173 < EP. 41: D-125 (4) >

Early summer 1995.

The gaming industry is currently experiencing a significant transition.

In fact, this transition period has always been a persistent problem with the next generation of consoles, but this time it seems to be a more severe year.

Anyone with a little bit of knowledge of the game's history would have noticed, but this was the most important time in the mid- '90s to design existing 2D games and next-generation 3D games.

Unlike traditional 2D games that had only manipulated characters on either side, 3D games that were moving transversely in virtual space were enough to give users a different feeling.

Ironically, it was the NEGA that was behind the most supplies of console companies that were now wrinkling the 3D gaming market, starting with the first real fighter in the arcade center. And it's like the NANCO is following right after him.

Since they've both been studying polygonal games for a long time, how far ahead do they feel?

In addition, Minten also used polygon graphics in the superfamily.

Well, how does 3D graphics get back into the superfamily? Well, there's nothing you can do about it if you don't have the texture to overlay it with polygons... but to be honest, it's hard.

But A-ZERO, the shooter. In Shigeru's "The Legend of Karin" title screen, three triangles in 3D come together to form one tri force, a memorable moment for any gamer…

However, polygons were difficult to deal with at that time, and even if it was done, the results could never be said to be beautiful, so it was just a technology that was ignored by developers.

Until we developed texture technology.

Textures are bitmap images that overlay the surface of the finished polygon graphic.

There are bones and muscles in the human body, and just as there is skin on it, the same technology is applied to polygons.

It was a very simple idea, like painting on a clay doll, but very few people in the industry were able to come up with such a clever idea at the time. No, even if I thought about it, the high-performance devices that would support that imagination were too expensive, but...

However, it was time for the overwhelming graphics that were available over time and in the entertainment room to be found on the home console.

That was the year 1995 that we are living now.

“As I said before, in the case of Saturn released from NEGA, it is basically a console based on precision 2D sprites. Designed for home use, for example, by the SMK's King of the Series or Samurai, which is currently the highest coin collection in the Arcade Center. ”

“Hmm...”

A university hall in Tokyo...

A few days ago, at the request of the principal, I held a seminar on the current gaming industry, where I was gathering students to lead the gaming industry in the future.

Thankfully, the Pentagon wants a job for its students.

But anyway, why is the brightness of the projector hanging from the ceiling so strong? I'm not even gonna weld it, but it's gonna make my eyes hurt...

I closed my tired eyes slightly and continued to explain, but one of the students in the auditorium raised his hand.

“Hey… but isn't the most popular game in the country right now a real fighter? Why have you built a console based on 2D sprites, even though you have such polygon technology? ”

“Before I answer that, could you... turn down the projector? Two seminars and you'd be blind. ”

The seminar, which was somewhat formal, felt a little sluggish with my jokes. The teacher in charge of the projector flushed her face and lowered the brightness of the projector.

“Now I can see the faces of the students. So let me start by answering a question. Oh, but first, one more thing. And I'm here to tell you that all the stories I tell about the NEGA and Mintendo are personal conjectures. I can only tell you about Peck for the Pentagon, but I could get sued for embezzlement in other companies. ”

“Hahaha!”

“Now, let's actually write a novel about the NEGA Saturn. First of all, as you just asked, the most popular game in the country right now is" Real Fighter. "Has anyone here recently launched Real Fighter 2? ”

Then, almost the placental male students who were gathered in the large hall raised their hands.

I'm almost done trying to figure out who's a gamer...

“Yes. I expected quite a bit, but the boys did most of the work. Now, the sex ratio in the auditorium is about 8: 2, so almost 80 percent have tried RealFighter 2. ”

My words echoed once more in the hall.

Don't laugh at me... I thought I'd never been in here before, and I thought I was doing some kind of military air show.

“How did you compare to Real Fighter 2? ”

“The graphics have improved tremendously. ”

“Texture improved. ”

“Sarah and pie are beautiful!! ”

... I agree with what you just said. Obviously not a person at all... but not the answer I was looking for.

“The frame has gotten very soft. It was a little snowy...”

I flicked my finger at the last student's remarks and put the microphone in my mouth.

“That was a very good point. Frames. So obviously, if there's a difference between existing 2D games and current 3D game development, it's keeping a constant frame. ”

I drenched my throat with cold bottled water prepared on the top of the statue and continued to speak again.

“Recent research from a university has shown that the human brain is remarkably different in recognizing 2D and 3D. A simple example is if you're watching a TV animation, a Dragon Ball. Anybody know how many frames a Monkey King uses per second in a Dragon Ball? ”

“We know about 15 to 20 frames per second. In combat, sometimes up to 10 frames drop. ”

Aww, I wonder who goes to the gaming department...

“Yes, that's right. Whereas in the case of" Aladdin "or" Lion King, "made in Disneisa in the United States, we use between 48 and 60 frames per second per scene. It's showing very gentle movements relative to the Dragon Ball. ”

Then the students who thought of Disney's animation in their heads silently nodded to my words.

“I'm not here to tell you that the Dragon Ball is worse than Disney's animation. When you look at the Dragon Ball, is there anything you can't imagine or understand that you don't have enough frames? There's probably no one like that here. And what's interesting about the human brain is that, in a 2D cartoon, the human brain can imagine an empty middle frame. So even in rough, frameless scenes, you can't feel the camouflage when you watch TV at all. But 3D is a little bit different. The moment the frame drops because it uniquely recognizes 3D objects in the human brain as one object. He said he was going to feel very awkward. ”

“Ahh…”

“In other words, 3D games require you to maintain at least 28 frames throughout play so that you don't get overwhelmed by the game. The NEGA recognized this and secured the real Fighter 2 frame at 60 frames, which is twice the size of the masterpiece. ”

“Oh...”

“Huh? Doesn't that mean the 3D technology of the NEGA is at its best? So why is Saturn 2D-based? ”

“Hmmm, the story is back to square one, and as the student has just said, only companies in the gaming industry who have IP to 3D fighting games are recognized for their skills. NEGA and NANCO. But at the time when the NEGA was planning Saturn, it was a time when 2D games were going to shine. Lowered by Mintendo's super family and our Pentagon's Raon in the past generation, the NEGA was the first to step away from the 16-bit console business. And we launched the solar system project to get a 32-bit market. ”

“Solar System Project? ”

“In Saturn, NEGA, Saturn was originally the name of the project. I've been working on a series of projects in alignment with the solar system, and one of the most responsive projects was the Saturn Project, which was the sixth one. And when word got out that one of the magazines was creating a new breed of machinery for the NEGA, the NEGA officially announced a device, literally called Saturn. In fact, depending on which project won, it could be a NEGA Mercury, or Jupiter. ”

“Oh, I see...”

“Of course, when Saturn was first published, their reactions were hot. It was full of anticipation that the next generation of devices would be able to enjoy most of the arcade centers' most popular 2D fighting games at home. Of course, the NEGA was aiming for exactly that, so I didn't doubt that the new console would succeed. However... in late '93, one of the‘ Real Fighters' produced by Suzuki, a signage producer at the NEGA, was a huge hit at the arcade center. But on the contrary, the Saturn Project was hit pretty hard. ”

I added more details about the official specs of the NEGA Saturn by smiling slightly at the seminar-focused students' faces with curious expressions.

Students who had not heard so much about the gaming industry had not noticed that it was too late to take a break from my story.

I nodded slightly at the teacher's gesture, crossing my hands in X from the left side of the stage, and looked at the watch.

“Huh? I didn't even know time had passed. Before finishing my novel-like story about Saturn, before the first part of the seminar, the biggest minority in Saturn's failure was Mintendo Sensoni... and Tim Kills, who was neither our Pentagon nor our producer. You can see that. On top of that, the next generation of consoles is the" Gear Station "of Sensoni because of NEGA's" Real Fighter. "After a short 15 minutes of relaxation, part 2 explains Sensoni's gear station…”

I take off the microphone for a moment and pause the tempo. I opened my mouth, smiling slightly at the students.

“The next generation of our Pentagon... television cradle console will be here today. ”

“Hurrah!!!!!!! Oh, my God... I'm presenting here!? I'm on the stairs.”

“Crazy... awesome. Amazing!!"

In my last words, the students in the auditorium screamed like screams. At that moment, the atmosphere of the auditorium boiled to the point that I told him to go away at the CES event.

No one would have thought to announce a new type at a university seminar like this...

I finished swallowing the remaining water on the single phase and put my bloody mouth up.