What is the logic of Tencent’s track layout?
Editor’s note: This article comes from the WeChat public account “Game grape” (ID: youxiputao), author : Thomas Skull & Diya Pineapple Bun.
In addition to the strategic team, Tencent Games also has a group of mysterious “staffs”.
They will visit game companies from all over the world, contact various game developers from top R&D teams to grassroots independent teams, research various game products, management strategies and innovative methodologies to establish and improve games belonging to Tencent. My own innovative ability to make plans-some people even flew hundreds of thousands of kilometers in 4 years;
They have prepared a list of the world’s top game studios for senior executives, suggesting that Tencent learn from them the methodology of R&D and innovation, and think about how to include Tencent’s own team and other Chinese game developers;< /p>
They also predicted that there will be opportunities in the tactical competitive category, and suggested that the company follow up. Everyone knows the story later: Tencent Games finally made “Peace Elite” and “PUBG Mobile”.
This department is called the Product Research and Evaluation Center. Recently, with the game grape as the exclusive cooperative media, the column of “On Dao” produced by Tencent Game Academy invited Nick, an expert of the Product Research and Evaluation Center, to chat with us about their work.
Nick has worked at Ubisoft and other companies and participated in many 3A projects. At the same time, he is a columnist who has written for more than ten years. His analysis of “emerging game design” and “Battle Pass” design The article has received thousands of likes on knowledge.
In the interview, Nick described their logic of analyzing game categories and markets. We also talked about the logic of the rise of action shooting and sandbox survival, the core competitiveness of overseas head manufacturers, and even innovation and high Difficulties and opportunities for quality games. I hope this interview will present a unique set of thinking frameworks to help you understand this rapidly changing industry.
Tencent Game Academy’s “On Dao” column interview with Nick’s video
Category research: What are the core players and young people playing?
Grape King: When did you start playing games? Why did you join Tencent Games?
Nick: I studied computers. At the end of 03 and early 04, my friend Ethan (now Yu Haipeng, president of Tencent’s Northern Light Studio Group) was the main strategy in “Cell Division 2”, saying he would come over if you graduated. So I joined Shanghai Ubisoft, followed him to do level planning, and also started writing columns from that time.
After staying at Ubisoft for a few years, I went to Beijing to do a mobile game and a few years of mobile games. I found that the threshold of this industry has been raised too fast. The small workshop has no chance, and finally joined Tencent game.
Grape King: I heard that you are mainly responsible for game research, or are you responsible for the analysis of innovative track opportunities?
Nick: Yes, I am mainly responsible for the strategy and investment here. I will analyze all opportunities in the future market and provide support for our self-research team and external partners in the direction of innovation.
A very popular term nowadays is called “involution”, and the Chinese game industry often involutes. Just like the code of some previous games was leaked, there are 1000 companies on the market who would like to go to COPY this code. You change a little skin, I change a little skin and trample on each other. This state is actually anti-economics.
What are the laws of economics? In an industry, the three largest players on each track together account for about 60% of the total, and the rest of the players need to jump out and find a differentiated track to compete. This is also Tencent’s way of thinking: we want to study future opportunities.
Grape King: What is your specific job?
Nick: If business is the front end, then we are the middle stage. After business contacts with different game companies, we will study what stage this company is in? Do we have any opportunities for cooperation? Of course, sometimes we will play a team game first, and then recommend it to business.
So after joining Tencent in 2016, I added up to 400,000 to 500,000 kilometers around the world, almostWhat light people like is definitely good. As for the degree… by the standards of planning, you have seen all the systems, then this game will be played almost.