“Inner Ghost” vs Miha Tour

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Text/Xinghui

Source/Hedgehog Commune (ID: ciweigongshe)

Every time before the new version update, a strange sense of vigilance will rise in the heart of “Yuan Shen” player Otake.

At this time, she is addicted to refreshing the main news of UP on weekdays, and she will restrain herself, and even dare not watch the official blog too much, for fear of being attacked by “relevant recommendations”. What makes Otake so wary is the “inner ghost” of “Yuanshen” that players often talk about.

The so-called “inner ghost” is an image, borrowing the original meaning of “lurking to provide information”, and in the circle of “Yuanshen”, it refers to those who expose content through unofficial channels. “Inner ghosts” can always be one step ahead of ordinary players, know the game trends in advance, and attract attention by disclosing information.

Some players like the existence of inner ghosts, and even take the initiative to “squat” to the latest information, but some players feel disgusted, and they do not want to be spoiled, such as Otake who is afraid of “inner ghosts”. This kind of disagreement sometimes turns into a scolding war. Some people urge the government to deal with internal ghosts, and some people praise it as “the lonely hero who helps everyone plan the card pool”.

Before the opening of the Xumi chapter of “Yuan Shen”, the successive leaks of characters once again ignited the topic. In the revelations, pursuits and denunciations again and again, the “inner ghosts”, players and manufacturers have jointly staged a cat-and-mouse game in the cyber era.

Where did the “inner ghost” come from?

Although Otake was so careful, she still got hit on the eve of the launch of “Yuan Shen” 3.0.

At that time, the official trailer for “Dawn Brought by a Thousand Roses” had not yet been officially released, but Otake had already seen all kinds of “sensational” titles at station B. They are scattered in the recommendation column below the anchor’s work, and the rush to break the news is like an arms race.

What’s worse is that although Otake didn’t click into these ghost videos, the cover alone has already shaken enough material. In this unpredictable state, a few weeks before the official opening of the Xumi area of ​​”Yuan Shen”, Otake passively saw the so-called “family portrait” – the main card pool characters in the big version stood in a row, and the picture quality was sloppy. to the point of being rude.

The family portrait of Xumi’s “Yuan Shen” spread to the pulp

In fact, people can’t count how many times this is the first performance of the “Ghosts” in “Yuanshin”. New fashions, new maps, new bosses, new weapons, holiday versions, character re-enactments… these are the targets of the “inner ghosts”.

So, where did the “inner ghost” in “Yuan Shen” come from?

First of all, from the perspective of intelligence sources, “inner ghosts” are mainly divided into two categories.

Part of it is the common “uncle party” in the game industry, which means that insider information is obtained through relatives working in the manufacturer, and later refers to the internal leak source of the game production team. “Uncle Party” is widely distributed in various games, from online games to stand-alone masterpieces. But generally speaking, the revelations of the “uncle party” are often accidental rather than systematic, and the revelations are only a single point rather than the overall situation.

Another part of the mainstream “inner ghost” information source is the game test server, which is also the key reason why the revelation of “Genshin Impact” can be so specific. You must know that the scale of data flowing out of the test server is not comparable to the uncle party. With special methods such as unpacking, the revelations of the ghosts in the test server will undoubtedly be more specific and detailed.

Of course, players participating in the test will be bound by the manufacturer’s confidentiality clause, and leaking secrets is actually a risk. And the reason why the inner ghost is willing to risk being caught is because it is profitable to break the news.

Undoubtedly, for the market head game “Yuan Shen”, the inner ghost can win considerable traffic by breaking the content. For example, in station B with a large number of players, there were many UP masters who specialized in breaking the news of “Yuan Shen”, and the related sneak videos were played in tens of thousands, and the UP masters also had a large number of fans.

In fact, most of the leaked videos have only undergone simple handling or translation, and the production cost of UP’s videos is extremely small. On the basis of low-cost drainage, the “inner ghosts” use platform incentives and even advertising to make profits. There was once an overseas “neigui” website owner who said that he could reap five-digit returns a month. In essence, the inner ghost does not pay equal labor, but relies on the popularity of the game and the content developed by the creator to earn a lot of returns.

At the same time, the special nature of “Yuan Shen” itself is also destined to have a much more serious internal ghost phenomenon than other games.

On the one hand, “Yuan Shen” is a rare large-scale game with frequent updates. The impressive efficiency of a new version for dozens of days has given the “inner ghost” space for long-term parasitic blood-sucking. This is very different from the traditional “inner ghost” in the console industry, which is almost impossible to focus on a certain game. After all, the new trends of the stand-alone masterpieces are too long.

On the other hand, the “inner ghost” of “Genshin Impact” is to some extent the product of player demand. The “demand” mentioned here is not just the curiosity of ordinary players, but a strange “practical value” in the specific field of card drawing. Things get even more complicated when there’s a subtle unity between the actions of the “inner ghost” and the player’s interests.

Under the combined effect of various factors, although the punishment methods such as prosecution and title are hanging overhead, the ghosts in “Yuan Shen” are still “wildfire.”

Who did the “inner ghost” hurt?

Is the ghost in “Genshin Impact” a business issue, a moral issue or a legal issue?

The first major premise that needs to be pointed out is that the leak must be a vicious move that violates the manufacturer’s rules. At this point, whether it is the “uncle party” within the company, or the test server players who ignore the confidentiality clauses, they have violated the contract reached with the development team in advance, and the benefits obtained from various revelations are attributed to “inner ghosts” personal.

Simply put, it’s using someone else’s work for your own benefit.

In the tripartite chain of inner ghosts, players, and manufacturers, there is a theory that “inner ghosts” and players are on one side. The reason is that the “inner ghost” can help “Yuan Shen” users to make reasonable plans for future versions.

Specifically, the core business mechanism of “Yuan Shen” is to sell characters and let players pay for love. Taking into account the update rhythm and card drawing rules of “Yuan Shen”, if players can know in advance when their favorite characters will arrive, they can set aside more time to accumulate original stones (the card drawing props in “Yuan Shen”), so When the anti-virus was officially launched, I was caught off guard, but I was helpless.

But the other side of the problem is that sneaking away in advance sometimes brings a lot of unnecessary controversy, which greatly consumes the enthusiasm of the community and damages the credibility of the official. For example, when the re-enactment information that broke the news is inconsistent with the actual online situation, the player’s expectations will be disappointed, and the anger will be directed at the game manufacturer. However, the manufacturer has not actually made a promise, and the “inner ghost” who has harvested the traffic can get out.

Saying that the “inner ghost” is with the player essentially implies the logic of Mihayou opposing the player. But in a long-term game, this confrontation can breed many unexpected problems.

For Mihayou, rhythmic and stable operation is the key to maintaining the vitality of “Yuan Shen”, but the “inner ghost” broke the news is an uncontrollable external factor. Frequent sneaking away will not only disrupt the rhythm of official publicity, but also imperceptibly weaken players’ enthusiasm for new versions and new content.

What’s more, the content of the “inner ghost” revelations cannot be comprehensive, and the characteristics of semi-finished products are particularly obvious. When an unfinished painting or model is leaked, it is often a disappointment to long-awaited players. A representative case is that the “General Thunder”, whose modeling was exposed early, was ridiculed by the group for a long time, but when it was officially launched, it set a new record for Mihayou, creating an amazing record of reaching the top of the 56 countries.

The disadvantages of sneaking arise in all aspects. Sometimes, “inner ghost” bloggers will use the information difference between players to create disputes out of context for the sake of eyeballs. For example, in March of this year, rumors of the so-called “Fengshen kneeling down” and “character pulling and stepping” spread in the “Genshin Impact” community, and angry players even threatened to report it. Although the event was officially launched and proved to be an oolong, the scolding and bad comments have been left in people’s memory.

Similar controversies not only hurt players, but also manufacturers, as well as more front-line creators and artists behind manufacturers.

In June 2021, before the official launch of the “Yuan Shen” rice wife version, the music material obtained through unpacking has already flowed out on the Internet, and some players have criticized after listening to it. Musician Chen Zhiyi made a special voice on social platforms at that time, calling on the majority of players not to listen to the leaked music, so as not to be affected by the demo’s game experience.

Whether the creator’s hard work is respected is obviously not a problem considered by the “inner ghosts”. The creator feels hurt, and the integrity and surprise of the player experience is greatly damaged by the leakage of such semi-finished products. After all, the game is a comprehensive art, and the interweaving of specific scenes and music constitutes the gleaming light in front of us. Untimely sneaking away is like removing the water from the pool and leaving the fish in the water.

All in all, the “inner ghost” of “Yuan Shen” used stolen information to stir up the situation, benefiting the “inner ghost” himself, but sacrificing the vitality of the game itself and the long-term community atmosphere. Can you really keep doing this good business with a steady profit and no loss?

Game makers fight back

Looking back, Mihayou actually made a lot of moves in the fight against internal ghosts.

On February 20, 2021, “Yuanshen” officially released the “Statement of Accountability for Violations and Leaks”, and displayed the lawyer’s letter that had been issued, with a breach of contract amount of 500,000 yuan. In the statement, the official said: “We once again remind the majority of test players that we will never tolerate any illegal leaks. Illegal leaks in any form and on any platform will be thoroughly investigated and severely punished in accordance with the law.”

Less than half a year later, on July 8, “Yuanshen” officially released the “Illegal Leakage Tort Accountability Statement”, which this time specifically explained the malicious behavior and impact of illegal leaks, including “taking advantage of this (traffic). , advertising revenue, etc.)”, also pointed out that “misleading public opinion, which in turn negatively affects the word of mouth and reputation of the game”.

It is worth noting that at the end of the statement, “Yuan Shen” officially emphasized that it will continue to crack down on such accounts worldwide in the future.

Soon, in September 2021, Honey, the webmaster of Honey Hunter World, publicly wrote that Mihayou’s legal department sent letters to his hosting provider IONOS and CDN service provider Cloudflare, asking them to delete the main domain name honeyhunterworld.com and all content stored on this site.

In the same September, “Miha You Qi sued a company” became a hot topic in the circle. According to the Tianyancha App, Shanghai Mihayou filed multiple lawsuits against a company for “infringement of the right to disseminate work information on the Internet”. Players generally believe that the prosecution is because Mihayou wants to obtain relevant information of infringing users in order to punish the “inner ghost”.

Over the past few years, Mihayou has issued an announcement, issued a lawyer’s letter, banned related accounts, took down the leaked video, and carried out various rights protection actions such as accountability and prosecution. “Yuan Shen” is not the only “inner ghost” victim, nor is Mihayou the only counter-attacker.

On March 8, 2022, Eagle Horn Network issued an announcement, reiterating the official attitude against “inner ghosts”, saying that the illegal acquisition of “Tomorrow’s Ark” and the disclosure of commercial secrets will be pursued to the end.

In the announcement, Eagle Horn emphasized: “All malicious disclosure of trade secrets essentially prevents various content elements from being presented to everyone as expected, but only satisfies the curiosity of some people and the vanity or other low-level purposes of the leaker. , ultimately destroying the overall experience for everyone. Therefore, this behavior should be morally condemned and resisted.”

Officials of games such as “Onmyoji” and “Fate/Grand Order” have fought against “inner ghosts”. After the rise of local women to games, the issue of “unpacking” games such as “Love and Producer” and “Love of Light and Night” has also frequently become the focus of public opinion. In January 2022, the “Love of Light and Night” project team issued an announcement for this, saying that such problems will be strictly controlled and punished.

However, although game makers are willing to fight back, it is difficult to eradicate the problem of “inner ghosts” in a short period of time. For example, the overseas leaked website of “Yuan Shen” has always been quite difficult to deal with. The leaked website will avoid Mihayou’s complaints by means of relocation of servers. “Yuan Shen”, which aims to serve the world, has to face a complex environment for rights protection at home and abroad, and is also subject to differences in countries and regions.

The law is the most powerful weapon a game maker can hold, but it shouldn’t be the only solution. More importantly, perhaps players should also change their minds. If people still give attention and attention to the “inner ghosts”, then there will always be people who take risks for the sake of profit.

For everyone, the core position on the topic of “inner ghosts” is actually the same, because behavior that deviates from the rules or even violates the law should not be supported anyway. “Inner ghosts” do not produce or consume, but are pure parasites. The traffic and money attracted by sneaking away again and again are inherently deformed in the ecology.

In the world of games, people come together because of love. Outside of the game, if you want to catch the “inner ghost” of “Yuan Shen”, you not only need Mihayou to attack hard, but also every traveler needs to contribute.

Note: Dazhu in the text is a pseudonym.

This article is reproduced from: http://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/csj/2022-08-28/doc-imiziraw0005424.shtml
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