Rebirth of America, this is my time

Chapter 184 So tired——

Today, we at Philips are very happy to gather with executives from Disney, Paramount, and MGM in New York... They are all Hollywood's top dreamers, and they have created one classic screen image after another that is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. We have made many movies that can bring people laughter, thinking, warmth and strength... Here, on behalf of Philips, I announce that we Philips will reach cooperation with them in the field of electronic games. We Philips Experience, technology and patents in video game production will be provided to help Disney, Paramount and MGM turn excellent inspirations into games and bring happiness to more American people... Below, we will have Invite them to come up and explain their company’s vision for the future. Please welcome them——”

Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon, I am Frank Rosenberg, CEO of MGM... We, MGM, are a Hollywood studio with a long history and have produced The Wizard of Oz , Doctor Geneva, 2001: A Space Odyssey... The cooperation with Philips is to bring the successful dream-making experience into the field of video games. The specific project will be developed based on Tom and Jerry, and it is expected to be available to everyone this summer. Meet……

Hello everyone, I'm Michael Eisner, the president of Paramount... I'm here in New York today because we at Paramount have decided to turn classic screen characters into video games... We at Paramount are currently working on There are two games produced, one is inspired by Jack the Ripper and the other is inspired by Star Trek... You can look forward to it, because these games will appear in front of you this fall... …”

Good afternoon friends, I am Down Tatum, CEO of Disney... Mr. Disney once said when he was alive that his purpose in founding Disney was to give children a happy childhood... Before , happiness is all on the screen, in the park, one doll after another, one set after another of books, but now, the happiness will be created by you yourself... We at Disney are developing three games, one The protagonist of one game is Mickey, the protagonist of one is Donald, and the protagonist of another game has to be kept secret for the time being, but what I want to say is that it is a game similar to Pac-Man, and the character you play will be You will be chased by some guys, and you need to use your ingenuity to help them get out of the crisis...

Crack-

The crisp sound is the remote control kissing the desktop.

Zhiqua——

A tooth-ache-inducing groan is an announcement that the seat is overwhelmed.

Ethan leaned heavily on the chair in the study room at home, staring blankly at the black and white TV in front of him. The smile in the frozen picture looked very captivating.

This afternoon, when Steve Ballmer banged on the door of his office and told him that something was wrong, Ethan, who let him in, followed his instructions and turned on the TV. Then he saw that NBC was broadcasting news about the cooperation between Philips, Disney, Paramount and MGM.

The alliance formed by those four families made him open his mouth!

Philips' practice of providing patents to others made his pupils shrink suddenly!

And after Disney CEO Tatum said that Disney would make a game similar to Pac-Man... Ethan only felt that an invisible big hand was holding his heart firmly. ...it took his breath away! It made his hands and feet cold!

Because the worst case scenario has occurred!

After Ethan came to this world and decided to make video games, he knew that this industry was a highly competitive Red Sea market. He could indeed gain a leading market position by copying excellent games from his previous life, but others could also copy them. He copied the game to achieve huge profits.

No way, who made it impossible to copyright the gameplay of video games?

Protecting the gameplay is actually helping to monopolize, and this is expressly prohibited by the laws of all countries. Therefore, content that can enjoy copyright protection in video games is limited to trademarks, images, sounds, texts, codes, characters, plots and other subjective forms.

It is precisely because he knows this that Ethan is very excited about the intellectual property operation cooperation that Roy Disney mentioned. Expanding the influence of game characters is the best way to ensure that the game in hand can last for a long time when the gameplay is not protected.

And when he is working hard towards this goal, the wind of borrowing from the market is already blowing?

Although Philips does not know how to make games at all, the only help they can provide to MGM, Paramount, and Disney is to relax patent restrictions, but with this alone, it can already give the current electronic game market Bring on the thunder blow!

Because video games are not very technical! Reproduction is easier!

And when novel models + traditional IP appear together...

What the hell!

Is this Philips Murong Fu?

I just beat him last year with Star Wars.

And half a year later, this guy actually managed to pull off such a big move?

This is a special code!

ah--

Ethan leaned back, almost annoyed!

At this moment, he just felt so unlucky. Ever since he started his business, he had never had a peaceful day!

At first, Atari's duo wanted to grab Snake, but Milohua's group was trying to blame it, so he was inexplicably tricked by both sides; he finally regained control with Pac-Man After one round, Atari and Milover launched next-generation consoles; after taking advantage of the wave of the Star Wars era to forcibly overwhelm their limelight, the parent companies of both parties personally stepped down, and Warner was not convinced that he wanted to enter. The film industry has carried out all-round obstruction, but what about Philips? In order to stop him, the original patent madmen started to form a clique and open up licensing?

This is crazy!

If you co-author it, you would rather not earn royalties, but you would kill me if you use special code!

More importantly, every problem that arises is not caused by him, right?

Previously, when Atari and Milover launched their next-generation consoles, Isana gave himself two slaps. At that time, he felt that if he hadn't taken a long vacation after the success of Pac-Man, which caused the company's research and development progress to fail to keep up with the market, he might not have been favored by Atari and Milover. The sniper was successful, but later, it was proven that the person who disrupted his R\u0026D progress with the Nintendo code was personally found by Milohua!

When his competitors can do a lot of things that are unimaginable to ordinary people in order to slow down his progress, oh no! When it’s a neurological operation that even a psychotic patient can’t find a way to make up for...

Even if he wants to defend himself, he can't defend himself!

And when he didn't even dare to take a breath...

Philips called again?

What the hell!

Did I eat your rice or dig up your ancestral graves?

Can't you just find a place to die?

Is it so difficult to give up a market?

ah?

The more Ethan thought about it, the angrier he became, his chest rising and falling.

And when he was irritated and wanted to smash something, the pattering of footsteps penetrated his ears from far to near. A moment later, the door of the study was knocked from outside.

May I come in?

This question made Ethan sit up again, press the standby button on the TV, rub his cheeks vigorously with both hands, and then smiled: Of course -

As the words fell, the long handle of the study room instantly went down. Evelin, who was holding the tray, opened the door with her elbow, pushed gently with her back, turned around and squeezed into the room. When the girl pushed the tray in front of Ethan, a seductive fragrance immediately penetrated his nose, stimulating his taste buds.

“Whoa – is this dinner for me?”

Yes--

Evelin sat down with a smile and said: This jelly-like thing is called bone marrow pudding. It is made with beef bone marrow, mushrooms and onions. I saw them introducing this new dish when I was eating in the research park restaurant tonight. I thought it was good to order one. I thought you might not have anywhere to eat at night because you were leaving in a hurry? So I asked them to pack one, and then I also ordered a wagyu steak.

There is a restaurant in the Stanford Research Park, so when he moved the company into the park, Ethan, who already provided employees with three meals a day, also designated it as his company's exclusive canteen.

Three meals a day are provided there. On weekdays, when you go to work in the morning, you can go there to have breakfast before entering the company, and you can also have dinner before going home after get off work in the afternoon. As for noon? They take a one-hour break at noon. After eating in the restaurant, it is most convenient to go back to the company lounge to rest.

Since most of the customers served by the park's restaurants are big names with a lot of names, and the meals are paid for by funds allocated by Fortune 500 companies, the food there tastes and looks very good.

At least this is what Ethan and Evelin, who are used to eating, think so.

Therefore, after hearing that the food came from his favorite canteen, Ethan picked up the spoon and started eating without hesitation. As the pudding entered his mouth, the sweet but not greasy creamy taste and smooth jelly texture made him nod his head repeatedly and praised: It's delicious——

Evelin chuckled and shook her head as she devoured her food. She glanced at the remote control that was thrown aside, then turned her head and glanced at the TV in the corner with the light still on. She asked, Are you a little anxious?

The lackluster words made Ethan pause. He picked up the paper cup under the pudding with one hand and frantically grasped the pudding inside with the other. He pretended to be calm and said, No, why do you ask?

You left early this afternoon.

That's because I have some things to deal with.

Really? But you usually tell me when something happens.

Evelin leaned forward, put her elbows on the table, held her chin with one hand, and looked at Ethan, Whether it's Milova's prosecution, Nintendo's betrayal, or Philips' CDs, or Rockefeller's robbery, you can You told me, but today...

You ran away.

I didn't know until night that Philips and Disney formed an alliance.

The light words made Ethan freeze there.

After a moment, he smiled and put down the food and spoon in his hands.

Oh, I just- He tried to think of something to say.

A bit tired? Evelin opened her red lips lightly and went straight to the core.

?--how do you know?

I recalled it, and I think you were under a lot of pressure during this period.

Hahaha……

His sister's words made Ethan laugh helplessly, rubbing his brows and shaking his head.

This afternoon, after seeing the news about the cooperation between Philips and three other companies, Ethan stayed in the office for a while, and then left the company. He wanted to find a place to be quiet, relax his mood, and clear his brain. , to prevent yourself from being out of breath.

In fact, he had already felt it. After he successfully touched her again and again, the troubles around him became more and more like flies that couldn't be chased away. After Star Wars was released, the only time he was truly happy were those few days.

After that, regardless of whether it was Nintendo taking off its coat, or Warner Communications Chairman Steve Ross’s unscrupulous ban, or the sudden communication from the Archmage Barbara Babcock, or Wenlock The sudden attack without martial ethics, the current muddy waters in Colombia, and the open declaration of war by Philip's gangs... these things made him very irritated.

That kind of irritability comes from the tiredness deep in the soul, and it is also the fatigue caused by nervous tension.

On the way home, he even remembered what Teacher Ma said -

‘My happiest time was when I was earning ninety-one yuan a month and working as a teacher. ’

Thinking back carefully, Ethan really felt that his happiest time was when he was cooperating with Atari. At that time, he didn't have to worry about manufacturing or selling goods, he just had to wait to receive money.

At that time, he could buy a Ferrari in person, but now...

Tired!

Would you like to take a break? Give yourself a holiday? Evelin suggested with concern, You didn't have any rest at all during this year's Christmas vacation, and you were all focused on Apple.

... This opinion made Ethan's eyes wander for a moment, and then he shook his head, Just take a hot bath and sleep. The enemy is coming so fiercely, how can I have time to rest?

Let's wait until we finish beating them before we talk about vacation.

Besides -

Tear off their heads, that's the best rest!

Ethan hates all this nonsense.

But at the same time, he also knew that he could not stop when surrounded by wolves.

You just have to smash all the guys who come up! Only with that special code will others be afraid of you!

Have you been looking for cooperation like a sheep?

Ah--

To the outside world, you are just a piece of fat.

After finishing dinner, he went into the bathroom. When the warm water turned cold, Ethan yawned and returned to the bedroom. The employees gathered together and held a meeting...

Everyone must have seen the news yesterday. Philips, which originally only developed in the field of home consoles, entered the field of electronic arcades, and the three Hollywood companies that provided them with creativity were Disney, Paramount and MGM. Although they are coming menacingly, to our Destiny Game, their combination is nothing more than a combination of all hat and no cattle (cowboys only have hats and no cattle, the description is only in vain) and cannot pose any threat to us.

But even so, we cannot completely relax. We must despise them strategically and value them tactically. Therefore, I have summoned you all here today. I believe you have prepared your own works. So, From now on, time is yours.

When the Miffyites formed a coalition and attempted to invade the market by plagiarizing classic IP and gameplay, the only way to educate them was to defeat them openly!

Let the product speak for itself!

Ethan is already prepared in this regard. The R\u0026D team that has been formed since last year and the R\u0026D tasks assigned are finally coming to fruition.

The first thing Ethan reviewed was a scroll racing game. The gameplay of this game is actually very simple. The scene on the screen will continue to regress, and there will also be many obstacles such as trees, trash cans, stones, etc. on the smooth road. Whenever the car controlled by the player hits an obstacle, one life will be lost. After all three lives are lost, the game will end. The player's operation is only the left and right of the joystick, which is used to move the vehicle in the game laterally as much as possible. Avoid obstacles to get higher scores.

This game actually tests the player's reaction ability. After playing for a while, Ethan discovered that the nature of this game is similar to Snake, and in terms of operation, this one is definitely easier to use.

There is a problem with your game, that is, the music is not passionate enough.

Change to some passionate music, music that can make players' blood pump.

And your soundtrack is also very repetitive. I hope that the music in the game can be diverse. At the beginning, when the speed is slow, the soundtrack of the game can be relatively soothing, but then, as the speed becomes faster, the tone of the music should also be corresponding. It gets faster and higher.

And every variation, at best, means an increase in difficulty.

The most important thing is that after the player dies, you can't stop the music immediately. You have to make a gradient so that the player can hear the feeling of regret, Okay?

As for the name Need for Speed?

Although the taste is a bit wrong, but... forget it, let's call it this name.

There are no problems in other aspects, it's very good.

Ethan's praise made the production team smile, and his request for modifications also made them nod. As for saying that my work cannot be modified by others?

hehe--

Not to mention that Ethan is their boss, even if Ethan has nothing to do with them, they don't dare to turn a deaf ear to the opinions of the God of Games who can earn 100 million in cash a year!

The second game Ethan reviewed was Windfall, which had been modified last time, and the guy who made this game was really a genius at coding.

When discussing the concept with Ethan before, they said that the game has two modes. In the single-player mode, the player controls a hand that opens the bag and continuously collects items from top to bottom. As the speed increases, the amount of items collected increases. Players who are incomplete will lose.

In the multiplayer mode, they set a fixed level, allowing two players to compete at the same time to see who collects more items and whoever scores the higher score wins.

But during the production process, they simply modified the gameplay. The setting of gold nuggets falling from top to bottom remained unchanged. However, the failure determination in the single-player mode was not due to incomplete collection, but to a collection error. This setting is very simple. Not only gold coins, gold nuggets, and gold bricks fall from the sky, but also stones, stones, and meteorites. When the player collects gold coins, gold nuggets, and gold bricks, two points, six points, and ten points will be added. , but after collecting stones, rocks and meteorites, one point, three points and death will be deducted accordingly.

What does that mean?

Players can carry away gold coins, gold nuggets, gold bricks, and stones in bags, but they must avoid meteorites, because meteorites can kill people.

When the modified gameplay appeared in front of Ethan, he became Spartan.

No, why would you change the gameplay like this? Ethan couldn't understand.

Because it's more interesting, said David Crane, who designed the game. If we don't change it, the game will become a simple game about players' reaction.

There is almost no difference between the original game and Need for Speed. Need for Speed involves moving left and right to avoid obstacles, while our Windfall can actually be seen as collecting obstacles.

So we thought about it and decided to add some tests to the player's judgment.

This way players won't feel repetitive and monotonous when playing.

This explanation made Ethan look at him twice.

He knew David Crane was one of the founders of Activision, and when someone like that uses analogies to explain the most important aspects of gameplay in video games...

This keen sense of smell made him nod.

Very good. Ethan praised.

At the same time, he asked: Then have you discovered that there is another problem with the game?

?

Such words made the people present a little stunned.

Ethan continued: My point is very simple. Why do you think gold nuggets and gold bricks can't kill people? Only meteorites can kill people?

This question made everyone laugh.

Someone even shouted: Because David feels that if a gold brick falls from the sky, he will definitely hold it and run away, but if a meteorite falls from the sky, he will definitely yell MFxxk!

...

This answer stunned Ethan.

Then he laughed and gave them a thumbs up.

Okay, great, this explanation is amazing.

The third game is a shooting game, which is actually very similar to the later Whac-a-Mole. There are several game backgrounds, including a building occupied by robbers, a hill occupied by robbers, a street occupied by robbers, etc. , the player plays the role of a sniper and needs to kill those bastards who cannot be persuaded to surrender.

Robbers will appear on the screen at regular intervals, and players have up to ten seconds to kill them. After pressing the button on the arcade, a crosshair will appear on the plane view. Move the joystick to align the crosshairs with the robbers. Bandit, then press the button to shoot.

Each time a robber is hit, one point will be added. But if it misses, the robber will kill one of the hostages. Hostages are actually equivalent to the player's life. After three hostages die, the player will be dismissed by his boss. In order to make the game less monotonous, the game maps are all progressive. The building is the first level, which can be cleared by killing ten robbers. The hill is the second level, which can be cleared by killing twenty robbers. , and the street is the third level...there are five levels in total.

This is also the only game from the Destiny game development team that can be cleared. Like the previous Need for Speed and Windfall, they were all unlimited streaming games that I learned from Ethan.

What's the name of this game?

Taken.

Okay, then let's sell it under this name.

Although Ethan can't see any revolutionary influence from these three games, the level of these games is actually not low, regardless of whether it is a scroll-style racing, a game of catching things, or a plane shooting, etc. The gameplay still has a huge market more than ten years later.

When these small games can help people pass the time in entertainment-rich future generations, now it must be simple to sell a machine on the market.

But these alone cannot compete with Mickey, Donald, Tom and Jerry, so after reading the self-developed products of the R\u0026D department, Ethan reviewed the sequel to his best-selling product.

Snake 2: Two-Player Battle Edition actually divides the TV screen into two and draws two arenas for players to fight. Since the previous game sold well, these guys didn't use their brains when reproducing it. , which is a simple copy of the electronic arcade version of the game.

So during the test, Ethan discovered a problem. When the single-player version of the quick game is put into the two-player version, the player experience will be very bad. The maximum game duration of one minute will really make it difficult. Players think this is a money scam, so...

The game speed has to be adjusted.

Ethan made his own decision, Adjust according to the Apple 2 version of the game speed. If you find it troublesome, you can refer to their code directly.

You have to remember one thing. Battle games are different from single-player games. In single-player games, players enjoy the pleasure of conquering the game, while in battle games, players enjoy the pleasure of conquering their opponents. So we must It is guaranteed that even new players can draw with some masters in the early stage. Only by taking care of the gaming experience of novice players can the masters have a gaming experience, because those players who cannot beat them are the fun of the game.

Such words made the developers in the company look solemn.

This novel perspective allowed them to record carefully.

‘In battle games, are ordinary players a source of fun for advanced players? ’

‘Wow, how come this word has a feeling of conquest in human nature? ’

After making modifications to Snake 2: Two-Player Battle Edition, Ethan turned his attention to Ms. Pac-Man. This game has not yet been fully developed, but the first few levels have been tested.

And when Ethan focused his attention on this arcade game...

The first thing that catches the eye is a patch of pink.