Recaps

Lin Lixin expanded GAMENOVA’s projects with a truck-driving simulator and an online guessing game while developing the ATHENA processor and a new Sega console. After Irem developers formed Nazca Studio to work on Metal Slug, Masahiro Sakurai tried the game and decided he wanted to develop for the Genesis-NEO.

• Tony and Hawk explored the Biohazard mansion, then visited its crowded Denver attraction as Ivan Sutherland investigated GAMENOVA’s graphics code and discovered its unusual inverse-square-root function.
• Lin Lixin arranged hardware deals with Sega and developed a data-collection system for Americas Truck Simulator, recruiting trucker Carlos to record a cross-country journey.
• GAMENOVA released Americas Truck Simulator, and Carlos’s daughter Erica and his wife Edilia tried driving in the game before Lin Lixin learned it had sold over a million copies.
• Lin Lixin advised Hayao Nakayama on Sega’s strategy, rejected Motorola processors for GAMENOVA’s next generation, and began developing the ATHENA architecture while launching Akinator online.
• As Sega struggled against Nintendo, Lin Lixin presented ATHENA and proposed the Genesis-NEO, then assigned GAMENOVA to create the 2D action game Metal Slug.
• Satoshi Tajiri recruited Kujo Kazuma and other Irem developers to form Nazca Studio, which began collaborating with GAMENOVA as artists developed Metal Slug’s characters, vehicles, and enemies.
• Sega and GAMENOVA completed Metal Slug and prepared the Genesis-NEO for a Tokyo public playtest, where Masahiro Sakurai was amazed by the game’s animation, artwork, and fast action.
• After the demo ended and the queue forced him to leave, Masahiro Sakurai decided he wanted to make games for the Genesis-NEO.

Lin Lixin helped Sega create Sonic and launch the Genesis NEO, while GAMENOVA expanded into arcade games, touchscreens, comics, and Pokémon services. The arc left Pokémon fans anticipating a sequel and a new internet-linked trading network as development awaited new hardware.

• Lin Lixin developed an artillery game concept for NovaSwift, tested touchscreen technology, and began planning a capacitive screen for GAMENOVA’s next handheld.
• Lin Lixin explained Barcode Battler to Ruth Handler, finalized Mattel’s cooperation, and released Angry Birds with toys and a barcode scanner.
• Kevin bought Angry Birds and a Mighty Eagle BarcodeBuddy, then used the game to relieve his frustration after a punishing Christmas Eve shift.
• Lin Lixin donated an Angry Birds level-creation project to California schools and pursued thin glass for touchscreens as Nintendo raised Namco’s cartridge royalties.
• Masaya Nakamura joined Hayao Nakayama’s opposition to Nintendo’s terms, while Lin Lixin began building a Sega mascot project with Yuji Naka’s AM8 team.
• Lin Lixin demonstrated high-speed scrolling techniques, and AM8 chose Naoto Ohshima’s hedgehog design for Sonic over Yuji Naka’s blue dog.
• Lin Lixin secured a controlling stake in DC Comics and launched Sonic’s crossover promotion with The Flash, while GAMENOVA and Sega released the Genesis NEO and Sonic the Hedgehog in North America.
• Masahiro Sakurai played Sonic, experienced its fast arcade-inspired gameplay, and decided he wanted to make games like it.
• Lin Lixin expanded Sonic’s promotion through comics and planned animations, while also setting up Pokémon HOME and teasing Pokémon Generation II.
• Pokémon Centers reopened as fans speculated about internet trading, and Steve learned that the sequel awaited the hardware department’s new architecture.

Marc explored the renovated Pokémon Center while Lin Lixin built new ventures around Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker and the 3D flight game Ace Combat. As 3D0 emerged as a rival, Lin Lixin began planning to recruit online developers with a free programming-based strategy game.

• Marc and John explored the Pokémon Center’s Pal Park and GTS, where Marc stored a Pidgey and traded his Sandshrew for a Clefairy.
• Tom returned the disappointing Atari Lynx, bought a NovaPocket, and Atari’s sales report showed that Lynx refunds had cut into sales.
• Lin Lixin and Michael Jackson planned Moonwalker as an arcade game, using Michael’s music and dance moves to rescue abducted children.
• Lin Lixin arranged motion capture with Lucasfilm, and GameNova’s Moonwalker trailer drew crowds of fans and orders from arcade operators.
• Lin Lixin acquired a controlling stake in Lockheed and launched Ace Combat, combining simplified 3D dogfights with licensed aircraft and specialized controls.
• GameNova’s Ace Combat machines sold out their first thousand units, and Lin Lixin received the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.
• Lin Lixin decided to undermine 3D0 by drawing independent developers to GameNova, then introduced SCREEPS, a free online strategy game controlled by players’ scripts.
• Lin Lixin planned to fund SCREEPS through Tokens that raised players’ CPU allowances and could be traded for in-game currency.

Lin Lixin expanded GameNova’s games and hardware projects, recruiting Mark Cerny and Bullfrog while pursuing new approaches to portable computers. The stretch ended with Lin asking Blizzard to build a dark Gothic RPG setting.

• Lin Lixin launched Screeps, which attracted programmers such as Linus Torvalds and grew into a profitable game built around player-made code.
• Lin Lixin developed gravity-sensing cartridges for the NPC, and Gerald helped test the technology before resigning and recommending Mark Cerny as his successor.
• Lin Lixin hired Cerny as GameNova’s new architect, and Cerny and Gary developed Hamsterball, a trackball arcade game with force feedback and capsule prizes.
• Lin Lixin acquired Bullfrog Studio after seeing its Populous demo, and GameNova’s SimCity: Gold Edition and Populous bundle sold about 700,000 copies in its first week.
• Lin Lixin proposed a power-efficient PC strategy to Michael Dell, then asked Vivian to acquire ARM, develop an operating system, and contact Ovonic about rechargeable batteries.
• Lin Lixin conceived a laptop that switched between low-power and high-performance cards, selected NeXTSTEP as a transitional operating system, and assigned Ho Kwok Yuen and Jensen Huang to develop graphics cards.
• Lin Lixin visited Blizzard Studio, told Mike Morhaime to stop taking outsourced work, and asked him and two colleagues to create a setting for a dark Gothic RPG.