Text: Isaac & Thomas's Skull

If you want to talk about the case of games as the ninth art, it may be that in commercial mobile games, "Light · Encounter" is an unavoidable product.

Its artistry is second to none in mobile games, and its pure interaction has influenced many people, and even made many people healed and walked out of the shadows of life because of the game. In its fifth year, it has more than 200 million users in China, and the brand recognition is quite high. According to a survey, 7 out of every 10 female users, especially students, have learned about "Light · Encounter".

And Chen Xinghan, the creator behind the game, has also become a gold medal producer in the industry. Every year when we have the chance, we always catch him up and talk to him.

Recently, in our conversation with Chen Xinghan, he mentioned some of his new thoughts on "Light · Encounter" and the industry. He said that the game he wanted to make was a classic that would make people excited again and make important memories for the rest of their lives.

When it comes to "Light · Encounter", he feels that to a certain extent, this product has influenced many players, allowing them to find a bond with the world in the game, and some people say that they have been saved by "Light · Encounter" and friends in the game. Hearing these stories, Chen Xinghan is also thinking further about how to help more people through more actions.

Here's a curated transcript of the conversation:

01

What kind of game,

To be remembered?

Grape-kun: It's been almost a year since we last talked, how have you been doing lately?

Chan: I'm in my 40s, and I've found that there are too few games that I can play with peace of mind.

As entertainment, I will have a great value challenge. For example, I don't read much fantasy novels lately, but I only watch historical documentaries, which are real and can help me see the nature of the world and the laws of history. My wife asked me, why are you watching World War II and prehistoric films? I said that because it was directly related to the design of my next game, she didn't have much to say.

But it's hard for me to think of any game that can reach the level of a documentary or a historical film. If I were to fly a rocket into space, maybe the Kerbal Space Program would be useful, but I'm not Musk.

Grape: This seems to be a common feeling for many middle-aged gamers.

Chan: yes, so I realize now that middle-aged gamers need games that will excite them again, games that are worth their time, and even games that can be respected by society. That's the game I want to make now.

Grape King: What kind of game is likely to be respected by society?

Chen Xinghan: You have to give them a huge touch from the depths of human nature, at the level of human hormones, so that they can convince them that this thing is good, and at the same time, you have to reach enough people.

To put it another way, the only real value in life is whether or not you can leave a memory in the hearts of others. Most of the time this memory is emotional, sometimes it's something else. In short, if it can stay in a person's life for a long time, it is a real impact.

Grape Jun: In this way, this generation of young people will definitely remember a lot of mobile games.

Chen Xinghan: Maybe for them, the value of mobile games is very high. Because in different eras, even if it is classic content, the value is different.

Like me, I remember some of the games that were epoch-making in the early years, such as the first strategy game, the first horror game...... When I played Resident Evil, my heart was about to jump out, and that adrenaline rush was forever engraved in my mind. But this generation is used to playing, and it may not feel particularly scared.

But then again, if you had me lying in a hospital bed and thinking back to the most important memories of my life when I was dying, I wouldn't be able to remember some of the mobile games.

Grape: You're really demanding.

Chen Xinghan: The so-called classics are like this, they have been remembered to this day, and some people continue to recommend them, just like "The Little Prince". I believe that the value of everyone's first love is very high, which is why making games must be epoch-making - only epoch-making can have the feeling of first love. If it's just a normal game with a little skin change and better quality, it won't be remembered.

02

Always do it

Something that amazes players

Grape: Speaking of which, "Light · Encounter" is also in its fifth year, how do you make players remember it?

Chen Xinghan: Every year, we do an experience that no game in the world can do, and players are amazed. Like what we did this year, it was an online & offline carnival that can accommodate nearly a million people.

How would you feel when you went to BlizzCon or CP? - Hey, I'm finally at a party full of people who like what I like. We want players to experience that emotion without being offline.

Grape: Have you ever held your own offline carnival before?

Chen Xinghan: We have never done anything as large as this year - we have rented the entire Joy City, with more than 2,000 square meters of space, and 9 game scenes have been reproduced 1:1. You can go to the art gallery to see the original art collection, and you can go to Stonehenge to see the chronicle of "The Encounter of Light......· This offline event was attended by 290,000 people in one weekend.

While doing this offline, we also provided the same experience to everyone online. In the main area, many people visit and check in various places, and some people explore in the rainforest. Offline, we have cosplay ancestor groups, and online, too, with a parade of all 120 NPCs.

In the IMAX theater, while I was giving an offline speech in front of an audience of 500, my character in "Light · Encounter" was also interacting with nearly a million people at the same time, and many people blocked me in the game, saying that they wanted to "capture Xiao Chen alive". Coincidentally, at that time, some online players said, "You are too tall and block my picture," and as a result, some people complained about it in the theater.

This should be the first carnival in history with more than one million online & offline participants at the same time. That's still not counting the number of international servers.

Grape Jun: Is it difficult to engage in this kind of online and offline integration?

Chen Xinghan: It's difficult, everyone has taken off two or three layers of skin. In addition to the fact that the technical support is difficult, the amount of content is also terrifying.

First, we added a feature to the game that allows specific characters to interact with online players across the server in real time. Secondly, this year, there are more than 20 hours of online streaming content for this carnival alone, which is not the usual season and festival content. Coupled with the interactive gameplay of the online carnival, the scene of the branch venue, the production of fireworks on the whole server, the operation of offline activities, etc., everyone is basically very tired.

Grape Jun: What are your different feelings about the fifth anniversary of this time?

Chen Xinghan: I found that the players of "Light · Encounter" are a very peaceful group of people. That day we said, "Don't wait in line now, it's very long, and they said it doesn't matter, I'm fine here." Because they have never seen so many children in "Light · Encounter" together. So I'm very touched that everyone is still very happy on such a hot day.

In addition, there are still a lot of details to worry about offline. For example, how are the paintings in the gallery arranged, are they stacked together or separated? Do you put it in the same place, or do you put it all in the same position? Every decision is up to me.

In China, NetEase has many years of offline experience and team, and I only need to be sandwiched in the car by bodyguards to the scene, and I don't have to do any actual work. However, when I held events in Japan, I lived a life of packing, sticking stickers, and doing everything carefully, and the team gained a lot of experience. It's kind of fun – what can you grow each year? I can say that I am now confident that I can host an in-person event.

Grape Jun: I remember that your online concert achieved 10,000 people on the same screen and won a world record. Are there any technological breakthroughs this year?

Chen Xinghan: We're going to launch a 4K animation this year, so we made a big screen in the game - not a simple player, but a material rendering layer directly connected to the game, so that the screen can be combined with the brightness change of the animation to illuminate the player's face.

In order to do this function, we have to do a good job of all platforms that support the streaming codebase except Switch, and also affect 10,000 people in real time, which is very difficult to do technically. Several times along the way, our team was about to give up on supporting some console platforms, but considering the thoughts of those 10 percent of users, we finally supported all platforms.

Grape: What do you think will be the decisive factor in determining how long "Light · Encounter" will go in the future?

Chen Xinghan: In terms of players, like I said, we do some new experiences every year in terms of technology and social networking. As long as we keep making players feel like they can still play like this, I'm sure they'll come back and see what we're up to.

However, it's not just about the players, it's about being responsible for my own team. Because we have a lot of talented designers, if they just make the same game every year, for ten years in a row, it's going to go crazy. After all, they can all make their own games, so why should I let them do it here? If they don't grow and break through themselves, they will really slack off immediately.

Grape-kun: So what do you do?

Chen Xinghan: As a boss, you want to achieve all the talents in the company, let them shine, and achieve their goals and legends in life. How? You either have them make a new game, or you have to do something that no one else has ever done before, something that is cross-generational. There are only these two methods.

Grape: If you continue like this, will you worry about a bottleneck?

Chen Xinghan: No, we always have a lot of ideas, we just don't have time to do them.

03

Let more people find it

A bond with the world

Grape: In the past five years, how much has you envisioned come true?

Chen Xinghan: It must have been overachieved. I never thought that in the past few years, I could create an online and offline integration, metaverse, and tens of thousands of player service systems...... How could this have been imagined?

Grape Jun: After doing so much, to what extent do you think "Light · Encounter" can influence and change people?

Chen Xinghan: I often see comics drawn by players on the Internet, and some people say that they have no hope for life, and finally find meaning again because of "Light · Encounter". As a result, I did two book signing sessions in China and Japan this time, and I really met a lot of players who came to tell me such stories.

For example, there was a girl in Shanghai who was sobbing when she didn't enter. When she came in, she finally suppressed her emotions and told me that she was in her twenties, and three years ago, she was almost unable to hold on. If it weren't for "Light ·" and a group of children, she would no longer be in this world. It is because of the constant encouragement of this group of friends that she has persevered to this day, and now she no longer needs to go through medication.

I told her at the time, you have to thank them, these people are the ones who really help you, not our game.

Grape-kun: That's a great story.

Chen Xinghan: When someone said these things to you, it really drove your emotions, and I felt quite happy at the time – but then I shared the story with my colleagues, and they couldn't get ......

Later, in Japan, after we demolished the venue, a Japanese player did not show his face or speak, just handed a note to our colleague and left. When we looked at it, there was a short sentence written on the note, but it was very powerful.

Grape: How would you understand their changes?

Chen Xinghan: My understanding is that there is one main reason why many people have suicidal thoughts: they are completely separated from social emotions. Like a lot of people, it's generally emotional, and no one has anything to do with them. And "Light · Encounter" is an anonymous social place, and it is a very safe occasion for i-people. You can speak your own words without worrying that others will hurt you. So many people will share their ideas with others through this form.

Sharing is sharing, and what "Light · Encounter" can do is limited. But at the very least, it's a place where people want to listen. Some people listen, and maybe some people are willing to help them. Once an emotional bond is established, these people have a reason to persevere. That's what I thought.

But you also know that not all bonds are good, such as an asymmetrical Parasocial relationship (a one-sided worship and love relationship with a non-existent character, such as a character in a comic book or movie, or with a person who is not actually in contact with the other party and does not know that you exist, such as a celebrity). Some people's last hope in life is to catch another person, maybe too hard, maybe they have to separate in the end, but there is nothing they can do.

Grape Jun: You said that in this era, with such advanced technological catalysts, is it easier to find the bond?

Chen Xinghan: Quite the opposite. Because people spend more time looking at their phones and consuming entertainment content, the success rate of opening up themselves and establishing communication with real people will become lower. But the feelings of pinning on abstract people are all illusions after all.

Grape Jun: It is possible that the pleasure of communicating with a specific person is far less than the pleasure of watching short videos.

Chen Xinghan: Yes, so many parasocial relationships are built on anchors and celebrities. The reason why so many people on Onlyfans are willing to pay is also because users will feel that the other party will have some ties with him. To put it bluntly, he hears me, he cares about me – that's what a lot of people need.

Grape: Did understanding these things have any negative impact on you?

Chen Xinghan: I have heard a lot of such stories because of "Light · Encounter". I was thinking, we just started by designing some emotional interactions, and then we were done with a story. But a lot of people who have lived here for five years and played 10,000 hours may have more needs than I ever thought about how to meet them.

That's why I started thinking about how I could help those people through games. When we do concerts and carnivals, I feel that even if there are only three or four people out of 10,000 people, because of this experience, I feel that I am still a little bound to the world, and I am not lonely, so we have helped some people.

04

Good content is innate

In a difficult situation

Grape Jun: This year, do you have any new observations or thoughts on the industry?

Chen Xinghan: I'm a little worried right now that there will be a big mess in the game world in the future.

Grape-kun: What kind of mess?

Chen Xinghan: The mobile games I see now are already of triple-A quality, while those triple-A game companies in the West don't know that these games are coming.

You think, when there were no free games on the iPhone, everyone happily bought them for a few dollars. When a free game comes, the quality is as good as a paid game, who will buy it? And now it's happening, a lot of Western game companies may have problems if they stick to the old ways.

Grape Jun: Many game companies in the West are indeed trying F2P, but it doesn't necessarily go well.

Chen Xinghan: Because many companies in the West are still hesitant to start a loot box. For example, Supercell's Brawl Stars is said to have removed the Loot box from the game due to public opinion, but later added it back.

Grape: That's interesting. Why do you think Gacha is okay?

Chen Xinghan: Because Gacha is all over the streets in Japan and other places, everyone thinks it's normal. In addition, the items drawn by Gacha cannot be immediately realized.

But I've also discovered that a lot of new startups make a living by reselling all kinds of cards like Pokemon cards, so you can draw them and sell them right away. That being the case, is Gacha another form of gambling?

And from another point of view, many people care a lot about wealth in the virtual world these days, because there are more friends in the virtual world. In this case, if I show off in the game and get the same dopamine as in the real world, what's the difference between this stuff and gambling?

Grape King: Naturally, they are doing this to make money, but what impact does it have on you?

Chen Xinghan: Everyone has to live, and I understand. But the biggest problem now is that content companies that focus on doing a good job of game content and do not over-commercialize it have a natural weakness - to buy advertising, the cost is that they can't beat those companies that join the commercialization of gambling and marginal content. In between, of course, there will be some discussions about moral standards and acceptance scales, but I feel that it is still a very gray area. This inhibits us from developing good content.

Grape: So what will you do? Is it possible to pave the way through your explorations?

Chen Xinghan: The best reward I can do now is to try to make this industry give people who do pure content a little chance. Because nowadays, people seem to have less and less opportunity to talk about why they wanted to enter the game industry in the first place.

Of course, we will promote this matter more gently, and we will definitely continue to make games that do not draw cards and do not sell colors, so as to prove that this can make money. But at the same time, I also hope that the industry and everyone can think about how to make this ecology healthier and more balanced.

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