This Is Not a Bug but a Game Feature-Chapter 259 - 175: 3A Ambitions (Part 2)

In other words, what Ba is saying is basically, "We want to make a AAA title"!

Isn’t that worth being shocked about?

That’s AAA after all!

The ultimate dream for many in the gaming industry, representing the highest standard of games. Who wouldn’t want to give it a try?

But dreams are dreams, and whether Tianba Studio has the foundational conditions and technical capability is key to determining if the plan is feasible.

Just deciding to make a AAA on a whim?

That’s not commendable bravery, that’s terrifying stupidity. If making AAA games were that easy, the domestic game industry wouldn’t have only a handful of AAA titles by now.

"What, scared already?"

Chen Ba teased, "Lu, weren’t you the one always urging me to make a AAA? Now that I’ve decided, you’re scared?"

"Ba..."

Lu rubbed his hands and said, "In principle, I support all your decisions, but shouldn’t we seriously consider something of AAA level?"

"Consider what?"

"For example, funding, technology, or personnel scheduling and reserves, development timeline planning and so forth..."

Lu listed a lot of concerns.

Chen Ba didn’t interrupt his talk and instead listened seriously, especially to the points Lu raised about Tianba Studio’s lack of depth and accumulation.

"As for funding, you don’t need to worry."

"The money we’ve earned over the years isn’t much, but we can afford the loss of a failed AAA game, it won’t leave us begging on the streets." Chen Ba said with a smile.

This is his biggest source of confidence.

With multiple games under its banner, all having sold over a million copies, Tianba Studio has generated substantial revenue.

Especially the professional edition of "Divine Grace Continent," the significant fixed earnings every month and year are not even mentioned, but the major income is the "Divine Grace Animation" toll fees.

With this foundation, actually, funding is the easiest problem to solve.

As he said, the success or failure of an ordinary AAA game wouldn’t really shake Tianba Studio’s foundation; there is definitely room for trial and error.

As for the technical accumulation and reserves, which are barriers for many competitors, Chen Ba also has corresponding strategies.

He’s a man with a cheat!

Though the Iron Fool System often causes him trouble, its black technology is undeniable. With such black technology backing, who dares to say Tianba Studio lacks technical reserves and accumulation?

"As for personnel scheduling..."

The issues Lu raised, actually funding and technology are easy to resolve, but manpower indeed is the studio’s biggest shortfall at present.

Chen Ba’s only solution is to split the entire AAA mega-project into countless small sub-projects.

It’s like building a car!

Tianba Studio would be responsible for designing blueprints and key components like engines and transmissions, while parts like windows, seats, and steering wheels would be outsourced to other teams.

Finally, these parts would be transported to Tianba Studio for assembly, testing vehicle performance, and once confirmed without errors, they could build a car maximizing the "division of labor and collaboration."

"This method sounds good..."

Yang Dong nodded and said, "The downside might be that the technical levels of outsourcing teams vary greatly, and it could be more costly than doing it ourselves."

"I told you, money isn’t a problem."

Chen Ba nodded and said, "If the technical levels vary, then we should find teams that have a good reputation and decent strength for collaboration as much as possible."

From imperfections and shortfalls to normal occurrences.

After all, it’s Tianba Studio’s first time creating such a large-scale game without the corresponding development experience.

"As for the project’s development cycle, let’s tentatively set it for one year! This is just a preliminary estimate, and the actual time will depend on whether progress goes smoothly, and it also depends on the game’s theme."

Speaking of this, Chen Ba chuckled and asked, "Any ideas for our first AAA game?"

"Xianxia, it has to be Xianxia!"

Lu was the first to raise his hand, "I’m so tired of those Western fantasy settings of magic and swordplay dragon-slaying."

"Indeed!"

"If we’re going to make a AAA, it should be distinct from those big foreign companies; speaking frankly, I’m also sick of the Western fantasy theme."

Yang Dong wholeheartedly agreed.

Over the years, he’s played dozens of foreign AAA games. While the modern-future styles like Cyberpunk and GTA are alright, games with styles like Elder Scrolls, Elden Ring, and God of War have become truly tiresome.

His fatigue isn’t about the gameplay or mechanics but the game’s background... 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Western fantasy is a great theme!

But the education and cultural background they’ve received since childhood make Yang Dong and Lu have a special fondness for Xianxia.

The reason they played those Western-style AAA titles is partly out of curiosity, but also because domestic games weren’t competitive and lacked equivalent options.

If they had two choices of AAA at the same price and quality, one with a Western fantasy background and the other with a Xianxia background...

There would be no need to think; Lu and Yang Dong would 100% choose the Xianxia theme!

Don’t ask why, the answer is nostalgia.

For players from the Hua Country, the immersion and engagement of Xianxia games are something ordinary Western fantasy games can’t compare with.

This is ingrained in their bones.

Mages, Dragonborn, Dark Walkers, these are not what they want, only the cultivators who soar through the skies represent the romance envisioned by Hua Country players.

Previously, they didn’t have the conditions.

But now, after learning of Ba’s decision, Yang Dong and Lu both expressed that the studio’s first AAA game must be Xianxia and can only be Xianxia to meet the expectations of AAA.

"I understand what you mean."

"But creating a Xianxia game’s background framework isn’t easy! My thought differs from yours; what about starting with something simpler? A modern urban setting?"

Chen Ba didn’t quite agree with them.

The reason he gave was that while Xianxia is great, Tianba Studio might not be able to create a realistic and immersive Xianxia world.

Instead of making a flawed product, they might as well lower the difficulty and start with the modern city, at least avoiding naïve questions like "how do cultivators walk?"

"Modern urban setting..."

Hearing the end of their Xianxia dreams, Lu felt very discouraged, and at the same time, he was skeptical about Ba’s suggestion of a modern urban setting.

AAA games have to tell a story!

In a modern urban setting, what kind of story could be told? They surely can’t develop something like GTA 5 in the domestic environment, right?

That would truly be tempting fate!

Needless to say, such a game couldn’t be made; even if it were, it couldn’t be targeted at the domestic market, otherwise, the consequences are well understood.

So, cyberpunk?

But that’s science fiction, futuristic stuff...

"In a modern urban setting, compelling stories are indeed hard to tell, but there are references to draw from."

Chen Ba smiled and said, "Have you heard of Spiritual Qi Revival? Know about National Martial Arts style? Or Gao Wu’s Struggle for Dominance?"

Web novels gave him a lot of ideas.

Particularly in the current urban background, under various implicit constraints, the creativity provided by web novels can actually be referenced.

For example, Spiritual Qi Revival!

This theme in web novels is essentially a mix of fantasy/Xianxia plus urban settings.

In the gaming field, it’s one of the best alternatives to a Xianxia game!

It has a hint of Xianxia fantasy but takes place in a modern urban setting, offering a wonderfully surreal feeling.

The National Martial Arts Style is also good.

There’s a stereotype among foreigners that all Hua Country people know martial arts, so why not take this chance to cement the stereotype?

However, making a kung fu game definitely requires gathering some kung fu materials, which for Chen Ba is perhaps the hardest part to solve.

After all, he doesn’t know any kung fu masters, so where would he go to understand these inside stories?

Even if he found a kung fu master, who knows how authentic they’d be? What if they’re only good at performing flashy moves?