Chapter 158: Ideas for the DEMO Game
After answering the phone, Alex was even more surprised to discover that the caller was the director of the city's Game Department, a person he had already met on several occasions.
"Director Yang, what's wrong?" Alex asked, getting straight to the point with a hint of curiosity.
"Yes, it's something very important. Did you see the previous news? The foreign company Vanguard Technology announced a major breakthrough in their new generation of virtual reality gaming equipment, which allows players to have a more immersive experience," David said on the phone.
"I saw it," Alex said.
In this regard, Alex had also read the industry news that Lynn compiled daily. However, Alex did not pay much attention to them at that time.
The reason was simple: according to the current information, this immersive mode requires players to be completely immersed in the game and their attention to be highly focused. This also means that players absorb a huge amount of information, which makes VR games consume more energy than normal PC games.
As for subconscious mind network technology similar to SAO in the previous life, which allows players to enter a deep sleep, this parallel world has clearly not yet achieved it.
Furthermore, although the price of VR gaming capsules is lower than when they were first launched, they are still not affordable for most players. Conventional VR gaming capsules usually cost around $10,000, significantly more expensive than a PC capable of running conventional blockbusters smoothly. As for high-end VR equipment, that is even more expensive. Therefore, more players continue to play games in VR experience stores similar to internet cafes.
These factors have led the VR market share not to surpass that of the PC platform. Then there is the cost of game development, which is generally higher than for PC.
In addition to the major game developers who release virtual reality games every year, even some second-rate game manufacturers, when they release virtual reality games, usually test on PC first and only adapt the virtual reality version after getting excellent results.
For this reason, Alex has focused Nebula Games' current focus on the PC platform.
"As for our country, our new generation of virtual reality game consoles has entered the beta phase."
"We are simply short of games to test with. Additionally, since this new generation of virtual reality game consoles will offer players a more immersive experience, thorough safety testing is required. After all, some games may not be very popular on PC, but the immersive experience on a virtual reality platform will give players a unique thrill."
"Of course, there are things that cannot be explained in a few words over the phone. Go to the official website of the game department and review the emails you have sent. If you are interested, you can come to the game department tomorrow afternoon," David Yang told Alex.
Although he was unaware of the details, Alex got a general idea after hearing David Yang's words. This was clearly a cutting-edge platform technology competition.
For the video game department, virtual reality equipment had a different importance, just like consoles in the past. In its early days, Nintendo rose to power after Atari went bankrupt. All industry professionals were subject to the whims of Nintendo, and the power-for-money system was a product of that era.
After hanging up the phone, Alex visited the official website of the Video Game Department and took a quick look, which finally allowed him to understand the situation. It was basically just as he had imagined.
The next day, in the conference room of the Video Game Department building, Alex was a little surprised by the number of designers present. Designers from Aether Games, NetDragon, and other national video game companies, almost all of whom had a place on the waiting list, were present. Among them, Alex saw some familiar faces, such as the friendly Mark.
"Mark, are you here too?" Alex asked, walking over to greet him.
Mark, who was chatting with someone there, heard the voice and turned to see Alex approaching with a wide smile. The image of him holding someone else's trophy that night came to mind, and he gave an awkward but polite smile: "Alex is here too."
However, Alex didn't have much time to remember. David Yang, from the Game Department, took the stage in the conference room.
"You are all important figures in the video game industry. The purpose of bringing you all here is quite simple."
"The new generation of VR gaming equipment has entered the beta testing phase."
"Additionally, the game engine for the development machine has been specifically adapted for this new generation of VR equipment, which opens up a new physics engine architecture."
As David Yang spoke, the designers, including Alex, generally understood the purpose of the Game Department's call for game designers. In short, new advances have been made in the engines that power VR devices.
While the market launch is still a long way off, foreign markets are at a similar stage and have already started promoting them. Naturally, our country cannot be left behind, but we lack the necessary game resources for testing.
Of course, it will not be a full game, but rather a demo experience. However, this has its advantages.
First, there are special grants from the Game Department, and the intellectual property rights of the resulting work belong to the designers and the manufacturer. In short, the Game Department pays to create, and the grants are substantial. Of course, the quality must be excellent, and the Game Department will oversee progress in real time.
Of course, the invited designers are usually above the national industry average; no one would be so foolish as to commit to such a plan.
Another advantage of participating in the beta test is that new technologies will not be available for free and immediately to all designers. Participating designers will have priority access to the corresponding permissions. Designers who do not participate, as before, will have to pay for any excess resources or permissions.
After David Yang's brief introduction, the designers, led by the Game Department, got into a vehicle and arrived at the department's research park. Guided by the staff, they experienced the effects firsthand.
Soon, it was Alex's turn. Upon entering the game chamber, he found himself in a setting that looked like a basic house. Alex understood the meaning of David Yang's words. He had already experienced VR game chambers in parallel worlds, and while they were very immersive, they still had some flaws.
The overall experience with this new generation of VR game chambers was flawless. With a motion-sensing suit and gloves, sleeping in the chamber, every movement he made felt incredibly realistic. Walking, jumping, and hitting: Alex tried some moves. Although the sensations were somewhat different from real life, the experience was as real as it could be.
"The interactive VR equipment in this parallel world is incredibly immersive!" Alex exclaimed upon leaving the chamber.
However, he was also aware of the challenges involved. The most immediate was the negative effects of excessive immersion.
Take Dark Souls as an example. If it were a virtual reality game, with the level of immersion Alex had just experienced, most players would not be able to play it, not because of the difficulty, but because of the immersion itself. Think of the rats in the sewers, the eerie scenes in the underground prison, not to mention the horror games!
After all the designers present had their experience, David Yang explained the relevant procedures. In short, if the designers present were interested, they could create a demo game for the game department to test and then adjust the immersion according to the feedback.
If the immersion was too intense, certain areas would have to be adjusted to reduce it. It sounded a bit ridiculous and contradictory, but after experiencing it, Alex understood the meaning.
It was time for the registration process. In addition to some game designers linked to existing projects, there were thirteen other designers with senior positions, including Alex, who remained, including Mark.
"Alex, do you plan to participate in the production of the demo for the Game Department this time?" Mark, standing beside him, watched Alex curiously, who was waiting in line with him.
After all, there had been a lot of talk online about the Dark Souls sequel. Shouldn't Alex be working intensely on Dark Souls? How was it possible that he was still handling the tasks of the Game Department? Could it be that Dark Souls' development was progressing too quickly and that Alex's oversight was no longer necessary? Thinking about it, it didn't seem impossible.
After all, the basis for the sequel was already there, and it was almost a tacit agreement in the video game industry that sequels could reuse many artistic resources, considerably reducing development time.
Completely oblivious to Mark's renewed imagination, Alex smiled and said: "How curious. In addition, this is my first time working on a virtual reality game and I have some interesting ideas."
And it was true. Faced with such an opportunity, Alex was eager to try it out.
Hearing Alex's words, Mark's eyes lit up and he immediately became excited. "Actually, VR game design is not that different from PC game design. The main difference lies in the control mode and the surprising camera angles. While VR games are usually first-person, third-person perspectives are more suitable for certain games and scenes, such as action games that prioritize visuals."
"Then, Mark, we can exchange ideas later." Alex observed Mark's enthusiasm and couldn't help but sigh. Mark was a very kind person!
"Of course." Mark smiled happily. His first expedition failed, the second was overshadowed by the game exhibition, and his third Game of the Year award won nothing, which was a stark contrast to another person's trophy. This time, he was finally going to redeem himself.
As Mark called him, this time he was going to be a true master!
"By the way, Alex, do you have any ideas for a new game?" Mark asked, thinking of something.
"I have an idea. The name of the new game is PT." Alex smiled and nodded.
"PT? What does that mean? It seems a bit strange." Mark was curious.
"It's an acronym for Playable Teaser. After all, this demo can be considered a playable trailer. We could also add a prefix to it and call it 'Silent Hill PT'," Alex said with a smile.
"Silent Hill PT, it seems quite significant. We can talk about it in detail when the time comes, Alex!" Mark replied with a smile.
"Sure." Alex nodded
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