Otherworldly Architect

At the beginning of December, the League of Legends Season 2 round of 16 finals finally opened.

Compared with the hasty arrangement of the first season, this year's finals are more organized.

The competition venue is high-end and atmospheric, the overall process is simple and smooth, and the host and commentator are very professional.

The participating players have also been reborn and improved within a year.

E-sports, if you don't advance, you will retreat!

In the new year, thanks to the official video promotion, and the spread of a large number of high-end players' guide tutorials.

The operation and awareness of the entire League of Legends player circle have been greatly improved.

There are still many people who operate dishes, but when it comes to understanding the game, everyone can beep.

In this year's arena, a real 41-point push lineup appeared for the first time.

——And also successfully won the game.

The winner faces questions from the host during a post-match interview.

He said confidently: "I can't say that I will be able to single-kill all opponents or the like, but at least in the understanding of the game, I believe that I will not lose to anyone."

Some viewers teased him and said, "Does 'Anyone' also include Chief Designer Ming?"

The winner immediately changed his tune: "It's someone who doesn't include Blue Star Studio."

Can't be bothered.

Other players are just competitors fighting in the same arena.

Master Ming is the one who circled the arena with one hand, can that be compared?

In case Chief Master Ming sees that he is so proud, in the next update, the rules of the game will be slightly changed...

So you have to re-understand this game?

In fact, Mingyan is really thinking about revising the rules of the game a little bit.

At present, he is sitting in the conference room with the designers and team leaders of Blue Star Studio, watching the live broadcast of the game.

To see a game over, the head-to-head ratio is 13-4.

But the time has come to 30 minutes. For a long time, there has been no battle, and the two sides are facing operations and development.

Relying on the narrator to keep talking to maintain the scene.

Cautious, support, operation, do not seek merit but seek flawless.

This is a trend in the high-end game of the League of Legends now, and it is even more so in the professional arena.

The economy that can be obtained through stable operation and command, professional teams will never take the risk of killing people to obtain it - especially the side with a slight disadvantage can avoid it.

This also resulted in fewer teamfights at the dragons and dragons.

No one wants to be "destroyed by the dragon"!

After watching a game, the audience was still immersed in the last wave of team battles, so naturally they were still very excited.

Ming Yan saw some potential signs of problems.

He looked at everyone in the conference room, and thoughtfully asked a question: "Do you find the current game, this kind of operation, interesting? Or is it boring?"

Hearing this question, the smiling people all pondered.

The atmosphere inside the Blue Star studio was relatively open, and they followed their own hearts and replied, "This kind of competition is indeed not very enjoyable to watch."

"Well, the time for mid-term development is too long."

"For unknown newcomers, I am afraid it will create a threshold for watching the game."

Ming Yan tapped the tabletop with the pen in his hand, thereby focusing everyone's attention.

"Then, the problem left to us is how to solve it." Ming Yan said, "Today's topic is 'how to speed up the pace of the game and avoid the game time being too long'."

A designer said: "We can strengthen early heroes so they can do more. The current ADC development cycle is generally 30-40 minutes, which is too long."

Someone followed his train of thought and said: "Yes, we can reduce the amount of a batch of late-stage equipment, so that the ADC can develop faster."

"This cures the symptoms but not the root cause. Teams that like to drag their development will still operate for a long time."

The crowd was silent for a while.

Ming Yan said: "Then strengthen the benefits that fighting can bring to them, and reduce the benefits of operational development."

"Yes!" Someone blurted out, "Make everyone's head more valuable!"

"Make towers more valuable, and every strategic resource. That's the equivalent of encouraging players to kill each other, or push the lane quickly and push the tower."

"And the pushers are easy to be ganked by the jungler, which is also a way to facilitate the outbreak of battles in the early and mid-term."

The idea was opened at once.

He nodded approvingly.

Everyone continued to discuss the main line of "accelerating economic acquisition".

In the end, the conclusion they came to was very close to the plan in Ming Yan's heart.

Give a big bounty to everyone who gains an economic advantage, kill this big head, you can get a lot of bounty;

At the same time, a staged economic drop is added to the defense tower. Every time the HP of the defense tower is consumed, the surrounding heroes will get an economy;

In addition, all wild monsters, big and small dragon resources, and sports car money have also been improved to a certain extent.

By making such adjustments, they expect to eliminate a lot of operations and no fights.

In addition to ADCs that want to delay the later stage, most heroes will gain a certain amount of combat power in the early and mid-term.

If the next update of League of Legends is a success, the average game time will be shortened.

There will be more kills in the burst!

Make the game more beautiful and make the passerby more exciting.

That's why the designers of Bluestar Studio have to follow the competition.

Certainly not the same as the audience, just watching for fun.

Only when you know enough about the game, deeply observe the high-end and low-end games, and experience the corresponding fun, can you discover potential problems and make better designs.

In addition to the game itself, Ming Yan also took a look at the overall ratings data.

At the beginning of the game, due to the push, the number of viewers was the largest - it quickly reached the level of tens of millions;

The opening performance, the host speaking, the players on stage, and even the BP part, the ratings dropped slightly;

However, after the normal competition began, the ratings soared to the highest point, and the entire network broke through 100 million, which is already equivalent to a prime-time TV series;

After the game, the audience left, and not everyone was interested in watching the question-and-answer session of the contestants.

This period of advertising, the ratings and conversion ratios are quite good.

Before the finals were over, the sponsors sent their wishes to continue their cooperation.

And Blue Star quietly inserted a small advertisement for "Card Alliance", which attracted even more attention.

The two commentators just received a signal and chatted casually: "I heard that Bluestar has a work with the same IP as the League of Legends online."

"It seems to be a small game called "Card Alliance", do you want to play?"

"Blue Star's game, you must play it and see."

Before the start of the game, it's actually quite normal for the commentator to chat like this.

When they are bored, they will even copy the manuscript and re-read the sponsor's advertisement!

After the players of the League of Legends heard it, they quickly got a certain impression of this small game.

"Card League" was launched at the same time as the League of Legends Season 2 Finals.

Open and aboveboard, just for the heat!

Just kidding, the League of Legends is now one of the big IPs in the Sixth Star Province, and when it comes to its peripheral games, it must be born with its own traffic.

Facts have also proved this.

This mobile platform mini-game jumped to the top 50 of the free list within an hour on the day it was launched.

Games that were launched at the same time as it can only marvel at its speed.

This is also impossible-

Others are self-made, at most, relying on the company's own name to attract a group of customers, and then spend money to attract a group of customers.

But Card League is different, it was born with a golden spoon.

As a descendant of "League of Legends", it is inherently privileged.

Of course, in the eyes of the outside world, the Card Alliance has "sold itself" to the Dragon Sabre Studio.

The operating styles of the two studios are of course subtly different.

On the first day of the game's launch, all players are given a free rookie gift pack - allowing them to draw about eleven times on the first day.

Well, that number is of course carefully crafted too.

Many players who just came in to take a look, said with oath: [Draw a card? Haven't heard of it, what's so fun about watching games of luck? I'll come in and experience how the game works. 】

And after getting the novice gift package, they can be excited when they draw the card for the first time!

【I am lucky! SR is out at once! Does it prove that I have a talent for this game? 】

【Ah ah ah, I really want to keep pumping. It is said that in an hour online, you can have ten consecutive draws of big gift packs...]

Players first perform a single draw, and then must draw an SR-level rare card.

Moreover, it is also a well-known archer profession in the League of Legends. The card face of SR is the skin of an elf beauty, which allows players to experience the familiarity of the game IP at once.

Some players who mainly play this profession immediately have a certain degree of loyalty to this small game.

And the next teaching-type "Ten Draws" will soon come to the moment to identify Europe and Africa!

Of course, the rarity of the card does not determine the strength of the card.

But I can't stand it. It has a good-looking face, famous voice actors, and many independent plots!

The yearning for beautiful things has always been a big desire that players cannot give up.

What's more, this game also targets the group of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Each profession has four rarity cards of N, R, SR, and SSR. If you collect all of them, you can get achievements and unlock new plots;

Many professional skins are also linked to each other, such as collecting the champion lineup skins of the first season, there are also rewards;

The most extreme is the achievement of collecting all SSRs.

Otherwise, he was born a European emperor, probably the one who unified the whole of Europe in his last life;

Otherwise, it is the emperor of krypton gold, who is too lazy to do it himself, and let the secretary charge the money and draw infinitely!

This achievement system is there, it's like locking a delicious big cake in a glass cabinet.

Every player passing by can see it and drool over the cakes.

The scent is right in front of you, but you can't see it or touch it!

League of Legends players even more so.

More senior players generally think that they have a "born occupation".

——Either they are particularly good at it, or they are particularly fond of career settings, in short, they love their own destiny very much.

So now that you see your own destiny occupation, you are lying beautifully in the card draw pool...

How could it be possible not to reach out and look at it!

League of Legends now has about thirty classes.

Even if the eleven consecutive draws given for free on the first day are unlucky and you don't get what you want, there is also a "novice gift pack".

——The novice benefit that can be bought for only 6 yuan is equivalent to a 10% discount on the chance to draw a card, but there is only one chance.

On the second day of registration, there will be a new gift package.

Also, every time you pass a PVE large copy level, a discount coupon will be given randomly.

Not to mention the 50% discount.

But a coupon that only uses 15% of the original price is hard to hold in front of anyone!

[Shit, isn't this equivalent to giving it away for nothing? 】

[I earned 688 in one go, and I earned 584 for nothing! Tulong Baodao studio is crying! 】

The Dragon Saber is deceiving krypton...

oh no, robbery...

Oh no, it is to encourage recharge!

In this regard, Tulong Baodao is professional!

Ming Yan looked at the conscience game world in the entire Sixth Star Province, and sometimes sighed lonely.

- There is no one who can fight!

Of course, in addition to drawing cards, the gameplay of the card alliance itself is also quite outstanding.

By modifying the lineup, cultivating cards, collecting weapons and skills, etc., players can let their card team pass one level after another and work hard to advance to the segment.

Well, yes, this game also has ranks from brass, to silver, gold, platinum, diamond, and even master and king.

Of course, when you reach the king rank, the current main storyline of the game is almost finished.

The game has just been launched, and there are not many systems, but they all have basic functions.

You can browse various cards in the player's home;

Guild and friend system allows players to form communities;

Trading and shopping malls, allowing players to draw cards with krypton gold;

The PVE copy is the main line of the game, and the PVP battlefield can compete with each other;

There are also achievement systems, side story modes, hidden easter eggs...

Small but complete.

Future updates will spawn branches and leaves around such a trunk.

The League of Legends competition and the announcement of the mobile card game were carried out at the same time.

It is foreseeable that as the championship competition becomes more and more fierce, the popularity of the card league will also skyrocket.

Think about it, while watching the game, you can lower your head and brush a small copy, which is great!

Or after witnessing a wonderful action from a player you support, bow your head and draw a card...

If you hit the career you like, it will be a double happiness.

Therefore, although this card mobile game is also a robbery... oh no, recharge is encouraged.

However, its reputation is different from the last game of Dragon Slayer Sword, "Anti-Tian Jue".

On the one hand, it is because it has outstanding gameplay itself, and krypton gold does not affect the balance of the game.

On the other hand, it is the role of Bluestar Studio...

Player feedback:

[Sure enough, it's a game from Blue Star, and the roots are really red! 】

[It's fun, fun, fun, where did Chief Master Ming come from such a great idea! I can't stop playing when I pass the level, and I can still draw cards! I now spend hours every day trying to draw card livers! 】

【I've already lost my mind, I can collect all the fragments of my first SSR in no time.】

[As soon as the leader makes a move, you will know if there is any! 】

【You can see this game at a glance! The main body must be made by Blue Star, and the Krypton Gold Mall must be made by Dragon Sabre! The polarization is too serious, is this the difference between conscience? 】

[Sad, conscience gamers are prone to lack of money. Even the leader has to sell such a good game for a living]

[It must be the second season of the League of Legends, and there are too many places to spend money. Bluestar runs the game for us at a loss, huh huh. I cried, I will be a little star in the next life! 】

Clearly: "..."

I'm not, I don't, I really don't need this money...

To say that there is a shortage, it is also a shortage of one billion, not less than one million.

Speaking of the false proposition of "lack of money", Ming Yan has actually prepared a way to give money back to players.

That is, of course, through the League of Legends to hold the event!

Celebrating the launch of the second season finals of the League of Legends, Ming Yan decided to make a total of 670,000 donations from players, plus the 330,000 he paid in advance, to make a whole and become a prize pool.

During the start of the professional league, players can get a certain amount of league tokens for each game they play.

Collecting a certain amount of tokens can be exchanged for league red envelopes.

When opening the league red envelopes, there is a high probability of getting game gold coins, a small probability of getting a random skin, and a very small probability of drawing tickets to the finals, as well as the champion skin of the first season.

At the beginning, it was stated that the calculation was very good, and the things in the red envelope pool were just enough to consume the one million donations.

But he never expected that he still missed the player's reaction.

In fact, as soon as this money-giving event went live, players went crazy.

[Sooner, Lan Xing is too conscientious, I took this red envelope and my hands trembled. 】

【No! I finally sold a conscience card game and made some money, how could I just turn around and spend it? Ask the sect master to take it back, we really only want a krypton gold event, not welfare! 】

[Is it bad to use this money to develop new games? Or send a red envelope to the employee, I feel distressed woohoo]

After the launch of this event of the League of Legends, with the arrival of the championship finals, it quickly accumulated more than 700 million viewers.

As a result, the advertising dividends brought by the traffic, coupled with the subsequent wave of donations by players...

Ming Yan has inexplicably more than one million more on hand? !

Clearly: "???"

This is so annoying.

The chief designer of Ming is about to go crazy.

How can such a thing happen that you want to send money but can't send it?

He received donations from players because he "appeared to be short of money", and Ming Yan felt very sorry.

Ming Yan finally had to carry out a despicable black-box operation.

——He secretly stuffed cash red envelopes into the lottery pool of the reward activity!

By the way, he talked about a few more peripheral sponsors, and spent money to buy their vouchers, all of which were given to the players in the lottery.

In addition, Bluestar is also negotiating with several toy manufacturers recently, and plans to make a batch of League of Legends game peripherals to test the water.

The first batch of peripherals will not be sold to the outside world, just as a special reward, issued to players.

...

So, after the above operation, Ming Yan finally gave the more than one million back to the player.

Then, Blue Star's fans were about to cry.

[How can there be such a fairy studio in the world...]

[The leader is obviously a smart person, how can he not learn to make money! Ah, ah, ah, I just screamed in the sky! 】

[The more I think about it, the more I feel that this kid Lan Xing is too honest. I heard that the leader is still living in a single apartment, and his real name is distressed. 】

[I can't send the money in my hand, and my wallet makes a cry! 】

Later, there was really no other way, and many players decided to give back to Blue Star in the game.

Some people choose to give the game Amway to those around them;

Some of them organized their own in-game friends to give a full star rating to several Bluestar games—even the rating of the new krypton game "Card League" was forcibly raised by more than 1.5 points within a few weeks. , is about to reach the 9.5-point masterpiece level;

There is also a local tyrant who is even more powerful. He directly spent huge sums of money to buy large offline advertising banners, and let the Blue Star LOGO hang directly on the outer walls of local landmark buildings.

In order to prevent players from continuing to donate to Mingyan's personal account, Mingyan had to contact the blog's official and ask them to cancel the account association for him.

In the interstellar age, this operation is very uncommon.

When the other party heard that the reason was "I don't want to receive donations anymore", the shocked jaw almost hit the ground.

In the end, Ming Yan also listened to the friendly opinions of the players.

He divided the remaining tens of thousands of donations into bonuses and distributed them to the employees of Blue Star Studio according to their contribution.

Well, the employees were actually quite shocked.

Because Blue Star has a lot of bonuses for the festival, not to mention that each game has a fixed 20% profit that will be distributed to the production team.

It is stated that this bonus has been issued without a name at all, so it is directly titled "red envelopes from players".

How should I put it, even an old backbone member like Varian Wrynn.

When he brought this rich red envelope home to his wife, it still caused the latter's shock.

"How many gamer fans do you have, and you even take the initiative to give you red envelopes?!" His wife was stunned.

Varian scratched his beard and said, "It's because the boss is so amazing..."

Blue Star Studios is such a magical place.

For these newcomers in the studio, who have just completed "Card League", they are still immersed in the joy of the project's success.

The overwhelming praise from the players swept them like a tsunami.

Overwhelmed and overwhelmed - that's all.

New graduates who have just graduated have never seen such a terrifying rainbow fart frenzy. Just brushing the comments every day makes them so beautiful, not to mention receiving bonuses and red envelopes.

They have only entered the Bluestar Studio for less than half a year, and they are still in the probation period!

Boss Ming not only taught them how to design games, but also generously distributed all the bonuses that regular employees should have.

It can only be said that it is a fairy boss, and many people are moved to the point where their eyes are red.

They were convinced that this job at Blue Star, even if they didn't make it to the end because of an accident, would definitely be the most valuable asset in their careers.