America: The Godfather of Game Development

Chapter 227: Not a buddy, is this where it ends?

June.

Lucasfilm suddenly announced a short, cryptic video on television.

That was an AT-AT.

A giant armored vehicle from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, an all-terrain armored walking machine.

However, unlike the one in the movie, this AT-AT's movements are incredibly smooth.

It's worth noting that in the movie "The Empire Strikes Back" seven years ago, the AT-AT was a walking machine with stiff movements created using stop-motion animation.

But in this short film, its foot movements, including lifting and lowering its feet, and the mechanical movements at its joints, are highly fluid.

The moment they saw it, the same question flashed through the minds of every Star Wars fan.

Did Lucasfilm actually make a real AT-AT?

The movement of this thing feels completely natural, a world of difference from previous versions.

But everyone soon realized that things were much more exaggerated than they had imagined.

Because after the AT-AT walking animation, the screen flashed, revealing an uncolored and unrendered version.

It was noticeably rougher, with only a white model there, mechanically moving its limbs.

Then, the set design disappeared.

The amount of content on the screen gradually decreased until only a rough 3D model remained.

Finally, the screen slowly faded to black, revealing the logos of Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic.

It was only then that everyone suddenly came to their senses.

Was that AT-AT walking animation just now actually done entirely with CG?

How is that possible?

However, before anyone could utter a sound of surprise, the two logos on the screen disappeared, and a name appeared that surprised everyone.

[Powered by GAMENOVA]

(Powered by GAMENOVA)

this----

This is huge headline news!

In other words, the technologically advanced promotional video we just saw was produced by Industrial Light & Magic with the technical support of Gamenova?

Not surprising then.

Why release such a strange PV at this particular time?

It's important to know that neither Lucasfilm nor Gamenova are publicly listed companies.

Such a promotional video may only serve to attract investors.

But GAMENOVA is a cash cow; it's not short of money at all.

Who benefits the most from the release of this promotional video?

On the contrary, it was 20th Century Fox, the distributor of Star Wars.

This short film alone caused Fox's stock to surge by several percentage points that day.

Many people speculate that this is an early publicity campaign for the new work.

Could it be that after two consecutive years of spin-offs in 84 and 85, the main Star Wars story is finally about to be released?

Even though it's still a spin-off film, the new imaging technology brought by GAMENOVA is enough to make this movie a great work that will be remembered in film.

Meanwhile, Gamenova and Lucasfilm were too busy to pay attention to anything else, and were working intensively on the development of Command & Conquer.

The entire scriptwriting was entrusted to George Lucas, who was a director and screenwriter by training.

And Lucas did not disappoint Lin Lixin.

After receiving the gameplay demo, I produced a decent script in just one week.

The entire game's world is presented in the form of side stories and spin-offs.

The next task was to have Industrial Light & Magic, which had just received a boost from the MicroNova workstation, handle the special effects production.

Although Command & Conquer is nominally under the current Blizzard Entertainment umbrella.

However, GAMENOVA mobilized all its available manpower for this project.

Will was naturally still in charge of writing the human-machine AI, while Sid returned to the game after a long hiatus since Civilization, meticulously refining some of the designs for Command & Conquer.

With the technical support of Lin Lixin, the development of the work progressed by leaps and bounds.

So, after two weeks of uproar, Lucasfilm dropped another bombshell at the end of June.

This time, GAMENOVA finally stepped out of the shadows and collaborated with Lucasfilm to release this film.

To be precise, it's a promotional video for the game.

In deep space.

This story takes place during the Imperial calendar.

[Unrecorded star sectors]

A dilapidated YT-1300 light cargo spacecraft slowly passed by.

[Buzz—Our hyperspace engine has malfunctioned—Buzz—]

[If anyone can hear this—buzzing—God!—]

Accompanied by intermittent radio communications, the YT-1300 swayed and wobbled as it headed toward the enormous planet.

【Kyber Crystal————】

A few days later, a huge engineering vessel slowly landed, and a large vehicle resembling a hovercraft emerged from its cargo hold.

Then, the screen suddenly switched to actual gameplay footage!

The cursor appeared and selected the large vehicle.

[MCV! Reporting in.]

According to the subtitles shown below.

MCV is short for Mobile Construction Vehicle.

Boom—

The MCV emitted a mechanical sound and suddenly began to deform on the spot.

After a dazzling array of texture animations, the original vehicle transformed into a massive building.

The building still bears the indistinct insignia of the rebels, indicating that it belongs to the rebel alliance.

There are two vertical rows of slots on the right side of the screen.

After the MCV is expanded, an option called "Power Plant" will appear.

The box window in the upper right corner flickered a few times, and then a video shot entirely by real people was played.

The pretty girl was wearing listening headphones and sitting in a place that looked like a spaceship cockpit.

[Commander, the Imperial Mining Association has discovered this Keber Crystal.]

Commander, we need a group of soldiers.

Once the power plant is placed on the map, a new option appears in the tabs.

[Barracks]

Obviously, to train soldiers, it is necessary to first establish a barracks.

After a while, a group of hastily trained militiamen were all ready.

Drag the cursor across the screen, and a box will select them all.

Then the cursor pointed to a point in the distance, and the entire squad began to march towards the target location like an orderly army.

There, a group of Imperial Army stormtroopers dressed in standard white armor were already stationed.

It seems a violent conflict is inevitable.

As if to enhance the atmosphere, the background music became increasingly exciting and rousing at this moment.

The player in charge of the operation was not to be outdone, and directly selected the militia group from before, pointing it at the Imperial Army!

咔」

The game screen abruptly stopped.

The screen suddenly faded to black, leaving only a vast expanse of starlight in the deep sky.

And a huge game title.

Command & Conquer: Dawn of the Kyber Crystal

"————?"

"!!!"

Dude, you broke down here?

Damn it, GAMENOVA, that bastard, how come every time they make a promotional video they make, it's so incredibly tantalizing!

What else is there to say?

The mere glimpse of information revealed just now was enough for all the players to shout out that phrase they've said countless times already—

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY! ! !

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