Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 185 Artist, Power Seizer

In the 21st century, pink is perhaps the color most closely associated with gender, because most people assume pink is of "her" gender, but in fact, pink was originally a color for boys. During the Renaissance when human colors were not very rich, pink was made by mixing ochre powder and white lime, and was used to depict Jesus in his infant state and to embellish his skin.

This situation did not change until the 18th century, when Louis XV's mistress, Pompadour, was obsessed with pink, wearing it in public, decorating her house with it, and making it into porcelain. This behavior influenced countless painters, who began to use pink to show the delicacy of court women.

Even so, pink is just a neutral color. It was not until after WW2 that it became truly associated with women. The labor shortage caused by the war led to more and more women taking up jobs, and they needed a dress of their own for formal occasions. Therefore, pink, which was once hailed as exquisite and elegant, became the first choice for most people.

When Xianzong took office, his wife chose a pink dress and accompanied Xianzong throughout his term in office. Hollywood, which caters to trends, also associates pink with women. Marilyn Monroe's "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" features a large number of pink clothing.

The most amazing thing is that those businesses, in order to cater to women's love for pink, American home appliance companies have been frantically launching pink kitchen appliances. The Barbie doll that was born in the same era wore a pink dress. Even Disney was not immune to this. In "Sleeping Beauty" released in 1959, Princess Aurora appeared in pink and was called the most beautiful princess by Walt Disney.

When women like it and businesses hype it up, the two facts appear at the same time... binding becomes inevitable. Therefore, when Damio Dean received a work assignment from his boss and started to make "Ms. Pac-Man", a game that has a strong connection with women, he used pink, which is recognized by the public, as the main color of the game scene and spread it to every corner of the game in an exaggerated way.

The big title on the game interface, "Ms. Pac-Man", is pink.

The PLAY function key below is also pink.

After entering the game, the entire maze is pink.

Ethan's eyelids twitched at the sight of all the girlish colors, but when the game officially started, the sight of Ms. Pac-Man running on the screen finally made him breathe a sigh of relief.

Because Damio Dean still used the yellow color belonging to Pac-Man as the main tone to create Ms. Pac-Man, and the way to embellish her gender was to add a red bow on her head and put a little bright red lipstick on the opening of her mouth.

Ethan was very satisfied with this change that gave the character distinct characteristics, because after seeing the game interface, what he feared most was that people like Damio Dean would change the skin of Ms. Pac-Man.

If Ms. Pac-Man is pink while Pac-Man is yellow, wouldn’t that be cross-racial? Moreover, in the original Pac-Man, there was a female ghost represented by pink. When there is already a pink character in the game, why create a protagonist of the same color?
Regardless of whether this approach conforms to common sense in creation, it is unscientific from the perspective of game play alone. When two characters of the same color appear on the same screen, it is easy for players to make mistakes.

Since Damio Dean did not make that kind of visual design error, Ethan continued to play with confidence, and as he operated, Ms. Pac-Man also ran on the arcade machine.

then……

Ethan discovered a problem...

"Is this game you made just a reskin? Why do I feel that there are not many changes compared to the original version? In addition to the interface, the protagonist, and the maze design, are there any other changes? If not... why didn't you finish it for so long?"

Yes!

After Ethan operated it for a while, he found that Ms. Pac-Man, produced by Damio Dean, had not changed much compared to the original Pac-Man they launched.

The four ghosts still pursue the enemy in the same way as in the previous game.

When the most difficult ghost codes in the game can be copied directly...

A game that has not been finished for several months?
Is this guy just slacking off?

Ethan's confusion made others in the meeting room laugh.

"Boss, please continue playing."

"Yes, you can finish the first level first."

“There’s definitely a surprise in here, really!”

The words of the people around made Ethan, who didn't notice the difference, continue to play patiently, but after he cleared the first level and entered the second level, the maze that came into view made his eyelids twitch.

Because there are two gaps at both ends of the maze in the second level. There are no beans in the gaps, which means it is not a normal passage and Pac-Man cannot pass through.

Since Pac-Man can't enter, it must be the ghost's asylum, and the truth is...

is also like this.

When Ethan controlled Ms. Pac-Man to eat nearly one-third of the beans on the second level map, a small white ghost suddenly emerged from the dark passage closest to him. It rushed towards Ms. Pac-Man like a madman. No matter where Ethan hid, it would follow him stubbornly. Its movement speed was obviously faster than that of the normal Ms. Pac-Man, so it only took seven or eight seconds for him to catch up with the fleeing Ms. Pac-Man.

Just as it was about to catch Ms. Pac-Man, its body suddenly stopped, as if it had been hit by the sunflower acupoint-pressing technique. Then, its body gradually dimmed and disappeared from the map.

This situation made Ethan, who thought he was going to die, feel relieved. At the same time, the sense of urgency that arose spontaneously made him laugh and curse: "Hua Q! Is this your change? Adding random events?"

'Random event?'

This phrase made everyone at the scene stunned.

But the next second Damio Dean smiled and explained: "Oh boss, yes - in our design, we added some crazy ghosts to the game Ms. Pac-Man."

“The first level is the same as the previous game, which allows players to adapt to the operation.”

"The second level is the real beginning. When Ms. Pac-Man eats one-third and two-thirds of the beans on the map, crazy ghosts will appear in the passages on both sides, eager to kill Ms. Pac-Man... because in our setting, the beans in the maze are closely related to them..."

After receiving Ethan's arrangement, Damio Dean convened a closed-door meeting to solicit production opinions on the sequel to "Pac-Man" from colleagues in the department.

As they brainstormed, one question after another was raised.

Some people say that since Pac-Man can gain supernatural powers after eating beans in the corners of the map, why can't the ghost who captures him use this power?

As ghosts living in the maze, they should have discovered ways to develop their divine powers. Otherwise, how could they be resurrected in the maze?

Therefore, under their design, dark passages appeared on both sides of the map, and the ghosts that survived by absorbing the power of the beans on the map were connected to them. When Ms. Pac-Man ate a certain amount of beans, she felt the power loss. They will go crazy and try to fight Ms. Pac-Man, and all the players have to do is to survive ten seconds, because after ten seconds, these crazy ghosts will fall into the fate of death due to the decline of power, and disappear on the map middle.

In addition, some people also said that since Pac-Man can eat beans and can eat ghosts after gaining divine power (colliding with ghosts to kill them), he should be able to eat everything.

Therefore, in their design, some score markers can be randomly placed on the map in subsequent levels. When the player controls Ms. Pac-Man to eat those score markers, they can directly obtain the corresponding scores, instead of accumulating points one by one like ordinary Pac-Man.

Some people even said that since Ms. Pac-Man is a female-oriented game, it should include some female-oriented techniques, such as setting up a special prop, such as dancing shoes. When Ms. Pac-Man eats something, her speed will increase, but if she is touched by a ghost, she will get a debuff that makes it harder to dance than to play games, and she will spin in circles for about five seconds...

As they talked, one idea after another opened Ethan's eyes.

Ethan let the ghost successfully capture Ms. Pac-Man, put down the game, turned his head and looked at his subordinates, their young faces full of youthful vitality.

“Are you going to incorporate all of these ideas into Ms. Pac-Man?” he asked.

"We plan to add two or three, because according to our calculations, adding two or three functional algorithms should be the limit of MOS 6502. Due to the computing power limitation of the chip, it is impossible for us to produce all our inspirations..." said Damio Dean.

"How much time do you need?"

"Ms. Pac-Man is a joint project for all of us. After we've done Need for Speed, Skyfall, and Taken, we can all focus on it. It should take at most... three to five months? We should be able to finish it."

"Okay, go ahead and do it. Although this game is the sequel to Pac-Man, it is also your baby, so I decided that after this game is launched, 5% of its sales revenue will become your bonus. This bonus will accompany you throughout your life. Even if some of you leave the Destiny game in the future and this game is still selling, I will transfer the money to your card. If this game is still played by people a hundred years later, your children and grandchildren will still be able to receive the benefits of its existence."

Ethan looked at them with a smile on his face.

The guys in front of him looked dazed at first, then ecstatic.

Because everyone knows the value of the name Pac-Man!
It is clearer that a 5% sales bonus is more sincere than profit sharing!

"thank you boss……"

Someone reacted.

"thank you boss!"

The follower suddenly appeared.

"Thank you, boss—"

The uniform sound made Ethan think he was visiting a strip club.

"Okay, okay, okay, you guys go ahead and do your work. I want it to be on the market by the end of this year."

Ethan put his hands down to signal them to calm down, then left the meeting room with his hands behind his back.

Human imagination is actually infinite. What limits imagination is never human beings themselves, but the constraints around human beings that prevent them from turning imagination into reality.

Before the birth of video games, the scientists who invented computers had never imagined that such a tool as computers could be played in this way. After video games became popular, no one who grew up with the times had imagined that video games could be played in this way.

Video games have always belonged to the field of art, and in this circle, the first person to try something new may make a fortune, but the guys who follow behind and show their fantasies are equally great. It is because of their contributions that the world becomes so colorful.

This is what the people in the Destiny game development department do.

And since they have good ideas, they should get the money.

"What the hell!" "What about Disney, Paramount, MGM and Philips joining forces?"

"I have Activision's neck in my left hand and EA's lifeline in my right hand!"

"Come and fight me!"

If Ethan was still very angry this morning, then after watching the games made by the R&D department, his body and mind suddenly felt much better. Even if the three companies could copy, so what? He had the most talented people in the entire circle in his hands. When new products appeared one after another, the guys who simply imitated them could die!

hum~
He happily went into the office and leaned back in the boss chair comfortably. The soft feeling made him very happy. Just when Ethan was about to make a release plan for the new game, the bald head of Steve Ballmer suddenly appeared again.

"Boss, someone wants to visit you."

Looking at that smiling face, Ethan was speechless.

At this moment, he even wondered if this bald guy had installed a probe in his office!
He just finished a task and this guy showed up? People who know him know that he is doing it for work, but people who don't know him will definitely think that he is adding fuel to the fire!
"Who?" Ethan asked helplessly.

"Roy Disney," Steve Ballmer said.

"What?" This name surprised Ethan. After staring at Ballmer's shiny head for a few seconds, he asked, "Did he explain his purpose?"

"He said you must not want to see him."

"..."

Ethan pursed his lips at the childish provocation and shook his head, saying, "Let him go."

"You heard me right, I told him to get out."

"You bring my words to him exactly as they are."

Roy Disney was right, Ethan really didn't want to see him at this moment.

After Steven Spielberg told him about Disney's palace drama, Ethan now knew with his own eyes that Roy Disney's intention was nothing more than to make an ally.

But Ethan didn't want to be an ally with this guy who once put a bounty on him!
If Disney wants to buy Snake, okay, that's a normal business practice, and everyone can sit down and talk about it. But when Disney is interested in Snake and doesn't want to negotiate business with him, the copyright owner, then... aren't you robbing him?

You want to steal my things, and I should be nice to you?
I'm not sick!

Eason's order also caused Steve Ballmer to turn around and leave.

If he had just arrived, he would have definitely expressed surprise, but after what happened last time, he was now able to remain calm even when faced with a catastrophe. When the Rockefellers were kicked out by their boss... Roy Disney? Who do you think you are?

Just when Ethan thought that this boring episode would end with his words "get out", Steve Ballmer came back a few moments later.

Not only that, he also brought a document.

"Roy Disney asked me to bring it to you before he left."

"He said it's normal for you not to see him, but he will still show his sincerity."

The ambiguous words made Ethan take the document, and opened it, good guy, the cover with Philips and Disney logos made him raise his eyebrows.

He flipped the page quickly, and the contract terms that came into view made Ethan look up suddenly.

"Are you sure it's Roy Disney?"

"I am sure."

What the hell!

Ethan was shocked!

He really didn't expect that the palace fight could turn out like this!
Roy Disney's behavior is already considered as selling out the company's trade secrets!
He would go this far to bring down Walt Disney's son-in-law?
Nima!

This is too much bullshit!

After staring at the bald head for a few seconds and making sure that he was not lying, Ethan quickly read the documents in his hand. As he flipped through them, the details of the cooperation between Disney and Philips appeared in front of him.

In the next ten years, Disney will obtain patent licenses for the production and manufacture of electronic arcade machines from Philips subsidiary MILOWA at a fixed price of US$100,000 per year. But at the same time, Philips also requires that electronic games produced by Disney be logged into their home consoles when they need them.

Although the term "need" is very vague, the two parties agreed on several "need" situations in the contract. For example, if the sales of video games produced by Disney exceed one million US dollars, that is, the shipment of video arcade machines reaches 500 units; for example, if the video games produced by Disney have a certain impact in the United States and have been reported by the three major newspapers "New York Times", "Washington Post" and "Los Angeles Times", or have appeared in local newspapers more than twice. As long as these agreed conditions are met, Philips has the right to let Disney bring the game to its own console.

They also had an agreement on the profit sharing after the game was launched on the console. Philips would take a 30% commission on the game, and the remaining 70% would go to Disney. The sales expenses would be borne by Philips, which would be included in the 30% commission. The production expenses, that is, the cost of the magnetic cassettes, would be borne by Disney itself.

Such favorable conditions made Ethan nod secretly.

He had already seen Philips' intention to kill him in this contract.

If Philips was not determined to stab Ethan Jones to death, they would not have signed such a compensation contract. And since the compensation contract has been signed, then...

The two sides are endless.

"Take this document and burn it."

After reading it, Ethan wanted to process the file.

But on second thought, he still has to do it himself.

"Forget it, do you have a lighter?"

"Yes." Bald Ballmer immediately took out a lighter from his pocket and handed it over.

Such a situation made Ethan a little curious, "Do you smoke?"

"No." Ballmer shook his head decisively.

"Then why do you carry a lighter with you?" Ethan was puzzled.

"Because I think you might need it, boss." Ballmer replied very seriously.

“…” Ethan was stunned for a moment.

Then he waved Ballmer out and burned the documents with a lighter.

Looking at the flames that kept rising, he felt a little emotional.

Are the habits from my previous life still useful?
Anyone working in finance knows that a lighter is always better than a shredder.

Not only is it easy to carry, but it can also destroy some unwanted things forever.

The only thing that can restrain it is the great memory recovery technique.

As the file disappeared, Ethan also wiped out all traces of Roy Disney's presence. After returning to his seat, he began to wonder again. Disney was just a company with a market value of more than a billion. Was it necessary for Walt Disney's family and Roy Disney's family to fight so hard for the helm of this company? Even company secrets could be sold out?

Ethan couldn't figure it out.

He wanted to find out.

After some hesitation, he decided to call Steven Spielberg.

When the call was first connected, this guy thought Ethan was here to press for the release of "Alien", so he kept saying that he would meet with Sidney Sheinberg in the next few days and there would be no problem starting the filming of "Alien".

After Ethan explained his purpose, the guy stopped talking impatiently and said, "Do you want to know why Roy Disney and Ron Miller fought?"

"It's simple, a country within a country! Who wouldn't want that?"

"WTF?" Ethan was unable to react to the simple description.

But when Steven Spielberg mentioned Disneyland in Florida…

Ethan understood everything immediately.

'Fuck!How could I forget the throne of the Disney family? '

Note: ① Some people may not believe it, but the original version of Ms. Pac-Man was made with the 6502. This game was not released by Namco. It was originally a pirated version made by a player. After making it, they thought it was good, so they sold it to the then-US Pac-Man agent. At that time, the agent of Pac-Man was anxiously waiting for the sequel and wanted to make money. So after discovering Ms. Pac-Man, they thought it was good and sold it as an authentic version, and then it became a hit. Since the game was made by a fan, the original version used the 6502 chip. Don't ask why, just because it's cheap. In , the retail price of this chip was only a few dollars, and any hobbyist could make it.

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(End of this chapter)