SWDnovel Chapter 123 The Unborn King of Simulation
Chapter 123 The Unborn King of Simulation
Chapter 123 The Unborn King of Simulation
"MAXIS hasn't been established yet?"
Lin Lixin carefully flipped through the list of game studios in California compiled by Sam, but surprisingly did not see that familiar name.
If I remember correctly, Mais' headquarters should also be in the San Francisco Bay Area, not far from their new office.
Although the document listed a lot of familiar companies, it didn't include Mais, the company he was looking for.
"The first SimCity game should have been released in 1989. Even if Mais hadn't been founded yet, there should have already been signs of it."
Lin Lixin sat in his brand-new, empty office, rubbing his chin in thought.
If we're talking about the studio that best embodies the word "simulation" in the world, Mais definitely deserves a nomination.
The studio is responsible for many of the world's most famous IPs, including SimCity, The Sims, and Spore.
Unfortunately, after EA's involvement, Mais underwent several radical commercial transformations, which quickly destroyed the reputation it had built up.
Ultimately, it could only become one of the countless souls lost under EA's control, just like PopCap, Westwood, and other excellent studios.
"The founder, Will Wright—he's a legendary figure too."
Lin Lixin walked out of the office, looked at the spacious room, and suddenly a thought struck him.
Instead of bringing Mais into the fold, it would be better to just poach Will Wright.
As their games grow larger and the upcoming graphics revolution approaches, their small team is now finding it increasingly difficult to keep up.
This seems like a good opportunity.
"Although Mais hasn't been established yet, Will Wright's debut work has already been released."
Thinking of this, Lin Lixin picked up his mobile phone and dialed Sam's number, who was still packing his things in South Los Angeles.
"Sam, buy me a DVD on the way here, I think it's called 'Raid on Bunging Bay,' NES."
Buy one of each, including the one on C64.
"I brought everything. Please check if anything is missing."
Sam carried a large box of game cartridges of various sizes into the office and dropped it on the floor with a "thud".
At the very top is the book Lin Lixin asked him to bring, "Rescue Helicopter".
Well, Lin Lixin really doesn't understand what this translation has to do with the game itself.
It's not even a literal translation.
If a translation were to be forced, perhaps "Raid on Bongreen Bay" would be a more fitting title.
This thing really doesn't fit the word "rescue" at all.
Sam wiped his sweat and plopped down in front of Lin Lixin.
He was exhausted from the journey.
"Let me see what amazing masterpiece this game is that you specifically told me to buy."
As he spoke, he inserted the cartridge into the NES that had already been deployed.
But as soon as he arrived, Sam felt a strong sense of déjà vu.
An aircraft carrier floats on the sea, and the player controls an armed helicopter waiting for takeoff on the runway.
"This is... isn't this '1942'?"
Controlling armed helicopters to destroy several factories scattered across the islands sounds pretty plausible.
But upon closer reflection—
Isn't this just a fusion of "1942" and "The Iron Plate"?
"No wonder you specifically asked me to buy one. Don't worry, I'll contact a lawyer right away and make sure he's crushed."
Sam is definitely a huge fan of 1942. The shock and emotion he felt when he first played it still excites him to this day.
"What nonsense! Stop being so impatient."
Lin Lixin sighed and grabbed the controller to quickly launch the helicopter. "It's just that the starting point is the same. Its design is quite interesting."
Lin Lixin maneuvered the helicopter to quickly approach the island and swiftly cleared away all the anti-aircraft guns deployed on it.
They then aimed at the target and dropped several bombs.
Although this is a typical flight shooting game, completely different in style from the later MAXIS, the details of this work already reflect Will Wright's unique ideas.
"Did you see that notification at the bottom of the screen? The one with D002."
Lin Lixin gestured towards the screen with his lip, indicating that Sam should look over.
"What's wrong? What's the date? What's the time? It's the next day now?"
"Yes, that's why I told you not to waste time. As time goes on, these enemy factories will develop technology and build more fortifications."
"Huh?" Sam stared at the screen, puzzled, lost in thought.
This design clearly encourages players to act as quickly as possible to clear the level before the enemies become too powerful.
"I see. You want to learn his dynamic difficulty design? It is indeed very suitable for fast-paced single-player games."
Considering the fast-paced, fighting game-like environment recently used in "Double Dribble," it seems that this unique mode does indeed have its uses.
"What? No, that's not it. Didn't we already implement dynamic difficulty in '1942'? What I'm interested in is this city."
"City?"
Sam watched as the buildings were being relentlessly destroyed by helicopters, and now he truly couldn't figure out what Lin Lixin was trying to say.
"Traffic models and growth models."
"How so?"
Lin Lixin smiled slightly, got up and went to the bookshelf, and picked out a brand new, unopened book.
"Urban Dynamics" is a foundational work on urban systems research published by Jay Forrest, the founder of systems dynamics.
"The game's developers seem to be trying to add a dynamic feedback system to the city in the game. Although it still falls short of Forrest's three-element model of 'enterprises,' 'housing,' and 'population,' it already has some reference value."
He struck a pose like a storyteller, rattling off a bunch of technical terms that he himself didn't quite understand.
"Ah-ha—" Sam scratched his head, looking at the book in Lin Lixin's hand, "You haven't even opened this book yet—"
"Ahem, that's not important."
Lin Lixin neatly arranged the books back on the shelf before straightening his expression. "But I think this idea is very suitable for making into a game, allowing players to verify their desired city planning in a virtual world and build a city of their dreams."
"Lego?"
"That's about right."
Lin Lixin reached out and turned off the game console.
While the concept was very advanced, there's not much else to say about the game itself besides that.
Jones sat on the edge of the sofa, holding a stack of bills he had just taken from the mailbox.
Her eyes looked tired; the unique sparkle that belonged to an artist had been worn away by life.
Jones looked toward the study, where the man she loved deeply sat, or at least he used to be.
Will Wright was typing something into the C64 with an excited look in his eyes, completely unaware of Jones's gaze.
Jones interrupted his train of thought: "Will, the landlord called again yesterday."
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