Rebirth of America, this is my time

In Ethan's plan, the next step in Destiny Game should be to walk on two legs at the same time. The specific way of expression is to continue to work hard in the electronic arcade industry while launching home consoles.

Now that they have dominated the North American arcade market, or in other words, when most of the arcade market in the world can bring them huge profits, it is impossible for him to give up everything he already has in order to forcefully promote the console. First, it takes time for players to switch to the platform. Secondly, if they give up the arcade market easily, it will undoubtedly give opportunities to the other two companies... ah, no, it will leave opportunities for Atari.

Therefore, in Ethan's vision, after he designs Northland Cube as an escort masterpiece for home consoles, the rest of the work will focus on the company's R\u0026D department, allowing the guys who exist there to make the games they like. while creating his inspiration.

He has also thought about the game and continues to operate the two IPs Pac-Man and Snake, launching Ms. Pac-Man and the two-player competitive version of Snake 2.

Needless to say, the former is expressed in a female version of Pac-Man and re-creates game levels for it; the latter is expressed in a simpler way, that is, dividing the screen into two and making two joysticks. Let players have an exciting survival showdown on the streets.

Although this method of twice-cooked pork is somewhat suspected of wasting money and may damage the company's reputation, in many cases, business and reputation cannot coexist, right? When the company's development goal is to maintain the existing market and attract users in the existing market to new projects, games put into the existing market naturally cannot steal the limelight from new projects.

If not...

When arcade games are always fun, how many users will buy personal consoles?

And in this case, release Northland Cube into the arcade market?

MFxxk!

So what kind of games does he have to come up with to attract users to the console?

Even if he is a time traveler, there is no way to answer this question!

Because in his previous life, after Northland Cube was launched, he massacred all competitors!

Uh - Evelyn - you should know what your thoughts mean, right?

Ethan smoothed things over in front of his sister.

After listening to his description, Evelin also smiled and nodded, saying: Of course.

I understand what you mean, and I also believe you have this ability.

Come on! While speaking, the girl raised her right hand to encourage Ethan.

Ethan looked helpless when he looked full of energy.

Oh - I told you, I was joking.

Oh - I think you're being modest now.

The girl's crazy rush made Ethan dumbfounded.

He raised his hand to stop. He didn't want to continue on this increasingly remote topic. Okay, okay, let's change the topic. Can you tell me, is this game difficult to play?

The topic of getting back on track made Evelin stop teasing. Looking at the face full of curiosity, the girl sighed and said, This is the second big problem.

Even if we solve the chip's computing power problem, it will still take a lot of time to make this game. Because in my preliminary reading, I have already discovered two difficulties. First of all, the first one is The infinite game you emphasize.”

The girl clicked on the concept drawing on the table and said: Although we have already dabbled in the field of infinite games when making Star Wars, infinite games will never appear in a machine, and Planet The unlimited game of War and the unlimited game of Destiny Cube are still two different concepts. I think the specific difference lies in the cube itself.

In Star Wars, the unrestricted game means that imperial ships constantly appear to compete with players. The biggest change is that as time goes by, the appearance and forward speed of the imperial ships will undergo some special changes. Their operation The essence and trajectory remain unchanged.”

In the Destiny Cube you are designing now, the unlimited game allows seven types of cubes to appear continuously, allowing players to put them in the appropriate position to eliminate them.

On the surface, the cubes in Destiny Cube have the same properties as the spaceships in Star Wars, but in fact, there is a difference between the two. The way the spacecraft appears in Star Wars is artificially set , and the way the blocks appear in Destiny Cube is 'random'.

The girl emphasized the word 'random'.

Ethan, who thought he understood clearly, said directly: You want to say that a machine cannot achieve true randomness?

Although Ethan doesn't understand technology, he still knows that computers can never achieve true randomness. If we describe it in a literary sense, no one in this world can give a definition of randomness in the true sense. When the human brain cannot explain this metaphysical abstract concept, computers that rely on logical calculations are even more unable to do so. It's here, so regardless of whether it's now or the future, at least before Ethan travels through time, the randomness on the computer is pseudo-random.

And when Ethan said, 'It's so random,' the girl was stunned for a moment, and then said, Yes.

But not.

I said yes because what you said is correct. I said no because I personally feel that the game Destiny Cube itself cannot be written purely in a pseudo-random manner.

Evelin pointed to the squares on the drawing and said: In your imagination, this game has a total of seven kinds of squares, which are small squares represented by the letter 'O', long bars represented by the letter 'I', Dislocated trapezoids represented by the letters 'S' and 'Z', as well as mirrored right angles of 'J' and 'L', and a 'T' shape.

Whether it's a square, a long bar, a 'J' and a 'L', or a 'T', these blocks can appear unlimitedly, because no matter how many of them appear at the same time, the game can continue. , but not the two squares 'S' and 'Z'.

If many 'S'-shaped or 'Z'-shaped blocks appear at the same time, the game Destiny Block will definitely not be able to continue.

Evelin came to her own conclusion.

And Ethan frowned.

What? He was puzzled.

Simply because they cannot eliminate themselves on their own.

Evelin said a very convoluted statement.

The next second she picked up paper and pen and started drawing.

When the girl drew an interface and filled it with Z-shaped squares, Ethan instantly discovered that no matter how the Z-shaped squares changed, were superimposed, or flipped, there would be a small section in the end that could not be filled with them. Fill it in place yourself.

This fact means that the ‘ZZZ’ arrangement and the ‘NNN’ arrangement after flipping the blocks are not feasible without thinking. Although this question may seem nonsensical, because the game Northland Block allows players to eliminate multiple block puzzles, and it does not provide players with unlimited blocks of one kind, but... what if there is a BUG? ? Once the game's algorithm does not add restrictions and many identical 'Z'-shaped or 'S'-shaped blocks pop up randomly at a single time, the player will face a certain death situation.

This……

This is a problem that must never arise.

Because it defeats the purpose of game design.

That is, letting players control everything instead of machines giving answers.

So...Evelin, what you want to say is that if we want to solve this problem, we must artificially control the number of 'S'-shaped and 'Z'-shaped blocks that appear at the same time?

Ethan understood what his sister meant. He touched his chin and said: And this limit value takes time to calculate. At the same time, the appearance of this limit value will affect the calculation function of the random appearance of the blocks? This may be a very difficult problem. the process of?

“The process is not difficult, it just takes time.”

Evelin shook her head and said: I can do it, but it's troublesome, and-

She paused and said, After solving the problem of random blocks appearing, a new problem also arises, that is, how to combine the infinite rotation gameplay you designed with infinite randomness.

In your imagination, these blocks appear from top to bottom. Players need to place these blocks in the appropriate position to ensure that they can be connected to eliminate them all. In this process, players can rotate the blocks to Keep the game interesting.”

Although I think this design is very good, when infinite rotation is added, there are no longer seven types of blocks in the game. In addition to squares that cannot be changed no matter how they are rotated, long blocks have two postures: vertical and horizontal. There are more 'L', 'J', 'S', 'Z', and 'T'. Their changes will bring a lot of calculations to the game. For example, a 'T' has a total of four different types. The arrangement method, when the player makes changes, in order to ensure that the game does not end due to design reasons, the calculations related to it will become very huge.

And this...

“It also takes time to do it.”

Speaking of this, Evelin patted the drawings brought by Ethan with emotion and said: I really want to do this project, but I don't have time for the moment...I haven't finished the home game console thing yet, the disc I haven't finalized the project personnel yet, and if you ask me to do this now... Even if I have forty-eight hours a day, it won't be enough!

The research and development of the home console was only officially finalized after Star Wars was launched. In fact, it only took more than a month for the actual operation. Without suitable manpower to be recruited, Evelin did the research alone, and the work was not completed. This is the norm. After all, this is not a pile of single game circuit boards.

As for the hesitation about selecting the CD... Evelin also told Ethan about this matter.

Because Ethan's flash of inspiration came in the summer, during this academic season when classes are available or not, many teachers at Stanford were on vacation, and some even went abroad on the first day of vacation. In this era of extremely poor communication, In the developed era, they simply couldn't contact everyone, so to be fair, well, the director of the Stanford Physics Department actually has a similar project, and he is not there yet, so the finalization of the partners is left to the new school. Season, that is, when autumn comes, is determined.

Although this delay is only more than a month, when the war on storage alone lasts for decades, it doesn't matter even if it is a few years behind, let alone a few months behind.

In a protracted battle, the one who gets the upper hand can indeed gain an advantage, but the more important thing is to compare who can outlast the other.

And in this regard...

Ethan has never been afraid of anyone!

Hehe~

After confirming that the game Northland Cube could not be made, Ethan, who did not want to put it on the arcade, burned the idea in front of Evelin, then returned to the office, scratched his head, and now He really didn't know what to do.

There are indeed countless games in his mind, but there are really very few that can be made in this era. Among them, the only one who can recall all the contents completely is actually Snake ”, “Pac-Man”, “Space Invaders” and “Northland Cube”.

There is no way, who told him that his brain is not ChatGPT?

It is simply impossible to store all the content of past life experiences in their original form.

He can recite four games, thanks to the simplicity of those games.

As long as it's more complicated, he really can't remember everything.

Just like Super Mario...

Even if he wipes his head bald, he can only recall the classic 1-1!

And speaking of Super Mario...

Ethan admitted that this game is actually the best game for them at the moment.

Because the final performance of the home console he asked Evelin to design was very close to that of the FC in his previous life. It was exactly the same. The CPU is 6502, the memory is 2K, and the color reserve is sixteen. As for the sound source, it is also monophonic, with a maximum of one synthesized audio.

When the current generation of FC can carry Super Mario, their current machines will definitely be able to carry the greatness of plumbers, but... Ethan actually doesn't want to make Super Mario, firstly because he can't recall all the games. level, and secondly, he wants to continue operating the Pac-Man IP.

That's right!

What he wants to do is actually Super Pac-Man!

Isn't Super Mario about the story of a stupid plumber who rescues Princess Peach who is kidnapped by Bowser? The plot of Super Pac-Man is that Pac-Man rescues Ms. Pac-Man who is kidnapped by a ghost! The mushrooms in Super Mario are the powerful pills in Pac-Man. The turtles, chestnuts and other monsters in Super Mario are the little ghosts in Pac-Man. The Cool King in Pac-Man is the four wise ghosts in Pac-Man!

Anyway, it’s all copycat gameplay!

Then why not cultivate your own IP?

Since a single type of maze adventure game cannot make Pac-Man the best in the world, then I will add more elements to them! Let it appear in front of the world again and again riding the wave of the times!

If one push doesn't work, then push twice. If two pushes don't work, then push three times.

As long as you push it enough, you can always push out a Mickey, right?

Yes!

The idea of ​​continuing the Pac-Man IP came about after meeting with Disney.

The reason for its birth is also very simple, that is, he really likes these games.

In his previous life, these games brought him endless happiness.

In this life, these games allowed him to achieve financial freedom in a very short period of time.

So if these guys have given enough, why can't they be pushed?

If you fail, you will only lose a little time and money.

If it succeeds, it will give these furry children a new life.

Special code——

Thinking of this, Ethan sighed as he leaned on his seat.

Sure enough, no one in this world can refuse to be Disney.

He smiled and shook his head. The fairy tale kingdom created by Walt Disney is really enviable.

And since Super Pac-Man will be made after Ms. Pac-Man, the escort masterpiece for home consoles will definitely have nothing to do with them.

in this case……

Zhoucao! I have to think of what kind of game can make the machine sell better!

Ethan is going crazy!

At this moment, the office door was suddenly knocked from outside.

Come in. Ethan shouted after he had regained his composure.

There was a click and Julis Noble got in.

Such a situation made Ethan twitch his eyebrows and proactively asked: Is there nothing wrong?

... Julis Noble was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: No, Boss, nothing happened outside. And I came here because someone came to visit you in our company.

Hollywood.

The first half of Julis's words made Ethan feel relieved, but the second half...

Making him frown.

At this moment, Ethan felt that these guys had zero emotional intelligence!

He has rejected these people's invitations to cooperate many times, and he was very tactful in his words, but they still bothered him again and again?

This is simply giving them some sunshine and they will shine!

Who? he asked angrily.

Disney? Paramount? Or MGM? he guessed.

Uh - none - Julis Noble shook her head, He said his name was Ronald Shusett, and he had met you in Los Angeles before and had an appointment.

Ronald Shusett?

The name made Ethan look confused.

Because in his memory, he didn't seem to know anyone named Ronald Shusett!

The boss's performance also made Julis Noble understand clearly, and reminded: He said he talked with you about the script, a script for a science fiction film? It's called... STAR... STAR... STAR...

Julis herself forgot the name of the script.

Oh—— Ethan remembered, STAR BEAST?

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Julis kept nodding.

‘It turns out it’s him! ’

Ethan knew who the visitor was. It was a screenwriter he had met at the Star Wars celebration party. He said at the time that he was not interested in movies, and now he came here again? And he also wanted to meet up under the guise of having an appointment with him?

‘Tsk——’

‘Why do you feel like Gates’ son-in-law? ’

To be honest, Ethan actually didn't want to see this guy because he was busy with something right now.

But just when he was about to wave for Julis to drive the man away, as soon as he raised his hand, he put it down again and said, Ask him to wait for me in the reception room. I'll be here in five minutes.

Although this follower is a bit annoying, since the other party is engaged in creation and is still promoting his own script, and it is not some weird cooperation, he is still willing to spare a few minutes to meet.

And after he finished sorting out the documents in his hands, rushed to the reception room in time, and shook hands with the other party briefly, he went straight to the point and asked the other party if he had brought the script.

Of course! Mr. Jones—that's the script.

Ronald Shusett was a middle-aged man with thinning hair. After hearing Ethan's inquiry, he immediately opened his handbag and took out a brand new script.

When Ethan took the script that smelled like ink, he immediately laughed.

Newly printed?

Yes, for your convenience.

Such preparation made Ethan nodded, very satisfied with this guy's seriousness.

Good~

He praised it and then opened the script, wanting to see what this guy had written.

However, after just two glances, his eyes instantly narrowed!

Because it says——

[This is the story of a great white shark in space. 】

[In the future, humans can already carry out interstellar travel. The commercial transport spacecraft 'Nostromo' carried seven crew members and 20 million tons of ore back to Earth from the planet Sedus. When it passed an asteroid, they received After receiving a mysterious signal, they went to investigate and found the wreckage of an alien spacecraft. When they entered it to explore, they saw countless eggs. Then, one of the eggs suddenly burst, and a strange creature jumped at the crew's face. And its name is...]

【Facehugger! 】

Note: ① In the basic settings of Northland blocks, 'S' and 'Z' shaped blocks cannot appear thirteen times in a row. ② Northland Cube does not have an infinite flip function at the beginning, which is very computationally demanding.

PS, reply to a question about hardware performance. All along, when I write about game production, I always use Atari's home console as a reference. As long as Atari's machine can be used, then I dare to write that 6502 can do it. This approach of mine has also caused some readers to feel that Things cannot be generalized. Among them, it is said that the performance of Pac-Man and Little Bee on the Atari console is very poor. For this question, I will take Pac-Man as an example. Atari did use 6502 to restore the original Pac-Man. All the graphics and effects are the same. The reason why the game shrinks when it is sold is because Atari's machine has a 2K ROM, but the game they demoed is an 8K ROM. Warner was unwilling to upgrade the machine, so it used the original version for promotion and sold the shrunken version. This is an Atari engineer who handled Pac-Man The porter Todd Frye broke the news himself. In order to prove himself, he also took out the game restored with 6502+8K ROM. I am indeed not a professional in the field of hardware, but I also tried my best to check the limits of 6502, and this time I found that I really couldn't make Northland Cube. I was cheating, which is against the law. It’s a law of physics, it’s not written like this just for the sake of word count.