1988 Retro Game Tycoon - Chapter 43



Only Noblemtl

Episode 43 – Codename A1 (aka Jjambbong Board)

Lee Ki-cheol started developing an arcade board for our company.

But my offer to join Starbeat was rejected outright.

“Company? What are you going to do with that? Done. It’s annoying.”

“So you’re going to continue operating Iron Age and even make arcade boards?”

“No, I have a conscience. I received this much money. I will only repair the ones I received and not take on new work until the circuit boards are made.”

“What if you finish the circuit board? Then you have to make the game console. Do you plan on doing that alone here?”

“I’ll think about that later. And I’m more comfortable alone. I’d rather work alone than with people I don’t understand. I work when I want to work, and rest when I want to rest.”

“You mean, wearing weird goggles and doing Duck Hunt? You can do that at our company too?”

“But I don’t like it. Look at this. The nagging is already starting. Don’t worry. I’ll make the arcade boards a total mess. And this is where I’m comfortable and used to. If I need parts, I can get them all with a phone call, and if I get stuck at work, I can just squabble with the old men and get through it again.”

“Okay. Well then, do whatever you want. It’s important that the circuit board is pulled out well.”

“That’s right! That’s what’s important. I’ve got a few important things to look at. Look at this.”

Lee Ki-cheol laid out several circuit boards on the desk.

Sega’s System 16 and System 24.

Namco’s System II.

Taito’s F2.

Capcom’s CP system.

Nintendo’s VS. System, etc.

These are all consoles that were responsible for entertaining children in arcades until the 80s and early 90s.

The arcade system board is the main hardware that runs the game in the arcade game cabinet, excluding the monitor, speakers, game sticks, etc. that handle input and output.

In computer terms, it’s like a motherboard where all the major components are gathered.

The hardware structure of arcade games is not much different from that of computers or home game consoles. The motherboard contains the CPU, RAM, graphics, and sound processing chips.

In the past, the ROM chip containing the game was soldered onto the arcade board, so the game software could not be replaced.

So if you wanted to install a different game, you had to replace the entire system board, so the owner had to be very careful about changing games. Naturally, he would have been much more careful about purchasing games.

Now, most home consoles use a slot system, so you can just change games while leaving the motherboard as is.

Of course, the games that can be inserted into the slot are basically only games made by the motherboard manufacturer.

Sega games on Sega boards. Namco games on Namco boards.

The goal of an arcade game company is to make one system board that sells as many games as possible and to use it for a long time.

In a way, the way arcade games and home consoles operate is not that different. That’s why companies like Atari, Nintendo, Sega, and SNK (Neo Geo) made arcade games and home consoles at the same time.

“I’m also looking into arcade boards for the first time, and they’ve made it very easy. The JAMMA (Jamma) arcade association has standardized all hardware communication standards. No matter which company makes the board, if it complies with the JAMMA standards, you can just connect the connectors and it’ll work in any cabinet.”

“Good. Then we should make one too. If we just export the circuit board, arcades can just swap it out and use it.”

“Yeah, they’re smart and damn efficient. If it were the Yankees, they’d just buy a whole new cabinet every time they changed games. They’ve made it so you can just swap out the circuit board for any machine.”

“That’s why Japan is taking over the arcade market. They can focus on the games instead of fighting over useless things.”

“Anyway, that’s great. I see that most CPUs are based on the Motorola 68000. What about us? Should we just go with this? Or try something special?”

“No, we’re not at the point where we can do anything extraordinary with hardware yet. We need to take a bunch of proven technologies and put them together to create a board that’s great for the price.”

“Really? That’s unexpected? I thought you were going to use all the latest technology to make it the best board. Weren’t you joking last time?”

Lee Ki-cheol asked with a truly surprised expression.

“Of course I would like to do that too. However, our priority is to penetrate the market first. If we make a good board and throw in expensive parts and increase the RAM, the price will go up too much. It will be hard to sell since we are a new company, and if the price is high, it will be difficult to make an early attack. I don’t want to go bankrupt leaving behind a legendary board that transcends time.”

“Hmm, so you’re the CEO too, right? I don’t know much about business, but I think you’re right. Anyway, if it’s expensive, you think about it at least once more.”

“Yeah. And the latest technology hasn’t been tested yet. We don’t know where errors might occur. And durability is also a problem. We don’t have time right now. We need to get to the market as soon as possible, but we don’t have the time to seriously explore and develop new technologies. It’s not the time yet.”

“What’s the big rush? Who’s chasing you?”

“huh.”

“who?”

“Time.”

“Huh?”

“It’s almost the 90s. When the 90s come, everything will change. And that golden time will fly by.”

“Why are you, a little kid, talking like an old man?”

Lee Ki-cheol looked at me as if he found me strange.

“Well, but since I have a lot of money. Since you gave me a lot of research funds, it’s okay for me to say some weird things. Then I’ll take them all apart, pick out their strengths, and put them together to make a jjambbong board. Is that really what you want?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I don’t want the best board that can outlast its time, I want the best board that can fit its time. But make it as easy to upgrade as possible. Make it easy to add more RAM, add another auxiliary processor, you know what I mean?”

“As expected, it’s not going to be easy. There’s definitely a clue. Got it. That’s about it.”

“Please take care of me, hyung. If this goes well, I can try something truly new in the future.”

“Don’t worry. It’s just a Jjamppong board.”

Lee Ki-cheol snorted and pounded his chest.

I gave the code name A1 to Starbeat’s first arcade board production project, which is short for ‘Arcade 1’.

Lee Ki-cheol was the first to give it the nickname Jjambbong Board before it even had a code name, and honestly, I don’t think there’s a more fitting nickname.

Although it may start out as a mess, it will eventually become an innovative giant.

***

I returned to the company after finishing my first meeting with Lee Ki-cheol and the production of A1.

A company is truly a strange entity. As people increase, work increases on its own. It is as if work multiplies itself to fit the people.

As soon as I got back, I checked the progress of the interior design with Manager Park of the Human Resources Department and Manager Choi of Myeongseong Planning. The goal of the company’s interior design was to make it as bright and clean as possible without being too pushy.

I asked Manager Choi to install the emergency stairs that were in Saetbyeoljeom in the lobby of the company entrance. It was a perfect monument to remind us of our company’s starting point and to give a strong first impression to those who visit the company.

After the interior meeting, I received the distribution status from Mr. Oh and Modu Electronics.

Finally, is coming to Myeongseong Electronics and Jewoo Electronics dealerships.

Myungsung Electronics started selling Myungsung TV, Jemix V, and the package product in Seoul and the metropolitan area. It plans to expand nationwide based on the sales trend.

Jewoo Electronics sells at its dealerships nationwide. The number of sales locations has increased several-fold in an instant.

“Here is the catalog for this month from Myeongseong and Jewoo Electronics. They have included as a special item. They say they are getting a lot of calls asking about it.”

was included in a catalog packed with numerous home appliances such as TVs, VTRs, radios, washing machines, refrigerators, and stereos. How much money would it cost to advertise this much in newspapers and magazines?

is such a special case that it didn’t spend much money on advertising from the beginning, but advertising was done on its own.

“Please always check to make sure that you don’t run out of stock. If you run out, you can have the factory produce it right away.”

Now the units of shipment quantity have changed. I have no shortage of stock and have asked both Electronics and Mr. Oh to be careful.

“The final accounting of the Saetbyeol branch is over. And I need to buy furniture for the new office. I looked through the catalog and chose some. Please take a look.”

Manager Song, who is responsible for the company’s finances and household affairs, was given various financial statements one after another.

If I hadn’t hired that person, I would have been in real trouble. If I had, I would have been so overwhelmed with administrative work that I wouldn’t have even been able to dream of planning a new game.

“Phew… I finally have some time now.”

After talking about A1 and checking various progress, I finally had time in the late afternoon.

Now it’s time to step aside from being the CEO of a company and get back to being a game developer.

For the belt-scrolling action game , it was now time to design specific stage content.

The main character was decided to be ‘Kim Do-kwon’, a character based on the Jongno gang.

A fist on the road.

The appearance will be set with a cool striped suit and a bowler hat. This type of action game requires the main character to be cool.

It has to be the epitome of form and form.

I think it would be a shame if there was only one main character, so I’m thinking of adding two more characters to choose from.

One large, physical type, and one small, fast, speed type. Each has its own unique motions and actions that fit the character.

Now that we’ve roughly outlined the character, let’s move on to the stage.

First of all, since it is just a concept, I try not to place any restrictions on the idea as much as possible. If I am too mindful of the limitations of expression, my thoughts will become blocked.

Stage 1.

After learning of his friend’s death, Kim Do-kwon sets out to seek revenge. Kim Do-kwon’s ultimate goal is to find and fight the yakuza boss that his friend had an altercation with.

This game is a great action game that shows the long journey to find the Yakuza boss. I designed the stage from various angles while drawing the scene in my head.

It would be appropriate to start at a bar. First, we fight with some yakuza gangsters, and then we chase after the ones who escaped out onto the streets.

On the street, he beat up Japanese student soldiers who were harassing Korean schoolgirls, and he also beat up the police officers who had arrived. Then, he chased the runaways and entered the theater…

Yes, Stage 2 is a trap. The Yakuza have already heard the rumor and set a trap. There are countless enemies waiting for the protagonist. After defeating them and going up to the second floor, a group wearing judo uniforms appears, and to make matters worse, the theater catches fire.

Stage 2 boss is a judo champion. He grabs the protagonist and throws them into a fire pit. It’s a scary technique that reduces half of your health if you get it wrong.

The protagonist, who has defeated the boss with difficulty, jumps down from the second floor to avoid the fire.

Kim Do-kwon returns to the streets. This time, he receives a message from the yakuza telling him to come to the kendo hall.

Stage 3. At first, you will fight enemies with bamboo swords and wooden swords, but then a boss with a real sword will appear.

He defeats the boss, but he is not the real Yakuza boss. After hearing that the real boss is playing in a secret gambling house, Kim Do-kwon enters the tunnel leading to the underground gambling house.

Let’s not think about what kind of underground tunnels there are in Jongno in the 30s. A plausible production is important for a cool game.

In a dark underground tunnel, various scenes using light are possible. We face the various enemies we have encountered so far again, and our Kim Do-kwon intrudes into the underground gambling house. However, the Yakuza boss runs away again after fighting, and now we head to the final stage 5.

A magnificent Western-style building that looks like the Government-General of Korea. The Yakuza boss was under the protection of the Japanese Military Police. However, the protagonist, who will do anything to get revenge, goes to the Military Police.

A fierce battle takes place in a stone building that is completely different from before. Here, enemies that shoot guns appear, making the game much more difficult.

And Kim Do-kwon finally faces the Japanese military police captain and the yakuza boss rushing at him at the same time, and fights both bosses at the same time!

The main character, who leaves the military police and frees innocent people who were imprisoned in the detention center. The final ending is when he completes his revenge by climbing the mountain where he and his friend used to play together as children and scattering his friend’s remains.

“This should be just right. The final double boss should be fine too. The problem is the implementation.”

During the planning stage, you can come up with all sorts of ideas, but when you actually start making it, you always run into unexpected walls.

“This would be better for arcades first rather than Jemix, then ported to consoles later.”

No matter how much I calculated in my head, it didn’t seem like it would be easy to make it for Jemix.

In contrast, high school baseball games were relatively easy.

First of all, this doesn’t really need a story. It’s just a game where several virtual high school baseball teams compete in a virtual baseball tournament at Dongdaemun Stadium.

If there are four teams, it can be played in a full league format with three games, and if there are eight teams, it can be played in a tournament format with three games to reach the finals. Since baseball is a game where each game is important, winning in three games would be just right.

“Is four teams too few? If you’re going to do it multiple times, the more teams you have, the better. But then you’ll have to create eight more teams, which will increase the planning. Should we just go backwards?”

Usually, games are planned first and then programming begins.

But since this is a baseball game, I think it would be okay to create a baseball game first and then think about the planning later. The way baseball is played is already set.

OK, let’s make a baseball game first and worry about the rest later.

But at least the title has to be hot. I added the title to the baseball game plan.

This is a title that absolutely must have an exclamation mark.

All over the country, baseball-loving, passionate baseball boys can become fastball pitchers and home run hitters just by playing this game.

I couldn’t help but laugh when I thought about the cheering and feeling sorry while throwing, hitting, and running with my friends.

“This doesn’t even need a prototype. Let’s get right into coding.”

I quickly put together a plan and started programming the baseball game right away.

It’s been a few weeks since I finished . I think it will be a good job if I oil it before my hands get stiff.

After all the employees left work, I was left alone in the office, typing away at my keyboard.

My fingers also moved quickly to the 16-beat rhythm.