The two talked for a long time inside the house.
We talked a lot about what's hidden behind the two types of games.
Listening to the incessant "ding!" notifications on the system panel, and feeling my attribute values skyrocketing...
Lin Lixin suddenly realized, "Isn't this also a kind of leveling up by fighting monsters?"
It wasn't until nearly midnight that the two finally finished their conversation.
Wynn stood up from the sofa and smiled at Lin Lixin:
"Let's go. I've received so much guidance from you, I need to show you some real skills."
He wants to take charge personally.
This kind of thing doesn't happen often.
If it were any other so-called "tycoons" who came, Wynn would at most send a senior executive to deal with them.
Mike and his group, who were still resting in their suite, received the notification and hurried over. Led by Wynn himself, the group arrived at a VIP room.
Rather than a private room, this place is more like a small, independent casino.
Everything you'd expect is there; there's even a separate bar with dedicated waiters and dealers, and the chips are custom-made in different colors.
"Come on, Mike, tell me what this is?"
Lin Lixin put his arm around Mike and stopped in front of the roulette table.
The red and black checkered pattern allows the bead to randomly land in one of the checkered squares as the ball rotates.
All the gamblers have to do is choose their numbers or colors, and the odds are different for each type of bet.
"Uh... roulette?"
"Wrong, this is Diablo."
"Ah?"
"Hey, what's this?"
"... Slot machines?" "Wrong, this is also Diablo."
"This one too, this one too..."
Lin Lixin asked about every single piece of equipment here, and answered each one.
At this point, there's no need for him to say anything more.
Mike understood what Lin Lixin was trying to convey to him.
Lin Lixin stopped in front of the card table, gesturing for him to sit down.
"Rogue pioneered the integration of randomness into gameplay, but they were too rigid and dogmatic, thus losing the psychological value of randomness itself."
Geeks sometimes have these kinds of problems.
Even when you have a great concept, it often ends up being reaped by another group of people.
To put it simply, it's basically... "the mindset of an engineering student".
"I'll be paying for everything tonight, but... everyone only has 1 million chips. Any extra will be added to your prize money, and any less won't need to be paid out."
An assistant came over with a box of chips and distributed them to the six members of the team and Lin Lixin. Wynn, however, dismissed the dealer and stood behind the poker table himself.
This indicates an intention to personally take charge.
When a group of greenhorns plays against a seasoned veteran who's been in the game for decades, the outcome is practically impossible to predict.
In terms of both technique and mental fortitude, the two were simply not on the same level.
Mike and his friends were immediately drawn in; the losers were envious of the winners, while the winners raised their bets.
After several rounds, the group had collectively lost nearly a third of their chips.
Lin Lixin and Bandura, who came along to play, performed relatively well, but they only managed to stay at a slight loss; it was unrealistic to say they made a profit.
If you managed to win, it's really because the dealer's hand was shaking and he didn't control it well.
How are you feeling?
Lin Lixin placed his bet as usual, then smiled and asked Bandura beside him.
"A classic example of manipulative conditioning and reinforcement principles, the best illustration of the Premack Principle." It's clear that Bandura seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself, treating it entirely as a social experiment.
The so-called Premack Principle is essentially about using something a person likes to motivate them to do something they dislike.
Combined with Skinner's intermittent enhancement mechanism, this whole thing is so addictive it's hard not to get hooked.
If used properly, this system can be of great help in the field of education.
For example, encouraging children to take the initiative in studying or doing housework.
But used here...
That would be terrible.
Lin Lixin stretched and stood up from his seat.
"Alright, I've almost finished watching it. Come on, Mr. Wynn, let's switch seats."
The final score remained at 1 million chips for each player, exactly the same as at the beginning.
Wynn looked at Lin Lixin with a puzzled expression, remaining silent for a long time. He was genuinely scared now.
"Have you practiced this before?"
"No, I just learn things quickly."
Lin Lixin laughed and casually tossed the chips aside.
"Alright, you guys go ahead and do your own thing, play some slot machines and figure out the system thoroughly. Mr. Wynn and I have something to discuss."
After saying that, he left the group there to do whatever they wanted, while he and Wynn went to sit down at the bar.
The entire research trip didn't take too long; the group spent three relaxed days there before heading back to California.
Having gone through this experience, Mike and his team now truly understand the core philosophy of Diablo.
I also understand why Lin Lixin insisted on packaging it as a "dungeon" with a very dungeon-like and game-like mechanism, rather than a whole pre-designed open world.
While it loses the immersive experience that an RPG should have, it does a great job of making the treasure-hunting process a short and excellent loop.
Based on the dual-loop architecture mentioned in "Lin's Design Theory - Game Architecture Design Theory and Practice Course (Part 1) Excerpt", the loop structure of Diablo itself becomes very clear after this processing. "Each dungeon run is part of a short loop, and getting increasingly stronger equipment, leveling up to improve attributes, and unlocking new skills is the long loop, right?"
Mike presented his newly restructured framework, nervously watching Lin Lixin, awaiting the verdict.
If they then say "start from scratch," he'll really be dumbfounded.
"Um..."
Lin Lixin pondered for a moment, then, seeing Mike's almost collapsing expression, grinned and nodded.
"That's correct, that's roughly the gist of it, but it's a bit one-sided."
"Well?"
"The dual loop is just a template theory; its purpose isn't to make you blindly apply formulas, as that will only make the game lose its spirit."
Lin Lixin explained patiently.
This is indeed a mistake that "academics" are prone to make.
That's too dogmatic.
"The so-called dual loop doesn't necessarily refer to a structure of two loops, one long and one short. It actually refers to a generalized multi-loop model." "Look, finding a monster, attacking, killing, whether it drops items or not, finding a new monster... isn't that itself a very straightforward short loop?"
"And the long cycle is not just about simple growth; you can break it down into everything that makes players want to keep playing for a long time."
As he spoke, he looked at Bandura to the side.
After a moment's thought, the other party understood Lin Lixin's meaning, and thus stepped forward to continue the conversation:
"Leaderboards, sharing better build strategies, showing off equipment, and other social behaviors can all be part of a long-term cycle."
As the founder of Social Learning Theory, his perspective on problems differed significantly from that of the Skinner school.
"Sharing better ideas?"
Mike paused, trying to understand the meaning of the sentence.
Indeed, if someone can come up with a more suitable combination of equipment and skills, naturally others will be willing to follow suit and learn from it.
Isn't that exactly what strategy guides are all about?
A huge number of people rely on strategy guides when playing games.
"I understand. The point of sharing builds is to allow most casual players to fast-forward to the 'fun' parts of the game itself, rather than spending time on item combinations." It retains strategic depth while also catering to the needs of casual players.
"That's right, look, let's draw a simple table."
Lin Lixin nodded, grabbed the notebook, and quickly drew an axis on it.
The horizontal axis represents game time, or concepts like "effort" or "accumulation," while the vertical axis represents the so-called "satisfaction."
"As we level up and acquire new equipment, our monster-killing ability becomes stronger and stronger."
"Whether it's through changes in damage numbers or a wider variety of attack methods, the accumulation of pleasure during this process is very linear."
Then we arrived at the most important turning point.
He made a heavy dot at the end of a diagonal line, then abruptly pulled it up.
"Here, we might have obtained an important core drive component, or we might have just stumbled upon a viable combination."
"Regardless, at this moment, players will suddenly find themselves seemingly invincible, able to roam freely in dungeons."
"This is where the thrill reaches its peak... and also where the tutorial ends."
This is a crucial difference between the Smash Bros. game and other video games. Lin Lixin didn't rush to continue, but instead allowed the others present to digest this information.
Loot-collecting games are indeed an anomaly in the ARPG genre.
Its true beginning is at an extremely bizarre juncture, namely... reaching the maximum level.
Or rather, when the growth of capabilities almost stagnated.
This is not a design flaw, but rather a clever planning idea.
Essentially, it's a design that encourages players to constantly try out various new skills in a low-intensity environment.
"You see, before the game takes shape, the rate at which player growth matches the rate at which dungeon difficulty increases. As a result, players will constantly and actively try out various newly unlocked skills, attempting to find a combination that can improve their current situation."
"And when he reached this point, which meant he had reached the pinnacle of his abilities and no new skills were emerging, he had already mastered all of his existing skills."
"And at this particular juncture, a piece of equipment that could potentially enhance a specific skill or build just happened to appear in the dungeon..."
At this point, everyone's heart skipped a beat, and they immediately caught up with Lin Lixin's rhythm.
If that were the case, what would happen?
The answer is obvious. Put it on, then enjoy the unparalleled thrill of mowing down enemies, completely overwhelmed by this "jackpot."
If I get another powerful item, will it make my current build even more overpowered? Or will it enhance a skill I particularly like?
Which piece of equipment is the fastest for clearing stages? Which piece of equipment has the highest DPS? Which piece of equipment produces the coolest special effects?
Each time a dungeon drops a good item, it creates another peak in the satisfaction curve.
Endless and never-ending.
No wonder...
Mike let out a long sigh, recalling the words Lin Lixin had said that day in Las Vegas.
"Is this a slot machine? No, this is Diablo."