"It's very simple, Sam. These three just represent the needs of 'commercial,' 'residential,' and 'industrial' sectors."
"Uh—let me double-check, what is the purpose of this game?"
Sam sat down next to Will, looking at the somewhat rudimentary SimCity game on his screen.
In the bottom left corner of the screen, there is a histogram with three colors: blue, green, and yellow. At this moment, the blue bar representing "business" is pulled very low.
"The goal? It's to build a city, right? Look, the demand for industrial zones is so high right now, let's build industrial zones."
Will dragged the mouse to draw a road on the map, delineating the industrial area and connecting it to electricity.
When a large factory rose in the newly planned industrial zone, the yellow pillar representing industrial demand was lowered.
However, demand from residential and commercial areas subsequently increased slightly.
"Isn't this... kneading dough?"
Sam scratched his head.
So far, Sam's understanding of this thing can be summed up in one word.
stupid!
No matter how elaborate the packaging, in his view, it was like kneading a giant lump of dough.
Add water if there's too much flour, add flour if there's too much water.
It was really aimless.
When Sam first heard that Will was the author of " Raid on Bungeling Bay," he assumed that his writing style would be more radical and intense.
Sam felt a sense of nihilism about this work.
This is completely different from the aimless wandering he experienced with the Legend of Zelda.
Although Zelda doesn't have any strong goals other than rescuing Princess Zelda, the hidden content all over the map and the major shrines subtly inspire players to explore further.
In Lin Lixin's words, this is called "emergent design".
Keep players' desire to explore by relying on curiosity.
However, in Sam's view, SimCity has absolutely nothing to do with this design pattern.
"Ah, you're right, it's the dough-kneading method, which is actually a type of emergence."
Lin Lixin walked up to the two of them and burst out laughing when he heard Sam's words.
This kind of city-building game is not only about kneading dough, but also about spreading it out like a pancake.
Just like Ubisoft's Anno series.
"In a sense, this is a playstyle that requires a lot of material."
Lin Lixin looked at the still sparse building section on the screen, "More building types, more urban needs, more decorations, more new mechanisms—"
"Right!"
Will expressed his strong agreement with this.
His mind was filled with countless ideas about the game, but his capabilities were limited.
If he could, he would even like to incorporate all his understanding of urban planning into this work.
" Sam, you need to understand one thing."
Lin Lixin's expression turned serious.
The significance of SimCity to Gamenova actually goes far beyond what one might imagine.
"A PC is not a game console, much less an arcade machine. We don't need a game to be liked by everyone."
Even the best-selling games like Tetris and Minecraft can't please everyone.
Lin Lixin was very clear about this.
"But it's essential to make sure the target audience likes it."
In Lin Lixin's view, Sam is a typical "fast-food game enthusiast".
Fast-paced, straightforward, and exhilarating experiences are his cup of tea.
If he lived in later generations, he would be a classic gun-wielding hero.
He might be temporarily distracted by the stunning designs in Fire Emblem.
But ultimately, after Sam finishes the game, he will quickly return to shooting and fighting games.
"But----"
Lin Lixin abruptly changed the subject, slamming the newly printed document onto Will's desk. "We can simply add a little 'spice' to attract some players outside the core audience."
Will glanced at the title of the short document.
[ God Mode ]
This was an extremely audacious plan, turning what he originally designed as a challenge into—a toy.
"Can this really work?"
"To be honest, I'm not sure."
Lin Lixin shrugged.
With Dell as a partner, the biggest advantage is that Lin Lixin no longer needs to worry about sales channels.
While Meyer and his Silicon Oasis company have achieved considerable success offline, they have made no foray into the PC market.
Dell's acquisition completely filled the last hole in Gamenova's sales.
As trucks shuttled between the factory and Dell, hundreds of thousands of floppy disks began to be shipped throughout North America.
This naturally includes Michigan, a state bordering the Great Lakes and facing Canada across the lakes.
Microprose, a small but very successful game company, has just entered its fourth year.
One of its founders and chief game designer is standing in front of the shelf, looking at the newly released game floppy disk.
SimCity
This is GAMENOVA's first officially released PC video game.
The exquisite packaging box depicts a modern city scene, with towering concrete jungles arranged in a well-organized manner.
The only thing that puzzled him was the tornado in the distance.
"Is it a game about destroying cities?"
He muttered to himself.
He had played that kind of game countless times before.
As a hardcore internet addict, he has virtually no blind spots when it comes to choosing games.
He always makes sure to taste the saltiness or blandness of any of his creations.
Perhaps this is why he was able to lead Microprose to create so many blockbuster products.
"Maybe it can provide some inspiration for my new work."
With that in mind, he reached out and took the floppy disk, then quickly paid the money.
"Thank you for your patronage, sir. Please sign your name here on the ticket—okay, Mr. Sid Meier, have a great time."
Inside Microprose company.
Bill, one of the two founders and also in charge of business operations, is testing a newly developed flight simulation game.
This former Air Force lieutenant has a particular interest in this type of subject matter.
" Bill, guess what I bought?"
Sid Meier waved the game box in his hand, his expression excited, "GAMENOVA's first PC game!"
He originally just wanted to go to the store today to check out the market and see if there was an opportunity to promote their new game.
"Huh? I thought you were going to gather material for your new Pirates! -themed work."
"Isn't this just gathering material? I don't have time to waste with your nonsense, I want to try it out now."
Sid Meier sat down at his PC and inserted the floppy disk into the drive.
After a long loading process, a military green road sign appeared on the screen.
Aside from the large, bolded name of the game SIMCITY, there are only three options.
Start a new city, load a city, and choose a scenario.
Naming the city? Well then—I'll just use my own name.
He pressed [SidMeier'sCity] on the screen, clicked OK, and officially entered the game.
A map consisting of only three types of terrain—grassland, land, and water—appeared before him.
There were no further notifications.
So what?