Game theory - works of criticism ︱ elements into a mystery: based on the "Original God" of the thinking

Ren Tong / Fudan University School of Journalism doctoral students

Nowadays, the adult generation influenced by the game, anime and manga is not far from the "secondary". The "maturity" required by real life socialization seems to go hand in hand with those so-called "childish" hobbies. When a concept is accepted by more people, the awkwardness of "you're also playing the original God" brings the distance between them closer.

Of course, only "secondary" is not enough, the success of any niche culture out of the circle, need more **** common "elements" of integration, in order to enter the public field of vision. The concept of "element" is very complex, it is not only the concept of chemistry and math, but also the composition of computer language and the core gameplay. ProtoGod builds an open world around "elements". Assuming that understanding a video game is a "jigsaw puzzle" [1], the correct way to restore the game's picture is to find the right place for the first piece of the puzzle: the "elements" are the first pieces of the puzzle. With the definition of "elemental" in mind, let's take a look at what's going on in the world of ProtoGod.

The world of ProtoGods is organized around the fantasy world of Tivat, where the seven elements meet. In the distant past, people were given the power to drive the elements through their belief in the gods, and were able to build their homes in the wilderness. [2] Elementals, the basic substances that mankind has condensed from the concept of nature, have become a symbol of orientation in the game. City-states are built, civilizations are created, and the world around the "elements" is gradually forming a system: Wind of Mond, Rock of Riyue, Thunder of Inazuma, players become stronger through the refinement of a character's elemental powers, and travel to discover the true meaning of unknown regions.

But how, strangely enough, does the elemental-based restraint unfold just by "seeing-hearing-acting"? Instead of feeling the real, natural base elements, one senses the damage and danger of the elemental forces in the adventure through the interface of the screen. In line with John Durham Peters' idea that in order to exist, it must first be perceived, how does the "elemental force" in game representations exist in the game in a way that makes the player enjoy trying to use it? How does the "elemental force" in the game representation exist in the game, so that the player will be happy to try to control the world with the "elemental force"? Following the logic that video games "emulate" the real world, the mystery of the "elemental" needs to be answered from the real world as well.

Elements as Chemistry

The story of Progenitor begins with a traveler sibling fighting an unnamed powerhouse, and the failure separates the siblings. So the point of traveling is to find lost relatives, and in the quest to accumulate the truth about the world. The accumulation of experience is also the accumulation of power, which is consistent with the logic of "wanting to be strong" shown in video games.

The "elements" of chemistry are the reactions between the contained substances and the underlying substances, and are the result of a quantitative change in the number of protons in an atom, leading to a qualitative change. In ancient China, the basic elements were categorized as the "five elements", i.e., gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. The formation and interaction of everything is based on this relationship. In the West, Aristotle theorized that everything in the world is composed of opposing properties: cold/hot, dry/wet. The elements are made up of a combination of these primordial properties in different proportions. It is the world's perception of the base elements that gives the characters their powers and the story of the text.

On the continent of Tivat, strong desires are refracted into a medium called the God's Eye, which helps characters transform their powers and become stronger. Those who use the medium to manipulate elemental forces are humans, while those who can release the elements without the medium are gods or demons, the unknowns created by nature. The protagonist of the game, the Traveler, is different in that he/she arrives from the other world, and by touching an idol with a certain element, he/she can obtain and keep the elemental power, and then use it. In the game, a four-player team based on different elemental configurations triggers reactions between the elements: wind spreads other elements, water and fire trigger evaporation effects, and so on. The elemental level of operation emphasizes "reaction", which can be reflected in character skills or in the refinement of equipment (objects). An alchemical gameplay approach combines the scattered elements and gradually enhances the player's gameplay experience.

There are two logics for "wanting to be strong" from a "reaction" perspective: 1. the proper coordination of elements between characters, and 2. the use of various elements to upgrade a character's equipment. In terms of characters, the order and hierarchy of consciousness is lost when you separate functions (character skills) and stages (character levels), and then regroup them with different mixes and matches of materials (experience, items) [3]. The player gradually loses the rationality of why they should upgrade their characters between character trade-offs and fits, and gets caught up in the emotion of getting stronger. Certain characters can only be obtained by extraction, especially five-star characters are very difficult to obtain. Based on the game's mechanics, only "Emperor" players and kryptonite players can get the perfect match. Games of chance embody an awareness of possibilities and the freedom to have an (imagined) advantage of chance. For example, because ProtoGod opens up seven kingdoms one after another through the mechanism of map mists, every time a player finishes the world quests and lore quests (i.e., passes through all the main storylines), he or she will feel a "void", and this anticipation of the game's main storylines sustains the game's logic of "coin-op! This anticipation of the game's main storyline sustains the game's "coin-op" logic.

In terms of equipment, while ProtoGod does have an alchemy table for players to fuse and upgrade their equipment (weapons, relics), it doesn't intertwine the changes in the subject and the object to bring about uncertainty, but rather attributes the different reactions to fun. Rather, the different reactions are attributed to the fun of it. For example, in a game, the rewards for playing a secret world or doing a quest are certain, but what is uncertain is the quality of the item itself. The combination of person and object is not unknown, but rather a definite "enhancement". This is different from Andrew Pickering's suggestion that "alchemy" brings "imagination" to science: the optimization of the combined operation of human and non-human forces [4] is never a given. But as a game product, it must be perceived and manipulated by the player. Players can spend time in exchange for accumulating experience - the game logic of "liver".

Specifically, the feedback mechanic establishes a variety of phrases centered around data: attributes, weapons, relics, life seats, talents, each of which is waiting for the player to spend time building up the value of the character. As the traveler's experience value (Chronicles) increases, the level of the open-world "opponents" (magical creatures, plot characters) increases accordingly. Therefore, in order to play better "elemental" effects and become stronger, you need to have a better character refinement, and pursue the optimal solution between each phrase (e.g. whether you're looking for lifesteal or bludgeon rate).

Take equipment (holy relics) as an example: a character's five different holy relics will trigger different elemental damage bonuses, while a single holy relic itself has a variety of different data additions, such as attack power, attack percentage, defense, life value, elemental recharge, bludgeoning damage, etc. Different characters need different materials to be upgraded. Different characters have different materials to upgrade, and different ways to collect and drop equipment. This turns the game into a sort of "series" that requires complex confirmation, and the way to test your character is to find ways to try to solve the puzzles in the various missions. Claus Pias metaphorically describes the game player as a kind of "program tester", where any game action is responded to or not responded to in a "binary" confirmation, steering the game behavior in the right direction, as in "minesweeper". "Minesweeper". In the discursive elements of computer games, there is no "killing" or "catching nuggets", only timeliness, rhythm and control [5]. All that keeps players playing is the pursuit of "numerical" perfection.

Of course, the sense of action that comes from the numbers is based on the flow of the plot and the rationality of the behavior. The items scattered throughout the world of ProtoGod become the key to understanding the overall worldview and solving the game's puzzles. Players' demand for higher scores is actually a desire for a stronger, faster puzzle solving experience, and the pursuit of numerical values is also a requirement for the storyline experience.

The elements of a set

A set, as one of the basic concepts of mathematics, is the sum of things with a particular attribute called a set, and an element is each of the things that make up a set. each of the things that make up a set. In addition to the basic elements that make up ProtoGods, there are other elements*** that make up the open world. Obviously, cell phones, computers, handhelds, and televisions all follow the "physics" of visualization, i.e., they are perceived by the medium in the form of sound, light, heat, and electricity. Puzzle, conflict, color, game design to this point is only a picture on the plane, only a full range of perception can make the player's operation coherent, that is, what we often say to the game of immersion. According to the original God, the game wants to create the atmosphere in the traditional cultural industry point of view and have to promote: that is, all the top technology, art form elements of the collection of electronic games.

Sound: The sound in ProtoGods isn't necessarily real; it's based on the dubbing mechanisms of movies and 3D animation, supplemented by a strong soundtrack that evokes "reverie" about the elements. For example, the background sound heard in Windy Mundy, which symbolizes "freedom", was composed in the church-derived Lydian mode[6], which provides imagery of Nordic culture; in shaping the background sound for the Chinese-style battle of Li Yue, the Chinese zither and pipa were added to the soundtrack, and the Chinese zither and pipa were added to the soundtrack. In shaping the background sound of the battle in the Chinese style "Li Yue", the sounds of guzheng and pipa are added [7]. The presence of music enriches the cultural elements and simplifies relationships that would otherwise be difficult to articulate. At the same time, the top-notch soundtrack makes it easier for the player to adapt to changes in the scene, and the rhythm of the music "rationalizes" the behavior of the game, finding the state and feeling of the game.

Light and shadow: The effect of the light on the screen in ProtoGods is reflected in the change of scene. The perception of the scene and the adaptation of information is the key to the game's ability to immerse the player. From sunny days to rainy days, from day to night, light and shadow change in the game scene, enabling the game to unfold smoothly. Light and shadow are simulations of time and reality; they are the beginning of narrative logic and the elemental reality that is felt through visualization. For example, when you attack the Frozen Tree (which can be interpreted as the boss of the level), even the game scene has a light white light, which makes the player feel the chill brought by the elements; sometimes, the game world needs to jump through the map markers, and in order to alleviate the abruptness of the transition, the game interface will be modified with the "interlaces" of the elemental symbols and conceptual explanations, using the symbols and conceptual explanations to modify the game. To mitigate the abruptness of transitions, the game interface is modified with "interludes" of elemental symbols and conceptual explanations, filling in the visual elements with symbols.