As we all know, our country has a long history and a long culture. Since the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, it has inherited civilization for thousands of years. Heroes of the Chinese nation have emerged in large numbers. Our ancestors make us proud, and the inheritance of classics is the core of civilization. Our cultural background, myths and legends, heroic stories, folk tales, novels, oral and heart-taught jokes, Yangchun Baixue's poems, and the historical heritage brought by the Lower Riba people's folk art are very rich, but there are also some problems for players. It makes people wonder: Why are the Three Kingdoms always the ones that use historical themes in games?

First of all, it’s not that other games don’t use historical themes, but compared to the Three Kingdoms, it is indeed a bit out of place. This period of history is undoubtedly full of charm. It began in the dim end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The land was desolate and the people were in dire straits. Warlords fought and formed three factions. Emperor Xian abdicated and Cao Liusun proclaimed himself emperor. The last three parts were unified into the Jin Dynasty. The separatist situation of nearly a century ended. A majestic wave arose, the country was picturesque, and many heroes surged in for a time. The Three Kingdoms are red, the Three Kingdoms are hot, and fans of the Three Kingdoms have been around for more than a day or two. From ancient poems, folk arts, storytelling, annotations, to modern TV series, videos, books, picture books, comics, those who sit and talk about Taoism, those who analyze and commentate, those who wander about the homeland, and those who dream back here. countless.

Turning back to games, there is a joke: An investor wanted to make games, so he found three senior game people. One said that MOBA games would be more powerful, one said that FPS would be popular this year, and the other said that there would be a market for science fiction. Finally, the investors made a card game with the theme of the Three Kingdoms. It can be said that apart from the martial arts style, for domestic game companies of all sizes, whether you are a planner or a copywriter, you will face a speechless question: Are you familiar with the Three Kingdoms?

From the perspective of history, my country's traditional agricultural society was at the beginning of the new empire. Due to the wars in the previous generation, the population dropped sharply, and large areas of land were vacant. Many wastes were waiting for development. River management and extensive farming began, and the population reached its peak. After a hundred years of ups and downs, the rivers have been declining, the power has been exhausted, the government officials have been defeated, and land annexation has been serious. The rich have fields and the poor have nothing to stand on. Coupled with man-made and natural disasters, the cycle of troubled times begins again. In other words, although the Three Kingdoms are special, they are not special at all. Just like the general trend of the world, if they are divided for a long time, they will unite, and if they unite for a long time, they will divide. Before the Three Kingdoms, Chu and Han competed for hegemony, and later there was a confrontation between the North and the South. How come there are so few Han family flying generals and iron horses? Used in games? Next let’s talk about the reasons.

There is so much to say about the Three Kingdoms

1. Players have a high degree of familiarity and recognition with "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms"

We all know that Luo Guanzhong's "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has a very high status in the novel world of our country. It is a household name, known to all ages, and is a national treasure. The ups and downs of the plot, the rich characters, the ever-lasting friendship, and the thirty-six strategies and strategies to defeat the enemy have fascinated generations of audiences.

It is said that before the Later Jin Dynasty (Qing Dynasty) entered Shanhaiguan, the Manchu generals with melon-headed heads used this as a military manual and spread it widely. Even if people today don’t have time to read the whole book, they still know about the Five Tiger Generals, the Five Sons of Good Generals, the White Emperor Tuogu, borrowing arrows from a straw boat, crossing five passes and killing six generals, the empty city plan, shooting halberds at the gate, three heroes fighting Lu Bu, and walking wheat. It is an allusion to the city and other characters.

In terms of readership, "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is also a proud classical king in the East Asian circle. Japanese and Korean readers know that the Three Kingdoms is not in small numbers, but if you ask them about "Water Margin" of the reckless heroes, they may be a little confused. He knows about "Journey to the West". At a certain point, he was not quite sure about the red building with candle shadow and gold powder.

In terms of game usability, the Three Kingdoms theme setting is complete and grand, with many battles, highly recognizable characters, conquering cities and territories, and long-lasting love between children. The possibility of players getting involved in history when playing games is not high. The concept of other periods is relatively shallow. Liu Bang and Xiang Yu are still somewhat famous, such as the heroic ancestor Ti and Liu Kun who danced to the sound of chickens, and the Xiongnu Great Chanyu Mao, who had tens of thousands of string controllers under his command. Suddenly, Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, who was determined to Hanize and move the capital, may not be so well-known.

To put it bluntly, the story of the Three Kingdoms has become a blue chip stock due to the spread of the novel. The advertising cost is low and everyone knows it. Unlike Mr. Jin Yong’s martial arts, no one has asked you for copyright fees.

When we were very young, we were familiar with the story of "Three Brothers in Taoyuan"

2. Japanese game manufacturers have better integrated the Three Kingdoms into the game.

Japan and our country are separated by a strip of water. Although we cannot say that they are closely related to each other, they have long been in contact with each other. Around 1690, there was a Japanese translation of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". The Japanese's understanding of this period of history and romance is not weaker than ours. The degree of love is also similar. Not only do I read it, but I also write it myself. In modern times, there are "Three Kingdoms" by Eiji Yoshikawa, "Heroes of the Three Kingdoms" by Renzaburo Shibata, "Heroes of the Three Kingdoms Here", "Heroes of the Three Kingdoms: Life or Death" and Northern "Northern Three Kingdoms" by Kenzo.

The glorious Three Kingdoms character portraits are even more versatile. Their busts are even used in CCTV lectures. For the design of characters in domestic Three Kingdoms games, this is equivalent to a living [reference library].

Since the development and use of the Three Kingdoms theme has been started for a long time, the glorious Three Kingdoms series was launched in 1985. After long-term development and experience accumulation, it is now the thirteenth generation.

In the past thirty years, Japanese game manufacturers have dug out almost all the details. There are only a few characters in the novel, such as Zhang Xingcai (there is Wuming in the novel, the daughter of Zhang Fei, after Liu Chan), Lu Qiling (also named Wuming, She is the daughter of Lu Bu (her father once refused Yuan Shu's proposal for his son's hand in marriage). They are all filled in with lovely portraits and fictional background stories, and are in turn exported to us, turning into a series without misfortune. There are countless little butters with a layer of Sanguo skin.

For example, Alpha Company's "Sanji Ji" has a cloud of beauties ranging from eight to eighteen, with a large scale and stunning features.

One special thing about this game is that it will set up some male characters that cannot be conquered (Dong Da Pang)

The mainland's game industry started at a few paces in the evening. Since the Famicom era, the mentor of the Far East has been Taiwan. Taiwanese games have been deeply influenced by Japan. When it comes to the Three Kingdoms game, we have become the juniors of Japan. , if we don’t learn from what’s already available, and it’s already ours, it’s impossible not to be affected by it.

A rough inventory of the types of Three Kingdoms themes used by Japanese game manufacturers includes strategies, collection of famous generals, killing people in the second half, mother version and other typical ones that are more familiar:

SLG/Strategy Game – The glorious "Three Kingdoms" series, the second edition in 1982

Big fight, mowing the grass – the glorious "Dynasty Warriors" series (I enjoy mowing the grass, mowing it to my heart's content)

Side-scrolling arcade game – "Swallowing the World" (Five Tiger Generals Wei Yan beats Ma Chao)

"The Great War of the Three Kingdoms" gathers various painters with various styles, such as Kagome's version of Da Qiao

Yueying making a figurine of her husband

Guo Jia's version of Zhou Yu, to be precise, Zhou Yu's version of Guo Jia. In fact, it's not a big problem to borrow a little bit from it. In the middle and later stages of Three Kingdoms, he came out with his own style.

3. The domestic stand-alone game environment has led to manufacturers being unwilling to innovate.

Frankly speaking, as a game, the background is not the most important part. Unlike other media, what attracts people to games is the gameplay and game experience itself. Even if it has exquisite design, perfect application and sharp marketing, it will be hopeless if paired with a stale gameplay.

There are not that many great people, and most people just change the soup without changing the medicine. In this impetuous era, a good game can be launched with slight modifications and a cover-up. The stand-alone environment in China is not good. It has been affected by piracy for many years. Although the aesthetics have improved, it has now been impacted by online games. Since then, the changes have been even smaller. For investors, [insurance] is very important. It took Warcraft more than ten years to complete its story, and there are still many pitfalls to be filled. For investors, there is no need to invest so much energy in choosing new themes or creating a new world. It would be easier to break through elsewhere.

In terms of review, there won't be much difficulty. The Three Kingdoms of Killing Generals and Capturing the Flag and Journey to the West to Exorcise Demons and Demons are much easier to pass than the human-flesh barbecued pork buns from Cross Slope.

We might as well make a hypothesis and adjust it to a cyberpunk-style science fiction background. First, it is obscure and difficult to understand. Second, the audience is small. Third, it is difficult to adapt. Fourth, such future stories are all based on the [Frankenstein] style of the West. The pessimistic plot, full of vigilance, distrust, and sense of crisis, sounds the death knell, and is naturally disrespectful.

The first half is wasteland style, and the second half is cyberpunk "Gunsmen"

Later words:

We also have a lot of excellent Three Kingdoms games, but the Three Kingdoms theme is like watermelon in summer. There is nothing wrong with it. We also like to eat it. We can eat it every day, but it can’t always be this dish. It has been turbulent for thousands of years. There are so many turbulent eras, such as Zhou Wu conquered Zhou, the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period, the conflict between Chu and Han, the Han attack on the Xiongnu, the confrontation between the North and the South, the heroes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the Song Dynasty fought against the Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, and the Ming Dynasty drove out the Tartars. Heroes such as "Rage for the Crown" and "The Devil with His Hands" are also gearing up. I hope these themes will have more opportunities to appear, even if they change their skins.

The best domestic Three Kingdoms game: A Hero of a Thousand Riders, Fire Bull Charge and Never Return