Soaring users and unexpected operational challenges.
Editor’s note: This article comes from WeChat public account “Game grape” (ID: youxiputao ), Author Liang Zi & Fez Meow.
Chen Xinghan and his “Sky Light · Yu” (hereinafter referred to as “Light · Yu”), who had once left the spotlight, recently ushered in a bumper season.
Just yesterday (December 3), Apple announced the 2019 annual selection. Net Light’s “Yu · Yu”, which was NetEase’s agent, was rated “iPhone Game of the Year” this time / strong> . In addition, Apple highly praised the work: in the past year, many excellent games have emerged, but we are afraid that it is difficult to find works that better represent the word “game aesthetics” than “Light · Yu”. Flying, exploring, and cooperating, these simple elements can produce shocking chemical changes.
If you really think as above, then we may all only see the tip of the iceberg for this product. According to Chen Xinghan’s disclosure, “Light · Yu” has gained more than 5 million registered users since its global launch, of which nearly 50% are domestically. And 50% of overseas are brought about through the effect of word of mouth in the case of close to zero promotion. In addition, the company’s revenue in the global market has made the company profitable.
Even so, it may not be so easy for Chen Xinghan. In the past half a year, players who have continuously poured into “Light · Yu” have created a challenge that touches core values for thatgamecompany (TGC) who has no experience in mobile games.
In a recent exchange with Grape King, Chen Xinghan said, “In a free game market that previously did not have our work, the vast majority of players will have prejudice against us. In this case, I can only silently Use games to prove that we are not focused on earningThe kind of money. This may be the trust that requires iterations of several games to build. Because the prestige of my past is useless, everything starts from scratch. “
Faced with the skyrocketing number of users and unexpected operational challenges in “Light · Yu”, Chen Xinghan cannot continue to use his past experience. As a newcomer in the mobile game field, he will inevitably step on the pit repeatedly, while gaining recognition from the players, he will also have to withstand the players’ vomiting. In the process of rethinking, he also has a new understanding of the design of art games.
This time, we will share Chen Xinghan’s sharing in the form of a readme:
From game designer to “manager”
“Light · Yu” has gone through half a year from its launch to today.
When the game was first launched, there were about one or two million core fans to download the game. Later, it spread by word of mouth, and it has accumulated more than 5 million downloads and 120,000 comments worldwide. Today, game revenue is also enough to support our development of the next product.
To our surprise, we basically had no promotion in Japan, and the game suddenly reached the second place in the App Store free list in Japan. We have a tag called ThatSkyGame on Twitter. Looking at the shares under this label, we find that nine out of ten are from Japanese players.
“Light · Yu” broke into the free list Top 2 in the Japanese App Store
However, “Light · Yu” is not just a game for the Japanese or Chinese market. It has always been a theme park for players around the world. I hope this game will be as popular in the world as Disneyland. What we emphasize in the game is also universal values. We will establish a pure and intimate connection between people in the game.
Although the core value of “Light · Yu” can be accepted by players all over the world, in the specific implementation process, because we did not know enough about people of different cultural backgrounds, we also made some mistakes. Japanese players care about dignity; Chinese players care about equality of opportunity; American players care about equality of human rights. People outside these three countries will have different ideas.
So for the first time, “Light · Meet” made me feel that we have changed from being a gamer to a “manager” who runs an “international community.” And in this “international community”, people’sValues and cultural backgrounds vary. When running this game, we often need to think about how we can guarantee our core values without being affected by people of different cultural backgrounds.
We have made a mistake before because we did not take care of the feelings of Japanese players.
Customers can never make mistakes
Guang Yu encountered a huge operational crisis in Japan because of cultural understanding. And the cause of the matter is related to the TGC blue cape.
We have designed a blue TGC cape in order to give players in the Beta version of Light and Encounter a unique reward. Players wearing this cloak are equivalent to TGC ambassadors, and can bring other players into the TGC office. At the time, there were many enthusiastic Beta players in Japanese clothing at the door of the TGC office area. After seeing strangers, this group of players would add friends to them, then send candles and take them to visit the TGC office. .
Player enters TGC map in game
This group of enthusiastic people has attracted another group of old players to the door of TGC’s office. These veteran players will use a variety of wall penetration skills to jump around in front of enthusiastic players to express themselves. As a result, the enthusiastic players report to our customer service: you must rectify these “outlaws”.
Our Japanese customer service is located in Romania. After encountering the situation reported by this group of core players at the time, they were very cautious and nervous, and they quickly responded to the players: This matter is very serious. We will specifically track what you call the Chester, and we will punish them severely. Do not worry.
This is a sentence that was posted to Twitter by the player screenshot. After many old players learned about it, they expressed that they want to retreat. There is also a player voicing: TGC does not understand the voice of the player, and walking through the wall is our fun. What would we play without this Glitch?
PlayerIn the past, special techniques can be used to penetrate walls
I didn’t know where we were wrong at the time? It wasn’t until later that the “Cheater” mentioned by the customer service caused trouble. In Japan, “Cheater” is a person who harms society and is a very worded word. In their culture, people try to avoid any conflicts as much as possible, and do not want to be a social trouble. In the English context, Cheater is not very harsh, but the customer service characterizes the player who penetrates the wall as Cheater. From the perspective of Japanese players, it is equivalent to us knocking down a boat. These high-players were originally respected in the community, but now they are subject to official severe punishment. This has caused the collective anger of old players.
Who should be responsible for such a serious matter? Is it the fault of the player who walks through the wall, or the problem of customer service? Should we listen to enthusiastic players and punish the players who walk through the wall? We discussed this for a long time.
I know Disney very well, and I once read a Disney employee manual called “Guestology”. I was impressed by one of the things mentioned in this book: Customers can never make mistakes, only users . For example, if you didn’t install the right system on your computer, Microsoft will not be responsible for it.
And I want to make Light and Yu a world as happy as Disney Park. Therefore, when the game appears as a theme park, customers here are unlikely to make mistakes.
So is our Japanese customer service in Romania responsible for this? He only spoke heavily when calming down the player’s anger because of translation or cultural issues. And what he said happened to be amplified by other players.
So instead of firing Romania ’s customer service, it ’s better to put a “No Override” note on all windows. At the same time, I also shared Disney’s “Customer Learning” theory with customer service and team, and taught them to use customer learning to serve players.
Finally, we also apologized to the old players, and things went smoothly.
Maintaining fairness is not to listen to the complaints of a few people
I told others before that if I weren’t a game designer in the future, I want to be a LawMaker—the person who makes the law. Because playing games is actuallyDesign rules for interaction between people. But I did not expect that I had already realized this idea in “Light · Yu”. However, I found that as a person who sets the rules in the game, you can’t just make a convention based on the complaints of a few people.
In November of this year, “Light · Yu” encountered a major operational accident. At that time, players from different cultural backgrounds came to complain to us and strive for their own fairness, but can we really listen to any of them?
This is actually the case. Because of the jet lag in the United States, the hour hand needs to be slowed down by one hour each winter. The “Light · Yu” server has been following the time in Los Angeles, but there is no time difference in most parts of the world. In other words, it is already 12 AM in Los Angeles, and players in some areas will reflect that they are not there yet. The server was also unsure at this time whether the prize should be reset.
This caused the light to be reset every minute and second within an hour. It is equivalent to everyone coming to the Sky theme park from different countries, and there is a cash machine here, as long as you go to get 100 yuan, it will keep spraying money out. Soon, many paying players came to ask for a refund, and told our friends that he didn’t spend any money, but bought the most expensive items in that hour.
What should we do? We have never dealt with such a crisis. And in this matter, there are mixed thoughts of players from different countries and different needs.
Some players have requested that we must recover all the money that is sprayed out. Then we checked the server and found that 7,000 people had picked up the money in just one hour, and 4,000 of them had already spent it. Then we have to check each person’s account to see what items he bought, and then cancel the items?
Our team was thinking, would it be enough to cancel the player’s items? I don’t think so. We also have to compensate those who spent an hour there picking up free candles back and forth. why? If we suddenly take back all the things he bought, then the joy of his overnight wealth is gone. This is a big emotional hurt. If we don’t compensate them, they may feel that we have caused him a mental blow.
But if we do that, we wo n’t pick anything cheapPeople also feel unfair. And they also feel that those who do not pick up candles are morally more noble and deserve more rewards.
Aren’t I comparing a team to a “manager”? Therefore, in order to deal with this matter fairly and fairly, the scene of the meeting was like this: The PR team is the propagandist, the engineer team is the disciplinary supervision, the community leader is equal to the organizer, and then there must be players among us Delegates, they need to explain cultural issues.
So what do Japanese players care about in this matter? What they care about is not only that we cannot blame them, we also need to apologize to them. Because our cash machine suddenly sprayed money on someone’s face, which caused him a great deal of annoyance. In fact, it’s really not the player’s fault.
So in the end, our solution is: send some candles to everyone.
When we no longer adhere to core values
“Light · Yu” is a feeling game, and the TGC brand is a Life style. Just like Apple, it will adhere to its core value and make the best user experience through the combination of software and hardware so that we can think differently in terms of creativity.
The same goes for TGC. Our “Light · Yu” emphasizes on its core values: the pure and intimate connection between people should not be hindered by gender, age, or economic conditions. I hope TGC can help players get along well in the game. The starting point of the entire game of “Light · Yu” is my thanks to the players.
![Producer Chen Xinghan: All my games are designed to make players no longer alone]()
Since the game went live, I am very impressed that if you violate the core value of the game, it will become a mistake.
At the time when we were selling the TGC blue cape, the list price was $ 30. The price is actually very high and there is no privilege. But players around the world are happy to spend this $ 30, and Amway is everywhere.
But on Halloween, we sell a cheaper holiday cloak. This cloak has a special model, and even the symbols on the back can be turned into bats. This is a cloak that we took the time and effort to customize. However, this cloak caused a lot of dissatisfaction among players, and those who bought it still felt unworthy.
Halloween Cloak
Why? I think the core of the problem is: When you sell a holiday cloak on Halloween, it has nothing to do with feelings .
So I think we are just following the Halloween cloak. Although we also made great efforts to make a beautiful design, what does this cloak ultimately represent? It is not a black cape for Halloween.
After seeing this situation, many players lamented how “Light · Yu” became Pay To Win? They think that if you spend money, you will be cooler than others. But this is something I particularly dislike. Since I made Sky to this day, I have always advocated that the coolest person in this game is definitely not the one who spends the most money. In order to try a marketing idea, I broke my conventions so that players can put on a cool cloak as long as they spend some cost.
This is why players are unhappy. After making marketing attempts, I don’t think this approach is in line with TGC’s core values. To me, this is the mistake I made.
Create a paradise where players are no longer alone
From my point of view, although this online game development model will make us experience bad days, it also brings a lot of fun at the same time.
I used to make a game, and I will receive thousands of thank-you letters from players. These letters will also give me the courage to make the next game. But this intermediate cycle is often three or five years. However, I will continue to see player feedback for a short period of time after the release of Light. “Light · Encounter” may be only a small change, and players will feel that we have made huge improvements.
But that’s not the core fun of making a Live Game. The reason why I have the feeling of “community manager” is because in the product “Light · Yu”, I can finally realize from the beginning to the end that I am completely creating an artistic expression and a core value The perfect game experience . For example, customer service can be part of the experience.
In the book Customer Studies, it mentions that Disney refers to all employees as Cast Members, or actors. The reason why this is called, because every employee who enters the Disney Park from the back office, heWe are all playing a role that customers need to see.
For me, the front or back of a game is also part of the artwork. And “Light · Yu” made me feel for the first time: I am not only using art to communicate art, but also creating a way of life. I want to integrate my employees, my customer service, and my community into the entire gaming experience.
So, “Light · Yu” is a park with its own values. The purpose of this park is to let players have no tags, no barriers, and establish a sincere friendship . And why should I create such a park? It is because this world is too lonely.
Why so many people feel lonely in today’s society is because our society is designed to be: millions of people are crowded into a city every day, and thousands are crowded into the same company. If they don’t find someone who needs them, it’s easy to feel lonely at this time.
Back in the countryside, in a seemingly insecure place, if you see a villager walking in the distance, you will feel a sense of security. You will be willing to protect this person, and you believe that this person will protect you.
MMO is actually like a real society. Thousands of people are crowded into an office. In this case, who needs you? In games with few people, such as the Black Soul series, in most cases the player is alone in taking risks. At this time, the bond between people is stronger.
In my opinion, a person depends on his social group. Because, only in the case of being dependent on and completely dependent on social groups, can everyone have the courage to live. It is very beautiful for people to help each other and depend on each other. It is a shining point in human nature.
All my games end up hoping to make players less lonely.
I told others before that if I weren’t a game designer in the future, I want to be a LawMaker—the person who makes the law. Because playing games is actuallyDesign rules for interaction between people. But I did not expect that I had already realized this idea in “Light · Yu”. However, I found that as a person who sets the rules in the game, you can’t just make a convention based on the complaints of a few people.
In November of this year, “Light · Yu” encountered a major operational accident. At that time, players from different cultural backgrounds came to complain to us and strive for their own fairness, but can we really listen to any of them?
This is actually the case. Because of the jet lag in the United States, the hour hand needs to be slowed down by one hour each winter. The “Light · Yu” server has been following the time in Los Angeles, but there is no time difference in most parts of the world. In other words, it is already 12 AM in Los Angeles, and players in some areas will reflect that they are not there yet. The server was also unsure at this time whether the prize should be reset.
This caused the light to be reset every minute and second within an hour. It is equivalent to everyone coming to the Sky theme park from different countries, and there is a cash machine here, as long as you go to get 100 yuan, it will keep spraying money out. Soon, many paying players came to ask for a refund, and told our friends that he didn’t spend any money, but bought the most expensive items in that hour.
What should we do? We have never dealt with such a crisis. And in this matter, there are mixed thoughts of players from different countries and different needs.
Some players have requested that we must recover all the money that is sprayed out. Then we checked the server and found that 7,000 people had picked up the money in just one hour, and 4,000 of them had already spent it. Then we have to check each person’s account to see what items he bought, and then cancel the items?
Our team was thinking, would it be enough to cancel the player’s items? I don’t think so. We also have to compensate those who spent an hour there picking up free candles back and forth. why? If we suddenly take back all the things he bought, then the joy of his overnight wealth is gone. This is a big emotional hurt. If we don’t compensate them, they may feel that we have caused him a mental blow.
But if we do that, we wo n’t pick anything cheapPeople also feel unfair. And they also feel that those who do not pick up candles are morally more noble and deserve more rewards.
Aren’t I comparing a team to a “manager”? Therefore, in order to deal with this matter fairly and fairly, the scene of the meeting was like this: The PR team is the propagandist, the engineer team is the disciplinary supervision, the community leader is equal to the organizer, and then there must be players among us Delegates, they need to explain cultural issues.
So what do Japanese players care about in this matter? What they care about is not only that we cannot blame them, we also need to apologize to them. Because our cash machine suddenly sprayed money on someone’s face, which caused him a great deal of annoyance. In fact, it’s really not the player’s fault.
So in the end, our solution is: send some candles to everyone.
When we no longer adhere to core values
“Light · Yu” is a feeling game, and the TGC brand is a Life style. Just like Apple, it will adhere to its core value and make the best user experience through the combination of software and hardware so that we can think differently in terms of creativity.
The same goes for TGC. Our “Light · Yu” emphasizes on its core values: the pure and intimate connection between people should not be hindered by gender, age, or economic conditions. I hope TGC can help players get along well in the game. The starting point of the entire game of “Light · Yu” is my thanks to the players.
Since the game went live, I am very impressed that if you violate the core value of the game, it will become a mistake.
At the time when we were selling the TGC blue cape, the list price was $ 30. The price is actually very high and there is no privilege. But players around the world are happy to spend this $ 30, and Amway is everywhere.
But on Halloween, we sell a cheaper holiday cloak. This cloak has a special model, and even the symbols on the back can be turned into bats. This is a cloak that we took the time and effort to customize. However, this cloak caused a lot of dissatisfaction among players, and those who bought it still felt unworthy.
Halloween Cloak
Why? I think the core of the problem is: When you sell a holiday cloak on Halloween, it has nothing to do with feelings .
So I think we are just following the Halloween cloak. Although we also made great efforts to make a beautiful design, what does this cloak ultimately represent? It is not a black cape for Halloween.
After seeing this situation, many players lamented how “Light · Yu” became Pay To Win? They think that if you spend money, you will be cooler than others. But this is something I particularly dislike. Since I made Sky to this day, I have always advocated that the coolest person in this game is definitely not the one who spends the most money. In order to try a marketing idea, I broke my conventions so that players can put on a cool cloak as long as they spend some cost.
This is why players are unhappy. After making marketing attempts, I don’t think this approach is in line with TGC’s core values. To me, this is the mistake I made.
Create a paradise where players are no longer alone
From my point of view, although this online game development model will make us experience bad days, it also brings a lot of fun at the same time.
I used to make a game, and I will receive thousands of thank-you letters from players. These letters will also give me the courage to make the next game. But this intermediate cycle is often three or five years. However, I will continue to see player feedback for a short period of time after the release of Light. “Light · Encounter” may be only a small change, and players will feel that we have made huge improvements.
But that’s not the core fun of making a Live Game. The reason why I have the feeling of “community manager” is because in the product “Light · Yu”, I can finally realize from the beginning to the end that I am completely creating an artistic expression and a core value The perfect game experience . For example, customer service can be part of the experience.
In the book Customer Studies, it mentions that Disney refers to all employees as Cast Members, or actors. The reason why this is called, because every employee who enters the Disney Park from the back office, heWe are all playing a role that customers need to see.
For me, the front or back of a game is also part of the artwork. And “Light · Yu” made me feel for the first time: I am not only using art to communicate art, but also creating a way of life. I want to integrate my employees, my customer service, and my community into the entire gaming experience.
So, “Light · Yu” is a park with its own values. The purpose of this park is to let players have no tags, no barriers, and establish a sincere friendship . And why should I create such a park? It is because this world is too lonely.
Why so many people feel lonely in today’s society is because our society is designed to be: millions of people are crowded into a city every day, and thousands are crowded into the same company. If they don’t find someone who needs them, it’s easy to feel lonely at this time.
Back in the countryside, in a seemingly insecure place, if you see a villager walking in the distance, you will feel a sense of security. You will be willing to protect this person, and you believe that this person will protect you.
MMO is actually like a real society. Thousands of people are crowded into an office. In this case, who needs you? In games with few people, such as the Black Soul series, in most cases the player is alone in taking risks. At this time, the bond between people is stronger.
In my opinion, a person depends on his social group. Because, only in the case of being dependent on and completely dependent on social groups, can everyone have the courage to live. It is very beautiful for people to help each other and depend on each other. It is a shining point in human nature.
All my games end up hoping to make players less lonely.