Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 564 - 547: Worldview Framework

Chapter 564: Chapter 547: Worldview Framework

Lilith was momentarily taken aback, "The previous resource database? Are you talking about other games?

"You sure we can use those resources? Not to mention, the art styles are totally different, aren’t they?"

Gu Fan nodded, "Yes, the art styles are indeed different.

"But having ready-made settings and art resources means that even if the art style changes, we can still outsource it, which at least provides a concrete reference.

"If we don’t have specific settings and resources, then we have to design the related art needs from scratch, and the end product from the outsourcing company may not be guaranteed.

"In the back and forth, time can easily exceed expectations."

Lilith furrowed her brows thoughtfully.

What Gu Fan said made a lot of sense and indeed presented a pressing issue to solve.

Considering the volume of resources in "Endless Fantasy Legend 2", this game will be epoch-making. Each part of it could be considered a complete game for other companies.

To further reduce development time, controlled design is a necessary choice.

But can we really use resources from other games?

According to Gu Fan, they can’t be used directly, but even if modified, it’s much better than starting from scratch.

Take "Ascension" for example.

Theoretically, the art style of "Ascension" also leans towards a realistic style, a mix of standard Xianxia and cyberpunk, neither of which matches the cartoon style of "Endless Fantasy Legend."

If the scenes and character models from there were used directly, it would definitely create a sense of dissonance and make players feel as if they were travelling through a portal.

They must be adapted to the corresponding cartoon style.

But even with modifications, having existing scenes and characters for reference, and a clear example of what the new cartoon style should be like, helps enormously.

The outsourcing company would just need to look at the original paintings from "Ascension" on the left screen and "Endless Fantasy Legend" on the right screen to make a close match.

Even if there are minor discrepancies, they can be easily adjusted.

But what if we don’t use "Ascension" and create a new area in "Endless Fantasy Legend 2" in a Xianxia or classical Huaxia style?

Then during production, the outsourced art team’s ideas might deviate, and the final outcome would be unpredictable.

Of course, this issue could also be solved using more detailed art resource requirements and design documents, but in the end, those documents still need to be produced by people, right?

The design team at Nitiandang is already quite saturated, and having them produce such extensive documents might also severely impact the game’s schedule.

Lilith had to admit that this was indeed a safer approach.

"But using previous game IPs, won’t there be any negative impact?

"For instance, attracting fans of those games, who then, for sentimental reasons, might generate a lot of positive emotions?

"That would be counterproductive for us!"

Lilith quickly raised another concern.

Gu Fan had anticipated this, "President Li, it depends on how you view this issue.

"From another perspective, these fans attracted by the IP are inherently single-player gamers who naturally despise the gacha monetization model. Even if they are drawn in by the IP, they are only falling into our traps.

"After all, ’Endless Fantasy Legend 2’ has set so many traps, each one a critical hit for single-player gamers.

"Imagine this, President Li:

"I’m a fan of ’Ascension’, attracted because I heard that ’Endless Fantasy Legend’ features related characters and scenes from ’Ascension.’

"But then I find out that those beautiful realistic scenes have been turned into cartoon styles, and the NPCs have turned into cartoon figures. Since this game needs to run on mobile, the polygon count on these models is significantly reduced, almost unrecognizable.

"Not only that, but I also discover that Li Huanzhen, the original protagonist, is just a regular gacha character in this game. To play him, I have to draw, and even after drawing, the mechanics aren’t complete; to get the full mechanics, I need to draw a max star character.

"Doesn’t that just raise your blood pressure immediately?"

Lilith’s eyes lit up upon hearing this, "Oh, that makes sense!

"But wouldn’t that be a problem, the art resources originally for ’Ascension’ would still be wasted?"

Gu Fan took a moment to comprehend, "How are they wasted? Aren’t they being used as references for art resources?"

Lilith seemed contemplative but didn’t dwell on this matter and instead asked, "What about our previous games? Which ones can we utilize?"

Gu Fan opened the previous design folder and began to sort through them.

"Let’s not count the games with smaller volumes; we’ll consider them if we actually run out of resources.

"Let’s start with the games that are big in volume.

"’Ascension’ and ’Blood of Lies’ are musts; these two games are quite large in volume and have plentiful resources. Moreover, their art styles are diverse—one being a mix of Xianxia and Cyberpunk, the other a Western fantasy with a splash of Victorian.

"’Shadow World’ is a standard Western Fantasy game. Although its style is somewhat similar to that of ’Blood of Lies’, the overall difference is quite distinct, making it worth considering.

"The ’City of the Abandoned Gods’ is not an RPG game, but it also has high-quality art resources primarily using a demon and Crusaders backdrop, making it distinct from ’Shadow World’ and ’Blood of Lies’.

"’Heartbeat Dream’ can be considered a horror game with a mix of styles such as Japanese and Nordic, which can also serve as references and inspirations.

"Adding the original world of ’Endless Fantasy Legend,’ well, that should be about enough."

Gu Fan did not strictly decide the order based on which games to reference, it was more about filling numbers. However, from the outcome, it did seem adequate.

As he spoke, he pulled over a whiteboard for making mind maps and roughly drew the large map plan of ’Endless Fantasy Legend 2’.

"Each area corresponds to a different element.

"Currently, we have nine elements: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Thunder, Ice, and Time.

"Matching the five elements to their directions, the center belongs to Earth, the North to Water, the South to Fire, the East to Wood, and the West to Gold.

"The remaining four elements, we’ll intersperse between every two.

"For example, the Northwest is where Gold and Water mix, giving this position on the map a colder feel, so we place the Ice Element;

"The Northeast is where Wood and Water mix, making it suitable for the Thunder Element;

"The Southwest is where Gold and Fire mix, and we can turn this into a desert area and place the Wind Element;

"As for the Southeast, where Wood and Fire blend, we can place the Time Element there, setting it as an immortal mountain similar to Penglai in the middle of the ocean.

"With this system, the main attributes of each area and their corresponding materials can be organized as follows:

"North—Water Country, an archipelago layout, the origin of the continent’s waterways, corresponding to ’Blood of Lies’;

"Northeast—Thunder Country, an isolated island layout, can use the Japanese-themed sections from ’Heartbeat Dream’;

"East—Wood Country, forest terrain, corresponding to the original continent of ’Endless Fantasy Legend 1’, primarily using regions rich in vegetation;

"Southeast—Time Country, or also known as the Eternal Realm, an archipelago layout, corresponding to the Xianxia style in ’Ascension’;

"South—Fire Country, volcanic terrain, corresponding to ’City of the Abandoned Gods’, a stronghold of demons;

"Southwest—Wind Country, desert and wasteland terrain, can use desert and wasteland areas from ’Shadow World’, filled with various Wind Element creatures;

"West—Gold Country, plain terrain, corresponding to the Cyberpunk section of ’Ascension’, where weaponry and mechanical industries are more developed;

"Northwest—Ice Country, snow mountain terrain, corresponding to the Nordic part of ’Heartbeat Dream’;

"Center—Earth Country, plain terrain, mostly using the King’s City area from ’Ascension’."

Gu Fan paused briefly, then continued, "Of course, the division of nations isn’t fixed; some elemental zones might not strictly be a complete country, but could exist as scattered tribes or even a state of ruin.

For example, the eastern Wood Country region doesn’t have a unified nation, merely a dense forest inhabited by numerous Elves, with Humans existing in a manner akin to primitive tribes, living in harmony with nature;

"Whereas the central Earth Country follows the plot of ’Ascension,’ because the entire nation is in chaos, it is actually under invasion from all sides;

"Thunder Country is relatively isolated, but Water Country still invades Thunder Country attempting to unlock its gates with the power from ’Blood of Lies’;

"The demon forces of Fire Country and the mechanical civilization of Gold Country are locked in a prolonged war, and as a buffer zone, Wind Country has perished, buried under the sands, transforming into a site only suitable for expeditions, with the citizens of Wind Country becoming nomadic tribes in the desert or homeless wanderers, only able to travel to other countries as traveling merchants.

"Overall, we can develop more similar plots."

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