The concept of SOC was completely new in 1991.
Although Lin Lixin has mentioned this term on various occasions, neither Vivian nor other hardware personnel really understand what it means.
The only certainty is that this is probably a scaled-down version of a complete substrate or something similar.
This is not to say that electrical engineers of this era lacked the necessary skills.
Rather, it's a combination of environmental and technological factors.
First and foremost, and this is the problem that continues to plague Micro-Nova Semiconductor to this day.
EDA is not mature enough.
Although others are used to this and often rely on manual labor to forcibly pile it up.
But for Lin Lixin, a modern person, this is really too unhealthy.
EDA stands for Computer-Aided Design.
Use PC software to design electronic circuits and chips.
Without a robust EDA software ecosystem and mature module libraries, designers would truly need a multitude of transistors to manufacture a single chip or PCB board.
Even RTL (Radio Placement and Routing) is still very primitive.
Fortunately, the most mainstream usage needs are for arcade game boards, so the impact isn't particularly significant.
After all, the substrate has no shortage of space, so designers don't need to consider overly advanced or complex integration.
All you need to do is combine the existing modules as elegantly as possible.
A SoC is more like condensing a complete arcade circuit board into a single chip.
For users and designers of this era...
It's a bit inexplicable.
"It's not worth the time cost. If we could make the size a few sizes larger, the overall design work would be much simpler."
"No."
Before Vivian could finish speaking, Lin Lixin shook his head and rejected the proposal.
In a sense, he started this electronic pet project to test the technology of SoC. An electronic pet machine that feels like a brick in your hand is just unbearable to think about.
Lin Lixin pondered, a hint of doubt flashing through his mind:
"Speaking of which... how exactly did the real Tamagotchi manage to be so miniaturized in this era?"
The earliest Tamagotchi was released in 1996.
If current SoC technology is still largely unexplored territory, it's impossible for it to have developed to that level in just five years.
"Why don't we make an MCU? Compared to this... this SoC single-chip system, the technical barrier for an MCU is much lower, right?"
Vivian looked at the sketch in front of her.
It is densely packed with countless modules.
There are even DSPs, which are things you would normally only see in arcades.
They are all integrated into the area of a single chip.
Although this design is complex, it can be simplified slightly to become the MCU that is now widely available on the market.
In other words, a microcontroller is a highly integrated microcomputer containing a central processing unit, memory, timers, and other necessary components; it can also be described as a chip-level computer.
It is small in size, low in cost, requires almost no external hardware, and has excellent self-sufficiency.
The only downside is its small storage capacity and limited functionality.
Intel's 8051 microcontroller is a prime example of this.
Texas Instruments, Sharp, Casio, and other companies also have their own different versions.
But they are not meant for making games.
Instead, it targets products that meet the needs of consumers, such as calculators and small toys.
"The functionality is too limited, Vivi. I want to add some small games, but the MCU can't meet my requirements."
Lin Lixin sighed.
He had certainly thought about this; in fact, he had considered it when he talked to David on the way to see if they should downgrade to 8-bit.
But the answer is obvious—it won't work.
He remembered how the Tamagotchi was made; the answer was that it wasn't. The Tamagotchi wasn't an 8-bit machine at all. If it were just like the original Tamagotchi, without any extra functions and only having the most basic feeding function, then it wouldn't even need 8 bits.
A 4-bit MCU is more than enough.
Just go to Motorola or Texas Instruments and spend a small sum to buy a whole truckload; you'll still have some left over after the turn of the millennium.
But Lin Lixin wanted to produce a fighter jet that was at least at the level of a third-generation fighter.
Infrared communication, more mini-games, and different growth paths—ideally, all of these would be included.
In this situation, four numbers are simply not enough.
"I do think... Miss Vivian's idea actually has some merit?"
Unlike Gamenova and other developers who are used to spending lavishly on arcade games.
David and Activision are meticulous in their budgeting for almost every project.
Faced with such a demand, he actually has more say than others.
"Lin, I understand what you want. You want the performance of a console or even an arcade machine, but with the low power consumption and portability of an MCU."
He pondered, trying to organize his thoughts. These two points seemed completely contradictory, and even putting them together felt like nitpicking.
However, it's not entirely impossible.
"We can definitely find a balance between the SoC and the MCU, a compromise. Just like Athena, didn't that processor cut out a lot of circuitry that PCs needed, which is why it achieved unparalleled gaming performance?"
"Ah, I understand what you mean..."
Lin Lixin nodded thoughtfully.
Indeed, he didn't actually need to design the hardware so radically.
In fact, for projects with requirements like Tamagotchi, their current development process has run into some minor issues.
In the past, following Gamenova's usual practice, they would typically first determine the general direction of the game.
Then the hardware department worked overtime to produce the substrate.
Based on this substrate, the development team will try to squeeze out as much performance as possible to achieve even better results.
But Tamagotchi is different.
To achieve the highest possible level of integration, the development process needs to be reversed. The development team should first thoroughly determine all the necessary features and functionalities.
And it has been confirmed that there will be no further additions or deletions.
Once the overall shape of the game was completely determined, the hardware requirements were then worked out in reverse.
In this situation, they can cut out as many unnecessary parts of the chip as possible.
Or those things that are rarely used and can be replaced by other circuits.
For example... a multiplier.
One of the largest units in a CPU.
With the technology available in 1991, a simple multiplier could require hundreds or even thousands of gate circuits.
But this is a general-purpose computing circuit.
For video games, at least for video games in the 80s and 90s, especially works like Tamagotchi.
The multiplier is actually a circuit that is used very infrequently.
If there is a real need for this, a similar effect can be achieved by executing several rounds of addition loops. The same principle applies to dividers; by using bitwise operations to perform some binary magic, the use of division can be perfectly avoided.
Both David and Carmack were well aware of this and knew it by heart.
FPU floating-point decimal unit?
No need for that. Tamagotchi doesn't require physical calculations or complex coordinate coefficients, so cut it out!
MMU virtual memory?
What multitasking requirements does a virtual pet machine have? Cut it!
Graphics chips...
"Um..."
Lin Lixin suddenly stopped scribbling on the notebook.
This takes up a lot of space, but it's also the hardest part to cut.
If you rely entirely on the processor to do these things, the performance will definitely not be up to par.
"Hey? I have an idea, but I don't know if it will work." Vivian noticed that Lin Lixin was struggling with something, frowned and thought for a moment, then her eyes suddenly lit up.
She has a very green scheme.
I just don't know if Lin Lixin and his fellow perfectionist geek engineers can accept it.
How so?
"Use textures! Make all the basically static images into textures. That would reduce the workload on the graphics, right?"
"Oh... that makes sense, but updating and rendering these textures will still require a little performance investment..."
"No, that's not what I meant."
Vivian scratched her head.
"Literally, a texture is screen-printed onto the glass of an LCD screen, and then covered with a thin glass substrate for protection. This way, only a small solid dot or arrow needs to be rendered on the screen to indicate selection."
Upon hearing this, Lin Lixin was taken aback. He exchanged a glance with David and Will, and they could all see the surprise in each other's eyes.
Print the menu icons directly onto the screen panel! This not only results in higher resolution and more refined visuals, but also offers richer colors, reduces screen power consumption, and lowers graphics rendering costs!
This isn't just a green-skinned guy, this is genius!
These are the kinds of good ideas that industrial design should have!
Why must we find solutions in semiconductors?
An electronic pet machine is a complete whole, and every part of it should be taken into consideration.
Even a seemingly ordinary plastic shell can be the key to solving a problem.
"Let's get started! We need to finish it before June."
Two months seems like a short time.
But for a bunch of cheaters and one super cheater, it wasn't a difficult task.
Normally, gamenova's summer new products are usually released in July.
That is, the annual Independence Day sale on July 4th.
In addition to discounts on all Gamenova first-party titles, there will also be a major new release. But this time, Lin Lixin has different plans.
Electronic pets are a completely new concept and a gem of semiconductor technology.
Don't underestimate this unassuming little gadget; the technology it contains is enough to crush any tech company in the world.
While Intel's semiconductor capabilities are strong, it is no match for Gamenova in gaming and screen technology.
While Sharp and Sony excel in audiovisual technology, they are completely outmatched by Gamenova in semiconductor technology.
The same principle applies to others.
Gamenova doesn't need to be better than everyone else; it just needs to be the best in resource integration and consolidation, and in its own field of video games.
Lin Lixin took out his mobile phone and dialed a number for Sam.
" Sam, tell CES we'll be checking out the summer expo this year."