I designed a 25-story platform. There will be shops and NPCs on every platform. Npc will give players some tips about the level. The higher the floor, the fewer npc players will encounter. Every third floor, players will encounter a special npc. They have their own independent story background and image. I added some social events to the game. And some ideas and problems, such as bionic man, women’s power, animal protection and so on. The prototype of these contents mostly comes from some social problems in China. I hope I can bring these questions to players through games to make them feel and think. This is very interesting.

【Image setting of npc】

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• 

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The protagonist (this image is a bit like myself)

One of the black market businessmen

One of the black market businessmen

Players will meet this grandmother on every floor, and she will provide the materials for passing the customs. The prototype of this character is my grandmother.

A reformer, company employee

Like the protagonist, this image is a climber.

An intelligent robot, it will give players some tips about the level.

These NPCs are ordinary NPCs, and they will appear in the whole game process of players. You can meet these NPCs on almost every floor.

[Platform]

Image and content design of 25 platforms.

From the 11th floor, the environment will become dark. There will be some accumulated sand.

After 20, the environment will become darker. As the altitude increases, there will be some snow.

[Text]

I designed an independent dialogue for each character. The following is all the text content. Its order is arranged according to the order of each layer from left to right. If you are interested, I suggest you read it. The special character will tell his story.

[Start the desert]

“It’s a long journey. I sat for two days and two nights,  but I slept in the car all the time. I came to Goat Tower this time for only one purpose-to get water. I feel very anxious to think that people in the  village have prepared a big meal for me before I left. I didn’t think that one day we would take risks for water resources. Forget it. There’s no time  to estimate that much. Let’s get going. Go south by east for about 400 kilometers and you should get to Goat Tower.”

Go to the sheep tower.

“so high …”

Do you get into the goat tower?

Yes/Wait a minute.

[Level 1]

Young man, are you also here to climb the tower? Young people like you are rare here.

There are all kinds of searching for you hanging on the wall. They look like climbers lost in the tower.

I tell you, the road ahead is not easy. If you want to climb the tower, you must obey its authority. There is a strange electronic road surface,  which can copy your previous actions. I don’t know which strange guy invented it.

Young people. I’ll give you some experience. Learn to use that strange electronic road surface. Walk to the entrance of the stairs and you can go up. B ut don’t think too simply. Many people died in the sheep tower.

um … um … keep going.

ooh, there’s another warrior. Don’t worry, you’ll meet me later.

It’s not easy to climb the sheep tower. I have some rare items here. Go ahead, young man. I’ll give it to you when you need it.

It is said that climbing the tower can fulfill your wish. But I’ve never heard of anyone who has succeeded. There is no hopeful person to climb the tow er. It’s just people who will die to redeem themselves. This damn world.

I heard that there is a sheep on the top of the tower. The cry of sheep often comes from the tower. This is the origin of the name of the tower.

Is there a sheep on the top of the tower? No one has actually boarded it. It is said that the Almighty God on the top of the tower can satisfy all people’s wishes.

Young people. Seeing you reminds me of my young grandson. Since the last blackout,  he began to climb the sheep tower to ask God to restore the data of the whole city’s disappearance. But he hasn’t been heard from so far. The road ahead is very difficult, please take these things.

[second floor]

Oh, you’re up. How do you feel?  Do you know something about this strange tower? Get to know him slowly, young man. I will help you. In order to find my grandson,  I have been in Goat Tower for nearly 8 years. People in the village supplied me, so I started a small business here to help those who climbed the tower. Alas, maybe I will die here. Here, take these.

You will encounter some obstacles when climbing. That tall rock, you just saw it. That’s impossible. But … maybe you can use it. If you’re smart enough.

Now the floor is not high. You can still see many people.

Well … Well … Obstacles can also be used.

I just climbed one floor. It seems very simple. But I always find the unknown scary.

Goat Tower … I don’t know when there was this tower. Who is it?  How did the legend come from? Nobody knows.

Just climbed one floor. It seems that I can’t understand it. But I don’t worry, I will stick to it for my family!

Oh? There you are. Well, it seems that you don’t need anything precious yet. Then I’ll give you something ordinary. Keep it. Maybe it will be useful later.

Not bad. I’ll give you this.

[Level 3]

Oh, my old buddy. You have come to the third floor skillfully.

Ah, I don’t think we have anything of value for you now. But don’t worry, you will need us. I’ll wait for you in the back.

Do you think I am really willing to climb the sheep tower?  No, who would joke about life if it wasn’t for the damn money? I need to buy a place to house my family.

Well … Well … Don’t be fooled by complicated obstacles.

Let me tell you something,  kid. There are countless ways to get up there. You choose your own route. But what you have to do is find the route that costs the least as much as possible. Do you understand? So that you can have enough resources in the back.

Are you getting used to it? Look at your outfit. It should also be expected by the people in your village. Take these and go.

[the fourth floor]

There are many strange people in this tower. Don’t be scared by them.

Hey! Watch the front. That freak like a puppet has been staying for several days.

“What are you doing?  Can you do me a favor? “

“Well?  …… Are you a puppet? “

“I don’t know who I am either. My parents always call me Olian.”

“Mom and Dad?”

“yes. I am with my parents every day, and we perform all over the world. You know, the audience loved my dance. We harvested a lot of flowers and rewards. Mom is very happy. “

“So what are you doing here?”

“Suddenly one day, a group of men in black broke into our house. They took mom and dad! I’m scared, but I can only hide in the warehouse alone. “

“So how did you get the autonomous operation authority of the intelligent brain? You are just a puppet man. “

“My father opened my independent authority before being taken away,  and I can control my body after three days. My instructions tell me that you can find my parents when you come to the top of the sheep tower. “

“… maybe you can believe that you are right. You are a robot, and I am only a human being. So what do you want me to do for you? “

“My psychological feedback system hasn’t been rewarded for a long time. Can you give me a flower or a reward? So that I can go on. “

“Um … OK”

（Choose flowers/coins）

“Psychological feedback system update, meet the value of +34.6%. Thank you. “

Well … Well … Choose the road that suits you.

Remember that blackout. The whole world is at a standstill. I don’t know how many people disappeared into the data. People and machines are all mixed u p. Well, if it weren’t for that. My grandson will not leave either. Some things we can only forget. Take this.

[the fifth floor]

All the people who come here are down and out. Young man, maybe you don’t know what happened in this world. I advise you not to think too much. Close your eyes and run.

Um … Um … Remember to learn to use the recorder. Overload will make you lose everything.

In this day and age, you will die if you don’t choose to work for those in power. Do you understand?  Why do you think I came to climb the tower?

Listen, young man. I don’t know how far you can go. But don’t listen to those complaints. You just need to mind your own business. Focus on it. Here, take these.

[the sixth floor]

Do you feel it again? There are fewer and fewer people up there.

I used to work for power. Do you know how fierce they are?  In order not to let the interests of private circuses affect their amusement parks. They can just make these living people disappear! I hate them and I hate working for them.

Well … Well … Watch out for a dead end.

See that robot?  Is he a real person or a bionic person? Anyway, he is a good guy. Take these and go to the next platform.

[the seventh floor]

After the blackout, there was no boundary between bionic people and people. That’s true, but I still don’t think this is the reason for some strange creatures.

“who are you?  Oh, an audience, how are you? “

“？  Audience?  Are you a performing artist? People wearing deer head. “

“Ah, people wearing deer head, I like this name. But I am not a person. “

“So what are you doing here?  Still have to dress like this? “

“Did you see the audience?  They like my dress!  My role!  My lines!  Look at their eyes, listen to their applause. Ah, and my boss, he said I was the best actor in the world … What?  You want me to get rid of these?  Don’t you forget that it was the deer head people who made this theater the largest theater in the old palace area?  Ah, I see. You are jealous of my performance … You can’t go through all this! “

“… so you took this costume?”

“take away?  This is what belongs to me. See this glowing costume?  It’s worth ten million dollars!  It’s me. I did it all. Did you get a look at him? All the audience are shouting for me. “

“With all due respect, I am the only one here.”

“What … please. Ah,  you scumbag. You fired my role and deleted that great play. Replace it with the stupid nipple music script on the assembly line. What do you think you are doing. The world is collapsing. You rubbish!  Garbage! “

“You’d better calm down. I think you’re here to restore your role?”

“Yes … Sir, I beg you to give me some recognition. I have chosen real art. Can I be saved?”

A You are right, the audience will like your work/B I hope you can be saved.

Well … Well … Things that seem simple, don’t forget that you should try to find the best solution.

I am an old man. It’s hard for me to see this era clearly. Who do you think is better than robots? I don’t know. Maybe I will understand when I die. Take this and go to the next platform.

[the eighth floor]

Wow! I can’t believe you came here. You have surpassed most climbers.

Not bad. Most people give up on the fifth floor. But I don’t think it’s time to give you that special prop. I hope we will meet again later! hahaha

Well … Well … The level is very simple. As long as you can figure out those numbers.

It’s already the eighth floor. Young man, you should stick to it. Getting water is not an easy task. Take this and go to the next platform.

[the ninth floor]

You know, since the electronic revolution. The crime rate has been rising. Last month,  the owner of a theater was killed on the stage. That scene was too bloody. I don’t know why so many people have mental illness now.

Well … Well … Come on!

The road behind may get colder and colder. Because the altitude is getting higher and higher. You will meet fewer and fewer people. Don’t be swallowed  up by repressed emotions. Take this and go to the next platform.

[10th floor]

Have you ever tried to work in a company? It’s good to get out alive.

“Hello, young man”

“Hello, sir.”

“I’m surprised, I don’t have arms.”

“I’m surprised how you climbed up. It’s very difficult.”

“Maybe this is people’s desire for survival. I have to pay my debts and get enough money for my wife and children, so I have to climb it.”

“It sounds very hard, sir. But what happened to your arm? “

“See my robot arm interface,  you should understand. I joined the company after I failed to start a business. The company’s assembly line requires us to wear mechanical arms to com plete the production. I didn’t have the money to buy a robot arm, but the company lent me money, so I changed it. “

“What about your arm?”

“Unfortunately, a few months ago,  the company suddenly closed down. It took only one month from establishment to closure. Fuck. This is obviously for commercial fraud. I lost my salary . Can’t pay off the debts of the robot arm. The debt collection company took my mechanical arm. “

“This sounds too cruel.”

“Yes, but I can still survive. Many people who entered the company didn’t come out alive. We can only swallow our anger. “

“I’m sorry to hear that, it’s too scary. Is there anything I can do for you? “

“Help me sort out the distance sensor on my head, it’s loose. I have something in my backpack. Take it away as a thank you. “

Select A to get 3 up/B to get 3 down.

Well … Well … Next, the difficulty will increase. Get ready.

It’s not easy. But let me tell you something. The first ten floors are very simple. Many people passed. You will experience more difficulties later. Give you more items. Here, take these.

【 11th floor 】

Congratulations. We meet again. You really think you are a rare warrior.

I promised to give you this. Here, take it. It will come in handy at the critical moment. You can convert an ordinary area into a special electronic area by brain waves. Conversion +1

In this era, it is very hard to be a human being. I wish I were an animal in the next life. Anything will do. As long as it’s not human.

Um … Um … Some organs look similar. But you must see clearly. They are different.

You said, if I upload my brain data to the chip. Will my people often chat with me after my death? Haha, it’s interesting to think about it. Although they often come to see me now,  it’s actually just for me to make money here. I’m dead. I don’t know if they will miss me. Take this and go to the next platform.

【 12th floor 】

Um … Um … Don’t rush to take a step. Think for a while.

“Wang! Hello, young man. “

“aye?  Hello. Should I treat you as a dog or an orc? “

“You look like a dog-friendly person. Don’t mind, I am actually a person. “

“？  What are your dog heads and robotic arms? “

“Do you remember the catastrophe caused by the leakage of biotechnology four years ago?”

“Remember”

“I live in the radiation zone. At that time,  all of us were sent to the biological laboratory for isolation investigation as infected objects. I thought it would get better soon. But the its two  weeks. When I go home again, my pet dog has disappeared. “

“What the hell happened here?”

“I bring up the monitoring system. It turned out that the bio-keepers killed all the animals in the radiation area. I don’t know how they got the code  permission to enter my home. Killed my dog directly. My dog, he is so pitiful. “

“I feel sorry for this, sir.”

“After I got home,  I changed into this outfit. Changed limbs into bionic arms like dogs. I think this will honor my dog. I came to climb the tower for only one purpose.  I want those who commit these crimes to pay the price. “

“What can I do for you?”

“Touch my head or tail. I haven’t seen anyone like you for a long time. This kind of dog will feel happy. “

Select A head/B tail

“Thank you, my emotional sensor tells me that I am very happy.”

My grandson often asks me a question when he is an adult. Are human emotions high-level or low-level?  If the world is given to robots, will they make a more correct choice? Alas, it’s really hard to answer. Take this and go to the next platform. X+N，X+N，X+N，X+N

[13th floor]

Well … Well … With the increase of the number of layers. There are fewer and fewer people.

The sheep’s cry often comes from the upper layer of the sheep tower. I wonder what this means. Is God a sheep?  Could my grandson be playing with the sheep? Ha ha. Take this and go to the next platform.

[14th floor]

The corpse of a climber. Got some props in the relics.

Well … Well … Sometimes you need to use some special skills. But be careful to control the time. Watch your position.

I can’t believe you’ve climbed so high. It seems necessary to give you this. Click on him, and you can exchange obstacles peacefully. This is amazing. Exchange +1

The props he gave you are a rare high-end technology. Come on, young man. We like you.

Do you think?  The god on the top of the tower. What does he do every day?  Will God create everything?  Which country’s god is he?  Jesus?  Or the God of the East? Haha, an old woman thinks about these strange questions every day. Take this and go to the next platform.

[15th floor]

The corpse of a climber. Got some props in the relics.

“Hello, my friend.”

“Hello, who are you?”

“I’m a doctoral student at the best law school in the state. I have obtained the internship qualification of the highest government. If nothing else ha ppens, I can become a formal senior manager by climbing to the top of the tower. “

“Then you are very good, but what are you doing to climb the tower?”

“You know, now there are 8 billion people in the world,  including bionic people. There are 260 million people competing with me for the position of senior manager this year. Ha ha,  that’s right. In order to win this competition. I have to take some measures. “

“Well, it doesn’t matter to me. Fortunately, I am not your competitor. “

“Say, don’t say that. We are also very lucky to meet here. I have a lot of resources, and I can share them with you when you go out. They are all very powerful people. What do you want to do? Just ask them. “

“Well, thank you. But I think it has nothing to do with me. I just want to find water. And the government and the company abandoned us. I can only come to Goat Tower. “

“Ha ha. You are an interesting young man. You haven’t seen the essence of this era. Wait for me to win this position. Even if I am a resident of the advanced area. “

All right, but it’s none of my business. Just be happy.

“Wait, don’t go. Can you do me a favor?  I need a high social performance score. Otherwise, it would be difficult for me to get this position. You should have a quota, right? Although you’re from a low-level area. You give me full marks. I will give you resources. “

A there’s no need to choose. I’m leaving. You’ll regret it./B Well, I’ll give you full marks. Not bad.

Well … Well … It’s a simple thing, so think it over carefully. Remember, don’t go into a dead end.

I always thought when I was young. I want to get more wealth. But in fact,  you never know what will happen next second. You can only control yourself. I won’t think about these problems now. Because I can’t see clearly anymore. Are people rich or poor now? Take this and go to the next platform.

[16th floor]

Well … Well … It looks like a long way. Maybe it suits you better.

You are a genius. Young man. I have never seen such a young child come this far. Exchange +1

Don’t be too happy. I hope you can make it to the end. Conversion +1

The corpse of a climber. Got some props in the relics.

Take this and go to the next platform.

[17th floor]

It’s too difficult. I don’t have enough resources to prepare. But I can’t go back.

Hmmm … Hmmm … Symmetrical route does not necessarily bring symmetrical results.

It is said that Almighty God is a sheep? I’ve never heard such a ridiculous joke.

Take this and go to the next platform.

[18th floor]

Well … Well … There are many ways to get over obstacles. Look at the resources you have. Decide which route to choose.

“Oh, I didn’t expect to see the living before I died.”

“Me too.”

“Come closer to the child, don’t be afraid.”

“… are you resting, sir?”

“I’m waiting to die. I sprained my ankle. I can’t climb any more … it’s nice to have someone to talk with me. What are you climbing the tower for? “

“For water, sir. Cities in the north have been swept by sandstorms, and there is so little water that people can’t drink it,  let alone plant trees. Our town finally chose me to climb the tower for water on behalf of all residents. “

“Then I have no reason to hurt you, because our purpose is the same. Relax, I’m a dying man. I sprained my ankle in a place like this,  and I can’t get on or off. Fortunately, I met you, and it’s not too lonely to let me go. I am only grateful to you. “

“I’m not afraid, I’m just a little … a little … surprised.”

“Well, that’s good. Son, when I die,  you can take all my equipment. I also have meal replacement food that can be used for about two weeks. They are delicious. As a criminal,  I haven’t eaten such delicious and convenient food for a long time. I also have a good pair of hiking boots, which you can wear. “

“Criminals?”

“Yes, I am a sinner. Unlike your glorious mission, I climbed the tower to pay off my debts,  my debts to this city and my debts to my wife and daughter. If I can get water,  the children who still live at the bottom of the tower will feel better. I’m just afraid I can’t finish it now, so I think if my things can help you to get water successfully, it’ll make up for it. “

“I will, sir, you can rest assured that I will get water. No matter whether there is a goat or a sheep on the top of this tower, I will ask him to lower the water! “

“It is good to have you this sentence. Thank you, son. Come on, old man, I won’t waste your time. Take my things and go. “

“Oh yes, I have another request. If you are really successful,  you will pass by me when you come back. Please take my body back. Don’t bother to carry me or drag me all the time, just push me down from here. “

“… good.”

The corpse of a climber. Got some props in the relics.

Although our living environment is very bad. But people who can live a carefree life should be thankful. Most people have no right to choose what kind  of life they should live. Take this and go to the next platform.

[19th floor]

The road ahead should be more difficult. I’ll give you my last thing. Come on, young man. Exchange +1

Use it at a critical time and choose a suitable time. Conversion +1

The corpse of a climber. Got some props in the relics.

The corpse of a climber. Got some props in the relics.

Well … Well … Switching is a powerful prop. As long as you grasp the century well, you can get twice the result with half the effort.

The corpse of a climber. Got some props in the relics.

Seeing the bodies of so many climbers. How would you feel? Maybe it’s a good thing to die here. At least you died on your own path. Alas …… Nowadays, people’s lives are like dirt. Take this and go to the next platform.

[20th floor]

Well … Well … Learn to use obstacles. It can be used many times.

“Hello, young man.”

“Hello, madam.”

“It’s rare to meet a young climber on such a high floor.”

“In order to find water for my village, I must persist.”

“You are a good man. I know you’ll be surprised to see me like this. Don’t be afraid, these babies won’t hurt you. “

“Baby?”

“Yes, they are all my children. You must be curious why I am like this. “

“If you are willing to tell me, madam.”

“After the last blackout, the bionic man’s information was completely confused. According to big data statistics,  the proportion of native humans has been less than 18%. According to the original human life intensity. Humans are simply not enough to compete with t he brains and bodies of bionic people. Therefore,  the government has set up a native human growth plan. To prevent human beings from falling into crisis. And this plan needs a perfect mother as an emb ryo. And I am the template. They use my body to do experiments. Unfortunately,  most of them ended in failure. Human DNA has actually been invaded. And I also suffered permanent damage in this project. This machine will allow me t o reproduce from time to time. And I have to wear it all the time to maintain my life. “

“It sounds painful.”

“Physical pain can be alleviated by technology. But I am accompanied by long-term mental stress and moral condemnation. I know I can’t raise these chil dren at all. The government tried to kill them in order to hide this fact. And that’s why I’m here. There is no pursuit of them here. If I could meet t he Almighty God. I’m going to make them pay. Also, let my children grow up as healthy as a normal person. “

“I think you are great. What can I do for you? Lady. “

“Son, I think nothing. I just want to ask you a question. Why do humans value the genes of native humans so much?  Will you choose to reproduce for genes? “

A I won’t choose. Maybe reproduction is that I want my love to be eternal/B I think genes are very important, and human civilization needs to continue.

“Thank you, young man. Maybe it’s just my complaint. I hope you can successfully climb to the top of the tower. “

You know. In my grandparents’ time. They will celebrate the arrival of the New Year. People get together in groups. Now we can hardly celebrate the New  Year. Maybe it’s because people are no longer bound by blood relationship. Nowadays, contracts are more important. Take this and go to the next platform.

【 21st floor 】

The corpse of a climber. Got some props in the relics.

Well … Well … If you have enough resources. Then you can be bold.

The corpse of a climber. Got some props in the relics.

The corpse of a climber. Got some props in the relics.

The corpse of a climber. Got some props in the relics.

I’ve seen too many young people die here. I wonder if they feel relieved or in pain? But I know his family must be in pain. Take this and go to the next platform.

[Twenty-second floor]

The corpse of a climber. Got some props in the relics. X+N，X+N，X+N，X+N

“Young man … hello, don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you.”

“Hello, sir.”

“My face is scary, but I’m not an executioner. I was just transformed into a machine to climb the tower.”

“transformation?  Who transformed you into this appearance? “

“It’s a long story. A year ago,  the power company cut off the circuit because it thought that our village had no profit. In order to let the people in the village get electricity,  I will try to climb the sheep tower. I ran out of resources on the way. Fortunately,  I returned to the village. But in order to successfully climb the sheep tower. People in the village transformed me into this figure ….. a limb dedi cated to crossing obstacles. Breathing apparatus with circulation system. After a year of training, I came to Tower again. “

“I don’t know how to evaluate this matter. It seems unfair to you.”

“Yes. My wife and children have left me. Maybe my face is really scary. But I can understand the people in the village. We really need electricity too much. “

“Yes. People in my hometown also need water very much, so here I am. “

“Are you, young man? It seems that we are all people who come from our hometown. “

“What can I do for you?”

“I think my equipment is much stronger than yours. I don’t need help if I want it. Young man, I want to ask you a question. Do you think I can still be human? “

A calculate. You have a brave heart. /B Maybe not. According to the law, more than 40% of human beings with physical transformation are bionic machines.

“Thank you, young man. I see. I hope you can successfully climb to the top of the tower. “

Well … Well … You are an excellent human being. You always hear me out.

When I was little. The first batch of bionic people came out. But the adults around them have a very bad attitude towards them. Maybe it’s because the  bionic man took their jobs. But I like them very much. I can feel their emotions. They bring me warmth. Take this and go to the next platform.

[23rd floor]

The corpse of a climber. Got some props in the relics. X+N，X+N，X+N，X+N

Well … Well … You are very good. My data tells me that only single-digit people have been here.

It’s been so long. It’s not easy. Take this and go to the next platform.

[24th floor]

Mm … Mm.  …

“Hello”

“Hello, are you a service-oriented bionic man?”

“Yes, sir, my name is Andrew.”

“Why do you appear in the tower?  Won’t service-oriented bionic people always stay with human beings? “

“I’m looking for my master. I want them to live in this world again.”

“… you?  …… Do you have a sense of autonomy? “

“Sir, I’m … I’m just a service robot.”

“… where are your masters?  How did they die?”

“In an explosion.”

“I feel sorry for this matter. But you don’t have to blame yourself, it’s not your problem. “

“I want to make them feel happy again”

“… you also said that you have no sense of autonomy?  Will service-oriented bionic people please human beings? “

“I’m sorry, sir …”

“Isn’t your master dead? Theoretically, you have been reset.”

“Not so, sir. I often read their memento mori from my hard disk. My CPU has been working on methods and scenarios that make them feel happy. “

“… they … that is to say, you have all the memories of your previous masters?”

“Yes, sir.”

“… then you will feel emotion?”

“I don’t know,  sir. I didn’t write the emotional simulation module in my program. But I seem to have experienced something beyond the processor load. Humans usually  call it hope … or happiness. I don’t know what that is, sir. “

“I’ve never heard of such a shocking thing. A service robot actually feels emotions.”

“Sir, can you do me a favor?”

“You say, as long as I can do it … the robot turned to humans for help.”

“My motor system and sensors were damaged in the explosion. Can you replace some parts for me? This will cost you some resources. “

A No, my resources are very tight, and I will continue to climb the tower/B OK. I’ll fix it for you. This is the first time I have seen a bionic person with emotional perception.

Son, you may really succeed. When I see you, I think of my grandson. He must have done his best in this way. Thank you, young man. Take this and go to the next platform.

[25th floor]

[Top of Sheep Tower]

“I thought it was a reptile, but it turned out to be a person.”

“Hello, my name is Qianqiu.”

“You are …”

“Yes, I am. It’s just the transmission of several consciousness data, but unexpectedly it becomes the object that everyone knows and is sought after by thousands of people. It’s really sad. “

“How long have you been here?”

“Oh, I have been here since I came here, ha ha ha ha ha. “

“I know what you want to ask, you don’t need to eat in this room. Although it is covered with snow, you won’t feel cold. I discovered it only after I came up. “

“Shh-shh-“”Don’t worry, take a big breath, and you’ll find that I’m not lying to you.”

……

……

……

“I’ve never smelled such fresh air, and it’s not affected by air pressure at all! This is better than breathing.

The oxygen in the container is 1000 times more comfortable! “

“I told you.”

“But why are there no sheep here?”

“Sheep?  What sheep? Look at the snow around you. Just roll on the ground twice and you can be any sheep you want. “

“Have you ever heard a sheep bark?”

“No, but maybe I overlooked it.”

“What is your wish?”

“I don’t have any desire. At first, I just came up to seek data, but here I feel more at ease than other beautiful scenery I have been to. Besides,  there is no resource consumption and no garbage. Now I plan to live here. ” “The only question is how to transport my data.”

……

……

……

“Can you help me take it down?”

“Don’t you think it’s a pity that you gave up your life under the tower like this?”

“In any garden, you must have the courage to cut down big trees to give the newly planted seeds enough room to grow.”

“The donkey’s lips are not right for the horse’s mouth.”

“So What is your wish? Tired traveler. “

“I want water, which will never be used up.”

After reading and thinking about the content of the novel. I have a new idea about the theme of this game. Can we make a combination of cross board game and board game? Use the content of the horizontal board to show the plot in the novel. Climbing the tower needs to pass through the customs.

At the beginning of the story, players need to cross a vast desert to reach the Sheep Tower. This process uses bgm to reflect the loneliness of the game environment. When the player enters the inside of the sheep tower. Players can move on each floor platform and talk to npc. Let the players feel the environment of the game through the dialogue content. I need to adapt some words for what the game can do. If the plot of the novel is completely copied, it is undoubtedly the same as playing ppt animation. We need to design new NPCs in this tower, but they didn’t design the dialogue content.

【Content Settings】

2d horizontal board games. The protagonist is climbing a tower. Each floor platform of the tower can move freely. If you want to go to the next level, you have to go through it.

【mechanism setting】

The level play is the same as the previous game mechanism. There are some changes: 1. Props are no longer acquired on the chessboard, but players will acquire them through npc dialogues on each floor of the platform. 2. Props are cumulative, and they are cumulative from beginning to end. Players can choose how much each layer consumes. (You can also change props with an npc)

【skills】

There are four kinds of’ shoes’, corresponding to up, down, left and right.

Brain wave sensor’: Turn a square into a pulse area.

Inverter’: Swap the obstacle area with the normal area.

Skills: 1. npc conversations in the platform 2. Bodies in the platform can be searched.

There are two endings. Judging from the dialogue choices between players and npc, there are eight npc dialogue options that will affect the ending. There is a detailed description in the text.

[process]

From the subway station across the desert to Yangta

On the way, just right-click to manipulate the character’s forward environment from the old subway station → vast desert → Yangta.

The whole process takes about one bgm (right-click for 2 minutes),

The higher the number of layers, the rarer npc will be. The content is also relatively less, aiming at creating the core “loneliness”.

There are 25 levels and 25 platforms in total.

Players will meet npc “Genesis God” at the top level. The protagonist was finally washed down from the top of the tower by the flood. These contents will be represented by animation and sound.

[checkpoint]

Due to the change of the gameplay, I designed a brand-new 25 levels for the new game. They also followed the previous design ideas. Follow the difficulty gradient. With the increase of checkpoints, the map will become bigger. In the process of designing the map, I referred to many real-life elements. For example, the “Eight Diagrams Array” in ancient China and the “Garden Maze” in Britain,

In the route selection of checkpoints. I changed my previous design thinking. It is no longer a fixed route, but the player can choose which route according to the number of steps and skills he has.

From level 21, the map will become very large. This level imitates the famous ancient Chinese pattern-Eight Diagrams Array.

The design of level 22 imitates the “maze garden”. The range of paths that players can walk is only 1 grid.

The map of the last level looks like a pattern. Because this is the last level, I hope it can echo the top story. The shape of this pattern comes from Michelangelo’s classic painting Genesis.

My friend chen sent me his literary creation. He wrote a short story for this game. This makes me very moved. Thanks for his help. Of course, I made some adjustments to its content according to the needs of the game. Some nouns and irrelevant contents have been changed. I hope you can read this novel. It’s really great, and it can bring you a lot of thoughts about human society (the pdf file of the novel has been uploaded, and you can read it later and jump to the end of this blog)

【Novel】

Goat Tower

01

About 400 kilometers southeast from the remains of the underground station of the old palace,  you will reach the center of the plains. This is the last oasis on this continent. It has lost its color, is covered by gray steel,  and occasionally is blown up by the sand. One must put on a windbreaker, scarf and goggles,  stomp and shake off a handful of sand before entering the room. In this dead city, there is a tower,  which is said to be a world-famous spring water in ancient times, and there is a lake next to it, where people travel peacefully and prosperously.

The base of the tower is very wide, and it is made of whole stones. There are eight layers, one layer after another,  and each layer is getting smaller and smaller, like a huge wedding cake. Each layer of the base is about two people high,  with the bottom layer having a hole in each of the four directions for access,  and the upper seven layers having four windows. Above the eight-story pedestal is a cylindrical tower. Seen from a distance,  with the increase of height, the middle of the tower will tighten and eventually disappearing into the clouds.

When Lei Yun arrived at the base of the tower,  it was the middle of a three volcano day – in fact most of the time here these days it is the same as a three volcano day – and he waved his hands,  took off his gloves, dumped the sand inside on the outside of the tower and walked in through an archway.

The interior of the tower is very large. There is a circular walkway hovering on the inner wall,  and there is a complete platform at the bottom of each floor. Many vendors sat by the walls and spread shabby tablecloth on the floor to sell their pr oducts. On the eighth floor, there are no more vendors and platforms, only walkways,  and occasionally steps and railings protrude from the stone walls, as if to stop people from riding upward, which is the starting point of climbing.

Unlike previous mountaineering, if you are really in danger, you can turn to the rescue team. On a tower so high that you can’t see the top,  you have to rely on yourself in any unexpected situation. That’s why when someone climbs the tower, his friends will give him a goodbye, and it may be the last time he sees them.

Lei Yun rearranged his luggage in front of the path. He brought enough food substitutes to last for three months,  a brain wave converter with human body sensor, a high-altitude respirator,  a pair of spare shoes and a temperature-controlled sleeping bag. He comes from far away,  and the food for three months is more than half of the last resources of this city. But for his trip, the residents,  whether they know Lei Yun or not, gave him their most valuable property in exchange for resources.

When he set foot on the trail, the task began.

02

Slowly, the girl opened her eyes. The ocean and the sky met in front of her. Her eyes were pale blue, reflecting the waves in front of her,  blue and white. The girl steps forward,  rustling the sand beneath her feet as the water laps at the shore before silently receding and cutting across her white ankles. She crouched down,  her left hand clasping her knee, and her right hand tilted downward. After a brief cool touch, she picked up a shell,  put it in front of her face and sniffed, and the salty feeling immediately filled her nostrils.

The girl simply lay down, her hair scattered into a big golden flower. She put the shell on her lips, laid it flat,  and looked up at the sky. Two seabirds flapped their wings and flew into the distance. Clouds slowly flowed in the sky, like fish in the sea. The sea water is coming again, tumbling on her back.

Behind the girl was a small beach, behind it is a gap in the cliff, there are obvious traces of man-made repair on the steps, and there is another one.

Neatly arranged cottages with red roofs and white walls, with the smell of fireworks in the middle of several rooms, and the smell of roast chicken wafted in.

After lying there for an unknown period of time, drowsiness rolled in with a sea of water.

Lei Yun slowly opened his eyes, the 64th time he had accessed the sensory micro-piece, which was now the only place where he could see green trees,  blue sky and, more importantly, the scarcer resource, water.

“this is an English girl named Lydia. She has an 800,000-pound artificial eye with a pair of 2 billion pixel lens, clearly captures all the information in your field of vision;  A body amplifier implanted throughout her whole body stimulates every pore of you; Plus the girl’s unique hormones,  using her recorded micro-pieces in conjunction with a brainwave transducer to better shift your brainwaves from alpha or beta waves to delta waves,  and thus to sleep. “this passage was said by the old woman who was selling the goods when Lei Yun was buying the sleeping aid micro-piece on the fourt h floor of the tower. There are actually better micro-pieces, filmed by an orientalist called Chiaki,  who people say is a yoga master and likes to record videos in places off the beaten track. He created miniature works to help people meditate,  only because the scale of production was too small, which was sold out long ago.

In the second half of the video,  Lei Yun clearly remembers that Lydia walked to the lake district to enjoy the Northern Lights. There are obvious cuts in the middle of the video,  interspersed with intermittent male conversations and Lydia’s own pouting, making it a little unpleasant.

Lei Yun sat up, his legs having stretched out over the walkway during his sleep, and as soon as he sat up he hung directly in mid-air,  the sensation of stepping into the air startling him for a moment. He immediately understood why there would be no one on the platform on the eighth f loor, because anyone who climbed the tower would fall off if they were not careful. Lei Yun did not dare to look down, but he knew that the abyss below was several hundred meters deep.

Lei Yun’s bag wasn’t too heavy and he was able to walk fairly easily for the first few days,  reaching a height of around 20 storeys each day. After a week later, his feet began to blister, and his climbing speed was greatly slowed down,  and every step hurt. During the rest, he sat in a relatively flat place in the walkway. Because he was travelling light,  Lei Yun didn’t have any extra-recreational equipment, so apart from watching the sensory micro-piece, he had to stare at the wall on the other side, which gave him more time to think.

He thought about all kinds of problems and logical leaps. He wants to know why Lydia had only one artificial eye with a high-pixel lens. Why does he ha ve to use a brainwave converter every night when he lies down and tosses and turns for two hours without being able to fall asleep?  Why is it that Lydia’s side of the world is still green and green, unlike his own side where the sky is grey and he has to climb a tower to get a drink of water?

He asks questions, and then tried to answer them himself. The answer may be awkward, but he can always convince himself. After all,  in such a place surrounded by walls, there is no one else to help him answer.

Lydia may think that one eye was enough, or she may have the money to install one. She probably lived hundreds of years ago, when the technology was enough to create one 2 billion pixel of eyes.

If you think about it,  this video may not be a sleep aid at all. The salty taste of sea water and the action of putting shells on the lips now all look like foreshadowing. L ater, the traces of editing and the fragments of men and women combination confirmed Lei Yun’s suspicions. In this way, the function of human body amplifier was self-evident.

Lei Yun was a little depressed at the thought of here, and turned his mind to something else.

He thought of looking for water, thought of his hometown,  and then thought of how he knew how frustrating it was that there was a window on the tower every 100 meters when he was still under the tower and loo ked at the windows all over the base. When he climbed up,  the darkness continued to devour him according to his wishes. Within the range of what he could see, there was only one square meter around him,  except for almost all darkness. He had no idea what he would encounter next, whether it would be a protruding obstacle or a recessed trap,  whether it would be thousands of metres of steps or a gentle slope that would be smooth. All he could do was to feel his way up and up again.

One day when he was resting, he counted the number of days since he had spoken to anyone,  and the old woman who sold him micro-pieces was the last person he had spoken to. Lei Yun opened his mouth to say something, but he didn’t know what to say, so he was stunned.

If someone is there, he would observe his funny and awkward expression, but unfortunately there was no such person.

“ah  …

As if afraid of disturbing the others, Lei Yun made the thin, weak voice when the doctor asked for tonsil examination, then shook his head,  realized how stupid he was, and went back to think of other things to kill time.

03

At the top of the tower lives an omniscient man who has given the commandment that anyone who comes to the top of the tower will have a wish granted to them.

Rumour has it that some of those who climbed the tower returned to say that although their wish was granted, they did not see any people on the tower,  but a large empty space, except for a few intermittent sheep calls. The story spread so widely that the tower became known as the Sheep Tower.

The clear purpose of Lei Yun’s tower climbing is to represent the hopes of the whole northern China: climb to the top of the tower to find water. This  is why the entire town is willing to contribute resources to Lei Yun, who is not alone in climbing the tower.

Lei Yun has no energy to think about the meanings of abstraction at the moment. His situation in the tower is enough for a person to collapse. The endl ess darkness wrapped around him, holding him against the wall and moving his feet with him. How he would have liked to have someone to talk to,  someone who was a scholarly commentator or a writer-poet, who would have been delighted by the use of colourful rhetoric;  Someone who was a commoner, who would have been relaxed by the simplicity of his conversation; A person who would be sweetened by a disgusting drunk’s spit, the drunk pointed his nose at him and cursed him. He was a little more than that.

Finally, after tens of thousands of steps in a row, Lei Yun met a man sitting against a wall in a relatively flat place.

“Wow, I didn’t expect to see a living person before I died.”

“Me …… ahem …… me too.” Lei Yun hadn’t made a sound for a long time, so he almost forgot how to speak.

In the darkness, Lei Yun could not see the man’s face, only a vague outline beckoning to Lei Yun, “Come closer child, don’t be afraid, I think you haven’t seen a living person for a long time either.”

“Yes sir.” Lei Yun didn’t let down his guard, strolling slowly along the trail: “Are you having a rest, sir?”

“I am waiting to die.” After that, seeing that Lei Yun’s pace was a little slow, the man continued, “It’s all right, kid, you’re afraid to sit there,  my foot is broken, I can’t pass you … It’s nice to have someone to talk to.” Lei Yun sat obediently where he was and did not speak, and the man went on to ask, “What did you climb the tower for?”

“look for water, sir. All the cities in the north were washed away by the wind and sand,  and there was so little water that people can’t even drink enough, let alone plant trees. Our town finally chose me to climb the tower to look for water on behalf of all the residents.”

“then there are even fewer reason for me to hurt you, because our purpose is the same. Relax, I’m a dying man,  and I break my foot in a place like this, and I can’t climb up or down. Fortunately, I met you, which can make my walk less lonely. I am only grateful to you. “

“I’m not scared, it’s just been too long since I’ve seen anyone, I’m just a bit … … A bit … …” Lei Yun rummaged in his mind, looking for a suitable word. “a little … … Surprised.”

“well, it’s good. Son, when I die,  you’ll take away all my equipment. I still have about two weeks of substitute meals here. They are delicious. As a prisoner, I haven’t had such good and convenient food for a long time.

I also have a nice pair of hiking shoes, which you can wear. “

A criminal? “

“yes, I’m a criminal. Unlike those of you who have a glorious mission, I climbed this tower to pay my debt, my debt to this city,  my debt to my wife and daughter. If I can ask for water, then the children who still live at the bottom of the tower will live better. ” He sighed,  “I’m just afraid that I won’t finish it now, so I thought if what I have can give you the help you need to find water successfully, this would be a way to make up for it.”

Lei Yun remembered that before he left, the whole town had held a great celebration in his honor,  and he was treated as a guest of every house. People not only took out their most valuable property, but also killed cows and sheep,  took out barrels of wine, invited him to eat the freshest meat and drink the most precious wine,  and his good friends also received food that they usually don’t see. The celebration lasted for two days and three nights. From the next day,  Lei Yun was already drunk. He was picked up by the residents and taken to the goat tower. When he regained consciousness, he was already standing under the tower.

Looking at this person in front of him, Lei Yun couldn’t help feeling pity.

“I will, sir, don’t worry, I will beg for water. Whether it is a goat or a sheep on top of this tower, I will ask him to lower the water! “

“It is good to have that from you. Thank you, boy.”

Lei Yun vaguely saw him in the shadows as he began to take off his shoes, his feet supposedly swollen, and he did so stiffly and laboriously,  with occasional “hissing” whimpers, as if he was hurting himself. When he took off his shoes,  he threw them at Lei Yun and smashed them on the ground with a crisp “bang bang” that echoed through the tower.

“Come on, old man I won’t keep you any longer, take my things and go.” Lei Yun picked up his boots, they weren’t his own yard,  but he took them anyway, bowed to the old man and walked around past him ready to move on up.

“Oh yes, I have a request.” The old gentleman called out to Lei Yun again, “If you do succeed and pass by the old man me on your way back,  please take my body back with you. You don’t have to bother carrying me or dragging me all the way, just push me down from here.” Lei Yun nodded, “Good.”

He walked upwards for about a few more days when suddenly a deafening thud came from the bottom of the tower.

04

When he first started to climb this tower, Lei Yun counted for several days,  but later he couldn’t count it at all. From the place where he met the old gentleman,  there were occasional bodies on the trail. Some of them are still fresh, with all kinds of supplies scattered around them, while others had no clothes on them, and they have started to stink and rot.

The two pairs of shoes Lei Yun had brought with him when he started climbing the tower were worn out,  and the old man’s gift didn’t fit him. Lei Yun took off his shoes and put the old man’s shoes aside, trying to give some comfort to the body.

The food in Lei Yun’s pack was reduced and increased, and increased and decreased. With about a quarter of the bag left,  he suddenly felt shortness of breath,  and his nasal cavity no longer inhaled enough oxygen to satisfy his intake. He opened his mouth to try to increase his intake in this way,  but it was difficult to relieve him. In the dark, Lei Yun fumbled to the wall, desperately looking for his backpack. His brain was dizzy and his hands were shaking because of lack of oxygen.

Finally, he found the high-altitude respirator at the bottom of his backpack, put it on his head,  and then turned the switch to faint. The cool but pleasant air that gushed out of the respirator mask was like a liquid spray on Lei Yun’s face,  and he sucked it in, not wanting to let go of any of the fresh oxygen, and lay there for a while before recovering.

When he stood up, Lei Yun noticed that the walls along the path had become metal, which felt much smoother than the stone.

The good news is, with the challenges ahead, this means that Lei Yun has reached a certain height, probably not far from the top of the tower.

After a short rest, Lei Yun opened his backpack and continued his journey. When he came to the next window,  Lei Yun usually took a rest there and looks into the distance,  which is his only remaining happiness. But this time he didn’t. The armrest on the edge of the window became thinner due to the change in material,  and he didn’t dare to put his own weight on it. He was close to the finish line, and any small mistake could ruin all his work. This is the only chance he can lose.

When he reached the top of the mountain, he would be able to see enough, and Lei Yun comforts himself.

Gradually, there was frost on the armrest by the window,  and then there was snow on it. A large section of the path by the window became more slippery,  and even there was a thin layer of ice in some places. Lei Yun had never seen snow since he was a child,  and he has only been looking for information. When he saw flesh and blood this time, he grabbed a handful and put it in his mouth. After a taste,  he immediately calmed down, because there are more important things to do now.

There was no way to know how long the rest of the road is. When Lei Yun collected the oxygen left by other lost climbers,  he wore three or four layers of other people’s clothes, and he walked more carefully than before, and he was a little clumsy.

Stumbling and falling, he nearly slipped on several occasions and tried to hold on to the walls,  not realizing that they were more slippery than the ground, and he ended up on his back to avoid sliding down to the bottom of the tower.

This situation lasted for a period of time, and higher in the tower, Lei Yun had to crawl on the ground,  vividly reproducing the word ‘climbing “. Snowflakes kept falling from above, and a thick layer of snow accumulated on Lei Yun’s head.

Lei Yun’s head was bright, he was on his back, his back. The light is too strong, he could only squint and see nothing, but he knew in his heart that he was there!  He finally got to the top of the tower!

It had been so long since he had seen any bright light that his eyes were still a little uncomfortable,  so he simply lay on his back and waited for his eyes to adjust to the light before moving on. Despite his excitement,  he did not make a single mistake with his hands and feet, moving forward step by step, not daring to speed up even the slightest bit.

05

The platform is more than double the size of the base of the ground floor, with only a small hole in the middle connecting it to the walkway.

There is a thick layer of snow on the platform, and there was nothing but snow and clouds where the eyes could see it.

“I thought it was a reptile that came up, but it turned out to be a human.”

Lei Yun was enjoying the tranquility after the storm when he was suddenly startled by a voice. There was a rustling sound from the snow at the edge of  the platform, followed by the reveal of a man with a curled up body, who stretched himself out, twisted a few times from side to side and stood up.

It was a middle-aged man with an oriental face,  his face cleaned up and dressed in a white gym suit that almost blended in with the snow-covered ground, in stark contrast to the dusty, messy-haired Lei Yun.

“Hello, my name is Chiaki.” He politely extended his right hand as if intending to shake Lei Yun’s,  but when he saw Lei Yun sticking his frostbite-covered right hand out of the cuffs of his four-layer coat jacket, he drew it back and smiled awkwardly.

“You’re …….”

“Yes,  I am.” Lei Yun was interrupted. Chiaki gave two quick laugh. “I just sat on it and watched a few small videos. I never thought that I’d be well known  and sought after by millions of people. It’s pathetic.” Lei Yun rolled his eyes behind his back, trying to change the subject. “How long have you been doing that movement, that yoga pose.”

“oh, you mean the one-horned goat pose?  That’s my own creation, isn’t it pretty? I’ve been in that pose ever since I climbed to the top of the tower until you came up just now.” He patted himself on the head. “I was recording a new  physical video. I didn’t expect anyone else to climb it.”

Without leaving Lei Yun too much time to react, Chiaki continued to ramble on, “I know what you’re going to ask,  there’s no need to eat in here. You won’t feel the cold even though it’s covered with snow. I didn’t realize that until I came up here, either.”

He walked up to Lei Yun and reached out and gently pulled off his mask. Lei Yun just wanted to resist, so he held him down, held out his hand, and put a finger on Lei Yun’s lips.

“shh-shh-shh,” he continued. “Take a deep breath safely, and you will find that I didn’t lie to you.” Lei Yun first grabbed the breathing mask back,  then half-heartedly began to take small breaths, then kept getting bigger.

“I’ve never smelt such fresh air before, and it’s amazing that it’s not affected by air pressure at all!  It’s a thousand times more comfortable than the oxygen inside the respirator!”

“I told you so.”

“But why aren’t there any sheep here? “

“sheep?  What sheep? Look at the snow around you. Just roll on the ground twice, and you can become any sheep you want.”

“have you heard of a sheep?”

“No, but it’s possible that I was too involved in yoga and missed it.”

Lei Yun was a little lost, as if he really thought there would be a sheep at the top of the tower, and as if he had gone to the trouble of climbing to the top of the tower just to meet the sheep.

“What is your wish?” He asked Chiaki.

“I don’t have a wish. At first I only came up here to record a video,  but this place makes me feel more at ease than any other beauty I’ve ever been to, plus it doesn’t consume resources or produce rubbish,  and now I plan to live here.” He paused as if he were worried about something. “The only problem is how to transmit the videos I recorded.”

Both men were silent. Chiaki seemed to be thinking about the question he himself had just posed,  while Lei Yun was just fuming. Lei Yun had used up all his strength climbing to the top of the tower and he turned to lie down in the snow, not wanting to think about anything else for a short while.

Qianqiu stood where he was, his right hand on his cheek and his left arm in his arms, thinking for a long time, then with a dive, he jumped into the snow next to Lei Yun.

“Will you help me bring it down?” He asked Lei Yun.

Lei Yun was so tired that he didn’t even want to make an expression, his eyes were closed as if he was soon going to fall asleep, and he said,  “Don’t you feel sorry for giving up your life under the tower like that? “

“In any garden you have to have the courage to cut down the big trees to give the newly planted seeds enough room to grow.”

“Donkey’s lips.” Lei Yun replied almost in a dream.

Qian Qiu suddenly changed his tone and became very authoritative, such as questioning the trial in court, or a kind old man’s affectionate comfort. He asked, “What is your wish? The weary traveler.”

“I want water, water that can never be used up.”

As if a jade dish full of water was hanging overhead, it shattered and an endless stream of water fell in an instant, striking the top of the tower,  washing away all the snow and sweeping away Lei Yun.

Lei Yun was washed away by the water when he was going down the mountain,  and finally he got what he wanted to see. There was no shortage of water. His mouth was wide open, his eyes are wide open,  and every pore in his body absorbs water. The black and white marks on his face exposed to the sun by his goggles were washed away,  his body became translucent, and his skin was as soft as the skin of a newborn baby. When climbing the mountain,  the dust and mud that stained his clothes were washed away, and even his soles grew out, as if he had never taken a step. It seems that he didn’t take a step.

When he was immersed in the water, his mind was more open and developed than before, and his brain turned again,  just like a rusty gears had been oiled for many years, and he thought about more problems than ever before.

Was it because he expressed his wish, so it came true right away?  Would it spread to Chiaki?  Who built the tower?  It took him about six months to climb the tower, and now it takes at least ten minutes to be washed to the bottom by the flood, doesn’t it?  The current is so big that old man should be able to carry it home, right?

..  …

Finally, before his consciousness was about to dissipate, the question came to him: was the sheep at the top of the tower a lamb or a goat? Whirling around, he heard a voice.

“baa”

【Explain 】

Let me explain this novel a little bit. This story is very “stream of consciousness”. I can take the sheep tower as a symbol. It can be a religion, a government, or a society. When resources become exhausted, ordinary people want to obtain resources to survive, so they need to pay a very high price in exchange. However, for those who already lived at the top of the pyramid, it is very easy. Some of the goals we are striving for are often considered useless actions. There may be a God on the top of the tower. But his nature is not God. Just a man who happened to get there. The ending of the story is also full of absurdity. The protagonist has gone through all kinds of difficulties and reached the top of the tower. In the eyes of the people at the top of the tower, all this is nothing. After a sheep cry, the story came to a sudden stop. Are there any sheep at the top of the tower? This question will never be answered. None of this seems to matter. The protagonist has been submerged in the flood or the wind and sand of Yangta. It’s like he’s never been here.

About Art Design

This project uses a part of the materials we used to make (because it used to be our alternative, so we have already made a part of the materials). Because there is no narrative content, I set the artistic style of the game as the steam wave style with psychedelic color. Let’s imagine this is a character walking in a dream. It passes through genting, forests, abandoned cities and deserts.

About roles

The protagonist is a mechanical core that falls from a giant robot. In order to find its own home, it goes through various levels. Black looks very simple and easy to identify. I lowered the black concentration a little bit. So that it won’t be too eye-catching on the screen.

About checkpoints

1. cloud top

The first part of the scene looks fantastic. I want to create a feeling that the protagonist is curious and mysterious about the world when he is just born. The background adopts many geometric figures and draws lessons from the color matching of steam wave style.

• forest

You can feel that the forest behind is shaking. Maybe you can feel the character in the wild and the wind is blowing it.

In order to fit the forest style, I made the appearance of the bar reader into a river. I feel it will smell like a forest.

• Abandoned city

I once made a city background full of neon lights. But then I think an abandoned city seems to be more in line with the atmosphere of this checkpoint. So I drew a silhouette of a gray city. There are only gray and red lights in the whole city. This makes people feel run-down and a little uneasy.

• desert

The elements I made for the desert include abandoned Buddha statues, falling spacecraft and abandoned future cars. And the hue of yellow is used as the main color. At this point, I refer to blade runner’s movie settings. Buddha statue has an extraordinary meaning in oriental culture. It represents the collection of all oriental cultures and the mystery. You will notice that this Buddha statue is broken. There are many circuits and wires in it. This is a sculpture art that I once made. I like this combination of religion and technology very much. It looks very visually striking and thought-provoking. It is one of my pleasures to put what I have done into my game.

In order to make the picture more vivid. All the backgrounds are animated regularly. I really like this feeling like breathing. It can make players feel less boring and cold when thinking about the level.

About the selection interface

Actually, we have two versions of the design.

The first version is like this:

Its shape comes from the head shape of the protagonist. I like the design of the art content in this game. The four parts are divided in an orderly way. It feels like a whole.

The second version is like this:

It can better reflect the style of each level. And help to better see the route of the checkpoint. Of course, to be honest, I prefer the first version. But everyone, my friend suggested that I use the second version to make players see more clearly. All right. We need to listen to the players’ suggestions.

Testing about demo

I’m glad that it took us about a month to complete a very complete demo. Yun completed the programming of this game mechanism. This has solved a great problem for me. I can’t figure out the logic to implement this mechanism. Thanks for his help. The reason for our rapid production is that most of the materials were finished in the past. Whether it is mechanism or art, we don’t need to spend too much time to finish it.

It is necessary for me to introduce the design of the checkpoint. This is the most important part when we test demo.

Our level design follows the difficulty gradient, although the complex level in the later stage is not very obvious (depending on the player’s situation).

For example, in the first level, our first task is not to make the player difficult, but to let him quickly understand the mechanism of the game. Because this mechanism is not a common form. We only did the simple operation of going right. Let players feel what the function of “bar reader” is.

At the second level, the direction will increase. Here, I’ll tell the player that there are props on the map of the game, and the player needs to go over and pick them up. And this level needs to calculate the order of “up” and “left”. This is to guide players to clarify the essence of this game.

We designed the basic gameplay of the game before. We made maps and characters from some past art materials and some re-made art materials to facilitate the design of checkpoints and other functions.

The player’s operation in the normal area will be repeated in the “pulse area”. Therefore, players need to think carefully before taking the first step. So that he can reach the finish line in a limited number of steps.

Through this basic mechanism, we thought of some extended gameplay.

1. Set up obstacle areas and use obstacles to pass the customs.

Players can use the obstacle area to advance. For example, the player expects to need “up”-“right”-“up” in the “pulse zone” to reach the desired position. Then it needs to do the same in the normal area. But the ordinary area does not meet the space of “up”-“right”-“up”. “Right” is surrounded by obstacles. Then the player can take advantage of the obstacle. You can still press “right”. You can’t move, but this operation will still be recorded. When the player enters the “pulse zone”, he can still reach the route he wants to take. (Similarly, players can also use the obstacles near the pulse area to get through.)

• Set a health value and add an obstacle that will buckle blood.

“Obstacles” are areas where you can’t get through. However, the player of “Blood Reduction Obstacle” can still pass. I give players 3 health points at each level. When you have to go through the “blood reduction obstacle”, you will lose 1 point of health. Players can use this to explore some shortcuts.

• Pick up skills in the map

We are going to set some difficulty gradients for the game. Let players gradually pick up all skills, up, down, left and right.

In the map, players need to go to the skill point before they can pass. This can help players plan their routes.

• Skills: Reversal

We refer to some classic games. Is it possible for players to change the layout of the map by themselves during the game? This may have a magical effect. For example, this “reversal” skill. It can exchange some obstacles with ordinary areas. We will try the feasibility of this design in the game. I’m not sure if we can design a very exquisite map in a short time. This requires testing.

Ask some questions

This mechanism has gradually become full. We think its playability is very high. In the later map of the game, we will design a bigger map. Many levels can be designed by using this mechanism. But we also raised some questions, and the rhythm of this game seems to be a little calming. We don’t know what the player’s playing habits will be: plan all operations clearly from the beginning. Or take it one step at a time. It’s like playing chess. It takes a long time to think before it can be operated. Is there a way we can change this rhythm? Like suddenly changing the map in the middle of the checkpoint? That will increase a lot of manufacturing difficulties. We are worried about the rhythm of the game. It may make people feel dull or sleepy. So we have to think out something to break it.

Anyway, we have a mature idea. Next, we will start making art materials and codes. With demo, we can think better.

In addition to the production mechanism, I’m still thinking about how to add some narrative content. I like playing games as a carrier of literature. The author can express their own thoughts through the content of the game. For example, the research on death stranding (2019). In my previous paper, I made some analysis on its narrative style. The player tells you his story through conversation or email. This created a very lonely world. So when players are willing to watch these contents, they will feel some emotions.

For this end, I contacted my friend Chen, who is a major in Chinese literature and is very interested in writing. I wrote my thoughts on the game narration in the file I gave him. The content of the file contains my thoughts on the content. I didn’t want to have too much influence on his thinking, so I didn’t immediately reveal the mechanism of the checkpoint to him. I hope he can give me more ideas and suggestions without being restricted (if he is constructive).

The following is the contents of the document I compiled for him.

This document is the idea and reference of the initial creation of game narrative content, and gives three game styles as reference from the feasibility.

In terms of big ideas, I hope that our game can focus on narration, which can be a story that sees the big from the small. Just like Cyberpunk’s style reflects the big environment from the microscopic characters. From my personal point of view, I prefer it to be an artistic work that gives players feelings and thoughts. Sex is of course necessary. We can design the appropriate level according to the plot (don’t worry too much about it).

In terms of development cost, we don’t need cost for the time being, because almost everything is done by me. If there is a problem in the procedure that I can’t solve, then I will look for suitable friends for help.

The content of the game can be mixed with many personal ideas or eggs, and you can put elements related to your work in it. This is a good linkage, and it is also conducive to the possibility of various creations in the future. Because this is an almost cost-free creation, we can express it according to our own ideas, so we don’t need too much pressure. I don’t want to make too many restrictions on the plot. It can be any theme, such as Cyberpunk style that you like very much, or even your previous works that you want to adapt into games. I will design the game level according to the plot.

I think the duration of the game can be between 1.5 and 8 hours, which is controlled according to the difficulty. It will be clearer after reading the following game cases.

Style 1: Crossboard Pass

Game: Valiant Hearts：The Great War is a playable image novel. An exciting adventure game with unique atmosphere and artistic style. The elements of exploration, action and puzzle solving are mixed.

Introduction video:https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Xx411J7DL? from=search&seid=4708801313413572069

Advantages of this style:

1. Focus on narrative
2. Hand-painted style is changeable.
3. The game is no less than the conventional operation-oriented game, and contains a large number of decryption elements.
4. The development difficulty is moderate, the workload is mainly concentrated in fine arts, and animation can be used instead of programming.

Style 2: RPG (Narrative Direction)

Game: To The Moon, Detective Fog.

“To The Moon” is a pixel-style RPG mobile game transplanted from PC platform. It doesn’t have gorgeous pictures, amazing actions and rich game systems, but it abandons the traditional fighting upgrade and explains a beautiful love story for players. (This game uses a very simple game engine rpg maker, which greatly reduces the development difficulty, abandons the turn-based fighting of traditional rpg games and focuses on narration, which can be said to be a perfect RPG masterpiece)

Introduction video:

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV18J41197yv?from=search&seid=8162825993156514420

The Cyberpunk version of Fog Detective’s Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival, with its fantastic urban scenery and a sense of presence in the marketplace, is above the level of narrative and puzzle design in the same type of independent games.

Introduction video:

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1A84y1c7ca/?spm_id_from=333.788.recommend_more_video.-1

Advantages of this style:

1. You can also focus on narration.

2. Pixel style has strong plasticity.

3. It is highly playable, can be interspersed with various game elements, and can be made into a semi-open world.

Style 3:

Game: Stanley’s fable, novice’s guide

Evaluation documents:

https://www.gamersky.com/review/201510/674017.shtml

Stanley’s language introduction video:

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Va4y1i7eX/?spm_id_from=333.788.recommend_more_video.7

Novice Guide Game Video:

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV18s411v7gW/

Focusing on the expression of self-thoughts, meta game can always make people feel unexpected novelty.

Organized by yanci

8.10

I have compiled some contents for chen that I think are worthy of reference. I hope he can create a script for the game. According to the script, I can adapt it into a complete game. Chen and I have a very congenial interest in literary works. We are all fascinated by science fiction works. I expect him to create interesting works. Look forward to his reply.

At the beginning of the project, I didn’t have any concrete ideas or goals.

I asked many friends for their opinions. For example, once I asked Wang the question of programming. He is my classmate and is very good at programming. When we were in China, we participated in the competitions together. We are in agreement.

We want to make a game that we once imagined more complete. The inspiration for this game comes from the alternative that we thought of when we were involved in a game jam. We think this game is very interesting. We’ve never seen such a game. The reason why we didn’t take it as our first choice at first was that time didn’t allow it. I think it is a very good attempt to realize it now.

【About the game mechanism】

First, we will list the game forms that we can achieve at present:

1. 2d game
2. Chessboard game
3. Horizontal version clearance game

The reason why we narrow the scope to these types of games is not only to consider whether they can be realized. More is to consider our common interests. We all hope to make players feel bright through some unique and interesting game mechanisms. It is not a very complete large-scale game, but it must have unique gameplay.

We conceived an inspiration: recording and repetition.

The earliest inspiration for this idea comes from Nolan’s movie TENET, which has an interesting concept-entropy.

You can use it to go back in time, but everything in the whole world is in reverse. What you do in the reverse world will affect the normal world. This concept is very complicated. To tell the truth, I have a headache when I watch a movie to clarify the logic. Our game is not as complicated as the movie. I’m not sure whether we can make a game that perfectly combines sequence and flashback (this may be something I should think about in the future, because I’m interested in flashback and controlling time).

But this gives us an inspiration-using past operations to influence future content. For example, on a chessboard, the player wants to move from A to C. Then its movement from A to B will affect how it moves from B to C.

So we started brainstorming.

Use the operation of the upper half screen to influence the operation of the “shadow” of the lower half screen.

Manipulating two characters, the behavior of character 1 will create a new level for character 2.

Repeat its previous operations while the character moves.

We finally decided on a basic gameplay. Divide the game board into two areas. We can call it “normal area” and “pulse area”. When the player enters the “pulse zone”, he will walk according to the previous operation in the “normal zone”. This is a mechanism, and we can add more content according to this basic mechanism. For example, some obstacles, skills that can change maps.

【Details of how to play】

First, we need to establish a map. This determines how our game unfolds. Because its operation is based on “pressing the keyboard once”. So we choose to play the game on a checkerboard. This is very clear, because we don’t need linear operation by players.

We drew some squares of different sizes.

Divide the chessboard into groups of areas. Then, this mechanism naturally produces a lot of gameplay.

1. Use the “pulse zone” to advance to the position you want.
2. Take advantage of obstacles to carry out “misplaced” operations.

Partial summary

As a game that has been re-excavated and being designed. Asynchronous online has the following differences from real-time online games in emergency narrative:

1. There is no limit to the number of online players (it can also be understood that only one player is the core, and other players participate together);

2. Real-time feedback from online players is not emphasized, but personal narrative of single players is paid more attention

 3. Social attributes of games are weakened, and personal emotions of players are more focused than real-time online games. There is no social fear.

4. Weakened the “optimal solution” of the game task, made the emergency narrative participate in the main story of the game and the core gameplay more fully, and enhanced the randomness in the game process.

5. Helped players to associate and expect the images of other players in the real world. Get a more real personal feeling (here, it refers to the design of social style in death stranding).Although this method is not a perfect and mature solution, it may change the narrative style of large-scale open world games. Today, the homogenization of role-playing games in the open world is serious, which can give game designers a new idea of connection.

I spent roughly seventy hours playing Death Stranding.To tell the truth, it’s been a long time since a big game has made me so excited and can keep playing.It brings me a series of complicated emotions, not completely moving, not completely fun.Happy, humorous, sad, depressed, moved … These emotions are not all positive.This is different from common video games. After playing and ending the main story, I have been thinking about where this emotion comes from.This is a complicated problem, and the game looks very sexy under the advanced aesthetics of the producer.Whether it’s art style, plot setting or play.I must say that Hideo Kojima is an extraordinary producer.

There are many points worth analyzing in this game.I should focus on the core design of the game.Aside from visual factors, how does its design in playing give players these special emotions?So I want to focus on analyzing the design of “asynchronous online”.”Asynchronous online” is a common game design.There is a very obvious example in the Dark Soul, the mark that other players will leave in your world.You can see its operation, death process and so on.But today, it has some particularity.

I also thought about analyzing from other aspects.For example, from the story or the world view in the game.But they are not typical enough, which does not involve the core mechanism of the game.Or it is only a part of literary creation, and we should analyze it separately.It is just a rich story that all big games should do.It’s just different in creating atmosphere.What I need is to analyze the different reasons from the perspective of a designer.So I didn’t choose to analyze it from the plot.Instead, asynchronous online, which is more related to the core gameplay, is chosen as the breakthrough point.

Hideo Kojima made it clear that he did not recommend playing this game offline.”My idea is to make” Death Stranding “a game that feels like a single person but naturally connects you with other players.”The reason for this suggestion is simple.In Death Stranding, ladders and ropes laid down by players, bridges and highways built by players may all appear in the world of other players.Through this mechanism, you can get help from others during the game, and others can also get your help during the game.

This is very touching to me, because “asynchronous online” not only appears as an egg in the game.Its existence can change the course of your game.

About “Asynchronous Online”

I searched for some information, in fact, there were similar games very early.

People used to play chess by mail centuries ago.They fill in the corresponding content on the card of a specific format, send the letter to the opponent, and then wait for a reply

Limited by the postal speed, it will take about 30 to 60 days for every 10 steps of a game, and the time span of a complete game will often be extended to more than one year.

I’m surprised how people play.

In the mid-1960s, the board game Diplomacy was put on the game magazine fanzine, which is the most famous postal game.

Players who want to participate write to the magazine to register, and get the rules and start time of the game from the magazine.After the game starts, players in each round should write down their specific operations and send them to magazines.Each round has a time limit, usually one week.After receiving the emails from the players, the magazine will carry out the corresponding game settlement work, and publish the actions of each player and the final results of each round in the magazine.

Mail games were very popular in the 1980s.Later, personal computers became popular.People began to play games by e-mail.

“WebWar II” is the earliest “e-mail type” game that uses e-mail instead of traditional e-mail.

Later, the Internet became popular, and this online method was more used in online games.Such as cultivating online games.

It is probably because of this ability to create online experience in stand-alone games that asynchronous online has won the favor of many large-scale games recently.

In Dark Soul , players can leave eye-catching messages on the ground.These messages may remind you that there are hidden walls ahead, or deceive you to jump off a bottomless cliff.Because messages have a fixed format and choice of words, players can’t really “speak freely”. In some cases, players must use some “awkward” sentences to express their meaning.After further understanding the plot, the player can easily feel the feelings that another player once felt.

Real machine experience and experimental case feedback

I recruited 14 players to have targeted play tests.In order to ensure the objectivity and reference value of the collected data.These 14 players have a wide range of preferences for game types and have no extreme prejudice against game types and game modes.Some players have social relationships in reality.Players are aged between 19 and 28.I will watch and record everyone’s behavior and feedback in the game world.To explore our problems.In order to minimize the fuzziness of data caused by complex factors.

I choose death stranding and GTA online as comparative games.Both Death Stranding and GTA online have the attributes of large-scale open-world role-playing games and are similar in game operation and narrative methods.This helps to compare the difference between asynchronous online games and real-time online games in emergency narrative.In the process of playing, I will watch and record everyone’s behavior in the game world, implementation and emotional feedback during playing.

Three time points were selected in the game process of Death Stranding: 1. The game started for 1 hour; 2. The delivery task through snow mountain in the middle of the game; 3. The World War II scene in Chapter 7.The game content of GTA online is all jailbreak tasks (four-person team).

According to these records, I divided five aspects according to the feedback to compare and elaborate.

Emergency narrative comparison between real-time online games and asynchronous online games

1. environmental story

Asynchronous online can support the personal narrative of countless players in different time and space, which is different from the specific environmental narrative in real-time online.1、Asynchronous play is being used in modern games to deliberately foster dynamics of interaction between present and absent players. Removing the need foR players to be present at the same time in order to interact and play creates an opportunity for greater networks of interaction to form (1, Neto,20201, 2019), the player’s server can receive the information of random players with no upper limit.And the core player is only one player.In GTA online, players can play games with up to 16 players in one server at the same time.Up to 4 players can play together in a single task.

Example

This is a slightly abstract concept. One person is more than four or sixteen people.1 > 4. why would you say that for the society?If you understand that asynchronous online is equal to all-weather online, you can probably understand this truth.All the players said that they were tied to the fate of countless players, after climbing over numerous complicated terrain and defeating numerous BT.Everyone thinks they are not fighting alone.You can think that this kind of emergency narrative is very simple, which means that other players pass you other items to help you.But one thing to be clear is.Crossing the terrain and defeating boss are the core of the whole game.This is not a flash in the pan.It is a very romantic design to feel your connection with other players (or the world) at any time.

2. Network connection

Asynchronous connection emphasizes that it can “connect” the existence of other players’ characters while taking personal as the core of emergency narration.In the Death Stranding, the operations of other players will selectively appear in the player’s game environment after being screened by the server.Therefore, the requirements of asynchronous online games for network conditions are significantly lower than those of real-time online games.2、Since players may experience different network delays in receiving the same state update from the game server, some players can take early actions against the latest update before others have chances to react.2、The other concerns the order that the game server processes action messages from players. (2, IEEE, 2002) In 2, Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, all players’ operations will give real-time feedback to each other.These operation information based on real-time network will constitute a part of the story of players in the game.

For example, in my feedback, there are a lot of unexpected emergency narratives caused by network problems.For example, triggering a bug, having a car accident outside, and operating mistakes from teammates outside.These are all urgent narratives in gta online.But you will find that these factors are not closely related to your main story.Because this is not what designers deliberately buried.However, this problem does not exist in asynchronous online death stranding.Even in a bad network environment or even when the network is disconnected.You can still use other people’s belongings to realize your own emergency.For example, in some feedback, when a player crosses the high-altitude zip line, he encounters the animation effect that some other player dies here.At this time, you will be alert to the situation ahead.Is there a dangerous area ahead?From here, we can find that these emergency narratives do not disturb the original game atmosphere. They belong to the player’s personal emergency narratives, but they belong to this game environment and are not deliberately made by designers.Because the signals you receive still come from other players!

3. Emotional story

Asynchronous online weakens the deliberate social attribute in reality, and makes players pay more attention to their own emotional narrative.Sam, the protagonist of Death Stranding, is a patient with 3. Haphephobia.This is also reflected in the story of the game and social design.Players can’t ask for it. 3. Ask other players to do something and they won’t be asked to do anything.All the players’ behaviors are based on the principle of voluntariness.This kind of plot has been positively reflected in the stranding of death.In the records of 14 people, all of them chose to praise others after receiving the help of their belongings.All the players have chosen the items that help others during the game.Most people’s evaluation of this setting is warm and enjoyable for players.This positive situation is different from 3, Dark Souls(2011), 3, marks left by other players in your world.Most indicative markers are used to trick new players.Difficulties and depression are in line with the ideas conveyed by Dark Souls.This completely different phenomenon shows that asynchronous online can more truly reflect the emotional state of players in the game.In the records of GTA online, emotional feedback comes from the excitement of completing tasks and the frustration of task failure.Players’ emotional fluctuations mainly come from their own or teammates’ operations that affect the task progress.

4. Process story

Asynchronous online enhances the randomness of “randomness” and weakens the “optimal solution”

The random operation and decision of your peers in real-time online will affect you.But you can still decide who your fellow players are, and even influence his operation in his next actions.In the process of completing the given goals of the game, players and their teams will try their best to choose the way that best meets the needs of the goals to complete the tasks.This is one of the reasons why many large-scale open-world games with story narrative as the core are difficult to stimulate players’ desire to continue playing after they have cleared customs.Death stranding has changed the design of play.We can simply understand the play as moving the target object from location a to location b.In this process, players will encounter terrain obstacles.At this time, there are two choices.Use other people’s props or build their own props.These two behaviors can also occur simultaneously.It depends on the player’s choice.But it is more convenient to use other people’s props.For example, a zip line is useless, and only when the player’s zip line is matched with the zip lines of other players can the player feel the convenience.This way, the open world game is turned into a sandbox game.Although its influence is limited, its greatest advantage is that it blurs the “optimal solution”.There are countless ways for players to get from location a to location b.You can create new routes by yourself or refer to other people’s routes.Even continue the route that others have not finished.Your choice will not be influenced by peers like real-time online games.And the appearance of these non-player factors is random.In the game records of 14 players, there are 6 different routes and transportation modes for the route selection of the same task.These routes and modes of transportation are not game settings, but are selected by players.In the record of the multiplayer joint mission of GTA online, we can only choose the route given by the game.This choice is actually linear, and there is an “optimal solution”.In the course of the game, four players quickly finished the game by searching the introduction.

5. Stories outside the game

Asynchronous online makes players unable to know the real social information of other players.Let players have more associations with each other.Feel more real emotional feedback through the operation in the game.Follow your inner feelings.Hideo Kojima believes that innovations like social media have made it so easy to communicate that people forget to consider the humanity on the other end of a message. “We’re in an era of 5、individualism,” he says. “Everyone is fractured. Even on the internet. It’s all connected,All around the world, but everyone is fighting each other. “(5, Gault, 2019) After the death of playing stranded, four players thought that the way of playing changed his view of the real world.Especially the view of interpersonal relationship.This is different from common online games.In the past online games, players can get their social accounts through some channels.Players’ motivations for interacting with each other are highly dependent on the fact that they belong to the same organization and share similar in-game goals. In that respect, in-game associates can be conceived of as a type of given friend or default contact. These connections are also known as Aristotelian friendships of utility because interaction is motivated by the desire to accomplish common interests or tasks rather than mutual affinity （5、Ramirez,2018）