Kojima was left in the room to continue working on the color palette he loved so much.
Lin Lixin followed Cerny out and found a seat at random.
Lin Lixin enjoys chatting with this guy who cleverly blends the development cultures of both places.
Cerny didn't possess Carmack's unparalleled superb skills, nor did he have Shigeru Miyamoto's unique and masterful game design.
But he is definitely the most knowledgeable about games among those in the tech field, and the most knowledgeable about technology among those in the game industry.
This fusion endowed him with remarkable abilities.
The color palette we just saw is a typical example of projection.
He's a versatile mediator, very skilled at managing projects.
He can explain the art team's needs to the technical staff in a way they can understand.
It can also deliver the work produced by the engineering department in a way that the planners understand.
He knows how to talk to the boss, how to talk to the investors, how to talk to the workers, and how to talk to the hardware.
This is an extremely rare ability. Throughout the history of the gaming industry, very few people have been able to achieve this.
Especially in an era of rapid development in the gaming industry, projects are becoming increasingly large in scale and increasingly difficult to manage.
With development teams often numbering in the thousands, this is no longer an environment that a star producer can control.
In this historical context, it is extremely rare to find a company like Kojima Productions where Hideo Kojima can single-handedly oversee everything.
Even established producers like Hidetaka Miyazaki, Shinji Mikami, and Super Bunnyhop find it difficult to have complete control over a project.
The legendary story of " Miyazaki losing to Old Thief brutal office struggle" is not just a joke.
Therefore, for Lin Lixin, Mark Cerny's importance in Gamenova was actually surprisingly high.
Although he doesn't have a strong presence on a daily basis, unlike star players like Carmack who were deliberately packaged by him.
But when it comes to reliability, besides Sam, Lin Lixin trusts Cerny the most.
He has inherited the "steadiness of a reliable adult" that Mr. Gerald possessed.
" Carmack and I are designing a more suitable online strategy for modern players."
Lin Lixin didn't waste time with idle chatter and went straight to the point. Having just attended a brainstorming session, Cerny was well aware of this.
He didn't answer immediately, but listened silently.
"To be honest, sometimes I really don't understand what the players are thinking."
Lin Lixin sighed helplessly.
Although he himself is a player.
But he is also a living, breathing person, an independent individual.
Until he can truly ascend to become a "thought movement," he will never have the ability to "represent" others.
No matter how capable Lin Lixin is, he can only view the design of a game from his own perspective.
"As the saying goes, 'One man's meat is another man's poison,' and I believe the same applies to games. Myst received more negative reviews than I expected."
Instead of immediately bringing up Quake, he brought up Myst, a game that continues to frantically top the PC game sales charts to this day.
Honestly, even Lin Lixin himself didn't expect that the reviews of " Myst " would be so polarized.
Despite its overwhelming sales and mainstream critical acclaim, even "rational gaming media" that don't explicitly side with Gamenova have given it high scores of at least 8.5/10.
For a puzzle- Adventure game to receive such high praise is already quite an exaggeration.
However, Lin Lixin could not ignore the negative comments that also existed.
Some say it ruins the definition of an Adventure game, others say it lacks clear guidance, and still others complain that it's not told in third person and lacks a charismatic protagonist...
At this point, Lin Lixin rubbed his temples, looking quite troubled.
"To be honest, what they said makes some sense, but it's also incredibly absurd."
Sometimes game design is like that—those mechanics you rack your brains to add and design in the game.
It might even be singled out and criticized, labeled as a "design flaw".
It's truly frustrating when a creator encounters this kind of situation.
Lin Lixin could understand the reasons behind such remarks.
He barged into the private domain of Adventure game players, creating a completely different work that "made history."
Those who cherish their beloved creations and enjoy the unique tranquility within their small circles might indeed feel uncomfortable, as if their home has been rudely invaded. Myst is indeed not a conventional Adventure game, just as the media defines it.
This is a " Myst -like" game, a pioneer of the genre.
Cerny nodded.
Lin stood taller than anyone else, and could see farther than anyone else.
This is beyond doubt.
But he often finds himself unable to see what's in front of him because of this overwhelming presence, his own "magnificence" blocking his view.
Sometimes Cerny even felt that Linta was too divine and lacked humanity.
He always has an excessively high standard for perfection.
Although outsiders might not see it, they regard him as an omnipotent "god".
But those guys surrounding the "Emperor" could more or less sense the excessive pressure emanating from Lin.
Gamenova has already reached too high a position.
It is so high that it cannot afford even the slightest failure. Countless eyes are fixed on it, waiting for it to make a mistake—perhaps only once in its life, and only once.
In such an environment, even the slightest oversight, rather than a failure, can be magnified infinitely.
Lin was too tense.
"I still remember... something you said back then, Lin, which gave me a lot of inspiration when I was still confused."
Cerny pursed his lips.
"We don't need to make a game that satisfies all players, nor is it possible to do so."
This has always been the standard Lin Lixin adhered to at Gamenova, but as his personal abilities continued to expand, this golden rule began to become somewhat blurred.
"If those 'traditionalists' don't like Myst, then make a traditional Adventure game that will satisfy them. Isn't that what Mr. Lucas is doing?"
After completing the Myst project, Infocom received a significant influx of resources.
Thanks to Lin Lixin's efforts in facilitating collaborations, Infocom and Lucas are currently in talks regarding potential partnerships on Adventure games.
Lucas does have quite a few excellent scripts that aren't suitable for movies, which might inject some fresh blood into traditional Adventure games.
In a sense, this can be seen as Lin Lixin's attempt to revive the " Lucas Arts " that was inadvertently suppressed. "You're right..."
Lin Lixin nodded, his thoughts clearing somewhat.
Creating works that cater to a niche audience can easily lead to a situation where it's difficult to please everyone.
Rather than trying to please everyone and losing its original essence, it's better to do its best to satisfy the players it's meant to be with.
Players who enjoy high-difficulty challenges will naturally choose Soul Game.
Players who enjoy simple, straightforward gameplay wouldn't force themselves to farm souls.
Forcibly mixing different types will only destroy their individual characteristics.
The end result is that there is no clear type to define it, nor can a unique feature be found.
"I was somewhat influenced by later large-scale industrial games..."
Lin Lixin suddenly felt as if he had been contaminated by memes.
As the project grew larger, he inevitably developed the idea of incorporating other gameplay elements.
This kind of thinking... has a good side, but it's also very dangerous. Lin Lixin shook his head, forcing himself to calm down.
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Thank you, Cerny. I'll go think about the boss fight."
"Forest."
Just as he was about to get up and leave, Cerny suddenly called out to him.
"How?"
"I have an idea that might... provide a more quantitative solution to your problem."
Cerny stood up first, pulled Lin Lixin up, and led him to his workstation.
He quickly typed on the keyboard and brought up the GUI of a database software.
"While ' The Myst ' might not work, ' Quake ' definitely will."
Cerny turned his head and looked at Lin Lixin.
"Most players need an internet connection to play Quake."
That's true. Even in the original Quake, the main story mode felt like an extra bonus.
Most people are actually drawn to it simply because of its "multiplayer online battle" feature.
If Quake costs $50, then $40 of that is for online multiplayer.
"We can't judge whether the players' comments are any valuable, no matter how loudly they shout, it's all the same, right?"
"Um..."
"That's my thinking. Your ears can deceive you, your eyes can deceive you, even your brain can deceive you, but only data... it's highly reliable."
"You mean collecting player reviews online?"
Lin Lixin nodded thoughtfully.
This method can indeed help them quickly obtain a large number of samples.
It is far more numerous and precise than the current methods of relying on offline clubs, digital stores, and media magazine interviews.
"Of course we could do that, but if we do, we'll fall back into the same trap. Is the one who speaks the loudest always right?"
Cerny smiled and shook his head. "Besides collecting feedback, we can also... monitor players' in-game status."
At this point, Lin Lixin's eyes lit up.
He had already figured out what Cerny was planning to do.
That's exactly what I mean!
Cerny snapped his fingers, looking excited.
If players flood magazines with complaints about the design flaws of a certain level, large sample data shows that the vast majority of players solved it easily.
Therefore, this part of the feedback is not particularly valuable for reference.
vice versa.
In this way, the precise big data samples, combined with the original evaluations that were heavily influenced by subjective emotions, become much more valuable for developers.
It can even play a crucial role.
"Player feedback shouldn't be used to find solutions, but rather to generate questions that developers can ask themselves!"