Chapter 461: Chapter 284: Is This a Soulslike Game?

Chen Ba’s so-called special group was chosen to be people with disabilities, considering the game’s audience and impact.

The game’s main theme is to encourage players to care more about people with disabilities by experiencing their daily lives, similar to the public welfare game "See" previously released by Penguin.

However,...

Since Chen Ba is aiming for the annual awards, the quality of this game must be "targeting 3A", it’s impossible to become a small-scale game like "See".

"A real 3A?"

"Not necessarily, it can also be quasi-3A, or sub-3A..."

Chen Ba explained, "There’s no fixed standard, the minimum requirement is just to qualify for an annual award nomination."

In any case, aiming for the annual awards is definitely right, as for whether it meets the 3A standards after it’s made, that’s another matter.

"OK! So what kind of game is it? Strategy management, RPG, open-world adventure, or combat excitement?"

"Open-world adventure!"

"At the same time, it is also an RPG role-playing multiplayer cooperative game, where players will play different kinds of people with disabilities to complete various tasks in the game."

Role-playing is appropriate, since it’s intended to let players experience the difficulties of people with disabilities, naturally, they need to play it themselves.

As for multiplayer cooperation, this involves another gameplay method.

How to describe it?

Chen Ba scratched his head and after a moment proposed an idea, "Those who have played GTA know that besides the storyline mode, players can also execute heist missions in online mode."

The general meaning is similar to GTA, usually each player plays their own, each playing a person with disabilities roaming this open world.

But if single-player mode gets boring, players can also enter online mode and experience a unique "team mission" with other players.

The game is set against the backdrop of a modern urban setting.

In the game, players will play a man/woman with varying degrees of disability caused by innate or acquired reasons, progressing step-by-step along the main storyline to ultimately become a big entrepreneur/gold-medal teacher/medical expert/sports champion/top host/big scientist...

"The Sims?"

"No, no, the freedom isn’t that high, relatively speaking, it focuses more on the storyline."

Chen Ba waved his hand and said, "Don’t forget, the most important thing about our game is not the gameplay, but the relative uniqueness of the theme."

The game is called "Abab’s True Story".

Yes!

Chen Ba shamelessly borrowed the name of a certain classic movie and said it wasn’t his fault, he was just too lazy to think up a name.

The protagonist’s nickname is Abab.

The origin of this nickname actually reveals a bit, suggesting that the protagonist might not be a physically normal person.

Specifically, what is the problem?

This relates to a special setting in the game—randomized symptoms, the protagonist Abab’s issues appear randomly, it could be a leg limp, it could be mute, or it could be blindness...

In short, this mechanism will randomly generate a special symptom, allowing players to understand the challenges faced by this special group.

Take Abab being mute for example.

In the main storyline, due to the inability to speak, Abab often fails in finding jobs, even low-wage restaurant servers don’t hire him because he can’t speak and customers don’t understand his gestures.

"Our game’s protagonist doesn’t necessarily need to be shaped into a character with an optimistic, sunny disposition."

After thinking for a moment, Chen Ba continued, "Although such protagonists would align more with mainstream social values, you and I both know such situations are rather rare..."

Frankly, it’s pretentious!

Optimistic, cheerful, proactive, full of passion for life, not easily giving up in the face of adversity, such examples exist but are relatively rare.

Chen Ba still believes that if the game is to have more depth, the protagonist’s character can have some slightly different adjustments.

Inferiority, timidity, social anxiety, bad-tempered, suicidal tendencies, introverted gloom, sharp-tongued...

These settings seemingly incompatible with "protagonist" can actually be added to the game, Chen Ba believes only by fully restoring reality can the game achieve its intended effect.

"This... might not be good?"

Yang Dong hesitated, "I’m not questioning your idea, I mean, would a protagonist with such character settings in our game cause controversy?"

It’s known that "Abab’s True Story" is a game with people with disabilities as the protagonists.

In such a game, shaping the protagonist with these characteristics, what will players think? Will there be doubts and criticisms about Tianba Studio in terms of public opinion?

"Trust me..."

Chen Ba insisted, "It’s still the same saying, give the players the most real and unforgettable experience. Don’t make it like watching a movie, where you cry your heart out while watching, and forget everything once you leave the cinema."

An optimistic, cheerful Abab bravely overcoming his shortcomings and eventually achieving success, is it moving and inspiring?

It certainly is moving and inspiring!

But such a story is too "movie-like", it feels very moving and inspiring when you first watch it, but after everything ends you’ll find that Abab’s success was inevitable.

Chen Ba said, despite doing this game with utilitarian intentions, he genuinely hopes everyone can understand and tolerate more, and care for the disabled friends around them.

Therefore, he feels that the experience should be the most real side, not just pure emotion for the sake of emotion, or for being inspirational for the sake of inspiration.