'Abnormal' Character Design

Upon seeing such an ordinary monster name, Qiu Yuan below was slightly taken aback and became somewhat curious.

As a modeler, I already knew the number 0173 back when I was working on Skyhill.

Because the metal door marked W-FBC-0173 in the fourth ending was made by him.

Therefore, it is natural to know that this number belongs to a monster controlled by FBC in the game.

However, when Mr. Meng explained the situation, he only said that the monster was a concept and did not need to be modeled in Skyhill.

Because it will officially debut in the next game.

So, Qiu Yuan also wondered what kind of shape this number would have—terrifying and distorted? Or evil and bizarre?

And why is W-FBC-0173 used as the name code?

Everything was so unknown and mysterious.

However, he is just a modeler, not a designer.

He just needs to wait for the design draft or original artwork to come out, and then build it.

Now, W-FBC-0173's image has finally been revealed, leaving Qiu Yuan completely stunned.

this.

This is similar to the monster designs in our company's first four games.

Absolutely not! Not at all! It doesn't match! Ah!

At this moment, on the projected screen.

The appearance of W-FBC-0173 was revealed to everyone.

Its entire body is made of yellow wood, and it has a human-like shape.

The hands and feet are short and slightly deformed.

The carving marks are visible all over the body, as if a log had been carved piece by piece into a human shape.

His chest and buttocks were filthy, as if they had been painted with a layer of black paint.

It looks like a wooden carving that has been left in the wild for a long time, dirty and old, and naturally blackened.

On top of its body is a huge head.

His face was quite bizarre.

A large area of red paint forms the base, with a pair of wide-set green eyes positioned on either side.

In the middle is a raised, thick wooden block, resembling the bridge of a nose.

The cheeks on both sides were smeared with black paint. The mouth area was the same.

His face resembled a clown, yet it also gave the impression of being bleeding profusely from a head wound—strange and eerie.

Qiu Yuan felt somewhat uneasy.

He glanced around at his other colleagues, whose expressions were all similar, all showing a frown.

Although this numbered monster lacks the horror and terror of the Skyhill monster, it exudes a unique sense of strangeness.

There's a sense that if it doesn't move, it's fine, but if it does, it's extremely dangerous.

It's probably just my imagination.

At this moment, Boss Meng was explaining the first monster by pointing the mouse.

"Our game, ' Control Failure,' just like its name suggests, refers to the fact that these monsters have broken free of control and escaped from where they were imprisoned."

"These monsters, collectively referred to as 'anomalies,' refer to abnormal existences that are beyond the comprehension of modern society."

"And the statue monster you see now is W-FBC-0173, which is one of the more dangerous anomalies among all of them."

"The W stands for WAW, which means very difficult. It means that it is very difficult to control it."

"Have you ever played 'Red Light, Green Light'? In the game, it can't move when someone 'sees' it. It can only move when someone 'doesn't see' it, and it's an instant teleport."

"Therefore, in the game, once a player encounters it, the instant they 'blink' in front of it, they will die."

What!?

The group was immediately shocked, their mouths agape.

They stared at Boss Meng in disbelief.

What kind of ingenious setting is this?!

Isn't that a bit too strong?

When you see it, the monster is immobile. In the blink of an eye, the player dies.

this.

Can players accept a monster designed to be this overpowered?!

I thought the monster designs in Skyhill were already amazing enough, especially the monster that could flatten the player's image, which was incredibly popular online!

But I never expected that the statue in front of me would be even more invincible!

In the blink of an eye, a player can die.

This is an absolutely unimaginable setting!

At this moment, task designer Chen An raised his hand, indicating that he had a question.

After Meng Shu nodded, he hesitated for a moment and then asked.

"President Meng, does the game have a weapon system?"

"Of course, players can use both firearms and melee weapons."

Upon hearing this, Chen An indicated that he understood, and then asked another question.

"Can we kill this statue?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Shu shook her head.

"Invincible, unkillable."

Chen An was speechless, unsure of what to say.

Although it's Horror Games, the previous one, Skyhill, at least allowed players to stun monsters, let them fall to the ground and slowly respawn, giving them a breather.

How come it becomes invincible when it comes to "Control Failure"?

What is the weapon system used for?

Is it used to fight other monsters?

Chen An didn't say much, but sat down and waited for the boss to explain.

Soon, Boss Meng continued to speak.

"The statue is indestructible. In the design draft, it looks like a wooden sculpture. But the actual design is reinforced concrete. So that's the first thing I want to emphasize. Qiu Yuan, when you're modeling, use stone as the material, don't make it look like wood."

"Also, don't make it too smooth. Its surface should have some uneven wrinkles, like layers of mud that have been smeared with cement without being polished. To put it more intuitively, you can refer to a peanut shell."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Yuan immediately understood.

He nodded repeatedly, praising it.

With a pen in hand, he quickly jotted down his summary in his notebook.

"This is the first monster in our game. It's not as bizarre or terrifying as the one in Skyhill. But that's exactly what I want players to feel: a deadly crisis caused by something that seems harmless."

"Games need to take their time. It's not good to constantly show players terrifying monsters. So most of the anomalous designs in Control Failure are based on things we know and have seen in real life, except for a few monsters."

"I want to give players an unexpected sense of horror and terror by incorporating things that are common in everyday life, so that they feel fear even though they know it's fake, because they often see it in real life."

"Imagine if blinking, something you do all the time, suddenly became an instinct that allowed you to survive. How would you feel?"

"Imagine another scenario: an encyclopedia documenting diseases, meant to help people understand these ailments. But due to a mutation, those who read it—whether it's the section on the common cold or chickenpox—will later contract the corresponding disease. While we know this is fictional in the game, we're creating an immersive VR Game. Players can experience it through audiovisual senses. How awkward would it be for them to see such an encyclopedia in real life?"

"This is the effect I wanted—the idea of incorporating horror elements into everyday life."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Yuan and the others exchanged bewildered glances.

this.

If this idea were to actually come to fruition, the game "Control Failure" would probably be far more terrifying than "Skyhill" in terms of horror.

After all, the latter's monster design is fantasy, something that people can tell at a glance doesn't exist in reality.

If the former, as President Meng suggested, employs realistic and grounded horror design, then the game might give players a strong sense of immersion in reality.

And President Meng's professional team is incredibly powerful in terms of audiovisual performance.

To create a sense of pain for players, the VR screen in "21 Points" displays a blurry, scarlet color, resembling a brain hemorrhage. To further enhance the feeling of being electrocuted, flashing white light and thick smoke are used on the VR screen.

It really looks painful!

In "The Visage," a blurry and motion blur effect is used to depict the character's sanity decreasing.

This is a game design I never even imagined!

Qiu Yuan would not doubt Boss Meng's thinking.

If this encyclopedia of diseases really existed in the game, then Boss Meng would definitely have included the reactions to those diseases in the game.

At that point, even players who aren't sick will probably feel uncomfortable.

I thought that Skyhill was the pinnacle of horror in the industry.

Other manufacturers are unlikely to be able to match it.

But to everyone's surprise, Boss Meng turned around and surpassed his company's game.

The premise is that "Control Failure" is really as terrifying as President Meng described.

At this point, the PowerPoint presentation on the projected screen showed the design page for the second monster.

But this made Qiu Yuan pause again.

Because strictly speaking

That wasn't exactly a monster.

But from today's perspective, it seems strangely eerie.

It's the kind of thing that looks normal online, but is terrifying in real life.

Medieval Plague Doctor.

Number W-FBC-0049.

Plague Doctor.

I slept for more than ten hours today, and I'm well-rested. Now I can't fall asleep, so I'll stay up late and write!