Text/Great Entertainer

Although "Black Myth: Wukong" will not be officially launched in less than a month, in the past few years that players have been waiting, hardcore domestic action games seem to have shown a blowout trend.

At the just-concluded ChinaJoy, the third phase of the "China Star Project" held by Sony Interactive Entertainment brought out three new selected works: "Juexiao", "Codename: Jinyiwei" and "Loulan".

Coupled with the new martial arts ARPG work "Ape Sword: The Awakening of the White Ape", which was suddenly released two weeks ago, and the "Shadow Blade Zero", which started the global tour trial activity, and the announcement of the postponement of the launch of "Yanyun Sixteen Voices", it can be said that in the next two or three years from this year, the output of domestic action games seems to usher in explosive growth.

The game interface of "Ape Sword: White Ape Awakening".

At the same time, the explosion of domestic action games is not only for PC and consoles, but also in the mobile game market, which has long been dominated by MOBAs and new two-dimensional games, action games have also begun to make progress. The most typical is the mobile game "Naraka: Bladepoint", which was officially launched on July 25, and at the beginning of its launch, it was the first in the overall list of free iOS games and the third in the best-selling list, which is not an unsuccessful start.

Judging from the current trend, action games that combine traditional martial arts styles and classic costume narratives are gradually becoming the focus of domestic game development.

Naraka: Bladepoint has created a development model that derives from terminal games to mobile games and directly connects the platform, which may also become the focus of some domestic action games, after all, it is still an indisputable fact that there are many mobile game players in China, and being able to obtain multi-terminal income is also beneficial for manufacturers to continue to polish their works and make more development attempts.

Naraka: Bladepoint game interface

However, in this wave of action games, Tencent, as a game giant, seems to be invisible again, backed by "Glory of Kings", "Peace Elite", "Golden Shovel Battle" and the old IP novice game "Dungeons and Warriors" can still achieve performance growth, Tencent Games obviously believes in their "evergreen" rather than "old games" nature.

I don't know if in the near future, the competition for the field of action games, compared to NetEase, which has been all in, will Tencent repeat the late-time money-throwing model like "Yuan Dream Star", and in the context of the entire industry's pursuit of the so-called "liver reduction and krypton", it has never been able to come up with decent works in the buyout terminal game market, whether it will become another big worry for this giant.

01

The new core of domestic action games:

Integrate cultural heritage and type innovation

It can be said that the birth of "Black Myth: Wukong" has indeed quickly triggered a new wave of domestic action games. In the game market in recent years, domestic action games have begun to emerge more with the help of various classical cultural characteristics and the integration of various action game designs, becoming a force to be reckoned with in the industry. This trend undoubtedly reflects the judgment of domestic game developers on the current game market - players have a huge demand for high-quality domestic action games.

The three selected works in the third phase of Sony's "China Star Program" recently - "Absolute Dawn", "Loulan" and "Codename: Jinyiwei" are a vivid embodiment of this trend. They not only show the innovation ability of domestic games, but also represent the beginning of the development of action games in the direction of diversification.

The third phase of Sony's "China Star Program".

For example, "Absolute Dawn", with its open world vastness and multiplayer online interactivity, provides players with a platform to explore the unknown and challenge the limit.

In this disaster-stricken fantasy world, players will take on the role of a survivor who will not only face the rigors of the outside world, but also fight against enemies corrupted by unknown existences. The design of the game cleverly blends the modern two-dimensional aesthetics and the mechanics of hardcore action games, reflecting the progress of domestic games in terms of visual performance and gameplay depth. The composite game that combines role-playing and action combat also reflects that the current domestic action games are not satisfied with the traditional framework.

With its unique historical background and profound emotional story, "Loulan" leads players into an ancient and mysterious world in the Western Regions.

In the game, players take on the role of an exiled royal squire who embarks on a journey full of dangers and challenges in search of their beloved. Loulan's combat system emphasizes realism and strategy, requiring players to use unique abilities and wits to solve puzzles and defeat enemies. Action-adventure games with historical and cultural backgrounds not only enrich the theme of domestic games, but also provide players with an opportunity to deeply understand and experience traditional Chinese culture.

The interface of the game "Loulan".

"Codename: Jinyiwei" presents players with a world full of strategy and wisdom with its unique martial arts theme and complex combat system. The game is set in the late Ming Dynasty, and players will take on the role of a grassroots protagonist who will gradually uncover the conspiracy behind the major events of the era through constant combat and growth.

At the same time, the combat system of this new game is its biggest highlight, which not only contains common mechanics such as "blocking" and "rebounding", but also adds unique resource management elements such as "true qi" and "internal breath", making the combat richer and deeper. The in-depth combat design not only tests the player's operation skills, but also tests the player's tactical layout and decision-making ability.

The emergence of these three games is a microcosm of the explosive trend of domestic action game production, and "Shadow Blade Zero", which will be launched next year, is also quite popular.

Shadow Blade Zero game interface

With the advancement of technology and the expansion of the market, more and more domestic game developers have begun to try different themes and gameplay, drawing inspiration from traditional culture and combining modern game design concepts to create action games with Chinese characteristics. This trend not only enriches the game market and meets the diverse needs of players, but also promotes the development and innovation of the domestic game industry.

The explosion of domestic action games may have a multifaceted impact.

First of all, it will help enhance the competitiveness of domestic games in the international market, and attract the attention of global players by showcasing China's cultural charm and innovation capabilities. In fact, not only "Black Myth: Wukong", but now any new domestic action game can be released on YouTube as long as it can be released on YouTube, it can arouse the popularity of foreign players.

The interface of Black Myth: Wukong

Secondly, this diversified development trend also provides game developers with a broader creative space and more development opportunities, which stimulates the vitality and creativity of the industry.

Finally, for players, this means that they can experience more high-quality domestic games and enjoy richer and more diverse game content.

Of course, more importantly, in this game market with limited increments, the fundamental motivation for manufacturers to develop games is still commercial returns, and the explosion of sales of "Black Myth: Wukong" with a price tag of 268 is undoubtedly eye-catching, but not everyone is game science. Recently, the development team of "The Wind Rises in Luoyang" announced the news of stopping development, and the dilemma of only 7 people from art to development of "Ape Sword: White Ape Awakening", which speaks Sichuan dialect, is also quite embarrassing.

For domestic action games, the buyout system obviously cannot be the only end point, and the cross-platform from terminal games to mobile games may be a new hope for this category in the future.

02

Cross-platform fusion action game,

Or into the mobile game market new catfish

With the continuous improvement of the quality and gameplay of domestic action games, players may be witnessing the formation of a new trend: high-quality action games are beginning to extend from traditional terminal game platforms to mobile game platforms.

This cross-platform convergence not only reflects the advancement of game development technology, but also indicates that the mobile game market may face a new competitive landscape. In this trend, the launch of Naraka: Bladepoint mobile game is undoubtedly a representative case.

As a successful PC + console action game, the mobile game version of Naraka: Bladepoint has also gained a large number of players.

More importantly, when NetEase transplanted the mobile game, the core was not only to transplant the complex combat system and smooth operation experience in the terminal game to the mobile platform, maintaining the core gameplay and aesthetic style of the original game, but also directly opening up the account system of the terminal game and the mobile game, so that the old players of the terminal game will undoubtedly start from scratch.

Naraka: Bladepoint is interoperable with mobile games

The current popularity of Naraka: Bladepoint mobile not only proves the viability of high-quality action games on mobile platforms, but also sets an example for other similar games, and its successful cross-platform transformation is likely to have a profound impact on the existing mobile game market.

Action mobile games like Naraka: Bladepoint bring a much deeper and more complex gameplay experience to players, which may raise the overall expectations of players for the quality of the mobile game. Traditional Krypton mobile games are usually dominated by simple and repetitive gameplay, and the emergence of high-quality action mobile games may force existing mobile game manufacturers to rethink their game design and strive to improve the depth and overall quality of the game.

At the same time, works derived from buyout-based terminal games such as Naraka: Bladepoint mobile games still cannot inherently force krypton or "pay-to-win" like traditional krypton games, and for now, Naraka: Bladepoint mobile games can buy some character skins, costumes, weapon skins and other cosmetics, but they will not affect the balance of the game. The game does not sell items that could disrupt the balance of the game. Therefore, even if you don't have kryptonite, you can fully enjoy the game without being affected too much.

Naraka: Bladepoint costumes

If players can experience more of the fun of action competition in a mobile game from the improvement of technology rather than the thrill of krypton, it will obviously help them maintain their enthusiasm for a game for a long time.

Obviously, once a large number of high-quality action mobile games appear, it will naturally bring challenges to the existing long-term operation of mobile games. Action mobile games often require players to invest more time and effort into mastering the game's skills, which can distract players from other mobile games. This is undoubtedly a potential threat to long-term mobile games that rely on daily player logins and continuous investment.

On the other hand, such games may also attract more players who do not traditionally play mobile games, such as hardcore gamers, thereby expanding the overall size of the mobile game market and changing the structure of the market.

This trend will not only affect the mobile gaming market, but may also drive change in the entire gaming industry.

In order to successfully port complex action games to mobile platforms, developers need to overcome many technical limitations, which may drive innovation in mobile device performance optimization, touch operation design, and so on.

Source: Internet

At the same time, the success of Naraka: Bladepoint may encourage more developers to adopt a "develop once, run on multiple platforms" strategy, thereby improving development efficiency and reducing costs. As mentioned in the previous article "Tencent Games All In< Black Myth: Wukong >", once "Black Myth: Wukong" can be launched with quality and quantity, this IP will never be limited to PC and consoles, and Tencent, as one of the shareholders, will inevitably have a stronger incentive to promote its further mobile games.

From the perspective of direction, the explosion of domestic action games naturally has an extremely positive impact on the genre richness of the entire game market, and the further integration of mobile game platforms represents that the mobile game market will most likely have a new pattern change. Especially for large companies that still rely heavily on old works or old IPs to maintain growth, they may face more competitive pressure in the future.

Next, we may see more high-quality games in the action genre enter the mobile game market, for each major game manufacturer, the key is how to find the right position in this trend, the experience of "Dream Star" has shown that it is not always possible to succeed if you want to catch up, rather than imitate it step by step, perhaps more importantly, realize that the trend has come, and be more courageous to try something different.

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