America: The Godfather of Game Development

Chapter 143 Approaching Games with a Director's Mindset

Chapter 143 Approaching Games with a Director's Mindset

"Hey, newbie, didn't I tell you not to be so loud?"

Hearing Kojima's surprised voice, his colleagues in the office spoke again, their tone displeased, "If there's a next time, you bastard, you'll have to kneel down and apologize."

"Sorry—" Kojima said instinctively, then suddenly realized something.

"Wait a minute, who are you talking to? I'm done!"

How can you play a good game with this bunch of bugs!

Los Angeles International Airport.

Despite the long flight of more than ten hours, Xiaodao's face showed no signs of fatigue from the journey.

Perhaps it was because his excitement prevented fatigue from taking hold of his mind.

Hmm—it could also be because GAMENOVA reimbursed their first-class airfare.

Xiaodao dragged a small suitcase out of the terminal.

I woke up to find myself transformed from a low-level developer at Konami to someone living in California.

He took a deep breath and gently pushed up the black-rimmed glasses on his nose.

"Mr. Kojima?"

A young voice rang out from not far away.

Looking towards the sound, Xiaodao saw a young white man, about the same age as himself, with brown hair and blue eyes, leaning against an American-made car.

"I'm Sam. Get in the car, it's still a while from here to Gamenova."

As he gazed at the scenery rushing past the window, Kojima's thoughts churned, recalling the astonished look and envious tone in GameFreak President Satoshi Tajiri's eyes.

"You'd better keep it up; you might actually get a chance to work at GAMENOVA headquarters."

Perhaps his experience with Konami was a blow to him.

Without a second thought, Kojima accepted the invitation and boarded the flight without even realizing it.

Only now has he calmed down a little.

Lin Lixin wants to see me? Does he really intend to recruit me?

-

Kojima shook his head, unable to accept this absurd answer.

GAMENOVA's headquarters is destined to be full of geniuses, and someone like me, an outsider with an economics background, probably won't have much of a competitive edge.

Why would someone travel so far to bring themselves here?

Kojima suddenly remembered the "SNATCHER" proposal he had submitted.

Could it be that they've taken a liking to your work and are planning to buy the license for development and adaptation?

This seems to be the most reasonable answer.

"If that's the case, then so be it—"

Rather than letting it be shelved or wasted on a low-spec machine like the MSX, being selected by GAMENOVA seems to be the best outcome.

"Yes, let's just change this to a table lookup, using addressing to locate the map file we've saved —"

When the two rushed back to the office, Kojima saw an Asian youth leaning against his desk, gesturing with one hand on the screen.

Beneath him was a thin, bespectacled man, also quite young, who was engaged in a heated discussion with the other person, occasionally typing a few lines on the keyboard.

The office is bright and clean, with large floor-to-ceiling windows that perfectly capture California's abundant sunshine.

Even without the lights on, the room is bright enough.

"Lin, I've brought the person over to you."

Upon hearing this, Lin Lixin finally raised his head and looked in the direction of the two.

"You've come at just the right time, Kojima-san," said Kojima from inside.

He patted Will Wright on the shoulder and added, "Let's leave it at that for now. Once the weaving tools are finished, we'll just pack them into a supplementary kit."

Will Wright is currently working at full speed to develop the American version of "Tycoon," also known as "Tycoon Tycoon."

To adapt to the local environment, the American version of the railway was replaced with a car theme that was more in line with the American people.

In addition, the map was also chosen to be set in California.

Will Wright is now in charge of integrating more maps.

With just a few minor modifications to the terrain-based techniques already used in Fire Emblem, it can be adapted for Tyco.

on.

"Are you interested in joining GAMENOVA?"

"?!"

The very first sentence was like a nuclear bomb exploding in the island's head.

Lin Lixin flipped through the proposal on the table, his gaze fixed intently on the still somewhat naive islander in front of him.

This is a true game director, not a game designer.

He combines cinematic language with video games, constructing games through various film and television techniques such as camera work, soundtracks, and editing.

In terms of immersion, they are absolutely top-tier creators who lead the way.

Both Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding series are imbued with Hideo Kojima's strong personal style.

Especially in terms of taste in song selection, few can match it.

Such a creator who approaches video games with a director's mindset may seem somewhat mystical and ambiguous in the 8-bit era, but when the 3D trend sweeps across the world, this mindset will become the core of creating an immersive experience.

"Mr. Kojima, while GAMENOVA is absolutely unique in the industry in terms of technology, it has never been mature in terms of screenwriting and directing."

Lin Lixin smiled; this really wasn't Hu Qin's opinion.

Throughout the entire development department, whether it's Carmack, Will, Sid, or even himself, they are all very rigid and typical "engineering" types.

If it's about designing algorithms or implementing technologies, any one of them could be a master.

But when it comes to art, to stylized creation, that becomes a blind spot for everyone.

The most typical example is Will Smith's "SimCity".

Although Lin Li-hsin commissioned GameFreak to produce several sets of art assets after joining GAMENOVA, which can be considered as some optimization.

However, the layout of the user interface and the interaction logic are so outdated that it's almost hopeless.

"Our next work has a strong stylized art style. From the art materials to the soundtrack, and even the narrative style and camera design, I hope it can be as perfect as possible."

If possible, Lin Lixin would naturally prefer that Kojima take over the Metal Gear series directly and begin preparing for the sequel.

However, the Metal Gear Solid IP truly took off during the PS1 era.

The current functionality is insufficient to support his ideas.

However, Lin Lixin does have a suitable project that he can work on.

And it just so happens to be one of the signature products of Konami, the company that owned Kojima.

"Mr. Kojima, although your proposal is cyberpunk, its narrative pacing is very interesting. I wonder if you're interested in gothic style or vampire legends?"

As he spoke, Lin Lixin took out a document that had already been bound from the filing cabinet.

Castlevania

This work can practically be called the ancestor of 2D side-scrolling indie games.

Hollow Knight, Ori, Dead Cells, Salt and Sanctuary, Animal Well —

It can be said that Castlevania and Metroid pioneered the great genre of exploration-based action games.

The game features semi-open, interconnected miniature maps, along with ability locks inspired by The Legend of Zelda, and RPG-specific character progression elements.

Ultimately, this led to the creation of Metroidvania-like games.

Fortune