novelODS Chapter 55 Abandoning numerical growth, embracing item-driven growth!
Chapter 55 Abandoning numerical growth, embracing item-driven growth!
Processor designs in this era are incredibly diverse, and there is still no unified standard.
There are quite a few chips like the Z80 that focus on multiple functions.
Of course, there are also cheaper, lower-end products like the 6502, which have fewer features and lower performance.
What Lin Lixin did was to rely on the technical advantage brought to him by the skill of "the art of language" to bypass the need for complex instruction sets.
If there isn't a suitable high-level programming language, then I'll just write one myself.
"In my opinion, RISC is the future trend. When making a processor, we should focus on making it faster and more specialized."
Lin Lixin paused, then suddenly changed the subject.
"But I'm here today for something else."
"I want to customize a new 8-bit CPU with a frequency of at least 4.19MHz, and in addition, the power consumption must be as low as possible."
Compared to complex instruction sets, reduced instruction sets have another important advantage: their power consumption performance.
After removing a large number of redundant program assemblies, the number of components on the chip is greatly reduced, so that it does not have to consume resources to maintain that part of the content.
Richard was startled.
He already had a rough idea of what kind of device a small, low-power processor would be used in.
……
The development time of a game is a very mysterious thing.
Some games seem to have a lot of content, but they are actually made very quickly.
Some games may seem to have few scenes, but they require a lot of time to design algorithms and adjust values.
Zelda has both.
It took Sam more than a month to input the entire world map into the project.
Lin Lixin and Carmack also implemented most of the game's underlying system.
"Now I understand why you need floppy disks..."
Sam finished drawing a maze room and stretched lazily.
With so much content, if it were stored in an EPROM, a single cartridge would cost a fortune.
"You're wrong, Sam," Carmack said bluntly, dismissing Sam's casual remark.
Sam's serious attitude made his lips twitch slightly, but he really couldn't do anything about it.
Damn it, this guy is not only a superb programmer, but also has a great understanding of hardware, and he's even better at playing games than me!
"Uh, so what brilliant ideas do you have?"
"I think... it's because it can write data, which is the essential feature that EPROM cannot replace."
The two looked in Lin Lixin's direction, where a peculiar image was displayed on his screen.
The entire screen is divided in two: the lower half is the game map drawn by Sam, and the upper half is the UI interface with a pure black background.
At first glance, the most eye-catching feature is naturally the hollow triangle pattern in the middle.
According to Lin Lixin, this thing is called "Triangle Force" and is the "main quest" of this game.
The player's goal is to collect all the lost tri-forces and defeat the final boss—a very simple, classic teenage adventure story.
Above the triangle, there are two squares.
The label on the left reads "Inventory (Backpack)".
On the right is a large box containing icons of boomerangs, bombs, and bows and arrows.
Below that are a complex array of attributes.
From the radar minimap used in Metal Gear Solid to the uniquely presented health bar, the entire screen is filled with a variety of complex elements.
Hearing their discussion, Lin Lixin slightly raised his eyelids and nodded.
"It is indeed for the sake of the archiving mechanism, but the large capacity of the floppy disk is also key."
The main point is to say something that's essentially meaningless, and to treat everyone equally.
"The state management in this game is very complex, and the password-based save technology we used in the past is no longer feasible."
The progress of each dungeon, the fate of each boss, the acquisition status of items, Link's maximum health, and the amount of Lubi held...
With so many variables combined, it's impractical to store the progress as a short number.
It cannot be compressed to only a few digits without loss of quality.
This is why Lin Lixin only began developing The Legend of Zelda after NovaBox was created.
This is also the biggest difference between arcade games and home consoles.
Unless Lin Lixin can develop IC card technology like the Aime card used by future Dance Moe players, arcade games will never be able to beat PCs and home consoles in terms of save and continue gameplay.
"That's true, there's simply no way to store all this stuff. And if we add Link's attributes... huh?"
Sam leaned closer, studying the scene closely, but halfway through his sentence, he suddenly noticed a problem.
How are Link's attributes represented?
The screen doesn't display any common attribute descriptions like 'level', 'attack power', or 'defense power'.
The only thing that comes close is the row of heart-shaped health bars.
This is very wrong.
It's completely different from what Sam knows about RPGs.
"Lin, did you forget to design the attribute panel? I'm good at that, I can handle that part."
Sam is a playful person, and in addition to video games, he naturally didn't miss out on traditional TRPGs like D&D.
In Sam's mind, in an RPG game, the protagonist should have a very clear growth potential.
This is usually represented by level and panel attributes.
This set of rules has been explicitly adopted in some D&D electronic versions developed by fan groups.
"Numerical growth? That's certainly a good idea."
Lin Lixin shrugged. If he were working on "Dragon Quest," then numerical manipulation would naturally be an important design element.
But he made Zelda.
"Sam, you've recorded so many maps, have you noticed anything?"
"What?"
"In every direction, on every road, there are no clear walls blocking the way."
Sam suddenly paused, recalling the maps he had drawn, and his eyes widened.
He suddenly understood what Lin Lixin meant by "a truly open world".
Except for roads separated by water or blocked by boulders, every section is freely passable.
"No f**king way..."
His eyes were fixed on the screen in front of him, and on the raft in his backpack.
"You mean... players can freely choose their own adventure route and explore the secrets of this world?"
"That's exactly right."
"So this raft... F**K! I get it, this is the 'limitation'!"
Sam suddenly realized what was happening, and his breathing became rapid.
Although the map seems to allow for free exploration, soft restrictions can be imposed by creating areas that require specific items to pass through.
The progression in this game is not about increasing numerical values, but about increasing abilities.
As players continuously acquire new abilities, their understanding of the world is constantly refreshed.
What was originally an ordinary coastline can be crossed to the other side after obtaining a raft.
What appears to be an ordinary mountain wall can be blasted open with bombs to reveal a hidden room!
If Lin Lixin's design were actually implemented...
Sam swallowed hard.
A heavy thud could be clearly heard in the room.
That would be a game that revolutionizes the world's understanding of RPGs.