America: The Godfather Game Development, Chapter 484
Once the atmosphere had finally calmed down, Vivian sat down beside him, somewhat speechless, and finally understood the whole story.
"So—you're using the vibrations of an eccentric motor to simulate the NPC's heartbeat?"
After going through all this trouble, it turns out it was all just for these dumplings with a little vinegar.
"Yes, I was thinking about this when I was working with Suzuki and the others on the vibration platform for ' Beat Hazard '. Now that the battery issue is resolved, maybe we can actually give it a try."
Lin Lixin stroked his chin, pondering the feasibility of the project.
" Tokimeki Memorial " can be considered another top-tier raising simulation masterpiece besides Takami Akai's " Princess Maker ".
However, its approach is completely different from " Princess Maker "; it is a pure dating simulation game.
Although the idea of using wood in a corner is nothing new in later generations, dating games have evolved into various subcategories.
But in today's world, this is an extremely bold decision.
"We want to make a real dating game, not as an add-on or an auxiliary element, but as the core of it all—a dating video game."
If someone like Sam, a severe internet addict, or Yuji Naka were present, they would immediately understand what Lin Lixin was saying.
Because the earliest representative work of dating sims was developed by Yuji Naka of Sega.
"Girl's Garden" is a song about a young girl's garden.
Players take on the role of Papri-chan, collecting flowers on the map.
In each level, players need to collect as many flowers as possible within the time limit and then present them to the boy " Mint-kun " to win his favor.
Yes, although it is very abstract and has the flavor of early 80s 8-bit video games, it did lay a basic structural prototype for later dating simulation and otome games.
If you think about it carefully, the core of these games is actually still the same thing, even in later generations, only it has been packaged in a more glamorous way.
Time management, scheduling, route selection, resource management----
Whether it's " Tokimeki Memorial " or " Princess Maker," if you really dig deep, they can actually be classified as its successors.
Back in 1987, Nintendo even released a special interactive romance Adventure game that incorporated live-action footage.
This is the legendary " Miho Nakayama's Tokimeki High School ", developed by Square and published by Nintendo.
Although many ideas could not be realized due to technological limitations, it was indeed a very experimental work in an era when Nintendo was still tinkering with its own disk drives.
However, none of these series have had as much influence on the genre as " Tokimeki Memorial " and " Princess Maker ".
Shiori Fujisaki is perhaps the earliest verifiable virtual idol in history.
This perfect girl became the supreme goddess in the hearts of countless people, and their one and only white moonlight.
"By the way, Vivian, what are your criteria for choosing a partner?"
"Ah?"
The conversation took such a dramatic turn that even Vivian was a little taken aback.
"Let me think—the most important things are definitely ability and character."
Lin Lixin nodded and wrote a few words on the paper.
[Department of Literature][Department of Science][Department of Art][Faculty]----
"What about her looks? What about her demeanor?"
"Uh—of course, it's important too."
[Appearance], [Sports] ----
Lin Lixin silently organized the notes on the paper.
Before long, a set of attribute panels was drawn up on the paper.
That's the scariest part of Tokimeki Memorial.
"Look, we're not making an Adventure game, but rather—a simulation game."
"Develop?"
"Yes, the player takes on the role of a male protagonist who needs to manage his schedule within the limited time of campus life, whether it's studying or exercising."
Joining clubs and taking part-time jobs—these actions influence the protagonist's attributes.
Upon hearing this, Vivian's eyes lit up, and she understood what Lin Lixin was trying to say.
"Using these attributes to determine whether a female character will like the protagonist? That's interesting—"
"That's right, and we can even design multiple female leads, each with different interests and hobbies. Some like those who are good at sports, some like those who are good at academics—"
Lin Lixin scribbled casually on the paper, "Due to time constraints, it's almost impossible for players to use the same strategy to conquer all the heroines. Each game requires players to adjust their strategies based on their own goals."
That's what makes " Tokimeki Memorial " so amazing.
This resource management gameplay transforms it from a simple story-driven and CG-focused game into a strategy and simulation game with considerable depth.
If you want to win over your dream girl, you really need to carefully study her interests and hobbies and constantly strive to change yourself.
At the same time, in this already tight schedule, players need to arrange their schedules as much as possible, so as not to neglect their targets, have frequent opportunities to go on dates, and also ensure that their attributes do not fall behind.
Don't be fooled by the fact that this system may seem insignificant in later times.
But in today's context----
"Genius! This is so interesting, it sounds like fun!"
Vivian was unusually excited, forgetting all the messy things from before. "But it seems there's still a problem?"
She pondered carefully the idea that Lin Lixin had just proposed.
Although it sounds complicated, a problem can easily arise when you actually play it.
That is, the game lacks depth.
Once you figure out the NPCs' preferences, whether through the manual or social media, the game's depth will be instantly erased.
There's no strategy involved; players just need to focus on developing their character to achieve their goal.
"Hey, I'm starting to think you might have a real talent for this?"
Lin Lixin looked at Vivian in surprise.
Her question was spot on, directly pointing out the most fundamental flaw in this type of gameplay.
This phenomenon isn't limited to dating simulation games; it also exists in RPGs, roguelike games, and other genres.
"If we ever make an otome game, I'll definitely make you the person in charge."
"Shaopin, do you have a solution?"
Of course.
Lin Lixin laughed heartily, "The essence of this problem is actually very simple; it's simply a matter of finding the optimal solution."
This is the key reason why video game development often requires roles such as game planners and numerical planners.
Programmer thinking is only suitable for solving problems, not for creating them.
"You see, if our system has a single optimal solution, the vast majority of players will choose it without hesitation; these are what's known as cognitive misers."
As I said before, video games are inseparable from psychology.
People tend to prefer energy conservation and using less effort to solve problems, rather than more in-depth approaches.
This phenomenon becomes even more pronounced and easier to observe in the world of video games.
Copying guides, copying equipment builds, or even directly using cheat codes.
Essentially, these are all energy-saving options.
Even though players are well aware that doing this ruins their gaming experience.
But saving on thinking costs is something ingrained in our instincts.
"Of course, there are a whole host of psychological phenomena behind this, such as loss aversion and uncertainty aversion. If we were to analyze the root causes in an academic manner, it would be an endless discussion."
Lin Lixin paused, letting Vivian briefly digest this part, "But these aren't actually the players' problems, they're the designers' problems."
"A planning problem?"
Vivian nodded thoughtfully.
The fundamental problem here is that the game has a single optimal solution.
Once it exists, players will definitely choose it.
In the context of " Tokimeki Memorial," these are the fixed and specific goals and needs of the NPCs.
As long as the requirements and the game flow are fixed, an optimal solution can be found sooner or later.
"Yes, so we must deliberately incorporate anti-optimal solution design when designing the game."
Lin Lixin said.
This is a seemingly insignificant but crucial design element in the game mechanics of Tokimeki Memorial.
Although the "anti-optimal solution system" is a completely modern game design theory.
But even in the 1980s and 90s, designers had already realized this.
How to make games more enjoyable than just rote memorization and problem-solving has always been a problem that designers are keen to solve.
Weapon durability in Breath of the Wild is like that, time management in Persona 5 is like that, Diablo's equipment setups, and the scale costs of Persona 4...
Designers have actually been trying to solve this problem for a long time.
"As for the optimal solution you're worried about in ' Tokimeki Memorial' —there's actually a very simple solution."
Lin Lixin drew a bomb on the paper, " Bomb Bomb System."
"----? You want to blow them up?"
"We'll talk about that later when we do something more quirky—cough cough, anyway, the Bomb System exists to solve the problem you're worried about."
Lin Lixin waved his hand and explained seriously, "We've broken down the concept of 'favorability,' no longer using a single, uniform value, but distinguishing it into 'favorability,' 'friendliness,' and—'sadness.'"
It's easy to understand that "liking" is simply the degree to which you're attracted to someone.
Friendliness is obviously at the level of friendship, or rather, the concept of distance or intimacy.
As for the final level of sadness----
"If a character feels neglected, or leaves a bad impression for any reason, the Bomb System may be triggered."
"And then they blow up the main character?"
"Uh... right, but wrong. You can think of it as gossip or rumors. If the bomb is detonated, it will cause the protagonist's entire social circle to collectively lose favorability."
"That's how it is—players, with their already limited time, also have to handle the maintenance and repair of relationships—"
This puts even more pressure on time.
This also prevents players from focusing on a single strategy and ignoring other characters, and enhances the presence of other characters.
More importantly, it truly brought a seemingly linear game to life.
Players' social relationships are no longer straight lines, but a dense network.
This is the true form that interpersonal relationships should take.
"If Bomb System existed in reality, I'd be about to explode right now—"
What are you saying?
Lin Lixin picked at his ear. "Never mind, that's roughly it. I've almost finished compiling the hardware information. You keep working on it, I need to go to Japan to find some experts in this field."