"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 many familiar companies, it did not include Mais, the company he was looking for.
"The first SimCity game was probably released in 1989. Even if Mais wasn't 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 concept of "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 became just like PopCap, Westwood, and other excellent studios, one of the countless souls lost under EA's control.
"Founder Will Wright —he's a Legend 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 officially 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 both the C64 and the 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 to the floor with a "thud".
At the very top is the " Rescue Helicopter " that Lin Lixin asked him to bring.
Well, Lin Lixin really couldn't understand what the translation had to do with the game itself.
It's not even a literal translation.
If a translation were to be forced, perhaps " The Raid on Bungeling 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 you specifically told me to buy is."
As he spoke, he inserted the cassette 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.
"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 Xevious "?
"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! Don't be in such a hurry."
Lin Lixin sighed and grabbed the controller to quickly launch the helicopter. "It's just that the starting positions happen to be 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 it's a typical flight shooting game, completely different in style from the later MAXIS, this work actually reveals Will Wright's unique ideas in its details.
Did you see that notification at the bottom of the screen? It's 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 looked at the screen, puzzled, and seemed to be deep in thought.
This design is clearly intended to make players 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's indeed very suitable for fast-paced single-player games."
Considering the fast-paced, fighting game-like environment recently used in " Double Dribble," it seems this unique mode actually has 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 Forrester, 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 Forrester's 'business, housing, population' three-element model, it already has some reference value."
He adopted the demeanor of a storyteller, reciting 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—"
"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 ahead of its time, 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 artists 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, his eyes gleaming with excitement, completely oblivious to Jones's gaze.
Jones interrupted his train of thought, " Will, the landlord called again yesterday."
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