America: The Godfather of Game Development

Chapter 339 Sega Needs a Mascot

Thanks to Yuji Nakayama's persistent arguments and Hayao Nakayama's mediation, the project was ultimately retained by AM8.

"Alright then, I was originally planning to have AM10 do it."

Lin Lixin sighed helplessly, making a regretful expression, then his face lit up with joy, "But since your AM8 was recommended by President Nakayama, your strength must be quite good as well."

"Of course!"

When it comes to the issue of ranking, Yuji Naka is naturally unwilling to budge an inch.

Of all the people in the company, the only one who could make him feel a little intimidated was probably Suzuki Yu, the grandmaster of AM2.

"Our AM8 is definitely the strongest in Sega (in the home console market)."

Today's experience has given Yuji Nakamoto a small sense of anticipation.

Today, although Mr. Hayao Nakayama still serves as the president of Sega.

But everyone knows who truly has the final say.

Even the major shareholder CSK was kicked out of the management team, so it goes without saying that Nakayama Hayao, who was already less secure than others, was even more in a precarious position.

Sega has long been a subsidiary of Gamenova.

But this is not necessarily a bad thing.

At least in Yuji Nakamoto's understanding, Lin Lixin seems to be a staunch advocate of home-use machines.

If I can perform well and leave an impression on Lin through this project, it will naturally be of great benefit in the brutal office struggles to come.

Nowadays, the only ones who can truly threaten his position are probably Yu Suzuki from the arcade faction and Hideki Sato from the hardware department.

Dude, with all these different factions, what faction has more say than the GAMENOVA faction?

If I were to become someone else's proxy—hehe—

"What are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing!"

"?"

Lin Lixin glanced at him with a puzzled look before continuing, "Let's gather everyone from AM8 together and discuss the character design."

If you want to create a pivotal IP tailored specifically for Sega, it's best to have the original design team involved.

Sometimes, self-made improvements may backfire and cause market backlash.

Before long, Yuji Nakamoto summoned the entire core team of AM8 to the meeting room.

Faced with this legendary figure who suddenly appeared at Sega headquarters, the others couldn't keep their composure as well.

"Ahem—Anyway, I believe Yuji Naka has already told you about this new project."

Lin Lixin displayed the demo to everyone, saying, "The reason I called everyone here is naturally to discuss the character design."

"My goal is simple: to create a mascot for Sega that can truly hold its own."

Actually, Sega does have its own mascot.

Back in 86, they released a game called "AleKidd Fantasy World Adventure".

And this AleKidd is actually Sega's current mascot.

But as a mascot, its competitiveness is really too poor.

It's so bad that it's almost negligible.

If Sam hadn't mentioned it to him, he wouldn't even have had any impression of the character.

To compete with Nintendo, this level of skill is simply mediocre.

The problem is quite evident just from the sales figures.

Super Mario Bros., Nintendo's flagship IP, has achieved a staggering global sales figure of over 4000 million copies.

Meanwhile, AleKidd, a fantasy adventure game on SMS, has only sold a little over 200 million copies.

If this is the work of a third-party studio, then this result is indeed quite good.

But it is benchmarked against works with core competitiveness such as "Super Mario Bros.", "Pac-Man" and "Mega Man".

As a mascot, it is a failure.

"What we need is a classic character that can be etched into the hearts of players, a character that they can never forget at first glance."

Lin Lixin tapped the blue square on the screen. "Blue! It must be a character with blue as its main color, specifically Sega Blue."

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"It's not just because it's Sega's signature color, but also because it's the color that can best challenge Nintendo."

If you had to choose a representative color for Nintendo, it would undoubtedly be red.

If you want to make a clear and conspicuous statement of confrontation, then using blue, the complementary color, is the most effective way to create a strong contrast.

"As for the name—"

Lin Lixin looked around but couldn't find what he wanted.

Seeing this, Hayao Nakayama, who was standing nearby, quickly took out a Japanese-made platinum fountain pen from his pocket and handed it to Lin Lixin.

"Hmm? Thanks."

Lin Lixin took the pen and casually wrote down a name on the paper.

【SONIC】

"SONIC, meaning sonic, perfectly matches the tone of our project."

"Sonic—"

Looking at the name, Yuji Naka nods thoughtfully.

It must be said that Chairman Lin is truly skilled in understanding the essence of souls.

Simply choosing a color and a name can instantly bring the character's image to life.

The character's artwork hasn't even been created yet, and nobody even knows what he looks like.

But these two simple steps made him realize the potential of this character.

He's definitely much better than AleKidd.

Yuji Nakamoto's gaze shifted to Lin Lixin, who was standing to the side, and his admiration for him surged even stronger.

Generally speaking, a person's abilities are ultimately limited.

Few people can be proficient in everything and excel at everything.

If a person is good at everything, then he is destined to be bad at everything.

Because energy is also limited.

Like myself, although I have shown extraordinary talent in programming, my artistic attainments are only at the level of a typical STEM guy.

Without the help of Naoto Oshima, the art director of AM8, he wouldn't have been able to create anything decent on his own.

Lin Lixin, however, was not like that.

Hardware, software, art, music, planning —

There's nothing he can't do.

Can you believe this guy even won a Grammy Award?

I'm afraid I'll live in his shadow for the rest of my life.

However—this is not necessarily a bad thing.

"Is there anything objection to this part?"

Lin Lixin glanced at everyone. "Regarding the design of this character, I think we need an image that can express a sense of speed, but—it must be simple enough."

This is crucial for a mascot.

A careful analysis of AleKidd, this failed mascot, reveals its obvious flaws.

It piles up too many elements, but lacks anything that leaves a lasting impression.

Redundancy and complexity actually make it lose its distinctiveness.

In this respect, GameFreak is undoubtedly the strongest.

"I will send Sugimori Ken to assist you later."

Designing characters with the most distinctive and memorable features using the simplest lines is Sugimori Ken's specialty.

"But before that, we certainly need to determine what the character will look like."

After saying that, Lin Lixin quieted down, indicating that everyone could begin to speak.

However, there is just too much information to process completely; it will take some time.

Lin Lixin wasn't in a hurry. While chatting with Nakayama Hayao about Namco's further plans, he waited for AM8's reaction.

Lin Li-hsin grinned at Nakayama Hayao's continued worry.

While Metal Slug is undeniably powerful, it also serves as a smokescreen, diverting many people's attention away from this remarkable machine.

In fact, this machine, with its uniquely simple architecture, was the true secret to Sega's victory.

As long as Hayao Nakayama doesn't fall ill like Hiroshi Yamauchi, theoretically this battle is a sure victory.

"Since Chairman Lin is so certain—"

Hayao Nakayama nodded helplessly.

Since Lin Lixin said it's possible, then it must be possible.

"Chairman Lin!"

Just then, AM8, who had finally finished the discussion, made a move.

Yuji Naka spoke first, breaking the silence: "What do you think of dogs? They're cute, and they run very fast."

"—A blue dog that runs very fast?"

Lin Lixin was speechless.

"President Lin—I also have an idea, but I don't know if I should say it."

The speaker was Naoto Oshima, AM8's art director, also known as the chief artist.

Lin Lixin glanced at his panel briefly, and unsurprisingly, it was another A-level.

It must be said that although Sega suffered repeated setbacks on the front lines, and was almost always beaten by Nintendo in every era, Sega did have something to offer in terms of talent reserves.

Yes, I should pack them up and take them to North America when I have the chance, so I don't have to come all the way here myself.

Tell me about it.

"yes!"

Naoto Oshima picked up a document from his hand; it was something Lin Lixin had casually given them earlier.

This is a handwritten draft that briefly explains the overall style and gameplay of the game.

Regardless of how ingenious the design concept was, it at least gave Naoto Oshima some inspiration in this gameplay.

"I noticed that, Chairman Lin, you said Sonic can curl into a ball and attack enemies by rolling, right?"

"That's right."

"In that case, I think maybe we can try—the hedgehog."

Upon hearing this, the other members of AM8 showed a strange expression.

While dogs might have some relevance to this theme, the hedgehog is rather inexplicable.

It does indeed fulfill the need for curling up to attack, but hedgehogs are not really related to speed.

This is really putting the cart before the horse.

"This is no ordinary hedgehog."

Naoto Oshima, noticing the disapproval of the others, offered an explanation: "It should be described as—an image? Imagine an American pilot whose hair was always blown back like thorns by the wind at extremely high speeds, earning him the nickname 'Hedgehog' from his comrades."

As if he felt that simply talking about it might not be enough to illustrate his point, he grabbed his pen, pulled over a sheet of white paper, and started drawing in front of everyone.

As the line drawing appeared before everyone, AM8, who had been discussing it, immediately fell silent.

Some images, just by standing there, can make people feel a sense of speed!

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