Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 92 Making ing
Although Evelyn's production ideas are very clear and Wozniacki's joining also makes Ethan more confident, programming is actually the same as mathematics. It is not the kind of science and technology that can turn ideas into reality just by talking about it.

Even though Evelyn's analysis was very logical and everyone knew that the pursuit of the four ghosts' individual personalities was the core selling point of the game "Pac-Man", when writing the code, they still had to do it step by step.

They have to design the levels and the characters controlled by the players first, because only when the map and goals are determined will the ghosts have room to play.

At this stage, even if Ethan didn't understand the code, he couldn't just stand there and talk nonsense. Evelyn slapped the draft paper in front of him and asked him to replace the map he had drawn in advance with symbols that the computer could understand using 0, 1, 2, 3.

To put it simply, the symbol 0 represents a road, and the symbol 1 represents a wall. When they are presented on a computer in the form of a horizontal array, a map that can be understood by a machine appears.

The area marked by frame 2 is the birthplace of the protagonist and the ghosts, and it is also the hut where the ghosts return after death. Without the coordinates of this place, the game of "Pac-Man" cannot be started at all.

As for 3...it is the location of the invincible star on the map.

After all these key coordinates are confirmed, when the protagonist and the ghosts enter the map, the code for the chase can be truly established, because the dynamic monitoring of the ghosts must be calculated along the 0 representing the road and the 1 representing the wall, and they must also avoid 2, their home.

This task was not complicated, but rather trivial. Ethan only took a few minutes to get the hang of it. However, while helping, he had numerous questions in his mind, "Does that mean that all the 8 level maps supported by the 255-bit CPU have to be hand-drawn by us?"

"Of course!" Evelyn said, "Do you want the program to generate the map itself?"

"Is it impossible to write this kind of code?" Ethan asked tentatively.

This statement made Evelin laugh, and she shook her head and said, "Oh Ethan, I admit that you are talented in game design, but perhaps it is because you have an imagination that is beyond the reach of ordinary people, so you will naturally raise the level of existing technology."

"The technology you mentioned for naturally generating game maps may be possible in the future, but not now, because your ideas currently only exist in the outlines of papers by professors at various universities."

"We actually hope to use this kind of intelligent technology to liberate human productivity, but so far... we haven't been able to do that..."

After hearing what his sister said, Ethan immediately understood why Evelyn had said before that the production of this game might take years.

Manually programming 255 maps takes a lot of time, and setting up the AI ​​of four ghosts will make their brain cells die. But what is even more painful is the testing after the game is completed. How to ensure that the four ghosts can perfectly hunt down players on 255 maps is the most critical step, because when the game is launched, the only thing players can see is actually this one-sided display.

"Shit, how long will this take?" Ethan said with some discomfort.

In his opinion, such a huge workload was simply not something that two technicians could handle.

Not to mention, Evelyn had to go to school and Wozniak had to go to work.

However, just when Ethan was wondering whether he needed to recruit a group of programmers to help them complete some trivial tasks, the next day after the game production, Evelyn did not go to school at all. After getting up, she stayed in her garage to write code. And Wozniak was even more amazing. The little fat man brought his own APPLE 1 and drove to their house to work as if he was working at his own expense.

This situation made Ethan a little confused, and when he asked the two why they didn't go to school or work...

Evelyn said directly—

"School? Why should I go to school now? Oh Ethan, my stupid brother, I have told you many times that I choose to continue to go to school because I think the subject of computer is very interesting. I want to keep learning the latest technologies in this subject. I want to try to learn them, master them, but in the end, use them."

"Now, how to make the characters in the game perform anthropomorphic operations is the best topic!"

"So, why should I go to school if I can study at home?"

"I have already informed the school that I will not attend classes for the time being. The teachers know that I am starting a business, so they agreed. Moreover, I have a hunch that if we really make this game and realize the concept of artificial intelligence in the game, then the school will not only issue me a diploma directly, but also hire me as a professor."

"After all, the paper is only the first step in proposing a concept, while practical operation is the first step in presenting the technology."

“The former requires a perspective that looks to the future, while the latter requires real action in pursuit of the future.”

Ethan was very impressed by this idea.

At the same time, he also smiled and gave affirmation, “Oh Evelin, then I would like to congratulate you in advance.”

"Maybe next year, I'll have to call you Professor Johnson?"

"Oh, thank you." Evelyn waved her hand. She liked the way Ethan addressed her.

As for Wozniacki, his answer was even simpler:

"Oh Ethan, didn't Steve tell you? My favorite thing to do is actually playing games!"

"Do you know why Steve went to work for Atari? It's because after he went to work for Atari, we didn't have to pay to play games!"

"Before, he often took me to Atari at night and made me play games in the name of testing!"

"Now, why would I go to work at HP when I can just sit at your house and write games?"

Ethan was stunned after hearing this story!
Woz, a technical giant, could actually climb over the Atari factory wall in the middle of the night just to play games?

Oh no!
Is it provided to Atari as a product tester for free?

What the hell is this!

However, before he could express his surprise, Wozniacki said:

"Besides, Ethan, you may not know that Steve is urging me to resign every day."

"He asked me to quit my job at HP and start a company with him to sell personal microcomputers."

"Not only that, he even came up with the name of the company: Apple."

"To be honest, I have always been hesitant about starting a business because I really like the environment at HP, where I can get in touch with the latest technology and study what I want to study, but now..."

"I think the game of fate is more interesting!"

"Ethan! Your ideas are really interesting! Much more interesting than those studies at HP!"

"If Steve and I don't succeed in starting a business, how about I come to work for you?" "I think you don't mind supporting one more person, right?"

"Oh no! If I remember correctly, you invested money in Steve?"

"Oh—well, let's do it. We can't let your money go to waste."

Of course Ethan wouldn’t mind having one more person!

Not to mention anything else, Wozniacki's skills alone are the top representative of this era!
While major computer manufacturers are still tinkering with classification modules, this guy has already integrated all the major functions!

Although this small but precise idea originated from his father's military experience, the first one to try it out is the coolest!

"Yes, Stephen, you are always welcome to come and play as long as you want."

Ethan patted the fat boy on the shoulder and said, "If you think it's troublesome to travel back and forth, you can stay at my house."

"Really?" Wozniacki asked happily.

"Of course, we are friends." Ethan said with a smile.

How could he not welcome someone who has skills, is interested, can work at his own expense, and is willing to work day and night?

This is truly the perfect worker in the minds of countless bosses!

"Oh, then I'll move in tomorrow."

Wozniacki made a decision, "From now on, I won't go back unless I meet my girlfriend."

"WTF?" This question surprised Ethan, "You have a girlfriend?"

"Yes, we are in love," Wozniacki said. "We met at HP."

After chatting for a while, Ethan had a brief understanding of Woz's living conditions. When he learned that Woz was planning to marry his current girlfriend, he gave up his decision to get something for free and offered this guy a salary.

"How do you feel about five hundred a week?" Ethan asked with a smile.

"Oh, that's too much!" Woz wanted to refuse.

But Ethan shook his head and said, “Brother, your skills are worth the price!”

"Also, you have to know one thing: romance can be bought with money."

"I wish you happiness."

Ethan's high price made Wozniacki smile happily.

Since the development of Pac-Man couldn't be completed overnight, Ethan took the opportunity to talk about Apple.

He wanted to know how Apple was preparing.

During this conversation, Ethan discovered that Jobs was in a period of chaos.

Although Jobs received a $6502 sponsorship from Ethan and purchased two hundred MOS s from Chuck Petrus, the sales of the microcomputer had not yet been officially put on the agenda.

This was not because the Apple 1 product was not completed, but because the future boss Steve Jobs was a little confused. He didn't know how to sell personal computers. In his opinion, the users of personal computers should be those enthusiasts who are interested in computers, but the market represented by this group of people is too small. Not only that, they are technically savvy but also tedious. Therefore, Jobs was eager to gain a larger market, but he didn't know how to sell personal computers to ordinary people.

"He was trying to figure out how to sell personal microcomputers to the masses," Wozniak said.

"Of course, he won't waste time. He promised me that if he couldn't find a solution within three months, he would start selling computers to computer enthusiasts next year, capture those troublesome users first, and then try to find a new way out."

Ethan had little to say about the problems Jobs faced.

Because he knew that the key to getting the public to accept personal computers was the adaptability of the software. What people needed was not a computer for programming, but an auxiliary tool that could help them solve life problems. So, Jobs could sell it with confidence. As for everything else? Those computer enthusiasts would help him solve it.

But he couldn't tell him this truth; Jobs needed to understand it himself.

The reason he invested in Jobs was that this guy had the idea and ability to turn technological products into mass consumer goods.

It is precisely because of this ability that Apple was truly born.

His rash intervention could indeed promote Apple's growth, but he could intervene today, but what about tomorrow? Could he still remind others?

After all, he wasn't involved in technology in his previous life, so he didn't know everything about the entire industry. Take Pac-Man for example, when he decided to make it, he didn't expect the game to be so difficult. If Evelyn hadn't grasped the key technical points, he might have failed.

When he is unable to control everything, letting people who know the business do what they know is his best option.

Although Jobs is still immature and still a spirited young man, it is not important, because Apple, which has no survival pressure for the time being, can provide Jobs with room for trial and error, and when he passes the growth period...

Apple will achieve a real breakthrough.

After chatting casually and relaxing for a while, Wozniak continued to write code.

Ethan, on the other hand, was trying to complete the Pac-Man game level to level 255 and then express it in computer language.

Although the work was tedious, Ethan enjoyed doing it.

Because at a certain moment, he suddenly felt that he was playing a game.

Note: ① I don’t know whether the original version of Pac-Man had 255 levels designed by the designer himself, but there was no technology to generate levels back then. What confuses me is that when a player beat Pac-Man and showed his achievements to Namco, Namco didn’t even know that Pac-Man could be beaten. This is very funny. ② Before Jobs went to work at Atari, he worked at HP, assembling circuit boards. The reason for going to work at Atari is just as written in the article. He and Wozniacki found that playing games was free after working at Atari. The big guys at Niubi were also young and did all kinds of ridiculous things. ③ In reality, Jobs and his team were not confused when selling Apple 1. The reason for their failure was more of a show of skill. When other manufacturers were using multiple motherboards, Wozniacki had already made a single motherboard similar to modern computers. In order to show this technology, Jobs boasted about how awesome his technology was when he promoted Apple 1. This was also shown in the Apple 1 advertisement, and many people didn’t understand it. They didn't really make products until the iPhone 2. They added a keyboard cover to the machine. The driver described in the article was modified because it's too ridiculous to show off. This is not making a product at all, it's just pretending to be cool. If you put yourself in the protagonist's shoes, you can't wait to punch him.

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(End of this chapter)