Previously, most of Shangyang Games’ design plans were completed by Lin Wan, Ye Zhizhou, and Wang Xiaobin, while other members didn’t participate in the “interpreting Mr. Pei’s intentions” phase. Instead, they would handle the specific implementation work after the three had reconstructed Mr. Pei’s design.
But now, Ye Zhizhou and Wang Xiaobin felt that Shangyang Games needed to look ahead.
After developing so many games, they couldn’t keep making no progress, could they?
Ms. Lin had previously left behind a complete standard process for deducing Mr. Pei’s design intentions, which could be said to be the most valuable asset of Shangyang Games and even Tenda Group.
Now, Ye Zhizhou and Wang Xiaobin had become experts at this, and it was time to pass it on to other designers to improve their design skills.
Everyone had come prepared earlier, jotting down Mr. Pei’s requirements in their notebooks. Now they spoke up one after another, each pointing out questionable aspects of Mr. Pei’s design.
“Designing the car’s chassis, A and B pillars, and other structures separately, with different structural strengths for different parts of each vehicle, seems excessively wasteful for a racing game. It doesn’t seem necessary, and the input doesn’t match the output.”
“Vehicle damage that can’t be turned off, having to pay for crashes, and even drivers requiring hospitalization… these penalties seem too severe. While more realistic, they don’t seem to enhance the gaming experience at all—quite the opposite.”
“Developing a steering wheel… is that necessary? There are many steering wheel brands on the market, with numerous peripheral manufacturers making force feedback steering wheels, plus many professional direct drive wheels. Wouldn’t it be sufficient to make the game compatible with these devices? Is it necessary to develop our own?”
“I think this game might struggle to be profitable. Based on the current plan, the investment will certainly be significant, but it’s targeting a quite niche group, which doesn’t seem capable of supporting sales.”
The meeting room was filled with Shangyang Games’ core members, who quickly identified numerous issues with this design plan.
Ye Zhizhou nodded: “Yes, everyone’s doing well. Remember, to accurately understand Mr. Pei’s intentions, you must first record everything precisely. Every sentence Mr. Pei says must be noted down so as not to miss any key information.”
“Next, let’s focus on these questionable points, think divergently, and consider the benefits of this approach.”
After a period of reflection, the discussion continued.
A bespectacled designer said, “Having different strength structures for various vehicle parts is ultimately meant to achieve different consequences during collisions for different vehicles, more closely resembling real car accidents.”
“This would appear more realistic, enhancing the game’s authenticity while also providing a cautionary educational element for players, showing them how incorrect driving methods can lead to very serious consequences, which aligns with the ‘Safe and Civilized Driving’ theme.”
“However, this is probably just one aspect. If it were only for this reason, it wouldn’t justify investing so many resources.”
“Another explanation is… could the vehicle collisions themselves be a selling point?”
His reasoning stalled there, as he couldn’t think of why vehicle collisions would become a selling point.
After pondering for a moment, Wang Xiaobin said, “What if the vehicle data in the game connects to real-world data in some way?”
“For example, we could link the game’s vehicle data with collision data released on certain websites, making the collision results in the game infinitely close to real-world collision results.”
“This way, players could clearly understand how safe a particular car model is, which might provide some guidance for their real-world car purchases.”
Everyone nodded in agreement: “That makes sense!”
There were indeed many racing games, but none treated in-game collisions and vehicle data as genuine.
Everyone knew that games were fake. Although many games tried to make vehicle data close to reality, they were limited by gameplay considerations and couldn’t get too close.
For instance, a sports car in reality crashing at speeds of one or two hundred miles per hour would result in immediate destruction, but players crash frequently in games. If a car became unusable after one crash, it would severely impact the player experience.
So even with damage systems, many games still made cars very durable, with performance unaffected after several crashes.
Mr. Pei’s idea was clearly to completely abandon gameplay in favor of extreme realism, filling this gap!
With the first problem resolved, everyone’s attention quickly shifted to the subsequent issues.
“The excessive realism leading to severe penalties is directly related to the first issue.”
“Having to repaint after scratches, major repairs after crashes, and even driver hospitalization serves both to better promote the concept of ‘Safe and Civilized Driving’ and to deepen impressions, making players more aware of the serious consequences of dangerous driving.”
“Moreover, these penalties actually highlight different vehicle characteristics, such as economic maintenance and high-speed safety.”
“Most other racing games only demonstrate vehicle performance, especially supercar performance, with no reflection whatsoever on a vehicle’s economy and safety.”
“‘Safe and Civilized Driving’ can clearly allow players to evaluate cars across more dimensions.”
“Why develop our own steering wheel? I think there are two reasons: First, Mr. Pei isn’t satisfied with the current steering wheels on the market and feels they don’t meet his requirements. Second, there might be follow-up plans around this steering wheel—it’s not just a steering wheel but part of a larger plan.”
“Given that high-end steering wheels on the market have no performance issues, it must mean Mr. Pei is dissatisfied with their compatibility. This steering wheel should be like the Doubt VR controllers—not only feature-rich but also closely connected to the game content.”
“Furthermore, the steering wheel will likely connect with future games or other industry content. Just like how the smart fitness clothes rack was initially designed to complement ‘Fitness Battle,’ but later could also be used with ‘Fitness Battle VR Version.'”
“This essentially provides guidance to Outu Technology for designing the steering wheel…”
Everyone realized that after Mr. Pei had provided a clear direction, the efficiency of the brainstorming session increased dramatically!
As people analyzed and reached conclusions based on Mr. Pei’s requirements, the details of this game became increasingly clear.
But there was still one final question: with such a large investment targeting a relatively niche gaming group, how would they recover costs?
Despite pondering for a long time, no one could come up with a good explanation.
Ye Zhizhou, who hadn’t spoken much until now, finally said, “Let me share my thoughts.”
“First, no one can guarantee whether a game will make money. From previous perspectives, games like ‘Struggle’ and ‘Mission and Choice’ were also high-investment, niche-oriented games that theoretically shouldn’t have recovered their costs, but what happened?”
“Clearly, mainstream and niche aren’t absolute concepts. Mainstream games may have a broader audience, but if poorly made, no one will play them. Niche games, if exceptionally well-made, can attract many people who weren’t originally interested.”
“For this game, Mr. Pei obviously hopes to rely on superior quality and unique content to break through boundaries, expand the player base, and turn a niche game into a mainstream topic.”
“Second, this game can be seen as either a racing game or a simulation game. As far as I know, simulation games have quite a few loyal players who are extremely dedicated.”
“If this game succeeds, a lifespan of eight to ten years wouldn’t be a problem, and it could continuously update content and release DLCs, making money while improving quality.”
“Simulation games are enjoyable, but their enjoyment differs from the pure sensory stimulation of racing games—it’s relatively more complex. I believe that as long as the game is excellent, most players can appreciate this type of enjoyment.”
“Finally, this game will likely have some interactive effect with reality, since ‘breaking the fourth wall’ is a very important principle in Mr. Pei’s design philosophy, and a secret weapon he often uses.”
“Although it’s unclear exactly how this interaction will work, we must always remember that Tenda isn’t purely a gaming company. Even if the game doesn’t make money, as long as we recover the money from elsewhere, there’s no problem.”
Everyone nodded as they listened.
That made sense!
Indeed, the two leaders who had spent more time with Mr. Pei could better understand his true intentions.
With this explanation, everything seemed much more reasonable!
Everyone quickly began writing, recording all these analyzed points in their notebooks.
Finally, Ye Zhizhou filled in the remaining details and summarized the game.
“According to Mr. Pei, this game should be set in a city, with several highways extending beyond the city’s traffic system for players to complete long-distance freight tasks.”
“When driving in the city, players must obey traffic rules. If caught violating regulations, there will be penalties. If accidents occur, repairs or hospitalization will be needed, with compensation determined according to traffic responsibility.”
“Since there are ways to lose money, there must also be ways to earn it. Players can drive taxis or ride-share vehicles to pick up passengers, or drive trucks for long-distance hauling. Of course, particularly skilled players can also participate in competitions to win prize money.”
“Among these three money-making methods, taxis or ride-shares will have the lowest costs and relatively low income. To drive buses, large trucks, or participate in competitions, players will need prior training and appropriate driving qualifications.”
“So… since we need a city, let’s use Jingzhou as a prototype. After all, we can conduct on-site research in Jingzhou, and it has quite a few scenic spots.”
“Whether the game will satisfy typical racing game players is hard to say, but for players passionate about driving simulation, they’ll absolutely love this game!”
“After the game is developed, we can make a VR version later, further enhancing the game’s immersion and sense of presence!”
Everyone took notes and nodded in agreement.
After refining these details, the game indeed seemed much more fun!
Of course, no one could guarantee it would be profitable, since such unique games were extremely rare.
But one thing was certain: many of its design elements had never appeared before, and when this game was released, it would definitely make players’ eyes light up!