"PixelPioneers Games is going bankrupt?" Seeing the latest trending topic, countless game developers, publishers, and industry insiders could only laugh. "What kind of joke is that?"
There was no denying that "Yu-Gi-Oh!" had an enormous development budget. It was also launching on the VR platform, and Warwick's partnership with PixelPioneers Games, along with the timed exclusivity agreement, made it obvious to everyone that the two companies had reached some highly favorable behind-the-scenes business arrangement.
Then there was the anime adaptation. Outsourcing production to the renowned studio alone had cost tens of millions. However, the anime wasn't being distributed for free, so streaming platforms had all purchased broadcasting rights. Judging from the excellent reception of the first season, as long as the game's reputation remained solid, even if later story arcs failed to break new ground and merely refined existing material, production quality would continue to guarantee strong ratings. By the time future seasons aired, the licensing fees would almost certainly exceed those of the first season.
But suppose the Yu-Gi-Oh! project somehow became a complete commercial failure, then what? Just look at the rest of PixelPioneers Games' lineup. Resident Evil Resistance still firmly occupied the top rankings. Meanwhile, Resident Evil, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain had each sold millions, some even tens of millions, of copies worldwide.
A company with that kind of revenue... going bankrupt? Who would actually believe such nonsense? And had everyone conveniently forgotten that PixelPioneers Games even owned its own headquarters building?
Employees throughout the gaming industry watched as countless fans online expressed their "concern" over PixelPioneers Games' financial situation, leaving many professionals completely speechless. At the same time, however, they couldn't help but feel a little envious.
Few companies enjoyed such unwavering support from players. PixelPioneers Games had earned that trust by consistently delivering one outstanding title after another. Their fanbase wasn't built through marketing hype; it had been accumulated through years of quality.
John himself had no idea that the online discussions had become so heated thanks to Armani's publicity campaign. After personally testing the Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain "Snake Eater" DLC and the PC version of Yu-Gi-Oh! at the studio, all of John's attention shifted toward Warcraft and Martel's upcoming Assassin's Creed project after the release schedule had been finalized.
Development of Assassin's Creed had been entrusted to Martel's team as an outsourced production. The substantial outsourcing fees, along with the game's development costs, would all flow into PixelPioneers Games' accounts. More importantly, the intellectual property rights for Assassin's Creed would belong entirely to PixelPioneers Games.
"The mission structure of Assassin's Creed should follow a linear narrative," John explained during a meeting in his office with Martel. "But the gameplay itself should give players the freedom of a sandbox experience."
Using memories from another world as inspiration, John outlined several design philosophies drawn from different entries in the Assassin's Creed franchise. As one of gaming's evergreen franchises, Assassin's Creed had reinvented itself multiple times over the years and its gameplay had undergone several major evolutions.
The two biggest turning points came with Assassin's Creed Unity and the later Assassin's Creed Origins. The former represented a major evolution in combat mechanics, while the latter completely reimagined the franchise's core gameplay loop.
The combat improvements meant players no longer had to rely solely on stealth assassinations. Direct combat became deeper and more varied, allowing different playstyles instead of forcing every encounter into the same silent approach.
Origins, however, went much further. It wasn't merely changing the game's appearance; it rebuilt the entire foundation. Combat systems, character progression, exploration, and open-world design were reconstructed from the ground up.
Yet John didn't consider those changes to be absolute perfection. Although Origins had been a success, that didn't mean its approach represented the only correct direction.
Gameplay design constantly evolved alongside the market. There had been periods when players overwhelmingly preferred turn-based RPGs, causing countless developers to adopt that style. Years later, tastes shifted again. Players gravitated toward real-time action combat, prompting many traditional RPG franchises to reinvent themselves as action RPGs.
There was never such a thing as the "perfect" gameplay system; there were only gameplay systems that better matched what players wanted at a particular point in time. Even innovation itself rarely escaped that cycle.
"The game's difficulty shouldn't rely purely on inflated numbers," John continued. "Imagine the protagonist is introduced as a legendary demon hunter capable of slaughtering terrifying monsters. Then, during gameplay, he dies instantly from falling two meters off a rooftop. Or during cutscenes, he effortlessly wipes out entire armies, yet once players regain control, he's struggling against a simple monster because his level isn't high enough."
Martel nodded thoughtfully. He wasn't familiar with the example, but he immediately understood John's point. It was one of the most common problems in action RPGs.
The cinematic protagonist appeared nearly invincible, effortlessly defeating impossible enemies. Then gameplay began... and the same legendary hero struggled to defeat ordinary skeleton soldiers. The disconnect between narrative and gameplay completely shattered immersion.
Although this problem was difficult to eliminate entirely, John hoped to minimize it as much as possible.
"We should remove the visible health bar," John continued. "Instead, focus on stronger action mechanics. If players execute their attacks properly, both ordinary and powerful bosses should be defeated naturally."
"Of course," he added with a smile, "there will still be hidden health values running behind the scenes. But the player shouldn't feel like they're attacking a giant block of numbers. They should believe every strike matters."
Martel carefully recorded the idea.
"Another thing." John leaned forward. "I want every side quest to matter. They shouldn't exist merely to hand players stronger equipment or extra abilities. Side quests should reveal the world's history, introduce its people, and show what life was actually like during that era. Every mission should deepen the player's understanding of the setting."
"Naturally," he added, "the rewards still need to be worthwhile. Players should feel that their time has been respected and properly rewarded. That part goes without saying."
Martel laughed helplessly. "That... is an enormous amount of work."
John smiled, and he knew exactly why. One of the biggest weaknesses of many modern games was the repetitive design of side quests. Rather than expanding the world or enriching the story, countless side missions simply existed as filler. They weren't created to immerse players in a believable world. Instead, they served as repetitive resource farms.
This issue was especially common in action RPGs. The overall plot might depict the protagonist racing to save the world from imminent destruction. Yet the moment the player's level fell behind, or they lacked enough money to purchase a crucial item, the epic adventure suddenly came to a halt.
Instead of confronting world-ending villains, the legendary hero found himself repeatedly delivering letters for the village widow, gathering herbs for local merchants, chasing runaway livestock, or helping villagers eliminate groups of insignificant bandits. Not because those stories were meaningful... but because the developers needed padding.
Such repetitive tasks artificially extended playtime while slowing the player's progression through the main story, and John had absolutely no intention of allowing Assassin's Creed to fall into that trap.
Every side mission needed a purpose.
Every character needed a story.
And every hour the player spent exploring the world should feel worthwhile, not like meaningless busywork designed solely to increase the game's length.