This time, Arno put a lot of effort into it.
Not only did he develop the gameplay as per Takayuki's requirements, but he also paid attention to the finer details, such as the vibration feedback on the controller.
Takayuki was impressed.
In the original version of Titanfall, the controller experience was good, but it wasn't particularly remarkable—just the level you'd expect from mainstream games at the time.
But Arno was very serious about it.
This reminded Takayuki of when he taught about how even the smallest details in gameplay could elevate the experience.
One or two good details in a game might not seem significant to players.
But when more and more details add up—dozens or even hundreds of them—players will subconsciously feel that this game is indeed great.
...
Sometimes, players can't even explain why a game is fun, but they just enjoy playing it, and that's often because the game excels in the finer details.
This time, Arno's team did a great job with the vibration feature.
The GSX controller is equipped with the most advanced technology available.
This was the result of Takayuki investing over a hundred million dollars in development.
He provided the basic design for the game controller, and then the development team worked to create a controller that would fit ergonomically in players' hands as best as possible.
In the original world, the Xbox controller also cost over a hundred million dollars to develop, aiming to enhance the feel of the grip and the vibration feedback to the highest degree.
The previous generation of controllers focused heavily on vibration, using it to simulate different player actions.
It was widely praised at the time for significantly improving the gaming experience.
This generation of the GSX controller takes it a step further by adding vibration functionality to the shoulder buttons, the trigger buttons typically used for shooting in games.
By adjusting the vibration feedback, they were able to create a more nuanced shooting experience.
This feature might not appeal to competitive players who prefer stability and don't want any distractions or unwanted vibrations during gameplay.
But for new or casual players, the feeling is a huge improvement.
Now Takayuki could deeply understand this feeling.
Takayuki nodded. "Very good, this direction is excellent—using different vibration feedback to enhance immersion."
Takayuki hadn't specifically mentioned this idea, but they had come up with it on their own, and that made him quite pleased.
He couldn't just feed them everything; they needed to come up with some innovative gameplay on their own.
Arno was excited. When he first thought about improving the vibration, he had been thrilled, feeling he had found a proper way to enhance the game.
Now it seemed like he had been right.
"Just be careful not to get so caught up in the details that you lose sight of the core of the game itself."
"I know, I'll make sure to pay attention," Arno quickly responded, sounding sincere.
In this demo, it wasn't just the vibration feature that was improved. Other features Takayuki had suggested, like wall-running and double-jumping, had also been refined.
It still had some distance from the level of the original Titanfall 2, but it was nearly there.
So, Takayuki was quite satisfied with this demo.
"Good, this demo is really great. Let's use this version for the upcoming launch event."
"Launch event?" Arno looked surprised.
Takayuki said matter-of-factly, "Yes, the launch event. Our game needs the right moment to be unveiled, and that time is almost here. Plus, we have a few other games to launch as well."
When Takayuki said this, Arno suddenly became a bit nervous.
"Boss, could we wait a bit longer? If it's for a launch, I feel there's still room for improvement—like the environment and character models need more optimization."
Takayuki shook his head. "No need. This is just a demonstration of the game's early concept. It doesn't need to be perfect. Trust me, what you've done is already very good."
"But still, I feel there's some dissatisfaction..."
Takayuki gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, you've done great. Don't sell yourselves short."
In the original plan, Takayuki had already planned to attend a major entertainment exhibition.
As video games became more and more popular, just one or two exhibitions a year were no longer enough to satisfy the players' appetite.
Players now eagerly awaited more exhibitions and leaks.
For Gamestar Electronic Entertainment, it was fine—they attended their annual exhibitions and occasionally participated in international consumer electronics shows. They also had their own Gamesar Carnival where they announced various new updates.
But other game companies didn't have the same financial strength as Gamestar Electronics.
They didn't have the time or money to constantly hold these kinds of events.
Yet, they still invested a lot in advertising and promotion, which showed that their methods of promotion were somewhat outdated.
If it were Takayuki, even without much money, he would consider using online demos or live streams to increase publicity.
In this day and age, the internet had become the most mainstream way for people to communicate and be entertained, so how could it not be leveraged?
Video games and the internet were inherently connected, so it only made sense to increase promotion through online channels.
But most game companies didn't seem to realize this yet.
Still, this wasn't a huge problem. As long as the game was good, there was no fear of it not selling.
Sometimes, Takayuki even took it upon himself to promote outstanding games, which was a kind of benefit he offered to excellent creators in this world.
With that said, having only one or two major game exhibitions a year certainly felt like too few.
Takayuki remembered the big game exhibitions in the original world, where, unless affected by the pandemic, there would be online events, and offline events like E3, Gamescom, and TGS in Tokyo.
At the end of the year, there would also be the annual TGA (The Game Awards) event, where many large companies used the opportunity to promote upcoming games.
But this world still lacked such frequent events.