This at least establishes the general tone of the game.
The next step was to design the puzzle.
Although the development team is small, they are actually full of talent in this field.
While the developers at gamenova's headquarters are all top-notch in the industry, it's not necessarily the right people to have them design puzzles.
The ability to cleverly integrate a puzzle with its environment, story, and worldview is a true test of a designer's skill.
If the skills are not refined enough, or if it's just a perfunctory job...
That would be an absolute disaster.
Take Uncle Leon, for example, who can send zombies flying two miles with a single flying kick.
When faced with a small cart that you can easily tip over with a lift of your leg, you need to find a way to move the cart away or simply take a detour.
Bro, are you serious?
I think it's because the virus integrated too deeply, causing him to transform into an immortal being and thus lose his knee.
Sometimes, even though a single shot could easily break the lock, they stubbornly keep searching for keys. Seriously, even the much-criticized Assassin's Creed Mythology trilogy handles this much better.
The puzzles in Biohazard are often just a way to buy time.
They constantly try to slow down the player's progress, creating a pre-designed sense of tension.
In an unsettling environment, people inevitably want to leave as soon as possible.
That's the purpose of these puzzles.
It makes it difficult for people to leave quickly.
Essentially, it's just the same design as an escape room.
Create tension.
The handling of puzzles in Biohazard is so crude that it creates a strange sense of disjointedness.
After all, what kind-hearted person would design a mechanism on the door that requires inserting a badge to open it when building a house?
While both films deal with mystery, The Myst's handling of this aspect is absolutely brilliant.
This is the true essence that later "myst-like" games have found difficult to imitate. Many successors, envious of Myst's success, have all jumped on this interactive video genre.
However, the finished products were never quite satisfactory.
Playing it gives you a sense of dislocation, like it's similar in form but not in spirit.
This indicates a problem with the puzzle design.
Why is The Myst so amazing?
Because all the puzzles are perfectly integrated with the entire world.
It doesn't rely on simplicity to allow Volkswagen players to easily complete the game; on the contrary, it has a considerable difficulty level and requires a certain amount of brainpower.
But all the puzzles are designed perfectly and don't feel abrupt.
The button isn't responding?
It seems there's no electricity, but by following the nearby power lines, you can find the solution to the power problem.
In solving this problem, we may also gain new clues that could be used to solve problems we couldn't understand before, or that may be useful in the future.
The clues are all interconnected, one link leading to another. Each clue acts like a hook, enticing the player to keep exploring.
Meanwhile, the entire world meticulously prepared by the designers is gradually unfolding before the players.
This is a narrative technique that, while fragmented, is extremely coherent.
Many imitators have stumbled and fallen because of this.
The puzzle designed is too complex to explain in a few words.
They're either so easy you want to complain, or so difficult you can't beat them without a guide.
Moreover, most of the difficult problems present a strange sense of disconnect.
It's like designing a world first, only to realize you need to add a puzzle here.
It's as if the designer, after completing the entire world, suddenly slapped their forehead.
"Holy crap, the game time seems too short!"
Although there is no 2-hour refund mechanism in this era, designers have long suffered from a severe fear of insufficient game time.
So they start stuffing random, inexplicable things into the game, calling it "enriching the game content."
It's like the difference between one-piece molding and welding.
It lacks that natural, seamless quality.
Those who only learned the form created something like. "Brother, please, play this puzzle! I designed it specially, it's really fun!"
And what about myst?
It gives people a very unique feeling.
It's like...
Those mechanisms weren't just placed there by the designer; they actually exist in this world.
In the past, there really was such an ancient Civilization that built these things here.
On the path of puzzle design.
There are not many successors who can truly inherit the spirit of "myst".
Aside from its own sequel series like Riven and the remakes made with Unreal Engine after the turn of the millennium, games like * What Remains of Edith Finch * and * Return of the Obra Dinn * are also excellent titles.
The most representative of these is probably the Rusty Lake series.
Unfortunately, most of the Rusty Lake series still uses 2D graphics and does not inherit the design paradigm of the huge otherworld of Myst.
This was truly a slap in the face to all those who imitated "myst".
There's no need to worry about that.
After listening to Lin Lixin's account, Lucas smiled and waved his hand.
This is exactly what he and Spielberg usually do.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a film series that doesn't follow the rules.
Lucas was already used to designing an entire lost ancient Civilization behind a single treasure.
"I understand what you're worried about, Mr. Lin. Don't worry, working backwards is our specialty."
Spielberg chimed in, as if to prove his strength, and immediately tried to show off his wrist to Lin Lixin.
"You see, we don't design puzzles directly. Instead, we let the Civilization take shape first, and then deduce what it should contain based on the Civilization's lifestyle."
As he spoke, he gestured to Lin Lixin.
"For example, if we design a Civilization that lives in trees, they would probably need to install some windmills and waterwheels to obtain energy."
"Then we can design a puzzle to repair the windmill, and figure out a way to open up the water storage system so that water flows through the watermill..."
Upon hearing this, Lin Lixin's eyes lit up.
The older generation really knows how to do things; look at their intuition, they learn it so quickly.
Instead of bombarding players with thick stacks of concept art and a lot of text, everything unfolds naturally.
Just like real-world buildings.
Every region and every Civilization has its own distinct architectural style.
The building itself is actually the answer to the puzzles solved by the older generation of upright apes.
Why are most Japan made of wood or lightweight structures? Because earthquakes are frequent.
Why do Southeast Asia favor raised floors and sloping roofs with large eaves?
This was naturally due to the extreme humidity and torrential rain.
In cold places, small windows and thick walls are used; in areas rich in stone, stone is used extensively; and in areas with bamboo, bamboo is used extensively...
Geographical environment, resource output, technological level, cultural system, social structure...
The style of an architecture does not arise out of thin air.
When it appears in a reasonable place and in a reasonable location, it naturally possesses a sense of beauty.
That's how puzzles work in games.
Appropriate and reasonable.
Only after ensuring this foundation is secured should we consider difficulty and density.
"Okay, now that the general direction is set, shall I take the props team to set up the film studio?"
Seeing that Lin Lixin seemed quite satisfied with the current discussion, Lucas immediately made a suggestion. This project was even more important to him than to Gamenova.
This might elevate the Raiders of the Lost Ark franchise to a new level, making it a truly unprecedented and unparalleled world's number one Adventure IP.
"Hmm... Hey? I have a bold idea..."
Lin Lixin's eyes lit up.
"Shall we... find a place and build an island?"
Lucas and Spielberg stared at each other, bewildered.
"Buy... buy an island? To build a playground? Like the mansion in Biohazard?"
"Oh, of course not."
Lin Lixin shook his head.
Even if Gamenova is incredibly wealthy, they wouldn't do things like this.
Not to mention that the territory near California is basically owned by California and not sold privately. Even if it were, the cost would be too high.
Not to mention the costs of subsequent traffic improvements and dock construction.
This is a bottomless pit.
"It doesn't need to be too big, it doesn't even need to be an island. We can just find a river Delta of suitable size in the Sacramento River or somewhere nearby."
Lin Lixin considered the feasibility in his mind and continued:
"After all, we're just gathering materials; we don't need to actually build a deserted island. Being close to the riverbank doesn't really matter."
Unlike the luxurious offshore islands that the super-rich build, a river Delta is much cheaper.
The downside is that it's close to the riverbank and doesn't offer the beautiful scenery of the sea.
It's less of a deserted island and more like someone's run-down farm.
But for the film industry, such a Delta is more than enough.
More importantly, everything doesn't need to start from scratch, and there's no need to consider issues like docks and transportation, significantly reducing development costs.
"The total area doesn't actually need to be particularly large. If we exclude the buffer zone and use trees to block the view, then roughly... a core area of 200 acres per island would be enough," Lin Lixin calculated quickly.
Considering that Myst is actually composed of multiple chapters, each of which is a completely different " Anno " with vastly different styles.
Theoretically, they actually need to acquire several Delta in one go.
"I think we could take this opportunity to create a film and television base exclusively for Lucasfilm, or rather, for Gamenova, Delta Islands consisting of six or seven Delta."
According to California state regulations, much of these Delta Islands are actually agricultural land.
The rent can be negotiated very reasonably, and there might even be a chance to negotiate a 99-year lease.
If we can convince the California government to treat it as a cultural and tourism project, theoretically we could further reduce prices and secure substantial Support in transportation resources and infrastructure.
Lucas continued thinking along Lin Lixin's lines of thought.
Given Gamenova's current influence, let's discuss this kind of project...
"It seems... it might actually work?"
After calculating the expenses, it wasn't surprisingly scary.
For such a large-scale project, the initial investment would only require around $100 million to complete the entire project. This includes the cost of the Delta and its construction, as well as various miscellaneous expenses.
Incidentally, it can also secure a mega-scale construction project for the Umbrella Corporation.
It's incredibly cheap.
Especially considering that the entire California Delta region is located in Northern California, it is naturally close to Gamenova, whose headquarters are in the Northern California Bay Area.
This gives Gamenova a presence in California that essentially covers the Delta region, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Los Angeles area in Southern California Los Angeles.
"This is basically... a digital entertainment industrial park."
Lucas muttered, almost drooling from the corner of his mouth.