Li Yada’s words filled Yan Qi with renewed confidence.
Though it was hearsay and Yan Qi couldn’t confirm its truthfulness, he had to admit that her words were very enlightening.
Moreover, they did provide him with an approach to game design.
He could certainly try following this approach first, and if it didn’t work out, he could always reconsider. After all, giving it a try and drafting a design didn’t cost anything.
Yan Qi carefully saved the document containing these notes, afraid he might lose it.
Then, referring to these notes, he began to think about how he should design his new game.
“First, find a suitable entry point.”
“Hmm… it should be game difficulty.”
“For action games, determining the exact difficulty level is crucial, and it’s also perfect for applying Sister Li’s ‘spiral upward’ approach.”
Yan Qi’s brain worked rapidly as he entered a state of deep contemplation.
He tried hard to put himself in Mr. Pei’s shoes, imagining what he would do if he were Mr. Pei and decided to make an action game now.
One thing was certain—Mr. Pei would definitely make major changes to the approach used in ‘Turn Back to Shore.’
And these major changes wouldn’t be about regression or going backward, but about spiraling upward.
The earliest domestic action games had difficulty levels that were too low, offering no challenge to players. Enemy damage was insufficient, so players could take several hits without consequence, almost never dying, and even when they did die, there were no penalty mechanisms.
Mr. Pei targeted exactly this point when designing ‘Turn Back to Shore.’
Now that Yan Qi wanted to go against ‘Turn Back to Shore’ and innovate, he certainly couldn’t go backward.
How to differentiate from ‘Turn Back to Shore’ without regressing—that was the question.
“The difficulty certainly can’t be lowered, at least not by too much.”
“Because only when a certain level of difficulty is maintained will players be forced to study the game’s combat system and level design. If players can simply mow through enemies without needing to dodge skills or use items, just pressing the attack button to complete the game, then no matter how good the combat system and level design are, players won’t be able to appreciate them.”
“But how to differentiate from ‘Turn Back to Shore’ while maintaining the difficulty…”
“Hmm…”
“Skipping challenges?”
“That seems to be the only way.”
“But not arbitrary skipping—there need to be certain limitations.”
“And it doesn’t need to be consistently difficult or increasingly difficult; the later stages can actually be easier, though this ease would be based on certain techniques and an official ‘skip mechanism.'”
“That’s right, official skipping! Let players experience the hardcore charm of action games while also exploring various methods to complete the game.”
“And in the later stages, this enjoyment can transform into the pleasure of equipment building and strategy planning, providing players with more diverse ways to complete the game and play styles!”
Yan Qi quickly thought of a solution.
Of course, this was mainly because all other paths had been taken. With ‘Turn Back to Shore’ as a precedent, to differentiate his game from it, this was the only path left for him.
The solution Yan Qi came up with was “official skipping.”
And this kind of official skipping was different from the “Purgatory” in ‘Turn Back to Shore.’
The Purgatory’s skipping method still didn’t break free from ‘Turn Back to Shore’s’ combat system; it was a purely numerical skip. This weapon simply had higher damage and faster speed against specific enemies, so it allowed for skipping.
The purpose of the Purgatory weapon wasn’t just to allow players with poor skills to complete the game, but more importantly to highlight the philosophical value of ‘Turn Back to Shore.’
With advantages naturally came corresponding defects.
Game design never has perfection; it can only satisfy some players’ tastes while sacrificing others.
‘Turn Back to Shore’ was actually a game that didn’t allow skipping—you could skip, but you would have to make up for it later.
Using Purgatory to skip meant you couldn’t achieve the perfect ending.
But what if the designer added more complex systems to the game, allowing players to complete it using simpler methods through spells, ranged attacks, or special equipment combinations?
The biggest problem with this approach would be losing the philosophical connotation of ‘Turn Back to Shore,’ but Yan Qi wasn’t making ‘Turn Back to Shore’ anyway. He couldn’t inherit this philosophical connotation, much less reach the fourth-wall-breaking level of ‘Turn Back to Shore.’
The benefit this would bring was an expanded player base, and for some players, the game would be more enjoyable in the later stages.
‘Turn Back to Shore’ emphasized the player’s own growth process, while the in-game character’s growth was very limited.
Some expert players could beat the final boss with starting weapons or complete the game without taking damage—that was the reason.
If the final boss’s attributes were thousands or tens of thousands times the attack power of the starting weapon, players couldn’t possibly complete the game with starting weapons.
To better let players experience their own growth, ‘Turn Back to Shore’ deliberately compressed the in-game character’s growth values.
In other words, leveling up could reduce your suffering but couldn’t exempt you from it; and once your own skills improved, you could complete the game without taking damage even with a starting weapon.
This was the characteristic of ‘Turn Back to Shore.’
Originally, Yan Qi wouldn’t have dared to negate this, but now he realized that he must negate it, otherwise, the game he made would just be a poor imitation of ‘Turn Back to Shore,’ with no reason to exist.
The solution Yan Qi came up with was to reintroduce character numerical growth, giving players alternative ways to complete the game.
It would be fine for less skilled players to skip challenges all the way through; they could play however they wanted. Expert players could still challenge themselves, achieving various no-damage feats to earn admiration. And in the later stages, when players reached skill plateaus, they could continue to play with character builds and explore game mechanics, extending the game’s lifespan.
Having determined this, Yan Qi began to consider how to implement “official skipping.”
“The game’s basic combat system can be viewed as martial arts—swords, spears, and various weapons all have different uses, just like how each weapon in ‘Turn Back to Shore’ has different weapon techniques.”
“Beyond this combat system would be official skipping, which can also be seen as ways to lower difficulty and make the game easier to complete.”
“Actually, the methods for skipping are simple—mainly spells, ranged attacks, and some powerful game mechanics like resurrection and temporary invincibility.”
“The packaging of these elements, combined with Chinese cultural backgrounds, can be designed as Daoist arts, Buddhist dharma, Confucian arts, and military strategy systems.”
“Daoist arts, with keywords like alchemy, talismans, communing with spirits, and formation arrays.”
“Buddhist dharma, with keywords like body cultivation, mind cultivation, precept observance, and deliverance.”
“Confucian arts, with keywords like investigating things to extend knowledge and self-discipline.”
“Military strategy, with keywords like archery, formations, and efficient use of various weapons and armor.”
“These four systems need to be distinguished, each with its own characteristics, and players can’t master all of them. They must choose appropriate systems to match their weapons and playstyle.”
“These four systems all assist and enhance character strength, just with different emphases.”
“Daoist arts: Alchemy can provide buffs with excellent effects but limited duration and requiring materials. Talismans can add buffs to yourself or restrict monster enemies. Spirit communion can summon ghosts, while formation arrays provide specific effects when fighting within a certain range through pre-arranged talismans.”
“Daoist arts are more suitable for players who like to make thorough preparations before battle, pursuing maximum enhancement.”
“Buddhist dharma emphasizes cultivating the character itself. Body cultivation can increase attack power and reduce damage, with more lasting effects that don’t require materials, though the numerical values aren’t as high as Daoist arts. When attacking specific monster enemies, Buddhist dharma might also provide additional damage bonuses.”
“Buddhist dharma should be more suitable for lazier players, providing a permanent buff effect without complex pre-battle preparations or worrying about running out of materials mid-battle.”
“Confucian arts, through investigating things to extend knowledge, can see through bosses’ weaknesses and strengthen attacks to target these weaknesses. It won’t enhance character defense at all, but for no-damage players, it’s the best choice for quickly killing bosses.”
“Confucian arts are more suitable for expert players because while Daoist arts, Buddhist dharma, and military strategy all offer some means to enhance self-defense and survival abilities, Confucian arts don’t. Under expert players’ skillful operation, Confucian arts can achieve faster, targeted boss kills.”
“Military strategy allows players to better enhance the lethality of archery, the defense of armor, and also improve group buff effects when playing cooperatively or summoning NPCs. It’s also a permanent buff with good versatility.”
“Military strategy is more suitable for beginners. Although it also consumes materials and requires pre-battle preparation, its usage is relatively simple, with effects that are particularly significant in the early stages and also provide decent enhancement for some niche playstyles like archery builds in the later stages.”
“Players can freely choose among these four systems according to their preferences.”
“However, there should be limitations on point allocation, like talent trees. For example, a certain system might require 100 points to unlock ultimate talents, while players can only obtain about 220 points in total.”
“They can choose to unlock ultimate talents in two systems, or give up one ultimate talent and use points for mid-tier skills in other systems. If they don’t need ultimate talents, they can even distribute points evenly across all four systems.”
“There’s no standard answer for point allocation; the key is to match it with your equipment and playstyle.”
Yan Qi looked at the prototype of this core combat system he had designed and nodded with satisfaction.
It felt quite interesting, at least it had made a very clear distinction from ‘Turn Back to Shore’!