America: The Godfather of Game Development

Chapter 333 Is this the legendary pay-to-win game?

Essentially, whether it's a traditional artillery game or a modified version like Angry Birds, they can theoretically be categorized as a type of puzzle game.

The most important aspect of this game is figuring out how to use the different types of birds assigned to each level to cause the most damage in the shortest number of steps.

Little Blue can split into three. Although it is small and lightweight, it is surprisingly effective in fragile environments such as large slabs of glass.

The yellow dart, which looks like a digestive aid, can accelerate your sprint and is very powerful for breaking through obstacles and piercing through wood.

Each bird species cleverly has its own most suitable application scenario.

By combining a few basic components that make up a map, an endless number of levels can be created.

With its star collection system and large level design, which are exactly the same as Cut the Rope, it can easily drag anyone into its carefully crafted flow state.

Kevin had never even played any games on the NX, so naturally he had no ability to resist its allure.

He only slowly came to his senses when he heard the intermittent cheers of children outside the window.

It's Christmas.

"call""

Kevin exhaled a long breath, his eyes sparkling as he stared intently at the birds on the screen.

"Thanks----

'

'

It was only then that Kevin noticed his pizza had gone cold.

The cheese, which was originally sticky and stringy, solidified into a lump, like rubber.

While the game is undeniably fun, it is still a puzzle game after all, and as the difficulty increases, Kevin gradually finds it a bit hard to keep up.

Just like this level in front of us.

The difficulty wasn't actually that high, and given how generous the bird was, he had already completed the game long ago.

However, he couldn't get that last star for a long time.

The score was just one bite off.

We must find a way to break those building blocks into pieces as much as possible while preserving enough birds.

To be honest, Kevin was getting a little annoyed.

I can understand that it was designed to keep the game challenging by requiring players to use their brains to solve the levels.

But at this moment, Kevin had no mind to think about those things.

His only satisfaction with this game can be summed up in one word: awesome.

Pure venting, without any complicated depth.

He wanted to blow the fortress to smithereens with a single shot, to see the buildings crumble and the pigs squeal in agony as they were crushed – that was what he wanted to see most right now.

Kevin reached for a slice of pizza, but then his eyes caught sight of something else on the table.

Invincible Divine Eagle.

Of course, there's also the matching optical barcode scanner.

"Uh-huh?!"

Well, I almost forgot about this thing.

I've been paying attention to this thing since early this morning yesterday, when I was sorting through the goods.

According to GAMENOVA's official statement, this device will enable the NS to scan barcodes.

Currently, only Angry Birds supports this feature.

"The Invincible Eagle—a true bird of prey, the national bird of America."

Although this guy has been cartoonized, he hasn't lost his intimidating presence at all. On the contrary, he's gained a bit of a silly charm, and even has a cute, unexpected quality.

One of its wings pointed out a finger, pointing towards the sky, its sharp beak was also raised, and its chest was puffed out, showing the demeanor of a strong being.

This is the most powerful warrior in Angry Birds. Do you dare to look it in the eye for even a second?

Kevin picked it up; there was a barcode engraved on the base.

Obviously, what I need to do now is scan the barcode into the game.

A loud eagle cry pierced the sound system, instantly making Kevin feel its reliability.

Okay, the sound was actually a real eagle's cry that Lin Lixin found for the soundtrack. The chick-like movements of the bald eagle were really not associated with the word "majestic".

Listen to the eagle's cry.jpg

In any case, after Kevin scanned the barcode into the game, the yellow dart on the slingshot seemed to give way and jumped down on its own.

Instead, there was a can of sardines.

"?"

Where is the eagle?

What's the point of giving them canned food?

"GAMENOVA must have had a deeper reason for doing this!"

Kevin tried pulling back the slingshot and tossing the can high into the air.

"Snap"

The can was slammed onto the concrete slab, but there was no reaction whatsoever.

"??"

'

What is this? A prank?

Fortunately, GAMENOVA never disappoints.

Kevin suddenly heard a faint cry of an eagle approaching from afar, growing louder and louder.

next moment.

A blur flashed across the screen.

boom-

Whether it was concrete, wood, or anything else, it was all smashed to pieces in one fell swoop at that moment.

Full-screen instant kill!

Isn't your Divine Eagle Brother awesome?

"WTF?"

Kevin stared blankly at the three-star score displayed on the screen, holding his handheld console in his hands, and fell silent for a moment.

Dude, isn't this a bit too much?

Almost instinctively, he raised the Eagle Brother again and scanned it against the scanner.

Unfortunately, this time the game only told him that the barcode had already been used, and didn't give him a new can.

"So that's how it is, a one-time use item. No wonder it's so powerful, that makes sense now—bullshit!"

Doesn't this mean that his last shot cost him twelve dollars?

Does that mean if you want to enjoy it more, you'll have to buy a new Eagle Brother?

"No! No way!"

If he had never used it in his life, that would be fine. But once you've really enjoyed it, it's not so easy to quit.

No matter how meticulously others design and build those challenging levels, all you need is a can of food, and you, Brother Eagle, can make them all fly.

The decompression effect is truly top-notch.

This is just too expensive.

Kevin sighed and reached for the pizza.

His gaze fell on the product code on the pizza box, and he suddenly paused.

"Can this thing be used for sweeping?"

滴」

Surprisingly, he actually succeeded in scanning it.

However, this time the scan didn't directly give him a can of fish.

Instead, a few feathers were added.

[Divine Eagle Points: 1/100]

"Does that mean—once you collect 100 points, you can get another can of food?"

Thinking of this, Kevin immediately perked up.

Although it can't give you a can with a single scan like Brother Eagle, it's still much more convenient since it can scan anything.

After decades of development, barcodes have become ubiquitous and deeply integrated into all aspects of life, and are not difficult to find.

After more than an hour of fussing, Kevin had cleaned up everything in the house.

After a simple test, he keenly noticed a small pattern in the points he obtained.

Products related to GAMENOVA tend to give more points.

For example, OmNom candies and game cartridge codes often give you a large amount of Eagle Points at once.

Other retail daily necessities are less impressive, with prices rarely exceeding single digits.

This absolutely cannot be a coincidence, right?

That's really cunning!

It's clear that GAMENOVA has packed a complete set of calculation methods into Angry Birds.

"Whatever, at least I'll have some fun again—"

GAMENOVA.

Sam stared blankly at the latest report, his expression vacant.

"Print—printing money machine—"

Sam is honestly used to the fact that his own first-party works always sell out.

Sam is actually quite accepting of things like first-week sales exceeding one million.

but----

This result is simply too exaggerated.

This is partly due to the boost from the Christmas shopping season, and also because of the success of games like Cut the Rope and Hill Climb Racing that preceded it for the Switch.

The relationship is based on a solid foundation of holdings.

But this achievement is more than enough for them to be proud of.

It's worth noting that even with such a aggressive marketing campaign, "Cut the Rope" only reached 500 views after a full month of build-up.

Achieved a total of 10,000 sets.

But Angry Birds did it in just one week.

It seems that it won't be long before it breaks the 10 million mark.

If the momentum continues, this game will likely become one of the best-selling titles in GAMENOVA's history.

It's probably only those absurdly popular games like Tetris and Pokémon that can rival it in sales.

However, what surprised Sam the most was something else entirely.

According to the market research report submitted by the marketing department, its largest audience is not the children that "Cut the Rope" is aimed at, but rather the working class who make up a larger proportion.

"That's strange, I thought it would be very similar to 'Cut the Rope'."

Sam scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.

Although the data sample size of the marketing department is not very large, there should not be such a large deviation.

"There's nothing to question."

Lin Lixin was fiddling with a small panel in his hand. Hearing Sam's words, he laughed and explained, "Its levels are more intuitive than Cut the Rope. There is no learning curve and it requires less mental effort."

That is indeed the case.

Sam nodded.

Sam was naturally involved in the level design this time, and he has a deep understanding of this point.

Lin Lixin specifically emphasized to him when the project was initiated that the levels should not be made too difficult to pass.

Whether you give them stronger birds or deliberately leave obvious weaknesses, you have to be proactive in the design.

"The three parts I prepared for the NS are all aimed at different needs."

Lin Lixin continued, "Hill Climb Racing is the simplest to operate, but it requires full concentration. Once you enter a state of flow, it is the best game to pass long stretches of free time."

"Cut the Rope is a puzzle game, so the level of focus required is lighter, and the level design is atomized enough that players can start and stop at any time, with the goal of providing a fun and in-depth challenge."

"As for the last one in this trilogy, Angry Birds is the easiest one."

"It doesn't have any penalties for failure, nor are the levels overly difficult."

"It targets players who need fragmented, quick entertainment during their commute, breaks at work, or between classes."

"Destroy everything, overpower the pigs, this is the simplest, most brutal, and most effective way to relieve stress."

"From its inception, it was designed to relieve stress and release pent-up emotions."

Under the heavy pressure of modern life, everyone really needs such an inexpensive dopamine-producing machine.

Even Lin Lixin had to admit that, regardless of the era, these simple, fun, and straightforward games are what the mainstream group that doesn't like to speak out "loves".

Great works are certainly fun, but not everyone has that much energy to devote to them.

The impact of Angry Birds is only just beginning to take hold.

However, its development speed exceeded Lin Lixin's expectations.

On the last day of December, GAMENOVA welcomed an unexpected guest.