In the meeting room, everyone was seated in their spots.
On the big screen, the project name "The Last of Us" was displayed.
Everyone was already quite familiar with this project.
They had learned about this game during their nearly month-long trip to Boston.
"I won't go into the details of the theme and content, but even though it's a zombie and virus theme, these are not the core elements of the game."
"What's truly important in this game is interaction," Lucas said, looking at everyone.
"Interaction? Is this an open world?" Hector showed a hint of surprise.
Interaction, this word or content, was also familiar to everyone.
Games like "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" and "Red Dead Redemption" were meticulously crafted in detail, all for the sake of interaction.
"No, this will be a narrative structure like 'Uncharted'," Lucas shook his head.
"The interaction in this game is different from open-world interactions like in 'Red Dead Redemption,' it's emotional interaction," Lucas continued.
Why did "The Last of Us" receive such high praise in its previous life?
Was it the brilliant story plot?
That was only one aspect. A more important point was the game's interpretation of interaction, or rather, the emotional interaction between video games and players.
If games from the past life were named as the founders of different genres, the Ocarina of Time defined 3D games, Metal Gear defined cinematic narrative games, then "The Last of Us" defined how interactive games should be presented.
As the industry evaluation of this game stated: 'Its appearance redefined the upper limit of game presentation.'
Every scene and every plot in the game was designed to immerse players in the characters and to build emotional connections with the characters in the game.
When this emotion was raised to a new level, even the most unbelievable actions at first glance would become natural.
Interaction runs through the entire game from beginning to end. Every operation in the game requires the player to act personally, and every section of the plot requires the player to experience it firsthand.
"Character-to-character interaction feedback." Listening to Lucas's detailed explanation, everyone quickly understood what he meant.
"That's right, and at the same time, in 'The Last of Us,' we will also exercise more restraint," Lucas added.
To exaggerate a bit, if you had to mention one must-play game on PS3 in its past life, it would undoubtedly be "The Last of Us," and not just on PS3, but even in the PS4 era.
If we only look at the gameplay, theme, or even the plot, "The Last of Us" is actually not particularly outstanding.
There are games with better graphics, more novel gameplay, and even more shocking plot twists. The zombie theme, which is almost overused, is the least of it.
The most core point of this game is that it allows players to truly experience how the characters' emotions and bonds are built through interaction.
Its greatest charm comes from the game's own interactivity. Unease and the unknown are constantly imposed on the player during the journey, exploding at the end.
It's not that grand scenes couldn't be made, but rather a form of restraint.
After finishing the concept draft of "The Last of Us" in broad strokes, Lucas also planned the details with the team.
As a game launched on CosmosVR, there were naturally many aspects that needed adjustment.
For example, the atmosphere. In the original game, when facing runners and other mutated infected, most scenes were dim, and the atmosphere was rather oppressive.
And in the game, stealth is one of the main core gameplay mechanics.
These elements might be fine when displayed on a screen, but they present a big problem in VR.
After all, the core point of "The Last of Us" is not horror.
The oppressive and tense atmosphere, the scarce resources early on, and the careful stealth are merely to help players better immerse themselves in the game's background.
Instead of bringing fear to the players.
Even the background in the game actually weakens the sense of fear to some extent. For example, the world after the disaster is not filled with blood, but with the spread of fungus.
Humans have become terrifying monsters, but the entire world is overrun by green vegetation.
Even though humans have become monsters, the cities built with reinforced concrete have also become more expansive nature.
The change in environment brings about the proliferation of animals.
Completely different from a lifeless post-disaster world.
Even if you set aside the mutated humans, the post-disaster world actually has a unique kind of beauty.
...
News about Lucas's new game still has high online buzz.
However, it has also started to cool down.
At first, players were very excited when they saw Lucas's official Weibo.
But this excitement has a time limit. Days and a week passed, and they still hadn't received any follow-up news.
Referring to Nebula Games' previous performance, many players understood.
This is another bottomless pit, another vague promise with no substance!
However, while Lucas's "cake" didn't even seem to have the dough mixed yet.
FOW, on the other hand, dropped a huge piece of gossip.
That is, the sequel to "Wasteland1978," "Wasteland1981," is already in development.
When Lucas and Alex weren't participating in awards events before, some players were already guessing, and after Lucas publicly announced that he was developing a new project, this indirectly confirmed the guess.
Many players naturally thought of Alex.
However, there was no response, and now it is clearly officially confirmed!
In FOW's office, Alex and Grayson were sitting in the office.
Besides Alex, Grayson, who previously developed "Lost Curse," was also involved.
Of course, he is Alex's assistant. He is in charge of the game's core story and gameplay framework.
And for "Wasteland1981" this time, which will be an open world, world-building and various exploration content will be handled by Grayson.
It can be considered a powerful collaboration, as Grayson proved his strength in "Lost Curse" and is qualified to participate in this project.
"Alex, you don't need to worry so much. Although Nebula Games is also developing a new project, we have a considerable advantage," Grayson said with a smile, looking at Alex beside him.
Participating in the massive project "Wasteland1981" was also very exciting for Grayson, and he himself is a fan of this game.
"Nebula Games cannot be underestimated," Alex touched his shiny bald head, his expression very serious as he shook his head.
At first, he didn't feel any pressure, but after learning that Nebula Games was also working on a new project, he became very serious.
The game "The Witcher: Wild Hunt" left a too deep impression on him.
"Of course, no one can underestimate Nebula Games, but we still have to follow market rules. It's very clear that Nebula Games' new work will be a zombie apocalypse horror game. Although 'Resident Evil: Village' has redefined where major horror games should go, the core of horror will ultimately hinder a large number of mainstream players," Grayson analyzed logically.
He even took out a data table, which clearly recorded the corresponding data, which he had specifically asked FOW's marketing department to record.
"Besides, there is another crucial factor, which is that we are about two months ahead in development progress. Nebula Games went to Boston for location scouting, and there are still their country's traditional holidays ahead," Grayson said with a smile.
Although their game is an open world, and it's still unclear whether Nebula Games' is narrative or also open world.
But in the end, they are one step ahead in development.
"At the same time, we have also seized the initiative in terms of promotion, and even snatched the heat that Nebula Games had before," Grayson said with a smile.
Comparing the current situation of FOW and Nebula Games, Grayson felt it could be described in one sentence: They are virtually winning it all.
Alex, whose expression was very serious, listened to Grayson's words, and his tightly furrowed brow slowly relaxed.
It sounds like they do have a significant advantage.
(End of chapter)
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