"Alright, you work on the general SoC architecture first, and I'll find an expert in this field to approve the project."
At this point, Lin Lixin stood up and went to the door.
If we're talking about who's best suited to lead this project within the Gamenova camp, there are actually two perfect candidates.
"Forest."
Vivian looked at Lin Lixin, who had already reached the door, opened her mouth, and called out.
"How?"
"Nothing..."
Seeing her like this, Lin Lixin twitched the corner of his mouth.
"Ah, I understand. Designing a SoC is too difficult for you, isn't it? Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
The Chevrolet came to a smooth stop in front of a cluster of buildings on the outskirts of Los Angeles.
The parking lot was spacious, but there weren't many cars; they were scattered in small groups. Judging from the models, there were quite a few nice cars, but they all had a strong engineer's feel to them.
It's either a performance car or a great commuter vehicle.
There are practically no sports cars like the Corvette that Lin Lixin drives so ostentatiously.
"Beep--beep--"
Seeing someone passing by not far away, Lin Lixin simply banged on the horn, startling the person.
Looking back, his eyes lit up when he saw the license plate and who was in the car. He quickly ran to Lin Lixin's car.
"Lin! Why didn't you give me any advance notice before you came?"
"That way I can conduct a surprise inspection of your situation. By the way, have Magic Bull and his gang been causing any trouble lately?"
Lin Lixin looked at Mike Morhaime, who was dressed in casual clothes and holding a beverage cup, and joked with him with a smile.
This is Gamenova's first-party studio campus.
Southern California's most renowned haven for gamers.
Each entity, with Gamenova's headquarters in Northern California and its headquarters in the Sacramento River Delta, respectively, shines brightly in its own field. " Bullfrog..."
Mike forced a smile, giving an awkward one.
Compared to these United Kingdom guys from Britain, Blizzard, which has always been described by outsiders as a "rock studio," seems so harmonious and well-behaved.
"As usual, they're always coming up with clever ideas; it's hard to imagine they're from a 'land of gentlemen'."
"Haha, I guessed so."
Lin Lixin laughed and got out of the car.
"Go ahead and do your work, I'm here to see Activision."
"Okay!"
Watching him walk away and the increasingly noisy park around him, Lin Lixin stretched.
That's the feeling!
Feels great!
Unlike a canning factory with its assembly line approach, video game development is more of a creative endeavor. This relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere greatly inspires creativity.
It can also reduce stress to some extent.
"Hmm... it's just that the environment is a bit worse. I wonder if Lucas will get upset if we move everything to his place."
Lin Lixin surveyed the entire area.
As Gamenova's own team grew, the small campus that was originally built around the Blizzard trio became increasingly insufficient.
If the company wants to expand further, the cost-effectiveness of the surrounding land will begin to decline sharply.
The area on the Delta is not as large as that on land, and most of it is reserved for film and television production.
After much thought, sending them to Lucas's Skywalker Ranch might be a good option.
The land there is large enough, and the environment is very beautiful, with mountains, water, grass, and many Victorian mansions built by Lucas.
It's not just a resort destination, but also the creative base for Lucasfilm.
"That's great! Shouldn't Gamenova also set up its own creative hub?"
With this in mind, Lin Lixin formulated a new plan: to make money and build a real cluster of island studios!
Whether it's Hawaii or anywhere else.
Well, that is indeed a lofty ideal.
An island large enough to accommodate Gamenova's main development industries sounds just like Island Tycoon.
It's exciting, but it's not something I can consider right now.
The most urgent task right now is to get the current projects up and running.
Just then, he arrived downstairs at Activision.
Although it's called downstairs, it's actually just a three-story apartment building.
After being acquired by Gamenova, it underwent some simple modifications and was used as a temporary office.
Daily development work and meetings can all be handled.
They can even arrange accommodation for you.
For developers of this era, or for outstanding developers of any era, the environment isn't really that important. Even with just a garage, someone who's capable can still write code.
A better environment simply means greater psychological liberation.
Before the door was even opened, voices could be faintly heard from inside the "meeting room".
"Yes, we can't use the Atari- era mindset. We can make the conveyor belt more complex..."
"But this is a resource management game. From a design perspective, if the Hamburg orders are too complex..."
"Click"
Lin Lixin pushed open the door and walked in.
The group, who were arguing heatedly, suddenly fell silent.
They looked with slight annoyance at the uninvited guest who had disrupted the important brainstorming session.
After recognizing the person, he performed a face-changing magic trick with unimaginable speed.
"Did I come at the wrong time?"
"You've come at the perfect time!" David, the Activision, who was sitting on one side, suddenly stood up from his chair and pointed to the several draft diagrams and plans pinned to the whiteboard.
"Lin! We have a new idea... no, no, to be precise, an old idea. We're planning to develop a brand new kitchen simulation game based on 'Pressure Cooker'."
"You haven't grasped the essence of Pressure Cooker, David! It's not an action game!"
The guy sitting a few seats back, whose hairline clearly indicated he was a master, suddenly slammed his hand on the table and stood up.
Lin Lixin recognized him.
Gary Kitchen.
He's a second-generation member of Activision, having joined the Activision in 1981—a true veteran.
While not as legendary as Activision's Legend four, he was still a core team member.
Countless amazing video games were created under his guidance.
It has performed well on both the Atari 2600 and the Commodore C64.
Or rather, everyone at Activision has had such an impressive resume.
The " Pressure Cooker " game discussed at this meeting was developed by him in 1983. Its gameplay is quite simple even by today's standards.
Players take on the role of a chef in a kitchen, constantly taking ingredients from a conveyor belt to assemble according to order requirements, and finally delivering them to customers.
This is a gameplay mechanic that's become commonplace in kitchen simulation games.
But back then, it was absolutely a stunning masterpiece, a pioneering work.
In a sense, his enthusiasm for this kind of subject matter is probably related to the fact that his name contains the word "kitchen"...
However, compared to this pioneer of kitchen simulation games, what truly impressed Lin Lixin was another software that this guy had created in 1985...
It's not a game, it's a program.
"Garry kitchen's gamemaker"
As its name suggests, this is a visual video game development tool.
It allows people with no programming experience to create simple video games.
this...
That's a bit too impressive. It's practically an early prototype of modern engine technology.
Although it hasn't yet become a true development tool like the Quake engine, it's just one step away from that goal.
His ideas, creativity, and abilities were absolutely top-notch for the Golden Age.
Unfortunately, in the original timeline, with the decline of Activision and the arrival of Kotick of the Trench, Activision was scattered into a sky full of stars.
However, thanks to Lin Lixin's extensive macro-control measures, Activision has now successfully come back to life.
They're even doing very well.
These already exceptionally talented individuals were able to unleash their full creativity after escaping the clutches of Atari and Warner.
More importantly, with Gamenova as a safety net, the development risks have become increasingly manageable.
Regardless of which platform Gamenova owns, it features a large number of excellent works developed by Activision.
These works filled the void left by Gamenova outside of its first-party titles.
This provides a sufficient buffer period for the involvement of third parties, preventing a situation where only a handful of supporting works stand out.
"I don't understand it, but I think this is how modern games should be! We have high-frequency processors, and adding some action elements appropriately won't destroy the core concept of the game!" "So you don't understand this game at all..."
The two's incessant arguing reached Lin Lixin's ears, pulling him back from his reverie.
He looked at the contents pinned to the planning board and nodded thoughtfully.
Although this wasn't his intention, Activision did give him a pleasant surprise.
The Pressure Cooker is more than just the originator of kitchen simulation.
In fact, countless branches of modern video games have evolved from its framework.
" Order Up!!", " Overcooked ", " Diner Dash ", " The Shawarma Legend ", " Papa's Kitchen "...
Even a large number of simulation management games can be seen as its successors.
There are indeed many good works worth trying on along this path.
They don't require much performance and can be implemented on existing hardware platforms.
Both the 3D transformation process and the development of next-generation 32-bit consoles require a significant amount of time.
During this period, Gamenova cannot truly stagnate completely without releasing any new titles. These excellent games that sell creativity and gameplay are perfect for filling this gap.
"Alright, alright, wait until I'm done with my work before you argue again."
Lin Lixin waved his hand and finally spoke.
"Kitchen simulation is a good direction; simulation games are expected to remain a major force in PC gaming for a long time to come."
He glanced at the other people in the room.
Activision didn't start out making simulation games; Bullfrog Studio is much more authoritative in that field.
But that doesn't mean they lack the ability.
"However, I don't have time right now. I'll take charge of it personally once I've finished my current project. As for now... David, I have a project that needs you."