Chapter 472: Chapter 289: The Existence and Meaning of Open World Games (Part 2)

Thus, we have the four series names: Swordswoman, Sword Saint, Sword Demon, and Sword God.

Once the graphics card is produced, we can even collaborate with Tencent to ride the wave of popularity, which is a good thing since the new graphics card needs to gather fame to boost sales!

For the first batch of Ba Tian series graphics cards, Chen Ba has set high standards, even proposing an extremely demanding cooling design solution to optimize the immensely popular "Star Emperor 2" in bi-directional ways.

What does bi-directional optimization mean!

Besides game developers giving special attention to the "Ba Tian" series graphics card, the Ba Tian series cards will also give special care to the games under Tianba Studio. That’s what we call bi-directional optimization.

What, is this favoritism?

Favoritism it is then, since Chen Ba is both the judge and the player here, right? His own games, his own graphics card, isn’t optimization within his call?

If you’re not convinced, go make your own game and create a graphics card brand then!

...

For the development work of "Abab’s True Story," Chen Ba needs to lead people to hospitals, disability associations, and communities to understand the real situations.

It’s quite an exhausting job.

How should I put it?

Take, for instance, a disabled friend Tianba Studio connected with, who has a leg amputation and needs crutches or a wheelchair to move. In this case, motion capture becomes very challenging.

For normal games, any special action needed can be easily handled by putting someone in a motion capture suit and letting them perform a series of maneuvers.

But for "Abab’s True Story," using "prototype" motion capture doesn’t work; it’s difficult to make them wear a motion capture suit when moving is already inconvenient!

So, Chen Ba can only have a physically able motion capture actor observe real-life disabled individuals, then wear the motion capture suit to simulate the actions or trajectories.

It’s very troublesome!

Observation takes time, and then attempting to accurately recreate the performance also takes time, with every type of disability needing to go through this process.

Motion capture actors have been replaced twice...

Primarily, the workload is too large, one or two motion capture actors aren’t sufficient. So, Chen Ba recruited over a dozen, rotating them on shifts.

During this field investigation, Chen Ba had an incident that deeply moved him.

It was at the highway exit on the outskirts of Jiangning, where there was a "special" car wash operating.

Why is it special?

Because the car wash employs only disabled friends, and the owner told Chen Ba that he didn’t open the shop to make money. After deducting utilities, the remaining monthly income is distributed among the staff.

Wow!

It was the first time Chen Ba encountered such a unique car wash, and the light he saw in the owner made him feel somewhat ashamed.

The owner of this car wash truly helps disabled individuals, making his actions comparatively seem a bit superficial and insignificant.

"Can I buy a stake?"

Chen Ba suggested, "The scale of your car wash is a bit small, with only four or five employees. Why not expand the business? Open a breakfast shop or a small inn next to it?"

"Sure!"

The owner saw Chen Ba’s intentions and eagerly agreed, "Your joining can provide more job opportunities and positions for the kids. I thank you on their behalf!"

"No need to thank me, it’s my duty, considering I plan to integrate your car wash into the game; think of it as my licensing fee..."

"Integrate it into the game?"

The owner was curious because they were strangers; he truly didn’t know what Chen Ba did.

"A little introduction, I’m Chen Ba from Tianba Company!"

Chen Ba said with a smile, "I’m developing a game featuring disabled individuals as the main characters. I’m here to gain some real insight..."

Chen Ba briefed the owner about the "Abab’s True Story" project, indicating plans to add this car wash as a special game "Easter egg."

The owner was quite intrigued.

Though a man nearing his fifties, as the saying goes, men die as boys in their hearts, and even at his age, he remains curious about games.

"That’s great, I’ve never played such a game before. I’ll definitely support it once it launches!"

Regarding Chen Ba’s idea of adding the car wash into the game, the owner expressed no objection, saying it’s fine to add it if they want, as he doesn’t mind.

"Can you tell me a bit about you and your employees’ stories? For example, how you met, or how you came up with the idea to open this shop?"

Chen Ba had an idea.

He wanted not only to include this car wash in the game but also to create a hidden storyline that players could unlock only after "washing a car" there.

This hidden storyline actually introduces this real "special" car wash and narrates the story of how the owner and his "special" employees met and interacted.

Chen Ba looked forward to players wandering through the game, coming across a seemingly ordinary car wash, and then, on a whim, washing a car and triggering this storyline.

It would surely be exciting, wouldn’t it?

Especially when, at the end of the story, the game shows this shop’s real address, indicating it’s not fictional but based on reality, making it even more touching.

Indeed!

This car wash story made Chen Ba think there must be many people like this car wash owner across the country, with equally moving stories.

They might remain low-profile and not keen to publicize their deeds, hence not being reported.

If such stories could be compiled, with several similar Easter eggs set in the game, this would immensely boost players’ exploration desire!

Don’t forget...

"Abab’s True Story" is an "open-world" game, with a vast map including many realistic streets and buildings.

In normal cases, players, unless extremely curious and having a lot of time, would follow the main storyline and rarely explore the entire map.

After all, with such a large map and no specific targets, who would be idle enough to wander every corner?

Despite "GTA5" being out for so long, how many players dare say they’ve explored all of Los Santos or visited every corner of the map?

Open-world is just a façade!

Why say that?

Because in a large open-world map, many players don’t utilize it and haven’t explored it. Take Mi Family’s flagship game "Yuan God" as an example; with so many players, how many dare say they’ve traversed the complete map?

Over 80% of players, when playing an open-world, big-map game, choose to follow the "tasks" or "objectives."

Meaning, they will explore the map, but their exploration is highly purposeful—either to complete tasks or acquire materials to unlock new functions, etc.

Immersing in the game, exploring wherever, purely playing with a touring or sightseeing mindset across the entire map, sincerely greeting every NPC—such players are few and far between.

As expected...

"Abab’s True Story" will likely be the same. Despite the large map, the places players would actually explore are just those few task locations repeatedly.

Then the question arises...

If that’s the case, what’s the point of Chen Ba and his team painstakingly creating this vast open-world map?

The large map would certainly be intended for players to explore and experience. But if the players are lazy, focusing on tasks and not wanting to wander, what can be done?

Then give them a goal!

Add buildings or NPCs on the map like the "car wash" with hidden storylines, and upon unlocking, players can achieve "hidden achievements."

This is just like the "encounter" system in a certain country-style martial arts mobile game, basically encouraging players to roam the map and strive to unlock more achievements and story Easter eggs.

Having goals and benefits will motivate players to actively explore the map!

This way, the large open-world map gains existence and value, avoiding the emptiness of content seen in other open-world games, despite seemingly vast territories.