Chapter 361 - Chapter 361: Chapter 361: Experience (1/2)

Chapter 361: Chapter 361: Experience

The dinner that Xiang Kun had to take charge of at the last minute couldn’t compare to the one he would have perfectly prepared in advance with carefully chosen ingredients, and well thought out recipes.

Thankfully, the ingredients that Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’er bought were quite expensive, ensuring a decent taste and texture. As long as Xiang Kun didn’t screw it up too badly, the meal wouldn’t taste awful.

The people who came over for dinner that night were all captivated by Xiang Kun’s game. Even while they were eating, they discussed the game.

Not only those who had played the game before dinner, but also a few others who arrived later, watched for a while and listened to the “story” with great interest, and couldn’t wait to join the game after dinner.

While eating her meal, Zhang Qian asked Xiang Kun some questions about the game.

Honestly, she was a bit taken aback when she got the invitation yesterday, knowing that she would be coming over to Tang Baona’s place today to test play the game that Xiang Kun created.

She didn’t expect the game Xiang Kun spoke of earlier to be made so quickly. Even considering that Xiang Kun might have found a team to help him, the development speed seemed fast—even if they worked non-stop during the Chinese New Year period, it was just over half a month since Xiang Kun announced his plans to create a game in Tongshi Town.

Unless the game was nearly complete at that time, which did not seem likely from what he had said then.

So, before coming over today, Zhang Qian estimated that the game Xiang Kun had made in such a short time was most likely a relatively simple or even rudimentary “mini-game”.

However, it is the era of mobile internet, and many “mini-games” that run on mobile platforms can be very popular and profitable. Zhang Qian didn’t doubt Xiang Kun’s capabilities. Even if it was just a “mini-game”, the one Xiang Kun created would surely have unique features that stand out.

She had great confidence in Xiang Kun’s abilities.

But no matter what, she never expected Xiang Kun to have created a game in this pure audio format.

When she first came, and heard Yang Zhen’er explaining how to play, the thought that popped into Zhang Qian’s head was—Isn’t this just a role-playing game (RPG) hosted by an AI voice? This type of game is better suited for small circles and offline face-to-face plays. It would be challenging to implement online, right?

But after playing for a few hours, Zhang Qian realized that this game is very different from RPG’s and other role-playing games in terms of experience.

It didn’t require players to have detailed character cards, didn’t require defining all the attributes in advance, and didn’t require understanding every specific and intricate rule beforehand. At the start, players just need to define the character’s name and some basic characteristics. Everything else will be arranged by the game, and players can understand as they progress.

In this game, the need for traditional game features is tremendously reduced. Players don’t need to think or operate too much, as they’re like listeners to a story in which they are also participating. As time progresses, the immersive feeling becomes stronger. The real-time sound effects and background music can stir up the player’s emotions and either make them happy or sad, cry or laugh, as the plot advances.

When playing other games, no matter how outstanding the game’s story and plot are, players rarely lose the feeling of “playing” a game, because the “game” attribute is too strong.

But in Xiang Kun’s game, the storytelling voice fits so well with the content. As you listen, you can’t help but immerse yourself in the plot, the story, and unwittingly begin to seriously “role play” your character.

In different stories, different types of characters speak differently. It’s generally hard for ordinary people to comfortably express themselves using a voice other than their normal one.

Even Zhang Qian initially had some difficulty letting loose. In the martial arts background story, her speech was still in the style of modern urban life. But as the story progressed and her involvement increased, she unconsciously began to participate in the game using language suitable for martial arts, saying things like “Brother”, “Long-awaited”, “Hold on”, “This seat”, “Presumptuous”, and “Die for me!”…

This kind of in-depth role-playing, in which the players communicate with others and get involved in the plot, brings a thrill as if they’re living another life. It gives them a strong sense of participation in the events of the story.

More importantly, Zhang Qian discovered that this mode does not require players to know each other in advance. They don’t need to integrate into a small group first. They don’t need to see each other face-to-face—it’s even better if they can’t see each other, it’s easier for players to immerse themselves, without mutual influence.

This very low entry threshold is indeed suitable for making network games, making it easy for single players to join.

After the game, Zhang Qian was astounded upon reflection by the impressive technology the game exhibited.

Voice recognition technology and the conversion to text are not rare, many big companies have mature technology in this area. But the accuracy of Xiang Kun’s game in voice recognition and judgement after recognition was mind-blowing.

This voice engine, was likewise, the most human-like and fluent she had ever heard. The emotional expression was just right, without many uncomfortable abrupt parts.

Even the story that changes and forms according to all the players’ choices, was very smooth with all logic chains complete and clear. It even sets up foreshadowing according to the players’ earlier conversations, and “reverses” in the later stage to bring a “surprise”.

This made her wonder at one point during the game whether there were real people behind the scenes arranging the plot and narrating….

After dinner, she connected via video call with You Meng and Liu Caifu in Tongshi Town, and Zi Cheng, who had been waiting for a while. She explained the situation of the game to them and began to guide them remotely on installing the game client and explaining how to play.