I'm a game designer!

There are three companies that have to be mentioned in the historical strategy games: Firaxis, the producer of Civilization, Koei Tecmo, the developer of Three Kingdoms, and Paradox, which owns the four cute games (Europa Universalis series, Hearts of Iron series, Victoria series, and Crusader Kings series).

Players who have been in contact with Koei Tecmo for a long time can basically feel that Koei Tecmo's games are not that playable to be honest.

In Koei Tecmo's eyes, all history is almost numerical, and Koei Tecmo reproduces historical events through various numerical values, and most of the numerical values cannot be changed. For example, Lu Bu ranks first in military strength, which is 100+10. No matter how much you train yourself, you can't reach this level. This limits the player's freedom to play to a large extent, and Koei Tecmo just wants to give players a real history.

Indeed, Koei Tecmo is very serious about the study of history, but after the player passes the level, it is basically difficult to play the game again.

Before Europa Universalis 3, Paradox's games were almost exactly the same as Koei Tecmo's ideas, giving players a real history, and then the thinking changed to a certain extent.

���Change, unlike Koei's"value-driven history", Paradox's is"event-driven history": in order to promote the progress of the game, various events must be triggered, so Paradox's plot is very rich.

At the same time, Paradox also became open in"Europa Universalis 2", and players will have more choices.

Although when the player's development deviates from the historical trend,"Europa Universalis 2" will have various mechanism interventions, it also brings more playability to the game to a certain extent.

However, since Paradox's game plots are mainly aimed at Europe, and due to the different painting styles and user habits, Paradox's four cuteness has never been too popular or too bad in China.

Unlike the above two, in"Civilization", history is just a small embellishment and inspiration used by game designers to construct rules, not a goal to pursue.

For example, in reality, Country Z has the earliest military book, so in"Civilization 5", the rate of commander generation in Country Z increases by 50%, but this does not mean that Country Z has the Great Wall and the Four Great Inventions.

All history may be some small rules, and players have a lot of room for free play. Although it is completely unlike real history, the freedom and playability of the game have increased significantly. In addition, although"Civilization" did not take good care of domestic players at the beginning, these well-known countries appeared in"Civilization 1". With the development of the Internet, it is almost natural that the game is favored by players in China.

《There is another key point about Civilization: although it is not real history, it has a strong sense of history

《Although the purpose of Civilization is not to restore the real history, the creators of Civilization attach great importance to history.

In Civilization 5, there is an option to"cancel the location association of the birthplace".

If it is not checked, you choose country Z, and there will generally be enemies such as the Huns and Mongolia around you.

You play the role of a leader in the Central Plains surrounded by wolves.

How to gradually grow and grow, and finally lead the world, and this is also the greatest fun of the Civilization series-experience the growth of a civilization under real simulation.

In order to let players experience this kind of fun, Civilization needs to simulate the characteristics and personality of each civilization very realistically. And Civilization is indeed the case. For example, in Civilization 5, the Huns can get animal husbandry technology for free at the beginning, and two special units (mounted archers and siege rams) are in ancient times. Therefore, the Huns were very strong in ancient times, and real history is not the same.

In reality, Mongolia almost ruled the entire Eurasian continent and was very strong. This point is also deeply portrayed in Civilization 5. Unlike the Xiongnu, the Mongols were strong in the Middle Ages, two eras later. In the Middle Ages, the Mongols had the Qiexue that could move after attacking, which echoed the super mobility and aggressiveness of the Mongolian cavalry in reality.

It is precisely because"Civilization" simulates historical logic very realistically that it often takes a long time to prepare to capture a city. In order to gain a sense of accomplishment, players need to continue to play the next round, but before they know it, dawn has come.

This sense of accomplishment is completely different from other strategy games, and this is one of the reasons why"Civilization" has stood firm!

Therefore, Fang Yun expected that"Civilization" would be a big hit, and this kind of fire is facing the whole world, not a fire facing a certain continent or a certain region.

Because the countries that appear in it involve all continents, this will allow all players from all over the world to find a sense of familiarity and belonging in the game, unlike"Romance of the Three Kingdoms", some Western players have no interest in it at all because they don't understand the Three Kingdoms.

……

As the popularity of Civilization continues to rise, other game companies have also begun to reflect on themselves. You know, the decline of strategy games in this world is not squeezed by MOBA games, but by the impact of VR games. Almost all companies, as long as they are powerful, will focus on the VR side.

But now, Fang Yun has given them a strong impact on the PC side! If"The Elder Scrolls" is attractive because of modeling (mod) and plot, World of Warcraft StarCraft Chicken DOTA is attractive because of the confrontation between players, and"Borderlands" is attractive because of the pleasure of brushing.

But"Civilization" does not have the above conditions at all!

《Although Civilization has an online mode, the current players are addicted to its stand-alone mode! Does the stand-alone mode have a plot? No! Is there a confrontation? No! Is there the thrill of brushing? No!

It can be said that this is a game with nothing, but it has set a new record for sales growth! And this record is still being hit!

【How can a game category that is almost eliminated be reborn in Fang Yun's hands?

This has become the primary question facing major companies and designers.

Countless companies have begun to pay attention to PC games again, and pay attention to the"game category" that now seems to be unpopular.

The [World Designers Committee] also held a meeting for this purpose, and the content of the meeting was also related to Fang Yun: In the future, should the best game project be separated from the annual game selection?