A game that speaks "Shanghainese",

It is often more attractive in overseas markets.

Dressed in a delicate cheongsam and speaking authentic Shanghainese, the game characters shuttle through the streets and alleys with Shanghai's urban characteristics......

Recently, a two-dimensional game called "Return to the Dragon Tide" has become popular on social media, and the Shanghai elements contained in the previous teaser video have also made many Shanghai citizens feel cordial.

Shanghai's game manufacturers have been marching into the two-dimensional field earlier, not only the old manufacturer Shanda, but now Shengqu Network has tried "Bloodline" in 2014.

miHoYo also launched the second game "Honkai Impact 2" as early as 2014.

In addition, manufacturers such as Brute Chirp, Scatterblast, and Eagle Horn have launched works such as "Battleship Girl", "Girls' Frontline", "Blue Route", and "Ark of Tomorrow".

At that time, these development teams chose to do the second game, not only because of their sense of smell for the mobile game industry, but also out of their love for the two-dimensional category.

From the perspective of overseas markets, according to mobile data intelligence platform Sensor Tower's "2023 Japan Mobile Game Market Insights", among the RPG (role-playing game) mobile games with the highest revenue in the Japan market, miHoYo's "Honkai: Star Dome Railway" ranked first in the growth list from January to August 2023.

Among the strategy mobile games in the mobile game category that ranks second in terms of revenue in the Japan market, Eagle Point Network's "Ark of Tomorrow" has become the top player in the Japan strategy mobile game revenue list from January to August 2023 with more than $70 million in revenue.

In this regard, Zhang Yu, a reporter from the "Morning News", had an exchange with Shule, and this monkey thought:

The two-dimensional game is becoming a miracle soldier for the overseas dissemination of Chinese culture.

In this, "Shanghainese" plays a great role, which is inseparable from the compatibility of Shanghainese culture and two-dimensional games.

The cases of Chinese games succeeding overseas can be roughly divided into three categories, most of which are related to ACG and most of which are also related to Shanghai:

The first is the role of Sunac.

In 2022, the new character Yun Jin released by "Genshin Impact" is full of Peking Opera elements and has caused a sensation in the West.

miHoYo is a Shanghai-based game company.

The second is the integration of gameplay.

For example, "I Am the Big Shopkeeper" integrates the characteristic elements of the Maritime Silk Road, the Chinese New Year market, the dragon boat and other characteristic elements rich in national culture, and makes full use of the interactive characteristics of the game carrier, embedding shadow puppetry, window cutting, pot throwing and other activities into the game operation.

The third is scene fusion.

In Shadow Torch City, the entire game is set in Shanghai.

Showing the cultural characteristics of China everywhere, authentic Sichuan noodle restaurants, various dialogues with dialect temperament, and the steampunk texture that American, Japanese and Korean players are keen on, to achieve deep integration.

This time, "Returning to the Dragon Tide" also has a similar style of play.

The key to the success of the above types of cases is to do a good job of integration in cultural communication.

First, it is culture-driven.

Through the unique Chinese style, it is formed to be different from the style of overseas games.

The second is market strategy.

Although in terms of advanced game technology, domestic games still have many shortcomings.

However, in some vertical fields, such as mobile games, web games, and mini games, because they are at the end of the chain of technological contempt in the game industry, they have become the market breakthrough of domestic games.

Third, the integration is strong.

Domestic games do not adhere to a completely Chinese style, but embrace the market.

Through Chinese-style fantasy, it can add fantasy and sci-fi content familiar to Western players, or skillfully integrate Western pop culture and Chinese elements such as steampunk and cyberpunk.

I have to say that the problem is still obvious.

The development time of the domestic second game has not exceeded 10 years, and it is inevitable that the foundation is shallow and the development is unbalanced, and the current definition of the two-dimensional game is too broad, so that as long as it is an anime style, add a story background or derive a comic, it can also be called a second game.

Different from the general game category based on the division of core gameplay, two-dimensional games are like a hodgepodge, with animated comic-style games and comic-derived stories in them.

And there is also controversy about whether games adapted from anime such as "Naruto" and "One Piece" are considered second games.

However, with the extension of the timeline, the expansion of the peripheral product market, and the increase in the fans of the two-dimensional game itself, derivative products and even fanfic products can really take root in the second game.

To really create a second game with a strong life cycle, it is still necessary to open a breakthrough in the peripheral derivatives that seem to be unprofitable or even lose money, and gradually become a diversified and super gold-absorbing IP like Elf Dream Kebao, rather than just digging for games.

The core of the attraction of ACG games is to impress ACG fans through stories.

In a sense, it is similar to film and television, literature (including online literature) adapted games.

But the story of the two-dimensional game, derived from animation and comics, is two-dimensional in its own form, and it is more approachable to become a two-dimensional game, without a dimensional wall.

However, due to the lack of super IP with real appeal, the domestic second tour is lacking.

For example, whether it is Genshin Impact, or the code name Kite, whether it is a pan-two-dimensional user, or an otome direction, its character image is still a paper person, lacking a rich world view and story line, which makes people somewhat unable to love it.

One of the core drivers of ACG products is that fans generate electricity for love. This is the core competitiveness that is generally missing in domestic two-dimensional products, including games, and it is also a lesson that needs to be made up urgently while revenue is soaring.

However, there is an excellent opportunity for domestic second games, that is, due to the strong performance of domestic games, it is difficult for foreign second games to seize the domestic market, and win conditions for domestic second games to accumulate stories, technologies and peripheral derivatives.

However, in the context of only a small number of popular models, once a super popular foreign second game appears and enters the Chinese market to win users, the thin anti-risk ability of domestic second game may lead to the market being taken away.

On this basis, the domestic second tour must rely on Chinese culture to complete the soil and water conservation in the domestic market and the differentiated attack in the foreign market.

At present, the combination of domestic second tours has done a good job, but the original color of the national style and national tide is still at the element level, and has not entered the underlying narrative of the second tour.

The overall style of painting still has a strong Japanese animation color.,In the early days, it is appropriate to use the global influence of Japanese comics and the global communication under the principle of visual proximity.。

However, it is necessary to gradually iterate and slowly cleanse the Japanese and Korean style, and let the pure national style gradually be accepted, loved and sought after by the world's second tour enthusiasts.

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