Ma Shangfei stared at those two words for a long time.
Fishing, what's so great about it?
Feeding fish, maybe?
Seeing Old Ma's confusion, Jiang Bo began to explain directly.
"Players start with a broken fishing rod and gradually unlock new waters, new fish species, and new equipment."
"On the surface, it's fishing."
"In reality, it's a grand expedition of humanity into the underwater world!"
"It's extreme hunting."
"It's a top-level tug-of-war between humans and fish!"
Hearing this, Ma Shangfei's mouth twitched slightly.
Though it sounded a bit far-fetched, if the fish behavior was realistic enough, the sense of accomplishment from catching a rare fish would indeed be much greater than just reeling in a big fish with stacked stats.
After all, for players, it's about truly conquering a fish based on their observation, judgment, and attempts.
Of course, excluding the newbie halo.
It sounds strange, but isn't that what anglers are like?
Even while standing on the shore, their minds are already strategizing against the fish underwater.
Sheng Tinglan followed this line of thought.
"If this is the gameplay, the selling points are clear."
"Players who can't catch fish will be frustrated, those who catch rare fish will take screenshots to show off, and the Fish Encyclopedia can spark a collection interest."
"Moreover, in my experience, the game's scenes seem easier to control, focusing on one water area at a time without needing to create an open world map all at once."
Jiang Bo nodded.
"Exactly!"
"That's why I chose it."
"The fishing theme naturally suits a smaller scale."
"Now, what's the biggest complaint players have about 'I Picked Up the Imperial Jade Seal!'?"
Ma Shangfei didn't even need to think.
"The map is too small."
"Right."
Jiang Bo nodded.
"They all say you can only experience the neighborhood, clearly seeing the Xinghai Group, knowing there's a bigger world outside, but unable to go out."
"So, for this game, we'll do the opposite."
"They say there's only one map?"
"Then 'Great Angler' will be set up as a game where you can continuously unlock new maps, new waters, and new areas."
"From the village entrance wild river to the city park lake."
"From the reservoir to the wetlands."
"From the countryside to the city."
"Each new area has different fish species, different weather, different water temperatures, different terrains, and different fish activity patterns."
"When players catch new fish, they unlock the Fish Encyclopedia."
"With the profits, they can upgrade rods, lines, hooks, bait, boats, and even unlock new fish-finding equipment."
"In reality, it's a growth game of constantly exploring new areas, perfecting the Fish Encyclopedia, and challenging bigger catches."
"And to enrich our game, each fish species has its own activity patterns."
"For example, some fish like to feed near the shore in the morning, while others prefer swimming in deep waters at night."
"Some fish are greatly affected by the weather, changing water layers immediately when the pressure shifts."
"Our game must consider time, water temperature, weather, and even bait!"
Ma Shangfei was initially skeptical.
But as he listened, his expression grew more serious.
If they really followed this approach, this game would definitely be popular!
But... with so much complexity, can it still be considered a normal casual game?
"Boss, with this approach, the development difficulty won't be low!"
"If we start from scratch, the timeline might be even more troublesome than the Jade Seal."
"Don't worry about that."
Jiang Bo remained calm.
"I happen to have a set of ancestral code."
????
Ma Shangfei even doubted his ears.
"Ancestral code?"
Jiang Bo nodded.
Ma Shangfei opened his mouth.
"President Jiang, was your family in the aquarium business?"
"You don't need to worry about this."
"To be honest, it's actually a global fish behavior model for the entire Encyclopedia!"
"The specific source isn't important."
"In short, this stuff is amazing! Just wrap it up, and it can run directly!"
"We don't have to build fish behavior from scratch; we just need to design waters, tasks, the Encyclopedia, and the growth system around it, with force feedback."
"So, although this game seems to have a lot of content, the actual development pressure isn't as big as you think."
Ma Shangfei was half-convinced.
As a programmer, he wanted to retort that code can't just be passed down like that.
But recalling Jiang Bo's previous control over 'I Picked Up the Imperial Jade Seal!' and those outrageous yet feasible gameplay designs, he swallowed his retort.
What if?
What if President Jiang's family really did research fish?
What if they started coding in C++ during the Guangxu era?
It doesn't seem entirely impossible.
Anyway, whether the code is ancestral or from somewhere else, as long as it runs and has no bugs, it's good code!
"Alright, boss, if that's the case, it does reduce a lot of work!"
"What about the maps?"
"You mentioned from the village entrance wild river to the city park lake, from the reservoir to the wetlands, that sounds like a lot."
"We still have to make these ourselves, right?"
Jiang Bo had clearly anticipated this.
"That's what I want to emphasize next!"
"First, we need to understand, what is an angler? Anglers are people who would go out in the middle of the night to feed mosquitoes for a good fishing spot, endure forty-degree heat, or even brave storms without packing up!" Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping.com.
"So, our environmental depiction must be top-notch!"
"But we can't be greedy, so I thought, to reduce everyone's development pressure and control costs, for the initial release, we'll choose just five water area maps!"
"Each map should have clear regional characteristics and gameplay differences!"
"They can also correspond to the player's growth stages from novice to master!"
This eased the expressions of the group considerably.
Five.
That's manageable.
The workload is already quite reduced!
"The first map is called Village Entrance Wild River."
"This is the player's starting point."
"The environment shouldn't be too grand; it should be down-to-earth."
"Players start with a fishing rod, sitting by the river catching minnows, crucian carp, and small miscellaneous fish."
Zhou Guangqi's eyes lit up.
That feeling was instantly there.
Many players haven't caught big fish, but who hasn't seen the village entrance river as a child?
Weeds along the bank, leaves floating in the water, occasionally a small fish darting across the surface.
Such a scene isn't hard to create and is very memorable.
Jiang Bo continued describing the second map.
"The second map, City Park Lake."
"Players will gradually encounter larger ornamental fish, grass carp, and snakehead fish from the small fish in the wild river."
"The third map, Suburban Reservoir."
"The atmosphere starts to change with this map."
"Bigger fish can be placed here, and real giant fish rumors can start appearing."
"The fourth map, High-Priced Black Pond on the Outskirts."
"The focus here is on the game with the Black Pond owner, and players need to pay to choose good spots!"
Jiang Bo finished describing the first four maps in one breath.
Ma Shangfei, Sheng Tinglan, and Zhou Guangqi listened intently, nodding repeatedly.
Among the five maps, the first few were already very clear.
Each map isn't just a reskin; it has its own gameplay focus.
"What about the fifth map? Is the ultimate boss map deep-sea fishing? Catching great white sharks? Or fishing for arapaima in the Amazon River?"
"Are we going out to sea?"
Their appetites were thoroughly whetted.
In their subconscious, since the first four maps progressed so perfectly, the fifth map, as the ultimate map of the initial release, must be an epic water area with immense grandeur and visual impact!
However.
Facing their expectant gazes.
Jiang Bo's smile suddenly became more serious.
He looked at them and said the name of the final map, word by word.
"No-Fishing Zone!"
"Or you could call it Controlled Waters!"