Rebirth of the big era of online games

Chapter 415 "The Ark" title animation

It is obviously impossible to make a game in three months under normal circumstances.

It's just that "Ark" is a 2D game, and most of the data, materials, and plans have already been completed. Now we just let Boiling Game do the integration work, so the time is tight and the task is heavy, but it is not impossible to complete.

What's more, Fang Jie didn't plan to launch the game as soon as it was finished. The game would have to go through at least a few months of debugging and testing. During this period, it would definitely require repeated revisions, and even some content would be reworked and redone.

In addition, it is impossible to complete the server installation within 3 months. The international IDC data center currently under construction is only a data exchange center, and the core server has not yet been installed.

The core server can only load the core database into it after the game is finished.

And this thing has to be thrown into the sea!

Set up the server on the seabed, not to mention some technical problems, the submarine cable and submarine optical fiber must be erected first, the computer room where the server is installed must be specially customized, and the supporting power distribution station and network infrastructure on land must also be built?

Although the various departments of Fangzhou International are already preparing for these things, it is not a one-off thing, and it is quite expensive.

The previous US$14 billion was only used to build the IDC data transfer center on land. The real spending has not yet begun, and it may take at least one or two years.

Of course, Fang Jie can't wait so long, and it's impossible to just invest and not charge some costs back.

According to the plan, the IDC International Data Exchange Center on land can be temporarily used as a core server.

"Ark" may have been just a somewhat special 2D game in the early days. It would be presumptuous to say that governments of various countries would intervene.

As long as the server will indeed be thrown into the sea in the future, within the first 1 or 2 years, even if the data in Arkworld is stolen by various countries, it is actually nothing. If it doesn’t work, you can find a name to reopen it. Clothes.

There is a key element here: Hua Guo will not participate for the time being!
No matter how much you foreigners steal data, it’s just a fight. Anyway, you can’t get Huaguo’s data, or you can only get some meaningless non-critical data.

This is why Fang Jie didn't tell stories in China and let everyone participate.

He has always maintained a fairly tacit understanding with the national level. Although public opinion is mixed, the country has a national structure, and many things do not need to be communicated, and everything is kept silent.

All in all, the project plan is very huge, and the time and money required are also incalculable, but it is impossible for people to be suffocated to death, and some links and steps can be flexibly controlled. It can also be continuously upgraded.

In addition to game production and server setup, there are many other miscellaneous problems to be solved.

Such as voice system.

No matter if it is a game from the previous life or this life, there is a chat system, players can text chat in the channel, and then all players in the channel can see it.

This is not a problem at all, it is convenient for everyone to communicate.

But this cannot be the case in Ark World, because it does not conform to the concept of realistic simulation. If everyone in the entire Ark World can see it, then it is not Ark World, but really an ordinary game.

If you want to chat with text, you can also. When humans evolved to invent paper, they could send messages by flying pigeons.

Of course, the premise is that you have a carrier pigeon, and you can also send the post, provided that there is a postal agency and a postman.

In short, there is no so-called chat channel in Ark World. The only way to let others know what you want to say is to speak by voice, such as calling "Help", and only nearby people can hear it. The farther the distance is The more blurred the hearing, until finally can not hear.

Therefore, it is necessary to have a voice system, and to simulate the real environment. The boiling voice that was created by the way to play "EVE" has no distance limit, so let the boiling software add variable data such as distance, noise, environment, etc. Modify the program again to become the voice system in the world of Ark.

As for the game translation system...

No.

If you can’t understand the bird’s language in reality, then naturally you can’t understand it in Ark World. When players from two countries with different languages ​​meet each other, I’m afraid they can only yell in the voice system, because 2D games can’t show it. Body language, plus the inability to type and chat.

Of course, the game provides some basic character action icons, such as waving, clapping, one-knee salute, and...surrender, etc. Whether it is an enemy or a friend, look at the action icons sent by the other party, and then match the tone of speech in the voice system. Basically still distinguishable.

In addition to these small details and branch systems inside the game, Fang Jie also went to the headquarters of Boiling Digital in the capital to personally guide Boiling Digital to make the opening animation of "Ark".

The so-called people rely on clothes and horses rely on saddles. The Ark project is so highly praised by the international community, and it is too late to make a 3D game in the short term, so it has to do a little bit of decoration on the facade.

For the opening animation, he only intends to make a 2D one, not the kind of CG rendering animation that looks tall.

Since the first version of "Ark" was a 2D game, of course a 2D title was required.

Many games in the previous life spent a lot of money to make the CG animation special effects realistic, which makes people feel majestic, passionate, and very pretentious. But once the animation is over, after entering the game, you will find that the game is that A hip pull makes people have no interest and motivation to continue playing.

Fang Jie didn't want his "Ark" to become such a game. Although he had confidence in his game, if he pretended to be too aggressive, it would raise the players' expectations, and it would be easy to be flattered, which is not beautiful.

Besides, why can't 2D animation be taller?
At the beginning, the "Stickman Animation" he produced with FALSH became a phenomenon-level 2D animation. Until now, it has been regarded as a classic of 2D animation and has been circulated by countless netizens.

This is also the reason why he has to go to Boiling Digital "guidance work" in person.

It’s not to belittle oneself, the people of Boiling Digital have great computer graphics skills, but in the final analysis, they are just tool people.

Artistic creativity is the most valuable, and these are generally provided by customers themselves. Boiling Digital is only responsible for realizing them with computer technology, and has no innovative value.

Just like games, there were so many games with exquisite graphics on the market in the previous life, but there were very few games that were really worth playing.

The reason is that those game makers are just tool people. They can't create their own ideas, they can only learn from other people's ideas to make a living, and even dare to cheat money by just changing the skin or changing the name.

This kind of game is of course of no value, it is nothing more than bullying idiots. After all, the population base of the country is there. If there are more people, there will be more idiots. There will always be some idiots who will fall into the trap.

The same is true for film and television dramas. Fang Jie has never believed that directors are more important than screenwriters. As for actors, they are even less important than screenwriters. Several, or none at all.

If domestic films want to go global, the status and income of screenwriters must at least be improved first, otherwise "Actors in Place" and "Director's Advice" are useless.

"Wulin Biography", which is currently on the air after this year, is a typical drama that relies on a good script to win. It is said that comedy is not easy to make, especially if the screenwriter is given the actors' remuneration, it will be easy for you to watch comedy.

But then again, there are not many tool people in China at the moment, so if you are not creative, you can only stand aside for the time being. At present, CG animation is only boiling digital and has a little technical content. Gotta find them.

The big boss who has always been a hands-off shopkeeper came in person, and just after the annual vacation, he suddenly appeared at the headquarters of Boiling Digital, which naturally made the whole company jump up and down.

Lu Zhenggang, the CEO of Booming Digital, didn't even have time to go out to greet him. He saw the big boss in his office, that is, he found someone came in without knocking on the door. He suddenly raised his head and was about to reprimand him, but found that the person who came was Fang Jie. He thought he was hallucinating , I was immediately fooled on the spot.

Fang Jie really doesn't take care of things very much, and he can't take care of them. Companies like Booming Digital, which are as high as the sky and the emperor is far away, even less. talking, while Fang Jie is...

The last time you came to Boiling Digital, was it 2 years ago or 3 years ago?

Fang Jie found that his photographic memory seemed to have deteriorated a bit. He actually forgot when he came last time. He only clearly remembered the scene of recruiting Lu Zhenggang back then. It felt like a long time ago, but it seemed like it happened just yesterday. things.

Zuckerberg is right in his judgment. Fang Jie is indeed a minimalist. When the boiling game was first created, he laid the floor every day. Later, the boiling group was established. Except for a few times abroad, every time he travels in China, he rarely mobilizes teachers and mobilizes people. .

An obvious characteristic of minimalists is the emphasis on efficiency.

So before Lu Zhenggang came back to his senses, he went straight to the point and stated his purpose of coming, and also warned the other party not to engage in those things that were not, and immediately called a meeting with the relevant designers to discuss the opening animation of "Ark".

It's true that Lu Zhenggang didn't engage in those ostentations, but on the way Fang Jie came to the office, many people in the company saw him, so the news spread quickly.

In fact, many people only caught a glimpse of Fang Jie from afar at the annual meeting. Xiao, because many of his instructions were communicated and followed up by them, and it was necessary to deal with them frequently.

As a result, in this project discussion meeting, all the middle and high-level management of Boiling Digital were present, and some people even rushed to the company after hearing the news while they were on vacation at home.

It's not about worrying about something, but about attitude. Since the big boss founded the Boiling Group, various routines have emerged one after another. They have been analyzed and studied by countless people in the company, but they still don't know the truth. They don't know what the big boss is like. , What is thinking in my heart.

That being the case, then don't make any fuss, just come and recognize the servant honestly, just don't cause any misunderstandings.

There was nothing wrong with Fang Jie coming here. He is actually a very simple and innocent person, okay?

The purpose of coming to Boiling Digital this time is very simple, not to check accounts, nor high-level adjustments, nor to discuss Olympic design projects, just to be a 2D animation title.

There is already a belly case, so there is actually nothing to talk about in the meeting. Seeing a large group of people gathered together, one or two hold their breaths and concentrate on their eyes, he has no desire to continue the discussion, and immediately drives everyone away. After leaving the meeting room, Lu Zhenggang asked only a few technicians to chat.

"Have you heard of the Ark Project? Well... you have heard of it, but you don't understand it? It's okay, don't be nervous."

not nervous?
Not to mention ordinary employees right now, even Lu Zhenggang looked dazed and nervous.

The big boss had been at the company for almost an hour, but until now, Lu Zhenggang still didn't know what Fang Jie was here for.

"I'm here this time to ask you to do the title animation of "Ark". It's 2D. I already have an idea, and now I'm going to use drawing technology to realize it."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhenggang's expression immediately relaxed, and at the same time, because he was frightened before, he felt a little annoyed in his heart, and couldn't help but wonder: "This is such a trivial matter, why should I bother you to come here in person? Since it is our own The title animation of the game, of course, needs to be done better, make it 3D, what does it look like in 2D.”

Fang Jie gave the other party a blank look, and didn't bother to pay attention to him. He took a file bag from Zi Yuan's hand behind him, pulled out a stack of ghost symbols, and continued: "I even drew the sub-shots and wrote the description. This is proposal."

Everyone quickly stood up and looked over their heads for a long time, but they couldn't understand what Fang Jie was drawing at all, and their eyes couldn't help but erratic, thinking that the leader is still a graduate student of 211 University majoring in design, and it is estimated that the past few years of university have been spent in vain right?

By the way, I heard that the leader will graduate soon this year, and he will continue to recommend doctoral students?

Hey, there is no comparison between people.

Seeing that everyone didn't respond for a long time, Fang Jie laughed, and explained to himself: "Look at this first storyboard, the ball of thread in the picture is actually a gorilla..."

Before he finished speaking, Lu Zhenggang said, "So it's a gorilla... But why is it in the upper left corner? This composition is wrong!"

"Haha, did you see that too?"

Fang Jie smiled triumphantly: "It's in the upper left corner of the screen! In this sub-shot, it jumped into the screen from the upper left corner, then fell to the center of the screen, and began to run forward! The subtext is that a strange species entered randomly, and it the ancestors of mankind."

It was only then that everyone realized that if they hadn't explained it in person, they wouldn't be able to make an animation based on this plan alone, because they couldn't understand it, and they couldn't understand the meaning at all.

This is also the reason why Fang Jie came in person, because it is impossible to explain clearly, and he is also self-aware of his painting skills.

I only heard Fang Jie continue: "... Immediately afterwards, it gradually stood up while running and jumping. This is the second sub-shot, which mainly expresses the concept of 'walking upright'."

"The third sub-shot is still walking upright, but the walking posture is becoming more and more human-like, the back is getting straighter and straighter, and the hair begins to degenerate. It is a process of evolving into a primitive human."

"In the fourth shot, do you see any changes in this human being? Yes, there is a circle of leaves tied around the waist. Well, I may have drawn it more abstractly. Anyway, that's what it means. It means that human beings know how to keep out the cold, or know A primitive sense of shame? Or something else, anyway, it has the characteristics of civilization.”

"Next, you should understand this scene, right? Yes, make fire by drilling wood!"

"In the sixth act, the leaves on the human body have turned into animal skins, and there are various stone tools in their hands. This is a spear and javelin, which is being thrown, indicating that they have mastered the tools and learned to hunt. The latter shot is shot by the javelin. An animation of a deer..."

"By the way, I want to explain that these sub-shots are actually continuous. Like a revolving lantern, human beings are always moving forward and evolving in the picture, and the scene is constantly changing. They are not separate shots, but a continuous sequence. dynamic picture."

"The latter are all like this. This is that humans changed into coarse cloth and started farming. This is holding a torch to see the hieroglyphs on the wall. Then parchment, papermaking, books, gunpowder, entering the Bronze Age, Iron Age, The age of steam... to modern civilization, automobiles, trains, airplanes, rockets, moon landings, the Milky Way... and so on."

"Of course, I just simply drew the sub-shots of some important elements. You can expand other content. You can refer to the technological tree of the game "My Origin" and make it into a series of connected animations."

After listening to Fang Jie's presentation of the creative concept of this animation, everyone felt that the idea was good, and it was not difficult to realize, but they always felt that there was something missing, as if it was not so eye-catching.

"Oh, by the way, the picture style of this animation should be realistic but not materialized."

Just as he was thinking about it, Fang Jie added another sentence.

As a result, everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, completely unable to understand what Fang Jie meant.

Do you want to be realistic, or virtual?

If you want to be realistic, you can find real people to shoot, just like making a movie, if you want to virtualize, you can make animated characters.

It can be realistic but cannot be materialized, what the hell?

Fang Jie said: "I'm talking very realistically. I don't mean to let real people do the shooting, nor do I use CG special effects, but a sketch style."

"Yes, it's a pencil sketch style. I use a pencil to draw a sketch, and the evolution of human beings is drawn in each frame. So its style is realistic, but it's not materialized. Do you know what I mean? ?”

Lu Zhenggang couldn't help but patted his thigh: "Hey, this is kind of interesting! I always felt that it was almost funny before, but now I feel a little bit like that, and I have my own style. The common animations, whether it's CG rendering or real shooting, are all the same. No personality. If this is done, it will definitely make people's eyes shine!"

After being flattered by Lu Zhenggang, Fang Jie suddenly thought of something: "Well, we can send a program to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, using animation similar to this kind of carousel to make a 3D reel animation, It must be beautiful. Of course, the style of painting is definitely the most suitable style, anyway, it’s just such a general idea, you can think about it yourself..."

Lu Zhenggang couldn't help but look stunned, and his heart was full of waves.

Fuck it!
This idea is awesome!
As expected of the boss, he was so crazy that he came up with a brilliant idea at random. It seems that there are rumors that good things will happen whenever a big boss comes to his door. This statement is true!
Looking at Lu Zhenggang's expression, Fang Jie knew that the other party was kneeling and licking in his heart. Unfortunately, this was someone's idea from his previous life. He just carried it over, so he didn't feel any sense of accomplishment in his heart.

However, if you call in advance, it may make Boiling Digital less detours and troubles, which is also very good.

After finishing the title animation, Fang Jie just had a simple working meal in the company cafeteria, then returned directly to Jiangcheng, and continued to focus on the integration and development of the various game subsystems of "Ark".

Of course, the various affairs in Fangzhou International are also quite complicated, and they also need to be watched, and they cannot be taken lightly. From time to time, they have to stand up and accept interviews from some overseas media to show their presence and maintain the enthusiasm of the Ark Project.

In short, in such a hectic and fulfilling state, March has passed, and in mid-May, Boiling Game finally completed the task assigned by Fang Jie on time.

In fact, strictly speaking, it is not considered complete. During the first internal test of damo, it was found that there are still many bugs, and the game experience is very bad.

This "bad" refers to that after the game data algorithm is too realistic, the game is more difficult than all other games, and players are particularly prone to die, and there are various ways to die, only unexpected, not impossible.

In other words, if human beings encounter any problems in reality and die, the same will happen in the game. The only difference is that they cannot be resurrected in reality, but they can be restarted in the game.

This is very cheating, if you die every time you play the game, then you can't play it, and it will definitely persuade a large number of novice players to quit.

However, Fang Jie has a completely different opinion from everyone. He is very satisfied with this: "Yes, it is to let players die in various ways, otherwise how can the authenticity of Ark World be reflected? It doesn't matter if no one plays it. There are not many human beings..."

(End of this chapter)