'Star Iron' has just turned one year old. Why did it decide to spend money to make players 'enjoyed'?

The "Honkai: Star Rail" (hereinafter referred to as "Star Rail") concert on the night of May 1st was somewhat beyond my original expectations.

Before the official performance started, the venue was already filled with players from all over the world. As soon as I found a seat and sat down, a pair of friendly hands stretched out beside me - a "no material" from a couple, sent to all the people nearby.

This is a small kindness from someone who is a close friend, but it is also an "identity card" that will never be sent to the wrong person. Before stepping into the venue, I never expected to receive such an unexpected surprise at the venue.

And some of the performances in the concert were even more eye-opening for me: when showing the characters "Blade" and "Kingryu" who are good at sword dancing in the game, they really appeared on the stage. Actors who danced with swords; and in the section showing the "Xianzhou" Luofu city scene, I saw with my own eyes lion dance, disc spinning, and even acrobatic projects such as the intangible cultural heritage skill "Wind Fire Meteor" appeared in front of me...

My reaction at the time was almost exactly the same as these barrages

Although the moment I saw these concert programs, the question came to my mind more than once The feasibility of this kind of attempt is doubtful, but under the deafening music and the cheers of the players like a mountain and a tsunami, I think that "Star Iron" can really make more attempts like this in the future...

Star Dome Train, let’s go!

The concert started with a violin performance by Kafka. From the moment she implanted the "star core" into the pioneers and brought life to them, this woman has continued to play an important role in the player's journey. Therefore, when her elegant figure appeared on the big screen, the whole audience seemed to fall into an unspeakable "restlessness"...

While playing At the end of the performance, Kafka suddenly turned around and told us that she had left a "little surprise" on the ticket. When I found the "lip print" she left on the ticket, she was no longer on the stage, leaving only the screams of the players after they suddenly realized what was going on.

Perhaps, this sense of mystery and distance is why she can ignite the whole audience.

After the opening of Kafka’s Explosion, another character closely related to the pioneers, March 7, came on the stage. After performing a series of "little magic" that lit up the fluorescent sticks in the audience, as she and the players in the audience shouted the slogan "Star Dome Train, let's go!", the concert finally came to the main line - follow the star dome. The train’s footprints review the pioneers’ journey over the past year step by step.

There were also many players outside the field who shouted "departure" instead of "start", which caused a roar of laughter

In the "Black Tower" space station section , I can not only hear the cynicism and "everything is game" attitude of this genius hacker in Silver Wolf's "Improvisation", but I can also see the big screen split and arranged into a torso and two wings. shape, recalling the sense of oppression brought by the "Doomsday Beast" BOSS...

After bidding farewell to the "Black Tower" space station, the Star Dome Train came to Yaliluo- No. Ⅵ and the fairy boat "Luofu", and witnessed many unforgettable stories in these two places, among which the most impressive part is the fairy boat.

When the singer Yousu of "Water Dragon Song" and his iconic high notes appeared in the center of the stage, the shock that I felt when I first met came to my heart again, because in the song itself In addition to the majestic atmosphere, almost everyone in the audience was singing in unison. Just when I picked up my phone and prepared to record this moment, I realized that there was also light shining under the dazzling stage - almost everyone, like me, chose to record this unforgettable moment.

Then, the pioneering journey came to the world-famous resort, Pinoconi.

When I first arrived here, the first impression this place gave me was that of luxury and wealth, as well as a dream-like illusion and mistiness. However, when Chevy himself appeared on the stage with the song CV of Mockingbird, all those things were left behind because I knew that the next part was going to be exciting.

Accompanied by the music of "Save a Heart from Sorrow", Chevy stood on a slowly rising suspended stage. When the stage rose to the top and the background of the big screen behind it was switched to Liu Ying's "secret base", the emotions that had been accumulated for a long time were released. The freely retractable singing and movements not only symbolized Chevy's entry into the state, but also provided a platform for everyone. He gave an almost perfect performance.

This song is so addictive for the players that after it ended, some excited players took advantage of the break to shout out with all their strength. "I am Liuying's dog" and once again attracted wild cheers from the players in the audience.

When the ruthless "Sam" wearing armor appeared on the stage, the atmosphere of the whole performance was once again pushed to a climax. Every time Sam waved his armor, the audience was stunned. There will be bursts of screams, and I can hardly tell whether it is music or human voices echoing in my ears, because they have already been mixed together with the enthusiasm of the performance...

In the end, as everyone in the venue shouted for "encore" (one more song), conductor Pam appeared in the center of the stage. As the familiar login BGM "Star Railroad" sounded in my ears, all the character sketches from the beginning of the server began to appear on the screen. Then, the sky full of gold confetti began to float from the top of the stage to the infield, announcing the end of the concert. Everyone in the audience also raised their light sticks and mobile phones, while shouting in unison, "May this trip be successful in the end." "To reach the stars", while desperately taking photos and recording, wanting to keep this precious moment.

# Burning money to do concerts just to make players "enjoyed"?

If we put it five years ago or even earlier, when talking about the topic of domestic game concerts, most people could think of "World of Warcraft", "DOTA2" and other overseas games. A masterpiece of PC games, they used carnivals and TI opening ceremonies to leave precious memories for the players of that era.

Now, as major domestic game companies such as MiHoYo and Tencent continue to deepen their efforts in the field of IP creation, domestically produced continuously operating games have also begun to participate in "game concerts" and try to give games more meaning and content.

But in the final analysis, for "Star Iron", game concerts are still an "unknown territory" after all. How to do it and in what form are all practical problems before us. Regarding how to solve the problem, "Star Iron" used a "stupid" method derived from making games: "full" the specifications and details of the content in a form that players like to see and hear.

First of all, the "Star Iron" concert did not choose the commonly used and extremely cost-effective presentation method of "music screen animation", but spent great efforts to directly invite Starring real people. For songs that are very popular among players, such as "Wild Fire", "Water Dragon Song" and "Sleepless Night", you can directly hear the real singing voice of the original singer at the scene...

Secondly, in addition to singing In addition to the "trash can" and other familiar "memes" that players are stuffed into the warm-up animation CM, during the concert, we can find many details that only "Star Iron" players can discover.

During the "Water Dragon Song" part, the water column on the field will pass through waves, swings, and undulations in addition to operations such as merging and separating according to the different parts of the music. and other combined actions to simulate the process of Dan Heng opening the sea with the power of Dragon Master in the game. In addition, these water columns can also form a "water curtain" that displays images. When the song reached its climax, in addition to Dan Heng's heroic figure on the big screen behind him, the "Wandering Dragon" that ran through the entire water curtain from left to right made the audience burst into shouts of surprise.

When the spotlight came to "Mirror Flow" and "Blade", in addition to the sword dance mentioned at the beginning, the concert also left more in it Details closely related to the game.

Under the bright moonlight, the mirror flow part was completed by two actors in black and white costumes. By blindfolding the "mirror flow" in black clothes, the "mirror flow" in white clothes was "Liu" is masked to represent Jingliu's split personality; the music reaches its climax, Jingliu's iconic "shining across all rivers" shot is paired with the mournful violin melody, and her state of mind is also revealed one by one, which is even more... Let the audience be completely immersed in the emotions of the song "The Sword Comes Out Without Return".

The next step is the "blade" part. The lights on the stage are dim. Except for the actors in the center, all the confrontations on the stage are replaced by light beams and light curtains. And when the red light beam "hit" the actor's chest, the evil and crazy side of "Blade" was completely released. The passionate suona and frantic sword dance complemented each other, making people can't help but recall his performance in the movie. The performance in the character PV is almost identical...

Compared with regular concerts, "Star Iron" obviously has higher requirements for concerts. This high standard and carefully designed details allow players to find a sense of belonging and identity in addition to enjoying the concert. In other words, it is precisely because of this that players enjoy watching it so much and feel so "cool" about it.

From a business perspective and cost-effectiveness, "Star Iron", which spent a lot of money on its first concert and was full of details and specifications, seems to be a bit "eccentric". But from the perspective of players and IP creation, perhaps it is this kind of content regardless of cost that is what makes the "Star Iron" concert special.

Can the success of the "Star Iron" concert be replicated?

After talking about the "daughter" treatment of the "Star Iron" concert, it's time to talk about the question in the subtitle: Can the "Star Iron" concert be copied?

As an event that directly relies on game content, the music, performance format and other content of the concert are all derived from the "Star Iron" game. Therefore, the essence of the concert is still a test of the game's content.

Traditional game offline activities are mostly designed around IP, and all content is also served around the IP itself. This kind of thinking is doomed that whether it is in game music or concerts, the content and form they want to express will be "framed" on the existing content of IP.

The idea of ​​"Star Iron" is almost completely opposite. While ensuring the quality of the content, "Star Iron" focuses more on the spiritual core behind the content. and the cultural heritage displayed thereby.

Take the BGM "Cicada Song", which appeared at the concert and is affectionately called "Cyber ​​Chanting" by players, as an example. This song is a traditional intangible cultural heritage popular in the southeastern Guizhou region of my country. On the basis of "Dong Song", a series of modern and popular fusions have been carried out, allowing players to have a deeper understanding and enlightenment of our country's traditional music culture in addition to reminiscing about the battle with the BOSS "Huanhu".

Although the tracks are all from games, the connotations they express are not limited to games, but should carry more content. Whether it is the "Star Iron" concert or the music played for players, they are trying to bring more to everyone beyond their own definition.

In other words, the reason why concerts can attract players is ultimately because their content accurately meets the needs of players - starting from players, creating content that is of interest to players and oriented to players, and this is also The policy that the "Star Iron" game itself has always implemented.

Behind every successful game concert is a long-term accumulation of content. And if you want to do this well, in addition to the "burning money" behavior that is full of specifications and details, whether the game content can show so much content, and whether it can carry more meaning and expectations in addition to these contents, this is This is what needs to be thought about behind the concert. This is true for miHoYo, and even more so for other manufacturers and games.

Finally

After walking out of the venue, I could still see many players outside who were still unsatisfied. They were either communicating with each other, reminiscing about their feelings when their favorite characters appeared, or they were sorting through the mountains of photos and videos on their phones, eager to share this precious offline trip with their friends who could not make it to the scene. Although everyone came from all over the world and had to go their separate ways after the concert, I think that for them, this was a wonderful moment that was deeply impressive and worth recalling again and again.

Because everyone who comes here is full of expectations, and the "Star Iron" concert not only responds to this expectation, but also gives the players more unexpected surprises.

And this scene is very similar to the current situation of "Star Iron". This is not only the secret of this game being recognized by thousands of players, but also the inexhaustible driving force that supports other games for a long time.

The above is the detailed content of 'Star Iron' has just turned one year old. Why did it decide to spend money to make players 'enjoyed'?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!