Chapter Summaries

On Easter Sunday, Tom joined the enormous crowd at an arcade to play GameNova’s new Moonwalker and witnessed fans fainting and resisting attempts to pull them away from the cabinet. After hours of waiting, Tom finally started the game and heard Michael Jackson’s voice announce its title.

• Tom saw an unconscious woman wake on a stretcher, shout “Michael,” and struggle to get back into the arcade before security removed her.
• After two hours in line, Tom entered the arcade and read notices warning against disturbances and entry by people with heart conditions or high blood pressure.
• While Tom waited for Moonwalker, more fans became overwhelmed, and the manager pleaded with people in poor health to leave.
• Tom put a dollar into the Moonwalker cabinet and watched its opening sequence reveal the GameNova and Michael Jackson credits.
• Michael Jackson’s recorded voice announced the game’s name as Tom began to play.

Tom played Michael Jackson's Moonwalker and was impressed by its immersive 32-bit sound, interactive stages, and rhythm-based combat. The chapter ended by revealing that Lin Lixin had given Nova Arcade’s field representatives the new task of auditing machine coin totals and tamper seals to enforce revenue sharing.

• Tom started Michael Jackson's Moonwalker and discovered its proprietary 32-bit audio chip produced immersive, high-fidelity sound.
• Tom used his arcade experience to fight through the first stage, exploring interactive scenery and rescuing kidnapped children.
• Tom activated Michael's spotlight dance move, making enemies dance before they fell during the anti-gravity lean.
• Tom advanced to the second stage, where the music changed to "Beat It" and the enemies' movements shifted with the rhythm.
• Lin Lixin assigned Nova Arcade's field representatives to check coin counters and tamper-resistant seals under revenue-sharing contracts.

Lin Lixin visited Nova Arcade to review the coin revenue-sharing system and proposed replacing its mechanical lead seals with electronic seals. The chapter ended as he explained how software and tamper-resistant cards could track each arcade cabinet’s status.

• Lin Lixin explained how arcade revenue sharing split coin income between manufacturers and operators.
• Lin Lixin visited Nova Arcade and heard Gary report that Michael Jackson's Moonwalker had sold at least 130,000 units in its first week, with production unable to keep up.
• Lin Lixin examined the mechanical counter and lead seal used to deter arcade operators from underreporting coin revenue.
• Lin Lixin sketched a plan to replace the lead seal with an electronic seal based on GameNova’s tamper-resistant membership card.
• Lin Lixin proposed moving revenue counting from hardware to software built into the arcade game.

Lin Lixin became involved in Lockheed’s fight against James Simmons’s hostile takeover after CEO Daniel Michael Tellep sought his help. Nova Arcade ultimately acquired a controlling stake as a white knight, securing Lin Lixin access to Lockheed’s technology and leaving him ready to put it to use.

• Lin Lixin discussed the costs and rollout of electronic seals, then arranged a meeting with Lockheed CEO Daniel Michael Tellep.
• Tellep explained that falling defense demand and project losses had plunged Lockheed into crisis, while Gary praised the company’s work with GameNova.
• Lin Lixin identified James Simmons’s hostile takeover bid and initially refused to take over Lockheed, though he offered help with workstations, chips, and games.
• Gary proposed a white knight provision that would let Lin Lixin intervene to block Simmons.
• Nova Arcade acquired a 12% controlling stake in Lockheed, and Simmons sold his shares to Lin Lixin and withdrew from the contest.
• Lin Lixin reflected on the lengthy takeover struggle and prepared to begin work with Lockheed’s technology.

Lin Lixin launched Ace Combat, a 3D motion-controlled air-combat arcade game, and assembled GameNova’s team around making it both exciting and technically convincing. He secured official Lockheed aircraft licenses and planned optional high-fidelity controls alongside an action-focused setup.

• Lin Lixin named the project Ace Combat and told Will and Carmack to join a brainstorming session while Sam got Industrial Light & Magic started.
• Lin Lixin explained that Ace Combat would be a 3D, motion-controlled air-combat game built around Will’s interest in realistic simulation.
• Gary showed Lin Lixin an Atari ST flight-simulation setup, and he agreed that Nova Arcade could build its own machine.
• Lin Lixin decided to offer both action-oriented and high-precision flight-control configurations, and planned to discuss the commercial opportunity with Tailaipu.
• Lucas was astonished when Lin Lixin sent him Lockheed’s official F-16 license and drawings, along with a license for the F-117A.

Lin Lixin convinced Will that an arcade aerial-combat game should favor accessible, exciting dogfights over realistic flight physics and modern missile engagements. He then welcomed Tailaipu’s engineers, who brought a one-to-one simplified model of an F-16 control stick, leaving the team with a promising flight-control peripheral to develop.

• Lin Lixin explained that Ace Combat should simplify flight physics and controls so arcade players could quickly enjoy dogfights.
• He argued that realistic g-forces, difficult aircraft handling, and beyond-visual-range missile combat would frustrate most players.
• Will understood Lin Lixin’s reasoning but remained disappointed by the decision to abandon realism.
• Lin Lixin reassured Will that the project had another advantage: flight-control peripherals could make the arcade experience distinctive.
• Tailaipu arrived at Nova Arcade with engineers and a one-to-one simplified model of an F-16 control stick.
• Tailaipu explained that the F-16’s electronic, side-mounted stick let pilots control the aircraft under extreme g-forces.

Lin Lixin formed Thrustmaster with Lockheed and other major partners, then secured the rights to adapt Paramount’s Top Gun into a GameNova title. The chapter ends as GameNova’s promotional film begins with a radar warning and the Top Gun squadron being dispatched.

• Lin Lixin proposed a joint venture to Tailaipu, and Thrustmaster opened as a company developing gaming peripherals.
• Reporters discovered that Thrustmaster was a broad alliance involving GameNova’s companies, Lockheed, and several automakers.
• Lin Lixin traveled to Hollywood for talks arranged by Lucas about adapting Top Gun into a game and extending military cooperation into video games.
• GameNova announced that it had secured the Top Gun adaptation rights and that Tom Cruise would appear in a promotional film.
• GameNova released the promotional film, which opened with a radar alert reporting enemy forces near Kaluga and the Top Gun squadron being sent out.

Wolfgang Petersen returned to California after GameNova’s promotional video for Ace Aerial Combat stirred up widespread excitement, and he wondered how the company would adapt Top Gun into a game. Meanwhile, Lin Lixin considered the arcade hardware needed to bring the project to life.

• GameNova’s promotional video featuring Lin Lixin, Tom Cruise, and Michael Jackson attracted attention across entertainment and enthusiast circles.
• Wolfgang Petersen arrived in California, hoping to advance his filmmaking career in Hollywood.
• Wolfgang told his assistant he was curious how GameNova would turn Top Gun into a game and reflected on the limits of existing aerial-combat games.
• Wolfgang’s assistant expressed confidence that GameNova would find a way, and Wolfgang agreed to wait and see.
• Lin Lixin pondered the technical details of an arcade board for Ace Aerial Combat and considered the Namco System Super 22 that had powered Namco’s Ace Combat series.

Lin Lixin identified DSPs as the missing component in Athena’s 3D workload and had GameNova build a powerful arcade platform with Texas Instruments processors. At the May 9 demo, Michael Jackson and Tom Cruise enjoyed the game while Lockheed CEO Tailaipu spotted a flaw in its missile guidance and prepared to test whether he could evade every missile.

• Lin Lixin realized that DSPs could handle Athena’s 3D displacement calculations, then asked Vivian to contact Texas Instruments for hardware.
• GameNova built an arcade machine with Athena, two Texas Instruments DSPs, and a Nova Radeon, and the team began developing a 3D aerial-combat game.
• Lin Lixin invited Michael Jackson, Tom Cruise, and Tailaipu to test the gameplay demo on May 9.
• Tom Cruise enthusiastically played the F-16-inspired arcade machine while Tailaipu watched its free-flight 3D combat.
• Tailaipu noticed that the missiles used pursuit guidance and told Lin Lixin he believed he could evade them every time.

Tailaipu tested Lin Lixin’s Ace Combat simulator, impressed Lockheed with its realism, and asked to arrange a specialized pilot-training version. GameNova then revealed prices for its arcade cabinets that made them seem like luxury centerpieces rather than ordinary machines.

• Tailaipu tested the simulator against maximum enemy missile fire, evaded the missiles, and explained that real missiles used more advanced guidance than the game’s original algorithm.
• Lin Lixin modified the missile tracking so Tailaipu could no longer evade it, then heard Tailaipu praise the simulator and request an exclusive Lockheed supply agreement for a customized training version.
• Lin Lixin asked Michael Jackson and Tom Cruise whether they would provide voice work for the game.
• GameNova announced launch prices of $10,999 for the standard F-16 cabinet and $13,999 for the two-seat F-14 cabinet, astonishing arcade owners with their cost.

Lin Lixin introduced a revenue-sharing plan and secure electronic coin counter to make GameNova’s expensive Ace Combat arcade machines easier to sell, and the first batch sold out. Wolfgang Petersen tried the game at his Hollywood soundstage and was stunned by its cockpit-like cabinet and fully 3D aircraft hangar.

• Lin Lixin showed Meyer how the electronic coin mechanism let operators change prices through a configuration interface and explained its security and convenience.
• GameNova’s revenue-sharing plan helped sell out more than a thousand machines in preorders, including orders from Hollywood and General Dynamics.
• Wolfgang Petersen paid extra to obtain single-seat and two-seat Ace Combat machines for his soundstage and eagerly tried the single-player game.
• Wolfgang sat in the reclined, motion-feedback cockpit and watched the live-action opening featuring Michael Jackson issuing combat orders.
• Wolfgang began the first mission and discovered a fully 3D hangar displaying fighter aircraft and their performance charts.

Wolfgang tried Ace Combat and was overwhelmed by its realistic 3D flight, motion effects, and aerial combat, deciding he wanted to ship the machine back to West Germany. The game sold out and attracted defense contracts, and Lin Lixin received the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.

• Wolfgang selected a maxed-out F-16 and was stunned by the game's real-time 3D graphics and cockpit details.
• He shot down enemy aircraft and experienced the simulator's forceful sound and motion effects, then praised the game and asked his assistant to find a way to ship a machine to West Germany.
• Ace Combat sold out its first 1,000 machines and gained attention for its defense licenses and realistic aircraft models.
• The Department of Defense released a recruitment poster featuring Tom Cruise in an Ace Combat cockpit, while the Navy and Air Force sought high-fidelity machines through Lockheed.
• In early June, Lin Lixin received the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service and awkwardly thanked the attendees.

Lin Lixin considered giving Activision and Blizzard practical experience through a Hollywood film project, then learned EA was courting partners for the 3D0 console alliance. He decided to undermine 3D0 by targeting its third-party developers with GAMENOVA’s nearly ready NPC machine.

• Lin Lixin directed a Hollywood producer interested in a war film to discuss the project with Blizzard, which could gain experience from the work.
• The producer told Lin Lixin that EA CEO Trip was approaching Time Inc. and other companies about video games.
• Lin Lixin recognized the discussions as part of the 3D0 alliance, backed by media companies, AT&T, and Panasonic.
• Lin Lixin concluded that 3D0 depended on its independent developers and planned to weaken that support rather than compete with its hardware directly.
• Lin Lixin decided that GAMENOVA’s new 8-bit NPC machine could be used to take down 3D0.

Lin Lixin and Carmack completed NovaScript 1.0, a secure, cross-platform scripting language designed for webpages. Lin Lixin proposed using it for SCREEPS, a fun multiplayer real-time strategy game built around programming, which could promote NovaScript and develop GAMENOVA’s third-party lineup.

• Carmack finished NovaScript 1.0, and Lin Lixin tested the new web scripting language.
• Lin Lixin explained that the project would help promote NovaScript and recruit future independent developers to his publishing lineup.
• Lin Lixin described programming games to the meeting, exciting Carmack and Will while Kojima and others remained skeptical.
• Sam recalled Core War, a programming battle game he had played with Lin Lixin and their dormmates.
• Lin Lixin wrote SCREEPS on the whiteboard and revealed that it would be a multiplayer, real-time online strategy game.

Lin Lixin proposed Screeps: World, an MMO-RTS where players programmed their colonies and unit AI, designed for the internet’s small community of technically minded users. He planned to make the base game free and fund it through Tokens that increased players’ CPU allowance and could be traded for in-game currency.

• Lin Lixin explained that players would write scripts to manage colonies and create AI that responded to attacks and fought in real time.
• Sam questioned how programming could work in an RTS, and Lin Lixin clarified that battles would test the quality of players’ code rather than their typing speed.
• Will supported the concept, and Sam realized that the game’s niche design suited the internet’s mostly geeky early users.
• Lin Lixin told Gerald to arrange server mainframes and announced that the base game would be free, alarming Gerald about the costs.
• Lin Lixin introduced Tokens, which players could buy to raise their CPU allowance for a set time and freely trade for in-game currency.

Lin Lixin proposed tradable in-game Tokens and enlisted James Simmons to develop a financial proposal for them. Meanwhile, GAMENOVA split its Screeps developers into backend and frontend teams, and a Neus update introduced NovaScript as Benjamin discovered a redesigned World Wide Web landing page called NEXUS.

• Lin Lixin explained the freely tradable Tokens to Sam, who warned that they would need a professional finance team and tax approval.
• Lin Lixin met James Simmons and showed him a Barcode Battler Token worth twenty-four hours of in-game time; Simmons agreed to prepare a proposal.
• Lin Lixin assigned Gerald, Carmack, and Will to the backend team for Screeps and placed the remaining developers on the frontend team.
• Neus pushed the V2.0 update, adding a standard NovaScript interpreter, and Benjamin installed it while browsing the web.
• Benjamin viewed a Spencer Mansion travel blog and admired its photos of Turning-Around Guy, Tyrant, and Wesker.
• After restarting Neus, Benjamin saw that the browser’s landing page had been redesigned as NEXUS, with the slogan “The world, within reach.”

Lin Lixin demonstrated how NovaScript made Neus webpages fast and interactive by rendering effects locally, and explained how the same approach suited the script-driven RTS Screeps. After Screeps appeared on the homepage, Linus discovered the browser game and began exploring it.

• Benjamin saw Neus’s new homepage display smooth animated effects on his NX, while his outdated PC browser showed a notice to update Neus Browser.
• Lin Lixin explained to Sam that NovaScript scripts ran locally in users’ browsers, reducing server communication and making the approach suitable for Screeps.
• Webmasters copied the homepage’s effects and began learning NovaScript; on June 14, Neus replaced a homepage tab with an announcement for Screeps.
• At the University of Helsinki, Linus noticed Screeps on the Neus homepage and decided to try the programming game, recalling Core War.
• Linus joined the Boston server and examined the simple tile map, then focused on the command-line-style window where he could enter commands.

Linus explored Screeps, learned that producing and directing Creeps required writing NovaScript, and became fascinated with designing his own code. Backpack interrupted him to sell him NovaScript books and Screeps API documentation, leaving Linus with the tools to dive deeper into the game.

• Linus explored another player's room and saw their base and Creeps gathering resources.
• Linus followed the tutorial and learned that he had to write NovaScript code to produce a Creep.
• Linus created a Creep and became eager to experiment with controlling it rather than follow the tutorial.
• Backpack sold Linus a NovaScript textbook, a programming comic, and Screeps API documentation.
• Linus bought the materials, and the chapter ended with him ready to take on Screeps.

Lin Lixin saw that Screeps had attracted a small but technically skilled player base and learned that Carmack and Will had been struggling against an anonymous Finnish expert. The encounter made Lin Lixin think of recruiting Linus Benedict Torvalds to develop a future console operating system, but he did not know how to find him.

• Lin Lixin checked Screeps’ server load with Gerald and learned that the official servers had just over twenty thousand players combined.
• Lin Lixin described Screeps as a promising foundation for future third-party development while emphasizing the need to review releases for quality.
• Carmack told Lin Lixin and Will that a skilled Finnish player’s automated code had repeatedly defended against their attacks in Screeps.
• Lin Lixin considered how future 32-bit consoles could benefit from an operating system and remembered Vivian’s interest in creating one.
• Lin Lixin decided to seek out Linus Benedict Torvalds to lead the effort, but realized he had no idea how to find him.

A player’s search for Khodium Bars showed that Screeps resources could be sold for real money, bringing a wave of new players and turning the game profitable. At GameNova, Lin Lixin proposed an open-source GPIO interface for the NPC handheld so developers could build peripherals that connected gameplay to the real world.

• Benjamin paid a Screeps player a hundred dollars by telephone transfer for Khodium Bars after the player asked for cash instead of tokens.
• Stories of real-money earnings drew crowds of newcomers to Screeps, but most found the game too difficult to profit from and turned to whale spending instead.
• Sam reviewed Screeps’ financial report and saw that the game had become profitable in less than a month as its player count surged.
• Lin Lixin discussed applying Screeps’ customizable assembly concept to the NPC handheld, and Gerald warned that a modular console would be bulky and costly.
• Lin Lixin clarified that he wanted an open-source GPIO interface for external modules, suggesting optical and gravity sensors that could make games respond to real-world conditions.