Chapter 17 Short and Long Levels

"To alleviate player fatigue, I suggest using a mix of short and long levels. For example, the prologue could be a short level to guide players through the gameplay mechanics, lasting about 10 minutes. The first level could be a long one, requiring complex puzzle-solving before the boss fight, taking about an hour to complete. The second level could be a short one again, leading directly to a boss battle, with puzzle elements interspersed throughout the chase, taking about 30 minutes. The third level could be a longer one again, extending to an hour and fifteen minutes, with even more complex puzzles..."

"This design can regulate the player's emotional flow in different levels, creating a balance of tension and release."

"Moreover, based on the duration we've determined for the short and long levels, we can decide which specific scene to use for each level, combining boss fight gameplay, level background, and level length to leave a more lasting impression on players."

Wu Zhicheng blinked. "Right, that makes sense!"

He hadn't really thought about it that deeply before. He was simply planning ten levels with different backgrounds, just to make up the numbers.

But after listening to Xi Hao's analysis, he realized there was so much more to it!

The length of a level could control the player's emotions, creating a balance of tension and release, so the player wouldn't suddenly feel bored or dull, leading to a better gaming experience.

And the game's length also determined the form of a level: a boss fight after a long puzzle? Or a direct boss fight? Or a boss fight divided into multiple phases with puzzle elements added during the phase transitions?

Different types of levels offer completely different gaming experiences.

After Xi Hao's analysis, Wu Zhicheng instantly felt that the previously vague concepts had become much clearer, and the previously clueless areas had become traceable.

Wu Zhicheng hurriedly jotted notes in his notebook, afraid he'd forget in a moment.

Xi Hao reminded him, "I'm just offering a suggestion; it's not necessarily something you have to follow. If you think it makes sense, then you can plan it this way. If you have other ideas, we can discuss them further."

"Ultimately, *Ink Cloud* is the game you're designing, and you have the final say. We're just offering suggestions from other perspectives; it's your freedom whether to adopt them or not."

Wu Zhicheng nodded. "Understood."

Xi Hao's attitude also pleased Wu Zhicheng.

Clearly, Xi Hao had several years of experience in the gaming industry, so he could offer a more professional perspective than Wu Zhicheng when looking at many issues.

Wu Zhicheng would, of course, happily adopt these better suggestions.

But *Ink Cloud* was, after all, a game designed by Wu Zhicheng, and he should have the final say, without a doubt.

Xi Hao had absolutely no intention of interfering with Wu Zhicheng's design, which demonstrated a fundamental respect for the creator.

Xi Hao looked at the notes in his notebook and said, "Do you have any expectations for the game's approximate resource requirements and development time?"

Wu Zhicheng shook his head again. "No."

Xi Hao didn't show any disdain, and instead said in a normal tone, "Then let's start with a simple plan; we can refine the details later."

"Based on the previously estimated 10 hours of gameplay and the short and long level plan, we'll need approximately nine levels of varying sizes. In addition to the prologue and epilogue, there will be seven levels in the middle."

"About 15 types of small monsters should be enough, with eight types serving as basic monsters, and the remaining seven appearing as special monsters under special conditions or environments."

"The same small monster can also be reused, made into different colors or given different skills, but this reuse needs to be restrained and must fit the characteristics of the level, so players don't feel like they're fighting the same battle over and over."

"For the eight levels from the first level to the final chapter, we can design eight different boss battles. The prologue boss can be a weaker version of one of those bosses, reused to drive the plot."

"This way, the scale of each level's map can also be roughly estimated."

"We'll determine the art resource list based on these requirements, settling on the approximate workload. The editor is readily available, and side-scrolling action games are also very common, so the production time can be relatively fast..."

"The overall project is estimated to take about six months."

"Although you've already initially completed some content, we still need to allow sufficient time for revisions, so we can tentatively set two deadlines."

"The first deadline is two months from now. We'll strive to complete the game content up to the third level and test it with players to gauge their feedback. If the feedback is poor, we can make timely revisions;"

"The second deadline is five months from now. We'll strive to complete the entire game, fix all the bugs, and polish all the details. This way, the game can be officially released."

"The map, character, monster, special effect, and other related art resources must also be completed within this timeframe."

"If we estimate the development cost based on the current resource requirements... let's apply for a funding amount of 1.5 million first. The art for this game is very important, so we need to contact several excellent artists and choose the most suitable style. If the money isn't enough, we can apply for more later."

"What do you think?"

Xi Hao looked at Wu Zhicheng, seeking his opinion.

Wu Zhicheng immediately nodded. "Sounds great!"

Wu Zhicheng had only one feeling about Xi Hao's statement: professional!

When he was chatting with Qiu Hong before, Wu Zhicheng knew nothing about the details of the entire project's development time and the amount of money required.

It wasn't that he wasn't competent; it was just that he came from a non-traditional background and had never worked for a formal game company, so how would he know?

Under these circumstances, Qiu Hong still decided to invest, which shows that he really appreciated the gameplay of *Ink Cloud*.

But now, with Xi Hao's help, these more detailed problems were immediately solved.

Wu Zhicheng was quite satisfied with the current plan, and even felt that it had changed his ideas about the game *Ink Cloud*, making them clearer.

Moreover, the plan could be changed at any time and offered a high degree of freedom, so he didn't have to worry about his design being restricted.

Xi Hao continued, "Great, we'll hurry up and create the entire development plan, art resource list, and requirements list for you to take a look at. You can communicate and modify them at any time."

"As for you, just focus all your energy on game design. Feel free to find us with any problems."

"We will also search for some data or similar existing games online based on the type of game, provide them to you as reference materials, and continue to update them."

"You can take a look when you feel uninspired to spark some inspiration."

Wu Zhicheng was pleasantly surprised. "Okay, okay."

He couldn't help but sigh. This was truly a nanny-style, one-stop service!

Someone was helping him develop the game development plan, someone was helping him make demands for game art resources, and someone was even helping him gather game inspiration!

Obviously, the task of this three-person team was to help independent game developers complete various time-consuming but essential tasks, while serving four independent game developers.

By staggering the time slightly, they could make full use of the entire team's manpower.

Soon, the meeting was over, and the originally uncertain content had been tentatively finalized.

Xi Hao participated in this meeting mainly to set a general direction with Wu Zhicheng, and then leave the specific work to his subordinates.

Two or three days later, *Ink Cloud*'s development plan, preliminary level plan, art resource list, requirements document, etc., would be uploaded one after another, and dedicated personnel would be responsible for promoting the related work.

As for Wu Zhicheng himself, he only needed to do the design work.

On the one hand, it standardized and guided his original non-traditional methods, allowing him to make games more efficiently within a certain framework, instead of continuing to stumble around like a headless fly;

On the other hand, it greatly reduced the burden. Wu Zhicheng no longer needed to do those inefficient but necessary repetitive tasks, and only needed to focus all his attention on the game design work that required the most creativity.

Wu Zhicheng returned to his workstation, took a sip of milk tea, and felt a lot more excited.

Why was he suddenly so motivated?

He immediately began to redo the entire game's level plan according to the details that had been finalized earlier.