Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 610 - 593: Innovation in Plot Mechanisms

Chapter 610: Chapter 593: Innovation in Plot Mechanisms

The video stops here, temporarily resolving the plot controversies in "Endless Fantasy Legend 2" concerning "Ascension" and "Blood of Lies".

At least the players of "Ascension" and "Blood of Lies" feel that if this really is the direction of the plot development, it isn’t unacceptable, and it even seems somewhat reasonable.

So what if Li Huanzhen is dead?

A true hero dying on the battlefield is not wrong after all.

Moreover, Li Huanzhen really had a tough life, always fighting against illusions, so maybe death is a kind of liberation for him.

As for the annihilation of the intelligence life of the Golden Country...

If they are annihilated, so be it, weren’t there many innocent Humans in the Golden Country who died too?

As for the players of "Blood of Lies" they are even more open-minded, under the worldview of Cthulhu, the Ancient Gods were never good entities anyway. If Humans could become Ancient Gods and endow them with humanity, then they should not be called Ancient Gods. They should be called Gundams or a certain kind of external human organ.

Some barrage comments disagree because so far, not all of the game’s plot has been updated, and no one knows if Zhuge Jun’s deductions are completely correct.

What if he is wrong?

Wouldn’t that be analyzing emphatically only to realize it’s ridiculously off the mark?

But Lilith knows, Zhuge Jun really guessed it all right!

And here in the video, it just got through a little less than half.

Zhuge Jun initially addressed the "plot rationality" issue, in the latter half of the video, he had other things to praise.

"Besides the content of the plot, I think Nitiandang’s presentation and functional mechanisms of the plot also have very excellent innovations.

"This innovation is the recently heavily criticized plot restoration and plot revisit system!

"As for why these two systems are good, I’d like to start with a streamer.

"His name is Heilong.

"As everyone knows, Heilong never pays attention to the plot when playing games, even often asking during the endgame ’who is this?’ about important side characters.

"But during the gameplay of ’Endless Fantasy Legend 2’, we found that his mind gradually became clearer, even recalling many plot details as if they were treasures.

"Is this normal? Is this reasonable?

"First, we exclude the possibility of Heilong having a brain mutation, the answer actually emerges easily: it’s precisely because of the ’plot revisit system’ that really enhanced his impression and understanding of the plot!"

The barrage audience didn’t expect Zhuge Jun to suddenly change the topic to Heilong.

But this is indeed a very persuasive example.

Earlier, as the biggest beneficiary of Gerlin’s enhancement, Heilong also sparked considerable popularity online, well known by many netizens.

Especially when he explained the differences between "Ruishui River" and "strong waters" during the livestream, which has widely circulated on the platform.

Besides this, Heilong even remembered the names of most demons from the Night Parade of Hundred Demons, which is nothing short of a miracle.

Keep in mind that previously he couldn’t even match the main side characters in the game.

So how did Heilong, someone who never watches plots, get so familiar with the plot of "Endless Fantasy Legend 2"?

Clearly, it’s the confidence given by the plot revisit system.

In the video, Zhuge Jun continued: "We know that games that sell plots often have one problem—players tend to forget.

"Normal buy-to-play AAA games are okay because the whole process might only take about ten or so hours, and players are relatively immersed while playing, so they remember clearly.

"But for continuously updated open-world games like ’Endless Fantasy Legend 2’, it’s trickier.

"These types of games have large volumes of plot, with the main story and various side tasks piling up more and more, accumulating total playtimes of even a hundred or two hundred hours over several versions.

"And these plot elements are updated sporadically, added incrementally. Moreover, many text elements hidden in dialogues can easily be missed by players quickly clicking their mouse due to urgency, limiting their retention.

"Even if they grasp it temporarily, it’s easy to forget.

"This is also why many such games often trigger huge controversies over the plot: a lot of the time, it’s not that there is a major issue with the plot itself, but because the plot is presented too fragmentarily, not comprehensively enough. Players who only understand the surface, those who understand halfway, and those who diligently study thoroughly might see potentially different plots, and naturally, they will have different understandings.

"Also, when players play games, they often treat progressing through the plot as the top priority, and only afterward do they explore the big map.

"But the treasure chests and puzzles that can be seen throughout the open world easily disrupt players’ gaming tempo, causing them to become more impatient during the plot progression, rapidly clicking through the mouse in a rushed manner."

"And when they have explored the map to 100% and have nothing else to do, they realize that they’ve almost entirely forgotten the touching main storyline.

"At this point, even if they wanted to replay it, it would be impossible; they would either have to start a new account or watch videos online, but neither option is appealing as the former is too costly and the latter lacks immersion.

"The storyline restoration and replay system of Nitiandang perfectly addresses this issue.

"After players have completed 100% exploration of the large map, if they find it boring and want to experience the storyline again, they can do so at any time.

"The higher the players’ acceptance of the storyline, the easier it becomes for them to like the characters, and the less likely it is to have storyline disputes due to misunderstandings. Most importantly, revisiting the storyline also rewards players with substantial prizes, isn’t this a profitable deal!"

"Endless Fantasy Legend 2’s storyline is non-skippable, and there have always been players complaining, demanding the right to choose.

"But many players think that non-skippable is the right decision.

"Why? Because fundamentally, this game sells its storyline and character design.

"The storyline highlights the game’s characters, who will be included in the character pools. Only when players genuinely like a character will they willingly spend money to purchase it.

"Although ’leaving the choice to the players’ sounds politically correct, as soon as you allow it, there will inevitably be players who skip the storyline ’not entirely voluntarily.’

"What does ’not entirely voluntary’ mean?

"For most players, the storyline is optional; skipping it doesn’t affect task completion or puzzle solving, and even after skipping, they don’t feel like they missed anything.

"Under the growing impatience pervasive in modern culture, other game systems also continually distract players’ attention, such as large map puzzles, event tasks, and some Game Coin rewards...

"It’s easy for players to want to ’quickly get the storyline over with.’

"Hence, Endless Fantasy Legend 2 simply made the storyline non-skippable.

"This certainly isn’t friendly to those who don’t wish to view the storyline, but often in game design, sacrifices must be made for certain features; it’s impossible to cater to everyone.

"Just like in ’Ascension,’ a game known for its high difficulty, why isn’t there an easier mode like a baby bus?

"Why not give players the option to choose their difficulty?

"Because difficulty is one of the core gameplay elements of ’Ascension’; changing the difficulty would completely overturn the whole gameplay, severely affecting the player experience.

"Therefore, such freedom cannot be granted.

"The same is true for the storyline in Endless Fantasy Legend 2.

"The replay system specifically targets the parts of the storyline that players rushed through without paying much attention, allowing them to catch up on missed content.

"As a result, misunderstandings due to incomplete understanding of the storyline will greatly decrease.

"Not only that, more complex storylines necessitate revisiting.

"Even with novels, the experience of reading for the first time versus the second time is entirely different.

"The first read happens when one drifts along cluelessly, potentially overlooking foreshadowing and details. While the ending might be surprising, it’s ultimately not comprehensive; during the second read, although the ending is known, one can better appreciate the clever setup of earlier hints.

"In terms of storyline presentation, it effectively achieves a result where 1 + 1 > 2.

"Moreover, this feature is not mandatory, and revisiting the storyline also offers rewards, isn’t this a great thing?

"The only possible issue is that once clicked, it locks you into the session with no exit, which can be user-unfriendly.

"But this immersive mode enhances the presentation of the storyline, and most players will only be caught off-guard once.

"Zhuge Jun continued:

"Lastly, there’s another benefit: the storyline restoration system is good for trading game accounts!

"This is also my conclusion from observing the account trading market for Endless Fantasy Legend 2.

"I’ve noticed that the account retention value of Endless Fantasy Legend 2 has even surpassed the 10% retention rate of national war games, reaching an astonishing 20%.

"This is practically a miracle on second-hand account trading platforms.

"An important factor is the game’s storyline restoration system, which allows even bought accounts to fully experience the game’s main storyline. Moreover, the game regularly enhances old characters, giving any underdog character a chance to turn the tide, which also helps to buoy the market value of various accounts.

"So, whether a high retention rate for second-hand accounts is good or bad?

"I think it’s like the second-hand disk trading market; it might be bad for the manufacturers, but for the players, it’s definitely a good thing.

"And this precisely reflects Nitiandang’s philosophy of benefiting players and its long-term operational strategy, otherwise, how could it possibly be such a coincidence?"