With the confirmation of the release date of "Diablo 4" some time ago, and the launch of the international server and Asia-Pacific region of "Diablo Immortal", the discussion of the "Diablo" series has once again heated up. In fact, many domestic manufacturers have also launched games with similar gameplay. Today we will take this opportunity to take stock of those domestic dark games.
I believe you are all familiar with the "Diablo" series. Although the "Diablo" series has always had an online mode, it is still positioned as a single-player game. In an era when online games are booming, there is certainly no shortage of manufacturers who want to make dark online games. "World of Gods and Ghosts", which was released to public beta in March 2011, is such a game.
"World of Gods and Ghosts" is a client game developed by Perfect World, which is composed of former members of Blizzard's Dark Team and personally directed by Runic Games from the "Torchlight" development team. It creates a unique Gothic style, tough and realistic world for players. game world
Thanks to the Cube Engine 2 engine and Runic Games' technological capabilities beyond the times, "World of Gods and Ghosts" has rich and diverse landscapes, exquisite and realistic scene modeling, and exquisitely designed traps, creating a unique Gothic world for players. The realm of the gods with style and tough realism.
It is worth mentioning that in terms of the special effects and impact of skills and moves, Runic Games used the technology of real-person capture + 3D holographic engine when producing "World of Gods and Ghosts", which can even bring players a better experience than "Diablo 3" It also provides a refreshing combat experience.
Since we are talking about domestic dark games, the name "Qin Shang" cannot be ignored. For old domestic players, the name "Qin Shang" represents the legend of this domestic stand-alone game. Of course, many players who know the history of the game "Qin Shang" will also feel sorry for it.
"Qin Shang" is an action role-playing game developed by Target Software. The game was originally released on July 6, 2002. The story takes place in the turbulent era of the late Qin Dynasty. The story tells the story of Fusu, the eldest son of Qin Shihuang, the protagonist, who went through dangers and hardships and performed a heroic tragic song.
Although "Qin Shang" can be seen borrowing from "Diablo 2" in terms of graphics and gameplay, as the creator of "Qin Shang", Target Software has integrated its own innovations, such as China's unique Qin Dynasty history and tradition. Five elements. The skills and abilities in the game are classified into the five elements of "metal, wood, water, fire, and earth". There is also a mutually reinforcing relationship between the various skills, which enriches the gameplay and makes players feel more intimate.
In that era when domestic stand-alone games were just emerging, "Qin Shang" traveled across the ocean to appear at the E3 exhibition. As the only domestically produced work among the more than 200 games exhibited that year, it attracted the attention of a large number of players due to its ultra-high quality. It was later translated into four foreign language versions and was even called by the famous foreign game media GameSpot: a dark historical theme.
Unfortunately, the emergence of "Qin Shang" is both the starting point and the end point of domestic stand-alone games. In that era when piracy was rampant, the reality of being unable to recover costs made "Qin Shang" a memory for many domestic players.
Since 2000, the era of domestic online games has officially begun. A large number of classic online games have emerged one after another, which has also made many domestic game companies make a lot of money. Since stand-alone games don’t make money, it’s better to switch to the online game market. Therefore, in 2003, Target Software made the decision to become an online game and developed the online game version of "Qin Shang World" based on "Qin Shang". Since "Qin Shang" itself has the Battle.net function, "Qin Shang World" is almost It is a replica of the "Qin Shang" battle network. In fact, not long after "Qin Shang World" was launched, the official battle website of "Qin Shang" was suspended.
"Qin Shang World" still continues the 2D design model of "Qin Shang", and the game graphics have also been upgraded. Compared with "Qin Shang", it is more refined and sophisticated. Although it is a sequel to the stand-alone version, in order to enhance the fun of the game, some special settings and changes will be made in the PK system in this product. There are 6 different scenarios set up in the game for players to choose from. These include: normal scenes, competitive scenes, dangerous scenes, extremely dangerous scenes, hell scenes and sky prisons.
In subsequent operations, Target Software launched an upgraded version of "New Tianjiao" due to some business reasons, but essentially there is not much difference between "New Tianjiao" and "Qin Shang World". Both games are currently in operation, and interested players can go for archaeology.
As mentioned above, Target Software decided to enter the online game market and make "Qin Shang" an online game. In fact, when this decision was made, not everyone supported it. In the end, Liu Kun in the "Qin Shang" development team left Target Software and set up his own company, the current Pixel Software. At that time, many people in the "Qin Shang" development team The members also left with Liu Kun and joined Pixel Software.
After the establishment of Pixel Software, the entire company immediately began to develop its first work. In 2003, it launched its first stand-alone work - "Sword and Demon Sealing Record".
"Sword and Demon Sealing Record" is a "maverick" game. It not only integrates the role-playing game of action games, but also absorbs the essence of fighting games such as "Street Fighter" and "The King of Fighters" that were very popular in China at the time. , innovatively adding a large number of fighting combo elements to the role-playing game.
As a martial arts game, "Sword and Demon Sealing Record" does not change the skin of the "milk T output" iron triangle, but creatively divides the professions of swordsmen, swordsmen and heroines. Each of the three characters has their own skills and moves that they are good at. The focus is not on the growth of the skill tree, but on the sense of strike. The combat logic of the game is based on elements such as combos, displacement, blocking, and special moves. If you have to give it a positioning, "Sword and Demon Sealing Record" is more like a fighting version of "Diablo 2".
What's the saying? History always happens in cycles. Because he was dissatisfied with Target Software's decision to pursue the online game market, he left Target Software to establish Pixel Software and developed the game "Sword and Demon Sealing Record". However, what is more realistic is that the domestic stand-alone game market at that time was really difficult to make a profit. Therefore, after the success of "Sword and Sword: Demon Sealing Record", Pixel Software also decided to make "Sword and Sword Sealing Demon Record" into an online game due to the pressure of survival. And this online game version is "Sword OL".
The game background of "Sword OL" is based on China's extensive and profound mythology system, and is combined with history to create a unique charm of Chinese culture. It not only retains the ethereal fantasy of ancient myths, but also carries forward the long-standing ancient Chinese culture. Many well-known mythological figures and historical celebrities appear in the game, forming this mysterious and profound world with players. Players will explore and find answers to various ancient puzzles in the game, and discover those ancient relics that have been dormant for a long time.
At present, "Sword OL" has been renamed "Sword Hero" and is continued to be operated by Sohu Changyou, and the game updates have not stopped. Compared with the first generation of "Sword and Sword OL", the current "Sword and Sword Hero" has also undergone many updates and optimizations in terms of graphics and gameplay.
In the history of domestic stand-alone games, the reputation of domestic Sanjian is undoubtedly the highest. "Legend of Sword and Fairy", "Xuanyuan Sword" and "Swordsman Love", these three series of works are masterpieces in the minds of countless domestic players. Of course, these three games also have different styles. Among them, Kingsoft's "Swordsman Love" series should be the most daring to break through and innovate.
While the other two series were still sticking to the old rules and continuing to use the turn-based system, "Jianxia Romance 2" made a bold breakthrough and became an ARPG, and launched several spin-off works with different styles and different gameplay. Among them, "Jianxia Romance 2" was launched in 2001. "Side Story: Legend of Moon Shadow" can be regarded as the most profoundly influenced by darkness in the entire "Swordsman Love" series.
Shadows of darkness can be seen in various settings of Legend of Moon Shadow. For example, for transparent obstacles, when you move the mouse over enemies and objects, outlines will appear, and various values will slowly recover over time. The game's perspective is 45 degrees 3D. You can hold down the ctrl key to attack in place, or you can even hold down the ctrl key. Space closes all windows and so on.
Perhaps it is precisely because of special bonuses such as "Swordsman Love" that dare to break through and actively innovate that the entire IP is still full of vitality today, unlike "Legend of Sword and Fairy" and "Xuanyuan Sword" which can only rely on nostalgia to maintain Go down.
The company Creative Eagle may not be deeply impressed by many players, but the three games of the "Between Life and Death" series, "Alone" and "Bi Xue Qing Tian" were a well-known name in the late 1990s. Among the three series of works, the most famous is "Bixue Love Sky", a martial arts work that is not inferior to the first generation "Swordsman Love".
The story background of the game "Blue Snow Love Sky" is set in the Sui Dynasty. It tells the story of the hero and heroine going through countless hardships, slaying demons, and playing a heroic hymn. The story background of the game is an organic combination of Chinese humanities and mythology, which is both traditional and innovative.
As a dark game, "Bixue Qingtian" perfectly inherits the advantages of dark games and also makes its own bold innovations. In terms of operation, the "Darkness"-like shortcut keys allow players to get started quickly, and the friendly task and log system allows players to avoid detours.
"Bixue Love Sky" has found a good balance between plot and gameplay. The game has a rich but not bloated main plot, so that players who like plot can also enjoy the fun of the plot, and players who like to grind monsters and fight Players who are equipped with equipment will not feel bored. They can defeat various BOSS and obtain gold equipment and green equipment. With the easy-to-use casting system, you can add diamonds and gems to your equipment at any time.
The transformation of online games may have been a hurdle that single-player games back then could not overcome. After all, they had to try any method to survive. In fact, Lin Guangli, the founder of Creative Eagle, planned to make online games from the beginning and get a share of the online game market. However, the plan could not keep up with the changes. "Bixue Love Sky", which was finally released in March 2002, was not an online game, but a stand-alone game. The reason is also very simple. The company had financing problems and did not have enough funds to develop online games. It could only reduce costs and make the game a stand-alone game.
Therefore, when making "Bixue Qingtian", the development team left many interfaces in the game for the transition to online games. When it was decided to convert the stand-alone version of "Bixue Qingtian" into "Bixue Qingtian OL", the production speed was also very fast, and it was completed in only half a year.
It is a bit regrettable that although the quality of "Bixue Qingtian OL" itself is very good, after the game was launched, in addition to facing the pressure of "Legend", Kingsoft's "Swordsman Love" was also launched later. For two games of the same type, faced with the overwhelming publicity from the wealthy Kingsoft, Creative Eagle was completely powerless and ultimately lost to everyone.
Domestic players should have been exposed to a lot of games with the theme of the Three Kingdoms. After all, the Japanese game manufacturers next door like to work hard on the sheep with the theme of the Three Kingdoms. In fact, among the many Japanese Three Kingdoms games, there is also a domestic dark Three Kingdoms-themed game, which is "Three Kingdoms Zhao Yun Zhuan" produced by the Third Wave Zhuhai Studio.
"Three Kingdoms Zhao Yun Zhuan" takes Zhao Yun as the protagonist. From Zhao Yun's studies to joining Yuan Shao's army, to meeting Liu Bei, and then to the Changbanpo battle, it runs through Zhao Yun's life. The difference between the game and traditional RPG games is that "Three Kingdoms Zhao Yun Zhuan" 》 focuses more on the combat aspect of the game. The dialogue and story foreshadowing of the game are much less than those of other RPG games, but the combat pleasure of the game is very strong.
In addition to extremely varied battles, "The Legend of Zhao Yun in the Three Kingdoms" also includes Zhao Yun's character development, gorgeous displays of magic and special skills, equipment smelting system, super handsome horse battle system, general duel system, etc. When the game is usually in small villages, military camps and cities, the protagonist Zhao Yun is in a non-combat state and can move freely, talk to other characters, and obtain the necessary intelligence to decide the next move or make preparations before the war (purchase weapons and equipment). and items, replace and repair weapons and equipment, save progress, etc.).
It's a pity that this game, which has the shadow of "Diablo 2", rich gameplay and certain strategic aspects, came to an abrupt end after the launch of the second generation "Three Kingdoms Zhao Yun Zhuan: Across the World", and there is no news anymore. It’s really sad!
Finally: in recent years, with the rise of mobile games, many game manufacturers have tried to launch new dark mobile games. Unfortunately, there are no eye-catching works so far. Tencent had previously acted as an agent for a dark mobile game "Rachel". The initial performance was pretty good, but unfortunately it eventually failed at the speed of light. It officially stopped operations in mainland China at 11 o'clock on June 15, 2022, and switched to It is run by the developers themselves.
It seems that making a dark game well is not an easy task.