"C----Climbhillracing?"
Will tried to read it aloud.
The name itself is very easy to understand, even overly simple and straightforward.
Climb means to climb, Hill means hill, and Racing means racing.
Taken together, it roughly means driving a car uphill.
Didn't we just finish making a racing game?
He blinked, looking somewhat puzzled by the subject matter.
Given Lin Lixin's personality, he originally thought that this time, NovaSwift's supporting work would be some kind of completely different new work.
Unexpectedly, after going around in circles, we ended up back in racing.
Including Rock N' Roll Racing, this is their third racing game.
"That's true, but I can assure you, it's not the same as our previous two racing games—"
Lin Lixin paused, then suddenly realized his words were somewhat inappropriate, and changed his tune, "Okay, in a sense, it's actually the same thing as ' Rock N' Roll Racing '."
After saying that, he stood in front of the " Rock N' Roll Racing " arcade machine in the corner of the entertainment area.
I could see almost every arcade game produced by GAMENOVA in person in the office building.
On the one hand, it's to allow everyone to relax and have some fun in their spare time, and on the other hand, it's to make testing more convenient.
Some things are difficult to detect even with extensive closed testing; only true developers have the opportunity to reproduce them.
Lin Lixin turned on the machine, but instead of sitting inside, he reached out and manipulated the steering wheel to select options from the menu, entering the vehicle modification interface.
"I want to create a completely new casual game around this feature."
Even Carmack was visibly stunned at this moment.
As core members of GAMENOVA, they were well aware that this game was aimed at the new console that had been in development for a long time.
At the same time, it also helps to understand the capabilities of NovaSwift.
Despite being a 16-bit machine like the NovaXeno, many coprocessor chips cannot be installed due to power consumption and space constraints.
This results in its actual operating performance being far lower than that of the full-fledged 16-bit NovaXeno.
Want to develop a new game based on Rock N' Roll Racing?
Keep in mind that Rock ' Rock N' Roll Racing was installed on an arcade machine that was loaded with features and components without any regard for cost.
Even porting it to the console is a huge hassle, and their progress has been extremely slow so far.
However, the goal is to place it on mobile devices where performance is weaker.
To put it bluntly, this is just daydreaming.
"We can't even port the original version—Lin, are you planning to add any new features?"
"Carmack said in a low voice."
When he said he couldn't do it, his tone was somewhat dejected, as if he had made some terrible mistake.
"Huh? Who said I was going to add a new feature?"
Lin Lixin raised an eyebrow and looked at everyone with a puzzled expression.
When he saw the uniform look of confusion on everyone's faces, he suddenly realized a misconception caused by ingrained thinking.
In an era of rapid advancements in hardware capabilities, adding features is undoubtedly the best iterative approach.
The same thing, just with higher graphics, better sound effects, and a little bit of new content, can make players willingly spend money.
While adding features may not be the best approach, it can generally be considered the most stable strategy.
Even in the later era of the flourishing video game industry, the practice of combining elements and adding features still has its own market.
It was this ingrained way of thinking that led them to overlook a crucial point.
Video games don't always need to rely on bigger, stronger, and better technology.
Admittedly, Night City and Los Santos under ray tracing are indeed breathtaking, but on another path, the silly and simple Brotato have a large number of fans, and visual novels that rely entirely on CG and text have their own enthusiasts.
Ultimately, the most important essence of video games boils down to just two words: fun!
We need to simplify.
Lin Lixin's lips curled into a smile.
Sometimes, the simplest and purest things are the most captivating.
What handheld consoles need are excellent games that possess this quality.
"This project doesn't need 3D, not even high-resolution textures, and the background music doesn't need to be of such high quality."
The amount of information the human brain can process at any given moment is limited.
The more information there is in other parts, the more distracting it becomes.
What Lin Lixin needs to do now is to compress the amount of information as much as possible without losing its necessity, based on this foundation.
Take background music (BGM) for example.
He casually turned off the arcade machine and sat down in front of the expensive Steinway grand piano.
Thanks to Lin Lixin's increasingly mature musical literacy, he can effortlessly translate the melodies he conceives in his mind into hand gestures.
First came a few simple and cheerful syllables.
This was then followed by an equally simple chord progression.
The piece has a simple structure, but it is very pleasant to listen to.
Although it doesn't instantly grab your attention or give you goosebumps like the music in " Dream of Flight " or " Castlevania," it's exceptionally soothing.
Kojima's expression changed most noticeably.
Among the people in the GAMENOVA development department, he, as the "director," had the most contact with the music arrangement.
What music should be played in what location and scene? How should the music's entry and exit points be arranged? Should it be interrupted?
Whether or not to transition is something he needs to consider.
Although music may not be very prominent in many video games, this is precisely because of the deliberate adjustments made by these people.
Sometimes, a background music track that is placed in the background without any control can actually be a downside.
As a result, the Kojima has accumulated more and more experience in this area during its development over this period.
He could clearly hear the difference in this piece of music.
It doesn't have a clear climax or ending.
The rhythm of the entire piece is very even, and although there are structural variations, it does not bring any unexpected "dissonant intervals" to the ear.
This makes the feeling conveyed by this piece somewhat like—"no one exists here."
Yes, that's exactly how Kojima felt after listening to this impromptu piece.
It's the same as not listening at all.
The entire piece of music is only about 40 seconds long, which is not long. It has a gentle rise and fall, a narrow range, and the rhythm remains at a constant BPM.
It's as absurd as getting 0 points on an answer sheet full of true/false questions.
This is even more frightening than a perfect score.
This can only prove one thing.
Lin Lixin did this on purpose!
"Cycle----"
He spoke slowly, having already guessed Lin Lixin's plan.
Let this piece of music, which has no clear beginning or end, loop indefinitely.
For a piece of music that lacks a linear narrative, the player's auditory experience remains consistent regardless of where they start listening or whether the playback is interrupted and restarted.