Just today, the popular Journey to the West theme has ushered in another challenger. The Chinese-style “Journey to the West 2” is officially launched.
As the sequel to “Journey to the West”, “Journey to the West 2” has always attracted considerable attention from players. It topped the TapTap reservation list three days before its launch. The number of reservations across the entire network exceeded 5 million before its launch. . After it went online, it climbed to the top of the list of popularity on station B and received praise from a large number of players.
In the current environment of extreme involution, it is rare for a sequel to the Journey to the West theme to achieve such results. Judging from player feedback on platforms such as TapTap and Haoyou Kuaibao, players’ recognition of “Journey to the West 2” is mainly focused on its art style, light gameplay and generous benefits. Coupled with the marketing operations of the media platform, “Journey to the West 2” is off to a good start.
The left hand holds the feelings, the right hand holds the future
In fact, for “Journey to the West 2”, the previous “Journey to the West” has already laid the foundation for the sequel. All aspects from themes, categories to gameplay are familiar to players. Old players can get started quickly, and new players can easily accept the Journey to the West-themed card game. Judging from the early announcements, “Journey to the West 2” not only plays the emotional card, but also pays attention to a sense of the future and modernity. This set of “combination boxing” originated from the theme of the game itself – “Journey to the West 2” not only satisfies players’ yearning for Journey to the West and the culture of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, but also reflects a “cyber flavor” in the world view – and then It was carried forward by subsequent publicity.
On April 27, the creative short film starring famous movie stars Luo Jiaying and Paul Cha as the welfare officers of “Journey to the West 2” was officially announced. Luo Jiaying and Paul Cha are highly visible characters in traditional Hong Kong films and TV shows. Even the new generation of players believe they will not be unfamiliar with them. The role of the long-winded Tang monk in “Westward Journey” is played by Luo Jiaying. The publicity team of “Journey to the West 2” used famous lines such as “Humans are born from humans, monsters are born from monsters” and “Only you, can accompany me to get the Western Scripture”. , trying to evoke players’ childhood memories of the alternative Journey to the West.
Paul Che is a well-known actor who came out of the golden age of Hong Kong film and television. He has performed brilliantly in many works such as “The Deer and the Cauldron” and “Blood Sword”. This time, Paul Che’s short film cosplaying with Li Bai from “Journey to the West 2” has received 13 million+ likes on Douyin, and its popularity is still strong.
In the promotional video, Luo Jiaying once again put on a cassock to play the verbose Tang monk; Cha Paulo dressed in white and transformed into the heroic and unrestrained poet Li Bai. In addition, the official also conducted an in-depth study of the pan-Westward Journey culture. There are hidden mysteries in the short film, and many famous scenes from “Westward Journey” are also paid tribute to. For example, the scene between Supreme Treasure and Tang Seng in prison was successfully and skillfully combined with “Journey to the West 2”. The moment the song “Only You” came back, it instantly brought all players back to the golden age of Hong Kong movies.
For maintaining the popularity of games and creating topics, IP linkage can indeed bring a lot of traffic outside the circle. The advance layout of “Journey to the West 2” also shows that the official has a clear plan for the future of “Journey to the West 2”, and further dispels players’ concerns about the lack of content.
Make friends with players, “Journey to the West 2” is full of sincerity
Starting from the promotion of the product, and then back to the product, the launch direction of “Journey to the West 2” is complete and sincere. This kind of sincerity is of course not only reflected in the endorsement short film, because players will not pay to watch and have fun. Only sincere works can truly impress and retain players.
At this point, “Journey to the West 2” also has many sincere measures at the product level. It is committed to solving the game’s pain points with its “three true” features of true welfare, true ease, and true national trends. “Journey to the West 2” gained a good reputation as soon as it was launched, helping itself to establish a considerable product advantage.
Let’s talk about “real welfare” first. As a commercial mobile game, the welfare setting can be said to affect all aspects of the game. On the one hand, it is linked to the gameplay mechanism. If players do not receive adequate returns on their investment, it may cause a large number of players to quit the game. On the other hand, giving too much will inevitably affect the business operations of the game itself. How to balance it is always up to the manufacturer. Big problem.
But judging from the current information about “Journey to the West 2”, it seems that they are not planning to do balance, but are directly “turning the table” to give players as many benefits as possible.
The most eye-catching thing is undoubtedly the free “vouchers” given out every week. The benefits given by most games are nothing more than resources available in the game, or coupons with many restrictions on use. There are no rules for the vouchers for “Journey to the West 2”. You can get them every week, and you can buy whatever you want without any restrictions on usage scenarios. There are no restrictions on first recharge, monthly cards, or various gift packages in the mall. For a commercial game, such a design undoubtedly sacrifices some revenue. Officials also admitted in the live broadcast that they are focused on longer-term profits. Only by giving profits to players can the game continue to operate in a more benign manner for a long time.
There is no absence from the server opening event. One hundred draws will be given out every day for the first 7 days of the server opening. You are guaranteed to win one of the best derived spirits. Players can choose the best to keep. What’s even more surprising is that this event is not exclusive to the server opening. It will be launched every weekend thereafter, so that initial players can reduce the anxiety of drawing cards. The gift package for signing in to the server is also heavy enough. In addition to a guaranteed ten-game series, it will also be available at the server opening. On the 2nd and 7th day of the server, you will receive a golden general, and on the 8th day, you will receive a super-popular Sun Wukong skin. In the subsequent daily operations, various co-branded magic weapons and skins will also be given to players as benefits.
From a commercial perspective, these welfare policies of “Journey to the West 2” are really quite bold, and can even be said to be radical. Generous benefits not only reduce the burden on players’ wallets, but also put forward higher requirements for games. Only high-quality game content can promote players’ continued investment and maintain game operations. Judging from the official attitude, they are really preparing to take a more clumsy, but also more sincere operation path.
And “Really Easy” is “Journey to the West 2″‘s struggle against “clocking in to work”. “Games are like clocking in to work” is probably one of the most common complaints from players about commercial mobile games. Due to commercialization problems, daily check-in, daily, weekly and other designs have almost become standard features of major products. As the novelty of players fades away, these arduous tasks also make players miserable, making the game that should be easy The gaming experience has become as painful as “going to work”.
“Young Journey to the West 2” is keenly aware of this social focus issue, and finally decided to return the choice to players in the game. Generally speaking, designs such as check-ins and daily tasks still exist. For players who like liver, these are essential game experiences and important game driving forces for them; while for those who don’t like various task designs, For players, “Journey to the West 2” helps players reduce their burden through game mechanisms such as game unions. Obtaining game benefits by letting friends in the union “play for you” further activates the social nature of the game.
Finally, there is the “True Country Wave”. The theme of Journey to the West is already a hot topic in the game market, and “Journey to the West 2” is not an easy track. In addition, card RPGs also have new products coming out frequently. Adding the two together, it is not easy to stand out in such a fierce market. In addition to a large number of benefits and game burden-reducing designs, good sales and excellent product quality are also the keys to success or failure. .
The integration of Journey to the West and national trends may be the most surprising aspect of “Journey to the West 2”. The “Silk Road Punk” aesthetic style throughout the entire work makes “Journey to the West 2” particularly dazzling among competing products.
According to the official explanation, they are extremely yearning for the culture of Journey to the West and the culture of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and have also spent a lot of effort to research how to combine the grand scenery of the Tang Dynasty with modern technological elements to create a dream-like world of national adventure. Whether it is the characters or the scene design, we hope to let players feel the unique national charm of the ancient Tang Dynasty and modern technology, and also use the theme of Journey to the West to describe the Tang Dynasty in their minds.
“Journey to the West 2” does have some unique thoughts of its own in creating national fashion design. For example, the character design is based on the prosperous Tang Dynasty and redesigned based on many famous historical figures of the Tang Dynasty, creating many familiar and surprising characters. This different sense of freshness makes players feel more real about the true national trend of “Journey to the West 2”.
For example, Li Bai, as the most famous “Poetry Immortal” in the Tang Dynasty, will naturally not be absent. The image of Li Bai in “Journey to the West 2” is very different from the Li Bai in traditional works. Li Bai dressed in white looks younger and more chic, and the bamboo hat and sword around his waist further highlight his chivalrous temperament. , embellished with the national style elements of mountains and rivers on the clothes, the image of a chic and free poet and knight “who has crossed thousands of mountains in a light boat” emerges vividly on the paper.
There is also a lot of ingenuity in the scene design. For example, the airship that appears in the PV is based on the water battle ship in ancient water battles. On the basis of retaining the classic pavilions, sculptures and other elements, it is integrated into the game. The “Lingyan Technology” element allows the airship to drive fairy clouds to float in the sky. Interestingly, the design of the fairy cloud is derived from the setting in the myth of Journey to the West. All gods, including the somersault cloud at the feet of Sun Wukong, belong to the fairy cloud. The right fusion of these national style elements and technology gives the airship a unique national charm.
In addition, the airship content also has a lot of interactive design. Players will also go deep into the airship for adventure in the game. In addition to the design of various treasure boxes, the design of various screens, mechanisms, and lamps also incorporate many elements of the Tang Dynasty and technology. , making the airship not only beautiful but also more interactive.
It is not difficult to find that “Journey to the West 2” has its own understanding and approach to the national trend. Relying on the love for Journey to the West and the culture of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, fully integrating various elements and adding appropriate embellishments, “Journey to the West 2” has its own national trend in both character creation and scene design. In a game with this theme, this is also a big feature, which can at least make many players who are tired of aesthetics shine.
Conclusion
Today is only the first day of the game’s launch. As another player on the crowded track, “Journey to the West 2” is obviously under a lot of pressure. However, judging from the current rankings, “Journey to the West 2” There is still a lot of room for imagination in the future.
