Chapter 770 - 770: Bloodline Detection Mechanism

Whether a game system is fun or its story is exciting, players need to spend time playing it themselves to truly feel it.

These aspects are the substance of the game. But character designs and map art, on the other hand, are about appearance. Players can immediately feel their charm the moment they see them.

Character designs that are beautiful and stylish might not instantly win over every player, but they can certainly spark interest in the game for many.

Next, let's talk about the in-game maps. This is where it differs most from traditional RPGs. The "Xenoblade" series features enormous maps with an open-world feel, creating a strong sense of immersion.

The main reason traditional RPGs are called "traditional" is their limitations.

If someone asked what makes "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" fun, players could list many reasons: the adventures of Geralt and Ciri, the political shifts between the Southern Empire and Northern Kingdoms, or its unique world-building.

But if you asked about a traditional RPG, the answers would almost all be about liking a specific character or story.

The world-building is very weak, still a typical story-driven model. So even though Nebula Games made the concept of open worlds popular with "Red Dead Redemption" and "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild," traditional RPGs haven't tried open worlds because their core doesn't fit.

They still tell a pre-planned story within a relatively static setting, where anything outside the story isn't important.

But in "Xenoblade," it's completely different. With its huge maps and open exploration, the maps in the "Xenoblade" series aren't just part of the main story. Players can finish the game without exploring anything.

Also, the maps in the "Xenoblade" series aren't just about stacking up area.

While "Xenoblade 2" has many features that satisfy players and is very otaku-friendly, the map design in "Xenoblade 2" is truly artistic, simply amazing.

The game's setting is Alrest, a world covered by a sea of clouds. In the cloud sea live many wild creatures, including giant beings known as "Titan Beasts."

These Titan Beasts are like moving continents, and life and civilization grow on their bodies. The scenery on each Titan Beast is completely different.

From the wild jungles of Gura, to the falling blossoms of Indol, the industrial wasteland of the Spelbia Empire, the religiously rich Arcadia, the Liberitas Archipelago in the sea of clouds, and Luxurie with its vast snowfields and ancient civilization ruins.

Of course, if we only look at the art style, this is excellent but not yet astonishing.

What's truly astonishing is how the open-world maps and dungeon-style levels are perfectly blended in the game.

Every map has a multi-layered design. Gura's tangled roots create a tree maze, and Spelbia's steel factories are a labyrinth, adding a lot of complex exploration to the maps. The maps also have hidden side paths and scenic spots that require special skills to reach.

Like the map design in "Dark Souls," each themed map of a Titan Beast in "Xenoblade 2" is three-dimensional.

The game also incorporates the concept of the cloud sea, with different times causing tides to rise and fall. Some places are only accessible when the cloud sea is high, and likewise, some places are only accessible when it's low.

After confirming the game's art design with Rachel, they moved to the conference room to listen to Lucas explain the core ideas of the game. Marcus, Hector, and others were all a bit stunned.

This is a massive undertaking, merging the core substance of traditional RPGs with the outward appearance of open worlds.

This is what they felt, and so far, it's only about the map design.

"I won't talk much about the music and story cutscenes," Lucas said decisively, "We'll set up two separate departments for those later."

For traditional RPGs, music and cutscenes are crucial, even the basics.

A good traditional RPG might be debatable on how fun it is, but its cutscenes and music are definitely top-notch.

Like in the "Xenoblade" series from a past life, music is a core element. Even "Xenoblade X," which is more criticized, is more about the disconnect between the scenes and the music disrupting the player's immersion, not the music itself being bad.

After settling these matters, Lucas explained the combat system of "Xenoblade."

This is another important core element, supporting the game's depth.

The combat system is complex, if you want to call it that.

At its heart, it's still ATB turn-based combat, but it feels more free. A core element in the game is the "Blade." Each Blade has four Arts skills, but you equip three. They also have four different levels of Specials, and each character can equip up to three Blades, which are tied to different weapon types.

Players will perform auto-attacks based on different weapons. Auto-attacks have three stages, with attack power increasing each time. Successful attacks also fill the Blade's Art gauge. When the Art gauge is full, you can use an Art skill. Art skills then fill the Special gauge, and depending on how much of the Special gauge is filled, you can unleash different levels of Special attacks.

Then, by unleashing Special attacks in the order of 1-2-3, you can trigger Blade Combos, dealing massive damage. Each Blade has different attributes, and triggering a Blade Combo not only deals heavy damage but also adds resistance to enemies for that specific attribute, up to 8 stacks.

When performing auto-attacks, Art attacks, and Special attacks, you can also fill the Party Gauge.

At this point, you can use the Party Gauge to unleash a Chain Attack, where all teammates take turns using their Specials to break attribute orbs. Once an attribute orb is broken, a more powerful follow-up Chain Attack can be triggered. Breaking attribute orbs also fills the Orb Break Gauge, and when the Orb Break Gauge is full, you can unleash a Full Break Finisher to deal massive damage to monsters.

Furthermore, the game allows you to cancel auto-attacks with Arts, cancel Arts with Specials, to increase extra damage and energy. Arts also have additional effects. By unleashing Arts in the order of Break, Topple, Launch, and Smash, you can trigger more powerful crowd control skills, Driver Combos. If a Driver Combo overlaps with a Blade Combo, you can even trigger a Fusion Combo.

Of course, it sounds complicated, but if you want to simplify it, it's not impossible.

"Orb management. Orb breaking."

This is a core gameplay loop of the "Xenoblade" combat system. Later on, with Blade development and equipment collection, there are various other strategies, but based on the game's fundamental setup, the main gameplay revolves around the system centered on attribute orbs.

It can be said that this combat system is definitely intimidating for many players, but if they can master it, they will truly feel the exhilarating thrill of it.

Many "Xenoblade" players, after successfully mastering the combat system, share a common thought: "Why are these monsters' health bars so short? They die after only a few orbs are hung."

Listening to Lucas's simplified explanation of the combat system, the team members didn't feel too overwhelmed. After all, they were industry veterans. Although Lucas described it in a complex way, they could all clearly feel the maturity of this combat system.

Instead, compared to the combat system, the people present were more concerned about another aspect.

"Boss Lucas, according to you, players will control only one character in the game, and the remaining teammates will be controlled by AI. But as a traditional RPG, it needs sufficient depth in development. However, there will inevitably be strengths and weaknesses in story and controllable Blades, with some being less important or just existing as weapons. How will 'Xenoblade' address this?" Marcus asked the most crucial question.

Therefore, there are only so many Blades involved in the story, yet Blades themselves exist as a weapon system. Having an RPG with only a few weapons doesn't make much sense. Also, considering whether weapons might become mere decorations or guards at the water cooler with no presence, how to balance Blades is a key point.

Hearing Marcus's words, Lucas couldn't help but smile slightly. "So, this brings us to the next mechanism, which you can call... well... the Bloodline Detection Mechanism."

(End of this chapter)

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