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The secret to success by taking an unconventional approach

However, in the fiercely competitive mobile game market, even if the content is unique, it is still difficult to provide an overwhelming advantage for the product, after all, there are already many competitors who meet the conditions. If we continue to dig deeper, we will find that there are other reasons why "Codename Kite" has become such a special existence.

At the end of last year, the game was nominated for the Best Story Game of the Year by Google, which made me realize its difference at the product level:Being in the booming ancient style track, the game neither competes with the leading manufacturers to "build up volume" nor follows the mainstream of big world and 3D modeling. Instead, it has always been driven by the plot and sticks to the niche field of plot mobile games and traditional Chinese culture themes.

In other words, in the entire field of ancient style products, it is an extremely unique product, and there is no comparable product. Products with stronger immersion than it are generally larger in size, and the threshold of the gaming experience is also higher; while lighter products are not as good as "Codename Kite" in terms of atmosphere immersion and ancient style expression.

This makes it more like a small but refined product that focuses on content density. Compared with "image quality" and "modeling" which are hard problems that can be solved by "piling up materials", breaking away from inertial thinking and finding a new way to achieve stylization and differentiation can be said to be an important consideration for "Codename Kite" to break tradition with innovation. So, how did they do it?

Faced with the proposition of differentiation, Codename Kite gave a different answer:In the vertical field of ancient style, with Han culture as the background and immersive plot as the main content, we have created an exclusive brand segmentation, and strive to closely fit the players' core perception, strive to enhance the sense of immersion, and create an immersive ancient style experience that conforms to the Chinese core.

When we concretize the concept of "immersion" in the game, we can find that whether it is the main or side story, or the art and vocal level, "Codename Kite" is designed with the core idea of ​​bringing players into the ancient world.

For example, the main storyline. The setting of "Codename Kite" is based on the turbulent late Han Dynasty in history. The history of this period is legendary. On this basis, a grand worldview is created, telling a story that combines historical intrigues, oriental fantasy and other elements, which is very attractive to many players.

Of course, this also sets "Codename Kite" apart from common martial arts or fairy tales, forming a unique story style.

Although the game as a whole is centered around the main plot, it does not simply emphasize authenticity through superficial stories, but instead uses a lot of words to depict scenes of troubled times, and creates a lot of content beyond power struggles - friendship, family affection, and family and country justice.

On the one hand, "Codename Kite" shifts the focus to the present, real people around us, thus creating many memorable spy characters.

For example, Xu Shu, who seems to be bold and unrestrained on the outside, also has a delicate side. In the personal plot, she repeatedly reminded the protagonist "I" not to fall into the trap of the local official Tao Qian, but to act calmly. In her, we can feel more of the cultural core of a "great chivalrous man". In the face of injustice in the world, she bravely drew her sword to help, and embodied the chivalrous spirit vividly.

Another example is the relationship between Guo Jia and Jia Xu. Before this, the two met in college and were close friends, but their goals were different. Guo Jia, who was very discerning and had a sense of justice, was looking for a "hero" in his heart, believing that only a hero could save this troubled world.

Unlike Guo Jia, Jia Xu believes that ordinary people should unite and take control of their own destiny, rather than helplessly waiting for heroes. The differentiated ideals between the two, as well as their respective persistence and ambitions, not only left a deep impression on the players, making the characters more vivid and three-dimensional, but also allowed them to feel the profound humanistic heritage contained in the game plot.

On the other hand, they also have a complete set of derivative settings in the side quests or event plots. The scene of the event "Yunmeng Witch Village" is a secluded mountain village full of wizards. Players need to accumulate spiritual sand and collect sacrificial utensils by completing tasks to unlock the witch temple. Introducing this traditional and even somewhat unpopular Wu Nuo culture can also make players resonate with the mysterious atmosphere.

In addition to the considerable plot volume, the game also buries a lot of information in the audio-visual level, allowing the pictures and vocals to convey deeper meanings, implementing their creative concept of always paying attention to detail design.

For example, in response to the historical trajectory, "Codename Kite" presents Chinese antiquities that have lasted for thousands of years in the game. Later, many players found the corresponding cultural relics in museums. This mutual echo between reality and the game makes the fictional world real and three-dimensional.

Although a large number of Chinese cultural elements were researched, the production team did not restrict themselves to restoration, but made the entire imaginary world more realistic through unified interpretation. The full cast and full plot dubbing form makes the story's sensitivity and plot experience even better.

The vocal design also strongly connects history and world stories.

"Inheriting the joy of the world", "riding a whole car", "day and night", "heartbroken"... The ancient Chinese pronunciation of "Dong Tao Ge" was sung, which amazed everyone and lingered; the second half of the song, "Why do we need soldiers to cut off your neck and crush your body? Isn't it ridiculous?", which was taken from "Yue Jue Shu Ten Volumes", also made many players exclaim in amazement. At this time, the main plot just turned to the heroine's plan and assassination of Dong Zhuo. The scene, accompanied by the background of the song, presented a strong epic atmosphere and grand narrative.

With multiple interpretations, players can immerse themselves in the world setting of Codename Kite more quickly. The small details hidden in the story and pictures also allow them to experience the turbulent times when everyone is in danger, and the impact and consequences of major decisions as if they were there in person.

It is not difficult to see from the design logic of the plot, art, vocal music, etc. that "Codename Yuan" is by no means a simple "re-skin" of the history of the late Han Dynasty. When constructing the world view, they not only considered the echo with real history, but also incorporated a lot of secondary creation content into the precipitation of Han culture, Chinese philosophy and other elements, reinterpreting history in their own way.

The most intuitive thing is that in the plot, the interaction between POV narrative perspective and live2D achieves an immersive feeling that is no less than that of 3D masterpieces without piling up the volume. For example, the wonderful scenes such as "rooftop parkour" and "saving people from a knife" have achieved a very immersive performance effect, and many players relished that "it is exactly the scene in my imagination!"

In terms of gameplay, the production team has also added a derivative intelligence system, which disperses various detailed information in various texts, including but not limited to rumors about spies, stronghold intelligence, and branch lines.(Love, spy personal story), props and furniture descriptions, etc. Players can explore the stories behind them by themselves and experience the fun of unraveling the mystery.

(The stronghold system is one of the main resource entrances in the early stages of the game)

For example, Liu Bian buried the Five Pecks of Rice Sect leader in the regional legends, his relationship with Zhang Xiu, and the letter torn up by the palace servants buried in the stronghold copy; for example, Yuan Ji buried the mysterious military advisor in the early days, related to Mohism; for example, Zuo Ci buried the cause and effect reincarnation; for example, Zhang Jue replaced Dong Zhuo with many foreshadowing details...

The text of "Codename Kite" is like a complex and open "puzzle". While ensuring the information density, if the player makes inferences and glimpses some "clues" in the early stage, they can also enjoy an interactive flow experience, making the reading process highly immersive.

There is another small detail worth noting, that is, there is an internal and external connection between the gameplay system and the narrative. Specifically, when the hero gets into trouble in the main storyline, the player cannot interact with him in the peripheral system; and if the intelligence network is cut off in the main storyline, the system can no longer be used in the peripheral gameplay. This is a clever design of the system interaction made by "Codename Kite" to ensure the consistency of the player experience.

(After Liu Bian "died" in the main storyline, his "Xinzhijun" state was like this)

(In the main storyline, if the protagonist's intelligence network can no longer be maintained, the base system mentioned above will become ineffective as shown in the picture)

As we said earlier, "Codename Kite" creates many independent stories for many characters, big and small, but beyond that, the game actually incorporates a lot of modern ideas, using the words of the ancients to express the suffering of today in a very light way and establishing connections with daily life.

For example, we can occasionally hear the voices of contemporary workers from the characters’ mouths, vividly creating the simple image of the little people;

Some conversations show typical empty promises in the workplace, just like the real society.

The story of "Codename Kite" is always set in that chaotic world. Everyone is a part of that chaotic world. Everyone has his or her own choices and helplessness. Life is only a few decades long, and imperfection is the norm.

The filling and polishing of various details really give the whole game a unique texture and make people feel within reach. Moreover, whether it is live2d, targeted gameplay or branch content, they are nothing new, but "Codename Kite" can use such a lightweight production method and a unified narrative structure to integrate contemporary values ​​and life views into it, creating a unique and successful ancient style immersive experience.

The real source of the game's appeal lies in the authentic content tone it presents and the ancient style immersion brought by the experience dimension across the screen, which earns word of mouth and user influence.

The reason why they are able to differentiate themselves from other products on the market is that they constantly explore the depth of their worldview and seek innovative and changing ways of interpretation.

In other words, every time the main and side story content is added, new activities are launched, and various resources are updated, the game is trying to enhance the immersive feeling of ancient style in multiple dimensions. With the continuous accumulation and optimization of these details, "Codename Kite" has been able to stand at the height it is today.

For example, in the "Three Thousand Universes" event last June, the game created an art effect that was both exquisite and classical, yet grand and epic; the activity was played in the form of an immersive script-killing game, and the story level once went deep into several different time and space, spanning more than a hundred years. The deeper meaning was to express that women can break free from the shackles of conventions and have unlimited possibilities.

At the same time, the game also broadens the depth and breadth of the experience, combining the changes in the plot with real history. The plot of "Three Thousand Universes" involves Sima Yi's reign, Sun Quan's rise to power, and Yuan Ji's suicide. It is not only the late Han Dynasty era that we are familiar with, with heroes rising up and multiple factions, but also a parallel world that players see from the perspective of the protagonist "Prince Guangling", a brief footnote to her journey through the vastness of Three Thousand Universes. Reality and virtuality intersect in the story, which is wonderful, and the immersive advantage of the game has been raised to a higher level.

What’s even more rare is that the challenges of the game are not achieved by simply “accumulating quantity”, but by being patient and working on “enhancing the immersive experience” bit by bit.

Because some of the common ancient style game products on the market take the route of action games, using exciting battle processes and detailed 3D performance to depict and create an ancient style immersion; while some take the route of open world, using rich exploration content and clever level design to immerse players. Admittedly, this may be the most intuitive and direct way of expression, but it is not the only solution for the category.

Compared with the above ancient style products, "Codename Kite" has taken a path of its own.

On the one hand, the product size is relatively small. Compared with other games that are often more than ten GB in size, the main body of "Codename Kite" is only about 2GB. This lightweight design concept is not only more in line with the usage habits of current mobile game players, but also can lower the experience threshold, allowing them to enter the game faster and feel the charm of the complete game world; on the other hand, there are many carefully polished details in the game, such as the aforementioned copywriting and fragmented information, which are everywhere, and the ancient style revealed in the details is immersive and real enough.

Therefore, in my opinion, the core idea of ​​the game is:It is not intended to be a product that can be popular in the market, but only focuses on the design point of immersion and sense of involvement, trying to consolidate and iterate its own game quality.

Just like the King of Guangling in the game who constantly takes action to achieve his growth aspirations in order to reach the ultimate pinnacle of power, "Codename Kite" is also continuously exploring its own plasticity and creativity.

As the game continues to mature and develop, it may provide some new inspiration for the category and even the entire market: as long as we continue to dig deeper into the quality of content and gameplay, and present the content that players like in a better form, lightweight products can also have their own foothold.

Looking to the future, we are also looking forward to the broad vision and unlimited possibilities of game development.