In the office, everyone was waiting eagerly for Chen Mo to present the design document.
Although they enjoyed themselves playing Leggo, the majority still didn’t understand why Chen Mo had them do that, and even less so the connection between that and the new game.
Moreover, Chen Mo previously hinted at a VR game previously. Many thought Chen Mo would develop a game around Azeroth or a VR RPG game following Diablo, but they were now doubting that after playing with the sets.
What is the relationship between Leggo and the new game?
The powerpoint titled ‘Minecraft design concept’ was displayed on the screen.
It was even simpler than Diablo as the presentation ended under ten minutes.
There were three main points, the rules of the game, the packaging, and additional modes.
The rules included the settings of the entire world, the restrictions players had with gathering and building, day-night cycles, killing monsters survival mode, crafting equipment, etc.
The packaging referred to making each block look as best as they can, allowing the players to connect things in game to real life.
Additional modes included the additional game modes that should be added in the later stages of the game, such as survival mode, creative mode, multiplayer, etc.
“That’s about it, any questions?” Chen Mo asked and looked around for their responses.
Everybody looked at each other with the same expression on the face, “That’s it? Are you joking?”
Zhou Hanyu cleared his throat, “I don’t think there’s a big problem with the design concept, it was presented quite clearly. But as a VR game, isn’t Minecraft a bit… simple?”
Zheng Hongxi nodded, “I think so too, there aren’t any story elements in this game. There isn’t much in terms of numerics either. It doesn’t even come close to Warcraft in terms of its complexity, much less Diablo.
Zhou Hanyu added, “Yeah, and aren’t the demands for graphics a little bit too low? The other VR games all go for a realistic look, going as far as rendering individual strands of hair. Based on what we have so far, I don’t even think we’ll have five fingers.”
“I think there’s room for discussion whether or not the joy of the game could single handedly support all the sales. Sure building Lego was quite fun, but we’ll need some kind of instructions. If we were given a bunch of different bits and pieces, who’d be able to get on the level of manager? We’d be able to make a horrible monster at best,” said Qian Kun.
Su Jinyu also pitched in, “Yeah, I think so too. The main problem I have is, how many players out there are able to utilize their creativity and explore the entire unrestricted world? Moreover, VR players are a smaller market to start with.”
Usually, the few original members also had some doubts for this design concept draft.
Even though Su Jinyu and Zheng Hongxi had incredible trust in Chen Mo, that was built on grounds where Chen Mo’s design concepts weren’t dramatically different from theirs.
Evidently, Minecraft didn’t match what they had hoped to be Thunderbolt Entertainment’s first VR game.
Chen Mo laughed as he didn’t mind the doubts the others had for his design concept.
Chen Mo spent all that effort to raise his three assistants to have their own thoughts and ideas after all. He wanted them to have their own perspectives instead of just having their head down and following whatever Chen Mo wanted to do.
All these questions meant that they had their own thoughts, which happened to be a good thing.
Chen Mo asked after a few moments, “What do you guys think about Don’t Starve?”
Everyone was shocked, before Su Jinyu answered, “Umm, the gameplay’s great, the sales were great, but it wasn’t a top level game.”
Chen Mo nodded, “What was the secret of Don’t Starve’s success?”
“Umm… recreating the needs of survival, rich gameplay, and a sandbox game that allows players to explore and create freely,” answered Su Jinyu.
Chen Mo nodded, “That’s right. The reason Don’t Starve succeeded was because it was a sandbox game, and one that included the survival aspect. Did it have high quality graphics?”
“…no,” replied Su Jinyu.
Chen Mo raised another question, “Does Don’t Starve have a story? Is it complex numerically? Does it have a good new player system? Did you guys manage to guess the sales before its release?”
Everyone looked at each other.
Chen Mo continued, “It doesn’t have a story, not a complex numerical system. There is basically no new player system, and everyone thought it would be a niche game before its release, nobody thought it would sell over four million copies. What does this tell us?
“It tells us that there’s no need for a story in sandbox games, there’s no need for a complex numerical system, nor is there a need for a good new player introduction. What sandbox games need is freedom. With freedom, we can sacrifice anything.
“Like the pixel graphics, sacrificing everything for freedom.”
Chen Mo paused to look at their reactions.
Everyone was thinking about the meaning behind Chen Mo’s speech.
Chen Mo continued, “What’s the smallest piece of Leggo? 7.8mm width and length, by 9.6mm tall. It’s less than 1cm³ in volume.
“Why was it that specific size? Because if it was any smaller, it’d be hard to build with, any larger and it won’t do well with details. Leggo’s dimensions took into consideration its utility and usability, the best result the designers arrived at.
“Similarly, if we want players to have creative freedom in Minecraft, we also need to care about both usability and utility.”
“And we would arrive at pixel graphics every time. Do you remember the dog I built? That’s pixel graphics. Therefore, we have no choice other than to do the same with our game.”
Now, most understood what Chen Mo was going for.
Chen Mo’s idea was as follows, first make sandbox games like Leggo, which was why only pixel graphics could work. Moreover, Chen Mo thinks that it was enough to guarantee creativity, other aspects such as graphics, numerics, story, and playstyle weren’t important at all.
The design document was birthed under ideas like that.
A few moments of silence followed as everyone contemplated Chen Mo’s words.
Su Jinyu nodded, “Sure, I understand. Since you’ve thought of this clearly, I support this idea.”
Qian Kun added, “Ok, we’ll try that! I think if a game could recreate the joy of building Leggos, it’ll surely be fun!”
Zhou Hanyu also pitched in, “I still don’t fully believe in it, but I’ll think more into the graphics department. Even if it was pixel graphics, there’s bound to be a best looking pixel graphic in the world.”
Chen Mo laughed, “Don’t worry, this game won’t disappoint.”