ATPnovel Chapter 21: The Years When Governors Were Still Cheap
Chapter 21: The Years When Governors Were Still Cheap
An hour later, a "soldier" made up of rough colored blocks began to move on the screen.
When he pressed the pre-set launch button, a pixel flew out.
On the right, three enemies, arranged in a simple loop, move stiffly left and right.
When Lin Lixin tried to move the protagonist forward, the background scrolling caused severe tearing and flickering.
Even the movement of enemies and bullets became sluggish.
Gerald frowned slightly as he watched the entire development process by Lin Lixin.
Even with his skill level, there were some parts that he couldn't quite understand.
But he could tell that Lin Lixin had made many radical optimizations.
"Like this, Mr. Lawson."
Lin Lixin stopped what he was doing, turned to look at Gerrard,
"This is what the game I wanted to make would look like on C64. Even if it were transferred to arcades, it would only be slightly better, far from achieving the effect I wanted."
目前市面上主流的街机基板，通常会採用ZilogZ80处理器，这款3-6MHz的CPU从各方各面都已经碾压了只有1MHz上下的MOS6510和6502，也就是C64搭载的处理器。
Gerrard pondered for a while and began to look for feasible alternatives.
"What about reducing the number of bullets? Reduce the number of enemies and bullets, decrease the complexity of the background, and somewhat combine the background and mid-ground, using a single scrolling motion with scan interruptions to create an illusion?"
"No, Mr. Lawson." Lin Lixin immediately shook his head. "You know, if that were the case, I wouldn't have come to ask for your help."
Lin Lixin turned off the software and hand-drew a rough and simple concept diagram on paper.
In his memory, Contra was definitely not a compromiser.
It was a perfect work developed at the perfect time with top-notch technology.
"The North American market needs a truly groundbreaking game to reignite players' confidence."
Gerald's gaze fell on the extremely rough concept drawing. After a long while, he stared into Lin Lixin's eyes and said, "I understand. Give me some time."
……
Before leaving, Gerrard took the initiative to extend his hand and shake hands with Lin Lixin.
Gerald Lawson rediscovered his purpose and rekindled his passion for video games.
Lin Lixin also gained the help of one of the world's top electrical engineers.
That evening, Sam also returned from the contract manufacturer with good news.
"We've reached an agreement: $1,600 per unit. If we increase shipments, the cost can be reduced even further."
He seemed very excited, especially when he thought about the terrifying price of $2,500 that Lin Lixin had quoted him; Sam felt his blood rush to his head.
No wonder Lin Lixin wasn't excited at all when he was counting the coins; instead, he kept sighing at him with that look of looking at his good-for-nothing son.
That's what making money is all about!
Excluding shipping costs and other miscellaneous expenses, each machine can earn thousands of dollars!
"Well done, Sam." Lin Lixin patted him on the shoulder. "We need lots and lots of money, and the sooner the better."
Contra will be key to their revitalization of the North American market and also key to their challenge against Nintendo.
It's worth investing any amount of money in this project.
Lin Lixin turned his head and his gaze inadvertently fell on the Star Wars videotape on the bed.
"Hiss...wait, I almost forgot about that!"
Lin Lixin's eyes suddenly lit up, and he shoved Sam aside and rushed into his bedroom.
Besides game cartridges, Sam's bookshelf was also densely packed with other entertainment products.
For example, movie videotapes.
The two main characters in Contra were not created out of thin air by Konami.
They each have their own corresponding prototypes.
Lin Lixin quickly searched through the videotape and soon found what he was looking for.
First Blood
This action film, released on October 22, 1982, is considered one of the representative works of the tough guy genre.
At the same time, he also contributed one of the most classic tough guy images in history to the world—John Rambo.
His actor is Sylvester Stallone.
Sam followed Lin Lixin into the house, looking at him with suspicion as he searched for videotapes.
Lin Lixin waved the videotape in his hand at Sam and asked:
"Sam, how much would it cost to get Sylvester Stallone to endorse our new game?"
"Huh??" Sam nearly choked on his own saliva. "S... Stallone? Dude, he's Hollywood's highest-paid A-list action star..."
Let alone getting him to be a spokesperson, even just wanting to meet him would be difficult.
"The starting price would probably be around $300 million, and they certainly wouldn't agree to endorse a despised video game."
"So expensive?"
Lin Lixin clicked his tongue in surprise, but after thinking about it carefully, he understood.
Rambo's image is so iconic that even he, a young man raised in the spring breeze, still remembers it vividly.
First Blood was one of the earliest American action films introduced to mainland China, and its influence on the world is undeniable.
Thinking you can get a Hollywood star to endorse a video game is an oversimplification.
The last company to do this was Atari, which spent a fortune to acquire the license for "E.T." and is now condemned to shame.
"Okay, never mind."
Lin Lixin shrugged and stuffed the videotape back onto the shelf.
Rambo's appearance fee is so high, the real-life inspiration for 1P, the governor, certainly wouldn't be either...
and many more!
Lin Lixin was taken aback and quickly searched the shelves thoroughly, but found nothing.
He turned back to look at Sam, his voice trembling with emotion:
"Sam, don't you have any Arnold Schwarzenegger movies here?"
"Schwarzenegger?"
Sam scratched his head; he only had a vague recollection of the name.
"Let me think... Schwarzenegger... Schwarzenegger... Ah, I remember now."
He flipped through his treasured videotapes and pulled out one with the title "Conan the Barbarian" on the cover.
"It should be him, I think he's a bodybuilder? I heard there's a new Conan movie coming out in a couple of days, and he's in it too."
Lin Lixin took the videotape and looked at the familiar, still somewhat immature face on the box cover. His heart skipped a beat.
Sylvester Stallone is now a top action star, but 84 was the rising period of Arnold Schwarzenegger's career when he first entered the entertainment industry.
The adventure films "Conan the Barbarian" and "Conan the Destroyer" cemented the image of the governor as a muscular man in the minds of audiences.
But most importantly...
On October 26, 1984, a movie called "The Terminator" was to be released.
"Sam, what if I wanted Mr. Schwarzenegger to be the spokesperson for my game?"
"Hmm... I estimate it should only cost between $10 and $20."
Lin Lixin was in a great mood after receiving an affirmative reply.
He seems to have found the perfect spokesperson for Contra.
The compatibility between the governor and Contra is enough to drop a bombshell on the stagnant domestic game market.