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"Ark of Tomorrow" has been five and a half years.

I think that in 2019, not many people will have objections to saying that "Ark of Tomorrow" is new and avant-garde enough. This game has almost changed the perception of two-dimensional games in the domestic game industry, and has become the first two-dimensional mobile game for many young people.

But what about now? More than five years have passed, the domestic second-game market has undergone earth-shaking changes, the tastes of players are constantly changing, and the pattern of manufacturers has been reshuffled many times.

This inevitably makes some people mutter: In 2024, is Eagle Horn, which was pioneered enough back then, still considered "trendy" in the hearts of young people?

If I hadn't been following this product all the time, I might have fallen into a myth just by looking at the five and a half years of operation. After all, as a second game, this life cycle length is enough to be called a long-term operation product.

However, judging from the recent signs, Eagle Horn still seems to have maintained its sharpness.

Recently, Eagle Corner's new buyout work "Bom Boum" is open for trial, which is a multiplayer cooperative 3D platform adventure game, which has nothing to do with the second dimension, but the demo version has achieved good results during the Steam New Product Festival, and Grape Jun has reported on the day he topped the list.

Eagle Horn's new work "Boum Boum"

A few days ago, the preview live broadcast of the 5.5th anniversary of "Tomorrow's Ark" was launched, and the hot search on Weibo rushed to the 8th place. As soon as today's event started, it immediately appeared on the iOS best-selling list: sixth on the game list and tenth on the overall list.

A few days ago, it was on the hot search

In fact, since the game was launched, Grape Jun will see the figure of the boat in the hot search every now and then. Not to mention that almost every major version update, "Ark of Tomorrow" will appear in the front row of the best-selling list.

During the May Day holiday, Ark of Tomorrow stayed at No. 3 on the iOS best-selling list for four days. As a second game, it is hard to get a piece of the pie between a number of national games.

The game's reputation among players is strong enough, and the IP influence of "Ark of Tomorrow" goes without saying. Synesthesia, carnival...... Even without mentioning its unique way of presenting content, the result of once bringing the industry trend, every time Grape Jun goes offline, he will be shocked by the enthusiastic atmosphere of his fans.

Live performance of Synesthesia STARSET

Eagle Horn made me cry the worst

Even so, Eagle Point has not stopped at "Ark of Tomorrow", but has been trying to make games in different categories, and has also launched an investment brand "Pioneer Core": investing in small and medium-sized CPs, supporting independent and single-console games, sponsoring college student competitions, and hoping to promote the emergence of more innovative games. Grape has had a lot of reports about this before, and at the moment when the domestic game investment boom has passed, this idealistic behavior can be called rare.

I think, having said that, it's hard not to think that Eagle Horn is still young. Because this company still maintains the pioneer spirit of the newborn calves that are not afraid of tigers when they were founded.

01

Turn the tone up

The so-called "pioneer", in the context of the domestic game market, often refers to the product can break through the traditional design specifications of the industry, and even mature business routines, and make some actions that are difficult to understand at first glance, but are actually beyond the times.

2019's "Ark of Tomorrow" is obviously such a product, with niche vertical tower defense gameplay, prominent art style, rare content themes, and even the visual design of the UI interface has become the object of industry dismantling. To a certain extent, it can be said to be the prelude to the logic of a new generation of domestic secondary game content.

In fact, many second games are still trying to reread the "Ark of Tomorrow" from the system architecture to the content model. The most obvious example of this is the reference to the UI design style of its interface. Post-apocalyptic theme selection, content creation, and cultivation system...... If you look bigger, you will find that even the overall project operation logic and market publicity path can see the shadow of "Ark of Tomorrow".

Judging from the results, none of these products have been able to surpass "Ark of Tomorrow" in the end.

But after all these years, it is not easy to maintain this pioneering nature, after all, it requires the team and the product to be able to defy time and maintain that "coolness" in the hearts of contemporary young people. Five and a half years, in the young and rapidly changing domestic game industry, in fact, an era has passed.

Yan Ze is a server player of "Ark of Tomorrow", and he entered the pit in high school, and he is just a sophomore this year. She told me that since the integrated strategy (meat pigeon mode) came out, she has been online almost every day. "It's very random and tactical, especially the recently updated Sakaz themed meat pigeon, it won't be disgusting because of too much randomness, there is a formula to follow but it has to be dealt according to the Tao, even if there is no reward, I can insist on opening a few a few a day."

The integrated strategy system has officially settled in Ark of Tomorrow and is one of the key points of the gameplay update. It can be said that "Ark of Tomorrow" is one of the first domestic second games to add meat pigeon gameplay to the game, and many people have praised this mode, believing that it is one of the proofs that the team has always been determined to forge ahead in gameplay design. In this half-anniversary preview livestream, the official preview also teased the seed mode, allowing players to share the seeds of the Tianhu (Tiankeng) game for other players to play. This will undoubtedly help the content ecology of the community.

In fact, "Ark of Tomorrow" has never stopped exploring new gameplay modes: the highly acclaimed "Promote Harmony and Competition" online mode is one of the best. At the same time, considering the player's energy allocation, the game will optimize the old gameplay or system mode, including the long-term iteration of the core gameplay.

The upcoming auto chess gameplay "Garrison Agreement" previewed in the preview live broadcast

Yan Ze said that although he entered the pit because of the gameplay, the reason why he was really moved by the game and then tied to death was the plot.

"The death of Faust and Froststar, Sister Ling's sentence I have been with me for a long time, the decision of Babel Tari Teresis, and the martyr Andorne...... Suffering and hope go hand in hand, and the despicable and the noble are performed on the same stage. There are too many plots like this, which makes "Ark of Tomorrow" the only game that I can't completely abandon the pit. ”

In terms of the themes and narrative techniques discussed, I think "Ark of Tomorrow" is still avant-garde, after all, the reality is that its serious attitude towards the construction of worldview architecture is still rare in today's domestic market.

The book's more than 400,000-word official worldview setting set quickly exceeded 100,000 sales

In addition to the main game, you can also feel the avant-garde nature of the IP of "Ark of Tomorrow" in many places.

For example, in terms of online content ecology, the form of live broadcast play, character EP, and PV with unique style ...... Even though after several years of development, this kind of content configuration has become a kind of second-game paradigm, but it is still difficult to see a few companies that have done more than "Ark of Tomorrow".

Think about the past few years, whether it is at the scene of synesthesia, igniting a physical rocket to take off; At the main venue of the previous Shanghai International Film Festival, offline viewing of the Spring Festival party was held for players; Use the subway station as a booth to play content packaging; Regardless of the cost, the carnival will be made into an IP theme park, and even the scene of real vegetation coverage will be restored in the venue. These actions, no matter when you look at them, can be called unusual.

Even the choice of linkage IP can also see the insistence of "Ark of Tomorrow" on tonality and taste. Recall, the choices of Labyrinth Rice, Rainbow Six, and Monster Hunting, I personally think that compared with the popularity of IP, Eagle Horn obviously pays more attention to the texture of the work itself, as well as the fit between the tonality and the ark, to put it more bluntly, it does not make this linkage "vulgar" - why is it XXX?

Even cross-industry cooperation follows the same logic: National Geographic of China, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the just-announced China Film Archive...... While sticking to the tonality, they always seem to have the courage to experiment and don't mind making unique choices.

Whether inside or outside the game, at first impression or now, Ark of Tomorrow always leaves a new and cool enough impression in a unique way that it's hard to say it's "outdated".

02

The pursuit of young people

After talking about "Tomorrow's Ark", what about Eagle Horn?

"Bom Boum" is perhaps a prime example of this - multiplayer co-op, buyout, PC & console, PartyGame, and it's hard to associate it with Eagle Horn without knowing the team background in advance.

The final form of the game is certainly very creative, but this game looks so "unique" and "niche...... Then "no eagle horns". Why on earth did it happen?

In this regard, the development team's answer was surprising: "The original motivation for making this game was actually to return to the original intention of the game. So I wanted to try to design a game where we could share happiness through interaction."

As for "what is Eagle Corner", the publishing team responded that although Eagle Corner gives the impression to the outside world that it is a style represented by "Tomorrow's Ark", in fact, "Tomorrow's Ark" itself will try many different styles. Eagle Point's philosophy is to create high-quality content that is artistically valuable and challenging and fun. They don't limit themselves to a specific art style, but rather judge the game as a whole.

"We always believe that aesthetics are diverse, as long as it is a good style, and our creators are willing to explore and cultivate it, then this is our style." The project team of "Bom Boum" has its own creative style, and the gameplay fun and art style presented by the game are unique and self-consistent, so such works are in line with the "Eagle Horn Style".

After experiencing the demo version of "Bom Boum", and looking back at the content of the interview at that time, I still think that Eagle Point's goal is to create "content that young people love".

The screen of this trial of "Bom Boum".

Including the new game "Ark of Tomorrow: The End", which is often ridiculed by players as "Eagle Horn is making something very new". Elements such as infrastructure, combat, and cultivation are finally presented in a game, and it is difficult for you to even divide it into tracks.

"Ark of Tomorrow: The End" technical testing phase - actual screen

You can also feel the attitude of this company by observing Eagle Point's choices in terms of investment.

Most of the investors are young start-up teams, and they attach more importance to the long-term development of the team, including many studios that make stand-alone and independent games. Looking at the characteristics shown in these products, they are all childish and full of sharpness. 《Messy Up》《CATO》...... You'll find that Eagle Point rarely invests in the traditional, full-fledged, large-scale commercial projects. To put it bluntly, it seems to me that this group of people wants to give people umbrellas more than to make money by investing - because they have been in the rain.

Sea Cat once shared in his speech at the "Pioneer Tuoxin" Game Creation and Sharing Festival:

In fact, Eagle Point was also a small team at the beginning of its establishment, and many of the team members also began to contact and try game creation when they were students, and met through the game community and Game Jam at that time. That's why we know the importance of love.

Even though Eagle Point is a big team today, in terms of temperament, we still want to be closer to the creators of the game, and have a continuous entrepreneurial and innovative spirit. Although you may not have sufficient R&D funds and resources, students also have fewer preconceptions and more possibilities. ”

We want to do something new, make content that young people like, and at the same time maintain the pursuit of idealism. The sharp energy that belongs to young people in Eagle Horn has always been there.

03

I just want to be myself

It's not easy to be a pioneer. The most realistic point is that you have to give up a lot of visible and grabbing interests.

Many companies want to recreate their success in a low-cost, risk-controlled way. For example, blindly chasing hot spots, putting one's past successful experience into a "trendy" shell with enough surface, in the name of "keeping pace with the times", exchanging old wine for new bottles, simply rubbing the name of AI, hitching a ride on the metaverse, and engaging in so-called NFTs, everything will never deviate from its origin, and it seems that you can obtain short-term benefits without much effort.

Eagle Horn, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have done any of this at all, just been himself. Yes, it sounds a little strange, but this company really doesn't mean to be carried away or coerced by the outside wind.

But on second thought, why would it be strange for a game manufacturer not to continue the mature design of the market?

You may think, what's the use of saying pretty things? I feel that it can only be used to "pretend to be forced", which is not as good as falling into the bag.

But in fact, this naturally occurring avant-garde is very important for Eagle Horn.

Because this is a unique market label for Eagle Horn, while leaving an impression on the outside world, it is more important to get the right to speak in this field first. The attitude of seeking innovation and change represented by "pioneers" also helps to open up the ideas of R&D and marketing activities.

The eagle horns that showed their edge at the beginning of the year represented a certain cool niche attitude. Now, more than 5 years later, Eagle Point has not become obscure, moving towards the most common path of self-replication and popularization. It is a consistent and persistent attitude that has not changed.

Today, you have to ask me which game company in China is cool? Eagle Horn is certainly one of them. Looking back at the discussion at the beginning of the article about whether Eagle Point is outdated, I think the answer has already emerged.

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