"So, what do game makers really want to express?"
"This is actually easy to distinguish."
"The reality reflected in the game The question is what the official is collecting in the Weibo event. This is the 'mirror' function of the game "Struggle", which reproduces elements of reality so that everyone can see reality through this game."
“But if it completely reflects reality, obviously documentaries or documentary-themed movies will be a better carrier that can present all the content in front of everyone more objectively.”
""Struggle" is a game. The reason why it is used as a carrier is because the producers can combine the content they want to express with the game mechanism!"
"So, Those parts that are combined with the game mechanics are what the producers really hint at through this 'mirror'!"
"Next, there is a series of questions and answers. These questions are all These are the unreasonable things that the creators left in the game, and it is precisely because they are unreasonable that they are puzzles."
"You can think about the meaning behind them."< /p>
“【1】Why should the game be divided into a poor version and a rich version, priced separately, and stipulate that buying them together cannot enjoy discounts?”
“On the one hand, it is because the pricing itself is a Performance art, for example, emphasizes that 'there is no second chance in life'. We can choose games, but we cannot actually choose our own lives. On the other hand, it is because the poor are encouraged to buy the rich version, and the rich are encouraged to buy the poor version. , so that each other is not stuck in their own world, but can truly enter each other's living environment."
"In the game, the living environments of the poor and the rich are so different that they are different from each other. They are completely unable to understand each other.”
“The rich protagonist asked, why can’t the poor take time to spend with their children? Can they be busier than the CEO of a large company?”
"This is because the rich protagonist has never really put himself into the situation of the poor, so he cannot understand why the poor at the bottom are unable to control their time;"
"The poor protagonist believes that as long as he struggles, he can To get a better life, you must learn from outstanding people. If you change the thinking of the poor, you can change your own life."
"This is because the poor only see the efforts promoted by the rich, but often ignore them. The massive resources behind the rich provide them with blessings. Many rich people advocate that they have "zero wealth outside of their efforts" and that they are self-made, but the poor still believe it. Why? It's because the poor have no way of knowing the connections of the rich. Ways of thinking, educational background, etc., have brought much benefit to the rich."
"Including the murderer thinking that the rich were liars, because he originally believed in the rich, but later found out that the rich were only liars. Tells part of the truth.”
“So, this pricing strategy itself encourages the poor and the rich.People experience each other's life in the game, get out of their own cognitive blind spots, and look at this issue from a more comprehensive perspective. ”
“This approach is to break the dimensional wall and use real-life decisions to determine your experience in the game. This approach can only be achieved by the artistic carrier of games. "
"[2]Why should we use STRUGGLE in the English name of the game? ”
“This is precisely the beauty of language. If we simply express the meaning of ‘struggle’, then fight or strive is obviously better. These two words are more positive and positive, and are more in line with the original meaning of struggle. "
"But the word struggle not only means struggle, but also means struggle and struggle. Combined with the full English story background, it is easy to find that this is actually a pun: the rich are struggling, while the poor are struggling. ”
“After understanding this meaning, if you look back at the Chinese translation of ‘struggle’, it will add a layer of irony. You will know that although it is all struggle, the struggle of the rich and the struggle of the poor are The struggle is not a thing at all. ”
“The struggle of the rich is in the misty clouds. If you want to struggle, you can fly up. If you don’t want to struggle, you can lie down and wallow. But no matter how you struggle, you are still in the clouds;”
p>“The struggle of the poor is a sinking quagmire. Working hard is just to prevent yourself from sinking further. Once you stop, you will be swallowed by the quagmire. ”
“【3】Why do the characters in the game have to be so facial-shaped? ”
“When playing games, you will find that rich people are handsome and glamorous, while different poor people all conform to our stereotypes of this kind of people. ”
“Even the game’s style of painting exaggerates the appearance, demeanor and expression of each character, making them no longer look like a living person, but become facial makeup. ”
“This is obviously not in line with the theme of the game, because if realism themes want to highlight the sense of reality, they must be as real as possible, and facial makeup characters and exaggerated art expressions will weaken this Realism. ”
“On the one hand, it weakens the player’s discomfort. On the other hand, it also allows the player not to be too obsessed with the perspective of the character itself, and to look at it with a higher dimension and a more detached mentality. these questions. "
"Facialization is a highly condensed image of each character. At the same time, it also symbolizes that the story of "Struggle" is a highly condensed story of many stories. ”
“In the game, each facial mask is used to represent a certain type of person, and the game also uses the life of a poor person or a rich person to reflect the lives of all poor people and all rich people. "
"And this, like the propaganda method, is obviously an implicit expression rich in symbolic meaning. "
"[4]Why does the game have only one ending and it cannot be changed? ”
“The rich will be killed no matter what they choose, but the poor will be killed no matter what they choose.”No matter what choice you make, you will fall into a cycle of poverty. ”
“At first, I thought this was a fatalistic thought, implying that no matter how hard people try, they cannot change their destiny. ”
“But I soon realized that this was obviously wrong. "
"The reason is very simple, because Mr. Pei, the producer of this game, cannot be a person who believes in fatalism! ”
“Although Mr. Pei and I have never met, anyone who knows a little bit about the inside story clearly knows that Mr. Pei is different from the rich protagonists in the game. He truly made everything from scratch! ”
“From the beginning of “Lonely Desert Highway” to one successful game after another, and then to each industry, we have witnessed the rise of Tenda in the past two years, no matter how hard we work, No sign of capital involvement could be found. All signs indicate that Pei was born into an ordinary working-class person and started from scratch step by step. ”
“Mr. Pei himself is a person who changes his life entirely on his own. How could he promote a fatalistic thought? ”
“This is like a top student who studies diligently and gets 100 points in every test, but tells you every day that studying is useless. Do you believe it? "
"If you use your brain a little bit, you will know that this view is completely unfounded! ”
“So, why does the game have only one ending and it cannot be changed? "
"As I said before, the game uses the life of a poor person or a rich person to reflect the lives of all poor people and all rich people. ”
“Everyone’s life is different. The differences between poor and poor, rich and rich are also huge, so once you let go of multiple endings, the game will be diluted. the thought to be expressed. "
"The game forces a unique ending for the poor and the rich, and there are two considerations. "
"First, like most stories and movies, a single ending can ensure the integrity of the entire story and allow the creator's thoughts to be expressed. ”
“If you don’t limit the ending, you can’t make the beginning and end of the game echo each other. ”
“The kind-hearted rich man ends up in tragedy, and the kind-hearted poor man also ends up in tragedy. The story will be more tense. But if a happy ending is used, the tension of the whole story will be diluted. Creation The thought the writer wants to express will go astray. "
"Second, this is a more advanced form of 'fatalism'. It does not emphasize that people cannot change their own destiny, but emphasizes the choice of an individual in this social environment. , cannot change the entire class. ”
“A rich person may die suddenly, or he may enjoy a peaceful old age, and even the vast majority of rich people will enjoy a peaceful old age. However, the hatred between classes has been established, and the hatred of the poor towards the rich has become irreversible. Then 'killing the rich' will become an inevitable event. It is just 'who kills the rich', 'kills the rich' Which rich man's difference. "
"The poor may counterattack and become rich, or they may go bankrupt and become beggars, but the relationship between the poor and the rich remains unchanged. Just like in the game, if the poor are always exploited by the rich in various ways, then the poor will always be poor. It is an inevitable event. Even if there are individual exceptions, from the perspective of the entire group, it will become increasingly unsolvable. "
"So, the game deliberately locked the ending, allowing us to open up various branches in the game over and over again, make different choices, and find two versions of hidden plots... but in the end there was nothing. Change. ”
“Why can’t we change the ending? Because game mechanics are limiting us. ”
“And by extension, the poor man in the game cannot change his life through struggle because the game mechanism of the entire society restricts him. ”
“Here, the dimensional wall of the game is broken again: in a certain game rule, no matter how hard you try, you will never become a real winner. "
"【5】Only one clothing brand appears repeatedly in the game. What does it mean? ”
“Many people should have seen the luxury brand, which is the golden logo of ‘LL’. This is the only brand that appears in the game. It is a luxury brand owned by the father of the rich protagonist and inherited by the rich protagonist. It has also appeared on many characters. ”
“From a game perspective, players’ memory is very limited. If you make two brands, it is likely to be confused, so the best way is to make only one brand to represent luxury goods without labels. are just ordinary products. This is the basic concept of game design: Occam's razor, express a certain content in the most concise way. "
"But this expression is magically integrated into every aspect of the game. It is by no means just a decoration. ”
“Have you noticed the biggest difference between the rich version and the poor version? The rich version, no matter how you choose, you will only change from one kind of success to another. As for the poor version, as long as you make the wrong choice, you will immediately fall down and usher in the ending of the poverty cycle in advance. "
"What is the difference? In fact, the game has already given hints, it lies in the numbers. ”
“For the poor, life is a long series of numbers, because they must plan carefully to keep the chain of life running. Once a certain number is wrong, it will trigger a chain reaction, causing the entire chain to collapse in an instant, and all previous efforts will be wiped out instantly. ”
“On the other hand, the rich, no matter what they choose, no matter how much money they spend, they will immediately have more funds to make up for it. "
"So, the game mechanism has been controlling the number of game money, constantly "getting back on track" for the struggling poor, working hard to clear the money number, and finally ushering in the only ending. ”
“Why do the poor’s expenses continue to increase as their income increases? Some people think that it is because many poor people lack financial awareness and areConsumerism brainwashes. But we have to note that for many expenditures in the game, we have no choice at all. "
"For example, why do poor people spend a month's salary to buy a luxury suit, a belt and a briefcase? Does he really need these things? Can’t we use cheap stuff? "
"Yes, he really needs it. ”
“Because in the environment of the game, if he wears cheap clothes, he will be rejected and isolated by his colleagues and the people around him, and he will never be able to integrate into that circle. ”
“This is why many people want to maintain ‘decency’, because decency is not just a matter of face, but also a matter of real real interests. ”
“Yes, this is consumerism as we know it. ”
“The luxury brand is the aggregation of consumerism and a concrete symbol. ”
“In the game, both poor and rich people wear this brand. The only ones who don’t wear it at all are the tramps and homeless people. ”
“Once the poor protagonist finds a better job, he must change into luxury, live in a better house, and drive a better car. Because if you don’t do this, people around you will constantly remind you in malicious or well-intentioned ways. "
"Malicious people will avoid you, exclude you, and prevent you from entering certain circles; kind people will remind you and tell you why you need these things. ”
“So, both the poor protagonist and the player have no choice. This is another design that breaks the dimensional wall. ”
“You are angry because you obviously made the right choice, but still can’t save money. Yes, the poor protagonist in the game feels the same as you. ”
“What’s even more ironic is that the rich protagonist never wears luxury. Is it because he is more disciplined? no. ”
“Because he is the son of the president of Luxury. He has a private horse farm. Does it matter whether he wears Luxury or not?” No one doubted whether he could afford it. If he wears it, it is normal and he supports his own brand; if he does not wear it, it is a virtue of simplicity. ”
“The rules and regulations for the poor do not exist for the rich, because no matter what the rich choose, under the blessing of a specific aura, it will become a virtue. ”
“Think even deeper, the rich don’t wear luxury, but they are using the high profits of this brand to harvest all the poor indefinitely. The rich desperately advocate consumerism and luxury goods. The sense of quality makes you feel as if you can live the same life as the rich by using luxury. It even makes the entire group form a consensus and will spontaneously exclude poor people who cannot afford luxury. This in itself is a program for the poor. Create a cage and determine the rules of the game that the poor cannot break. No matter how you choose, the rich will win.. "
"It's like playing dice, the poor are trying their luck, and the rich no matter how they throw, each side will be six points. "
"【6】Are there really only two classes in the game? "
"Obviously not. ”
“I believe many people are trying their best to find the connection between the rich protagonist and the poor protagonist, and may even think that the rich protagonist was killed by the poor protagonist or the poor man’s son. "
"But the game desperately denies this, you can't find any connection between the poor and the rich. "
"Why? Because this is not a complete closed loop. ”
“There is actually a third class in the game, which is the ‘homeless’. You will find that it is the link that connects the entire closed loop. It actually runs throughout the game and is everywhere. "
"In the beginning and ending of the rich version, the people who kidnapped the protagonist's mother and killed the protagonist were homeless people. ”
“In the beginning and ending of the poor version, the protagonist’s father worked hard to prevent the protagonist from becoming a homeless person, so the protagonist is grateful to his father; and the protagonist struggles all his life and continues to deceive his own son. The struggle is to prevent myself and my children from becoming homeless. "
"Just like my previous metaphor, in this game, there are not only the rich in the clouds and the poor struggling in the mire, but also the homeless who are completely swallowed up at the bottom of the mire. Those who return. ”
“The poor told us from the beginning that these people at the bottom of the quagmire are dropouts from cesspool middle schools, prisoners in prisons, beggars and mental patients on the subway, and they are recipients of relief A homeless man who has died due to social causes and whose hands and feet are healthy can only live on the streets for the rest of his life. "
"Once the poor give up, they will become homeless, so they have to struggle hard in the quagmire. If you struggle, you may not be able to climb up, but if you don't struggle, you will definitely sink. ”
“The faster you give up, the faster you sink. ”
“So, why did the poor protagonist say those words to the child? Doesn't he know that he has been deceived by his father's lies his whole life? "
"Maybe he was lucky and thought his child would be different. Maybe he just had to tell this lie. ”
“Because if he tells his children that struggle is useless, then his children will sink and become one of those homeless people, and the protagonist knows very well what that will be like. A miserable life. "
"So, the poor protagonist has no choice but to tell his children to struggle. If you look at the results, this kind of struggle is meaningless, because it cannot let you go to the cloud; but if you look at the bottom of the quagmire, you will know that this kind of struggle is meaningful, and it at least prevents you from sinking. "
"As for the rich? ”
“The rich protagonist almost died when he was born, but he never believed what his father said. He met poor friends. He worked hard to write books and wanted to help those poor people change their lives.own destiny. ”
“But he didn’t realize that it was not the poor who kidnapped his mother, but the homeless; it was not the poor who killed him, but the homeless; He makes friends with the poor, but it is impossible to take another look at the beggar in the subway. ”
“So, he thinks that the rich can be friends with the poor, which is correct; but he does not realize that what is really incomprehensible and become two species is the rich and the homeless. The poor, on the other hand, are only the part that emerges from the mire that he can see. There are more people slowly rotting under the mire that he cannot see in the clouds. ”
“The most ironic thing is that what makes the poor homeless happens to be the rules of the game set by the rich. ”
“So, the homeless man calls the rich protagonist a liar, because in the homeless man’s eyes, this man preaches struggle while taking everything away from him. "
"And the rich protagonist will never understand this. "
"[7] In the game, there is only one relationship between the poor and the rich. So, how many relationships between the poor and the rich are there that Mr. Pei wants to express? ”
“This is the last question, and it is also the final content that the game producer wants to express after taking into account all the above details. ”
“In fact, Mr. Pei has already expressed this aspect. "
"Do you still remember the movie "A Better Tomorrow"? That was a more tragic scene than "Struggle". "
"It is conceivable that if the society in "Struggle" develops for a few more decades, it will become "Better Tomorrow". "
"In "A Better Tomorrow", there is an easter egg at the end where someone throws a gun into the protagonist's room. The moral is obvious, that when social conflicts reach the level of "Better Tomorrow", the poor have the only choice. "
"But in "Struggle", there is no similar choice, because the environments they describe are different and the emphasis they want to express is different. ”
“Violent resistance cannot cure all diseases and is not the best choice under any circumstances. In the environment of "Better Tomorrow", this may be an option, but in "Struggle", there is no soil for this possibility. We can imagine that even if this poor man chooses to fight, he will only become the next murderer who will be imprisoned for saying "liar", and will be condemned and criticized by tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people. This will only make his situation worse. Worse. ”
“So, is there a third situation? ”
“Actually, there is, it’s the real world we live in. ”
“In the game, poor people have no way to rise, but in reality, we do. ”
“In the game, poor people cannot fight consumerism, but in reality, we actually can.” ”
“In reality, most people do not actually define a person by his clothing, clothing and luxury goods-except for a few who are consumedPeople who have been deeply influenced by ism. ”
“So, solutions that do not exist in the game do exist in reality. "
"In the game, the poor have no choice but to continuously increase their consumption level. Eventually, due to an unexpected factor, the numbers in a certain link are wrong, and everything collapses and returns to zero. ”
“But in reality, we have choices. We can reject consumerism, continue to save money, complete the initial accumulation of wealth, and change our destiny through struggle. ”
“If you have hands and feet and work hard to get rich, you can get out of the quagmire. "
"In the game, no one tells the rich and the poor what they should do. ”
“But in reality, someone is telling us what to do. The game "Struggle" uses the method of breaking the dimensional wall to tell us what we should do. ”
“It actually tells us that we should work hard in the real world, because our current struggle is meaningful. ”
“Many people complain that we live in hell just because they have never seen a real hell. "
"And after seeing the world in "Struggle", we will realize that we are actually already living in paradise. "
"Although this paradise is not so perfect, at least we are still full of hope. ”
“Many players do not understand the plots in the game well because these plots do not conform to our real life, so they feel alienated and feel that the choices of the characters in it are All very weird. ”
“And this actually proves that the things we take for granted are actually a kind of great happiness. "
"Using the game "Struggle" makes us realize the happiness of real life and encourages us to cherish the present and work hard. This is the deep intention of the game makers in making this game. "
"For all game makers, "Struggle" is a textbook-level work, because it repeatedly breaks the dimensional wall in various ways and truly expresses the greatest significance of games as the ninth art. Advantages: In other art forms, you are just a spectator, but in games, you are a participant. ”
“Many things can only be seen clearly from the perspective of the participants. ”
“This practice of repeatedly breaking the dimensional wall represents that the producer’s ability to control the artistry of the game has reached the pinnacle and proficiency. Every detail has its own meaning. ”
“So, back to the original question. ”
“How does “Struggle” surpass the four basic game theories even though it seems to violate these four basic theories? "
"The purpose of choosing a misplaced publicity method is to break the dimensional wall and make the publicity method become part of the game content;"
"Choose an interactive movie game with a realistic theme, which seems to be Unpopular, actualThe above provides convenience for breaking the dimensional wall and builds a bridge between the game and reality;"
"The private goods contained in the game will make people feel uncomfortable at first glance, but the more you dig deeper, , the more inspired you can be, suffering in the game, but able to gain happiness in reality;"
"Its existence is not to tap needs, but to create needs. In fact, most people don't realize that we need to understand these principles in order to live a good life. So after understanding all this, we suddenly realize that we need this game. "
"So I think "Struggle" is the highest artistic peak of domestic stand-alone games so far, and it is even a precious spiritual wealth for players. ”
……
After finishing the last sentence, He An still felt that there was still something unfinished.
He seemed to have a lot more to say.
In fact, there are many details in the game "Struggle", and each detail can be expanded into hundreds or thousands of words.
But He An decided to stop here. , because the attitude of Tenda's official Weibo has been very clear.
The reason why the game is all-encompassing and has countless details is because it has the function of a "mirror". Analyzing these details is actually analyzing reality. , and the reality is endless.
These should be completed by all the players on Weibo
And He An believes that his mission is to stand in the game. From the perspective of a designer, we analyze the top design concepts in games and drive the progress of the entire domestic game industry. At the same time, we also analyze the deep meanings that game producers want to express in the game.
Here, It was just right.
So, He An checked the entire long Weibo and pressed the send button.
The content was a bit long and boring.
p>People who have never played games may think this is meaningless preaching, but people who have played games should have some resonance.
He An feels that this is exactly what it is. The charm of the art of games.
The sugar coating on the pill seems to have no effect and cannot really cure the disease, but it can make the patient less painful when taking the medicine.
Just candy can't cure diseases.
Just a pill will not be accepted by many people.
Wrapping pills with sugar can really help some people. This is exactly what He An said. As a game producer, the ultimate goal he pursues throughout his life is like the "Landlord Game" he once produced, which was also achieved despite experiencing domestic stand-alone games. The game was destroyed, and he had to turn to online games for the company's survival, but in his heart, he always regarded this matter as his mission and pursuit.
Even if his ideas are outdated, Even if he could no longer produce a work like "The Landlord Game", He An never gave up on this kind of work.Pursuit, when teaching, we will try our best to pass on this pursuit.
Now "Struggle" has surpassed "Landlord Game" in all aspects.
This shows that domestic stand-alone games really have a leader, and He An is very pleased.
Although I have never met Mr. Pei, the communication through this kind of game is enough to become a confidant.
"Tell these contents to Mr. Ma, and all my teaching content will be complete."
"The previous four basic theories have been overthrown and reshaped. A perfect fit at a higher level."
""Struggle" is a comprehensive and in-depth interpretation of "Landlord Game", which can explain what a truly responsible and ambitious game producer should do. Things."
"After listening to these contents, Mr. Ma will be inspired, right?"