"They won?! They actually won?!"
The two stared blankly at the settlement screen in front of them.
That was really close!
If it weren't for Tim's several skillful dodges, they would have been sent to meet their grandmothers by a barrage of bullets.
But now, as the victors, they've won everything!
That also includes the two-masted ship that almost Half-Life them just now!
It is indeed a bit bulkier than the Revenge.
But the significantly increased carrying capacity and firepower made it impossible for Tim to refuse.
"They actually designed different parameters and corresponding models for each ship individually..."
Whenever their consciousness was pulled away from the immersive experience of sailing, they couldn't help but sigh at the seemingly insurmountable gap between people.
Not long ago, they were still basking in the glory of their new work.
It was just a small game released on the Famicom). Everyone gave it good reviews, and it sold very well.
But now, Tim's mindset has completely changed.
Unlike Chris, who considers it from the perspective of the company's overall operational strategy.
Tim is a geek by nature, and his greatest passion in life is tinkering with technology.
"It's hard to imagine that this is a product from the same era as us."
He sighed helplessly.
The deeper you delve into the game, the stronger that feeling of powerlessness becomes.
It's an indescribable feeling that you can't overcome no matter how hard you try.
They didn't even have the courage to try it.
"The music is really interesting... I didn't even notice the background music while I was playing."
Chris's gaze was equally serious.
Recalling his gaming experience, it felt like an unbelievable dream. It sounded strange, but Tim understood what he meant.
Perfectly natural!
This background music is almost as if it were tailor-made for this game, or rather, for this genre.
It won't feel abrupt at all, nor will it steal the spotlight from the game mechanics.
It just stayed there quietly, steadily performing its own content.
Chris didn't even notice the background music playing.
Just like the excitement of a sword fight, that's what should exist here.
The grandeur at sea and the dramatic changes when encountering the enemy...
Every piece of music was perfectly placed.
If I had to find a word to describe it, it would be "perfectly natural".
Like the bassist in a band.
Aside from those deliberately emphasized elements, it's a sound you don't notice while playing, but find hard to adjust to once it's gone. "Yes, it's pure ambient sound, entirely serving the mood and environment, without emphasizing any arcade loops."
Tim nodded in approval.
He realized what was going on when he heard that.
This is truly an amazing musical design.
"Honestly, we should let Wes take a look; he'd definitely be interested."
Wes is a composer at their Rare Studio.
He excels at creating a combination of ambient sound and background music, rather than just 8-bit loops with an arcade feel.
However, due to the limitation of their development platform being FC, the limited audio capabilities did not allow them to create anything cooler.
They've been thinking about talking to Nintendo about upgrading to the SFC platform lately.
Only with the advent of the 16-bit era did they have the opportunity to break through hardware limitations and bring those experimental ideas to reality.
Wes said he's been studying some techniques lately.
If all goes well, he can create sound effects beyond 16-bit using SNES audio sources. Tim brought up the game's main menu.
The name "He's Pirate" is displayed in the corner of the menu, indicating the name of the song currently playing.
"It's a pity it's a bit late. If it had been released a month earlier, Gamenova would probably have appeared at this year's Grammy Award."
A game company keeps winning music awards every other day, who can you complain to?!
He stared at the credits for [Music Director: Hans Zimmer ] and suddenly paused.
"Hey? Chris, look."
"I see... that genius newcomer who composed the music for ' Rain Man '..."
With its location in California, Gamenova possesses an astonishingly vast network of connections and resources.
The entire Hollywood is under Gamenova's control.
Tim even had a feeling that the face model for this main character was probably not some random extra.
Although the model wasn't very precise and difficult to identify, its overall aura and facial features were indeed extraordinary, giving him a sense of familiarity.
"Look, this guy on the poster should be the protagonist after he matures, right?" A poster roll was included in the deluxe edition card box.
Chris unfolded it, revealing its contents.
The entire image was split in two, as if a person had been cleaved in two.
The one on the left is clearly the protagonist of the game, young and handsome, with a touch of inexplicable melancholy in his demeanor.
The one on the right looks more like a seasoned Pirates! who has been fighting on the high seas for many years.
She wore a red headscarf and heavy smoky eye makeup.
His head was covered in dreadlocks tied in front of him.
When Chris first saw this picture, he thought it was a photo of the protagonist and a villain.
But upon closer inspection, he noticed that these two... seemed to be the same person.
"Hey, this is exactly the perfect Pirates! I've always dreamed of!"
"Who isn't? He's so handsome..."
The two chattered away, then their gazes fell on the Pirates! costumes they had casually tossed aside. They exchanged a glance, both seeing a gleam of admiration in each other's eyes.
Tonight is Halloween!
Their studio has arranged to hold a makeup party.
However, because they were working overtime, they hadn't decided what to dress up as before.
Tim even suggested they wrap two bundles of toilet paper around their bodies to cosplay as mummies.
Now they have a perfect option.
"We need to figure out how to get a dreadlock wig and find someone to do our smoky eye makeup."
Clearly, they are not alone in holding this view.
The Stamper brothers stared at the several identically dressed " Pirates! " before them, lost in thought.
In just one morning, the word "Pirates!" seemed to have resurfaced from its neglected corners.
Especially in the two initial launch regions, the US and UK, an undisguised Pirates! craze has swept across the country. Sales are not high, but the influence is simply terrifying.
Photos of various game screenshots, TV program broadcasts, demo machines in arcades, urban legends, and other sources have emerged one after another.
Even those who haven't played it have heard of a game on the market that allows you to "freely Adventure in the Caribbean Sea."
Those people spoke with great detail and conviction, even going so far as to say things like, "You can seduce the governor's daughter and dance with her."
It's said that the game has no mandatory requirements, allowing everyone to create their own unique story.
You might have been born on a Kojima in the Leeward Islands, or perhaps near the Panama Canal, or further north in Florida, or in the Yucatán or Belize regions of southern Mexico...
Depending on the faction chosen and the time of day, almost everyone's starting point will be different.
Even if you were born in the same place, things could change drastically.
In other words, in the world of Pirates!!, there are no two completely identical Adventure stories.
Suddenly, all sorts of strange and unsavory characters became active.
It's as if not having played " Pirates!!" is some kind of outdated thing.
In order to impress their friends, some people will even pretend they've played the game if they've never actually played it. To avoid the embarrassment of being exposed, they have to use their imagination to fabricate game details to fool them.
But that's the charm of open worlds.
Go ahead and make things up; we'll always find a way to replicate it here.
While it can't yet achieve the true sense of being limited only by imagination like Minecraft.
But that's enough to depict the seafaring story that most people dream of.
Become a merchant and sail a treasure ship to and fro in the Caribbean Sea, where spices and molasses flow.
Or perhaps become the strongest Pirates! in the entire Caribbean, defeating the other nine Legend Pirates! who were once renowned throughout history.
He could even help the local Native Americans take revenge, drive out the colonists, and become a true hero.
As the synopsis of " Pirates!!" states.
Your life is in your own hands.
You can do whatever you want here, because this is a world that belongs only to you.
In an era before the concept of open worlds existed, and before nautical games were primarily text-based, gamenova offers players a unique and precious experience that may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Large portions, enough to fill you up.
The most addictive game is created using the simplest rules.
It's a bit like Civilization; once you start playing, it's hard to stop.
Pirates!! is not a strategy game.
It doesn't have a complex system mechanism, nor is it overly difficult.
The difficulty wouldn't even increase if the spoils weren't shared with the sailors.
The pace is incredibly fast, almost like an arcade game in its basic design.
However, because various systems are interdependent and influence each other, this does not cause fatigue.
Instead, it brings a unique experience that is difficult to replicate.
Plundering, trading, treasure hunting, womanizing, gaining titles, participating in politics...
The seemingly disparate mechanisms are interconnected and influence each other. This world is alive.
Even if the player does nothing and just hangs in the port watching, the world will continue to evolve on its own.
The complex international relations and diverse ships of the entire Age of Discovery were condensed into a single disc.
"Take it slow, let sales soar a little longer."
Lin Lixin said this.
This is the first truly significant bombshell he dropped on the PC gaming market.
For the next ten or even twenty years, it will continue to maintain its vitality, becoming an indelible part of "my youth" in the hearts of a generation.