chsdbacks Page 444
Page 444
[The producer of "White Cat Project" leads the team to release the brand-new match-3 card ARPG mobile game "Starfire Maze" for both PC and mobile platforms]
[What key takeaways were covered in the 30-minute Spark Japan Direct?]
[President Lin personally breaks down the puzzle, explaining why Puzzle & Dragons doesn't work.]
[Starfire Maze Ushers in a New Era of Card Giveaways: One Free Draw for Daily Login?]
[With 52 companies collaborating, "Starfire Maze" sets a new record for collaborative achievements.]
[News: Puzzle & Dragons has fallen out of the top ten best-selling games. What makes Starfire Maze so appealing?]
A flurry of media reports followed.
Chen Zhou finally understood: it turned out that Spark held an online Spark Direct meeting this morning, which was basically a response to the public opinion over the past few days.
He urged everyone to be rational, and then casually threw out a new pie in the sky.
"It's just a message, is it really that big of a deal?"
This was Chen Zhou's first reaction.
"Click to see what this Lin guy is really up to."
Chapter 538 Spark Japan Direct Meeting
This is the Spark Japan Direct.
It's not a large-scale operation.
The venue was chosen to be the studio at Spark Japan.
The studio's decor is similar to that of China, with only minor differences in details. However, the guests who have appeared in this studio can truly be considered all-stars.
Lin Li's variety show promotion plan was also being implemented simultaneously in Japan, and compared to China, Japan had a greater abundance of talent in this area.
There are also more programs.
There are several regular audio programs featuring the games under Spark. These programs don't all exclusively broadcast Spark games. There's also a program called "Spark GAME Research Association," which features a group of voice actors playing other games on the Spark platform.
In addition, there is "A Miraculous Moment of Cosplay," which invites several guests each episode and randomly selects a few lucky audience members from among the employees of Spark Japan to cosplay characters.
Then the photographer and makeup artist have to work together to capture the "miracle moment," which is a photo that makes people look amazing.
The highlight of this show, to put it simply, is ordinary people dressing up.
Since the models were all employees of Xinghuo, they looked quite ordinary, and some could even be described as somewhat unattractive, but through makeup and styling, they were able to capture a "miraculous moment."
The contrast between before and after is what makes it interesting.
As for the voting for the voice actor guests, that was secondary.
Many of these iconic scenes have become famous not only among audiences, but also throughout Japan, China, and even the world.
For example, in one episode, a programmer from Spark Engine was balding. The photographer and makeup artist put on wigs and hats, but the photos they took were not ideal.
These failed "miracles" drew constant laughter from the audience. In the end, after the photographer and programmer finished communicating, they simply shaved off all the remaining hair and then cosplayed as One-Punch Man.
Goodness, this cosplay is absolutely amazing.
Although his face doesn't actually look quite like his, after shaving his head, he looks remarkably similar.
It relies on this contrast.
He won the championship that period.
Moreover, clips of this video went viral across the internet.
This programmer later went to other TV stations in Japan and was hailed as the most One-Punch Man cosplayer in Japan. Even the author of One-Punch Man came to take a photo with him.
With that level of popularity, she could easily debut as a comedian.
However, after showing off for a while, this programmer returned to Xinghuo and continued to be a programmer, only occasionally making guest appearances on other Xinghuo programs.
The emergence of these programs greatly accelerated the idolization of Japanese voice actors.
Because these programs are all new additions.
Voice actors have more opportunities to appear on screen, and their popularity is growing faster.
This is why Japanese voice actors have been so enthusiastic in supporting Spark Program.
Some Japanese fans have even dubbed Spark Japan's performance division the sixth largest broadcasting station in Japan.
There are even many Japanese voice actor fans who download the Spark platform's app and PC version not to play games, but simply to watch high-definition programs.
These people also recommend each other. Whenever a new voice actor fan joins the fandom, the Spark platform, an app that seems completely unrelated, is always recommended by the veterans.
"The current mainstream voice actor program apps have high resolution and global interaction capabilities, so they are a must-download."
"By the way, you can also watch Chinese and Western voice actresses."
"Teaching you how to use the Spark Platform APP, Part 3: How to view past programs."
Thanks to the tireless efforts of this group, now whenever someone searches for voice actor programs on any channel in Japan, the pop-up ads mostly recommend the inexplicable app, Spark Platform.
Spark's Japan Direct was also broadcast live on this platform.
Of course, it also promotes NCNC and Bilibili.
The 30-minute Direct presentation didn't actually cover much.
Just a few minutes ago, I thanked the players for their support and made a pretentious appeal to Japanese players to spend money rationally and not to go crazy spending money just because Spark is the savior of Japanese games. Please don't do that!
The second half is just empty promises.
And this might be the most outrageous promise Xinghuo has ever made.
Because this time, "Starfire Maze" has neither a PV nor a gameplay demo.
It's basically Lin Li and Asai Daiki making empty promises based on some original drawings.
A PowerPoint presentation game in the literal sense.
Judging from the format of the program alone, it seems quite boring.
But anyone who has seen the video...
Without exception, they were all trapped.
The word "trapped" has two meanings.
On the one hand, the program format is very novel.
Especially the numerous empty promises.
There are people in this world who can evoke emotions simply by speaking, and Lin Li is no exception.
With just a few slides, I'll explain from a game design perspective why this approach is fun.
This is in addition to Linli's previous successful experience.
This will convince players that it's a fun game.
Besides making empty promises, Lin Li also spent a few minutes analyzing why Puzzle & Dragons is profitable.
The number of comments in this segment is also incredibly high. As the originator of the modern mobile game gacha/card drawing system, Puzzle & Dragons has a lot of experience in monetization.
If Puzzle & Dragons, which was just released in 13, still had some merit, then by 18, the gameplay hadn't evolved at all.
However, various methods of tricking people into spending money are constantly being upgraded.
Furthermore, given that long-term operation was never considered from the outset, the numerical system of Puzzle & Dragons can be described as quite unconventional.
Especially in 18.
Many cards in the game are identical except for their illustrations; the only difference is their numerical multipliers.
It is a complete substitution between superordinate and subordinate.
Once the new card is released, the old one can be thrown in the trash.
With so many cards like this, players naturally won't accept it.
Therefore, the only way to get players to spend money is through collaborations that generate popularity, coupled with ever-increasing numerical values.
These things are actually considered quite normal within the industry.
However, the deeper Lin Li explained the demolition, the more it seemed that the developers of Puzzle & Dragons were deliberately trying to squeeze money out of the players' pockets.
This breakdown continues until the very end.
Lin Li said with a smile.
“We at Spark do not do this kind of thing. Using numbers to stimulate gacha pulls may be effective, but it does not actually fit the long-term operation strategy.”
Lin Li's judgment is based on evidence.
In anime-style games, a character's value must remain stable at a certain level to incentivize players to spend money.
Otherwise, if each version has its own meta, then there will be a new god-tier game.
It appears to have boosted current revenue.
But players will immediately ask another fundamental question: since you're expanding the game so quickly, why should I pull for the current character? If I do, it'll be relegated to the bottom tier in the next version.
Is it still worth the effort to draw a ticket?
Chapter 539 Fatal Blow
If numerical values are not used, can players be allowed to draw new characters?
The answer is yes.
Mingchao's long departure is a case in point.
As characters who appear in the same version but not on screen, Jinxi and Changli are respectively.
In terms of sheer strength, Jinxi is clearly stronger, but Changli's flowing water is no worse than Jinxi's.
Narrative, characters, mechanics, and attack animations can all stimulate consumption.
In the second half of the anniversary celebration of Dust White Forbidden Zone, five-star Fanny is given away for free, and the skin alone has managed to climb the best-selling list.
This is also one piece of evidence.
This is still before Chen Bai has developed many characters, but he provides good service, has a proper writing style, knows what players want, and is able to make money.
To put it bluntly, what is the core of profitability for anime-style games?
It's cooking power.
It's for love.
If we abandon this approach and simply focus on increasing stats and forcing players to spend money based on strength, wouldn't that just be going back to the old ways?
It's not that the values can't be adjusted.
Numerical values are a great tool for games to attract players to spend money. Many games, such as Battlefront Girls, Arknights, and others, even include Three-Body Problem.
After all, the Trisolarans can sometimes be a great way to attract new players.
Can be a problem.
You can't just keep exploiting a tool because you think it's useful; everything has its limits.
Puzzle & Dragons is a typical example of this: holding onto the toad and constantly pulling it out.
So why can these kinds of games continue to rip people off?
It's actually quite simple, because Puzzle & Dragons took a different approach and chose a different path.
This road is called "interconnection".
I don't produce cooking power; I'm just a transporter of it.
Thanks to its collaboration with Puzzle & Dragons, it managed to survive for 24 years.
This is the survival rule of Puzzle & Dragons.
Once you understand this, it's much easier to stab someone in the back.
Throughout the entire preview live stream.
Lin Li also announced the pay-to-win system for "Starfire Maze".