Chapter 728 - 728: A Truly Satisfying Game

The explosive popularity of "DOTA" can be said to have created a whirlwind in the domestic and international game industries.

Much like the open-world genre when it first emerged, many game designers were analyzing what made "DOTA" so successful.

This included detailed analysis of "DOTA's" various settings.

Its control scheme, art style, core gameplay, along with all sorts of other content.

At the same time, quite a few game designers and companies started to get ideas.

They wondered if they should try to cash in on "DOTA's" success.

After all, when Nebula Games first shocked the industry with sandbox and open-world games, titles in similar genres saw significant profits.

And soon, game companies began to make their move.

Among them was FOW, Nebula Games' long-time rival.

In their project room, Grayson felt a bit of a headache looking at the online buzz around "DOTA."

Unlike his previous good luck, this time Grayson wasn't sure if he was lucky or unlucky.

The lucky part was that he'd once again encountered a new game from Nebula Games. Although he'd stubbornly launched his game around the same time, it hadn't been a total disaster. Even though "DOTA" later exploded in popularity, it was on a different platform, and "DOTA" was a free-to-play game.

So, while "Glory Warriors," which they released earlier, was affected to some extent, it wasn't critically wounded. Coupled with the game's solid foundation, FOW had already decided to proceed with a sequel.

The unlucky part was that the hype around "DOTA" had given FOW some ideas.

Especially when they realized Nebula Games was only developing "DOTA" for PC and not for VR. FOW immediately decided to develop a similar game.

After all, it was obvious to everyone how much potential "DOTA" had.

And this time, FOW wasn't going in blind. They planned to put their ace designer, Alex, in charge of this competitor project.

However, Alex stated that he was already planning the third installment of the "Wasteland" trilogy.

So, Grayson, who had just finished the "Glory Warriors" project, became the new project lead.

But honestly, he really didn't want to be the project lead.

Why did Alex refuse? As a game designer, he could guess some of the reasons.

It was just really hard to do!

While he didn't know why Nebula Games hadn't developed a VR version of "DOTA," Grayson knew there had to be a reason.

Lack of money?

That reason was just for laughs.

And if they wanted to make it, radical changes wouldn't be possible.

On one hand, there was the timeline. On the other hand, FOW wouldn't give him that much time.

Therefore, they would inevitably have to make some minor modifications to "DOTA," but for a game designer, that was still a bit unappealing.

Unlike Alex, he didn't have that much power within the company. Additionally, he had achieved some success.

So, this task fell to him.

He didn't want it, but he had no choice.

Because of this, Grayson had spent over a month diligently studying "DOTA." Especially after the ranked system was introduced, he played about 8 games of "DOTA" every day, determined to understand the core and magic of the game.

He had even reached the "Beyond Divine" rank and mastered Storm Spirit with a 60% win rate.

"For the VR version, it would be first-person. But players wouldn't be able to see much outside their immediate view, which is a huge disadvantage for information gathering. Just like in RTS games, besides controls, information is also critical in this type of game."

"Hmm... Shared vision, allowing players to see through their teammates' eyes. Also, the last hitting mechanics in first-person mode would need to be changed. Combining melee and ranged, incorporating FPS gameplay."

Grayson sat in front of his computer, thinking about how to prepare for the new project.

As a "Beyond Divine" player, Grayson had gained a considerable understanding of "DOTA."

...

Perhaps wanting to ride the wave of "DOTA's" popularity, FOW soon announced their new project, "Olympus," led by Grayson. The game would be set in Greek mythology, with the Greek gods as the heroes players would control.

However, announcing it was one thing, but clearly, FOW's new project was still in the "new folder" stage and hadn't revealed much substance.

Nevertheless, many players were quite interested.

After all, it was a VR game.

It even led many "DOTA" players to tag Lucas on the official Weibo, asking why "DOTA" wasn't getting a VR version.

However, Lucas paid little attention to this external chatter.

Could "DOTA" be made into a VR version?

Yes, it could, but there was no need.

Because in a VR version, a crucial element couldn't be solved: the perspective.

For this type of game, information gathering is very important. Even if it were made into a VR mode, it would still be a god's-eye view, and the VR features wouldn't be fully utilized. The controllers would also be a bit of a hassle.

As for FOW announcing a competing game, Lucas didn't pay much attention.

If they were launching a similar game on the VR platform, Lucas could only say they were overthinking it.

And if it somehow succeeded, Lucas would say that this game, named "Gods' Cataclysm," would have a completely different core than "DOTA."

At most, it would be piggybacking on "DOTA's" popularity, and neither party would be a true competitor to the other.

As for the PC platform, as long as he focused on "DOTA's" content and promotion, he was currently invincible.

Because player habits are very difficult to change. It's like how in PC FPS games, the design is always left-click to shoot and right-click to aim, with WASD for movement.

In the parallel world, the release of "DOTA" also established habits for players: heroes have three small abilities and one ultimate, lanes are always divided into three, with a mid-lane jungle.

The control scheme has also largely pre-occupied players' minds.

In this situation, if you want to snatch players away from "DOTA," unless Nebula Games completely messes up, it's practically impossible. So, for Lucas, focusing on "DOTA," waiting for the average player skill to mature, and then promoting corresponding leagues and global competitions is enough.

However, besides the plans for "DOTA," Lucas was also preparing his next project.

He had previously talked about bringing players a satisfying, stress-relieving game, but then he threw "Sekiro" at them, and he felt a little guilty about that.

Now that "DOTA" is basically on track, Lucas is ready to truly bring players a stress-relieving, satisfying game.

As for what it would be, seeing FOW's "Olympus" sparked a bit of dark humor in Lucas.

Using Greek gods as a selling point?

Isn't that convenient?

"God of War" is what Lucas plans to offer players as a treat. Of course, he's not ready to release the new "God of War" set in Norse mythology yet.

Instead, he'll be focusing on the old trilogy set in Greece, even incorporating the storyline of "God of War: Ascension," which was defined as a prequel in his previous life, into the plan.

"God of War" has a stylistic difference between the trilogy and the new "God of War."

The latter leans more towards RPG in gameplay, while the former is ACT.

But for Lucas, the truly critical aspect, beyond gameplay, is the story.

If players don't understand Kratos's past, they won't be able to truly grasp his emotions in the Norse mythology "God of War."

They won't be able to connect with the story.

Therefore, the Greek mythology trilogy is very necessary.

For example, without the trilogy's story, players wouldn't be able to understand the emotional impact of Kratos returning home and pulling the Blades of Chaos from a chest.

Nor would they understand his determination to acknowledge his past in front of his son at the end.

Nor would they understand why Kratos hides his godhood from his son.

For all these reasons, Lucas plans to bring the Greek trilogy to players first.

(End of this chapter)

---

Read +100 advanced chapters on my patre*n

patr eon.com/GustinaKamiya

---