Chapter Summaries

Lin Lixin launched NovaAds, a contextual advertising platform that connected advertisers with websites and rapidly generated revenue for Nexus. With GameNova's business growing, Lin told Sam they would return to making games, while the wider internet age still lay ahead.

• Lin Lixin explained his plan for a platform that would automatically distribute targeted ads across participating websites, and Sam recognized its potential.
• Lin Lixin revealed that Papa's Pizzeria had helped test the system and wrote AdSense on the whiteboard, describing how ads could match each website's content.
• Yuli discovered a Papa John's ad while playing Papa's Pizzeria, and Sean investigated GameNova's ads before deciding to join NovaAds as an advertiser.
• Motorola, Dell, and webmasters signed up in large numbers, and NovaAds quickly created a growing source of cash flow for Nexus.
• Sam praised the platform's success, and Lin Lixin said it was only the first step before telling Sam to pack up and return to making games.

Nintendo abruptly ended its partnership with Sony and announced a CD-ROM deal with Philips, leaving Ken Kutaragi’s Play Station project in jeopardy. At Sony’s emergency meeting, Kutaragi insisted that they continue developing the console and would succeed.

• Hiroshi Yamauchi watched Sony promote the Play Station and ordered a press conference to introduce Nintendo’s new partner.
• Nintendo announced that Philips would develop a CD-ROM system for the Super Famicom, abandoning its negotiations with Sony without warning.
• The news triggered a backlash against Sony and angered Norio Ohga, who called a closed-door meeting about the project’s future.
• A Sony executive urged the company to cancel the Sony-SNES division and cut its losses.
• Ohga asked Ken Kutaragi whether Sony should give up on the Play Station, and Kutaragi declared that they had to continue and would succeed.

Ken Kutaragi argued that Sony should continue developing PlayStation as a way to connect its hardware and content businesses, while Lin Lixin recognized that Sony's freedom after its partnership with Nintendo collapsed made it a serious future rival. Back at GameNova, Lin began a technical showcase project for arcades: Mirror's Edge.

• Ken Kutaragi persuaded Sony's executives that games could unite the company's hardware, music, film, and other content businesses, and proposed attracting third-party developers to PlayStation.
• Sam told Lin Lixin that Sony and Nintendo's partnership talks had collapsed, but Lin warned that an independent Sony could become a powerful competitor.
• Lin Lixin said GameNova had time to prepare and decided to push its hardware further with a new arcade project.
• Lin Lixin wrote Mirror's Edge on the planning board as a first-person 3D action game and technical showcase.

Lin Lixin introduced parkour as the core of a new 3D platformer inspired by Mirror's Edge, explaining the unfamiliar concept to the development team. He argued that the game’s fun should come from uninterrupted movement and a rhythm-game-like pursuit of perfect flow.

• Lin Lixin described Mirror's Edge's influence and proposed making a parkour game, but Sam and the development team did not know what parkour meant.
• Lin Lixin explained parkour's French origins and described it as moving through urban obstacles by climbing, jumping, and finding the fastest route.
• Sam asked whether the game would focus on jumping across buildings, and Lin Lixin confirmed it would be a 3D platformer with limited combat.
• Lin Lixin said parkour's core was fluidity, then used Sonic the Hedgehog to explain that players should experience movement as a rhythm game.
• Lin Lixin said small mistakes should disrupt the flow enough to make players want to retry until they could complete a route smoothly.

Lin Lixin invited Jackie to help GameNova develop Mirror’s Edge, recognizing his agile, fluid action style as a foundation for its parkour. At Lucasfilm’s motion-capture studio, Jackie prepared to perform the movements that would bring the game’s fluidity to life.

• Lin Lixin explained that Mirror’s Edge’s main positive feedback came from fluid parkour rather than combat or clearing the game.
• Lin Lixin invited Jackie to the United States, praising his distinctive movement and proposing a game based on Asian Hawk Jackie.
• Jackie realized Lin Lixin valued him for his own kung fu comedy and agile action, rather than as a substitute for Bruce Lee.
• At Lucasfilm, Jackie put on a motion-capture suit and watched the crew calibrate the studio and set up obstacles.
• The engineers raised a wall for the first capture test, and Jackie marveled at the technology before beginning his performance.

Lin Lixin and Vivian planned to use Micro-Nova Semiconductor’s costly phase-two fab upgrade to improve chip production and redesign Athena for games. Lin left ready to develop Athena II with cache, DMA, and other new features.

• Lin Lixin surveyed the phase-two facility and accepted the steep costs of upgrading its cleanrooms and equipment to i-line lithography.
• Vivian explained that the new process could improve yields and capacity, and proposed moving Athena, Nova Radeon, and memory-chip production to phase two.
• Lin Lixin decided to redesign the processor and graphics architectures instead of merely transferring the existing Athena and Nova Radeon chips.
• Lin Lixin proposed adding 16 KB of L1 cache to Athena to reduce memory bottlenecks in games.
• Lin Lixin outlined an eight-channel DMA system, along with branch prediction and multiply-accumulate circuitry, for the game-focused Athena II.

Lin Lixin and Sam planned how to adapt Mirror's Edge for their limited hardware, replacing its open world with a linear design that still felt freely explorable. Lin Lixin proposed using guided freedom and a near-future utopian setting to preserve the parkour experience while reducing rendering demands.

• Lin Lixin estimated that their arcade hardware could support a 32-bit board with 8 MB of RAM, but could not run the original Mirror's Edge.
• Lin Lixin crossed out the open-world plan, explaining that detailed urban environments would overwhelm their limited memory and graphics performance.
• Lin Lixin proposed an open linear design that used visual guidance instead of invisible walls or mandatory route instructions.
• Sam understood the approach as guided freedom, and Lin Lixin compared the intended level flow to how Disneyland guides visitors through its attractions.
• Lin Lixin noted that even guided open spaces would require too many buildings to render, then proposed a near-future utopian setting to reduce the burden.

Lin Lixin recruited Saul Bass as art director for Mirror’s Edge, showing him how the game’s stark white environments and red route markers would guide players by instinct. Lin and Cerny then examined Sega’s Out Run to adapt its countdown-and-checkpoint arcade model for the fast-paced game.

• Lin Lixin explained that Saul Bass would oversee Mirror’s Edge’s visual style and coordinate the art team rather than create designs himself.
• Lin showed Bass concept art of Faith on a white rooftop, where red objects marked the route and drew the player’s attention.
• Bass recognized that the image used color to guide movement and inferred that the game was an arcade title because it reduced deliberation and encouraged speed.
• Lin and Bass agreed to begin work on the arcade-oriented design and considered how to adapt Mirror’s Edge’s map layouts.
• Lin Lixin and Cerny examined a Sega Out Run arcade machine to study its countdown timer and checkpoint time bonuses.
• Lin’s team planned to use the countdown model to keep players moving and limit how closely they examined the optimized game environments.

Lin Lixin and Cerny planned dedicated arcade hardware for Mirror's Edge, using route prediction and custom ASICs to keep gameplay fluid. With Sega and a vast roster of partner teams joining the project, the game became an unprecedented all-star production.

• Lin Lixin and Cerny discussed how Out Run and Sonic's momentum-focused design could inform Mirror's Edge.
• Lin Lixin and Cerny decided the game needed a dedicated arcade board to prevent stuttering and support its demands.
• Lin Lixin proposed enumerating routes and subtly guiding players onto preset paths so the game could replace real-time calculations with lookups.
• Lin Lixin and Cerny planned custom ASICs for route lookups, motion blur, and frame blending, including preloading predicted frames.
• Lin Lixin designed Mirror's Edge around parkour rather than guns or elaborate UI, while GameNova assembled Sega, Lucas Arts, Industrial Light & Magic, and other partners for development.

Ken Kutaragi met with Sony Music Entertainment president Shigeo Maruyama to argue that Sony could proceed with the PlayStation without Nintendo by building a low-cost 3D console and recruiting third-party developers. He proposed using Sony’s resources and Marvel character rights to strengthen the project, leaving Maruyama to consider the strategy.

• Ken Kutaragi visited Sony Music Entertainment headquarters after Shigeo Maruyama invited him to discuss the console dispute.
• Kutaragi told Maruyama that the PlayStation could succeed without Nintendo and proposed a cost-conscious 32-bit console focused on 3D.
• Kutaragi argued Sony could recruit Nintendo’s third-party partners and offer developers a more accessible platform than GameNova’s.
• Kutaragi suggested acquiring Marvel character adaptation rights and using contracts to create a route into game development.

Ken Kutaragi gained backing from Sony Music, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Norio Ohga as he worked to protect the PlayStation project and its technology. Meanwhile, Nintendo secured Philips optical-drive support, and Jack Tramiel committed Atari to a next-generation console project called Atari Jaguar.

• Shigeo Maruyama backed Ken Kutaragi, giving him another powerful ally for the PlayStation project.
• Sony Pictures Entertainment also agreed to support PlayStation, and Ken focused on preserving its technology, investment, and talent while seeking greater autonomy.
• Nintendo secured Philips optical-drive technology for the SFC by licensing classic character IPs for CD-i games.
• Jack Tramiel concluded Atari had no viable future in PCs and chose to stake the company’s remaining prospects on game consoles.
• Jack Tramiel began the Atari Jaguar project as the successor to the abandoned Panther project and wagered Atari’s future on it.

GameNova launched a promotional video for Mirror's Edge, whose realistic parkour moves captivated French traceur David Belle. The trailer ended with the game's title, leaving Belle impressed by how closely its movements resembled his own and Jackie’s action films.

• GameNova released its new arcade title in October and prepared promotional videos for its international launch.
• In Lisses, David Belle raced through familiar rooftop routes and returned home with a Jackie film rental.
• Belle turned from the film to watch a Mirror's Edge promotional video airing on TF1.
• The trailer showed protagonist Faith running, leaping, vaulting and balancing across a futuristic city in first-person gameplay.
• Belle recognized the parkour moves from his own training and Jackie’s films as the Mirror's Edge logo appeared.

Belle and Sébastien raced to an arcade after GameNova revealed Mirror’s Edge, a parkour game that matched Belle’s real-life passion. They became the first players at the arcade to try it, where Belle discovered its smooth performance and instinctive red-guided routes.

• After seeing GameNova’s Mirror’s Edge promotional video, Belle called his childhood friend Sébastien and challenged him to race to an arcade.
• Belle and Sébastien reached the arcade together and asked its owner about Mirror’s Edge while he finished installing the linked machines.
• The owner connected the arcade cabinet to the network and explained that players could race and compete on a global leaderboard.
• Belle and Sébastien started the game, and Belle admired its smooth graphics and minimalist screen.
• Belle followed his parkour instincts toward the bright red pipes and boards that marked the fastest route through the open city.

Belle and Sebas experienced Mirror's Edge's exhilarating arcade parkour, while its technical ingenuity and popularity made it a sensation across France. The game earned major award nominations, leaving media outlets struggling to choose among GameNova's standout releases.

• Belle and Sebas played Mirror's Edge, marveling at its motion effects as Sebas pulled ahead by choosing better routes.
• The game's launch drew crowds to arcades across France, and Belle proposed forming a parkour group with his friends; Sébastien agreed.
• Mirror's Edge received a Game of the Year nomination, prompting players and developers to consider new possibilities for 3D games beyond FPS titles.
• The game also received a Best Graphics Technology nomination, while award organizers struggled to balance recognition among Mirror's Edge, Return of the Obra Dinn, and Battlefield 1991.

Lin Lixin accepted a custom nomination for Best Game Producer while reflecting on GameNova’s graphics technology and the limits of Mirror's Edge’s tricks. Jack Tramiel then asked GameNova to supply chips for Atari’s next console and computer, and Lin warned him that Atari was no longer equipped to compete.

• Steve asked Lin Lixin to accept a newly created Best Game Producer Award nomination, and Lin agreed.
• Lin ended the interview early and met Jack Tramiel, who recognized the Commodore 64 in Lin’s display cabinet as a machine from his past.
• Tramiel told Lin that Atari needed chips for a game console and a new Atari ST computer.
• Lin realized Tramiel was pursuing the Atari Jaguar and warned him that Atari’s research and development capabilities had fallen behind the demands of 32-bit hardware.
• Tramiel admitted he understood the risks but did not want to give up.

Lin Lixin considered Atari’s decline and saw a chance to acquire Atari and JTS for GameNova’s hardware and storage expertise. He also reviewed Nova Arcade’s strong results for Mirror’s Edge and discovered an Atari project called Rampart that Activision had released.

• Lin Lixin reflected that Atari and Commodore were doomed to lose ground to the Wintel Alliance and Apple, and that Atari’s depleted engineering teams left its new console project unlikely to succeed.
• Lin Lixin considered gaining control of Atari and JTS to strengthen GameNova’s PC, hard-drive, and memory businesses.
• Lin Lixin found that Mirror’s Edge had sold over 100,000 arcade machines and asked Sam to have Suzuki develop versions at different price points.
• Lin Lixin reviewed Nova Arcade’s profitable results, including Mortal Kombat, and asked Sam about Rampart, an Atari project published by Activision.
• Sam explained that GameNova’s development team had completed Rampart after the acquisition, then searched the storage room for a machine so Lin Lixin could try it.

Lin Lixin recognized Rampart’s influence on tower defense and decided the genre could support a new casual-game IP. He proposed a balloon-popping game, leaving David startled by the idea of monkeys as towers.

• Lin Lixin recognized Rampart as an early foundation of tower defense and considered the genre a good fit for browser games.
• Lin Lixin visited Activision and told David he wanted to create an original tower-defense IP rather than port Rampart.
• Lin Lixin rejected Kingdom Rush as too complicated for his goals and spotted a balloon at the celebration decorations.
• Lin Lixin proposed a game about popping balloons and explained that monkeys could serve as towers.
• Lin Lixin wrote the project name, “Bloons Tower Defense,” on the board.

Lin Lixin explained to David how a simplified, casual-friendly tower defense game could grow from RTS design. They settled on bitmap maps loaded only when needed, and David realized the approach hinted at a much larger future for web games.

• Lin Lixin described tower defense as a simplified, less competitive alternative to RTS games aimed at casual players.
• Lin Lixin and David decided to remove controllable units and minimize micro while keeping the core focus on defense.
• David proposed a tile-map system to make it easier to create many maps.
• Lin Lixin proposed using a separate bitmap background for each map, since players would only need to load one map at a time.
• David recognized that lazy loading could let web games support far more content than their apparent limitations suggested, and Lin Lixin steered him back toward finishing the game.

Lin Lixin explained to David how fixed enemy paths turned tower defense into a strategy puzzle, and how predictable waves and gold rewards created balanced negative and positive feedback. David grasped the design principles and affirmed that simple games could demand considerable skill.

• Lin Lixin drew a map and proposed fixed paths for enemies in the tower defense game.
• David realized that paths would make the game a puzzle, and Lin Lixin explained that fixed routes and enemy forces let players plan counters and learn from mistakes.
• Lin Lixin and David identified gold earned from popping balloons as the positive feedback that let players build and upgrade towers.
• Lin Lixin described how tower costs and upgrades created goals that encouraged players to keep advancing through short, medium, and long gameplay loops.
• David finished Lin Lixin's saying that the simpler a game was, the more it tested a player's skill.

Lin Lixin launched Games.com as a hub for browser games and a publishing platform for independent developers. After exploring the site, Luo Nan considered making a game himself before noticing a new title from Activision.

• Lin Lixin redirected the original game domain to Games.com and added an Activision Games logo and navigation bar.
• Luo Nan clicked the navigation bar and found a game collection featuring Papa's Pizzeria, Bloons Tower Defense, and Screeps, with Papa's Milkshake Shop listed as coming soon.
• Luo Nan discovered that developers could submit games to Activision for review, promotion, and a share of Perception GG API revenue.
• Luo Nan reflected that the new browser-game publishing option could help independent developers avoid the expense and risk of producing and distributing physical games.
• Luo Nan looked at his drawings and wished he could publish a game, then noticed Bloons Tower Defense was a new Activision game under 1 MB in size.