America: The Godfather of Game Development

Chapter 330 How powerful is your Eagle Brother?

Northern California, about 30 kilometers north of San Francisco.

This is one of the most famous attractions in all of California, Point Reys National Beach.

A national park covering an area of ​​71,000 acres.

Of course, locals prefer to call it a birdwatching paradise.

"Goodness, if this were in a civilization, wouldn't it at least add 2 culture points and 2 faith points to the surrounding tiles?"

Lin Lixin got out of the car and looked at the amazing natural scenery in front of him, marveling at it.

Of course, he didn't come here today to slack off or go on vacation.

Hmm—okay, there is indeed such an ingredient in it, but it's definitely not all of it.

The more important purpose, of course, was to see for myself some of the prototypes of the characters in "Angry Birds".

The reason for sending the island over so early in the morning was naturally for this purpose.

December is the perfect time to photograph bald eagles.

Every year from December to March, California welcomes bald eagles that migrate from the north.

With a little bit of professional equipment, you can easily capture its magnificent form.

Since 1782, it has been the national bird of the United States, and has become a representative image of the United States in various films and television shows.

(Eagle.jpg)

In the Angry Birds game, there is a character designed based on it.

Invincible Divine Eagle!

With just one can of fish, Brother Eagle can make all the pigs fly! Nobody dares to challenge him.

I don’t know if this can be considered an outward expression of the developer’s own stance, but this design was indeed very popular with North American players at the time.

In fact, Rovio, the developer of Angry Birds, is not an American company, but an entertainment media company located in Finland, in Northern Europe.

In a sense, this company does have a tiny bit of connection with GAMENOVA.

Or rather, it has some connection with Sega.

In 2023, Sega, which had by then completely withdrawn from physical business, invested 7.06 million euros to acquire Rovio and make it a subsidiary of Sega Europe.

Regardless, the Mighty Eagle is a very interesting design and definitely worth keeping.

However, NovaSwift doesn't have the communication features of the future, so it will definitely be difficult to make money through in-app purchases.

Following the location Kojima told him, Lin Lixin found Hideo Kojima and John Carmack on the lighthouse lookout tower.

This place should be a whale-watching spot where tourists gather, but it's not the season yet, so there aren't many people.

"Give me that Nikon F4!"

Kojima's gaze fell into the distance through his glasses, and suddenly his eyes lit up. He quickly shouted to Carmack beside him.

"Nikon? Which one is Nikon? They all look exactly the same—"

"I just bought that one a few days ago, and I even showed it off to you!"

Xiaodao had no time to pay attention to him; his eyes were fixed on the bald eagle in the distance, afraid of losing it if he wasn't careful.

"Well----"

Carmack could hear his anxiety, but he was really at a loss. When it came to these areas that he wasn't interested in, he really hadn't studied them at all.

Suddenly, a hand reached out from the side and picked up the Nikon camera.

"Alright, you can rest now."

The person who came was naturally Lin Lixin.

He took out his camera and casually attached the 600mm-f/4 super telephoto lens, which looked like a cannon.

In this day and age, photography is definitely a luxury that only the wealthy can afford.

A simple press of the shutter button can cost tens of dollars.

Fortunately, this is also one of GAMENOVA's areas of strength.

Kojima took the camera, skillfully adjusted the focus manually, and then turned on the motor-driven film advance.

In less than a minute, an expensive roll of Kodak film was used up.

Although the film still needed to be developed, Kojima already looked satisfied and let out a long sigh of relief.

I've been waiting here all day, so I should have taken some satisfactory photos by now.

"It's a pity there are no cardinals this season; they should be the main attraction."

Lin Lixin gazed at the black dot in the distance.

We were lucky; we happened to run into a bald eagle hunting for food.

Although the Angry Birds game features extremely cartoonish visuals, it is quite particular in its choice of real-life prototypes.

Putting aside the invincible divine eagle, even the birds in the main characters' group each have their own prototypes.

The most classic example is Red, whose prototype is also a well-known bird in America.

The North American Cardinal, also known as the Cardinal Bird.

Their living range extends north to Canada and west to Mexico.

Several U.S. states have designated it as their state bird, making it a star bird in North America.

Lin Lixin took out his notebook and sketched the outline of an invincible divine eagle on it with a pen, then wrote its name next to it.

Ethan

A name that is very American.

"Speaking of which—how exactly should this powerful finishing move be designed?"

In this era without in-app purchases, the kind of paid canned fish that we see in later generations could never have been made.

To implement such a consumable technology, he really had to use some tricks.

Thinking of this, Lin Lixin took out his mobile phone and dialed a number.

The next day.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Handler."

Lin Lixin, carrying a briefcase, met Ruth Handler, the founder of Mattel.

Lin Lixin had indeed not seen her for a long time since they parted ways in Denver.

Her reputation in the toy industry has indeed helped Lin Lixin many times.

Toys from The Sims, toys from Cut the Rope, and relationship information from Denver —

As a veteran in the business world with fifty years of experience, her network of relationships, while not necessarily extensive, is certainly sophisticated.

In comparison, although Lin Lixin also has his own influence in various fields, it is mainly concentrated in science and technology innovation, and he is still relatively young overall.

"Mr. Lin, how have you been?"

Ruth wore her usual warm smile.

She was naturally very satisfied with Lin Lixin as her partner.

Because of this relationship, even Mattel's stock price rose accordingly.

After all, before meeting Lin Lixin, Mattel's core business consisted only of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels.

While both of these can support good expectations, they have also reached their limits.

To continue to break through, we must seek further expansion, whether by creating a new brand or transforming our business.

Lin Lixin's emergence was undoubtedly the opportunity that Mattel had been looking for.

Although Ruth Handler has long since stepped back from the limelight, her reputation still allows her to easily influence the company's direction.

The top player in the gaming industry!

With just one of those IPs at hand, they could make them drool with envy, their mouths watering all the way from Seattle to San Diego.

And GAMENOVA did not disappoint them. The image of OmNom has now spread to every corner of the country along with Cut the Rope.

You can see children playing with 0mNom toys wherever you go.

only----

In Ruth's heart, what she truly cared about was the IP that GAMENOVA clung to tightly and refused to let go of.

Pokémon

Comics, animation, related toys, game derivatives —

After such a long period of operation, Pokémon has long become one of the most valuable IPs in GAMENOVA's portfolio.

If Mattel can secure its license, it won't have to worry about business expansion for the next ten years.

Unfortunately, Lin Lixin has always been very cautious about licensing his intellectual property.

Unless you have a very suitable partner or a real need for it, getting a commercial license is simply unthinkable.

"Mrs. Handler, as you can probably guess, the reason I've come to see you this time is naturally about the new toy."

Regardless of what Ruth is thinking right now, Lin Lixin's purpose for this trip is very pure.

He reached into the suitcase and slowly took something out.

Before the thing could be fully taken out, Ruth's pupils contracted.

The first thing that catches the eye is a thin, olive-shaped tail, followed by pink cat ears and a round head.

Ruth didn't even need Lin Lixin to take it out completely before she recognized what it was.

The world's most mysterious Pokémon, which once caused a great stir with its massive search event.

"No. 151——.——"

This is actually a dream figure?

"It came in a hurry. This was 3D printed using rapid prototyping technology, so the details may look a bit rough."

Lin Lixin placed it in front of Ruth, turned it slightly so that the dreamlike thing was facing her.

The entire Dream is fixed on a small, flat cylindrical base, which has been deliberately designed with a center of gravity that makes it very stable when placed there.

I have to say, acquiring 3D-Systems was definitely the most cost-effective deal I've ever made in my life.

Despite the fact that the commercial value of SLA is still very limited, 3D-Systems is currently relying on GAMENOVA to support its R&D expenses.

However, the benefits of 3D printing technology are quite obvious.

If you want to create a model, simply send the completed model file into the machine, and it will quickly produce a test prototype.

This speed is terrifying.

You have to understand that in the past, if you wanted to make this thing, you would have to go to several manufacturers to get the molds made.

Whether it's cost or time, the profit is too much.

"Is Mr. Lin planning to... authorize Mattel to produce Pokémon IP-related toys?"

Looking at the dreamlike scene before her, Ruth could only think of this one answer.

If that's really the case, then Mattel's next spring is about to arrive.

"Oh? No, that's not it. I have other plans for Pokémon."

Lin Lixin was taken aback for a moment before realizing that the other party seemed to have misunderstood. "I originally planned to bring the Invincible Divine Eagle, but the modeling process was delayed a bit, so I'll just use this one as a substitute for now."

"The Invincible Divine Eagle?"

"Yes, it's our new IP. We'll be talking to Nickelodeon about it later."

Lin Lixin smiled, reached out and picked up the Dream on the table, flipped it in his direction, so that the base faced Ruth.

Ruth raised an eyebrow, only then noticing that a pattern had been laser-engraved on the base.

"Barcode?"