A Neverness to Everness Publishing Producer by the name of Tián Jiāshān recently did an interview with Game Tea House, a Chinese gaming news publisher, about NTE. In it they talked about NTE’s philosophy for the game both in development and going forward.
A user on Reddit by the name of Saunts was kind enough to share the full interview in English linked below! However for those interested, we will provide a concise summary to save you some time.
NTE’s Philosophy
According to the Developer, they strive for a player-centric experience. NTE has been living by the motto of “what you see is what you get.” Meaning that they restrain themselves from excessive packaging and hype. As well, they want to face the players with sincerity, both in listening to feedback and in talking about the state of the game.
Tián Jiāshān followed this up by talking about how NTE is the first of its kind as an “Urban open-world” game. He mentions that while this is a great advantage to have, it is not without its risk. There is no reference model for inspiration. Stating that to overcome this, they have focused on a restrained publicity strategy to anchor public expectations. This allows NTE to make sure they can continuously deliver on those expectations rather than fail to meet them.
Chinese Market Share and PC Focus
When speaking of expectations, they began to talk about their Chinese user base. He mentioned that the theme of the urban setting has really resonated with their users, with many users asking for more urban content. Jiāshān mentions that their feelings have been heard that the urban gameplay will be gaining more of an emphasis in the future of NTE.
The talk about the domestic Chinese market then turned to talk about their market share. Tián Jiāshān confirmed that within the Chinese market, 60% of their players use PC. This is unlike most Gacha games, especially in China, as their user market share is focused on the mobile market. When asked if this difference was a concern for Jiāshān and NTE, he said the team has not taken measures to address this public perception. He reiterated that the quality of NTE is the focus rather than conforming to the market.
After that, he mentioned that what is important to them, more than the market perception, is community feedback. NTE is constantly looking for feedback in the community through different sources, such as social media. NTE views player feedback as an important reference for addressing “user pain points” and capturing their expectations.
Exploring the Possibilities of the City
Tián Jiāshān, when asked about the “Possibility of the City”, says it gives them a large amount of versatility. He mentions that the urban scene allows them to create a strong sense of immersion for the players. Meanwhile, the fantastical elements break the rules of reality. This combination is what allows them to create fresh and differentiated content within the urban setting. He then mentions that NTE doesn’t want to rely solely on new characters and maps to attract users. Instead, providing innovative gameplay elements may help avoid “version fatigue” for the players.
The Future of Collaborations
When asked about the recent Porsche collaboration and its success, Tián Jiāshān mentioned that it was quite successful. He then stated that it both shows these collaborations can amplify the urban open-world theme that NTE has, as well as showing that collaborations are feasible for NTE and this genre going forward.
This leads naturally to the question of the next collaboration. While we did not get any confirmation about a new one, he says it is an important operation tool for the future, but will not be a standardized routine. They are focused on the experience, rather than focusing on collaborations. Jiāshān reiterates multiple times that fitting the theme and content are the most important aspects of collaborations. NTE want the collaborations to fit into the world naturally, rather than changing the world for the collaboration.
The Urban Open-World Genre
Finally, they talked about his views on the Urban Open-World concept mentioned previously. Jiāshān talks about how it shouldn’t be simply classified as a genre, gameplay vehicle, or an independent track. It is a label for the game to help players form a quick impression.
He then follows up by stating the urban theme is just one kind of open-world setting. However, the genre is not a moat that protects NTE. He emphasizes that more similar titles will appear in the future. Because of this, he then states that NTE can’t just rely on being this genre. Finishing off the interview, he says that the unique story, gameplay design, and immersion within this genre is what will retain players — and that is NTE’s focus.
With this interview, Tián Jiāshān has made NTE’s priorities clear. Going forward, NTE truly cares about their community and is very much paying attention to its players and working to continually create an enjoyable experience focused on them.
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