Recaps

Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic revealed that GAMENOVA had helped create a fluid CG AT-AT promotional film, then GAMENOVA and Lucasfilm released a trailer for Command & Conquer: Dawn of the Kyber Crystal. The trailer introduced the game’s Rebel Alliance base-building and troop-command gameplay before cutting off just as the Rebels faced Imperial stormtroopers.

• Lucasfilm aired a short AT-AT film that revealed its animation was CG produced by Industrial Light & Magic with technical support from GAMENOVA.
• Lucasfilm assigned George Lucas to write Command & Conquer’s story, while Industrial Light & Magic, Will, Sid, and Lin Lixin helped drive development forward.
• Lucasfilm and GAMENOVA released a trailer showing a Rebel MCV deploying into a base, followed by the construction of a power plant and barracks.
• The trailer showed the player selecting Rebel militia and ordering them toward Imperial stormtroopers, then cut to the title, Command & Conquer: Dawn of the Kyber Crystal.

After GAMENOVA revealed its upcoming Star Wars strategy game, Lin Lixin learned that rising Japanese LCD prices threatened NovaPocket production. He decided to accelerate two projects and pursue Westinghouse Electric’s electronics division and patents.

• GAMENOVA’s trailer revealed a Star Wars strategy game developed with Lucasfilm, scheduled for release on July 4.
• Sam showed Lin Lixin that NovaBo had nearly reached profitability, but NovaPocket’s costs were rising because its Japanese TFT-LCD panels had increased in price by 120%.
• Lin Lixin connected the LCD price spike to the Semiconductor Agreement and decided GAMENOVA needed to build its own panel supply chain.
• Lin Lixin told Sam to bring forward the Swift Project and Sunday Project and ask Westinghouse Electric about buying its electronics division and patent pool.

Star Wars and GAMENOVA fans gathered in Los Angeles for the anniversary celebration and the launch of Command & Conquer. Hans spotted a network of linked NovaXeno consoles and suspected the game offered a kind of multiplayer strategy experience fans had not expected.

• Fans from around the world traveled to California and camped outside the venue before the celebration.
• Hans met a man from another country, and they played Tetris together on their NovaPockets until their batteries died.
• At six in the morning, Hans joined the crowd rushing into the exhibition hall, where he saw NovaXeno consoles linked together with cables.
• Hans attended the meet-and-greets, cosplay contests, and George Lucas's stage appearance, but remained distracted by the linked consoles.
• Hans suspected the setup enabled local network play and realized Command & Conquer might let players choose factions and battle through strategy and resource management.

At the Star Wars convention, Hans received his copy of Command & Conquer and joined a network battle against a British fan. As the Empire, he learned the game with help from his adjutant Sofia, then realized a fast enemy unit had slipped into his base after he lost vision.

• Lucas handled the signing after Lin Lixin left him in charge, while the convention drew far more fans than expected.
• Hans got his game and chose to stay at the venue to play against other fans over the network.
• Hans sat down opposite the British man he had met the previous night, and they began a versus match.
• Hans chose the Empire, put on headphones, and heard his adjutant Sofia guide him through the opening tutorial.
• Hans trained Imperial Army assault troops, then spotted a fast enemy unit approaching his base and realized he had lost vision.

Oliver and Hans competed in a Star Wars strategy game, where Oliver’s scouting and economic harassment gave way to Hans’s superior tactics and a decisive victory. Oliver accepted the loss and became convinced the game was an exceptional Star Wars experience, eager to try its campaign.

• Oliver used Pathfinders to scout Hans’s movements and repeatedly raided his mining ships, while Hans struggled to protect his economy.
• Hans sent his tanks west but found Oliver’s forces guarding a strong defensive line, so he studied the game’s controls and prepared another approach.
• Oliver reinforced his defenses as Hans attacked, then discovered Imperial AT-ST walkers had bypassed the line and were destroying his base.
• Hans controlled his forces in several precise groups, outmaneuvered Oliver’s units, and won after trading one AT-ST Scout Walker for three enemy tanks.
• Hans congratulated Oliver after the match, and Oliver praised the game’s quality and its ability to let players shape battles in a way films could not.

GAMENOVA’s Command & Conquer and sound card multiplayer features astonished developers and college students, while Westinghouse Electric readily agreed to sell its consumer electronics division. Lin Lixin saw an opportunity in the acquisition and launched plans to recruit displaced engineers and train new talent, then prepared to intervene personally in the immediate challenge.

• Developers discovered that Command & Conquer handled pathfinding for many units with little slowdown, and that GAMENOVA’s sound card enabled local multiplayer through a MIDI cable across several games.
• Westinghouse Electric accepted GAMENOVA’s generous offer for its consumer electronics division as it cut back amid the decline of its business.
• Lin Lixin recognized the value of Westinghouse’s assets, including its LCD patents, and used his new skill for identifying liquid crystal display damage to spot an opportunity.
• Lin Lixin ordered Satoshi to launch the Sunday Project and recruit engineers, while Sam began arranging a restructuring of the Westinghouse Education Foundation.
• GAMENOVA planned a Roppongi research institute to recruit experienced engineers and a foundation award to train future talent at universities.
• With the long-term plans underway, Lin Lixin prepared to handle the immediate problem himself.

Lin Lixin studied TFT-LCD technology overnight and recruited Lam Research to help Micro-Nova build production lines. After assembling evidence that Westinghouse had developed TFT-LCD panels before Sharp, he led a coalition in filing patents and seeking sanctions on Japanese imports, leaving production lines beginning deployment.

• Lin Lixin studied TFT-LCD principles overnight, then met David K. Lam in Fremont to discuss equipment for Micro-Nova.
• Lin Lixin told Lam he planned to produce TFT-LCD screens and ordered Lam Research's Rainbow Etcher and latest PECVD equipment.
• Lin Lixin found Westinghouse Electric patents that could support a claim of prior invention and began drafting a legal complaint.
• A coalition led by GAMENOVA announced that Westinghouse had developed TFT-LCD panels before Sharp and filed TFT-related patents.
• Corning and other LCD manufacturers petitioned authorities to investigate Japanese companies and restrict Japanese LCD imports.
• Micro-Nova and Corning obtained Westinghouse's patent pool, and production lines supported by Lam Research began deployment with yields of up to seventeen percent.

Lin Lixin advanced the Swift Project by presenting a four-inch LCD panel and a plan to cut its power consumption, while setting performance goals for the NovaSwift. To fill the Christmas release window, he started a new NovaXeno project based on The Sims: Bustin' Out.

• Vivian gave Lin Lixin a four-inch LCD sample developed by the R&D department, and he told her to raise production yield for the next generation.
• Vivian warned that the panel consumed nearly 3.5 watts, and Lin Lixin handed her a ready-made design for reducing power use by more than half.
• Lin Lixin and Gerald agreed that the NovaSwift needed a 16-bit processor and graphics chip and should be ready for the following February's Presidents' Day sales window.
• When Gerald asked about the Christmas season, Lin Lixin said he had prepared another project and gathered Sid, Will, Kojima, and Carmack to begin it.
• Lin Lixin chose The Sims: Bustin' Out as a lighter, less hardware-intensive NovaXeno exclusive.

Lin Lixin outlined how Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs could shape the life-simulation game’s character mechanics, and Will realized how frightening unemployment had been before Lin hired him. The brainstorming ended with esteem and self-actualization set as the game’s ultimate goal: a nobody’s rise against the odds.

• Lin Lixin introduced Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and linked physiological needs to the characters’ hunger and energy meters.
• Lin Lixin asked what safety meant in modern society, and Will recognized job security and stable employment as essential needs.
• Will remembered his precarious life before Lin Lixin hired him and shuddered at the fear of losing everything.
• Lin Lixin described friendship, romance, and family affection as social needs, while noting that hardware limited how deeply the game could simulate relationships.
• Lin Lixin proposed combining esteem and self-actualization as the game’s ultimate goal: a nobody’s rise against the odds.

Lin Lixin planned a social simulation game with varied starting backgrounds, modular outfits, and in-game clothing design. As development began, he decided to add familiar real-world celebrities and called Schwarzenegger about appearing in the game.

• Lin Lixin proposed letting players choose different backgrounds and storylines, with NPCs using the Jazz decision-tree system.
• Lin Lixin and Carmack discussed a modular character system that separated clothing meshes and materials and used skeletal binding.
• Lin Lixin rejected a PC-focused modding tool and proposed making clothing design an easy-to-use gameplay module within the game.
• Lin Lixin began development and decided to include familiar faces, with potential paths involving musicians, athletes, and actors.
• Schwarzenegger received a phone call after finishing filming Red Heat.

Lin Lixin and Sam confronted the communications bottleneck threatening GAMENOVA’s planned outfit-sharing feature. They decided to pursue a regional pilot for a commercial network, supported by an internet-exclusive online game, and first establish an ISP subsidiary.

• Lin Lixin calculated that outfit sharing would overwhelm GAMENOVA’s already strained telephone-line servers, despite its heavy spending on communications hardware.
• Sam suggested using short codes like Fire Emblem’s map codes, but Lin Lixin explained that outfits held too much varied data and the feature needed to be accessible to players without technical experience.
• Lin Lixin considered building a commercial network independent of NSFNET, but Sam warned that the enormous cost could drain the company’s reserves.
• Sam proposed testing the network in small regional pilots, using petitions and presales to gauge demand.
• Lin Lixin agreed to create an internet-exclusive online game to attract users and decided GAMENOVA would first establish an ISP subsidiary.

Lin Lixin launched NEXUS and chose Pixel War to promote its dial-up internet service with a low-bandwidth online game. In Sacramento, a NEXUS salesman offered Benjamin a seven-day free trial, and Benjamin considered trying Pixel War.

• Lin Lixin set up NEXUS to connect players worldwide and planned a small game to promote its commercial internet service.
• Lin Lixin chose Pixel War, a shared canvas game where players placed one pixel every five minutes and could overwrite one another's work.
• NEXUS began a California pilot using existing telephone lines and 56K modems, with help from Dell's distribution network and Silicon Oasis's contacts.
• A NEXUS salesman offered Benjamin a $45 monthly package with email, a splitter for his PC and NovaXeno, and a free copy of Pixel War.
• Benjamin objected to the price but became tempted by the seven-day free trial and considered trying the game.

Benjamin initially dismissed Lin Lixin’s minimalist game, Pixel War, as an empty white screen where he could place one pixel per minute, then turned his attention to an EVO match. When he looked back, other players had gathered around his pink pixel and drawn a chocolate-covered donut around his character, [Donut].

• Benjamin entered Pixel War as [Donut] and found himself alone in a white expanse with only a single pixel to move.
• He chose pink and discovered that he could leave one pixel behind each minute, then set the controller aside to watch the EVO championship.
• Player 00002333 approached Benjamin’s pixel, changed color, and began drawing an arc around it.
• Two more players joined in, and additional players gathered to help complete the drawing.
• After John won his match with a dramatic comeback, Benjamin looked at the game and saw a crowd of colorful pixels surrounding a finished chocolate-covered donut with [Donut] at its center.

Benjamin discovered that Pixel War had become a cooperative social space as players gathered around his donut and expanded it with a coffee cup. As the Donut Guild grew, Lin Lixin arranged to spark conflict with a Japanese flag, while Benjamin began organizing players by having them record phone numbers in colored pixels.

• Benjamin saw numerous real players gather around his donut and recognized that their shared presence gave Pixel War its purpose.
• Benjamin added a dark-brown cup beside the donut, and the players joined in to complete the drawing.
• Sam told Lin Lixin that the Donut Guild had become the server’s strongest faction, and Lin Lixin disabled Sam’s cooldown and directed him to draw a Japanese flag.
• Benjamin noticed two other groups of players and continued organizing his own group by having members record phone numbers with colored pixels.

Benjamin’s team was thrown into conflict when a Pixel War update introduced team play and hourly territory contests, splitting the Donut Team and drawing rival teams into a looming battle. Lin Lixin considered the turmoil a useful test of group strategy, though he noted that bandwidth limited how far Pixel War could grow.

• Benjamin told a teammate to rest and planned a major operation for the following day.
• A Pixel War update added team play and hourly territory contests that rewarded the team controlling the largest area.
• Benjamin mobilized most of the Donut Team to seize a capture zone, while player 00002333 led the dissenting doves away to form a new team in the east.
• A spy reported the split to the Los Angeles Team, which joined forces with the San Francisco Team and marched toward Benjamin’s group.
• Sam revealed that he had stirred up conflict as a spy, and Lin Lixin accepted the chaos as a test while reflecting on Pixel War’s bandwidth limits.

Pixel War expanded to more states as Lin Lixin guided The Sims toward accessible gameplay, assigning minigame development to Activision. After women’s magazines rejected his promotional proposal, he spotted the short-lived fashion magazine Attitude as another possible partner.

• NEXUS began setting up Pixel War servers in multiple states, and some players traveled to new servers to gain an early advantage.
• Lin Lixin told Will that The Sims needed fun, accessible career minigames rather than perfect realism, while the team continued building the main game framework.
• Lin Lixin asked David and Activision to design career-based minigames, and David agreed.
• Lin Lixin sent a promotional proposal to women’s magazines, but Ms., off our backs, and Bay Area Women's News rejected it.
• Lin Lixin noticed the defunct fashion magazine Attitude while searching for another promotional partner.

Lin Lixin met with publishing director Glass to discuss why PilotCommunications had discontinued its teen magazine, "Attitude," and proposed supporting its original vision by combining it with GAMENOVA's upcoming game. He showed Glass an unfinished game prototype and invited him to try it.

• Lin Lixin asked Glass why "Attitude" had ceased publication, and Glass explained that the magazine had lacked promotion and that continuing it would have cost too much.
• Glass recalled that he had cared deeply about "Attitude" and believed its first issue could challenge "Seventeen," but had decided to focus on PilotCommunications' music magazines.
• Lin Lixin praised the magazine and suggested combining it with video games, but Glass worried that tying it to "Rocksmith" would change its identity.
• Lin Lixin clarified that he meant a new game GAMENOVA was developing, switched on the NX, and showed Glass an unfinished pixel-character wardrobe prototype.
• Lin Lixin invited Glass to try the prototype.

Lin Lixin showed Glass a dress-up game demo and invited Barbie creator Ruth Handler to discuss a partnership with Mattel. Ruth saw how Barbie designs could expand the game’s appeal, and Lin introduced an additional feature he called the Outfit Code Sharing System.

• Glass tried the demo and recognized its potential, but noted that few women owned a NovaXeno.
• Lin Lixin revealed that he had invited an expert and welcomed Ruth Handler, co-founder of Mattel and creator of Barbie.
• Ruth explained that she had become a devoted NovaBo player after discovering Story of Seasons during retirement.
• Lin showed Ruth the demo, and she recognized the potential for a collaboration combining Barbie’s fashion designs with GAMENOVA’s reach.
• Lin introduced the Outfit Code Sharing System and said it was also what he wanted to discuss with Glass.

Lin Lixin arranged for Attitude to feature clothing codes from The Sims: Urbz and planned to promote the magazine with Madonna. GAMENOVA launched The Sims: Urbz with optional NEXUS access, while the network expanded its services and Robert prepared to install two NovaXeno units in his company lounge.

• Lin Lixin proposed adding player-designed clothing and sharing codes to Attitude, with GAMENOVA promising funding and promotional support.
• Glass suggested Madonna as the singer Lin Lixin meant, and Lin Lixin planned to invite her to appear on Attitude’s next cover.
• In October, Celebrity Barbie announced a Madonna-themed product line, while GAMENOVA unveiled The Sims: Urbz with optional NEXUS access.
• NEXUS added monthly Pixel War leaderboards, the Civilization Workshop, and improved multiplayer support, while subscription renewals began easing its hardware losses.
• Robert arranged for two NovaXeno units and monitors to be delivered after his daughter Yuli and employee Sean persuaded him to buy them for the company lounge.

Sean beat Yuli at Command & Conquer until she stormed off, and Robert summoned him to his office. After learning that The Sims: Urbz came with a Madonna doll and record, Robert ordered Sean to leave work early to get it.

• Sean defeated Yuli at Command & Conquer, making her give up and sulk by herself.
• Robert noticed Yuli's upset mood and told Sean to come to his office after lunch.
• Sean entered Robert's office, where Robert asked whether he knew The Sims: Urbz.
• Sean explained that the game would be released on Black Friday and that its deluxe preorder included a Madonna Barbie and record.
• Robert ordered Sean to leave work immediately, and Sean agreed.

Lin Lixin, Gerald, and Vivian assessed NovaSwift’s hardware and concluded that a disc drive would make the handheld too power-hungry, costly, and bulky. Lin Lixin chose ROM cartridges for its casual-game focus and said he and Vivian would solve the storage problem, leaving NAND flash as a promising option.

• Gerald showed Lin Lixin and Vivian NovaSwift’s test board and identified storage as the main remaining hardware challenge.
• Lin Lixin proposed a miniature disc drive, but Gerald explained that its power use, added cost, heat, and size made it unsuitable for the handheld.
• Lin Lixin decided NovaSwift would focus on casual, lightweight games rather than matching the NX’s top-spec library.
• Lin Lixin chose ROM cartridges and said he and Vivian would address their capacity limits using Micro-Nova’s NAND flash research.

On Black Friday in snowy Lexington, a smaller-than-usual crowd gathered outside the superstore, though GAMENOVA’s new release, The Sims, had drawn eager fans. Robert, Yuli, and Sean waited for the store to open, and the chapter ended as it opened at six in the morning.

• A blizzard and post-crash anxiety kept many shoppers away, while the mall manager noticed that GAMENOVA fans made up much of the waiting crowd.
• Robert questioned why people would brave the cold for a game as he waited with Yuli to collect their preordered copy of The Sims.
• Sean arrived late through the heavy snow and joined Robert and Yuli, eager to get the new game.
• Sean wondered whether The Sims’ simulation gameplay and possible focus on female players would suit his tastes, but decided to trust GAMENOVA.
• The superstore opened at six in the morning.

Sean visited Robert’s house with Yuli to try The Sims: Urbz, a new GAMENOVA game set in a modern city. After exploring the deluxe edition’s extras, Sean became absorbed in customizing his character before the game had properly begun.

• Sean collected his three deluxe editions of The Sims: Urbz and accepted Robert’s offer of a ride to his house.
• Yuli eagerly examined the deluxe edition’s Madonna record while Robert settled down with the included magazine.
• Sean and Yuli started the game and saw its colorful urban title screen and heard its electronic music.
• Sean took over character creation and spent more than ten minutes adjusting his character’s appearance and clothing.

Lin Lixin explained that The Sims: Urbz’s apparently pointless questionnaire used placebo choices to give players a sense of control and help them identify with their characters. After Sean began a guided janitor storyline, Yuli encouraged him to pick a defiant dialogue option.

• Sam asked Lin Lixin why The Sims: Urbz had a questionnaire that only granted starting items, and Lin Lixin explained that meaningless choices could create an illusion of control.
• Lin Lixin used Skinner’s pigeon experiment and games’ placebo mechanics to explain how players learned to associate coincidental actions with rewards.
• Lin Lixin said the questionnaire’s questions helped players identify with their characters, even though its actual effect was only to grant an item.
• Sean chose the default janitor start, and Chris Saiso ordered him to clean the windows.
• Sean moved to choose the obedient dialogue response, but Yuli stopped him and suggested he try the second option instead.

Sean and Yuli discovered that The Sims centered on earning money through minigames and building relationships with NPCs, while a magazine clothing code let them import a designer outfit into the game. The chapter left GAMENOVA’s Christmas sales recovering, with a new wave of women and girls buying The Sims, NovaXeno consoles, and NEXUS subscriptions.

• Sean tried cleaning windows in a simple bird-dropping minigame, earning sixty dollars, while Yuli became increasingly interested in playing.
• Sean and Yuli unlocked the tailor shop and learned they could pay to design outfits, but Sean’s drawing drove Yuli to take the controller.
• Robert suggested entering a clothing code, and the code loaded a stylish long dress into the game.
• Yuli found the matching code in a clothing showcase magazine and urged Sean to buy the outfit, but he had spent all his in-game money.
• As Christmas approached, shoppers returned to stores, and women and teenage girls began buying The Sims, NovaXeno consoles, and NEXUS subscriptions.