"How to turn failure into fun?"
It's easy to understand in theory, but actually doing it is a difficult task.
David, at least for now, hasn't come up with any good solutions.
Failure is fun, which means the negative feedback isn't strong enough.
Problems with negative feedback mean that the game's lifespan is short and it lacks challenge.
These seem to be completely contradictory and unable to coexist.
"You mean... to manage negative feedback effectively, turning it into a stepping stone to success, like a knowledge lock?"
Kitchen didn't quite understand Lin Lixin's meaning either, and could only guess based on his own understanding.
If we had to name a game that perfectly blends negative feedback with fun, then...
Games that rely on knowledge locks, or what could be called " Castlevania Metroid- like" games, can probably be categorized in this way.
Every failure is a process of accumulating knowledge.
Although we failed, the knowledge we gained is enough to overcome this challenge. Or rather, it's like the newly released " Return of the Obra Dinn ".
Each backtracking is short, and guesses can be wrong.
But every failure is a process of accumulating clues.
Even if you guess wrong, it's still part of the process of elimination.
If he were to choose examples of "failure is fun," these would probably be them.
"No, no, no, aren't you overcomplicating things?"
Lin Lixin waved his hand.
In fact, the Papa's Series has a very simple approach to problem-solving.
Would you be very upset if the rating was low?
Why not find a way to create some positive feedback to offset this negative feedback?
"We don't just present a simple score; instead, we consider it in conjunction with the customer's actual performance."
"Uh, how so?" "When customers receive the finished product, they will make different expressions based on their ratings, and the scores will be generated along with their expressions."
Compared to text, the human brain tends to prioritize visual cues.
The human brain even has a specially evolved recognition system for facial information, much like a dedicated functional circuit in a processor.
It does not rely on general computing, but instead depends on the fusiform face region (FFA), enabling the human brain to process face recognition at a very high speed.
In a sense, the human brain, as a "wet device," is far superior to semiconductors in terms of facial recognition performance.
Theoretically speaking, this can be achieved through meticulous animation layer design down to the millisecond level, and special arrangement of visual layers.
Designers have complete and precise control over how players' vision perceives information.
Like those light-colored texts hidden in the publicity materials.
It's right there, but it's always automatically filtered out when you scan it, while the large blocks of text in accent color are captured by the user word for word.
And this is combined with the scoring system...
Boom! The core mechanics of the Papa's Series were thus born.
"We can exaggerate, cartoonize, and make comedic out of the guests' expressions and actions. When we serve a pizza that is perfect and amazing in every detail, the guests will raise their hands and cheer. On the contrary..." Lin Lixin grabbed a notebook and pretended it was a pizza box.
He forced an expectant expression onto his face and slowly lifted it.
David and Kitchen stared intently at his face.
suddenly.
Lin Lixin's lips twitched downwards, and his eyebrows drooped as well.
His face fell, looking utterly disappointed. His expectant smile froze on his face, making him look worse than crying.
"Pfft... I see, you can do that?!"
Kitchen slapped his thigh and burst into laughter.
I see!
No wonder Mr. Lin said they were overcomplicating things.
The solution was actually that simple?
Each customer is given a unique portrait with their own hilarious, exaggerated expression. It's quite amusing to see them suffer from their own "masterpiece."
"It's like... like a prank! Players will even deliberately make the pizzas awful so they can laugh at them!"
"That's right!"
Lin Lixin also laughed heartily.
Can failure become interesting?
sure!
And it's much simpler than they imagined.
If we really want to trace the origins of this technique, it's not easy to find its creator.
Because this practice was already widespread during the era when browser games were the mainstream.
However, if we look at it from a different perspective, the animation and comedy industries have already conducted in-depth research on this topic.
Exaggerate the character's failures and subject him to some "torture".
Viewers not only won't find it offensive, but they'll actually find it quite interesting. As for the Flash era, this had practically become standard practice for casual games.
This may be related to the fact that many animators entered the game industry through Flash.
Flash's architecture destined it to be very popular with them.
And they did indeed inject fresh blood into video games.
Besides the Papa's Series, Jacksmith is also an excellent example of turning failure into fun.
Like the Papa's Series, it is a work by fliplinestudios.
In this game, players take on the role of a blacksmith, tasked with crafting various weapons for warriors.
Once the cycle is over, the warriors will use these weapons to fight the enemy.
The better their weapons, the stronger their combat power, and vice versa.
Similarly, when weapons are delivered, these soldiers will give different evaluations of the weapons and make comical expressions.
This led to the emergence of some very unorthodox ways of playing.
They deliberately smashed the knife until it looked like a pile of trash, watching their embarrassed expressions and the effect of being slapped away by the monster. Don't let it fool you now.
This tactic was incredibly popular back then.
Even today, you can still occasionally find funny videos on various video platforms of people deliberately making their characters look terrible while playing these games.
There were also quite a few imitators afterward.
For example, Blacksmith: Ignite the Forge has a crafting system similar to Jack the Donkey.
However, the reviews were overwhelmingly negative.
Because the system is extremely complex, it has added a lot of unnecessary features, but it's not fun, and it also removes the dramatic elements that come with delivery.
This turns the entire game into a skill-based game where players test their abilities to obtain monotonous and tedious panel data.
A classic case of blindly imitating someone else.
This is also the key reason why Lin Lixin has always insisted on having them simplify their work.
The more clearly defined the core enjoyment of a game is, the more it should adhere to its foundation and continuously build upon it.
"Ding-dong!" Just then, the pizza finally arrived.
Dozens of pizzas were piled up like a small mountain and carefully delivered by the delivery person.
It's okay if you can't finish it. You can send it to another studio next door. There's always a way to solve the problem.
After the meal.
While the developers were enjoying pizza and discussing game design details, Lin Lixin called David and Kitchen over and went to the empty room next door alone.
" Activision needs an IP that can be operated in the long term."
As soon as he sat down, Lin Lixin didn't waste any words and went straight to the point.
The current Activision is not the Kotick version of Activision.
Although they are both called "activities," their core developers are completely different people.
If they really wanted to make a Call of Duty game, Lin Lixin should have approached Infinityward Studios, not people like David.
This group of developers, who have been with us since the Atari era, are truly skilled in the realm of casual games. This " Papa's Pizzeria " project can be seen as part of his preparations for his future internet strategy.
With the increasing popularity of the Internet and faster internet speeds, web games are destined to have their own place in the future.
Lin Lixin didn't have a definite answer as to how long this period could last.
As online games, PC games, mobile games, and single-player games continue to seize the market, and digital stores mature, browser games will eventually come to an end.
But at least for a long time to come, browser games will remain the mainstay of free entertainment.
"You mean... turning Papa's Pizzeria into a game series?"
The two men weren't fools; they naturally understood what Lin Lixin meant by saying such things at this time.
"Yes, the Papa's Series. Same formula, we can make milkshakes, Hamburg, fried chicken, tacos, hot dogs, Donut... anything! We want to make Papa's a representative of 'kitchen simulation games.'"
This is also what Gamenova likes to do most: seize the right to define.
The adults' malicious intentions.
Regardless of how kitchen simulation games develop in the future.
Whenever the concept of kitchen simulation games is mentioned, the name "Papa's" immediately comes to mind for players. This subtle influence is quite terrifying.
Once the Papa's Series became synonymous with this type of game, the value of this IP was realized.
What's even more frightening is that it cannot be replicated.
If you don't grasp the essence, then it loses its appeal.
I've grasped the essence, yet it's instantly recognizable as part of the Papa's Series.
"If it works out, we could even spin off this group into a separate studio, specializing in this one area. Furthermore... we could also create a dedicated game portal, listing all web games."
"Oh my god..."
If what happened before was about vying for the right to define kitchen simulation games, then what happened now is about vying for the right to define the concept of web games.
Imagine what it would be like if, in the future, all internet users had to visit their website to find their favorite browser games?
Without needing to say more, David had already envisioned what that future would look like.
What does Activision do?
Besides making games, they have another very important role. Activision is the only top-tier publisher under Gamenova with publishing rights, and the studio resources they control are terrifying.
If they could have their own gaming website...
It's equivalent to a store where you can control which games are placed on the shelves and where.
Moreover, it's a shop that all players will pass by.
If we had to make a comparison, it's like the music charts in the gaming world...
This morning, when David heard Lin Lixin say that he was going to make a web game, David was still wondering how to commercialize the game.
Now, the answer is quite obvious.
There will be money, lots and lots of money, so much money that you'll count it until your hands are sore!