America: The Godfather of Game Development

Chapter 302 All Fear Stems from Insufficient Firepower (3k)

0kay————

Tony looked at the nightmare-inducing smile on the screen and nodded silently. "Now I understand why you acted that way."

Hawke sat to the side, casually scooping out ice cream from his bucket.

It's amazing how my fear lessened so much when I was still sitting in front of the TV, but instead watching my cousin play.

With his cousin Tony, who was clearly bolder, joining them, the land clearing finally proceeded smoothly.

"Damn it, they were so scared they almost peed their pants, yet they still couldn't resist playing. What kind of nonsense is this?"

Hawke pursed his lips helplessly, feeling as if he were committing some kind of self-torture.

Paying money to suffer? There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Oh, it seems there really is.

Extreme sports, you know.

"Hey? Where's Brother Huimou?"

Tony was controlling Jill to continue investigating the mansion, but Hawke keenly noticed something unusual.

The "Look Back Bro" (at least that's what the two brothers called it), which Barry just shot down, is now nowhere to be found.

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

That guy was shot three times and Magnum was still alive, and even managed to sneak away when they left?

"Gulp"

Hawke swallowed hard.

When he looked again at the cute little pistol in Jill's hand, any remaining sense of security he had felt vanished completely.

The usefulness of guns is indeed limited.

This thing is probably not meant to kill zombies; it's likely just for distraction.

Even if we could actually eliminate them, it would take a lot of bullets.

And these bullets are exactly what they lack most right now.

"Never mind, I'm telling you, the more afraid you are of this kind of game, the harder it gets."

Tony waved his hand, not caring about any of that.

Zombies? We're going to fight zombies!

"If soldiers come, we'll block them; if water comes, we'll dam it. If we can't fight, we can always run away, right?"

Having said that, he didn't care whether Brother Huimou was lying in ambush behind the door, and decisively pushed the door open and went out.

Hawke breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Brother Huimou wasn't there.

Before he could even relax, he saw his cousin Tony run straight toward Kenneth's body, displaying his skill and daring.

Fortunately, it was just a false alarm. Only poor Kenneth and his half-head remained. It was clear that the guy who looked back had not returned.

"Ha! I knew it, this thing can be looted."

Tony far outperformed Hawke, his eyes fixed solely on the desire for the collectibles.

Kenneth's videotape

[A video player is required to view the recorded content]

I don't know what use it is, but it's better to have it than not.

After all, it's a game, and both Tony and Hawk have an inexplicable compulsion to collect everything.

Tony, however, was particularly addicted to this.

He searched every nook and cranny, leaving no stone unturned, and thoroughly cleaned up everything he could find in the scene.

Herbs, magazines, ribbons—

Nothing could escape his grasp.

But it was at this moment that Tony suddenly realized something was wrong.

"Tsk—this backpack—isn't it a bit too small?"

His approach should be flawless, and could even be described as a very sophisticated strategy.

Collect as many items as possible carefully to ensure you are fully prepared at any time.

But the game only gave him 8 slots, and in just the first short while, his bag was filled with all sorts of random things.

In particular, two green herbs take up two squares.

It's only thanks to the fact that magazines and ribbons can be stacked, otherwise his bag would already be full.

This finite grid setup is really annoying.

The hoarder expressed its strong protest.

And then something even worse started to happen.

Their guess was correct.

Bullets are far too weak against these zombies.

On average, each zombie requires five or six shots to take down, and you have to aim for the head whenever possible.

I was quite pleased with myself for finding two pistol magazines in a row.

Now it seems that this little bit of son's flint and steel is not even worth a fart.

Especially sometimes, even after you've knocked down a zombie, it will twitch on the ground for a bit and then get back up as if nothing happened.

Tony was alright, at most he just felt a little tricky.

But for Hawke, it was like the sky had fallen!

How can this be allowed?

Without overwhelming firepower and ammunition coverage, and without the ability to mow down enemies, how are you supposed to play?

Hawke initially thought the game was just a 3D version of Contra with a zombie theme.

The enemy has simply changed from aliens to zombies.

What I'll definitely have to do is play the governor like in Contra, carrying a heavy machine gun and mowing down the entire mansion.

But now, the zombie's terrifying capabilities have completely shattered his expectations of safety.

A strong sense of powerlessness and—fear—instantly invaded his mind.

If we were to find a suitable word to describe this feeling, the most accurate description would be—

Fear of insufficient firepower!

If only I had a rocket launcher with unlimited firepower —

Those zombies are nothing at all!

Raise the cannons and blast their mother!

But that's clearly not how it is in Resident Evil.

There's no S-round or M-round enhancement; all you have are a mere 30 bullets and a small, broken gun.

Perhaps there will be opportunities to obtain different weapons later, such as Barry's Magnum, or even a rocket launcher or something.

But what can we do about it?

As long as ammunition is limited, one can never be truly safe.

"Damn it!"

The survival pressure brought about by this scarcity of resources was more irritating to him than the simple sudden appearance of the guy who turned around.

He had a gun, but couldn't use it, and even if he did, it wouldn't be of much use.

Under such circumstances, the gun not only failed to reassure him, but instead became another source of anxiety.

Damn it, it would have been better not to give them weapons at all.

At least without weapons, the combat pressure shouldn't be that great in a sense.

Fortunately, the puzzle itself is not complicated.

After the two gradually got used to the pace of Resident Evil, Hawke actually felt that he might have fallen in love with it.

After Tony finally arrived at the safe house, the two of them let out a long sigh as the background music suddenly became more soothing.

-

The instant release after high pressure is so exhilarating.

Let's do a quick inventory check.

After tinkering for almost an hour, I never imagined I'd ended up with a shotgun.

Although bullets were also scarce, we tried to avoid using them as much as possible.

Having a heavy weapon in hand still offers some consolation, though it's not the only comfort.

Every now and then, you can actually kill a few zombies with firepower, which is incredibly satisfying.

only----

For some reason, the zombie corpses don't respawn quickly after being destroyed, unlike in other games.

Instead, one just stayed there, unchanged no matter how many times I passed by.

But it's already collapsed to this state, with blood spurting out, so you can't expect it to come back to life, right?

The two could only regard it as a special design used to enhance the atmosphere.

"call----"

Whenever she encounters zombies chasing Jill with their hands raised, even if she's used to it, she can't help but feel a little nervous.

"I must say, this transition animation is absolutely a stroke of genius."

With a file size of over 100 MB, GAMENOVA was able to cram a large number of clips into the disc, in addition to the core game content.

And all of these films are Hollywood-level big productions.

Although it's a bit of a shame that Mr. Schwarzenegger disappeared after entering the room, the performances of the other characters were equally brilliant.

Especially the part where they went to get the shotgun.

Jill was almost squeezed into a Jill sandwich by the mansion's mechanisms.

Over the course of that hour, the two felt as if they had watched a spectacular, top-tier Hollywood horror film.

Whether it's costumes, props, plot design, sound effects, or cinematography, it's all undoubtedly top-notch.

What's most outrageous is that their current progress is probably only just beginning.

Tony could sense that this game was very particular about its narrative.

It is very restrained, without overwhelming players with a grand and complex worldview all at once.

But despite his restraint, the details on the map told him that something was amiss.

This is a completely fragmented narrative, much like what Gamenova did in Castlevania in the past.

Break down a complete, grand narrative into individual fragments and integrate them into the scene.

It might be a note, a photograph, or even a cassette tape.

There isn't even any information; it's conveyed solely through the furnishings of the environment.

The designers have also laid a lot of foreshadowing in the cutscenes and the characters' lines.

"Speaking of which, what Barry just said sounded a bit off."

Hawke recalled Barry's stammering words when he rescued Jill, clearly indicating that he had something to hide.

"Could it be related to Wesker?"

"I don't understand, you'll find out as you play."

The huge Western-style mansion is really confusing to walk around.

If the two hadn't taken turns remembering the way, they'd probably still be lost inside the mansion.

"And this mansion was designed by the famous architect Trevor, commissioned by the Umbrella Corporation! What kind of decent person would put so many crooked and twisted corridors in their house?!"

Thinking about this, Hawke couldn't help but mutter a complaint.

It seems that in previous scenes, it was mentioned that this mansion was designed by a very talented architect.

Damn it, if this level of skill can be called a master, then I must be some kind of architectural master myself!

Everywhere you look, there are mazes that seem to lead you in circles. Entering the mansion feels like stumbling into some kind of fourth-dimensional space.

Without a map, we'll never be able to get out of here.

Not to mention the malicious traps and puzzles everywhere.

What's going on here? Can't we just fight the zombies in peace?

I really hope that GAMENOVA can develop a spin-off of Resident Evil in the future, expanding the scope to the entire Raccoon City, so that the protagonist has enough bullets to have a good time.

Although it doesn't have the same intense sense of horror as a locked room environment, it should be a different kind of fun.

"?"

Hawke suddenly paused, glancing at the game box still sitting next to the television.

As if suddenly remembering something, he quickly reached inside and took out the leather ID.

"Spencer Mansion — Address: Denver, Colorado, [Street Number] —"

"The builder—Umbrella Corporation?? The designer—George Trevor??"

clam?