October 26th, Friday.

In the conference room of Hellfire Studio, Zhou Muyan, Sun Xi, and several other designers had already arrived. Sun Xi was distributing design drafts.

This was the design proposal for “Bullet Hole 2” that Min Jingchao had just completed and submitted this morning.

Zhou Muyan deliberately left the central position at the conference table empty, then looked at the designers: “I was very disappointed by what happened last time.”

“Mr. Pei personally came to design the game, but not only did you fail to offer any constructive suggestions, you didn’t gain anything from it!”

“Now that the design proposal is ready, Min Jingchao will explain it further. How much you understand depends on your own capability.”

The designers all looked ashamed and nodded in unison: “Yes, Director Zhou. Don’t worry, we’ll listen carefully!”

Zhou Muyan had almost given up hope, but Min Jingchao had renewed his optimism.

So, he had called these designers back again.

Previously, Mr. Pei’s explanation had been too profound to understand, but Min Jingchao’s should be more accessible, right?

Listening carefully to Min Jingchao explain the game’s design philosophy would surely be beneficial.

As for these designers, they had all been somewhat resentful.

They didn’t think Mr. Pei’s reputation was undeserved, but rather felt that he might have been targeting them.

Was it because this game was being developed for Hellfire Studio that Mr. Pei had been so vague and obscure? Was he deliberately not explaining clearly? Was he trying to make them fail in developing the game?

Surely Mr. Pei didn’t speak like that when talking to his own designers!

But when they heard that Min Jingchao had actually designed the game, they felt very guilty.

It seemed they had misunderstood Mr. Pei!

How could Mr. Pei be the kind of person who deliberately wanted a game to fail?

It was clearly because they weren’t skilled enough. This time they definitely needed to watch and learn properly!

Learning to reach Mr. Pei’s level was impossible—that was pure talent—but learning from Min Jingchao and absorbing some insights from Mr. Pei’s thinking was still feasible.

Everyone present, including Zhou Muyan, adopted a humble attitude of learning.

Min Jingchao pushed open the door and was surprised by the scene: “Oh? So many people.”

He knew designers would be attending, but he hadn’t expected so many—the seats around the conference table were almost full.

Zhou Muyan smiled warmly, very cordial: “Brother Min, come over here.”

Min Jingchao saw that only the seat in the middle was vacant and instinctively said, “Director Zhou, you should sit in the middle.”

Zhou Muyan immediately shook his head: “That won’t do. You’re the project’s lead designer, you should sit there.”

“Besides, we’re all here with a humble attitude to learn. Don’t refuse.”

Min Jingchao hurriedly waved his hands: “Director Zhou, you’re being too polite.”

After a brief, ineffective refusal, Min Jingchao sat down in the empty seat and got to the main topic of the meeting.

“Everyone has already seen the initial draft of the ‘Bullet Hole 2’ design proposal, which basically elaborates on the points Mr. Pei previously required.”

“I’ve already discussed this with Director Zhou and Sun Xi.”

“The main purpose of this meeting is to talk about what wasn’t finalized before: the game’s core gameplay and the large map’s related mechanisms.”

Everyone nodded, listening attentively.

Previously, when Min Jingchao explained Mr. Pei’s thinking to Zhou Muyan and Sun Xi, they had only gotten as far as the “large map” concept, but there was no specific design plan for how to implement this large map.

Min Jingchao had said this was the result of Mr. Pei’s gradually escalating tests.

Now they would see if he could provide a constructive approach.

Min Jingchao organized his thoughts briefly, then said: “Since we’re making a large map, there will definitely be many players—at minimum thirty to forty, possibly seventy to eighty, or even more.”

“The specific number of players will certainly depend on the map size, and the player density on the map determines the game’s pace.”

“If player density is too high, the combat rhythm will be very fast, and many players might die suddenly. If player density is too low, the combat rhythm will be too slow, battles won’t be intense enough, and players will feel like they’re playing a single-player game.”

“Moreover, we need to consider that different players have different demands regarding game pace.”

“Some players prefer getting more kills, requiring higher player density, while others like to scavenge for good items and improve their resource configuration first, preferring lower player density.”

“So, to create a large map, we must solve several key issues.”

“For example: how to dynamically adjust player density on the map; how to adjust the game’s rhythm at different stages; how various resources should be distributed to players, and so on.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, with some taking notes.

The issues Min Jingchao raised were all practical problems. The reason large map modes were difficult to create was precisely because the game rhythm was hard to control.

Traditional FPS games were mostly small map modes with intense combat that maximally stimulated players, keeping them in an active, excited state.

But with a large map, if player density was too low and you couldn’t find anyone for ages, players would get bored. If density was too high, with the same shooting gameplay, what would be the difference from a small map?

Clearly, they needed to devise gameplay that could only be accomplished on a large map while maximally preserving the appeal of FPS games.

Min Jingchao continued: “Actually, my initial thought was that since we have a large map, we must create rich map mechanisms on it.”

“For example, an air force base could provide reconnaissance and supply drops, bunkers could provide fire support to a small nearby area, and field hospitals could accelerate wounded players’ revival, and so on.”

“These unique map mechanisms are the core advantage of a large map over a small map.”

“In other words, I initially considered offering players two game modes: one purely for shooting, and another for this type of large-scale campaign with multiplayer cooperation.”

“But then I immediately realized a critical issue—balance.”

“For this kind of multiplayer large-scale campaign, the game’s matchmaking mechanism can hardly be perfect. Especially in FPS games, where luck and variables are abundant, adding even more uncertainty.”

“The purpose of map mechanisms is to widen the gap between both sides, preventing the campaign from becoming a prolonged stalemate. But if the sides are already imbalanced in strength, it could lead to a one-sided crushing defeat.”

“This is the problem facing multiplayer PVP in established MMORPG games like ‘Fantasy World,’ and it’s an issue I’ve been pondering while responsible for GOG’s game balance.”

The designers nodded in agreement—this point was clearly not difficult to understand.

Players would certainly find it boring to just shoot each other on a large map; strategic locations must be added.

And strategic locations couldn’t simply add points—they needed to have practical functions that provided gameplay benefits to players.

For example, a field hospital would definitely allow players to push their respawn points forward or provide medical kits for healing.

But the existence of map mechanisms would make already unbalanced sides even more unbalanced, easily creating one-sided situations on the battlefield.

Because FPS games inherently have strong randomness, and a player’s historical data can’t fully indicate their skill level.

For instance, a player might have terrible aim but exceptional commanding abilities. Their KDA might be poor, but they still win. How would you match such a player?

Forcibly strengthening the weaker side through game mechanics was also inappropriate. After all, from the perspective of advantaged players: “I earned my advantage through hard work, why should the game mechanics target me?”

GOG could solve this problem with heroes—some heroes were late-game powerhouses that could potentially fight five enemies at once in the late stages.

But FPS games relied on shooting skills. A player with good aim wouldn’t suddenly become worse, and a player with poor aim wouldn’t suddenly improve.

If they designed a mechanism that was very strong in the late game, the likely result would be that beginners who chose it would die immediately, while experts who chose it would be strong from the start and become unstoppably powerful later.

The different characteristics of FPS games compared to MOBA games created this problem.

If not solved properly, it would seriously affect the player experience.

Min Jingchao, who had been responsible for GOG’s numerical design and game balance, was highly sensitive to balance issues, so he immediately recognized the problem with this gameplay.

“The solution I came up with was to use game mechanics to filter players.”

“First, let players fight freely, then assign them to two different factions based on their performance in the current match.”