To be honest, there are really not many games in the mobile gaming circle recently that I can calm down and play. A few days ago, I was browsing the application market and came across the old face of "Dream Baby". I clicked on it and found that it was still operating. To be honest, I feel a little emotional. I first played this game on a Nokia E63. At that time, the Symbian system could still run Java games. Looking back now, it feels like it was a lifetime ago.
The background of "Dream Baby" is Andersen's fairy tale. This setting is quite thoughtful in a mobile online game. At that time, MMORPGs on the market were either martial arts or fantasy, and the fairy tale themes seemed refreshing. Mild turn-based combat may seem simple now, but back then, being able to create skill combos and team up to clear dungeons on the mobile phone was already a very avant-garde experience. The pet system, equipment changes, and social gameplay are still standard features of mobile games today, but in that era, they were considered a breath of fresh air.
I'm not going to brag about it, but the reason why this game keeps me talking about it till now is not just about my feelings. There is a characteristic in its design: it does not force the liver or the krypton. At that time, mobile games did not have in-app purchase gift packages, daily mission cards, monthly cards or weekly cards. Players played for pure fun. Forming a team to fight BOSS, grabbing equipment, becoming apprentices and getting married, these interactions are all spontaneously formed by players, unlike many games nowadays that want to make the social system into an automated assembly line and force people to form teams.
Talking about mobile game trends, I actually miss the Saipan era when a hundred flowers bloomed. At that time, the game capacity was small, but the creativity was high, and many small teams could do something different. Although the current mobile game market is large, it is highly homogenized and there are too many reskinned games. Most manufacturers are focusing on the user payment curve and retention rate. On the contrary, the "light + social + light RPG" gameplay of "Dream Baby" is considered a breath of fresh air today. To be honest, many new games now feature card drawing, rankings, and combat power competitions, and players feel like they are at work. However, the atmosphere of "Dream Baby" where you can easily form teams, chat, and play dungeons is becoming less and less popular.
Of course, times are changing, mobile phone hardware and network environments have been upgraded, and player tastes have also changed. But I feel that the trend of “lightening” mobile games has not changed. Take a look at the most popular chicken-fighting and MOBA games. In fact, the core gameplay is very light, the single game time is short, and the social interaction is strong. On the contrary, those heavy-duty MMOs are becoming more and more difficult to play on mobile phones, because players do not have enough fragmented time and do not have the energy to hang up and run around all day long. From this point of view, the turn-based system, automatic combat, and convenient social interaction of "Dream Baby" are actually in line with the current mobile game trend - but the premise is that the developer does not make the game a krypton gold trap.
I remember that when Hangzhou Liujin Network made this game, the charging model was 0, which meant it was completely free and there were no mandatory in-app purchases. This is almost unimaginable today. Nowadays, in mobile games, zero krypton players basically play with Big R. Of course, developers have to make a living and I can understand charging reasonable fees, but I hope more manufacturers can do what "Dream Baby" did, allowing players to have choices instead of forcing you to spend money.
Finally, to be honest, if you miss the mobile game experience of "you can have fun without spending money", you can try "Dream Baby". Although the picture is incomparable with today's high-definition 3D, the pure game atmosphere is really rare. I also hope that the mobile game industry can return to some of its original aspirations. Don't just focus on cutting leeks, and make more games that players find fun from the bottom of their hearts.
Ten-year veteran players stay. 😌