Chapter Summaries

Mike, Frank, and Alan examined the NovaXeno’s specifications and discovered its CD playback and telephone-line multiplayer features, while Sega’s hardware team realized the console outclassed their own next-generation system. The chapter left Sega facing a serious threat to its plans in the American market.

• Mike noticed that the NovaXeno’s proprietary disc drive could also play CDs, and Frank explained its storage capacity and format.
• Alan, Mike, and Frank discovered that the NovaModem supported telephone-line connections and online multiplayer, though Alan doubted it enabled real-time play.
• Frank concluded that the NovaXeno was a remarkably cost-effective entertainment device and felt glad he had bought one.
• A Sega engineer complained that the NovaXeno surpassed the company’s developing console across the board, including its sound hardware.
• Sato Hideki reviewed the specifications and recognized that GAMENOVA’s new system threatened Sega’s fourth-generation console and overseas ambitions.

Sato Hideki warned Hayao Nakayama that NovaXeno’s memory capacity could give GAMENOVA a major advantage, prompting Nakayama to visit Lin Lixin. At GAMENOVA, Lin Lixin’s team brainstormed leaders and civilizations for Civilization before Nakayama arrived to seek a memory-chip supply agreement.

• Sato Hideki told Hayao Nakayama that NovaXeno’s 256 KB of RAM and 256 KB of video memory posed the greatest threat, and Nakayama decided to visit Lin Lixin.
• Lin Lixin and the GAMENOVA team discussed leaders and civilizations for Civilization, including Gandhi, Hojo Tokimune, and Hammurabi.
• Sam interrupted the meeting to tell Lin Lixin that he had a visitor, and Lin recognized the arriving guest as Hayao Nakayama.
• Hayao Nakayama praised NovaXeno and asked Lin Lixin to sign an agreement for GAMENOVA or Micron to supply memory chips for Sega’s next-generation console.

Lin Lixin persuaded Hayao Nakayama to order Micron memory chips for Sega Genesis, turning the sale into funding for GAMENOVA while arguing that games mattered more than console specifications. He then helped Will and Sid refine Byzantium’s civilization design, leaving Sam puzzled by the game’s unusually small bonuses.

• Lin Lixin agreed to sell Hayao Nakayama five million 1 Mb memory chips and suggested that Sega also buy PPU graphics chips.
• Lin Lixin explained to Sam that stronger console specifications would not threaten GAMENOVA because games, development tools, and market reach mattered more than hardware.
• Will and Sid argued over whether Byzantium should pursue conquest or religious victory, and Lin Lixin proposed designing the two paths to support each other.
• Will and Sid developed bonuses linking Byzantine military strength to holy cities and a cataphract unit suited to attacking cities following Byzantium’s religion.
• Sam questioned Lin Lixin about the modest civilization bonuses, including the Seowon’s small science and food boosts.

Lin Lixin explained to Sam how Seondeok's science bonuses and Byzantium's combat strength could snowball through stacked bonuses, making small stat changes powerful. He then revealed that the game was already built around a table-driven development system that let designers enter data without changing and recompiling code.

• Lin Lixin explained how Seowon's science bonuses could speed up technology, expansion, and the growth of a civilization's cities.
• Lin Lixin showed Sam how percentage bonuses from policy cards could multiply those early science gains, and Sam realized how quickly they could snowball.
• Sam considered Byzantium's combat bonuses and understood how stacked combat strength could give its units a major advantage.
• Sam asked why the group was discussing design instead of developing the game, and Carmack said development had already been completed.
• Lin Lixin explained that the team used a table-reading system to generate game content from design data, separating programmers from designers.

Lin Lixin explained his plans to lower development barriers with a game engine and revealed a player-facing mod system for NovaXeno. Sam realized the configuration tables would let players customize and add content to the game, leaving him stunned by the scale of the idea.

• Sam reminisced about how he and Lin Lixin once handled every part of developing The Legend of Zelda.
• Lin Lixin told Sam that after the Civilization project, GAMENOVA would begin developing a game engine to simplify game creation.
• Lin Lixin showed Sam a small memory chip and explained that it would support a new kind of expansion pack called a mod.
• Sam realized the mod system was intended for players to customize game mechanics and content through tools and public information provided by GAMENOVA.
• Sam understood that players could use the configuration tables to add civilizations or leaders to the game, and he sat stunned by the revelation.

GAMENOVA’s NovaXeno launched on Christmas amid overwhelming demand, with only 500,000 consoles available against more than a million preorders. Frank secured the last console at the mall and joined Mike and Alan in the dormitory to start Civilization.

• GAMENOVA launched the NovaXeno and Civilization, but production had yielded only 500,000 consoles despite more than a million preorders.
• Mike Morhaime, Frank Pierce, and Alan Adhan arrived at the crowded mall before dawn to wait for the launch.
• Frank collected his preordered Civilization disc and bought the final available NovaXeno console, leaving another customer furious.
• Frank returned to the dormitory with Mike and Alan, connected the NovaXeno, and started Civilization.
• The game played Dream of Flight and displayed its title menu with single-player, online multiplayer, and settings options.

Frank began Civilization with Alan and Mike watching, chose the United States, and encountered unfamiliar mechanics as the game loaded a randomly generated world. The chapter left them examining the new hexagonal map and wondering how it worked.

• Frank selected single-player mode, chose the United States with Theodore Roosevelt, and marveled with Alan and Mike at the console’s graphics.
• Frank struggled to understand the United States’ civilization entries, and the three realized they would need to learn the terms by playing.
• Frank kept the default prince difficulty and small continents map, then listened to a historical narration while the game generated the world.
• Frank entered the game and found a hexagonal map surrounded by parchment-like fog of war.
• Mike suggested that alternating rows of cells had been offset by half a square to create the hexagonal grid.

Frank and his friends began playing Civilization, founding Washington and exploring its research and city-management systems. Frank ended the chapter still learning the game after his Warrior discovered a new continent.

• Frank noticed the randomly generated map included the Yukon River and suspected the familiar location was an intentional detail.
• Frank founded Washington beside the river, mountains, copper, and woods.
• Frank, Mike, and Alan argued for different technologies, and Frank chose Pottery before selecting a city production project.
• Frank chose units to produce and moved his Warrior two tiles west.
• The Warrior discovered a new continent, giving Frank progress toward Foreign Trade.

Frank and Mike struggled to understand Civilization’s research, civics, and city yields as they played through the opening turns. Mike recognized that the unusually productive cow tile came from Roosevelt’s civilization ability.

• Frank learned that later technologies and civics had Eureka and civic boost conditions, then advanced to the next turn.
• Frank encountered a barbarian scout across the Missouri River and decided to chase it with his stronger warrior.
• Code of Laws finished, giving Frank policy card slots and prompting him and Mike to examine the cards’ yields.
• Frank opened Washington’s city details and enabled yield icons to see what each tile produced.
• Mike identified the cow tile’s bonuses as Roosevelt’s ability, which granted science near mountains and culture near woods.

Frank, Mike, and Alan managed America in Civilization as Frank raced toward the Industrial era, but Montezuma I suddenly declared war. Frank rushed to produce and buy Musketmen, yet the Aztec army advanced rapidly toward Washington.

• Frank and Mike argued over the new city's districts while Mike warned that Aztec troops were gathering near Washington.
• Frank boasted that America's scientific lead would carry it into the Industrial Revolution, while Alan noticed that the game's music changed with each era.
• Montezuma I denounced Frank and declared a surprise war after Frank ended his turn.
• Frank halted projects in several cities to produce Musketmen and spent saved gold to buy one, leaving America with almost no military.
• The next turn, Aztec heavy cavalry raced down America's trade road toward Washington, followed by two Catapults.

Frank lost his first Civilization game to Montezuma’s Aztecs, then realized that he and his friends had played through the night and missed their finals. Despite the disaster, Alan rushed back to the controller, ready to play again.

• Frank watched the Aztecs capture Washington and advance toward Boston, ending his first Civilization game in defeat.
• Frank checked Montezuma I’s abilities and discovered that improved luxury resources boosted his military units’ combat strength.
• Frank, Mike, and Alan went to sleep after playing all night, believing their finals were the next day.
• A classmate woke them at noon and told them they had missed the exam because it was already the day after the game’s launch.
• Frank realized they had played continuously through the night, and Alan grabbed the controller to start playing again.

Frank, Alan, and Mike became absorbed in Civilization while Mike discovered an EPROM hidden in the NovaXeno packaging. The chip unlocked an additional-content menu and revealed a demonstration mod template featuring Lin Lixin and his GAMENOVA Empire.

• Frank played Babylon and planned to use builders to chop trees for a rocket while Alan and Mike watched.
• Mike complained that barbarian camps could produce tanks and regretted not preordering a NovaXeno.
• Mike found an EPROM hidden in a compartment of the console's packaging and noticed a matching socket on the NovaXeno.
• Mike, Frank, and Alan inserted the chip and restarted the console.
• Alan spotted a new additional-content option, and Frank opened a demonstration mod template featuring Lin Lixin, the GAMENOVA Empire, and a new unit named Sam.

Frank, Mike, and Alan tested the GAMENOVA civilization in Civilization and watched its games make rival cities defect until they won without fighting. After discovering a tutorial for creating mods in the NX packaging, Mike began planning a civilization of his own with ideas from Frank and Alan.

• Frank, Mike, and Alan selected Lin Lixin and the GAMENOVA Empire in Civilization and found that its fast Sam unit and game-based Loyalty pressure worked as described.
• Frank used R&D Centers to make games, causing Japan’s capital to rebel and join GAMENOVA before the Classical Era had passed.
• As cities around the world defected, Frank struggled to manage the growing empire and eventually won a conquest victory with almost no fighting.
• Mike realized the chip described the content as a Mod, searched the NX packaging, and found a tutorial for developing Civilization content in N Language.
• Mike took the EPROM to his PC and asked for ideas for a custom civilization, and Frank and Alan suggested Silicon & Synapse and Blizzard.

Lin Lixin’s self-hosting N Language made GAMENOVA’s affordable modding tools easy for Mike to use, and Mike successfully changed a mod’s details and explored its artwork. At GAMENOVA headquarters, Lin Lixin and Carmack prepared powerful new machines, one of which would host a player resource server called the Workshop.

• Lin Lixin had made N Language self-hosting, allowing Gerald, Carmack, and others to maintain it without relying on another language.
• Mike bought N Language’s development tools, opened a sample mod, changed its ID and author, and compiled it onto an EPROM.
• Mike and Frank loaded the mod on the NX and saw the game display Mike’s new details successfully.
• Mike examined the mod’s resource files and found that its pixel-art portrait could be replaced or edited.
• Lin Lixin and Carmack watched Gerald set up two expensive mainframes, including one intended to host player scores and a new resource server called the Workshop.

Lin Lixin proposed a Workshop-style platform that would let players create and share mods for GAMENOVA games, arguing that community content could extend their lifespan. After hearing Steve describe his online Civilization match, Lin announced plans for an event with several hundred thousand dollars in prize money.

• Lin Lixin explained his plan for a user-generated content platform, and Carmack identified it as UGC.
• Gerald raised concerns that community mods could compete with official expansions, but Lin said GAMENOVA could reward or recruit creators and benefit from longer-lasting games.
• Lin clarified that he wanted most future games to support mods, building on work already done to make Civilization easier to modify.
• Steve told Lin Lixin that he had beaten the editor-in-chief of Mean Machines in an online Civilization match, which featured seamless play and voice chat after a slow initial load.
• Lin Lixin said he was planning a simple event and had set aside a few hundred thousand dollars in prize money.

At UCLA, Alan, Frank, and Mike tested their Orcs & Humans Civilization mod and rushed to improve it after learning about a $100,000 mod-development competition. Meanwhile, Lin Lixin appointed Vivian CEO of Micron, whose memory production could solve NovaXeno’s video-memory shortage.

• Alan tested the Orcs & Humans mod, planned simpler resources and units, and continued designing its content while Mike slept.
• Frank burst into the dorm with news of a Civilization mod contest offering $100,000 for first prize.
• Mike volunteered to find a larger ROM, while Frank took over programming and Alan continued planning the mod.
• At Micron, Lin Lixin introduced Vivian as the company’s new CEO and told her that acquiring Micron addressed the video-memory problem.
• Vivian realized Lin Lixin had bought the memory-chip manufacturer to solve NovaXeno’s video-memory shortage.

Lin Lixin tasked Carmack with making a true 3D sequel to Wolfenstein 3D and agreed to find him a team. He then set out to acquire Activision for its founders, brand, and IPs while plotting to limit Bobby Kotick’s influence.

• Carmack celebrated Lin Lixin’s plan for a true 3D Wolfenstein 3D sequel, then admitted he needed a team to make a game of that scale.
• Lin Lixin agreed to find Carmack reliable helpers and joked that the game needed to earn at least a million dollars.
• Lin Lixin told Sam he intended to acquire Activision and recalled Bobby Kotick’s role in damaging Blizzard and its classic franchises.
• Lin Lixin called Jobs to warn him about Kotick and asked Sam to undermine Kotick’s acquisitions where possible.
• Sam questioned why Lin Lixin wanted Activision, and Lin explained that he needed its publishing capacity, brand, IPs, and four founding veterans.

Lin Lixin acquired Activision after Bruce Davis drove David Crane and the developers toward rebellion, then appointed David CEO. He also discovered Infocom and called Caneghem to offer him the adventure-game studio.

• Bruce Davis rejected David Crane’s complaints about Activision’s assembly-line approach, and David resigned as developers rallied behind him.
• An administrator told Bruce that Magnavo was suing Activision for $6.6 million, worsening the company’s financial crisis.
• Bruce accepted GAMENOVA’s acquisition offer at a thirty-percent premium, and the board approved the sale.
• After the acquisition, Lin Lixin dismissed Bruce and appointed David CEO, who celebrated GAMENOVA’s arrival and called the other members of the legendary quartet.
• Lin Lixin praised Infocom’s text adventure games, then called Caneghem to offer him the studio.

In 1987, Caneghem reconsidered his Heroes of Might and Magic design after playing Civilization, determined to start over rather than rush the game. Lin Lixin offered him a role as Infocom’s chief development director, and Caneghem eagerly accepted.

• Caneghem decided to scrap his early Heroes of Might and Magic design and begin again after playing Civilization on the NX.
• Lin Lixin called Caneghem and offered him an adventure-game studio from Activision to help with development.
• Caneghem declined to manage a studio because he wanted to develop games without constraints.
• Lin Lixin offered Caneghem the position of chief development director at Infocom while leaving operations under Activision.
• Caneghem accepted Lin Lixin’s invitation to join GAMENOVA.

Lin Lixin considered how to build a stronger Activision and brought Carmack to recruit Ben Gokey, a gifted young programmer working in a garage. After Carmack critiqued Gokey’s rendering system and proposed using BSP and light tables, Gokey realized Carmack had developed Wolfenstein 3D’s rendering system.

• Lin Lixin decided that acquiring Activision and reuniting its founders mattered more than Infocom’s IP, while reflecting on how Activision later grew through studios and Call of Duty.
• Lin Lixin identified Ben Gokey, a young programmer with strong technical skills, as a promising candidate to recruit.
• Lin Lixin brought Carmack to Gokey’s garage, where Carmack offered him work, but Gokey initially refused.
• Carmack criticized Gokey’s uniform-grid rendering design and proposed using BSP and precomputed light tables instead.
• Gokey recognized that Carmack’s advice was credible, then realized Carmack had developed the rendering system for Wolfenstein 3D.