February 24, 1991.
Operation Desert Sabre has officially begun.
February 28, 1991.
The Gulf War has officially ended.
Multinational forces launched a full-scale ground offensive from multiple directions.
In 100 hours, they destroyed nearly 3,000 tanks and captured over 100,000 enemy soldiers.
Faced with the first appearance of modern, information-based warfare since the Cold War, and the barrage of a large number of long-range precision-guided weapons.
Despite their efforts to organize a counterattack, the Iraqi army could not escape a complete defeat.
The war ended at a speed that no one had imagined.
Excluding the troop mobilization that began last August, the entire campaign took less than two months.
For a month and a half, the bombing raids continued, and the actual ground advance took only 100 hours.
After this battle, the Big Brother's international standing was completely lost, and it was only one step away from disintegration. The United States ' long-arm jurisdiction strategy was also further consolidated.
The shadow of war that had accumulated since the Vietnam War was now met with an unprecedented and fierce backlash.
In just one night, it transformed into pride, and—ambition.
In this battle, the two extras received the most exposure among ordinary people.
First, there's CNN, which has been covering the entire conflict from the front lines in Baghdad, providing round-the-clock coverage.
With the help of satellites and GAMENOVA media workstations, they transformed themselves from a nearly bankrupt, dying news station into the most popular television channel in the United States and the mouthpiece of the U. S. military.
Since the start of Desert Storm, CNN has been enjoying ever-increasing viewership almost daily.
The global deployment of troops spanning half the globe, along with their advanced military equipment, was broadcast live to the world in real time.
The image of China as the "only superpower after the Cold War " is practically ingrained in the very bones of the people of Europe and America.
And the second one----
Of course, it's Battlefield 1991, which perfectly foreshadowed the entire war.
Judging from the project's inception timeline, GAMENOVA had already established the game's development strategy while Operation Desert Shield was still underway.
The first promotional video was released before the airstrikes officially began.
Two days before the ground forces launched their full-scale advance, the game was released online.
Logically speaking, this is nothing.
Riding the wave of trending topics is something manufacturers often do.
It's just a shooting game anyway, nothing more than giving it a realistic military feel and reheating some mature technology from Quake.
With the Gulf War as a factor in their popularity, even if it's just for nostalgia, there are still many people willing to buy it.
But Gamenova was clearly not satisfied with this at all.
Battlefield 1991 is a completely new game developed from scratch.
Every detail in the game is practically a perfect prophecy of the Gulf War.
Aside from the fact that the Iraqi forces were somewhat more powerful than they actually were,
Information-based collaborative operations involving multiple branches of the armed forces, long-range strikes with cruise missiles, and the integration of fighter jets and armored units—
With its diverse range of vehicles and unit types, coupled with a massive map unlike any other in gaming history, calling it a war simulator is no exaggeration.
The first two days.
Sales have already begun to show explosive growth.
Due to the limited availability of graphics cards and ADSL internet, sales had already begun to weaken on the third day.
Logically, it should be like " The Myst " and " Theme Hospital," experiencing a brief period of explosive sales followed by a long tail period.
As its popularity increases, it gradually reaches every household.
Just like other best-selling PC games from Gamenova.
This was originally a life cycle that could be seen from the beginning.
But that's when things changed.
Operation Desert Sabre was a resounding success in 100 hours, showcasing a completely new image of the U. S. military.
Those almost retaliatory emotional outbursts largely translated into a fervent obsession with Battlefield 1991.
It's as if Gamenova, not the US military, won the war.
The post-war syndrome of the Vietnam War was finally completely eradicated on this day.
These fervent emotions were gradually generalized, turning into praise for Gamenova and its producers.
In an instant, any occasional negative criticisms were completely drowned out by the frenzied sea of the masses.
War for entertainment? This is practically the perfect battlefield simulator!
Every guy who's hiding in the rear making sarcastic remarks should go into the game and experience what a real battlefield is like!
Even if there are still pessimistic opinions, they dare not say anything in the current one-sided public opinion environment.
If you dare to say it, you'll really get killed by those radical lunatics.
This time, it wasn't just gaming media anymore; faced with such a massive surge in traffic, media from all walks of life flocked to the scene.
CNN and the three major television networks all dedicated a special news segment to this event.
Video games are presented to the Volkswagen in the form of news.
The last time there was such a large-scale, exaggerated report was the Atari Shock.
And what about Lin Lixin, the producer?
Naturally, he was pulled over by DoD again and, as a Lockheed partner and an honorary partner of DoD Entertainment Media Office, was awarded another Public Service Medal.
Unlike the military propaganda effect achieved by simply being cool during the Ace Combat era.
This time, Battlefield 1991 is a completely different game altogether.
Its influence is—almost frighteningly large.
Judging from the current level of discussion in society, it's comparable to the highest level of entertainment, the film industry.
The last time a work like this stirred public sentiment was Tom Cruise's " Top Gun ".
Damn, Gamenova really knows how to capture the mainstream narrative perfectly.
This is exactly what the United States want to see.
"A dedicated server on the intranet? Of course, we actually support that feature, yes sir."
"That's great. You know, ARPANET available at the base."
"Of course, please feel free to ask if you need anything. GAMENOVA is always very generous to its friends."
Lin Lixin smiled and looked at Tailaipu, who was sitting on the other side, "Alright, then, cheers to our new friend?"
"Cheers!"
As the absolute protagonist of tonight's banquet, even Lin Lixin, a monster of energy with an unfair advantage, felt unusually tired.
Dealing with these guys won't be easy.
If he could, he would rather have a long technical chat with the guys in the development department than spout a bunch of pointless nonsense here.
In any case, the main events surrounding Battlefield 1991 have finally come to an end.
He didn't need to put much effort into the subsequent operations.
What I need to do now is quickly finish tonight's dinner, then go back and get some rest, and prepare for the more important projects to come.
He's been preparing for this for a long time.
The next day, around noon.
Lin Lixin arrived at GAMENOVA's Delta Base in a speedboat.
After several months of construction, the island is finally starting to look somewhat human.
At least the "sea view" villa already has a shell.
"Tsk tsk, this is the kind of place to have a victory celebration and go on vacation."
Lin Lixin stretched and stepped onto the soft, warm artificial sand.
We climbed the wooden steps and made our way to the high platform.
A continuous glass curtain wall, a swimming pool, and beach chairs.
Aside from the tiles and cement piled up inside, it actually looks quite decent.
February in California isn't too cold.
Compared to the overall drought and heat in Los Angeles, the Bay Area is just right.
It won't rain once a year like in Great Britain, nor will it be like Arizona and New Mexico where you don't see rain all year round.
" Lucas! I thought you were still in Hollywood."
A familiar figure appeared on a hilltop not far away.
"Oh, hi, Lin. I'm just visiting, and I also wanted to chat with Trevor about building Skywalker Estate."
Lucas replied with a smile, quickening his pace to stand beside Lin Lixin on the makeshift steps. "If only my Skywalker Estate could be built with this kind of efficiency."
Lin Lixin is not the only wealthy person who owns his own estate.
California, the richest state in the US, has never lacked wealthy people.
Within the GAMENOVA community alone, there's practically one per person.
George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch, which brings together a large number of creators favored by Lucas, is a true paradise for creators.
This style is somewhat similar to Ubisoft's castle in Brittany, where they also invite outstanding developers directly to their estate, forming a unique cluster ecosystem.
This kind of environment might indeed be more suitable for creators than a serious company.
Besides Lucas, Lin Lixin is most familiar with MJ's Neverland Ranch.
In comparison, Lin Lixin's still-undeveloped Nova Delta seems like the most primitive one.
Hey, I remember you had about four thousand too.
"Four thousand seven hundred acres, yes, but we've only developed 15 acres."
"That's quite a big deal. How about it? For our brotherhood, I can get Umbrella to give you a friendly price."
"Ha! We'll see. For now, I still plan to allocate the funds to Industrial Light & Magic and Infocom."
Lucas laughed heartily.
The recent major reshuffle at Infocom was naturally a decision made after discussions between Lin Lixin and him.
Simply put, this is Lucas Arts revival project.
According to Lin Lixin, Infocom and Lucasfilm are a perfect complement to each other.
Lucas has a wealth of excellent film and television IP resources and production resources, but he is unable to invest in them due to the production schedule issues of GAMENOVA.
While Infocom owns the classic IP of the traditional PC Adventure game "Zork," its brand recognition outside the gaming community is simply not high.
In this back-and-forth exchange, both sides can resolve their own problems.
"Now I finally understand why you've never really cared about 3D0."
Lucas looked toward the "coastline".
Even now, he is still unable to shake off the shock that Battlefield 1991 brought him.
"Who?"