ATPnovel Chapter 125 Elbow, Sign a Contract with Me
Chapter 125 Elbow, Sign a Contract with Me
Chapter 125 Elbow, Sign a Contract with Me
"You already have similar works??"
Lin Lixin was also taken aback when he heard Will's words.
Wasn't the original SimCity released on the DOS system in 1989?
It's only 86, and MAXIS hasn't even been established yet, so how come there's already a demo?
Thinking of Mais, Lin Lixin suddenly realized something.
Yes, when Mais was founded, it was to sell SimCity to home computers.
If it weren't for Mais' co-founder Jeff Braun and Will Smith's decision to collaborate, this work would probably have truly died in the annals of history.
It wasn't until 89, when Mais partnered with PC game publishing giant Broder Bund, that SimCity truly took off.
It was finally released.
Based on this timeline, it seems that SimCity already has a prototype at this point in time.
Will looked at Lin Lixin with teary eyes, his nose tingling with emotion.
Finally!
Finally, someone who knows their stuff has arrived!
No wonder they've become a top player in the gaming industry.
"Yes! Mr. Lin! Yes!"
He led Lin Lixin to his workstation, where a large pile of strange and unusual blueprints and various handicrafts were stacked up.
From small-scale aircraft carrier models to wooden city sand tables, it's like a toy paradise for children.
In a sense, Will is a die-hard vinyl enthusiast.
"My father was an entrepreneur who owned a plastics manufacturing plant."
When talking about his father, Will spoke with undisguised pride mixed with obvious longing, "Although he passed away when I was nine years old, he taught me a lot and taught me how to see the world."
""
Unlike other producers who have a solid computer science background, Will's career trajectory is more similar to that of Canheim, a doctor who switched careers.
He studied mechanical engineering and architecture, and was interested in everything.
However, his educational background was somewhat different from that of Carmack, the unreasonable super genius.
To this day, Will has not obtained a degree from any university.
He was like an artist immersed in his own world, leaving only self-indulgence that no one cared about.
"Mr. Lin, this is the work I designed, which I call 'SimCity'."
It was simple and primitive, but it had everything it needed.
"It's hard to imagine that a work like this could run on the DOS system."
Lin Lixin stared at the screen, lost in thought for a moment.
Will Wright is an undeniable genius.
He perfectly combined his ideas with video games.
Whether it's SimCity, The Sims, or Spore, they are all filled with his unique style.
It's fair to say that if it weren't for EA, MAXIS would never have ended up disbanding.
It's worth noting that the king of city simulation games, Cities: Skylines, wasn't released until 2015.
Even if SimCity may not be able to compete with Skylines, it is still a masterpiece with many differentiated systems, and it won't be swept into the dustbin of history.
Its death was a tragedy orchestrated by EA.
Thinking of this, Lin Lixin narrowed his eyes slightly.
EA's decision-making process, which focuses on economic benefits and completely ignores the unique style of MAXIS, is a complete waste of this IP.
In 13, EA mandated that the new SimCity game be played online at all times in order to prevent piracy and promote social features.
But even this one point they failed to do well.
On the day of its release, the server crashed, and it was impossible to play!
This isn't Diablo or World of Warcraft; if you can't even get into the game, that's a truly terrifying and massive disaster.
Overnight, MAXIS's reputation completely collapsed and plummeted to rock bottom.
But if that's all there is to it, we just need to wait for the server to recover, and perhaps everything will return to normal.
But that's where the stupidity lies.
In order to promote social interaction, EA required MAXIS to be compatible with low-end computers as much as possible in this game, implementing the "regional" concept.
This resulted in individual city plots being pitifully small, even less abundant than in the first generation.
In order to attract a wider range of players, EA even ordered MAXIS to change its previous hardcore design and simplify the various systems as much as possible.
This is undoubtedly a fatal problem for a city-building simulation game.
It's as foolish as forgetting to put rice in fried rice.
Then, a new player entered the gaming world—Cities: Skylines.
Lin Lixin's thoughts returned as he looked at the image on the screen.
Will has just built a police station in the new town and connected it with electric grids and road networks.
"marvelous!"
Lin Lixin suddenly let out a howl, startling Will so much that he swayed.
"Reporting to GAMENOVA tomorrow—never mind, I'm leaving now!"
Damn it, we can't let such a brilliant talent fall into EA's hands.
Lin Lixin immediately took out his mobile phone and dialed the office landline.
"Sam, get the contract ready, I've poached a top talent."
Will was taken aback by Lin Lixin's decisive and efficient attitude.
"So fast??"
There were just too many things that happened today, and his brain couldn't process them all.
Lin Lixin chuckled and planned to take him back to the company.
Just as he was about to leave, his gaze suddenly fell on the C64 that hadn't been turned off yet.
Strictly speaking, it landed on the device that was plugged into it.
A square, flat box with a cable extending from the front end to connect to a computer.
The device has three gray plastic buttons arranged side by side.
Logitech C7 —
Logitech manufactures a retail mouse that costs only $99.
While $99 isn't a small amount, it's definitely a cheap mouse compared to other mice of this era.
It is also an important device for promoting the widespread adoption of mice.
The SimCity IP has always been geared towards the PC market.
This is understandable, as its operating mode is naturally well-suited to keyboard and mouse operation.
It's impossible to achieve the same fast and precise positioning as a mouse using a gamepad or joystick.
Not just city-building games, but also RTS games like Red Alert, and first-person shooter (FPS) games —
Not all games are suitable for playing with a gamepad or arcade stick.
The mouse is definitely an important input device.
"NovaBo—it seems like they could also make their own mouse peripherals?"
Lin Lixin rubbed his chin.
Once Carmack resolves the graphics library issue, they will inevitably begin to enter the 3D market.
Wolfenstein 3D is not a true 3D game; it lacks the concepts of height and depth, allowing it to be easily controlled using only a joystick.
But what if it continues to develop like this, until we get to Quake?
Not to mention SimCity, a project that's almost ready to launch.
"Logitech seems to be in the Bay Area too?"
Rather than building a new hardware division from scratch, directly finding Logitech, with its mature technology, to do OEM manufacturing seems like a good option.
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