" Mahjong Academy " is truly a Legend work.
In order to graduate from the Mahjong Academy, the player takes on the role of a protagonist who must engage in Mahjong matches against various teachers in turn.
Winning will force the opponent to lower their guard.
In a sense, this work is inextricably linked to Street Fighter.
It could even be argued that without Mahjong Academy, there would be no Street Fighter II and Capcom's subsequent glory.
At that time, Capcom was putting all its efforts into developing the brand-new arcade board CPS-1.
The company's financial situation has been pushed to a critical point.
One wrong step and you'll fall into an abyss from which you can never rise again.
At this critical juncture, Capcom's president made a desperate decision and came up with a crooked plan.
Can you wear something cool when playing mahjong?
The project was secretly developed by Yoshiki Okamoto, the father of Street Fighter, and a group of Capcom's core design team.
However, if that's all there is to it, this kind of design is actually quite common in this day and age.
These arcade machines are commonly found in some arcades.
The reason why " Mahjong Academy " can emerge from the mud and become even more murky is due to its ingenious "H key" design.
Players can interact with the characters on screen by repeatedly pressing the H key.
For example, the movements become more exaggerated when pressing the "H" key, and the clothes become looser and looser.
It boasts top-notch visual appeal and gameplay!
This design even made the "H button" the most easily damaged component in arcades at one point.
Of course, the AI system developed by Capcom's genius programmer Takashi Aoki is also indispensable.
An AI opponent that crushes other games of its generation transforms the mahjong match into a truly engaging strategic challenge.
In order to make your opponent lower their guard, you really need to analyze the river card carefully.
Although this work is considered a dark chapter in Capcom's history, and the president even issued a strict gag order to all employees, there is no doubt that it saved Capcom from the brink of bankruptcy.
There's not much to say about how to play this thing.
After a brief explanation, Mike and the other two understood what Lin Lixin meant.
"This is absolutely amazing!"
Unlike the Japan, the white guy in the America flag didn't seem particularly timid about the gameplay; he just found the interactive experience amazing.
"Let's give it a try. It'll help Blizzard accumulate some funds for future project development."
Lin Lixin nodded.
Although the Rock N' Roll Racing project was highly successful in terms of reputation, the actual profit margin was not very ideal due to factors such as arcade cabinets and patent fees.
Ultimately, it was just an experimental platform created by ruthlessly piling on materials.
O
Does Rock N' Roll Racing make money? Of course it does, it's incredibly profitable.
Even if it costs $5 per game, there are still plenty of people lining up to play.
But the arcade owners are the ones who make the money; Blizzard can only earn funds through the one-time sale of arcade boards.
A subsidiary cannot rely on its parent company for financial support forever.
This project is perfect for them.
Mahjong Academy's arcade board sales in the original world easily surpassed ten times that of other popular arcade games of the same period.
"Your task is very simple: design the core gameplay mechanics and design a suitable baseboard."
After thinking for a moment, Lin Lixin pulled out his mobile phone and dialed a number. " Will, come to Blizzard. You'll work with them on the new project."
When it comes to developing game AI, no one is more suitable Will, who is currently working tirelessly on developing a new AI module.
"Then—what about the character's prototype design?"
Mike and the other two looked at each other in bewilderment.
The project itself wasn't difficult, but none of the three of them had any experience working on this type of subject matter.
Create a realistic image of a woman, or even an interactive animation.
It's unreasonable to ask someone to do something they can't.
They'll probably have to draw them as orcs then.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that, I have experts here."
Lin Lixin chuckled. GAMENOVA did indeed have a suitable candidate to handle this aspect.
As the saying goes, professionals should do professional things.
If you want to find a group of visually appealing and suitable characters to use as prototypes, there's nothing better than directly approaching actors in the relevant industries.
Japan, GameFreak.
Satoshi Tajiri received a strange request from Lin Lixin.
They signed several celebrities under the name of Roppongi Agency.
As he answered, he wrote down the names one by one.
"Okay, okay. Kaoru Kuroki ---- Hitomi Kobayashi ----uh----"
The more Satoshi wrote, the more he felt something was wrong.
These names look very familiar.
It's more accurate to say that there's probably no one in all of Japan who doesn't know them.
These are all legendary divas, pioneers in their respective fields!
"President Lin, are you perhaps planning to—"
Although Roppongi Agency hasn't achieved any particularly significant development, it has been steadily growing by leveraging the buzz generated by Gamenova.
The company's current rising Nova, Yui Asaka, has remained a pillar of the agency since her debut in " The King of Fighters ".
However, upon closer examination, Roppongi's position is indeed quite awkward compared to other subsidiaries that have rapidly developed thanks to GAMENOVA's success.
It doesn't receive much resource support, and it doesn't even receive as many resources as the newly established NMB music team.
Even the person directly in charge, Satoshi Tajiri, has never paid much attention to it.
Treat it as a dispensable entity, something you can pull in when it's useful and kick out when it's not.
But Lin Lixin's request today stirred something within him.
It's here!
It's finally Roppongi Agency's turn!
President Lin's magic touch—making anyone he selects successful—has arrived!
President Lin is going to make a film!
"President, if that's the case, I know a suitable candidate."
"Huh? Do you have a favorite celebrity?"
Lin Lixin on the other end of the phone was stunned. He hadn't expected that Satoshi Tajiri, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, would be so proactive.
Are you planning to use public funds to treat yourself to a nice meal while chasing after your idol?
"No, no, I was talking about Director Muranishi, the most Legend master in this industry."
"By working directly with Crystal-Eizou, which is affiliated with him, we can skip all those intermediate steps."
"He has a large number of directly signed actors under his management, and even for those who aren't signed, he has channels to quickly secure collaborations."
After listening to Satoshi Tajiri's explanation, Lin Lixin finally understood.
This is actually a good approach.
Toru Muranishi's impact on the Japan film and television industry was revolutionary.
Without Muranishi's insistence on promoting this film despite censorship pressure, there would be no Japan age of Japanese films in later generations.
He has access to a unique combination of production teams and actor resources in the industry.
"Otherwise—let's just establish a joint venture production company with Director Muranishi under the name of Roppongi."
Lin Lixin thought about it and realized that this was indeed a good opportunity.
The distribution network that Muranishi has is also a great help to their game distribution.
With his help, the entire East Asia Asian market can be rapidly expanded.
"Hmm—I'll have to talk to Lucas about that later too."
It just so happens that he also has Lucasfilm, in which he previously invested.
This is a legitimate Hollywood studio; its production capabilities are simply not on the same level as those shady, unorthodox studios like Crystal-Eizou.
Director Muranishi, a ruthless madman who constantly walks the line between law and reality, would certainly not refuse the opportunity to collaborate with a powerful American studio.
This is a get-out-of-jail-free card.
I doubt anyone would have imagined that a game about evil cultivation would gather so many and such an exaggerated amount of development resources.