Arriving at the airport pick-up hall, Gu Sheng immediately saw a placard printed in standard Chinese among the people picking up the airport—
[Welcome Mr. Gu Sheng to Japan]
For a moment, I thought I had become the protagonist in Teacher Guo's cross talk.
Who the hell taught you to write signs like this?
I can understand that you wrote the sign in Chinese out of courtesy, but this sign...is too ambiguous?
I stepped forward bravely and saw a neon girl in formal and elegant clothes holding a sign, holding a bouquet of flowers in her arms.
It's strange that although Huaguo and Neon are both Asians, Gu Sheng can still tell the difference between the Huaguo girl and the Sakura girl at a glance.
He himself couldn't explain why.
"What are you doing? I'm Gu Sheng."
Arriving in front of the reception girl, Gu Sheng stretched out his hand.
Gu Sheng's Japanese is a bit lame. After all, he hasn't learned much. He can barely speak a few words when he's new here. He still uses English for daily communication.
"Ah...ah! Hai hai hai! What a waste of time!"
Obviously, Gu Sheng's youthfulness far exceeded the expectations of the girl who came to pick him up at the airport.
After being stunned for a moment, the reception girl quickly stepped forward, gave the bouquet to Gu Sheng, and bowed:
"Hello Mr. Gu, please bear with me if I'm far away! (English)"
Then, he put away the sign and made an invitation gesture towards Gu Sheng:
"All senior executives from Moritani and the Game Affairs Department are waiting for you outside. Please come with me."
"Very beautiful flowers, thank you, thank you."
Gu Sheng took the bouquet, smiled and nodded, raising his hand to signal the pick-up ceremony and leading the way.
All the way out of the pick-up hall, when he was approaching the door, Gu Sheng had already seen the top management of Comela waiting outside.
The leader is none other than Tetsuya Moritani, the managing director of Comela Game Business.
On his left and right sides were Secretary Inoue Sanaeko and Game Department Director Higashinoda.
Behind the three people, there were five or six people, all wearing black suits, white shirts and ties, standing next to three black cars.
There are two cars at the front and rear, and a business MPV in the middle.
From a distance, it looks like a gangster.
Oh no, it doesn't look like a gangster, it seems that Comella really has that background.
Gu Sheng complained in his mind and walked out of the airport along the opened electric door.
On the opposite side, Moritani came up with his secretary and ministers warmly:
"Hello, hello, Mr. Gu, I apologize for the loss of your welcome."
"No, Mr. Moritani is too polite,"
Gu Sheng shook hands with Moritani and others:
“I’ve heard about Comela for a long time, and now I’m honored to be able to come to Neon to start cooperation.”
Be polite.
When the two parties meet for business cooperation, it is inevitable to exchange pleasantries.
Coupled with Neon's unique politeness, the two sides bowed to each other and exchanged greetings for five minutes before Moritani reached out and asked Gu Sheng to get in the car:
"It's not convenient for us to talk here. Gu Sang, please get in the car. Let's go to your hotel first."
The industry in Comela is huge.
It is said to be a comprehensive digital entertainment company, but in fact it is involved in hotels, clubs, film and television, comprehensive entertainment and other industries.
And this is also the future development direction of Golden Wind - a pan-game entertainment company with games as the main body, multiple industry branches in parallel, and all-round and three-dimensional profits.
We had a few brief conversations on the way, mostly on topics unrelated to game cooperation.
After about ten minutes' drive, the convoy arrived at the Dongjin Bay Intercontinental Hotel diagonally opposite the Comella Company Building.
This is a luxury four-star hotel invested by Comella, and a luxurious executive suite was specially arranged for Gu Sheng.
Arriving in Neon on the first day, it was a tiring journey and journey. No matter how anxious Comella was, it was impossible to say that Gu Sheng would take up his post immediately.
Take half a day off.
In the evening, Gu Sheng was invited to attend the reception banquet specially arranged for him by the top management of Comela.
…
During the dinner, the two parties had a few drinks, and Moritani spoke:
"We have already reviewed the trial version of the project that Gu Sang sent us before, and we are astonished by it."
Yes, just after buying business trip supplies with Xiao Nezha yesterday, Gu Sheng spent an afternoon sorting out the PT plan.
After all, it is a trial version, and the overall game process is not long. In addition, it has system assistance and is very fast.
The entire plan only lasts about ten pages, so taking advantage of last night and this afternoon, Moritani and others also took the time to conduct two rounds of observation and discussion.
The unanimous conclusion reached is - Si Guoyi.
Here I have to mention the consistent horror game settings in this world.
Generally speaking, the design root logic of a horror game is to concretize the abstract concept of fear and express it through pictures.
For example, create a female ghost, design a monster, etc., so that the "conceptual fear" falls on the "concrete entity" and is actually placed in front of the players.
But PT is different.
Although it also materializes fear, it designs freaks and the female ghost Lisa.
However, through closed spaces, the design of scare points, fragmented information full of metaphorical hints, and increasingly bizarre scene changes, the "conceptual fear" is extracted from the "concrete entity" and imprinted on it.
In the hearts of players.
The double shackles of fear, both physical and psychological.
This method is definitely not something that just any designer can achieve.
Even Higashinoda, who has served as the head of the Comela Game Division for many years, couldn't help but bluntly said - this demo version alone is enough to firmly establish Gu Sheng as the "Father of Psychological Horror".
Undoubtedly, this gave everyone in Comella a shocking understanding of Gu Sheng's strength, and at the same time, their confidence in this IP doubled.
A sincere compliment is essential.
In addition, Moritani is more concerned about:
"So in terms of the game itself, is Gu Sang also planning to continue this style and expand and extend this complicated and confusing story?"
Hearing this, Gu Sheng nodded, then shook his head:
"The style will definitely continue, after all, this is the main tone of our IP,"
"But the story is no longer what it is, or not quite what it is."
ah???
As soon as this statement came out!
Everyone in Comela exclaimed softly and were all a little dazed!
What does Gu Sang mean by this?
The official version no longer continues the story of PT, or it is not entirely the story of PT!
Could it be that PT is just a story line he drew up for the trial version?
The main plot chapter is actually deeper and broader than this one?
"Uh... private Marseille Gu Sang,"
Moritani was also a little confused, raised his hand and said:
"Please forgive me for being stupid and not fully understanding what Gu Sang said. Can you explain it in detail?"
Following Moritani's words, everyone in Comella also put down their chopsticks, as if they were all listening.
"……parallel,"
Gu Sheng thought for a moment and raised his chopsticks:
"Just like these two chopsticks,"
"The demo version of Silent Hill, also known as "PT", will tell the story of an obscure murder case in the form of puzzle solving,"
"And the official version to be released later is also caused by a murder case,"
"What I want to do is to make these two chopsticks independent of each other, but -"
Speaking of which.
Gu Sheng stretched out his chopsticks, made a pinching motion, and touched the tips of the chopsticks together:
"Different paths lead to the same destination."
hiss--!!!
As soon as these words came out, everyone at the table took a deep breath and felt like they had goosebumps!
Gu Sheng's idea was even more terrifying than PT!
madman!
Simply crazy!
Everyone here is from the gaming industry, they all understand gaming, and they all understand what Gu Sheng is talking about.
The design of the demo version is crazy enough!
but!
In Gu Sheng's opinion, this is far from crazy enough!
Two parallel paths but different paths to the same goal!
God knows how complex such an architecture is!
In fact, in their opinion, this trial version is enough to support an entire game. In Gu Sheng's opinion, it is just an appetizer independent of the official version!
That is to say!
This "PT" not only ensures that the psychological horror characteristics of Silent Hill are fully demonstrated, but also ensures that an obscure story can be told in a limited time. It also ensures that this story is outside the main line but related to the main line!
This is equivalent to a player using Neymar's iconic rainbow pass, completing Messi's one-pass seven, and finally scoring a goal with a big Ibrahimovic-style volley!
incredible.
It can even be said to be incredible!
"This this……"
Moritani felt his scalp numb!
This kind of game design idea has never been heard of by him!
For a moment, I couldn’t help but grin!
"This...please forgive me, Gu Sang, is this design too complicated?"
Gu Sheng chuckled lightly.
He knew that what Moritani asked was not 'is it complicated', but 'can you do it'.
After all, his train of thought just now revealed four big words inside and out—
I want them all!
But such a design is undoubtedly a double-edged sword!
After playing it, start a sect and a demo version will shock the market!
If you can't play well and become a mess, you might as well just follow the rules!
Gu Sheng was very confident about this.
Of course I can’t do it, haha!
But Hideo Kojima can.
I can ask God.
"Please rest assured, Mr. Moritani,"
Gu Sheng smiled and said:
"After all, the reputation of the trial version will also greatly affect our future cooperation on the game itself."
call--
Moritani breathed a sigh of relief.
The fact that Gu Sheng can say this shows that he is very confident in his plan.
"Then we'll see."
As he spoke, Moritani raised his glass and toasted Gu Sheng.
After talking about the general idea, both parties put down their wine glasses, and Gu Sheng asked:
"Oh, by the way, Mr. Moritani, how's the budget going?"
Budget.
The most important part of game development.
Previously, Golden Wind had several rounds of discussions with Comella regarding the development cost of PT.
At the beginning, Comella offered PT a cost of 1 million knives, which is approximately 7 million yuan.
This budget is no longer low.
After all, the original intention of this Silent Hill project was just to enrich the game types of Comela in Dongjin Electronics.
However, after Gu Sheng heard this budget, he shook his head repeatedly.
not enough.
You know, he has high expectations for this game, and he wants the best results in terms of picture quality and overall experience.
If you want the best results, you need to further increase your budget.
As a result, after discussions with Comella, the budget was increased to 1.5 million knives.
But such a budget still cannot meet Gu Sheng's expected requirements.
In this regard, Gu Sheng also said——
Originally, as the special chief game director and a labor dispatcher "seconded" to Comella, it was not convenient for him to dictate the budget of the trial version.
After all, the production cost of the demo version has nothing to do with their Golden Wind, it is all decided by Comella.
If you pay 1 million dollars, I will create the effect of 1 million dollars. If you offer 500,000 dollars, I will create the effect of 500,000 dollars.
but.
It is worth noting that the effect of the trial version and player feedback will directly affect the sales of the main game.
The more amazing our demo version is, the higher the sales of the official version will be.
The original concept of Silent Hill perfectly matched the psychological horror that I am best at.
I have confidence and my ability to take this IP to an unprecedented level, and even make it a milestone in the history of somatosensory cabin horror games and one of the greatest works.
And this depends on the budget.
As soon as Gu Sheng said these words!
Moritani felt numb at that time!
It’s not because Gu Sheng’s words are crazy!
It's because he's so crazy that he has the capital!
After all, they have already created a gaming milestone!
"Titanfall" is right there!
That is the divine IP created by Gu Sheng himself!
And now, Gu Sheng actually has such expectations for "Silent Hill"!
This is too tempting for Moriya, and even for the entire Comella.
This is a horror game god IP!
If Gu Sheng really makes it, then they, Comella, will become the only true god in the horror game circle and completely dominate the market!
After all, in the current horror game circle, there is no one who can beat it!
Ever since!
After many discussions!
"finally,"
Moritani said:
"We decided to increase the budget for the demo to $3 million."
Approximately 20 million yuan.
This is a trial version with half the APEX.
terrific!
Gu Sheng secretly raised his thumb.
In this way, he can use today's most advanced "Phoenix engine".
Yes, the reason why he has always wanted to increase the budget for Camela is because he wants to use this engine, which can be said to be "the engine with the best image rendering quality in the world today"!
Different from the ‘Fantasy 5’ engine that Golden Wind has always used, the Phoenix engine, which was just released half a year ago, has done a lot of work in visual effects and screen presentation!
Not only has it been further upgraded and optimized with real-time dynamic light tracing, global illumination simulation, virtual micro-polygon geometry and other technologies, it also has real-time Voxel-based GI, which has excellent effects. In a true sense, what you see is what you get during the development stage, which greatly improves the efficiency of the development process.
Made with precision and efficiency.
And its original 'virtual eyeball' technology achieves the visual effect of simulating the human eye.
It's not even an exaggeration to say it, just from the expressiveness of the picture.
If it is said that "Fantasy 5" makes the game world look fake and real.
Then ‘Phoenix’ completely realizes the virtual visual architecture of the second world.
Of course!
The engine isn't perfect either.
Although the Phoenix engine achieves the ultimate presentation in terms of visual effects.
However, its full-sensory technology and motion auxiliary support are not as advanced as "Fantasy 5".
As the saying goes, every gain must come with a loss.
Phoenix is a partial player.
but!
This kind of partiality is exactly what Gu Sheng needs!
Silent Hill does not require too much full-sensory technical support, nor does it have too much action performance, and does not require action assistance!
The most important requirement for psychological horror is immersion, and the most crude and direct way to achieve immersion is to infinitely improve the picture quality!
Because among the five human senses, vision has the highest priority!
"marvelous,"
Gu Sheng nodded sincerely and raised his glass:
"On behalf of the players, I would like to thank Mr. Moritani and Comella Corporation for their understanding and support."
"Then please leave it to Gu Sang!"
Moritani picked up the cup and drank it in one gulp.
Both sides learned what matters most to each other.
The atmosphere of the next banquet was much more relaxed.
Gu Sheng also took the opportunity to ask Moritani about the current situation of Comela's branch industries and its business development philosophy.
If we want to become bigger, stronger and create greater brilliance, Golden Wind must achieve a multi-line, parallel, three-dimensional industrial structure in the future.
In this regard, Comella has sufficient experience.
Ready-made experience is in front of you. If you don’t go whoring, you won’t go whoring.
A cup of tea and a cup change!
By the time the banquet dispersed, it was already past ten o'clock in the evening.
Gu Sheng was a little drunk and returned to his suite to take a shower.
Don't tell me, Lao Lu's previous analysis was really right.
The toiletries that little Nezha brought specially for him will indeed remind him not to forget to 'report work'.
Shen Miaomiao answered the video call almost instantly.
I saw the little Nezha in the video, leaning on the sofa at the moment, trying hard to be a lying fish.