This Is Not a Bug but a Game Feature-Chapter 223 - 157: The Loser Leaves Behind a Marble (2)

Chapter 223: Chapter 157: The Loser Leaves Behind a Marble (2)

"Alright, alright..."

Chen Ba waved his hand to stop everyone’s nostalgia, thinking that if they continued reminiscing like this, the meeting wouldn’t end until the early hours of the morning.

While he also cherished the carefree days of childhood, the reality is harsh; no matter how wonderful childhood was, it can never be returned to.

People must learn to face reality.

And the reality at hand is, since Ba has decided to make a marble game, how should they actually do it?

"The rules!"

Chen Ba pointed out the crucial issue: "First, we need to clarify what the specific gameplay and rules are?"

Marbles have a long history.

If you trace back its history, its development can fill a thesis of over ten thousand words, with documentation as thick as a dictionary.

But that history doesn’t really matter.

The game they want to make, since it’s based on childhood nostalgia, definitely has to follow the gameplay and rules from those times.

But that presents a problem as well. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Marble games are very widespread. Not even talking about abroad, just within China, there’s a big difference between the playstyles in the north and south, and the gameplay may vary between provinces as well.

"It’s not just between provinces..."

"The gameplay and rules might be different between counties, or even between villages," Lu quipped.

This is a fact!

Unlike table tennis or rubber band jumping where there’s a clear set of rules, marble games have a lot of freedom in their play.

Kids in one village might like to roll marbles and see whose marble rolls the farthest.

Meanwhile, in the next village over, they might draw a line, dig a small pit, and see who can roll their marble into the pit...

There’s no clear gameplay system!

As long as you agree with your friends, and both parties have no objections, you can play however you want, and no one can say you can’t.

"That’s right..."

"The only common point is probably that even though everyone’s ways of playing differ, the rules for winning and losing—where the loser leaves their marble—stay the same."

Chen Ba explained, "In terms of gameplay, there are likely only a few mainstream styles?"

One is pool-style.

You define an area and use your marble to knock the other person’s marble out of bounds. If it goes out, you lose.

Another is golf-style.

It’s popular to dig a hole or a small pit, and whoever’s marble can enter the hole wins and takes the marbles that didn’t.

Another one is distance.

The farther the marble goes, the better.

"There are more than just these types..."

Zhong Shengwei frowned and said, "There’s also a simple play style where you just collide with the other guy’s marble. I forget the specifics, but basically, you aim directly at the other person’s marble, and if you hit it, you take it."

"Yes, yes!"

"I also remember this way of playing, it’s really straightforward, but also more widely known than the others," Lu agreed.

When it came to gameplay, everyone had something to say.

Employees of the Tianba Studio, coming from all over the country, have vastly different marble game experiences from their childhoods.

Chen Ba listened to them for a while.

He came to a general conclusion, which is that no matter the playstyle, aside from the distance-marble games, the others all emphasize "aiming accuracy."

The more accurately you shoot, the better your advantage!

"Indeed, most of these varied playstyles focus on the precision of marble aim,"

Yang Dong agreed, saying, "The collision between marbles, or the precision of shooting a marble towards a target area, is the core gameplay of the game."

What you’re testing is vision and skill!

No need to mention vision; if you’re not good at eyeing the marbles, then really, you shouldn’t be playing marbles — you’re just handing out free wins.

Skill is also very important.

The force with which you launch a marble determines its power and travel distance. Back then, there were no tools; control was entirely reliant on your own hands.

"Vision is easy to discuss!"

"But if we want to make this into a game, how do we simulate that real tactile feel of launching a marble?" Chen Ba asked.

This is a tough challenge.

Force, being quite subjective and based on sensation, is difficult to describe with words, let alone simulate in a game.

Without it, you can’t make a marble game, because if you can’t even simulate the basic feeling of force, there’s no point in making a marble game.

"How about learning from those pool games? I remember in pool games, there is a relatively controllable shooting force mechanism."

Zhong Shengwei suggested.

He thought they could borrow the pool game’s elastic shooting by controlling the force through a mouse or keyboard to achieve the player’s desired effect.

"Elasticity?"

Upon hearing this word, Chen Ba instantly thought of the physics engine from Speeding Frenzy.

This physics engine should be able to simulate a similar elastic effect, right?

But speaking of which,

Even if the game can realistically replicate elastic effects, how can the devices players use, like a mouse and keyboard, perceive it?

This is not like a gamepad...

A gamepad can provide force feedback, vibrations, and other sensations, but mouse and keyboard players expecting this is pure fantasy.

"Never mind, let’s talk about it later."

Chen Ba shook his head and said, "Let’s first discuss what the basic framework would be if we decide to make this game!"

It has to be Player vs. Player!

Not only Player vs. Player but also support multiplayer online, meaning multiple players can participate in one game session.

It’s similar to a match or room mechanism.

The host creates a room, which can be public or private, and other players can join the room to participate in the game session.

Apart from this,

The host can also select the game mode and decide the room’s maximum player limit, etc.

"CrossFire?"

"Pretty much!"

Upon suddenly hearing the name CrossFire, Chen Ba was momentarily stunned, then laughed and said, "If you want to see it that way, there’s nothing wrong with that; the logic is the same anyway."

After players enter the game, they will see a lobby page similar to CrossFire, then choose a room that suits them to enter and play the game.

They can also create a room themselves and be the host.

The difference is, this game doesn’t have an automatic session end.

When you create a room, even if no players join, you can still amuse yourself. And other players joining doesn’t lead to the session ending over time; you can play as long as you want.

The key to whether a session ends is actually the number of marbles!

If you lose all your marbles in the end, isn’t it time to skedaddle?

"How do you acquire marbles?"

Lu raised a crucial question, which is the source of the marbles.

If you can only receive a small amount of marbles each day and must recharge to get more once you lose them, that’s a free-to-play game model, similar to gold coins or happy beans in board games.

Otherwise, if it’s too easy to acquire marbles and doesn’t require recharging, it’ll lead to another problem...

No one cares about losing or winning!

When marbles are endless, losing a bit and winning a bit doesn’t feel significant; you don’t experience the feeling as a child when you lost a few marbles, you went home after school with a green face.

"Give a fixed amount each day!"

"If they come too easily, nobody will treasure them. But no need to introduce microtransactions, as we’re going the buy-to-play route, not the free-to-play model."

Chen Ba thought of a good solution.

Include a little shop in the game. If you lose all your marbles, you can go to the shop and buy more, provided you have game coins.

How to get game coins?

It’s not possible to work a job; would you have kids playing marbles work a job? Don’t you know employing child labor is illegal?

You can get them through other means!

For example, doing homework, getting a perfect score on exams, which could earn praise from parents, increase the allowance, and buy more marbles.

Of course, herding cattle is also an option...

But now, whenever Chen Ba thinks of herding cattle, he thinks of the persistent specter of the Cowherding Sect, which has given him a mental wound.

This time, no matter what, he’s not including cattle herding to completely annihilate the hope of the Cowherding Sect’s growth, giving them no opportunity to exploit.