Reborn America, this is my time

Chapter 239 I can count to four!

Ethan is not sure when the word linkage appeared in video games, because in his memory, there are too many linkages related to games, and there are even three types after subdivision.

The first is the linkage of the producer's own works. The one that has done the most is Nintendo. For example, "Super Smash Bros." is a fighting game that mixes popular characters from the brand. Here you can not only see Princess Link beating Zelda Warriors, but also Pikachu beating Yoshi; there is also Capcom's "Capcom Fighting Evolution", which includes four of its own games "Street Fighter" and " All characters from Alpha, Darkstalker, and Red Earth.

The second type is the linkage between different companies in the same industry. For example, "Monster Hunter" includes "Monster Hunter" amiibo in "Macho Man", and "Legend of Zelda", "Metroid" and "Super Mario" are included in "Bayonetta". Austria's custom clothing, of course, these are all in the Switch version.

The third type is cross-border linkage, "Marvel vs. Capcom", "SNK vs. Capcom", "Dragon Son vs. Capcom"... those are all classic games. As for why Capcom is always being criticized beat?There's nothing you can do about it, the title of Action Heavenly Lord is not for nothing.The wildest player in this industry is actually not Capcom, but Epic, because their "Fortnite" can link everything.

For game manufacturers, linkage is nothing more than stimulating player consumption, just like the skin of Zhao Ling'er in "Eternal Tribulation" and then sold out immediately.

But for players, things are not that simple.

Because where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and where there are rivers and lakes, there are disputes. When bored people gather together, and when fans from each family discuss different works, it becomes a matter of ranking the well-known characters in different worldviews. It's a natural instinct.

Ethan admitted that he had done this kind of thing in his previous life.

He and his friends debated who was more powerful, Kyo Kusanagi or Takashi, whether Ichigo Kurosaki could kill Uzumaki Naruto in half, who was more powerful, Anne Hathaway's version of Catwoman or Scarlett Johansson's version of Black Widow...

Ahem, ahem, that last one is not an argument.

It is precisely because it is human nature to compete with each other, so when he started playing games, the idea of ​​fighting against the fire became more and more intense, and fusion, fusion, and fusion again?That is the boss’s prerogative!

Since Pac-Man's characteristic is to be able to digest everything, and Snake's characteristic is to be able to devour everything, wouldn't the best way to bring them together is to fight with super powers?

On the surface, changing the mushrooms in Super Mario into apples is just to conform to the food characteristics of greedy snakes. In Super Pac-Man designed by Ethan, apples are both the food needed by Jack, the snake overlord, and also Pac-Man's key to his home, but come to think of it...

Apples containing different abilities are the Devil Fruits in "One Piece"!

Eating an apple gives you an ability!
It shouldn’t be too easy to use this feature for linkage!

They may not have much IP now, but IP can be made by themselves or purchased!

"Oh Ethan, this is really..."

The boy's act of wielding the lightsaber made Evelyn laugh until she burst into tears.

She kept slapping Ethan's arm and laughed, "That's a crazy idea."

"but……"

“It’s really interesting!”

"Wow - to be honest, I can't wait now!"

"I really want to know what people's faces would be like if they found out that their favorite Pac-Man raised their favorite lightsaber?"

"Their fans will probably jump up in surprise, right?"

"Someone might even smash their own TV!"

Although Evelin is not as enthusiastic about video games as Ethan, no one can refuse the joy and pursuit of the public. Therefore, when the girl discovers, Ethan has to use his imagination to combine several things that people like. After everything was combined, she really became happier as she talked.

His sister's laughter also made Ethan a little happy. Wanting to know whether his dream could become a reality, he couldn't wait to ask: "Are these things difficult to do?"

"Uh..." This question made Evelin open her mouth.

However, just as she was about to answer, Ethan's eager gaze was clearly caught by her.

The next second, the girl changed the subject, "I don't know."

"What?" This answer made Ethan frown.

"Why?" He didn't understand.

"Because I don't know what kind of game you want to make~"

Evelin shook the documents in her hand and said righteously: "Where are the follow-up things? Where are they?"

"You just show me a half-finished product? And then ask me if it is difficult to make it?"

"Even if I am the Virgin Mary, I can't answer you!"

"Hiss——" Ethan felt it made sense.

"Then I'll come back after painting?" He asked with a slight frown.

But this takes too much time.

"Don't be so troublesome."

Evelin waved her hand and said: "Just tell me about the follow-up. For example, how do you want to design the follow-up levels? Does every map have an inner world? What is the final battle? So, does Mr. Pac-Man want to defeat Jack the Snake King? That's enough."

"As for other things, such as map details? That's not important."

"We can discuss it slowly during production."

"Oh, so? That's no problem." Ethan didn't hesitate, spread the file on his lap, took out a pen and said while writing: "The process of this game is actually the same as "Starry Sky", the only difference is..."

Although "Contra" and "Super Mario" are both side-scrolling games, the former focuses on shooting, and the latter focuses on adventure and puzzle solving. Therefore, when designing levels, it is necessary to focus on the core elements. The difference is that what needs to be strengthened in the "Contra" game is the two elements of combat and shooting, while what needs to be emphasized in "Super Mario" is to avoid enemies and pass levels quickly.

Therefore, combat will not be the focus of "Super Pac-Man".

"Although I placed snake-like monsters, turtle monsters, and ghost monsters on the map, these are not the goals of the players. When the players appear at the starting point of the game, the core task they get is actually to quickly reach the end point in order to find food. That apple Mr. Beanman needs.”

"All attacks along the way are designed to break down barriers."

"Therefore, the combat element of this game cannot exceed the decryption element. In other words, we can design complex maps for players, and design some blocks where they can hide things, so that they can quickly pass the level through various functions, but we cannot give them too much Use more force and let them kill from beginning to end."

"My current idea is very simple. The monsters will only walk at a normal speed. They will attack as long as they touch Mr. Pac-Man, and Mr. Pac-Man will die as long as he is touched by them once."

"Mr. Pac-Man's attack is also very simple. Jump up and step on the monster with your feet. Like Mr. Pac-Man, the monster has no patience setting and will die if it is stepped on once."

"Every time a level is passed, the player will harvest a golden apple, which is actually a score. When the player collects a certain number of golden apples, that is, after passing a certain number of levels, Jack, the Snake Overlord of the Apple Kingdom, will be harvested due to the decrease in apples. And anger appears.”

"And this is actually the final Boss level."

"If all the levels are decrypted before the Boss appears, then the last level is the battle. In my plan, the first battle between Snake Overlord Jack and Mr. Pac-Man is conducted in the simplest way. Yes, for example, the Snake Overlord swung his tail to slap Mr. Pac-Man, opened his big mouth and bit at Mr. Pac-Man, and hit Mr. Pac-Man faster and faster, while Mr. Pac-Man remained the same. It counterattacks by jumping up and stepping on people. But unlike attacking ordinary monsters, Snake Overlord Jack can withstand certain attacks. Mr. Pac-Man must attack a certain number of times before he can defeat Snake Overlord, but Pac-Man Sir, you are still impatient and will die if you are hit once..."

Hearing this, Evelin understood somewhat and said, "Ethan, you mean, before coming into contact with Jack the Snake Overlord, all the monsters in the game were actually moving obstacles?"

"Is it right?"

"Yes." Ethan nodded.

"And in the end, the increased patience of Snake Overlord Jack is actually increasing the difficulty of the game in disguise?"

"Yeah~" Sister's idea made Ethan give a thumbs up, "That's it."

"Oh - then I understand -" Evelin clapped her hands, but she was curious again the next second, "If your idea is to take risks and solve puzzles, then many of the apples you designed will not be used."

"Especially the colorful apple!"

The girl felt that Ethan was wasting his inspiration.

Moreover, there were some discrepancies between Ethan's description and his design.

But Ethan shrugged, "Who said it can't be used?"

"As long as it is something I have conceived, it will definitely be used." "For example, what we are going to produce next is the first-generation version of "Super Pac-Man", in which we do not need to provide players with too difficult game map, so only two or three apples will be used.”

"Just put the rest away first."

"When the first "Super Pac-Man" is almost sold out, we will launch a sequel, "Ms. Super Pac-Man". The content of the story is also very simple. Ms. Pac-Man is Mr. Pac-Man's girlfriend. When she After discovering that her boyfriend had mysteriously disappeared and there was only a nibbled apple, she was deceived by the Apple God and tasted that apple, and then she entered the maze like Mr. Pac-Man."

"After a while of breaking through the levels, Ms. Pac-Man also came to the Apple Kingdom. Then she learned the news about Mr. Pac-Man, so she wanted to find him. Of course, she eventually found him."

"It's just that in the process, Ms. Pac-Man's behavior was discovered by the Snake Overlord's wife, Snake Queen Roux. Just like the first part, Snake Queen Roux also attacked Ms. Pac-Man."

"Since it is a new game, we can select a few pre-designed stock apples and add them to it."

"When the sales of this "Ms. Super Pac-Man" are about the same, we will count to three and make a two-player version of Super Pac-Man. In single-player games, players can choose to use Mr. Pac-Man or Pac-Man." You can play the game, and if it’s a two-player game, the two characters will cooperate to complete the level.”

"The plot of the story comes after the two met. Mr. Pac-Man was moved by Ms. Pac-Man's love and wanted to return to the original world to get married, so he continued to look for the returned apple."

"At the same time, the snake overlord Jack and the snake queen Rousi, who were defeated by them before, also discovered the other world. They understood why Mr. Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man were so strong. That was because the beans in the underground maze could make them Bring out the full effectiveness of the superpowers hidden in your body.”

"Not only that, they also learned that if Mr. Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man eat all of them, they will also have unlimited digestion capabilities. After combining with their own unlimited devouring, they can even allow their bodies to carry The superpowers of multiple apples, so they decided to take the initiative——"

"Kill Mr. and Ms. Pac-Man."

"Because this generation has more confrontation, we can add some attack capabilities to Apple."

"If the sales of the third-generation games are good, then we can still do the same in the fourth generation."

"Develop some Apple capabilities, develop some puzzle maps, and continue selling them."

"But if we can't sell it, then we will offer "Super Pac-Man Special Edition: Star Wars" and add colorful apples. The plot of the story is that one night, a loud noise appeared in the sky of the Apple Kingdom. Then, countless stars shone on the earth. This phenomenon caused some apples in the Apple Kingdom to mutate, changing from a single color to multiple colors. After eating it, Mr. Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man can become Jedi Knights, while Snake Overlord and Snake Queen gain access to the power of the Sith Emperor.”

Ethan said it happily, but Evelin was stunned on the spot.

When she discovered that Ethan had already counted to four before the game started and wanted to talk endlessly, she immediately raised her palm and patted Ethan.

"Stop, stop, stop..." The girl signaled Ethan to stop.

"What's wrong?" Ethan stared curiously.

"How many Pac-Man games are you going to make?" Evelin asked with a confused look on her face.

"Of course we can do as much as we can!" Ethan said confidently, "If the game can be sold, it means people like it. Since people like it, then we have to continue!"

Although it is inappropriate to measure classics by the number of works.

But all classic works must have huge numbers of support.

For a classic book, the huge quantity can refer to the number of printings, the degree of dissemination, or derivative stories and folk creations;
For a song, quantity can refer to the number of copies sold or the number of covers;

As for movies and games...

It must be a sequel.

Because only if people like it, they will pay.

And when people spend money, merchants who want to make more profits will continue to produce series.

vice versa.

Therefore, Ethan didn't think there was anything wrong with his behavior of looking around.

Or rather...

If possible, he hopes that Pac-Man games can continue indefinitely!

Because this means that no matter how much time passes, people still like it!
"Oh - Ethan -"

Evelin changed her position, resting her head on the armrest of the sofa, looking at Ethan with a smile on her arms, "I take back what I said before, you are indeed a qualified businessman."

"Oh... just tell me if you can do it..." Ethan didn't want to hear such boring comments now.

Of course he knows he is a qualified businessman!

In other words, he is really a qualified people's entrepreneur who always considers consumers!

Hehe ~
"Can do."

Evelin thought for a while and said, "It's not difficult, it just takes a little more time."

"Because I have to think about how to combine the normal world and the underground world."

"What about you?" Ethan raised his eyebrows at his sister.

That look of anticipation was simply Sima Zhao's heart that was known to everyone on the road.

"Okay." Evelin rolled her eyes.

"Oh -" his sister's answer made Ethan extremely happy.

And just when he was about to squeeze out the effusive words of thanks from his head, Evelin changed the subject.

"But not now, I won't do it now."

"Why?" Ethan didn't understand, "Have you been busy with anything else recently?"

"No."

Evelin stretched and yawned: "Can't I just not want to work?"

"..."

Ethan mentally gave his sister a 6.

Well, that's a strong reason.

"of course can."

Ethan was in no hurry.

Their destiny game schedule is almost complete. This year there will be "Starry Sky" and next year there will be two arcade games of "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back". This will keep them active in the public eye.

As for the three games launched on the console this year, what should the console sell next year?

Let’s talk about this after “Alien” is released.

Moreover, no matter what games the console sells next year, it is impossible to sell "Super Pac-Man", right?
After all, he is not a devil, but he produces two bombs in one year?Directly emptying the pockets of family members?

This is not how you cut leeks!

Ethan's nod made Evelin blink her eyes and ask, "Are you done now?"

"Ah...that's right? What's wrong?"

"How about you go to New Orleans with me?" Evelin sat up and said expectantly: "I want to eat Bananas Foster."

(End of this chapter)