That's what they say, but it's not necessarily that simple in practice.
So many sophisticated electronic components are integrated into a palm-sized handle.
Sufficient space must also be left for the installation of components such as joysticks, buttons, and lithium batteries.
This level of integration is something most manufacturers simply can't achieve.
"By the way, I have a new idea for the joystick layout too, we could..."
Lin Lixin looked at the large pile of 3D-printed prototype shells on the table and casually picked one up.
Before he could continue speaking, a figure, barely taller than his thigh, suddenly bumped into him.
At first glance, she was a little girl with some African ancestry.
She held an NP game console in her hand, curiously looking at everything in front of her.
" Karen, be careful, your Uncle Lin isn't a kind person."
Sam rushed over and yanked her away. "??"
Lin Lixin scratched his head, feeling utterly helpless for the first time.
"Uh, who is this?"
Could it be that Sam, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, secretly created a black baby?
"Come here, Karen, I'll show you our arcade collection."
Sam reached out and beckoned, then scooped the little girl up and carried her on his shoulder.
"This guy is..."
"Forest."
Before the words were finished, a strong voice came from the direction of the door.
Upon hearing the sound, Lin Lixin was suddenly startled and looked in the direction of the sound.
" Gerald?"
The newcomer was Gerald Lawson, the original hardware engineer for Gamenova. The moment Lin Lixin saw him, he immediately recognized the young girl.
No wonder his features seemed so familiar.
" Cerny spoke to me on the phone; I happen to be in California with the kids these days."
Gerald's form is clearly much better than before.
He's become noticeably more muscular and fitter, and his energy is much higher.
For Cerny, a younger player, Gerald was indeed his mentor who guided him into the field.
Even now, Gerald's experience remains a valuable asset in many of his projects at Gamenova.
Ultimately, Cerny was not someone who focused on in-depth research into hardware theory.
He excels at balancing and coordinating, and has considerable skill in architectural design.
However, delving deeper into the hardware itself, while Cerny often displays creativity, he lacks a solid technical foundation.
In this respect, he and Gerald are almost the complete opposite extremes.
"Come here, Gerald, look at those strong arms of yours!" Lin Lixin laughed and put his arm around the other man.
After giving him a bear hug, Gerald went to the workbench and casually picked up a test sample of a handle.
"If you want to make a controller that players will love to hold and play with, Cerny, then you shouldn't be thinking about microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) at the beginning."
Gamenova owns a 3D printing company.
Although it may seem inconspicuous, it actually provided considerable assistance to their industrial design.
In fact, 3D printing is involved in the design of every new product to facilitate rapid iteration of prototypes and determine a reliable shape.
"An excellent gamepad, even if it has slightly fewer features, must at least have a great feel so that it won't cause fatigue in your hand."
Gerald seemed to instantly get into the zone, completely forgetting that he was just a tourist visiting an old friend.
His engineer-like aura suddenly burst forth.
"From now on, you'll keep this empty test shell in your hand at all times, even use it to play games, I mean... simulate playing games."
He gestured as if it were a real, working controller, clicking on it repeatedly.
"Feel it, where your palm rests, where your fingers rest when they hang naturally, whether each button is easy to press, whether your wrist and arm are relaxed when gripping the controller. I hope you can do this test on the sofa, in bed, on the floor, anywhere." Rather than thinking about how to cram as many functions as possible into the controller's mold, Gerald's focus is somewhat different.
In fact, Cerny was not a technocrat like Carmack.
On the contrary, he strongly advocates a design philosophy that is game-centric and player- and developer-centric.
However, this tendency manifested in two different ways in Gerald and in his life.
Cerny prefers to integrate more features that improve the user experience into the controller, while Gerald is more traditional and focuses on the feel of the controller.
No wonder Cerny was able to become the architect of PlayStation in the original timeline.
The PS controller has always been the most amazing one in every generation.
Strictly speaking, neither of their ideas were wrong.
Combining these elements results in the best controller design approach.
"Once you've determined that this is the most suitable shape, then you should start thinking about integrating the components."
Gerald said, pulling a ballpoint pen from the table and drawing on the resin-printed casing.
"Distinguish the functional areas clearly. For example, here are the four buttons (A, B, X, Y). This part is for wireless communication and the lithium battery. This is the joystick. The two gripping areas you've already identified where the palm will be placed are where you can insert the vibration motor..." "First Release" d"e"q"i"x"s"."o"r"g
Only at this stage should we truly begin designing the PCB circuit.
It is like a puzzle game played within a limited space with defined functions.
The challenge lies in fitting in as many functions as possible while ensuring a stable center of gravity, without causing interference or reducing lifespan. This is where an engineer's skill is truly tested.
"Both the motor and the battery can be used as counterweights. If necessary, we can even add some padding to stabilize the center of gravity. Appropriate weight will not make the handle look cheap; on the contrary, it will make it feel more solid."
"I see..."
Cerny was deep in thought.
For a long time, due to the advanced semiconductor technology of Gamenova, the design philosophy of the entire hardware department has been somewhat distorted.
If something can be solved by the wafer fab, then they don't need to think about it much.
It's entirely a strategy of using sheer force to achieve maximum impact.
It now seems that the development of game controllers is itself a highly artistic endeavor within the industrial sector.
Gerald's traditional mindset, or rather, his workflow, is actually more likely to produce good products. "You're truly exceptional."
Lin Lixin was amused.
Having been away from the front lines for so long, he can still quickly generate so much Fortune just by returning to make a brief Kung-Fu Master.
"Would you consider joining us in the research and development of our new model?"
"Come on, with Cerny and the others around, I'm just wasting my time here."
Gerald smiled and shook his head, then waved to the little girl playing with Sam not far away.
" Karen, it's time to go. Didn't you want to go to Disneyland?"
After Gerald helped the little girl up, he turned to look at the group.
"That being said, if you need anything, just call me. I'll be in California for the time being."
Are you here for tourism?
"That's fine."
... The research and development of novafusion is progressing steadily.
Meanwhile, Lucas Arts has also completed the project preparations.
The publicity campaign wasn't very large-scale, after all, it wasn't a particularly big production.
Taking advantage of the midday slot, we arranged a simple PV of just over a minute.
"Deng Leng Deng..."
Violins, cellos, some kind of indistinguishable Europe stringed instrument, tin whistles, flutes, and various other wind instruments are mixed together.
The melodious tune instantly overshadowed the soap opera atmosphere that the midday program had originally intended to create.
Music has the power to shape imagery.
A great piece of music can evoke vivid imagery just by listening to it.
Lucas's Skywalker Sound also has a strong foundation in this area.
The complex combination of traditional wind and string instruments, with just a few notes, evoked the atmosphere of Koshiro Mesopotamia for all the viewers sitting in front of their televisions right now.
Ancient Egypt, Ancient Babylon, the Euphrates River and Tigris River... and perhaps the Nile River.
Even now, the entire screen only displays the logos of Lucas Arts and Gamenova.
But the music alone is enough to suggest that this game is most likely set in the Koshiro Mesopotamia Plain plains.
That's quite novel.
Because Gamenova rarely uses such completely traditional soundtracks.
Most of the time, they like to use a lot of synthesizer electronic sounds when composing tracks.
Of course, rock instruments like the bass and electric guitar are also indispensable.
Even war-themed games like Battlefield 1991 and Command & Conquer: Red Alert made extensive use of these electronic and rock-influenced instruments in their music arrangements.
But this time, it really went against the norm, adopting the structure of a traditional musical instrument.
It's like...
It's as if this isn't a piece of music composed by Gamenova, but rather an artifact salvaged from some archaeological site.
Amidst the melodious tune, a human voice suddenly arose. This voice, like the music, was long and sacred, entirely reciting a sacred hymn.
Before it started playing, the whole piece sounded like a traditional melody from the Mesopotamia Plain.
However, once human voices appeared, it transformed into a sacred hymn with extremely strong religious connotations.
At that very moment, the PV finally displayed its first image.
It was a tower.
The spiral staircase leads from the ground to the clouds.
Combined with the Mesopotamia background and the sacred religious melody of this moment.
The true identity of this tower is then self-evident.
The Tower of Babel, the Babylon Tower.
But that's where it ends; what follows becomes rather perplexing.
It appears to be recorded on a live camera, but the quality is somewhat different from previous CG recordings.
However, its strength lies in its clean and smooth lines, and the highly minimalist style of the entire image. Compared to the unrestrained oil painting style of its predecessor, Disco Elysium, it presents a... refreshing feeling.
But regardless of which segment the characters are in, they all speak a language that is incomprehensible to others.
Even when displayed as speech bubbles, they are all difficult-to-understand, self-created symbols.
Only at the very end did they write a line in English.
Trust each other, unite our strength.
[chants of]
[sennaar]