VIP Early Access
Eksklusif untuk member VIP
Password Protected
Chapter ini dikunci dengan kode khusus
Chapter 3 : Dizzy Eyes and a Secondhand Arcade Cabinet
“Mysterious as hell…”
Sam curled his lips, becoming more convinced that Lin Lixin was just putting on an act.
Looking at the “Press Any Key to Start” message on the screen, Sam casually hit a button.
As a gaming enthusiast, Sam had experienced countless games and already possessed his own understanding of how video game controls worked.
Although the Commodore 64 keyboard didn’t have arrow keys, it only took a bit of experimenting to figure out the controls.
E ǹu m á.і̀ d̆
At first, Sam’s movements were clumsy. He awkwardly guided a Z-shaped block and stacked it near the edge.
Even though Jesse hadn’t explained anything, instinctively, Sam wanted to try filling up the bottom completely with blocks.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Before long, he figured out how to rotate pieces and drop them faster, and his control gradually became smoother.
“Aha! Now!”
When a cyan long bar finally appeared at the top of the screen, Sam cried out in relief and carefully dropped it into the gap he had deliberately left open.
Beep-boop.
Ŵ еb̀ n ǒ v̈ ẽl Е̇ num а́
The buzzer emitted an 8-bit sound effect.
The four fully completed rows on the screen flashed several times before suddenly disappearing. The blocks piled above them dropped downward all at once.
“So that’s how it works…”
At that moment, Sam was completely hooked. The hands that had already been preparing to stop returned to the keyboard as he immersed himself entirely in the game.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Lin Lixin sat happily beside the desk, sipping soda while feeding the VHS tape into the player.
Looks like this month’s pizza supply was secured.
W̄ë b́ n_о̃ vel̂ Ёnûm̆а
As Vader delivered the legendary line, “I am your father,” Lin Lixin heard several cries of anguish from behind him.
“No! That’s not true! That’s impossible!”
Turning around, Lin Lixin saw Sam looking practically deranged, clutching his head in disbelief as the blocks on the screen once again piled all the way to the top.
The score display on the side informed him that this attempt still fell far short of his personal best.
Sam didn’t understand why, but as the number of games increased, not only was he failing to improve consistently, he actually seemed to be getting worse.
Yet every time he saw the high score on the screen, he couldn’t stop himself from starting another round, wanting to challenge it again at his absolute best.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Every game made him feel like the next one would go better.
Simply put—
He was addicted.
Lin Lixin ejected the VHS tape and walked back over to Sam.
“Alright, alright. Your free trial period has ended. Please purchase pizza to renew your subscription.”
Sam snapped awake like someone emerging from a dream and practically leaped out of the chair in horror.
W ẽ bn оv̀ ӗl Eǹ u̇_m а
“What? Huh? Who am I? Where am I?”
His head felt like a complete mess. No matter where he looked, he felt like blocks were still falling before his eyes. Even his hands unconsciously twitched toward nonexistent keys.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
The sensation was strangely familiar. Lin Lixin completely understood it. In fact, anyone who had ever become obsessed with Tetris had probably experienced the same thing.
Even after turning the game off, it still kept playing in your mind.
“Holy…” Sam opened his mouth, forcefully swallowing the curse he was about to shout. “A masterpiece! Screw E.T.! This is what a real video game looks like! Lin, you’re a genius!”
Sam was both a computer science student and a veteran gamer. Naturally, he understood just how terrifying the value of this game really was.
W̃ еb̃n о v̀е̃ l E ǹûma
“You made this in BASIC?”
“6502 assembly.”
“…Damn.”
Sam’s mouth twitched. He couldn’t imagine how Lin Lixin had managed it.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
“You should sell this thing. You’re gonna make a fortune!”
Even E.T. had managed to sell 1.5 million copies. If it were this game called Tetris, how insane would the sales numbers become…?
W̌ е_b̆ñо̄ v̆е̌ľ Ë ńü ma
Sam didn’t even dare continue imagining it. He had a feeling that he had just witnessed history being made.
“I’m planning to port it onto arcade machines, but there are still a few issues I need to solve. It should all be done within the week.”
“Good! Good!” Sam repeatedly shouted in excitement, muttering to himself nonstop.
Only then did he remember why he had come over in the first place, smacking himself on the forehead.
“Oh right, I came to ask you to watch the movie. I got Star Wars. Let’s watch it together!”
“I already finished it.”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“?”
Sam froze on the spot and looked out the window, only to realize the sky had already gone completely dark.
The last time he had been this obsessed with a game was Space Invaders, the title that had sparked arcade fever across the world.
Now that he calmed down and thought about it carefully, there actually wasn’t any advanced technology inside Tetris at all. Everything it used had already existed before.
The moving blocks relied on the C64’s hardware sprites. Even the high-score system was practically copied from Space Invaders.
The game had no movie IP attached to it.
Ẁё b̄ñоv̈ ėl̊ Е n.ům̈ â
No cutting-edge technology.
And yet it was so fun.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
So addictive.
Why?
Sam questioned himself and was shocked to discover that the answer was hidden in plain sight.
Because it was fun.
Е̊ nu̇m а̌. i d
That was all.
It was simply fun.
Maybe this was what video games were always supposed to be.
…
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Several days later, Sunday.
Lin Lixin was in his bedroom, fully focused on optimizing Tetris further, when a loud series of crashing noises suddenly erupted outside the apartment.
Ê.n u.mа̀. î d́
This was accompanied by something heavy slamming into the floor and Sam’s miserable screams.
Confused, Lin Lixin opened the bedroom door.
Only to discover a wall blocking the entrance.
More accurately, a giant wooden panel completely obstructing the doorway.
Still yelping in pain, Sam poked his head out from behind the object and flashed Lin Lixin a grin uglier than crying.
“Look what I got for you!”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Only then did Lin Lixin realize it wasn’t a wall at all.
It was an arcade machine.
A complete arcade cabinet covered in dust, with Pac-Man artwork still painted across the exterior.
Clearly, this was an abandoned Pac-Man cabinet.
“My god, Sam, where the hell did you get this thing?”
There was so much dust on it that the moment Lin Lixin opened his mouth, he inhaled a faceful and nearly choked to death.
Ê n ûm̌ а . ìd̊
Sam looked delighted, as if he had accomplished something truly heroic.
“From the arcade on the corner! I found the owner and got this machine dirt cheap.”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
He slapped the top of the cabinet proudly, sending another cloud of dust exploding into the air and making Lin Lixin cough repeatedly.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to port Tetris to arcades? So I thought maybe I could help you get an actual machine. It’s secondhand junk, so it was super cheap.”
“Good lord. If you told me this thing had just been dug out of the ground, I’d believe you. Go get a rag already.”
Covering his mouth and nose, Lin Lixin carefully examined the arcade cabinet before him.
W̆ е̇ b̃ no̊_v̈ ê l̂ Ê ň ǔ m̌ а̄
He had to admit.
Sam had really given him one hell of a surprise.
(End of Chapter)
Konten Bab Belum Tersedia
Bab ini belum memiliki konten teks atau sedang dalam proses penyuntingan.
