GameLook Game Open Day 2014

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7月6日，2014年第6期“GAMELOOK游戏开放日”在上海成功举办，本次活动由游族网络和童石集团倾情赞助。活动现场，米哈游CEO兼《崩坏学园2》制作人蔡浩宇作了《< 崩坏学园2>开发推广经验分享》的主题演讲，个性鲜明的蔡浩宇，却有一颗细腻的心，这或许就是二次元用户吧。
On July 6, 2014, the sixth "GameLook Game Open Day" was successfully held in Shanghai. This event was enthusiastically sponsored by Yoozoo Games and K-STONE. During the event, Cai Haoyu, the CEO of miHoYo and the producer of *Houkai Gakuen 2*, gave a keynote speech on the topic "Sharing the Development and Promotion Experience of *Houkai Gakuen 2*." Cai Haoyu, with his distinctive personality, possesses a delicate heart, which perhaps resonates with two-dimensional (ACG) users.

《崩坏学园》从一代到二代是怎么做出来的？为什么会在动漫细分市场一炮而红呢？蔡浩宇从产品立项、开发到运营三个方面详细的分享了米哈游的制作历程。在谈如何做大二次元市场的蛋糕时，蔡浩宇提出了与别人不一样的观点，他认为“将二次元市场做大，将二次元手游做好，不是从现有的市场里面去瓜分蛋糕，不是做更多的二次元手游就可以将盘子做到，真正将二次元市场做大应该是培养更多的二次元用户，让更多人喜欢二次元。”
How was *Houkai Gakuen* developed from the first generation to the second? And why did it become popular in the anime sub-market? Cai Haoyu shared in detail the production process of miHoYo, covering product conception, development, and operation. When discussing how to expand the cake in the two-dimensional market, Cai Haoyu presented a unique perspective. He believes that "to enlarge the two-dimensional market and make excellent two-dimensional mobile games, it is not about dividing the existing market or creating more two-dimensional games. Truly expanding the two-dimensional market means cultivating more two-dimensional users and making more people love the two-dimensional world."

在解读《崩坏学园2》时，蔡浩宇提到：“我们就是想做一款自己喜欢的玩的游戏，我们的想法很简单，让自己开心的制作游戏，至于商业化的东西再说吧，先将游戏的核心玩法做好。”一款成功的二次元游戏应该满足那些条件呢？蔡浩宇说：“二次元手游终归是一款游戏，核心玩法时最主要的，其次才是美术。”在谈及游戏运营的时候，他觉得：“一定注重游戏前期的用户积累和品牌积累，B站覆盖了70%的安卓动漫用户，没有B站就没有现在的《崩坏学园2》。”详细内容请看演讲实录。
In interpreting *Houkai Gakuen 2*, Cai Haoyu mentioned, "We just wanted to make a game that we enjoy playing. Our idea was simple: to create a game that brings us joy. As for the commercial aspects, we'll figure that out later. First and foremost, we wanted to ensure that the core gameplay of the game is well-executed." What are the requirements for a successful two-dimensional game? Cai Haoyu said, "At the end of the day, a two-dimensional mobile game is still a game, and the core gameplay is the most important aspect, followed by the art." When discussing game operation, he believes, "It is crucial to focus on user acquisition and brand building in the early stages of the game. Bilibili covers 70% of the Android anime user base, and without Bilibili, there would be no *Houkai Gakuen 2* as it is today." For more detailed content, please refer to the transcript of the speech.

### Introduction

很荣幸今天在这里跟大家分享一下《崩坏学园2》在游戏开发过程中的一些经验。前面各位都分享了很多，讲得都非常好。我个人感觉米哈游跟前面几位大佬公司和团队上的有很大的不一样。比如说今天没有人穿EVA的衣服过来，只有我自己穿着过来了。昨天晚上你们都在熬夜看球，我在看EVA剧场版，因为CCG难得几天在影院放一下。你们都没去看是吧，没办法做朋友了。
It is an honor for me to share with you today some of the experiences in the development process of *Houkai Gakuen 2*. The previous speakers have shared a lot, and their presentations were excellent. Personally, I feel that miHoYo is quite different from the other big-shot companies and teams present here. For example, today, no one else came dressed in *Evangelion* clothes, only I did. While you were all staying up late last night watching the ball game, I was watching the *Evangelion* movie because it was rare for CCG [Expo] to have a theatrical release for a few days. You didn't even go to see it, did you? There's nothing that can be done about it, we can't be friends anymore.

演讲之前，要感谢一下洪总。我们《崩坏学园》一代2013年在Appstore上线，没有人知道我们这款游戏，三、四个死宅，在一间破屋做出来的。洪总还帮我们发稿件，十分感谢。做《崩坏学园2》的时候还是三、四个死宅，只不过屋子大一点而已。
Before the speech, I want to express my gratitude to Boss Hong [Tao]. Our first game, *Houkai Gakuen*, was launched on the App Store in 2013. No one knew about our game back then. It was developed by just three or four otakus in a rundown house. Boss Hong even helped us promote the game through articles, for which we are extremely grateful. When we worked on *Houkai Gakuen 2*, we were still just three or four otakus, but with a slightly bigger workspace.

《崩坏学园2》上线的时候我们团队也只有7个人，但是我觉得《崩坏学园2》取得这样的成绩，首先还是要感谢有手游这样一个机会。另外从个人的角度来看，整个二次元市场是有很大的潜力和空间的，因为我自己就是一个漫迷，我做一个自己喜欢的东西，然后我喜欢的人他们都会来喜欢这个东西。
When *Houkai Gakuen 2* was launched, our team consisted of only seven people. However, I believe that the achievements of *Houkai Gakuen 2* can be attributed primarily to the opportunity provided by the mobile gaming industry. Additionally, from a personal perspective, the entire two-dimensional market has significant potential and room for growth. As a fan of manga and anime myself, when I create something that I personally enjoy, others who share my interests will naturally be drawn to it as well.

做大二次元市场的蛋糕 核心是培养跟多的二次元用户
The key to expanding the two-dimensional market is to cultivate more two-dimensional users.

昨天晚上我看《EVA》电影，电影结束后放了5分钟的字幕，电影结束的主题曲唱完没有一个人走，直到最后把字幕都看完大家才走，这就是二次元用户，我们这些二次元用户，并不是一些人口中的二次元用户。
Last night, I watched the *Evangelion* movie, and after the movie ended, there were five minutes of credits. Not a single person left until the credits were finished, including the ending theme song. That's the two-dimensional fandom. We, as two-dimensional users, are not just what some people think of as two-dimensional users.

怎么样把二次元市场做大？不是进去分蛋糕，没意思、不好吃。我认为把二次元市场做大应该是这样的：当我下次看动漫电影的时候，全场的人都要看完字幕才走。其中肯定有一部分忠诚用户，但是还有另外一部分人会被这种信任、信念所感染，他们不好意思走，他们也要留在这里看完字幕。当我们一群人了解蓝白胖次的时候，他们这些用户不好意思说不知道，他会回去查，然后要加入二次元阵营，这才叫把二次元市场做大，才能把二次元手游做好。
How do we expand the two-dimensional market? It's not about dividing the cake, which is boring and not satisfying. In my opinion, expanding the two-dimensional market should be like this: When I watch an anime movie next time, everyone in the theater should stay until the end of the credits. Among them, there will definitely be a loyal user base, but there will also be another group of people who are influenced by this trust and belief. They feel reluctant to leave and want to stay to finish watching the credits. When we all understand what "blue-and-white-striped panties" mean, these users who don't know will feel embarrassed and go back to look it up. Then they will want to join the two-dimensional community. That's how we expand the two-dimensional market and make good two-dimensional mobile games.

之前GameLook洪总也邀请我们参加活动，我们一直没有参加，也是因为太宅不好意思讲。今年1月26号的时候，我们的游戏在Bilibili公测，3月28号在AppStore上线之前，我们都很愉快，自己做做游戏、赚赚钱，跟玩家互动互动，然后跟玩家骂骂。直到我们在appstore上架后，大家都说“怎么会有一个奇怪的东西（游戏）出来”，这次来这边也是想借这样一个机会，表达一下我对于二次元游戏的看法和观点。
Previously, Mr. Hong, the CEO of GameLook, also invited us to participate in an event, but we never attended because we were too much of homebodies and felt embarrassed to speak up. On January 26th this year, our game entered the public beta testing phase on Bilibili, and before its release on the App Store on March 28th, we were enjoying ourselves, making games, making money, interacting with players, and even engaging in arguments with them. However, after our game was released on the App Store, people started saying, "How could such a strange thing (game) exist?" Coming here today, I also wanted to seize this opportunity to express my views and opinions on two-dimensional games.

此时，我要特别感谢一下Bilibili，因为没有他们，就没有这款游戏，没有Bilibili就没有《崩坏学园2》这款游戏所取得的成绩。去年12月份的时候，我们先上91测试，但是测了一个星期后发现数据表现不是很好，我们想可能是用户喜好的问题，于是在Bilibili上了游戏。
At this moment, I want to express my special thanks to Bilibili because without them, there wouldn't be this game, and without Bilibili, *Houkai Gakuen 2* wouldn't have achieved the success it has. In December of last year, we initially conducted testing on the 91 platform, but after a week, we realized that the data performance wasn't satisfactory. We suspected it might be due to user preferences, so we decided to release the game on Bilibili.

说到做游戏，首先要从立项、制作、开发这几个环节讲一讲。
When it comes to game development, we need to start by discussing the stages of conception, production, and development.

### Project conception

游戏立项：以用户为核心，做自己想玩游戏。
Game conception: Putting users at the core, creating a game that we ourselves want to play.

先从立项说起，为什么要做《崩坏学园》这款游戏，有很多的理由。做这款游戏当时没有想游戏细分的问题，没有想太多，我们就想做一款自己喜欢玩的游戏，所以我们就做了。
Let's start with the project proposal. There were many reasons why we decided to create *Houkai Gakuen* as a game. We didn't really think about game segmentation or overanalyze it at the time. We simply wanted to make a game that we personally enjoyed playing, so we went ahead and made it.

我们自己想玩游戏的时候，发现AppStore畅销榜上的游戏没有一款是我们想玩的，于是做款自己想玩的游戏，理由就是这么简单。
When we wanted to play games ourselves, we realized that none of the games on the bestseller list of the App Store were the kind we wanted to play. So we decided to create a game that we personally wanted to play, and the reason for that was simply because of this.

我们团队很小，就几个人在搞。最开始的时候我在一家游戏公司实习，我们自己萌生了做了一款自己喜欢的游戏的念头。于是我们自己写了引擎，傻乎乎地跑出去跟公司的制作人讲，做一款2.5DARPG游戏多牛，制作人没有认可我们，我们打道回府。
Our team was very small, just a few of us working on it. At the beginning, I was interning at a game company, and we had the idea of creating a game that we personally enjoyed. So we started developing our own engine and naively went to pitch the idea to the company's producers, thinking that creating a 2.5D ARPG game would be amazing. However, the producers didn't recognize our vision, so we had to retreat and go back home.

我们后面参加了一个Flash开发大赛，有一家游戏公司让我们去他们公司做游戏。我当时说，可以，我要做一个什么样东西。然后他说要看一下简历，看完简历说：“你还没有毕业啊！”那后来算了。我当时想，既然要做自己喜欢的游戏，那就自己去开一家自己公司，组建自己的团队吧。
We participated in a [Adobe] Flash development competition afterwards, and a game company invited us to their company to work on a game. At that time, I said, "Sure, what kind of thing do you want me to create?" Then they asked to see [my] resume, and after reviewing it, they said, "Oh, you haven't graduated yet!" So, it didn't work out. At that moment, I thought, since I wanted to work on games I love, I'd better start my own company and set up my own team.

游戏立项就是我们要做一款自己喜欢的游戏，这样就够了。什么是自己喜欢的游戏呢？因为我在团队里的角色是制作人，所以我做了很多的事情就是想说我想要什么东西，保证这个需求，这个目标，就可以了。
Game development is about creating a game that we personally enjoy, and that's enough. What is our favorite game? As a producer in the team, I have done many things to express what I want, to ensure this requirement, this goal. That's all it takes.

立项的时候我就想，做什么游戏？首先是宅游戏，宅游戏不是腐游戏，妹子是很重要的元素，那我们的游戏只需要有女性角色就可以了，我们不需要男性角色，所以现在《崩坏学园2》没有男性角色，后面也不打算加男性角色。
When I set up [the] project, I thought, "What game do [we create]?" First of all, it's an otaku game, and otaku games are not BL games. Girls are a very important element, so our game only needs female characters. We don't need male characters, therefore there are [none] in *Houkai Gakuen 2* now. There is no intention to add male characters in the future.

我个人是动作游戏玩家，我特别不喜欢玩卡牌玩，感觉不爽快，所以我们必须做一款动作游戏，但是动作游戏面临手机虚拟摇杆的问题，不可能做到完全还原主机和掌机上的感觉，于是做了一些取舍，尽量简化但是还是要保持一款动作游戏最基本的玩法和爽快感，所以就有了后面《崩坏学园》向核心方向探索的玩法。除此之外，因为脑容量不大就没有考虑，包括怎么赚钱这件事情，真的不懂，这是真实情况。
Personally, I am an action game player, and I particularly dislike playing card games. It doesn't feel satisfying. So we must create an action game. However, action games face the challenge of virtual joysticks on mobile devices, and it's impossible to completely replicate the feeling of consoles and handheld devices. Therefore, we made some compromises, trying to simplify as much as possible while still maintaining the fundamental gameplay and sense of excitement of an action game. This led to the exploration of gameplay focused on the core direction in the game *Houkai Gakuen* later. Apart from that, due to limited capacity, we didn't consider other factors, including how to make money. I truly didn't understand it. That's the reality of the situation.

就我个人讲，我也是一个玩主机的，像《剑灵》这样的端游为什么玩它？因为它有神灯（剑灵反和谐辅助工具，有去秋裤乳摇功能）。没有神灯我就不玩剑灵了，不过神灯的那个龙族一直没有国际补丁很不爽，所以我玩《剑灵》喜欢玩人族和天族。二次元都是视觉动物，要给他们足够视觉冲击，我自己就是这样的，然后事情才能做好。
Speaking for myself, I'm also a console player. Why do people play client games like *Blade & Soul*? Because they have a "magic lamp" (a *Blade & Soul* anti-censorship [script modding] tool that removes long underwear and [adjusts] breast physics). Without the magic lamp, I wouldn't play *Blade & Soul*. However, it's disappointing that the Gon race hasn't had an international patch. So when I play *Blade & Soul*, I enjoy playing characters from the Jin race and Yun race. Two-dimensional is all about visual appeal, so we should provide them with enough visual impact. I am the same way, and only then can things be done well.

### Research and development

《崩坏学园》研发历程：3个月出DEMO、2年开发完成
The development process of "*Houkai Gakuen*: demo released in 3 months, development completed in 2 years.

基于这样一个想法我们就开始做自己的游戏了，在做的过程中，这个数据摆出来大家就笑了，一个“屎游”做了两年，我自己也笑了。
Based on such an idea, we started making our own game. During the process, when this data was presented, everyone laughed. A "crappy game" took two years to make, and I laughed too.

我们第一款游戏《FlyMe2theMoon》2010年做的，当时AppStore上以付费下载模式为主，我们也是走付费模式，18块下载一次。游戏做了半年多时间，做到2011年底游戏上线。之后我们做《崩坏学园》这款游戏。
Our first game, *FlyMe2theMoon*, was developed in 2010. At that time, the predominant model for downloading games on the App Store was paid downloads, so we also opted for the paid model, priced at 18 yuan per download. It took us over half a year to develop the game, and it was launched by the end of 2011. After that, we worked on the game *Houkai Gakuen*.

因为当时《FlyMe2theMoon》这款游戏上线，所以我们很幸运有天使投资，拿一笔钱做《崩坏学园》。我们当时想，把VC的钱花光，做款自己喜欢的游戏，就够了，我真正的目标是大家在一起做游戏，然后把这个目标达成，游戏赚钱是一个附加的东西，不是我们最开始追求的，现在也是如此。《崩坏学园》赚到一点钱蛮开心的，大家继续做这个游戏，这个游戏做成做不成不是主要的，我们觉得开心才是主要的。
Because *FlyMe2theMoon* was launched at that time, we were fortunate to receive angel investment, which provided us with the funds to develop *Houkai Gakuen*. Our intention back then was to spend the venture capital's (VC) money to create a game we personally enjoyed, and that would be enough. My true goal was for everyone to come together and make games, and achieving that goal was more important than making money from the game. Even now, it remains the same. It brings us great joy to earn some money from *Houkai Gakuen*, and everyone continues to work on the game. Whether the game succeeds or not is not the main focus for us. We believe that being happy is the primary goal.

《崩坏学园》这款游戏做Demo用了三个月的时间，这三个月的时间做出来四、五个Demo，但是我们觉得这不是浪费的时间，通过这四、五个Demo探索出很多的事情。有些Demo完成度已经做得蛮高了，但是觉得不好就扔了。
It took us three months to create the demo for *Houkai Gakuen*. During those three months, we made four or five different demos. However, we didn't consider this time as wasted because we learned a lot through these iterations. Some of the demos had already reached a considerable level of completion, but if we didn't feel satisfied with them, we discarded them.

《崩坏学园》玩法决定以后，我们就开始用Unity做了，因为这个引擎比较方便。当时，我们不知道游戏怎么做收费，不知道怎么做数值和系统，我们说不管它了，我就做一个核心玩法好玩的游戏，大家承认的核心玩法就OK，赚钱的事以后再说，赚不赚得了钱看天命。基于这个玩法做版本迭代，当时团队4个人，有一个人不干活，剩下一个程序、策划、美术做事情。
After finalizing the gameplay for *Houkai Gakuen*, we started developing it using Unity because this engine was more convenient for us. At that time, we didn't know how to monetize the game or how to design the mechanics and systems. We decided not to worry about those aspects and focused on creating a core gameplay experience that was enjoyable. As long as the core gameplay was recognized by players, we considered it acceptable. Making money was a concern for later, and whether or not we would make money would depend on fate. Based on this gameplay, we carried out version iterations with a team of four people. One person wasn't actively involved, so the remaining members, including a programmer, designer, and artist, took charge of the tasks.

游戏的核心玩法就是做一个2D横版妹子打枪的游戏，动画是用Maya做的，因为我们当时做核心玩法的时候，用的Unity是3.2不到3.5的版本，没有这样一个合适的开发工具，所以就用Maya做了。这样也给美术足够大的空间做这件事情。之后8个月的时间做游戏玩法扩充，数值也是调一些东西加一些系统。但是这段时间我觉得都没有突破。
The core gameplay of the game was to create a 2D side-scrolling game where girls shoot guns. We used [Autodesk] Maya for the animations because at that time, when we were developing the core gameplay, we were using Unity version 3.2, which was not yet at version 3.5. We didn't have a suitable development tool within Unity, so we used Maya instead. This approach also provided the art team with ample flexibility to work on this aspect. In the following eight months, we focused on expanding the gameplay and tweaking the values and adding some systems. However, during this period, I felt that we didn't have any breakthroughs.

第一版游戏是在2012年的11月份，最早是在91平台测试，后来到2014年春天就App Store免费下载。这款游戏可能大家都不知道，但是它至少带给我们一个基础，我们在这款游戏过程中验证了我们的核心玩法，达成了第一个目标。验证这个游戏的核心玩法，就是最后这个游戏在App  Store有七、八十万用户，每天DAU不到十万的样子，虽然作为单机游戏来讲不是很赚钱，但是游戏玩法被大家所认可，也在游戏社区看到有比较好的反响。
The first version of the game was released in November 2012. Initially, it was tested on the 91 platform, and later in the spring of 2014, it became available for free download on the App Store. This game may not be well-known to everyone, but it provided us with a foundation. During the development of this game, we validated our core gameplay and achieved our first objective. Validating the core gameplay of this game resulted in having around 700,000 to 800,000 users on the App Store, with a daily active user (DAU) count of less than 100,000. While it didn't generate significant revenue as a standalone game, the gameplay was recognized and received positive feedback within the gaming community.

### Maximizing the core gameplay

学会借鉴国内成熟产品系统 将核心玩法做到极致
Learn from mature domestic product systems and take the core gameplay to the extreme.

《崩坏学园》一代做到这个样子，效果达成以后，已经达成了目标。游戏还是有一个核心的玩法，在此基础上我们可以进一步发挥了，当我们真正开始要把它做成一个商业作品的东西，就开始考虑它的系统怎么样做、数值怎么调，我们根本不懂这个东西怎么做，后来我们就抄了别人的系统，就这么简单。
Once *Houkai Gakuen* reached the desired level of effectiveness in its first iteration, we had already achieved our goal. The game still had a core gameplay, and based on that, we could further expand and explore. When we truly began to develop it into a commercial product, we started considering how to design its systems and adjust the numerical values. We had no idea how to approach this, so we simply copied systems from other games. It was as simple as that.

抄了以后在玩法上打磨了三个月，这个上面扩充了很多的内容，包括在游戏的数值，武器本来28把加到200多把，十几套的服装增加到七、八十套服装，增加不同的角色，丰富了游戏内容。
After copying the systems, we spent three months polishing the gameplay. We expanded it with a lot of additional content, including increasing the number of weapons from the original 28 to over 200, expanding the variety of outfits from a dozen to seventy or eighty sets, and introducing different characters. This enriched the game's content significantly.

在游戏开发的过程中，我们的理念是游戏的核心玩法要好。我们为什么不喜欢玩手游？是因为我们觉得Appstore上的游戏不适合我们，我要寻找有意思的东西，要把掌机上的感觉搬到手机屏幕上来。所以我们一直在做核心玩法的迭代，现在我们正在做《崩坏学园》三代的产品，预计2016年上市，核心玩法先做6个月再看。
During the game development process, our philosophy was that the core gameplay had to be excellent. Why didn't we enjoy playing mobile games? It was because we felt that the games on the App Store were not suitable for us. We wanted to find something interesting and bring the feeling of handheld gaming to the smartphone screen. That's why we have been continuously iterating on the core gameplay. Currently, we are working on the third iteration of *Houkai Gakuen* (referring to *Honkai Impact 3rd*), which is expected to be released in 2016. We will spend the first 6 months focusing on refining the core gameplay before making further decisions.

在系统上，我们抄的是《智龙迷城》，我们在抄这个东西的时候，倒推算出它的内在的数值公式是什么，然后想办法把这个东西移植到动作游戏上来。把PAD的卡牌变成《崩坏学园》对应成枪的数值，对应成服装武器角色的数值，再加上不同玩法，然后这样我们把PAD数值系统抄成了动作游戏。
In terms of systems, we took inspiration from *Puzzle & Dragons*. While emulating this game, we reverse-engineered its underlying numerical formulas and then devised a way to transplant those mechanics into an action game. We transformed the card system from *Puzzle & Dragons* into corresponding numerical values for weapons, outfits, and characters in *Houkai Gakuen*, aligning them with the values related to weapons, attire, and characters. Additionally, we incorporated various gameplay mechanics. This way, we successfully adapted the numerical system from *Puzzle & Dragons*, originally a puzzle game, into an action game.

在开发上首先要找一个过得去，有意思的核心玩法，然后自己打磨，把这个核心玩法做到好玩，自己愿意玩得下去。国内的成熟数值体系那么多，学会了放进产品里，就成为还说得过去的游戏。
In game development, the first step is to find a decent and interesting core gameplay mechanic, and then refine it until it becomes enjoyable and something we ourselves would want to keep playing. With so many mature numerical systems available domestically, incorporating them into our product allows it to become a game that holds up well.

### From gameplay to art

先有核心玩法，再考虑美术，游戏始终是游戏
First comes the core gameplay, then we consider the art. Ultimately, a game is always a game.

我们在美术方面花了不少功夫。因为二次用户是视觉动物，所以二次元游戏画面效果一定要好。怎么样做出二次元用户所喜欢的美术呢？美术对宅向游戏比较重要。对于一个二次元用户来讲，有几个元素是影响游戏的成功：
We put a lot of effort into the art aspect. Since two-dimensional users are visual creatures, the visual effects of a two-dimensional game must be excellent. How can we create art that resonates with two-dimensional users? Art is particularly important for games targeting the otaku community. For a two-dimensional user, there are several elements that influence the success of a game:

第一点是游戏要持久、耐玩。我们游戏上线以后行业说这个游戏是怎么回事，为什么还会有人玩他还花钱。有人说因为二次元是视觉动物，你在眼球上抓到他就OK的。事实不是这样的，游戏终归是游戏，一个游戏别人来玩就因为这个游戏它好玩。
The first point is that the game should be long-lasting and enjoyable. After our game went live, the industry questioned its appeal and wondered why people still played it and spent money on it. Some argued that as long as you capture the attention of two-dimensional users visually, it's enough. However, the reality is different. Ultimately, a game is still a game, and people play a game because it's fun and enjoyable to them.

《崩坏学园》为什么会有人来玩，首先是它有一个好的核心玩法，然后才是美术。
The reason why people play *Houkai Gakuen* is primarily because it has a solid core gameplay mechanic, and then comes the art.

第二点是游戏美术。
The second point is game art.

美术上大家注重了哪几点？一个是人设，一个是画风。画风要日式画风。人设上来讲，为什么玩家选择玩这款游戏，而不是其他游戏，为什么不玩这款游戏的时候还会惦记它？是因为角色，他们对角色产生了感情。所以在做游戏的过程中，一开始我们要奠定游戏的美术风格要纯正，味道要是对的。怎么是才对的？对我们团队来说，我觉得对的就是对的。
In terms of art, we focused on a few key aspects: character design and art style. The art style needed to have a Japanese touch. Speaking of character design, why do players choose to play this game over others? And why do they still think about it even when they're not playing? It's because of the characters. Players develop an emotional connection with the characters. Therefore, during the game development process, we initially established a genuine and appropriate art style. What is considered appropriate? For our team, I believe that what feels right is indeed right.

风格要纯正，然后精心考虑每一个角色的感觉，每一个角色怎么样能够传达出让人有萌点的设定，只有这样才可以获得在美术上的标准。
The style needed to be authentic, and we carefully considered the feel of each character. We thought about how each character could be designed in a way that would elicit a sense of *moe*. Only by doing so could we meet the artistic standards we aimed for.

### Character design

美术：日式画风、人设、做好准备工作
Art: Japanese art style, character design, and thorough preparation work.

我们在做人设的时候怎么做？
How did we approach character design?

这张角色的设定图在游戏中根本看不到，为什么要做游戏中根本看不到的东西，就是因为好玩，因为我们本身追求的过程是开心地做游戏，其次是卖得好不好。我们在做角色的时候，首先考虑游戏的背景、世界观。我最近还在补课，觉得我自己世界观做得不好。
This character concept art is not even visible in the game. Why would we create something that cannot be seen in the game? It's because it's fun. Our primary pursuit is to enjoy the process of creating games, and the secondary aspect is whether it sells well or not. When designing characters, we first consider the game's background and worldview. Recently, I have been catching up on my studies and realizing that I haven't done a good job with the world-building aspect.

其次是角色的设计要按照动画标准来做，把各种细节表现出来，这样才会知道这是一个御姐角色，并且还是轻微抖S倾向的御姐角色，她的服装、武器要很匹配，所以看不到的细节才是正义。
Secondly, character design should be done according to animation standards, emphasizing various details. Only then can we convey that she is a mature older-sister [type of] character, and a slightly sadistic, mature older-sister [type of] character. Her outfit and weapon should be well-matched. Therefore, the unseen details are what truly matter.

虽然这些细节最终玩家都看不到，但是它会影响开发团队的每一个人，我们的程序看到人设文字以后，就跑过来说我很想知道这个人物是什么样子，我觉得这件事情很带感，当然当他看到这个设定图以后他也能理解该怎么样展示这个人物的动作。
Although players may not see these details in the end, they still have an impact on every member of the development team. When our programmers see character descriptions, [they] come over and say, "I really want to know what this character looks like." I think it brings a certain excitement to the process. And when [they] see the concept art, [they] also understand how to showcase the character's actions.

当然还有一些工作，比如说像声优方面，我们也要精细地传达给画师，传达给配音演员，我们想要的是一个什么东西，这些东西最终不会在游戏上呈现出来。因为它很有趣、很好玩，我们愿意画这个东西。这会对我们整体开发和最开始奠定一个好的基础，保证整个游戏的方向不会偏掉，靠的就是这些所有细节设定，只有想清楚了才会知道这些游戏最终走向哪些方向。
Of course, there are other aspects of the work as well, such as voice acting. We need to effectively convey our intentions to the artists and voice actors, even if those elements won't be directly visible in the game. It's because they are interesting and enjoyable that we are willing to create them. This approach ensures a solid foundation for the overall development and helps maintain the game's direction. All these detailed settings are crucial, as only by understanding them clearly can we determine the ultimate direction the game will take.

这是另外一个主角琪亚娜。为什么她是一个傲娇的角色，看表情就知道。我们把这些东西画出来，就胜过我们用一切语言去描述。
This is another protagonist, Kiana [Kaslana]. Why is she a tsundere character? You can tell just by looking at her expression. We believe that portraying these aspects visually surpasses any description using words.

我们有三个角色琪安娜、芽衣、还有邦娅，假设这三个人有一天去了Shopping Mall。这个时候没有僵尸、怪、各种东西。他们三个走到Shoppingmall，他们会去分别做什么事情？当时我们的QA说邦娅会去看毛绒完具，因为她对一切好奇，特别偏爱宠物，她一定会去看毛绒玩具。
We have three characters: Kiana, [Raiden] Mei, and Bronya [Zaychik]. Let's imagine that one day they go to a shopping mall where there are no zombies, monsters, or any other threats. When they arrive at the shopping mall, what would each of them do? According to our Q&A, Bronya would go to see stuffed animals because she is curious about everything and particularly fond of pets. She would definitely be interested in looking at plush toys.

芽衣这个角色因为它是御姐设定，御姐会有很强烈的关爱责任情感，芽衣会跟邦娅看玩具。琪安雅会做什么事情？我们团队成员最后想不出来。我们觉得这个角色设定不够突出，所以就回炉重炼。
Mei, being the mature older-sister type character, would have a strong sense of caring and responsibility. She would accompany Bronya to look at toys. Now, what would Kiana do? Our team members couldn't come up with a conclusive answer. We felt that her character development wasn't prominent enough, so we decided to go back to the drawing board and refine her character design.

这是做游戏前我们会讨论的问题，讨论各种各样的问题，把各种细节都展开，让整个团队的人贯彻理解到这种事情，才会做出的游戏是我们的一个想要的东西。
This is the kind of discussion we have before game development begins. We discuss various issues and delve into all the details, ensuring that the entire team fully understands these aspects. Only then can we create a game that aligns with our vision and meets our desired goals.

### User and brand accumulation

游戏运营：注重游戏前期的用户积累和品牌积累
Game operations: emphasis on early user acquisition and brand building.

接下来讲一下游戏运营这一块。
Next, let's talk about game operation.

《崩坏学园》是一款二次元的游戏。这里发一段小文字，这上面的文字都来自于百度贴吧。游戏刚上线的时候在贴吧上，有人喷，也有人说游戏好。但凡有人喷，我们发现三楼以后就会出现六字箴言，“爱玩玩，不玩滚”。这是玩家给我们贴的各种段子。我们游戏就是“你妈痹，喵”。我很喜欢这个东西，给这个帖子加精了。
*Houkai Gakuen* is a two-dimensional game. Here is a short excerpt, all of which is from Baidu Tieba. When the game was first launched and discussed on Baidu Tieba, some people criticized it while others praised it. Whenever someone criticized, we noticed that after the third comment [in the thread], there would be a six-character phrase saying, "If you want to play it, play; if you don't want to play it, scram." These are various jokes and remarks posted by players. Our game is like, "Screw you, meow." I really like this thing, so I highlighted this post.

我们在推广的时候做了两件事情：
When it comes to promotion, we did two things:

一个是游戏前期用户的积累。首先要提的是二次元的核心站点A站和B站，特别是B站。可以这样讲，B站占我们安卓收入50%还要多，B站的核心用户几乎可以cover到安卓核心用户的60%-70%。一款游戏能够成功，除了本身选择一个独特玩家群体外，更重要的是找到和这个玩家群体相匹配的渠道。B站的核心数据比其他的安卓市场高3—4倍，比其他渠道最好的时候还要高。Bilibili对《崩坏学园》这款游戏还是非常重要的，我把它比作阳光来看待是没有错的。
One is the accumulation of users in the early stages of the game. First and foremost, we have to mention the core platforms for the two-dimensional community, namely AcFun and Bilibili, with a special emphasis on [the latter]. To put it this way, Bilibili accounts for more than 50% of our Android revenue, and its core users cover nearly 60% to 70% of our Android core user base. For a game to succeed, it is not only crucial to choose a unique player demographic but also to find channels that align with this player base. Bilibili has a core user base that is three to four times larger than other Android markets and even surpasses the peak performance of other channels. Bilibili is extremely important for *Houkai Gakuen*, and it wouldn't be wrong for me to consider it as the sunshine that shines upon us.

第二个我们在游戏运营过程中看重品牌积累，品牌积累不是大家说这个游戏好就是好的，这不是我们追求的，我们追求的是有人骂它而且我们还不鸟他。我们想做成IP，但是还不是IP。所有的这种有自己特色的产品，不管是IP还是游戏，它能够好，就是有一群人特别不喜欢他。
The second aspect we value in game operations is brand accumulation. Brand accumulation is not solely based on people saying that the game is good; that's not what we're pursuing. What we aspire to achieve is having people criticize the game, yet we remain unfazed. We aim to develop into an IP, although we are not quite there yet. For all products, whether they are IPs or games, that have their own unique features, their success lies in the fact that there is a group of people who particularly dislike them.

我们游戏上线四个月的时候，有个朋友来我们办公室每次来都说这个游戏不行，太失败了，注定是不行的产品，不改就没钱赚了。我们测试的时候继续请他来看，如果他还继续说不行那就可能成功。
When our game had been live for four months, a friend of ours would visit our office and constantly criticize the game, saying it was no good; it was a failure and destined to be a product that's unsuccessful. He insisted that if we didn't make changes, we wouldn't make any money. We continued to invite him to our testing sessions, and if he continues to say that it isn't good, then perhaps we had a chance for success.

作为二次元游戏，推广方面跟大众产品来讲，多数都是相通的，只不过我们会选择合适的途径去做这件事情。举个例子，比如投广告，我们也是要投广告的，因为核心渠道的量必定是有限的，不可能靠它吃一辈子，我们也要挖掘大众渠道，我们也要去投那就要选自己合适的广告，比如说我们去买贴片广告。
As a two-dimensional game, in terms of promotion, we follow similar principles to mainstream products. However, we choose the appropriate methods to carry out these activities. For example, when it comes to advertising, we also engage in advertising because the volume from core channels is inevitably limited, and we cannot solely rely on them in the long run. We also explore mass channels and invest in suitable advertisements, such as purchasing banner ads.

因为核心受众群就是这么多人，怎么样突破它？就像刚开始讲的我们把一些不是核心人群的人变成核心人群，这样才是我们要做的。对于我个人来说，就是要做喜欢的东西，我们慢慢来做，一款屎游[戏]做两年大家都很开心。
Because the core audience is limited in size, how can we surpass it? As mentioned earlier, our goal is to convert non-core audience members into core ones. That's what we strive to achieve. Personally, I believe in creating something that I enjoy. We take our time to develop it, and even if it takes two years to create a game that may not be widely popular, as long as everyone involved is happy, it's worthwhile.

这就是今天跟大家分享的东西，谢谢大家。
That's what I wanted to share with you all today. Thank you, everyone.

## Notes

1. ↑ During the China International Cartoon and Game Expo (中国国际动漫游戏博览会) in Shanghai, ten selected movie theaters screened *Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo* from July 5-14, 2014.
2. ↑ The artwork depicting the character Raiden Mei was posted on the official *Houkai Gakuen 2* Facebook page on July 11, 2014.
3. ↑ 蓝白胖次 *Lánbái pàngcì*, lit. "blue-white panties" refers to the 縞パン *shimapan* anime trope of female characters wearing white underwear with blue horizontal stripes.
4. ↑ 狗修金撒嘛 *Gouxiujin-sama* is a transliteration of Japanese ご主人様 *goshujin-sama*. In maid cafés, it is used by the maids to address male customers as "master."
5. ↑ The artwork shown in the second slide is from the Japanese video game *Akiba's Trip* (2011). In the game, the player is tasked to defeat monster opponents by using a combat mechanism that allows the player to strip them of their clothes.
6. ↑ 腐游戏 *Fǔ yóuxì* refers to Boys' Love (BL) games, which are video games that feature romantic or sexual relationships between male characters. BL games typically cater to a predominantly female audience.
7. ↑ On April 23, 2015, Kevin Kaslana was announced as *Houkai Gakuen 2*' first male character. Previously, he was teased in November and December 2014.
8. ↑ 和谐 *Héxié*, lit. "harmonious" is a euphemism used by Chinese internet users for "censorship." It was derived from the Harmonious Society (和谐社会 *héxié shèhuì*) ideology of the Communist Party of China under Hu Jintao (胡锦涛), which was often cited as the rationale for censorship.
9. ↑ The enclosed "chao" and "xi" was meant to imply 抄袭 *chāoxí*, lit. "plagiarize."
10. ↑ "prpr" is an internet slang originating from Japanese ぺろぺろ *pero-pero*, an onomatopoeia for licking.
11. ↑ The artwork depicting the character Raiden Mei was made available on the official *Houkai Gakuen 2* website on July 25, 2014.
12. ↑ 御姐 *Yùjiě* is a term referring to a "mature, graceful young lady" type of character. It is an orthographic borrowing from Japanese お姉さん *onee-san*, lit. "elder sister" or "young woman."
13. ↑ 帶感 *Dàigǎn*, lit. "with feeling" is a term used to describe a person or thing that "resonates with others and makes them feel good."
14. ↑ 你麻痹 *Nǐ má bì* is a homonym of the profane expression 你妈痹 *nǐ mā bì*. At a less offensive degree, it means "Screw you."
15. ↑ 米忽悠 is a nickname given to miHoYo by Chinese players where 哈游 *hāyóu* in the company's name is replaced with the internet buzzword 忽悠 *hūyōu*, meaning to trick, deceive, or fool. It was popularized through the comedy skit titled "卖拐" performed by Zhao Benshan (赵本山), Fan Wei (范伟), and Gao Xiumin (高秀敏) at the 2001 CCTV New Year's Gala.
16. ↑ 加精 *Jiājīng* is a term referring to a feature on Chinese internet forums where administrators and moderators have the ability to highlight popular or high-quality posts. In some forums, users may need to reach a high membership level in order to view these highlighted posts.
17. ↑ The artwork depicting the character Kiana Kaslana was posted on the official *Houkai Gakuen 2* Facebook page on July 11, 2014.