Reborn America, this is my time

Chapter 189 "Mine Sweeping"

If nothing else, in Ethan's previous life, anyone who has experienced the baptism of the computer age should have played the video game "Minesweeper".

Because it can be played while fishing at work, can be tasted in the computer class, can pass the boring time when the computer is disconnected from the Internet, and can even train people's observation, judgment and reaction speed.

And its shipments are as unpredictable as "Snake". As a built-in game in Windows 3.1, even if Microsoft had permanently deleted it from the Windows appendix before Ethan traveled, its shipments The volume will still be framed by Microsoft and hung on the wall, because the achievement of "Mine Sweeper" is the history of Windows' industry massacre, and it has witnessed Microsoft conquering the world with its iron hooves.

To be honest, Ethan considered the game “Minesweeper” when he first came to this world and the producer copied the plan (plan) because it was so famous, and it was spread all over the world based on Nokia. Just like the "Snake" in the world, almost everyone knows about it.

But after thinking for a while, Ethan still gave up. There are three reasons.

First of all, the game "Minesweeper" cannot be directly produced with circuit boards. The key to its birth is actually the civilian use and popularization of central processing units.When writing his life plan, Ethan hadn't got the 6502 yet. When the hardware problems couldn't be overcome, making "Minesweeper" was just a dream.

Secondly, the video game "Minesweeper" has a threshold for getting started, and it is not low, and this actually runs counter to the short, flat and fast gameplay of electronic arcade machines. "Snake" is popular because it is easy to learn, and even big stars can understand the up, down, left, and right operations. "Pac-Man" is popular because the only way to operate it is to move, and children will know it at a glance. Not to mention "Star Wars", their operation even has one less key position than the previous two.And "Minesweeper"?Just the digital display in the game will make countless players dumbfounded if they don't read the instructions.

Finally, when he had a bunch of games in his Ethan Jones head...

Wouldn't it be nice for me to copy "Northern Square"?

Why copy "Minesweeper"?
Isn't this a brain disease?

Have to struggle with money?
Because of this, Ethan directly threw the game "Minesweeper" into the trash can, and then wrote "Snake", "Pac-Man", "Northern Square" and other words on his life plan.

If you want to do it, then make it famous!The most profitable!
But unfortunately, the idea is beautiful, but the reality is very skinny.When Ethan made a lot of money in "Snake", "Pac-Man" and "Star Wars", Evelyn's sentence on "Northland Square" "The chip is not good, it can't be made" is like a basin of cold water , poured him a chill, and his heart was soaring.

He already has the strongest consumer-grade chip on the surface, but this thing doesn't work?
This Nima makes people feel uncomfortable!

What made Ethan even more uncomfortable was that he didn't realize until then that he didn't seem to know which games could be loaded with the 6502. When he wasn't sure which games could be copied, the annoying feeling made him He almost scratched his head bald.

As for what to say to pull out a bunch of games for Evelyn to identify?
Ah--

If he really brought out a bunch of 'inspirations' like Doraemon, then Evelyn would definitely pry open his brain to see if there were any dimensional pockets inside.

You know this guy has been curious about his creative ability for a long time!

And she has hands-on ability!Can dissect him!
So, under the condition that his identity cannot be revealed, Ethan can only think for himself, and while considering "Contra" as an escort masterpiece, look for some games that will not steal the game's limelight but can be made with 6502?This became a tangled matter for Ethan.

But now, with the appearance of "Minesweeper", everything is easily solved!
"The game "Minesweeper" is actually very simple. It is divided into two modes. The simple mode is a 9×9 board with ten mines in it, and the advanced mode is a 16×16 board with forty mines in it. , as long as the player can find out the location of the mine, it will be considered a success."

"The surrounding grid where the mine is located will provide hints to the player in the form of numbers. For example, if I draw a 3×3 grid and the mine is in the middle, then the number 1 will be in the eight surrounding grids. It means that there is a mine in their adjacent grid. And if there are two mines in the nine grids, for example, one in the middle and one in the middle of the first row, then the number 1 will be displayed except for the bottom row In addition, the other four grids will all display the number 2."

"Of course, this kind of prompt will not be given at the beginning of the game. Once the game starts, there will be no prompt on the interface. The surrounding grids he chooses will give the player some numerical hints while highlighting the background color, and then the player can continue to play according to the hints."

"Can this game be completely random?"

"If it can't be done, then we will do pseudo-random."

"It is the same as what you and I said when making "Pac-Man" before that the eight-bit processor can carry the maximum number of levels. Make a hundred levels for its simple mode and advanced mode, and then display them in a random way. For gamers."

Taking his sister's hand back home, Ethan took the girl directly into the garage Thomas and Linda had prepared for them, and presented the game "Minesweeper" in front of Evelyn in the form of a painting.

The reason why he said that MOS 6502 will definitely be able to carry this game is because he never thought of making this game into a Microsoft game that uses algorithms to generate mines and randomize the game levels to the end, but artificially Make one hundred maps each for simple and advanced, and then use the method of drawing to make players mistakenly think that they are playing a very awesome all-random game.

Although players will definitely see through the design of this game after playing too much, but that doesn't matter at all, right?Because the game "Minesweeper" will not provide information to the player in the initial stage. When the initial interface is blank, even if the player memorizes the score, the first step will depend on fate.

"It can be done." Evelyn, with her hands on the table, looked at the expectant face with a smile, and said, "If you don't want to do everything randomly, then this game is very easy to do."

"Okay! That's him!" Ethan clapped his hands, excited.

After confirming "Minesweeper", there are three first games for their consoles. Although compared with Atari and Mirov, their lineup is really shabby, but this is not important, because the games of this era sell inspiration. Contra's novel mode can beat them all.

"Yes! I finally don't have to hear my brain cells howling!" Ethan waved his fist.

"What?" Evelyn didn't understand.

"They died a lot because they wanted to play games." Ethan pointed to his temple.

"Oh—" This metaphor made Evelyn's eyes narrow with a smile.At the same time, she poured cold water on Ethan, "But I think it's not as interesting as the cube game you brought out before."

"Yes, I know." Ethan nodded and said, "But enough."

"The main game we promote is the shooting game. It is like a red flower shining brightly. The other games are green leaves. As long as they are interesting and playable, that's enough. They don't need praise from players. What they do, is let players pass the time when they are bored, and at the same time, make our game library look less shabby."

In fact, Ethan could put the big-selling game on the console in one go, but that kind of behavior is harmful and not beneficial.In commercial operations, there can only be one blockbuster product in a promotion.Because once there are too many fists, consumers will be picky, which is very detrimental to product promotion and maintenance.

"Okay, since you think it's okay, let's do it." Evelyn asked, "Or me?"

"Hmm." Ethan raised his eyebrows and pronounced with his nose.

"It's the same as before. You draw the two hundred chessboards and arrange the mines yourself. I have a lot of work on hand now, so I don't have time to do these, Okay?" Evelyn poked the paper on the table.

"Okay." Ethan nodded with a smile.

Unless Evelyn is unwilling to make games by herself, it is impossible for Ethan to hand over the inspiration of his previous life to others to make them. Don't ask why, it means that you don't trust him.

And after Ethan took over Evelyn's work arrangement, from the next day, he nestled in the office to design chessboards and lay mines. At first he thought this kind of thing was very simple, but after drawing too much, he found that 1 He couldn't even call out the four Arabic numerals , 2, 3, and 4 in front of him.

The situation of knowing its meaning but being aphasia is very similar to the same word crazily appearing in a chapter of the novel. If you have to describe it, you are actually vomiting.

Ethan thought he could persevere, but when he finished drawing the No.15 chessboard and took out the ruler to draw the No.16 grid, he suddenly smelled the smell of a pencil and covered his mouth.

"vomit--"

"vomit--"

"vomit--"

He retched a few times.

"What the hell—"

"It's disgusting—"

Flick the ruler, throw the pencil, and rest for a while.

Although things like drawing pictures and making nausea will slow down the development progress of "Minesweeper", but when the console has just been completed and "Contra" has just been developed, the delay of "Minesweeper" is not serious at all, and Ethan even has time to deal with other things. affairs.For example, split the factory of Destiny Game, change its name to Michael Blanco Electronics Production Company, and announce the collective incentive plan of 15.00% of the shares and the follow-up employee incentive plan of 15.00%.

In the process, he also heard a lot of good news.

The first was PepsiCo's division head, Roger Corlean, who was finally scooped up by Wenlock, who arrived in Cupertino at the end of March to report to Apple.After some conversations, Apple's two Steves, Ethan, Wenlock and Roger Corin reached a consensus to hire Roger Corin as the CEO of Apple Computer with an annual salary of 20 US dollars. .

At the same time, the company also set up a stock option incentive plan for him. After Wenlock joined, the total share capital of Apple Computer was expanded to 500 million shares.Based on this, after Roger Corrien joins the company, if Apple's total revenue exceeds [-] million in the next three years, the company will issue [-] million additional shares for him at a price of one dollar per share to reward him for his contribution to the company. contribution made.

According to normal circumstances, when standard stock options are exercised, incentive objects generally subscribe for shares with self-raised funds, but in order to allow him to work better for the company, Apple also decided to provide him with a certain amount of exercise incentives.During his three years of tenure, if the weighted average return on net assets after deducting extraordinary gains and losses is higher than [-]%, then he can get an exercise bonus of [-]% of his annual net profit. Of course, If the final total amount of the exercise bonus paid out is greater than the price of the subscribed shares, then the exercise bonus will be paid out based on the total amount of the subscribed shares.

To put it more simply, if Apple's benefits are super good, then he can buy 500 million Apple shares at a price of 500 million for nothing, and the company will pay for this money.

While Roger Corrien was getting the incentive, Ethan also forced Wenlock to get the two Steves to re-sign the salary contract with the company and get the corresponding incentive plan.

After all, no matter how much you lose, you can't lose your own people, right?
Compared with Spielberg and Lucas, the two guys Wozniak and Jobs didn't treat him very well. The former has helped him make several games with a basic salary, and also optimized " "Greedy Snake", the latter's lucky star attribute helped him solve many problems.

In addition to the incentive plan, a nine-person board of directors was also established. The two Steves each took three seats, Jobs became the chairman, Ethan got two, and the last one went to Wenlock.

After solving the problems on Apple's side, good news came from Hollywood, and the production team of "Alien" finally pulled out.No one is available in North America, and John Bull's well-known directors are a little afraid of Columbia's check fraud case. Especially young.

Well, that's right, the young man.

Although Ridley Scott was born in 1977 and is older than Spielberg and Lucas, it is impossible for him to start in movies like Spiel, who can play film since he was a child. Berg's, moreover, he won the best virgin award at Cannes only last year ([-]).

In terms of seniority, Spielberg and Lucas are his predecessors.

But these things are not important. After he signed the directing contract, Universal immediately started casting work in New York and London. Lucas' idea, polishing the alien creature model.

The first phase of the investment of 200 million US dollars was shared by Destiny Films and Universal, and this speed also made Ethan a little speechless, because he really couldn't figure out whether the two guys Spielberg and Lucas Is it really a spinning top?It took a long time before things that could be done quickly!
But he would complain to Evelyn about this kind of thing behind closed doors, and as time went by, April came, and the first Oscars were also held in Los Angeles.

The biggest winner this year is Woody Allen, who won three awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay with "Annie Hall" and won Diana Keaton as the queen.

"Star Wars" will round up all the technical awards, because it has made an unparalleled contribution to the film industry, and the Oscar Organizing Committee also awarded them special achievement awards.

"Close Encounters of the Third Kind" also won the same award.

No way, although "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" lost to "Star Wars" in terms of technical awards, and can't compare with "Star Wars" in terms of box office and influence, the shocking alien spacecraft can still compete with "Star Wars" "The Millennium Falcon was a tie.

Before the Oscars were held, Spielberg and Lucas sent an invitation to Ethan.

But Ethan declined, saying he was working on a new game.

However, after the awards were presented, he also called the two to congratulate them.

The end of all internal and external affairs gave Ethan a quiet time, nestling in the office and drawing the levels of "Minesweeper". Just when he thought, April would be passed peacefully like this, and May would be so quietly The arrival of the new product launch, until the holding of the new product conference, I will make myself a little busy...

On the afternoon of April [-], [-], the bald man Steve Ballmer knocked on the door of his office again, "Boss, there is news from Washington."

"Ah?" Hearing the endless words, Ethan was stunned.

Ballmer explained: "The canal matter, the Senate passed by 68:32."

(End of this chapter)