“I will definitely make it.”
SageZX introduced me to his game Godfall in the house where I lived in junior high school.
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This is an apartment located near the Fourth Ring Road in Beijing. Glancing at the bookcase, you can see ancient game disk boxes inside through the glass cabinet door. From the early “Jin Yong's Heroes” and “Cats and Dogs” to the later “Warcraft 3”, they are filled with an entire row as wide as one wall. . The collection of books is relatively mixed. From comics and light novels given by friends in middle school to the Kezhe series of books with uniform bindings, they are all placed on the shelves in categories.
The materials prepared for the interview have been taken out from the bookcase: several issues of “Popular Software” in 1998, scratch paper full of graffiti in high school, and colorful character posters painted with gouache after improving my painting skills in college – many of them look similar to “The Coming of God's Sin” has nothing to do with it, but it is actually related. It is the process of continuous iteration of inspiration and “imagination” in his own mind.
This large-scale visual novel has been in production for 15 years, and it has been officially developed for 6 years. SageZX wants to use the size of 7 games, 44 characters, 5,500 illustrations and backgrounds, and 2 million words of text to build “an excellent drama story.” This story will involve the secret truth of the universe and the entanglement between “long-lost lovers” across time and space.
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April 18th is the day when the actual gameplay of “The Coming of God” will be released for the first time. Before that, I tried out the demo of this game. The demo consists of several key story segments and lasts nearly 2 hours. It has strong personal production characteristics, especially the style of vertically drawn characters with strong lines. The overall UI and font style seem a bit ancient, or old-school. The narrative style is also relatively traditional: it places great emphasis on descriptive scenes and picture performances, more like a true visual novel, and is quite different from the mainstream AVG currently on the market.
Because the demo mainly consists of clips with a sense of atmosphere and tension, and in order to “prevent spoilers”, it does not reflect much on the specific plot, so it is difficult to see the direction of the plot and setting. Information about the plot was basically revealed by SageZX in interviews.
In the past 15 years, SageZX has certainly not been producing “God's Sin” all the time. But it did sprout from a joke among classmates in middle school – just like “SageZX”, a name he has used on several platforms for many years. During the two-and-a-half-hour interview, we talked about a lot of things about “Sin of God”: SageZX's preferences, concepts, development process, and what information we can reveal about the work without spoiling it.
The prototype of a grand world
“ZX” is the initials of his real name, and “Sage” comes from a “sect” he founded in his class in high school. This “sect” has no practical meaning and is more like a symbol of a self-created order. Almost the entire class is a member of the “sect” and has the title of “Saint So-and-so”. As the “leader”, he still uses the title SageZX to this day.
Similar traces of a somewhat “secondary” collective creation were left on the old manuscript paper he dug out. Since elementary school, SageZX likes to draw on paper with a pen. At that time, real-time strategy games were popular. Draw a map on paper, and most of the class would join in to play it during recess. Later, cards became popular, so he drew cards on paper; when “Final Fantasy 7” became popular, he also wrote fan fiction… That's when some original characters and original concepts began to sprout. It's a pity that most of those things were confiscated by the teacher, and he didn't keep the rest. There were only bits and pieces of manuscript paper left to show me.
Around 2004 or 2005, SageZX and a few close classmates began to dream up fragments of a grand world. There were several mysterious organizations in that world, and one of them also had a “leader”… They divided their labors to write and draw on the manuscript paper, leaving behind various characters and settings. The images and names of many characters at that time came from real life. He pointed casually: “Look, this character's name is actually a homophone of 'sodium chloride'. He was in chemistry class at the time. That 'silver chloride' is his brother… The other character is actually the one who took our class' front The prototype made by the leader…”
When chatting at that time, the classmate hoped that the work would be “officially launched in 2016.” SageZX also feels that 2016 is very far away: “It takes so long! Are you looking down on me?”
I never thought that the actual time was longer than that, and the story and characters had changed a lot. From time to time, SageZX pointed to a certain doodle and told me, “This is a certain character later in the game, but with a different name.” Then he pointed to another draft and said, “This character later appeared intact in the first part of the game.” … And most of the students forget these things after graduation. “The only people who know this now are my very close classmates (who we discussed together back then), but things have changed and we haven't contacted each other for a long time…”
Only SageZX couldn't give up the idea of telling this story in full. From high school to college, those fantasy fragments gradually became larger and more mature in his mind, and gradually began to connect together to become a large-scale fictional world.
“I thought it should be a good story,” SageZX said. Because this story is “different from the ones on the market” and “there are many beautiful things on the market, but they have no characteristics and are the same.” He feels that his story will have a strong personal color, so he also has a strong sense of control. The desire it expresses.
But at that time, he didn't have that many choices. In other words, he didn't have that many “skill points.” He thought about writing the story into a novel or drawing a comic. He showed me several character posters drawn with gouache during college. The picture completion was much improved compared to that in middle school, and he also drew many complete page storyboard drafts. But these forms always feel like something is missing. At that time, he had no idea that it could be turned into a game.
“After all, in the early 2000s, I felt that being able to play games was quite far away. It was not so convenient to make games at that time, right?” He also joked that when he was a child, he only focused on the game guides when he read “Popular Software” and did not pay attention to them. I have read articles about industries and manufacturers, “Otherwise I would definitely study computer science. I think I am quite talented in CS.”
When he was in college, he majored in chemistry. “Chemistry is not particularly interesting, especially when you are brushing test tubes and waiting for the results from the instrument.” So he basically spends his spare time drawing his own stories. It was at that time that the Internet developed somewhat, and he came into contact with an engine that could produce visual novels, the popular KrKr at the time. After trying it out for a short time, he immediately realized that “this thing can turn my imagination into reality”, and it is a more vivid reality than novels and comics.
He still remembers that the first complete clip he made was the beginning of the demo. A pair of sisters who are obviously not ordinary people (also important characters in the protagonist group) encountered the mysterious enemy “Black Shadow” at night, so they took out their weapons and engaged in a shootout and thrilling struggle with them. He was very excited when he saw his words and imaginary pictures moving. “I was so happy that I even made playable effects.” Different from the more pure form of visual novels today, the clip at that time included a shooting mini-game where players could aim at the black shadows and shoot.
“Visual novels can really do a lot of things. I can even realize some functions that other people who also used this program couldn't do or developed at the time.” In addition, he also made some achievements in painting at that time. After making progress, the picture was put into the program and the effect looked much more beautiful than the original draft. He was very satisfied. SageZX can still recall the excitement of seeing the first complete sequence come to life – the characters he had repeatedly drawn on paper for so many years were actually placed in the dramatic scenes he had dreamed of.
Practical matters still take priority. As a graduate student, he went to the United States to study architecture. His major still has nothing to do with games, but he feels that architecture is very practical, and the modeling techniques he learned are also used in games. After several iterations, some of the backgrounds in the game that look very realistic and photo-like are currently rendered by him after modeling based on real-life scenes. He pointed out to me in the room which part was the interior of the “modified” room, and which part was the four office buildings outside the window of the “modified”… “As long as you stand at the right angle, what you will see is The scene is exactly the same as in the game. “Unlike directly processing real-life photos, modeling allows him to freely remove elements that interfere with the picture in the real scene.
Since graduate school, including later working in a construction company, SageZX has only been playing games in his spare time. Some of the graduate students' classes were taken standing up. Sometimes he would stare at the program or draw pictures for too long the night before. While listening, he would suddenly fall asleep and fall to the side with a bang, scaring his classmates. A jump.
But none of that takes away from one thing: it’s a lot of fun making stories that stick with you. When SageZX was still working in a construction company, colleagues would hold small entertainment gatherings, and everyone would show everyone the interesting things they did. “Everyone thinks what I make is the most interesting.” This makes him feel very satisfied.
So here it is, 2018. SageZX felt that the process of making “The Coming of God” was not too difficult – even as a person with no previous production experience, it was not difficult for him to make such a large game from the beginning. Because “I have already gone through the pitfalls and preparations I have to make when I was a student, and I have redone them many times.” There is no problem with his ability in plot, painting and programming. The only problem is “a race against time.” He found that if he continued to work part-time like this, he would probably not be able to finish the game. So, in 2018, he found investment and started making games full-time.
“Original visual novel”
Now looking back at the traces of this work on the Internet, SageZX once briefly released information about “The Coming of God” on the Tieba, including several promotional pictures and some character pictures, and also established its own Tieba. But the last time he updated his progress on Tieba was around 2018. After that, apart from the official website, there was little other information available on the Internet until now.
“I may be more old-school,” he explained. “I tend to wait until the work is almost done and can be seen by people before promoting it.” He realized that “this style of play is no longer the case” and more and more people The work will be promoted very early, and then a demo or preview version will be released. The production team will also closely publish information and update updates on the Internet. But this method made him feel uncomfortable, and he still wanted to do it at his own pace.
Also in 2018, SageZX found angel investment for Sinister. At that time, the framework of the game was already completed, and the content of the first part was almost completed. With an outline of hundreds of thousands of words, he explained the game's features and market expectations to investors in detail. Investors recognized it very much, and SageZX successfully obtained “sufficient funds to complete development” and established NBDR Games.
But now, the environment is different. Not only is it harder to find investment, but the overall market environment and audience tastes are also changing. This is a problem that SageZX and “The Coming of God”, which has gone through such a long development cycle, have to face.
Changes in audience tastes are a more important aspect. During the demo process, I felt that “The Coming of God” does tend to be the most traditional visual novel. It has a large descriptive text and attaches great importance to the performance on the screen. It has a large amount of information and a slow pace. This makes it different from the more mainstream AVG games that focus on dialogue and interactivity.
This is the effect SageZX wants to pursue. “The plot comes first, it is first and foremost a novel,” he emphasized this point, “and the effect of the performance will make it like a movie that cannot speak. The plot foundation of the novel and the effect of the performance are both very important. “
He uses “original visual novel” to describe his work, and believes that the game form of visual novel or AVG gives the novel as a carrier more possibilities and stronger expressive power. “It neither loses the literary nature of the words nor the performative nature of the pictures. Compared with other literary and artistic works, for example, movies may cut off a lot of text for the sake of entertainment, so the literary quality is not as good as that of novels; novels are not. Graphics…” he said, “I strongly disagree with the idea that visual novels are just for people who are new to the game industry. It is a very mature category in itself.”
But this type of work will have a certain audience threshold. When discussing with an old classmate before, the other party told him that combining multiple elements will not expand the audience, but will limit the audience even more narrowly. “If your thing has words, people who don't like to read will definitely not play it, right? You have paintings, but people who can't experience the beauty of paintings won't play it. You also have music, and people who don't know how to appreciate music won't play it… So in fact, the more good things you provide to people, the higher your aesthetic requirements will be, and you will eliminate a lot of potential audiences.”
He has always understood that people's tastes are constantly changing. Just like the current two-dimensional fans who are born after 2000, their favorite things are definitely different from those of his generation. And over the years, he has gradually felt that there are fewer and fewer things he likes to play with. For example, “When Umineko Cries” is an “eternal masterpiece” in his mind, which has changed his concept of the “visual novel” category; and the core of the old version of “Neon Genesis Evangelion” and the new theatrical version are also very different difference.
“The things I make may be more aimed at former players as the direct audience,” he concluded, “but I still believe that good things can transcend eras. If the plot is good enough, the new generation of players will also like it. “
Another thing that must be faced is that the game market is now very “volumey”. There are many works with exquisite music and pictures. The first impression of “The Coming of God” is definitely not as polished as in previous years.
But SageZX doesn’t think there will be any problems with the quality of “The Coming of God”: “If I feel that the quality has not been achieved, I will find a way to make it achieve it, so there will be no saying that the quality is not up to standard.”
This statement is not derived from comparison, but from the difference in emphasis he wants to express in his works. “For example, the advantage of major manufacturers is capital, so they will rely on money to produce the most mainstream pictures that are most in line with the aesthetics of the public audience.” He said, “But it is difficult for them to produce real features. If they want to produce pictures A really good plot is also difficult.”
This is SageZX's own advantage. His paintings are self-taught, unique and unique. “My painting style is actually not very Japanese,” he emphasized when I asked him if he was influenced by Japanese works. “There are many Chinese things in the costume design of my characters. This style of painting that emphasizes external strokes is also unique. “
He planned the plot very carefully. In the public promotional materials, he emphasized that the plot of this work is “written from the end, and every detail is worked out”, so it cannot be unfinished. He unfolded an extremely long scroll in front of me, with a large table densely printed on it. In order to prevent me from seeing clearly what was written on the watch, he stood very far away from me and started to show it. “This is the event table of all seven plots, the main story, side stories, everyone's birth and death, spanning tens of billions of years.”
He believes that most of the popular plots nowadays do not conform to the rules of succession and integration of old-school works. Including Netflix's recent popular dramas, they all start with a catch-all, throwing out a particularly big suspense, as if the situation is very serious, but then the plot becomes weak, with heavy thunder and little rain. His ideal narrative rhythm should be like the old version of “Star Wars” in 1977, with ups and downs throughout, and exciting parts until the end.
To this end, he set up at least three reversals for the background story of “The Coming of God”, and the main text has even more reversals – but refused to reveal more. “In short, the Boss you thought was in the middle of the plot is definitely not the Boss.” He described it to me in a very abstract way.
Some of the external recognition it has received so far also gives SageZX confidence. On the one hand, there will definitely be no problem with the game's music, because the partner he found is the team that was responsible for the theme song of “Steins Gate”. He is intensively discussing with the other party via email the direction of the production of the theme song for “The Coming of God”.
“They actually don't charge much. For artists of their level, money is probably not that important.” SageZX told me, “So the main thing is mutual recognition. That is, everyone appreciates what each other has made, and this may also be An 'old school' style of play.”
At the same time, publishers and dubbing companies also came to express their intention to cooperate. “Even when my game was still just a framework, I was contacted one after another by publishing and dubbing companies, expressing great interest.” SageZX told me. Among the many publishers, the American company JAST, which publishes many famous Japanese Galgames and AVGs, also came here. SageZX is very excited. He lives in Sacramento, USA, and JAST's office is in San Diego. He immediately took an hour's flight and ran to the other party's office. There they signed a memorandum of cooperation. Depending on the development situation, JAST may take over the English distribution and localization of “Sin of God” in the future.
Project Management and Author Purity
If it is said that “SageZX has been working on “Sin of God” for 15 years”, it is a certain exaggeration. After all, he can only develop it in his spare time for a long time. However, from 2018 to now, SageZX has actually been working full-time for 6 years. . The difficulty of getting this done isn't just a matter of belief that “it's going to be done.” At its core, making games is hard work. For many people who identify as “creators”, what hinders them from persevering is not the creation itself, but the long period of repetitive work after the initial realization of inspiration.
SageZX went through the same process. According to him, the character design work and story of “The Coming of God” were completed a long time ago – this is actually the most interesting part of the entire creative process, accounting for only about 10%. The remaining 90% is just slowly filling in the framework with thousands of pictures and millions of words.
This means many things: patience, organization, and even determination. SageZX did project management from the day production started. On the one hand, it is to organize all the plots and character settings, and on the other hand, it also allows me to quickly find the production requirements and usage positions among the vast sea of vertical paintings, backgrounds, CGs, music, sound effects, and special effects.
He brought out several tomes. The thickest one is a full-color printed illustration of the characters, and the second thickest one is a vertically illustrated index that looks like an entire dictionary. Each expression of each character corresponds to a number, and behind the number is the basic information of the picture: emotion, purpose and importance are all marked. “Because when you draw 5,000 pictures at the end, you don't know what you wanted to do when you drew a certain picture before…” He pointed to me a vertical painting numbered SB0022: “Look at this picture. The picture is the basis of SB0021. I will write down where to use it and how to do it, which is a specific description. If I don’t write it down, I will forget it later. To control the drawing standards and ensure that the drawn pictures can be filled in the appropriate places when needed.
“This is a very tedious project management. Maybe it shouldn't be done by one person.” He pointed to the pile of information and said, “In an average company, no one would be willing to manage such a complex project. It will probably take a while to find someone to do it. Resigned.”
It's hard to say why SageZX can make a game for so many years. He attributed this to his personality: “Maybe I am the kind of person who can persist. As long as I sit down and do it, I can keep doing it.” In other words, after doing this for so many years, it has become a Kind of like a responsibility thing. “A qualified producer must be able to endure the next 90% of the work, otherwise no matter how good your idea is, the output will be terrible.” He said.
Now, “The Coming of God” is gradually moving in a direction that satisfies SageZX. “I hope it is a very pure work.” Besides “old school”, “pure” is the word he mentions most. Part of it is reflected in the mechanics: Although he made interactive elements such as shooting mini-games very early, he eventually removed them because he hoped that players could focus more on the plot. So is the picture. Although many scenes are based on reality, he removed many complicated elements when modeling to make these scenes appear cleaner and more spacious. “There can't be too many plugs and the like, and they can't be as crowded as school halls and hospital corridors in real life.” A lot of clutter…”
But the most important thing is to be pure as an author. He took down the novel “Sky Realm” from the bookshelf, which he bought when he was a student. It uses a perspective switching technique, so that readers don't know whose perspective they are experiencing the story from when reading. You may have to look back for a while before you realize, “It turns out this is this person here”!
This narrative technique has certain risks, because it may make readers feel confused, and may even “give up” because of it. But SageZX appreciates this risk-taking in narrative and feels that it “embodies the purity of the author without embodying anything particularly commercial.” In “The Coming of God”, he also adopted a similar approach: players may not understand who they are “playing” for a long time.
Conclusion
At the end of the interview, SageZX took me from another exit of the community to the street. “This is the scene where you encounter the black shadow at the beginning of the game. It's exactly the same, but there were no street lights when that scene was made, and the street was very dark.” He pointed out to me as he walked, “So at the beginning of the game, there is a haunted house at the entrance of the community. Interesting?”
Looking further afield, the courtyard walls, tree shadows, and glass curtain wall buildings across the street are indeed reflected in the game. He made his life into “Sin”, and the long development process of “Sin” has now become his life.
But I still have to ask that awkward question: What would he do if the response to the first two parts of “The Coming of God” was not as good as expected after it was released?
“I will be sad. Of course I will be sad.” SageZX said, “But I am an optimistic person. If I were not optimistic, I would not be able to spend so many years doing this; if I was not optimistic, this game would never be I can’t meet you all.”
So instead of controlling unpredictable market feedback, SageZX feels that the most important thing now is to make the game, and “I will definitely make it.”