On Bilibili, an independent game became popular with several abstract but highly personalized trailers. The grotesque visual effects and bizarre abstract text make it seem like a crazy artist is boiling mushrooms on a high fire while performing indulgently. Modernism, deconstruction, jabbering, kill the moon. I didn’t understand, so I found the producer of “Incredibly Hard” and launched a face-to-face attack. However, I punched cotton in the face because the producer said he wanted to take me to play billiards – and I agreed. During the interview, I also personally sat in the developer’s seat and tried out “Incredibly Hard” directly through the game engine. It’s just as crazy and abstract as in the promotional video. It left me with no beginning and no end, but I was surprised or frightened one after another, which made me smile happily. It is currently the Steam New Product Festival. You can search for “Incredibly Hard: Wasteland Knight” on Steam, download the DEMO and try it out. Like me, I feel like I picked up a “Dark Mewtwo” from the ground.
Question: As a game creator, what kind of influence did you receive to create such a game?
In fact, I don’t think I wanted to make games at the beginning. Well, I became like this just as I was doing it.
In fact, the essential reason is that I hate doing things that are similar to others. The core of everything I do is that I hate doing things that are similar to others. It is just to be different from others, which has become my greatest joy in playing games. If I do something similar to others, I will feel bored and I will become very nihilistic.
Just go to the company, maybe just sit there, drink a cup of milk tea, lie there, as if life is boring, I will feel boring, and have no desire to express myself. The matter of “professionalism” makes me feel very depressed. So when I make this game, in fact, I don’t mean that I started running for this thing. My essence is to resist. I don’t want to do what others do, I just resist.
Question: What was your experience before making this game?
I did a lot of stupid things before. I made games, made movies, and then made rock music, everything. I went to Xinjiang to shoot an independent film.
At that time, web dramas and short plays were very popular, so I went to Xinjiang to shoot that independent film. I also shoot modernist stuff. Later, I started doing rock music. Anyway, I accomplished nothing (laughs). I did a lot of stupid things, but ended up accomplishing nothing. I thought I had to do something, otherwise I would have nothing to do. It’s like that, the teacher asks a question, then you raise your hand, the teacher asks you, and you say I don’t know.
At that time, a tank 300 was built in Xinjiang, and I sat in the co-pilot and listened to the big brother who was driving the car. I think that is very refreshing and very happy. I think it’s cool to make independent films and rock music.
Question: When I was playing the game, I clearly felt that there was some crazy, abstract quality in it. Does this have anything to do with you being in Wuhan?
Although I am not from Wuhan, I have stayed in Wuhan for more than ten years. There are indeed many gods and people in Wuhan.
I often go to East Lake at night. I ran to East Lake alone at three or four o’clock in the evening. There was absolutely no one in East Lake at that time. Then I will be very happy, the entire East Lake is yours, and then I will stroll around the lake, very happy.
(Although East Lake is a 5A-level scenic spot in Wuhan, it is mostly a good place for locals to go for walks and outings. The scenic area is very huge, exceeding 80 square kilometers, so even during the Chinese New Year, you can find a quiet and spacious place.)
Question: Do you want to go to the lake to design game content?
No, anyway, I just emo sometimes, and then I find a place to relax.
In fact, game ideas are not a big limitation for me. As long as I am willing to think about it, I basically have many ideas.
I think the difficulty is that the biggest problem with modernism is that it is very negative. I don’t want to move anything, so how do I overcome negativity? This is a contradiction. Once a person is negative, he will not make anything; but if a person is positive, he will not be modernist. This is another paradox.
If the voice is very noisy, it will become less and less interesting. You will have no motivation and enthusiasm to do it. But when it comes to games, you have to be energetic, go to work in the company, come up with ideas, and arrange for everyone to come up with things together. This requires enthusiasm, so these two game points are the biggest pain in my opinion.
Question: In the process of making games, you will definitely encounter various problems. Can you talk about the difficulties encountered during game development?
I think the first biggest problem is that it is difficult for everyone to trust me and the team members to trust me.
That is to say, if you learn from other existing things, it is actually very easy to gain everyone’s trust. For example, if I borrow the spirit of Hidetaka Miyazaki, I will make a similar work. You just say that if we can achieve 60% or 70% of the soul, everyone will think it’s OK!
(In other words, it is more difficult to accurately convey the ideas in your brain to the team and let them understand it, right?)
right. In fact, I have experienced this kind of thing before. I would listen to everyone’s opinions before, and I would also actively listen to the players’ opinions. I will listen to everyone’s opinions. But there is a price, you will become a project manager, eh, not an artist. I became the product manager of Haidilao. If customers feel uncomfortable, I will change it.
Question: Do you have any specific examples?
This is a process of gradually building confidence with the team. Anyway, I had some differences with some colleagues before. Yes, he will think, “I don’t understand what you want to do, why are you doing this?”
But I actually discovered a problem later.
In fact, before I made movies, I also made games when I was relatively young. Although what I did at the time was not what I wanted, I did make money.
It was then that I discovered the core – art is the tyrant, art is the tyrant (repeat twice!). As a tyrant, you must finish everything you want to say with determination and eliminate all information that interferes with you. This is difficult.
Question: What specifically did you do to eliminate interference?
It’s hard to rule out, and you know why? Have you noticed that all UE works nowadays are more and more like a certain game? More and more. Yes, it’s because he didn’t have the courage to eliminate this interference item.
Moreover, we Chinese have a common saying that when three people are walking together, one of them must be my master. If three people are chatting, one of them will be my master. This is what I have been taught since childhood. Three people must be my master. What is it? When three people chat, there must be someone who can teach me something. Wow, you grew up in this kind of environment, how can you possibly eliminate these distractions?
Since I started working, it has taken me 10 years just to eliminate distractions.
What does it mean? I will never listen to anyone giving me advice again. I will never listen to anyone say anything against me again. I had to go my own way and make something that was within me.
I can accept that my project failed, but I can’t accept that I didn’t do what I wanted. What does it mean?
That is to say, I will also be conquered by Miyazaki Hidetaka’s works, because I have basically completed all Miyazaki Hidetaka’s works. However, Hidetaka Miyazaki can only conquer me temporarily, but not permanently.
Question: So, playing games as you please, with all your might, and without any repercussions makes you feel really happy, right?
No, because after people gain freedom, they will fall into the second stage, which is boredom.
Because the boredom of freedom is a bit like a blackout in school, and then you gain a kind of freedom and you are very happy. But when you take summer vacation, or take vacation every day, you are actually not very happy. Human beings can never escape the limitations of human beings. They can only have a little more fun and happiness.
Question: Are there any interesting things like this that you can share during the development process? Did you sing the song in the promotional video?
There are also some things that are very fun to communicate with everyone as a team. It is very fun to think about something with everyone as a team. You’re talking about the song “Auld Lang Syne” we sang together, right? In fact, I just recorded it casually and just wanted to sing. I had a sudden idea, and it was a sudden decision that day, an impromptu idea.
Question: Can I see your usual working status and daily living status?
Did you know? Interviewing is the most boring time for a person. right. I’m not going to lie, all interviews are boring. In fact, I have also observed some interview programs myself, and it is very boring when one person is interviewed.
Do you know when someone is cuter? This is his most normal state. It’s time to brag. Isn’t it cuter when you’re bragging about a project? You should have seen me bragging normally.
It is easy for people to pretend to be artists and thinkers.
When am I in good shape?
The first situation is when I am bragging about a project; the second situation is when I am playing billiards. Alas, I was in good shape then.
When I was bragging to the billiard assistants in the billiard hall, they all liked me. I also liked who I was at that time, very, very innocent. I don’t even pretend to be cool, I just brag to those billiards assistants every day.
Question: There are references to famous works in the promotional video. For example, you quoted James Joyce’s “Dublins”. For you, what literary influences were there when developing this work?
I think the biggest influence is Kafka, Kafka’s works. Modernism, the founder. And there is Dostoyevsky. what else? There is also a play called “Waiting for Godot” which also had a lot of influence. As for movies, Quentin’s works have a greater influence on me.
Question: By the way, you also made art films when you were young, and you must have watched a lot of Nordic films.
right. I used to do it just to show off, you know? I watched a lot of Nordic movies.
When I was young, I used to hang out among the artistic youth. These people were very pretentious. Just a few people chatting, “Hey, there’s a movie you haven’t seen?”
I know a bunch of hard-core literary and artistic young people. Once they say they haven’t seen a movie, they’ll say, “Have you never seen Bergman’s Wild Strawberries?” and then they’ll scoff at it. At that time, when I was young, in order to blend in with them, I watched all kinds of dull films, black and white films.
I watched five or six movies a day, just those boring Nordic movies. I watched them one after another, forcing myself to watch them, but in fact they were not good at all.
Question: Do those films have an influence on your current game development? Was it helpful?
It helps, just don’t do those boring movies again.
If the boring film is right, then I should be one of those people who reads at home every day. Why do I go to the billiard hall every day to brag with those assistant coaches? When I was young, I watched artistic films and literary classics every day. I could watch black and white films five times a night by myself. I used to read this thing every day, but it was useless. I was not saved. None of these things can bring me inner self-consistency and peace, so to me, these things are all wrong.
I believe in those vulgar things more, I believe in vulgar and vulgar things more, because this is the truth.
Question: So you will admit that your own work is vulgar.
I admit it, hahahahaha. This is a vulgar game for me.
Question: In fact, game development will become less romantic in the end. The first and most important point is – where does the production team get the money?
Money, I made a little money playing junk games when I was young. I make a little money by making mobile games and making junk mobile games. All the money I make from making movies is from making crappy mobile games. Not a lot, just a little profit.
ending
The above is the content of the face-to-face interview with the producer of “Incredibly Hard”. Rather than analyzing the game, it is more like a torture of the producer. I believe everyone can also feel why “Incredibly Hard” is presented to players in such a way.
The game’s current combat appearance is still relatively early. Although the frame is set up, there are still a lot of details that need to be polished. We look forward to the official version being released soon~
When the game is officially sold, the producer will take me to play billiards, and I will promptly update you on the latest news!
