Today (December 5), NetEase released the second test PV of the martial arts open world game “Sixteen Voices of Yanyun” (hereinafter referred to as “Yanyun”).
“Yanyun” is a 3A-quality product of NetEase’s EVERSTONE studio. It has been highly anticipated by players and the industry since it was first revealed in August last year. This year, it has maintained its popularity due to live broadcast demonstrations, technology first tests and player trial sessions. High attention. Once the second test PV was released, it has received nearly 4 million views on Station B, triggering widespread discussion.
Whether it was the first PV last year or the live demo in March this year, the appearance of “Yanyun” is full of the taste of a major company “flexing its muscles”. The thick and simple art style and the rather diverse interaction design fully demonstrate the production team’s in-depth understanding of martial arts and the open world.
What new stories are hidden in the second test PV?
Speaking of the dimensions that impressed me deeply in “Yanyun”, they should be the two major parts of world building and gameplay interaction.
Let’s talk about the atmosphere creation of the worldview first. This game is very good at building a thicker sense of history through high-quality traditional cultural content, which fits the overall “hardcore martial arts” feel.
For example, the second test PV continues the tone of the first live video released last year. Last time, it was singing “Poppy Beauty” by Li Houzhu. This time, the opening poem in Henan dialect is taken from “Shang Tian Jia” by Nie Yizhong (Tang Dynasty) . Combined with the old character ringing the chimes, the dilapidated battlefield, the “Pingbian Policy” scattered on the table, and the map of Yanyun’s sixteen states, a few shots set off the dark tone of living in troubled times.
However, this time the PV not only outlines the oppressive and chaotic era of the game world view, but also uses the scene of Ghost Fan Tower to present a weird and gorgeous atmosphere of the world. This strange area mentioned by the Southern Song Dynasty poet Lu You in Volume 6 of “Notes of Laoxue’an” is full of underground ditches extending in all directions and hiding all kinds of desperadoes. It is already very legendary.
“Yanyun” gives a more romantic interpretation: the weird atmosphere reflected by the red lanterns, the bustling and noisy night market, and the beautiful but dangerous singing and dancing on the stage. The bizarre performance of “Ghost Tower” instantly reminded me of the classic martial arts movies of the 1990s directed by Tsui Hark. It felt like I was in the secret places of the Dragon Gate Inn, Ghost Market, etc. It was very familiar.
What’s even more interesting is that in the downtown scene, you can also see traditional entertainment projects such as cockfighting and Chuiwan (similar to modern hockey). This is probably because the game uses traditional Chinese flavor to expand the gameplay interaction. Perhaps “Yanyun” not only contains the life of fighting and killing, but also has a lot of entertainment and leisure, and in-depth market gameplay content. From the background of the big era to personal daily life, the vivid world of “Yanyun” is portrayed layer by layer.
Can you also order the acupoints of a chicken?
Then let’s take a look at the gameplay of “Yanyun”.
In my opinion, in order to make the martial arts flavor more than just watch, but allow players to truly experience it, “Yanyun” has filled in a lot of “interactions” in exploration, combat and other gameplay. The duel in “Yanyun” is obviously not just about dodging, blocking, and releasing skills, but packaging martial arts concepts such as Qinggong, acupuncture, and internal strength into rich interactions between the enemy and ourselves, creating a new system where what you see is what you get.
The essence of Chinese martial arts: connection, transformation and release
This move of throwing the enemy away and using the hat to cause secondary damage is so cool.
Just like the most unforgettable part of the previous demonstration, it was actually the protagonist learning “Toad Kung Fu” with a roadside toad, using Tai Chi to throw a bear into the sky, etc. This meaning that “everything can enter martial arts and everything can interact” can be said to be a relatively rare design in martial arts games so far.
“Redefining all the givens”: It’s time to break the chain of contempt
In addition to discussing the gameplay and world view, topics such as “Is “Yanyun” a stand-alone or an online game” are also very hot on the Internet. After all, in the player community, there have always been some unwritten “rules” and implicit chains of contempt. For example, stand-alone games are always better than social online games, console games are always better than mobile games, etc.
Therefore, following the initial announcement of “Yanyun”, many players immediately focused their judgment on the business model and platform of the game – whether this game is a stand-alone buyout or a free online game, or whether it is a pure hard-core PC/console action A game, or a compromise product that takes into account the “glass rubbing” operation of a mobile phone?
Regardless of the specific gameplay design and product scale, once “principle” issues are involved, it seems that there will be a veto effect.
“It can’t be a single machine”
Under this cognitive background, “Yanyun” chose “I want it all” extremely firmly.
“Yanyun” is expected to provide 20-30 hours of single-player main storyline experience, as well as rich multiplayer modes. In a tweet posted on the game’s official website, the production team clearly discussed the importance of balancing both modes: “Don’t want everything. In the end, no one will be pleased, but we do want both.Because to build Yanyun’s world, it is incomplete if there is only a single person or only multiple people.Even if there is controversy, we will still insist on the new single player x multiplayer mode, let’s call it “Yanyun mode” for the time being! “
In order to emphasize its determination to renovate the gameplay mode, “Yanyun” recently even launched“Reset all givens”This big slogan that somewhat deconstructs the concept of 3A——If 3A is synonymous with high-quality narrative masterpieces, and online games are centered on multiplayer social experience, then “Yanyun” is determined to become the industry’s first “3A online game.”
Official description of multiplayer gameplay
Let’s not talk about how “Genshin Impact”, which has been a phenomenon in recent years, has opened up a track for the industry of “multi-terminal and long-term free open world masterpieces”. Even if you look at those old companies with deep experience in console and PC platforms, you can still see excellent works such as “GTA5” and “Red Dead Redemption 2” that combine immersive and complete narratives and diverse online gameplay.
In the final analysis, it still depends on the compatibility of online content and the overall expression of the game. Isn’t it a good thing to use the multiplayer mode to further expand the gameplay and perspective, thus completing the dimensions that are not covered in the single-player story?
Proper use of online gameplay can also deepen the narrative and immersion of the game. Master figures such as Hideo Kojima and Hidetaka Miyazaki have demonstrated how to use appropriate multiplayer network interaction to deepen the game in works such as “Metal Gear Solid 5”, “Death Stranding”, and the “Dark Souls” series. Narrative theme and enhance player’s sense of immersion.
Of course, this high-quality main story + long-term content operation model will definitely put a great test on the team’s R&D strength and comprehensive production capacity. Whether this road can succeed depends on whether manufacturers have enough courage and patience to make long-term investments.
Regardless of whether it is seen from the new PV or the recent official tweets, EVERSTONE has imbued “Yanyun” with the meticulous polishing attitude of a 3A masterpiece.
For example, in the recent publicity, the official said that in order to ensure that the martial arts and action performance in “Yanyun” are suitable enough, the famous Hong Kong action director Mr. Dong Wei was specially invited to serve as the official action director to jointly create a real kung fu and hard martial arts style.
At the same time, the official tweet also mentioned that the production team will innovate all weapon movements, martial arts moves, and action performances in the game, strengthen the martial arts action from the design source, and pursue highly realistic action feedback.
The cultural content of the game is also full of rigorous research spirit. For example, players can continuously collect and listen to the music of Chinese civilization composed of sixteen-note temperaments during the exploration process. The production team specially searched for famous people at home and abroad for this purpose, and collected ancient music scores of the Tang Dynasty that were brought to the East by the envoys sent to the Tang Dynasty.
It can only be said that the path chosen by “Yanyun” is not easy to follow, but if you can persist in “going to the end”,Perhaps we can draw a watershed for the future and reshape players’ inherent feelings about stand-alone and online games.
The second test is coming soon, how much confidence should we have in “Yanyun”?
Under the wave of cost reduction, efficiency improvement and capital withdrawal, there are endless voices from the outside world that lack confidence in the industry. Many times, a much-anticipated product is delayed or even left undisclosed, which has become a tacit norm in the industry.
But I think we can still have a certain degree of confidence in “Yanyun”. If you look back at the more than a year since “Yanyun” was first revealed, you will see that every action of EVERSTONE has a follow-up, and they are steadily pushing the game step by step towards the vision they originally described to the players.
First, at the beginning of the year, the official invited players to participate in offline trials in Hangzhou, Chengdu, Guangzhou and other places, and received good feedback. In June, “Yanyun” launched its first test and received an enthusiastic response. The TapTap score has remained stable at around 8.9, which shows that the game is already of considerable completion and quality.
Subsequently, during the trial test at the Cologne Show in August, the game received widespread praise from the media around the world. Then in November, “Yanyun” appeared on the cover of the British gaming magazine “EDGE”, gaining momentum.
It is not difficult to see that “Yanyun” has its ambitions, but it also has a profound “internal strength” as its foundation, so that this huge martial arts world does not stop at conceptual drawings, but with the confidence of “definitely making it next year” Starting a new adventure – this adventure is likely to accompany players for a long time in years.
Domestic 3A masterpieces are a topic with a lot of traffic, and it is also a topic that can easily cause emotions, prejudices, and arguments. It is hoped that after “Yanyun” is officially launched, it can be fairly reviewed in a relatively objective and peaceful market environment. Let’s build a powerful reference for all latecomers and all creators who want to create domestic martial arts masterpieces.
