Lin Lixin had actually set the strategic goals for the entire year of 1992 long ago.
That's a CD.
Capacity, speed, efficiency, cost, patents...
This is to ensure that Gamenova won't be hampered by Sony in the fifth generation.
At this time, optical disc technology is mainly concentrated in the hands of Philips and Sony.
If this problem isn't solved and people continue using CDs as the game medium, they're bound to suffer losses sooner or later.
Looking at history, the next development path for CDs is actually very clear.
DVDs, you know.
Unfortunately, there are still too many technological hurdles to overcome before DVDs can be truly commercialized.
Based on the current level of technology...
It's not that there's no chance of developing it, but like large-size LCDs and large-area blue LEDs, it has no commercial value. "Speed can be achieved through sufficient memory for pre-loading caching, so the priority can actually be lowered somewhat."
Lin Lixin pondered.
All directions now point to the same route.
Increase disc capacity!
"Are there any games that aren't too demanding on hardware but require a lot of storage space...?"
If you want to test a new CD-ROM drive, a PC is obviously a more reliable platform.
Not everyone is willing to buy a new disc drive just for a new game.
We need to explore more possibilities for it, such as office needs.
But this also introduces new problems.
PC configurations vary widely, unlike arcade machines or consoles which can be customized to maximize performance.
"Forget it, let's focus on increasing the disk capacity first."
Since they couldn't handle the discs and CD-ROM drive, they had no way of determining the true scale of the game. With that in mind, Lin Lixin made up his mind and said to Sam:
" Sam, we need to expand our * Industry Alliance *."
Upon hearing this, Sam, with their unspoken understanding, almost immediately realized that Lin was about to recite the menu again, and quickly opened the document to start taking notes.
The so-called Industry Alliance is actually an internal slang term used by GAMENOVA.
Specifically, it refers to the entire domestic manufacturing system in the United States, centered around TFT-LCD screens, graphite-coated lithium batteries, and SDRAM memory chips.
Members include companies related to materials science such as Corning and DuPont, as well as semiconductor companies such as Motorola, Texas Instruments, Lam Research, and Lockheed.
The aim is to overcome various patent barriers by sharing technology, connecting the upstream and downstream industrial chains, and forming a relatively independent production system.
As a leading player, GAMENOVA, aside from semiconductor manufacturing, mostly focuses on providing technology patents and research support.
Seeing that Sam was ready, Lin Lixin didn't hesitate either:
"I need Corning's high-precision aspherical optical heads, including various inorganic optical materials such as glass substrates, lenses, and coated substrates, for use in the production of optical disc drives."
"I also need DuPont's optical disc coatings, adhesives, polymers, photolithography materials, and other organic materials required for optical discs."
The first update is on suduɡu. cc, with no typos. If you don't see the ". cc" suffix in the address, you'll be taken to the first update site. "I will compile the necessary technical materials into a document later."
"Ask David K. Lam again if Lam Research can make 650nm lasers. He doesn't need to worry about materials; we'll find a way to solve that."
"Oh, right, and there's also Tailaipu and his team. Lockheed has extensive research in high-precision servo motors and laser optics. Although some of the technologies are highly classified, we can ask their engineering team to serve as consultants."
Finally, there are Motorola and Texas Instruments. In areas like analog and mixed-signal processing, and DSP, their technology is more advanced, mature, and reliable than ours.
With such a group of "brothers" and the technical barriers being overcome by GAMENOVA, the production of the new optical disc drive is truly just a matter of time and cost.
Throughout this year, the major hardware technology breakthroughs will revolve around this line of research.
This is GAMENOVA's true comfort zone, and it has always been Lin Lixin's strategic policy.
GAMENOVA doesn't need to be perfect in every aspect.
Their true foundation lies in this extraordinary ability to integrate.
In a sense, this is a mature industrial ecosystem linked together by video games.
"This is the land contract, let me see... This part contains the documents related to water rights and passage rights." Lin Lixin and Lucas drove slowly on the simply repaired road in the Golf cart.
Starting today, this land, spanning over 2,000 acres, legally belongs to GAMENOVA.
In the vast Marin County, there are actually quite a few large ranches like this.
Even Lucas's Skywalker Ranch is right next door.
For the wealthy, this is a perfect resort destination that is close to Silicon Valley and ideal for relaxation.
"Speaking of which, Lin, when do you plan to reveal the other two of those three projects you mentioned last time?"
With the strong support of Infocom, Lucas Arts has gradually become operational over this period of time.
In particular, there are two Adventure titles, Myst and Return of the Obra Dinn Myst, which are nominally under the Lucas Arts label.
Although it hasn't truly reached a nationwide level yet, it's already a new studio that's been elevated to a pedestal within a niche circle.
Meanwhile, Lucas Arts has also been busy during this time.
Several more Adventure games were subsequently released, and the games were published on multiple platforms including NX and Hermes.
Thanks to Infocom's mature Adventure game workflow and Lucas's extensive Hollywood resources, the films received positive reviews and can be considered excellent works. However, Lucas still cherishes the "trilogy" plan proposed by Lin Lixin when he was making " Return of the Obra Dinn ".
This is only one set so far.
"Squeak--"
The car suddenly came to a stop in the pasture.
Lucas turned his head in confusion, only to see Lin Lixin's gleaming eyes.
"This is it! A game with a large file size but not too demanding on system requirements!"
"WHAT? What did you say?"
"Let's Fucking Gooooo!"
Without further ado, Lin Lixin went straight back to the main road, changed into Corvette, and drove all the way to the neighboring Skywalker Ranch.
During this period, he has spent a lot of time loitering around Skywalker Ranch because he is looking at land in Marin County.
This time, the security guard was quite skilled; he raised the barrier as soon as he saw Lin Lixin in the car from a distance.
For the creators working at Skywalker Ranch, the sudden roar of a 5.7-liter V8 engine in the secluded ranch was a sure sign that Lin Lixin, this unconventional "hippie," had arrived. The car drifted and came to a stop in front of the Lucas Arts Building.
The two hurriedly got out of the car and went inside.
Lucas's strides were almost even more exuberant than Lin Lixin's.
"Guys, are you confident in being GAMENOVA's starting lineup this year?"
"Fuck Yeah!"
What else is there to say? Just cheer!
Whether it's the nurturing environment or their recent outstanding business performance, the developers are full of energy and have long since lost the sickly look they had when Activision was exploiting them.
Seeing everyone's enthusiasm, Lin Lixin didn't keep them in suspense any longer. He quickly walked over to the planning board, cleared a blank space from the densely packed information, and casually picked up a pen to write down the project name.
Disco Elysium
Well...
At least judging from this naming, it certainly has the consistent style of Infocom.
Because you can't tell what kind of game this is from the name at all. Disco means disco/disco music, which was quite popular in dance halls in the 60s and 70s and is a very representative type of electronic music.
Judging from this word alone, it seems to be a... rhythm game???
As for the [Elysium] that follows...
That makes it even less interesting.
Even for native speakers, this is definitely not a commonly used word.
If we had to translate it, Elysium would likely be a concept from the Greek mythology Odyssey, somewhat reminiscent of paradise.
Menelaus, nurtured by Zeus, your destiny is sealed.
[Not dying in Argos while herding horses, but caught up with by fate.]
[The immortal gods will send you to the Elysium plains]
According to the description in the Odyssey, this Elysium is probably some kind of blissful paradise, a place of ultimate happiness free from suffering.
The problem is...
Putting these two words together feels so strange, doesn't it? One is a very cheap and chaotic pop electronic term, and the other is Greek mythology and epic poetry.
Even during the Return of the Obra Dinn era, they never had this strange sense of contrast.
After all, although ObraDinn is an uncommon name, it's easy to tell at a glance what it's supposed to be.
But bliss? That's completely unthinkable.
"This will be an Adventure game, and of course, there will be a little bit of CRPG elements."
Lin Lixin didn't rush to explain, but smiled and told them about the overall positioning of the game.
Disco Elysium, that's an amazing work.
If it weren't for the need for technical verification, he really wouldn't have been willing to take it out at this time.
Its artistry, literary merit, playfulness...
Every part of the game is so immersive and unforgettable.
Even a single moment in a game is enough to give you goosebumps.
It's a work that takes the concept of "the ninth art" to its extreme. Just like its name suggests.
This is a very... um...
A very rebellious work.
Even outside of the game itself, at the development team level, the entire game is filled with dark humor that leaves one unsure how to evaluate it.
The creative team was kicked out by their boss, ZA/UM, after the project was completed, who then reaped the rewards of their success.
This is a large-text work that can immerse and enjoy even players who don't like reading.
However, a 650MB CD is not enough to contain this world.
Even with compressed visuals and textures, it's difficult to condense that magnificent yet decadent world into such a small space.
Only the next generation of high-density optical discs will be able to hold this great work.
"Kids, get ready! You will be the first and most resounding shot GAMENOVA fired in '92! Project codename— Disco Elysium!"