February, Presidents' Day.
As one of the statutory holidays in the America States, even the largest stock exchange, Nasdaq, closes on this day to commemorate past presidents.
On that very day, GAMENOVA's new game was also placed on the shelves of major supermarkets.
Quake
A simple logo is placed after the game name, and the overall design uses a uniform rusty brownish-red color.
The uppercase serif font was deliberately given a lot of wear and tear, further enhancing the antique feel of the logo.
The overall design style is very distinctive. At a glance, almost every player familiar with GAMENOVA can immediately think of that work that once shocked an entire era.
Wolfenstein 3D!
This allowed NovaBo to break through the encirclement and suppression of manufacturers such as Nintendo, Sega, and Atari, and become the dominant work.
However, this time, in addition to the usual information about the developer and publisher, its cover features a brand new symbol.
Emma hurriedly squeezed through the crowd, rushing out of the crowded store with the first-edition copy of " Quake " that she had managed to snag after knocking over a huge group of people.
Only then did she have time to tidy her messy hair and clothes, and carefully examine the differences in this card case.
At first glance, she noticed the extra logo in the lower left corner.
A large, bold "M" is printed inside a rectangular frame.
The top bar displays [MATURE(17+)] (Mature).
The bottom bar contains four letters whose meaning is unknown.
[ESRB]
She quickly flipped through the latest gaming magazine they had just bought together, hoping to find an answer.
And as expected, Electronic Games provided her with an answer.
ESRB stands for Entertainment Software Rating Board.
A non-profit industry self-regulatory organization spearheaded by GAMENOVA and jointly founded by Activision, Bethesda, Sega, and other game companies.
The organization's job is very simple: to rate video games according to standards, informing consumers, especially parents who buy video games for their children, about the suitability of a game.
According to the ESRB rating system, this new game, Quake, is a 17+ adult game.
What's going on? This is too exciting!
For this new title, GAMENOVA unusually refrained from any large-scale promotion, merely mentioning that it was a spiritual successor to DOOM and Wolfenstein 3D.
But that alone is enough to excite all the players.
Who wouldn't want to see how the sequel to a landmark work performs?
If it can maintain its consistent standards and be fully optimized with higher capacity media, that would be a wonderful thing.
However, if it goes too far and tarnishes the reputation of this IP series, then the fun-loving people and those long-lurking trolls will find a reason to criticize it.
"Hmm... that's strange, why isn't there a scoring process?"
Emma quickly flipped through her copy of Electronic Games and was surprised to find no reviews for the game in the new releases section.
After thinking for a moment, she squeezed to a less crowded magazine stand and bought a copy of "MeanMachines".
However, there is no review of the new work here either.
It was as if these media outlets had all received the information and remained silent.
This, on the contrary, only fueled the players' curiosity even more.
Emma's heart skipped a beat as she looked at the [MATURE(17+)] message, which seemed to carry a warning connotation.
But to be honest, the frequency with which she releases new works is starting to make her a little worried.
How long has it been since DOOM was released?
It took GAMENOVA nearly two years to upgrade this game from its Wolfenstein to its Doom form.
And now, such a short time has passed, and they've already released a sequel?
To be honest, this production capacity is a bit alarming.
Compared to new players like Emma who only started playing during the NB era, this is much more frightening for seasoned gamers.
It even feels like I'm about to have PTSD.
Acquire developers on a large scale, launch your own platform, and then rapidly iterate new works.
This route looks so familiar!
Is this a move to adopt the Atari model after consolidating its core customer base?
In fact, it's not hard to see this from the achievements of other manufacturers who have used the pseudo-3D technology from Wolfenstein 3D to create their own games.
If Gamenova really does release a large number of new games by reskinning them and using the same framework, they might actually be able to sell out every single one.
However, this was quite disappointing for players who were looking forward to the new game.
If Gamenova is no longer the company that constantly innovates and releases groundbreaking, epoch-making titles, then is Gamenova still Gamenova?
Such a thought didn't even last an hour before it quickly dissipated.
Just one hour after the official release of Quake, the entire gaming world suddenly fell silent.
Emma sat alone in front of the television.
Her son Vincent, was taken to a museum by his father, which gave her the opportunity to play with this artwork that he absolutely could not see.
She stared silently at the Bubbles lava pool on the screen, and the demons hanging on the brick walls on either side.
The intense light emitted by the lava shone on the wall, casting a dazzling glow.
Just like its predecessors, a dark gun muzzle protrudes from the bottom center of the screen.
"Plop"
A fireball shot out of the lava pool, traced a graceful arc in the air, and then fell back into the pool.
Emma seemed to sense something and jumped along with it.
A strange feeling.
This was the first time she had ever seen such a realistic jump in a video game.
The entire process of rising and falling is no longer the rigid linear motion of the past with a fixed speed, but rather seems to involve real acceleration and resistance.
Like a magma ball that draws a perfect arc.
Emma could sense that the world seemed to be alive.
It's true.
The realistic physics are so impressive that they even surpass the original " Double Dribble " game.
I was so stupid, really.
Emma lifted her eyes, which had been unfocused for a long time, and continued, "I only knew that Gamenova's DOOM had only been released recently: I didn't know it was just their technical proof."
"I can't believe I was influenced by those idiots who don't believe in Gamenova. I knew they'd never let me down—"
Her voice suddenly became choked with sobs, and she couldn't utter a coherent sentence.
This scene is playing out simultaneously across the country at this very moment.
Even the trolls who were racking their brains to find fault with the film fell silent after seeing the truly 3D visuals.
That's not how you play a losing game.
Speaking ill of others now is no different from simply smashing your head against a concrete wall and dying.
No, it's not a cement wall, this has to be bedrock.
Even those who were previously unaware of the situation now understand one thing clearly.
At this moment, gaming history has been etched with an indelible mark, a new chapter that cannot be described simply by words.
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