https://store.steampowered.com/app/2716930/The_Emperor_and_State/
The early access version of The Emperor and State is coming soon! It is still in development, and we hope to launch it in the near future. Feel free to add the game to your wishlist↑.
English localization is in progress. The Official Release version will support English. Please stay tuned!
The Beginning
Hello everyone, I'm TuTu, the developer of The Emperor and State. I have been developing this game on my own for nearly five years. Although these five years have not been easy, the joy of development and creation has been satisfying. The game has taken shape over these years, but there is still a long way to go before it is completed. I am writing this devlog to share with you the feelings and thoughts during the development process, and to record this important journey in my life.
Let me briefly introduce my game The Emperor and State. It is a simulation game where players will play as an emperor governing the country in ancient China, dealing with national affairs, nurturing talents, and managing the complexities of a feudal society.
Many players have associated this theme with other similar games and questioned whether The Emperor and State is just a clone. I have considered this question, and my conclusion is that the framework of managing the six ministries - Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, Justice, and Public Works - and self-cultivation within the palace is the most "reasonable" for an emperor simulation game. Therefore, The Emperor and State does not abandon this framework, but aims to showcase its uniqueness within it:
During the 2000-year history of feudal China, the conflicts between various elements were significant and prominent, such as between the emperor and his courtiers, between the aristocracy and commoners, between the state and its people, between the imperial harem and the previous dynasty. As a ruler, one must navigate these complex relationships and maintain balance through various decisions. This is what sets the role of the emperor apart, and this is the original intention of creating The Emperor and State: to recreate the feeling of ruling a country through the principle of balance. Therefore, almost all the values in the game are not independent, and many important values will conflict with each other during development, forcing the emperor to make choices. I understand that this is a bit hardcore, but that's what I want to achieve.
However, this is not an easy task... A lot of the content above is just talk. I have been developing the game single-handedly for three years before the release of the "prologue", and have been continuously updating it for more than two years after the release... Currently, the basic framework and functions of the game have been completed.
Let me introduce my own situation. Years ago, I was a member responsible for 3D art in a game company. At that time, the graphics of popular online games were very beautiful, but the actual gameplay was mediocre. I felt that was not the kind of game I wanted to make, so I quit my job and started to learn game programming on my own, embarking on the journey to realize my dream. As the years went by, it became increasingly difficult for me, in my thirties, to bear the pressures of life. The burden of developing the game became heavier and heavier, and I felt increasingly inadequate in the face of some difficult programming tasks. I couldn't help but wonder if this was a gamble, and I became more and more afraid - afraid that I would be crushed by the pressure, afraid that I would betray myself. After careful consideration, I decided to release the current demo version, which is significant to me:
- I need feedback from players to understand whether this theme and gameplay can be accepted by everyone.
- I need players to test the game, help me with balancing adjustments, and adjust the game mechanisms.
- Many difficult programming tasks require more professional programmers to help me complete them, which requires considerable financial resources. This step requires great courage.
This is crucial to whether I will continue development.
Almost all of the game testing before was done by myself, so there will inevitably be many oversights. So, if you encounter any problems or feel that there are areas that need improvement, please be sure to give me feedback. Thank you very much.
Since the initial release of version 0.1, The Emperor and State has been continuously updated to version 0.25 with the feedback and support of everyone. It is not far from the expected pre-release version 0.3 that can be launched this year. Thank you for your continuous support.
Future Plans
The pre-release version 0.3 expected to be released this year will be the first step towards realizing my dream. I have conceived many unimplemented gameplay and features, including "technology tree", "wonders", "military equipment", "terrain", "imperial expedition", "imperial tour", etc...
There are also the most important "political parties" and "loyalty". The emperor needs to balance the various forces in the court to maintain the stability of imperial power. I plan to add various forces such as relatives, eunuchs, and royal clans. At the same time, I will add a "perception of loyalty" feature, allowing players to discern whether their subjects are reliable.
The addition of difficulty levels is also under consideration. Players who like strategic gameplay can experience the complex numerical systems in the game, while casual players can avoid troubles and collect famous ministers and concubines happily.
Final Words
Video games have always been controversial in China. While it is true that there are "good games" and "bad games" in the world, it does not mean that games themselves are inherently bad. I believe that everyone who has been moved by games must have unforgettable memories. Take me for example:
- "Uncharted Waters" taught me how to draw world maps and remember the locations of major cities all over the world.
- The "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" series satisfied my fantasy of historical games;
- "Europa Universalis" proved that hardcore realistic game mechanics can also be popular with players
- "Civilization" sparked my interest in exploring the relationships between geography, politics, economics, religion, culture, and technology
- There are many more outstanding games...
I sincerely thank all these games, they are of great significance to me! In my opinion, games will eventually be recognized by the public, it just takes more time. I hope I can be one of the contributors to this process, and I hope Chinese culture can be one of them. I don't want the thousands of years of history in China to be buried or forgotten. I hope to spread our culture through games with Chinese culture themes. That's why I really want to continue game development, I don't want to give up. The Emperor and State Demo is now available, feel free to have a try!
I hope you can leave valuable opinions and suggestions in the Steam community. Thank you very much! Welcome to add the game to your wishlist:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2716930/
Thank you for reading! See you next time.
TuTu