Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 124 Invitation Letter
Since the Apple 2 was of great help to him, Ethan wanted to know when Jobs planned to launch this machine on the market.

As he asked, Jobs also gave the answer.

"APPLE 2 is in the testing phase. According to our plan, we plan to bring it to the Computer Expo on April after the testing is completed."

"Computer Expo?"

Ethan had never heard of this term.

"April, isn't that two months away? Does the test take that long?"

After Jobs' explanation, Ethan finally understood why they made such a decision.

The emergence of MOS 6502 has promoted the crazy development of the personal computer industry. In the past two years, countless computer companies have sprung up in every corner of America.

Because there are too many products and the specifications are too complicated, not only is it unfriendly to ordinary people, but even industry insiders can easily be dazzled. Therefore, Jim Warren, a computer expert at Stanford Medical Center and organizer of the Bay Area region of the Computer Association, has invited various companies to organize a city-wide computer expo at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on April 16 this year, aiming to help people sort out computer brands and configurations, and also to popularize computers to more people.

Because this guy was using the name of Stanford, both computer manufacturers and people in the computer industry were very interested in it. Also because the exhibition attracted countless colleagues, Jobs wanted to bring APPLE 2 to the exhibition in an attempt to shock the world there.

When the words "I want to grow secretly and surprise everyone" appeared...

Ethan gave Jobs a thumbs up.

Waiting for two months, just to show off?
This is a good idea!

It is obvious that Steve Jobs has realized the true meaning of life!

If people don't live to show off, then what's the difference between them and salted fish?
After applauding Jobs's bragging plan, Ethan also revealed his real purpose.

After learning that Ethan needed Wozniak's help, the energetic young man Jobs took Ethan to Wozniak's house without a second thought. That afternoon, the firefighters appeared at the Destiny Game carrying three newly assembled Apple 2s, and took the initiative to explain to Evelyn and the others how to use the new machine.

Ethan felt a little embarrassed by Wozniacki's act of helping at his own expense.

But the helpful little fat boy didn't think it mattered much.

And he repeatedly said that the most important thing between friends is to help each other.

Having said that, Ethan had no intention of getting something for free and offered him a hundred thousand dollars for his services. At first, Wozniacki thought that the reward was too much and that he was not worth it at all. Until Ethan repeatedly stated that if he did not accept the reward, he would just take the machine and leave. Only then did Wozniacki, who wanted to see Ethan's inspiration earlier, reluctantly accept the check.

And when he got the draft of the project...

The shooting game against aliens made him jump up and down!

"Oh Ethan - is this a new game you came up with?"

"Sxxt!"

"It's so damn interesting to pilot a spaceship and shoot endlessly!"

The little fat boy was a connoisseur and figured out how to play the game at a glance.

Since the two parties had cooperated before, the communication was very smooth.

When Wozniacki understood the whole story and discovered that Ethan's inspiration came from two movies, he felt a little itchy and quietly asked Ethan if he could go and see a movie.

Because he feels that watching the original film can help him create better.

Ethan actually didn't want to meet this request.

Firstly, because "Star Wars" is not his movie, it would be a bit difficult to discuss.

Secondly, the initial editing of "Star Wars" was really bad, and he was afraid that Wozniak would be disappointed after watching it.

So he tactfully told Wozniak that it was inappropriate.

But Wozniacki was also stubborn and kept talking to Ethan about this. After being annoyed by him and having a splitting headache, Ethan had no choice but to call George Lucas, and then...

The other party agreed.

Because Lucas always felt that there was nothing wrong with his movies!

It’s the people at Marvel and Fox who simply don’t know how to appreciate!
This self-satisfied behavior made Ethan at a loss for words, but since the real owner agreed, he didn't hesitate and went to Los Angeles with Woz and Evelyn, who were interested in the movie, and Damio, who also wanted to know the source of the inspiration.

And when they see the rough cut of Star Wars...

The three of them were stunned and speechless.

Awkwardly but politely, he gave Lucas's movie a favorable review, and then hurriedly left Lucasfilm. On the way back, Evelyn asked directly, "The thing we just watched is your source of inspiration? Oh, Ethan - you didn't lie to me, did you?"

"Why would I lie to you?" Ethan, who was driving, shrugged.

"Because we don't understand what this movie is about at all!"

Wozniacki, who was sitting at the back, leaned forward and said in surprise—

"Oh Ethan, you don't really understand?"

"If you can really understand this movie, then I'm going to doubt whether you are an alien!"

"Is that thing he filmed really for people to see?"

"Oh - you're going to make a game for him too?"

"Oh my God!"

"I'm starting to wonder if you're going crazy!"

Wozniacki's strange cry caused the other two people in the car to agree.

Ethan felt a little regretful.

If he had known that this would be the scene, he should have been more resolute and said he couldn't watch it.

But since it has already happened, he can only insist that the three of them were not good enough.

"It's obviously because you don't have enough appreciation ability!"

"I firmly believe this movie will shock the world!"

At this moment, Ethan finally understood why Spielberg used a strong tone to support his good friend Lucas that day at Fox.

Because he can't make sense!

He himself doesn't know what's so good about Star Wars!
Since you can't explain the reason, just make up some excuses!

Anyway, I made "Jaws", so I have solid achievements to prove myself!
Not convinced?

Lie down!

However, even though Evelyn, Wozniacki, and Damio all questioned the movie "Star Wars", they still showed enough professionalism when making the game.

On February 5th, after disassembling Ethan's idea, they officially began to make the game.

On the same day, Damio finished writing the game interface. On February 8, Evelyn completed the design of the alien spacecraft, and made a total of ten spacecrafts of different shapes according to the difficulty. Of course, they are called spacecrafts, but only the first wave of spacecrafts conform to the aesthetics of film and television works, which is a round flying saucer. After that, they are all some strange species.

As for why this kind of thing was made...

That’s because computers of this era couldn’t directly map images like computers of later generations. The so-called graphics were made up of individual pixels. When the pixels that made up the image couldn’t be changed, if you wanted to make the graphics stand out, you could only design them to look strange.

On February 15, Wozniacki wrote out the initial version of the alien spacecraft's movement trajectory, which was free movement from top to bottom and from left to right, and also added the design of score threshold and acceleration.

On February 23, the movement and attack of the Millennium Falcon were completed by Evelyn.

To be honest, at this point, the game can actually be tested for the first version.

As long as there is no problem with the monster's trajectory and the Millennium Falcon's attack method, we can figure out the most difficult code in the game, which is the monster's collision.

But just as Evelyn was about to combine the codes written by the three people, Wozniacki proposed an idea, "Ethan, if I remember correctly, in the movie "Star Wars", there were scenes of laser guns shooting at each other? If the attack method of the Millennium Falcon is the embodiment of this kind of laser, then should the corresponding Galactic Empire also have such an attack method?"

“So I suggest that this type of attack be incorporated into the game.”

"The specific performance is that every time the player eliminates a board of enemies, a row of flying objects with laser attack capabilities will appear at the top of the screen and they will shoot at the player."

"At this point, the player needs to dodge the bullets on the screen."

"Once hit, the player will lose a life."

"Of course, the Galactic Empire's attacks are intermittent. They will never appear in a whole row, because the player will not be able to dodge them. After the player dodges this wave of attacks, the Galactic Empire's flying objects will retreat and disappear, and then new monsters will appear."

When this level that was similar to a transition animation appeared, Ethan's eyes suddenly lit up!
He thought Wozniacki's suggestion was very good!
The reason why he combined the two games "Space Invaders" and "Ghost Bee" is that he felt that the mode of "Space Invaders" that only allowed monsters to appear was too boring, and he hoped that players could play a richer game. But now...

Wozniacki came up with an idea for a cutscene game?
This is okay!
One hundred thousand dollars is really worth it!
"Is this difficult to implement?" Ethan asked decisively.

"It's not difficult."

Woz shook his head and said, "In three to five days, the code should be ready."

Ethan was very moved and turned to look at his sister.

Evelyn understood what he meant and said, "That's plenty of time."

"Then give it a try." Ethan made a decision.

"Okay." Woz nodded.

With their modifications, the code for the new function was officially written on March 1st.

Afterwards, Evelyn and Wozniak took a short break while Damio pieced together the finished code.

On March 3, the semi-finished game was launched for testing.

When Ethan pressed the Play button, the game interface popped up decisively. The invaders of the Galactic Empire were like a dark cloud, attacking the Millennium Falcon from top to bottom.

Although this version of the game has no music, no special effects, and even the scoreboard is not completed, with only a number displayed in the upper right corner of the screen, it doesn't matter.

Because when Ethan presses the button next to the joystick, the Millennium Falcon will send out a beam to attack the moving enemy...

The basic module of "Star Wars" was declared successfully developed!
As the laser ballistics hit the enemy, the screen crackled...

There is no problem with the basic gameplay of the game for the time being!

This news made Ethan excited and he called Spielberg and Lucas.

After waiting for the brothers to drive over from Los Angeles...

The unprecedented gaming effects amazed them!

"Oh Ethan, is this what you meant by aliens invading Earth?"

Spielberg said: "The endless stream of enemies really gives people a sense of oppression!"

"Yeah!" George nodded in agreement.

"Ethan! Your actual machine demonstration is really amazing!"

"This game looks much more interesting than my movie!"

At the same time, he also corrected Spielberg's mistake, "Oh Steven, this game is no longer about the confrontation between Earth and aliens. The aircraft below is called the Millennium Falcon, which is Han Solo's spaceship, and those invaders above are all from the Galactic Empire!"

This emphasis made Spielberg stunned for a second, then he nodded and said: "Oh, right——"

“Now it’s called Star Wars—”

Their recognition is the best compliment. After sharing the follow-up work with them, the directors who had no objections immediately gave me a thumbs up.

Since they hadn't finished the movie yet, they chatted for a while and then said goodbye. At the same time, they also left the "Star Wars" soundtrack that they carried with them.

When Ethan got the theme song of "Star Wars", which was the background music that started with "Once upon a time", he couldn't help but hum it.

There’s nothing I can do about it, this soundtrack is just so damn classic!

The only themes that can compete with him are "Indiana Jones" and "Pirates of the Caribbean"!

“Make it the game start screen, so that the song will loop continuously before the game starts.”

Ethan gave the job to Damio.

"Okay, boss." Damio accepted it happily.

Now that the basic functions of the game have been completed, the next step is the advanced judgment algorithm.

Just when Ethan was about to lead the team to overcome the problems, on the morning of March 77, 3, the company’s executive director Julis Noble knocked on the door of the R&D department.

"What's up?" Ethan asked.

"Yes, boss." Julis Noble said, "Here is an invitation."

'? '

Ethan blinked and took it curiously.

When I opened it, I saw this text:

Dear Mr. Ethan Jones:
We sincerely invite you to attend the Consumer Electronics Show held in Chicago on April 1977, 4. This is a grand event that showcases the latest and coolest consumer electronics products. Here you can witness the innovations of the electronics industry this year and analyze future trends.

We appreciate your expertise and insights in the field of consumer electronics, and we hope to receive your advice. If you accept our invitation, please reply to us before March 3 and inform us of your arrival time and accommodation requirements. We will arrange pick-up and hotel services for you to enjoy a pleasant journey.

Looking forward to your reply!

EIA.

(End of this chapter)