America: The Godfather of Game Development

Chapter 287 Sam's New Clever Idea

7:30 p.m.

Emma's car was parked in front of Hunter's house.

"I didn't expect to stay out this late, did I, Vincent?"

"I never want to play Street Fighter again."

39

Vincent was unusually moody.

Even the kindest person would be a little annoyed after being beaten up for an entire afternoon.

Especially since he had originally planned to invite his brother Hunter to his house to play games with him.

"Mommy is a big idiot."

Now look what's happened! He left the guests waiting there while he played his handheld game all afternoon. What kind of behavior is this?!

"Stop making your brother Hunter laugh."

Emma chuckled.

This kid spent the whole afternoon getting all the 3 stars on level 25 of the first box and collecting everything.

"I'm serious! My brother Hunter said he doesn't like OmNom, it's really not good for him to play handheld games all afternoon."

""

"Alright, alright, say whatever you want. Say goodbye to your brother Hunter, let's go home and watch TV. 'The Story of OmNom' is about to start."

Hunter walked to his front door and was about to open it when he suddenly noticed a small package at his feet.

He leaned over and glanced at it; the sender's name was clearly written as "Nickelback Kids Channel".

Hunter's eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly picked up the package and tore it open.

Inside, there was a cassette tape of "Cut the Rope" sitting quietly.

Dear child, thank you for participating in the "Om's Story" star-finding activity.

[Upon inspection, you have successfully won the event prize – a Cut the Rope cartridge (already sent with this email)]

Thank you for supporting "The Story of Om". See you next time!

[—Sam, OmNom's friend]

噌」

Noticing that Vincent and his group's car was still behind him, Hunter quickly stuffed the cassette tape and letter into his pocket, and at the same time destroyed the package on the spot with lightning speed.

If my parents see this cassette tape, I'm in big trouble today.

It wasn't until Vincent excitedly arrived home and turned on the TV that he noticed Hunter's handheld console was still intact in its box, sitting in the corner of his living room.

What a careless person! How could they leave such an important thing at home!

"Forget it, let's invite him over to play tomorrow too, and then we can return the handheld console to him."

Vincent shook his head and casually grabbed a bag of OmNom candies.

No time for all that, it's time to tune in to "The Story of OmNom".

GAMENOVA headquarters.

The Cut the Rope project has finally come to an end.

The subsequent IP operation was entirely handed over to GameFreak.

Given their previous experience in operating Pokémon-related derivative products, entrusting this task to Ash and his friends is clearly the most suitable choice.

-

As for the United States, Nickelodeon will continue to air new shows every week.

Industrial Light & Magic's technological capabilities are terrifying, especially now that they have the support of MicroNova's top-tier graphics chips. It won't take them long to produce new TV series.

In addition, Lin Lixin also specifically contacted Mattel, a company he had recently collaborated with.

Of course, this time it wasn't about ordering a new Barbie, but rather ordering a batch of toys from them.

The prototype was naturally the tattered cardboard box that he and Sam had previously hand-wrapped.

With just a few minor improvements and the removal of thumbtacks—things Sam isn't afraid of but kids definitely will—production can begin quickly.

The image of OmNom will definitely be a significant part of the history of cultural and entertainment IPs.

This trend is already starting to emerge.

OmNom, this little green monster, is like a cultural symbol, representing a generation of children's entertainment products.

It covers every aspect of life, including video games, movies, snacks, and toys, making it virtually ubiquitous.

This terrifying penetration ability directly led to Cut the Rope quickly surpassing 500 million copies sold within a month of its release.

It was while Lin Lixin was busy with trivial matters that Sam secretly plotted something big for him.

He was really badly tricked by the level Lin Lixin had set up earlier.

He almost got obsessed with a star that was impossible to obtain no matter what.

This matter cannot be left unresolved!

We have to get our revenge!

"A game? You made it yourself?"

Lin Lixin put down his mobile phone and looked at Sam in front of him with a puzzled expression.

He was grinning slyly, holding a plain, unpatterned CD in his hand.

Sam, for some unknown reason, suddenly started a small project on his own.

"Yeah, yeah, it'll definitely be fun, why don't you give it a try?"

"Talking nonsense————"

Lin Lixin took the disc with a puzzled look and casually stuffed it into the NX.

Regardless, Sam's enthusiasm is commendable.

Sometimes, his flashes of inspiration can actually lead to something remarkable.

Just like the King of Fighters project, it all started when Sam suddenly had the idea to modify the Street Fighter machine.

"squeak-"

The game loaded quickly, and it was clear that the amount of content was not large.

"2D platforming? Huh?"

Lin Lixin raised an eyebrow. This was a platform jumping game that looked very rudimentary.

Even the level design feels very familiar.

"You've completely copied Ren Zhengfei's 'Ultramar'? Aren't you afraid they'll sue us?!"

Lin Lixin was exasperated, but seeing Sam's expectant expression, he didn't dare to continue his outburst and silently started playing.

To be honest, the plagiarism was quite convincing.

The controls feel amazing, like you're greased with oil, popping mushrooms from blocks and stomping on Goombas —

"Hmph, then let me see just how good your understanding of the game really is."

Lin Lixin stopped on a section of green drainpipe.

According to the design of the Super Marathon, once you go down here, you'll be hidden underwater, making it easy to skip levels.

This is also a classic design for hiding Easter eggs in video games.

If Sam didn't interact with the content here, it means he only learned the surface level.

However, what Lin Lixin didn't notice was that just as he was controlling his character to stand on the pipe, Sam's cheek twitched slightly.

It looked like he was trying not to laugh.

"Ha! You're pretty good at copying, you actually did it—holy crap!"

Lin Lixin suddenly cried out in surprise, unable to hold back and blurting out the elegant rhyme of his hometown dialect, causing the controller to fly out of his hand.

The character on the screen slowly fell into the pipe —

Then suddenly a blood-stained, grotesque face popped up on the screen.

It's obvious that Sam drew it himself.

But this sudden change of attitude really gave Lin Lixin quite a fright.

JumpScare is the most basic but also the most effective method.

"Ha ha ha ha----"

Sam clapped and cheered, looking like he had finally gotten his revenge.

It won't be so easy to see Lin Lixin get his comeuppance.

Lin Lixin was exasperated. He silently picked up the controller, which had almost shattered, and said, "Huh?! That reminds me."

He seemed to suddenly remember something, and his eyes lit up.

Just as he was pondering what to make for the next console game, Sam's silly prank game actually gave him a great idea.

Horror game!

With the powerful graphics capabilities of the console, they can create works that were previously unimaginable.

However—Sam's pure face-jumping kill is a bit too low-class.

Too many "face-jumping" moments can lead to desensitization and even cause players to feel disgusted.

True terror stems from psychological horror, from the creation of atmosphere.

The pioneer in this field is, of course, — Cameron, the king of reheated dishes.

Lin Lixin suddenly reached out and patted Sam on the shoulder: "Well done."

The words were kind, but the tone was somewhat cold.

Sam suddenly felt a strange unease.

For some reason, Sam suddenly had a premonition that this bastard would definitely get his revenge in the next couple of days!