America: The Godfather of Game Development

Chapter 323 Terrifying Performance That's Astounding (3k)

For the Japanese market, GAMENOVA has always been a very ambiguous and awkward presence.

At a time when tensions between the United States and Japan are escalating, the emergence of GAMENOVA can be said to have dealt a severe blow to the backbone of Japan's semiconductor industry.

The signing of the semiconductor agreement can only be described as breaking their monopoly.

But Micron's comeback has truly wiped out their product advantage.

Beyond semiconductors, another business of GAMENOVA is causing them even more headaches.

Video games!

Although the tastes and preferences of the two markets are quite different, many best-selling works may not sell as well in Japan.

Despite lacking favorable timing, location, and human resources, GAMENOVA still managed to consistently produce several works that were enough to shock Japan.

The Legend of Zelda, Pokémon, Fire Emblem, Castlevania, and Momotaro Dentetsu—each of these games has precisely struck a chord with Japanese gamers.

Of course, we should scold them.

Not only should they criticize, but they should also raise the banner of anti-Americanism and launch a massive attack.

but----

Remember to buy it after you've finished criticizing it.

Gamenova has that kind of magic.

Tokyo, Minato Ward, Shinagawa Ward, SEGA.

AM10's tenth development team, or rather the newly established Nazca studio, received its first assignment.

Assist in the development of GAMENOVA's new title, Metal Slug!

Or rather, it was to prepare art designs for Metal Slug.

Kazuma Kujo stood in front of the Sharp UX-100 fax machine that Sega had just provided for them.

A stack of printing paper was already arranged on the guide plate.

Fax machines, the pride of Japan, were the most popular means of transmitting text and images in an era before the widespread adoption of the internet.

Without this device, if GAMENOVA wanted to transfer files in Japan, they would have to store the files on a floppy disk and have Ash deliver them.

Tap, tap, tap—

Following the rules, Kazuma Kujo dialed a number and connected with GameFreak.

Fax machines do not require the Internet; they can be used by dialing via a telephone line.

However, the efficiency is indeed less than ideal.

Nearly half a minute passed before the two parties finally shook hands and agreed on the terms.

Only then did the fax machine begin to slowly feed the paper into it.

It takes at least a minute to print just one sheet.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak—"

The transmission wasn't fast, but Kazuma Kujo wasn't in a hurry, patiently waiting for his first fax from GAMENOVA.

And this patience ultimately did not disappoint him.

"Oh My God----"

The first image is clearly a character design sketch.

Everything from the name to the detailed settings is listed above.

It's clearly a typical tough-guy soldier character, but the art style has been deliberately shifted towards a Japanese aesthetic.

"This is already at the level of an animation sketch, isn't it?"

Compared to art direction, Kazuma Kujo is better at project coordination; in Japanese terms, his position is "director."

This is what North America calls a producer.

Although I am not a professional in this field, I can still tell the difference between good and bad at a glance.

"Akio, come here quickly!"

He quickly shouted in the direction of his workstation.

Akio is the art director and lead artist at their Nazca studio.

It's obviously more appropriate for him to make the decision on this kind of thing.

As they were talking, the second draft began to be slowly ejected from the fax machine.

When Akio arrived in front of him, a magnificent scene concept art was already lying quietly in front of them.

As an artist, Akio naturally felt it more deeply than Kazuma Kujo.

Upon first glance at the picture, he was speechless with astonishment at its terrifying harmony and stylistic unity.

"The level of completion is too high—"

As the former lead artist of IREM, Akio believes his skill level is among the best in the industry.

But when faced with this picture, he couldn't help but feel admiration.

This isn't one of those manuscripts used for verification; it's a genuine concept drawing.

What does this tell us?

This shows that GAMENOVA had already determined the overall art style and tone of this project long ago.

And far away in GAMENOVA, across the Pacific Ocean, there exists an artist whose skills are even greater than his.

"There are heavens beyond heavens—"

Akio sighed inwardly and silently picked up the draft, which was still slightly warm.

This clever stylized visual style particularly suited his taste.

To be honest, even without GAMENOVA's instructions, if he were to design it, he would probably have gone down this style.

However, it will definitely take a lot of effort to finalize the decision.

Now that his superiors have taken care of this most mentally taxing part of the work, it has actually saved him a lot of trouble.

Not far away, Kodama Mitsunari's gaze fell on the two who were marveling at him, his eyes flashing.

He is also an artist at Nazca Studio, but his skills are still somewhat inferior to those of his respected senior, Akio.

Seeing that even his respected senior had such an expression, Kodama Mitsunari gained a clear understanding of GAMENOVA's strength.

"Luckily, I didn't rush to switch jobs —"

Recalling the day when Kazuma Kujo asked him if he wanted to give up SNK's offer and follow him, Mitsunari Kodama sighed.

How risky is it?

If I had left for SNK much earlier, would I still have received this invitation?

Kodama Mitsunari watched the two people organizing faxed documents and silently rejected the idea.

Akio was definitely chosen by special request, after all, he's IREM's top art director.

I don't think I'll receive that kind of treatment.

By latching onto GAMENOVA, it was like winning the lottery.

He still remembers when he was drinking with his colleagues and talking about this legendary company, he even shouted that he would follow IREM and drive them back to North America.

It's one thing to say it, but in reality, who wouldn't be eager to jump ship to GAMENOVA and latch onto their coattails?

It's obvious at a glance which of SNK, Capcom, and Gamenova has the most promising future.

"Mitsuari."

Akio's voice interrupted his thoughts.

Kodama Mitsunari raised his head and looked at his senior.

Akio made copies of several documents and placed them in front of him.

"This part is yours. You'll design Major Marco Rossi's sequence frame animation."

He rummaged through the files and found a few more. "I'll be in charge of the original drawings for the Steel Slug and Fio Zeller."

Marco is clearly the main protagonist of the game, and also the character for whom GAMENOVA sent the most complete information.

This is clearly a demonstration for them, illustrating detailed visual styles and requirements.

Apart from him, almost everything else consisted of simple settings and a few manuscripts.

This naturally means letting them do what they want.

"Although it's set in a fictional world, this theme is clearly a reference to World War II."

Kodama Mitsunari glanced at a few pictures and got a general idea of ​​the route.

Thinking about it, this isn't the first time GAMENOVA has used such a close-range attack.

"1942," which was released during his early career, was a film that directly confronted the Japanese audience.

However, unlike American players who are enthusiastic about this theme, Japanese players don't actually have any particular feelings about it.

They even spend their days designing this kind of content.

"Almost. Let's design the enemy according to the Japanese. These sketches have a general idea of ​​what they look like. See if you can pull out a few original drawings."

Akio nodded and casually pulled out a sketch of various cartoon soldiers and handed it to Kodama Mitsunari.

Sega North America, Hardware Division.

"ATHENA processor?"

Hideki Sato frowned slightly and solemnly took the processor sample from Hayao Nakayama.

"MicroNova's latest chip has not yet been released to the market; it's a product that even Gamenova itself hasn't used yet."

"this----"

Hideki Sato carefully picked up the processor and examined it.

The new packaging process makes it a completely different level in terms of texture from the old black block.

Even without looking at its performance, you can tell that this thing is definitely not an ordinary product.

He naturally already knew that Lin Lixin had taken over CSK's shares and become Sega's largest shareholder.

It's not surprising that the president was able to obtain such top-secret information.

only----

-

Hideki Sato has been with Sega every step of the way to where he is today.

Although he didn't dare to say it out loud, Hideki Sato actually harbored a small expectation in his heart.

As President Hayao Nakayama gets older, he will inevitably need to find a suitable successor.

Sega is a typical large company where powerful factions vie for dominance.

Amidst this chaos, he had already subtly secured the top spot in the home console division.

In other words, he would be one of the candidates to succeed her.

However, now GAMENOVA has intervened, and its first move is aimed at these factional struggles.

In no time, Sega, which had been in disarray, was forcibly brought together.

The problem was solved, but Sega was no longer the same Sega.

Hideki Sato sighed silently to himself.

There was resentment, sorrow, and a trace of resentment.

If Genesis had been better, and if the other development staff had worked harder, perhaps Sega wouldn't be in its current predicament.

Hideki Sato looked at the chip that even Sega couldn't possibly produce, no matter how hard they tried, and shook his head helplessly.

Regardless of the circumstances, I must do my best to fulfill the tasks assigned to me by President Hayao Nakayama.

I briefly powered on the test platform provided by GAMENOVA and conducted some tests.

Looking at the parameters on the screen, Hideki Sato froze for a moment, then jumped up from his chair.

Astonishing!

What does it mean to be breathtakingly amazing!

Since I joined Sega in 71, I have hardly spent a day without dealing with these electronic products.

From mechanical pinball machines to the latest Genesis, it's no exaggeration to say that my career has been Sega's career with home consoles.

Even so, he had never seen or even imagined that such a thing existed in the world.

"8————80MH————?!"

Besides its terrifying clock speed, all its other parameters are also completely outclassed.

Crush the whole world!