Lin Wan and Ye Zhizhou seemed to be considering a game’s form completely from scratch.
At other game companies, they would first determine the general form of the game and then discuss specific details in meetings. At Chi Xing Studio, however, they worked backward from some details to deduce the ultimate form of the game.
Cai Jiadong found this fascinating and carefully listened while quickly recording the details of this meeting’s discussion.
Lin Wan organized the results of the discussion and said, “With this, we can finalize the game.”
“The VR game we’re making will include casual gameplay, simulation management gameplay, and sandbox building gameplay.”
“Players spawn on an isolated island, and the game’s objective is to transform the entire island into their personal paradise. On the island, players can reclaim wasteland, farm, hunt, fish, plant trees, grow flowers, build houses, and so on.”
“All these activities must be performed by the player personally. For example, when hunting, players need to use the controller to simulate drawing a bow, nocking an arrow, or shooting a gun. When fishing, players need to cast the fishing rod, reel it in, and personally grab the fish and throw it into a bucket, etc.”
“Of course, once players start to feel fatigued, we’ll also allow them to obtain special robots by completing tasks. These robots can tend to farms or gardens, so players don’t have to constantly repeat these actions.”
“In standard mode, players experience a first-person perspective and must personally perform all activities on the island.”
“The game can also enter a god view or management mode, where players can overlook the entire island and modify it from this perspective. Of course, this mode will only unlock after players have done some initial pioneering work.”
“At the same time, the game also supports simple online multiplayer, allowing players to visit other players’ islands and meet friends. Players can also team up to pioneer wilderness islands or hunt for materials together.”
“Of course, player avatars in multiplayer mode pose a significant problem.”
“Previous VR headsets had some small multiplayer programs, but the effects weren’t good because the equipment could only capture players’ hand movements but couldn’t extrapolate arm and shoulder movements from them.”
“This makes movements look very stiff to other players.”
“Many VR games remove both arms, leaving only hands. But this looks strange.”
“Since we’re using a cartoon style, we can make players into various cute anthropomorphic animals and make their movements feel like rubber figures. This way, their hands can drive their arms, which won’t look strange but rather adorably cute.”
“Additionally, the most important point is to have sufficient interactive effects with the VR headset’s controllers.”
“Our game will likely have many gathering actions, such as picking a flower or gathering a fruit, but these actions would require players to bend over and look down. If players had to bend over every time they picked something up, it would be too cumbersome and boring.”
“So we need to create a ‘telekinesis’ feature to prevent players from getting too tired. Moreover, features like item storage should use VR controller operations as much as possible.”
“For the presentation, we’ll focus on forests, animals, and a cartoon casual style, but we should also include some technological elements. Any less reasonable content can be packaged as ‘advanced tech.'”
“Finally… the game’s name.”
“I’m a bit terrible at naming…”
Ye Zhizhou said, “This is Chi Xing Studio’s first project, so it would be better for you to determine the game’s name.”
Lin Wan thought for a moment. “Well then… how about ‘Animal Sea Island’! It’s not a great name, but it should be acceptable, right?”
Ye Zhizhou nodded. “Yes, we can use this as a tentative name. If we think of something better later, we can always change it.”
Lin Wan then looked at Old Song. “Later, I’ll summarize the operations needed in the game, such as telekinesis, drawing a bow, etc. The controller development might need to accommodate these functions, like adding different vibration modes, incorporating sensors to detect pressure, touch, optical data, and so on.”
“These details will significantly impact players’ gaming experience and absolutely cannot be overlooked. We must strive to integrate hardware and software, ensuring perfect coordination between the game and VR headset to give players the best gaming experience!”
Old Song nodded. “Don’t worry, feel free to make any requests, and I’ll fully cooperate! As long as the funding is in place, these problems should be solvable. Even if we can’t solve them perfectly, we should be able to find alternative solutions!”
Lin Wan let out a long breath. “Good, we’ve covered most of the game’s details. I’ll write up the design proposal as soon as possible. Everyone can go back to their tasks now!”
After the meeting that finalized the specific form of the game, Lin Wan felt relieved.
Without the “Tenda work method” she had learned at Shangyang Games, she might not have been able to handle all this work at Chi Xing Studio.
It was all thanks to Mr. Pei’s cultivation!