game trailblazer

Chapter 335 Bohemia Studio

While Ken Kutaragi was looking for the next target to vent his anger angrily, Zhang Lexing had already received the investigation report from Ruiwende Business Consulting Company. Their trip went smoothly and they had already obtained relevant information about Bohemia Interactive Studio.

"...According to the investigation, Bohemia Interactive Studio was established in Prague, Czech Republic on May 1999, 5. Chief Programmer of Simia Interactive Studio, the latter is the project manager of the studio and the president of the company... Currently developing a FPS game based on the 'RealVirtuality (real virtual)' 12D engine..."

According to the survey report, the FPS game under development was first conceived three years ago. At that time, the Spanell brothers, who were still working in a game development company, had already begun to conceive a game that provided a high degree of fidelity and a wide range. Virtual environments and excellent visual effects of modern military weapons, as well as games that emphasize that virtual things have consistent shape details and physical characteristics with reality, were still very advanced in the era when 3D accelerator cards were just becoming popular.It is conceivable that when the two brothers reported their ideas to the higher-ups, the director of the company rejected the two whimsical boys cleanly.

……

"...This will be impossible within ten years! You should do the work at hand and stop thinking about it all day long!"

André Spanell still remembers how the director Drakes laughed at them. According to Drakes, the performance of the computer in the next ten years will not be enough to support the idea of ​​the Spanell brothers. This kind of real virtual, it is naturally impossible to invest the company's funds in such projects with no visible results.

André Spanel and Marc Ray Spanel did not give up their dreams, and after more than a year of persistence, the two of them returned to Prague, the Czech Republic, a place they were familiar with.Since they couldn't get the support of others, they planned to do it themselves to prove how shortsighted Drakes's vision is, and the real virtuality is not impossible, so there is the current Bohemia Interactive Studio.

Although Andrée Spanell and Marc Ray Spanell are full of confidence in themselves, they are not the kind of blind and arrogant guys. At least one thing is clear, such a big project is definitely not a short-term project for the two brothers. It was fun, so they began to look for some like-minded people to strengthen the strength of Bohemia Interactive Studio.

……

Zhang Lexing turned over a page of the investigation report and saw new content: "...According to the investigation, there are currently 11 main members of the Bohemia Interactive Studio..."

According to the survey report, apart from the occasional temporary employees who come to help, Bohemia Interactive Studio has 11 regular members, among them are the Spanell brothers who are the company's president and chief programmer, and Camila Knanova, who is the game animation and 3D graphics designer, is the only woman in the studio. There are Petro Bizier and Petro Wesker as [-]D designers, and some as programmers. Kiri Martinek and Adam Bellek, as well as game planners Wojciek Novak and Sanses Rijla, as well as Victor Borken for in-game mission design and [-]D Modeled by Jane Howley.

……

Relying on some previous contacts and recommendations from friends, Bohemia Interactive Studio is already strong.In particular, André Spanel was satisfied that the "RealVirtuality" 3D engine conceived by the two brothers had gradually taken shape with everyone's help, and they began to create a model that best represented the two of them at the time. It is conceived to provide a high-fidelity, wide-ranging virtual environment and excellent visual effects of modern military weapons, as well as a game that emphasizes that virtual things have consistent shape details and physical characteristics with reality.

There are some regrets. According to the concept of the Spanell brothers, the "RealVirtuality" 3D engine should support a real virtual world, but considering the performance of the current computer and the Bohemia Interactive Studio It is a small company with limited funds. When using the "RealVirtuality" 3D engine to develop the game, it had to make a trade-off. It reduced the size of the world in the game, reduced some unnecessary real effects, and positioned the game in the class Level Army Tactics games to reduce the requirements for computer performance.

……

Zhang Lexing continued to scroll back and saw the introduction of the game being developed by Bohemia Interactive Studio: "...the game will provide a super-large map. According to the public information provided by him, the map is all islands surrounded by sea , according to expert analysis, this design is likely to avoid the 'boundary' problem in the game.

In the vast area of ​​350 square kilometers in the game, there are mountains, rivers, canyons, lakes, grasslands, and deserts. Dozens of towns and villages are connected by complex road networks, and airports and military camps are scattered among them.According to expert analysis, if it is a real environment, such a large area is enough to support brigade-level battles. It is conceivable that the map area of ​​​​this game is huge.

The scene of the game is not only large in size, but also very real.The vast wild battlefield scenery is very real, credible, and attractive, especially the environmental details and material processing are quite in place.The dust rolled up by armored vehicles, the shadows cast by soldiers, the scorched earth after artillery bombardment, the nuanced vegetation, etc., have all been considered by the designer.In the sky wider than the earth, in addition to the perfect presentation of light, there are also delicate performances that change according to time and weather, such as sunrise, sunset, haze, thin clouds, mist, thunder, lightning, and the real arrangement of stars and moons .In the game, people have a feeling of being in the real world. Here, you can even feel the coolness after the breeze blows, and the loneliness when the mist rises...

From these perspectives, the game developed by Bohemia Studio is no longer just a game, but more like a virtual world running on a PC, where everything is very similar to the real world, with Realistic-looking vehicles that can drive, with endless forests, fields and quiet towns, as well as blue sky and white clouds and the vast sea.At this point, no other game has been found that has the same effect..."

In the survey report, the game under development by Bohemia Studios was highly rated. At that time, it was only a technical analysis.Judging from some details provided by the investigation report, Zhang Lexing felt that this game seemed to be the "Operation Flashpoint" he was looking for, but he didn't know why the game didn't use this name. This might be because the development work had not been completed.

When it comes to developing a real virtual world, the game being developed by Bohemia Studio is a bit similar to the "Real Town Project", but the direction of the two efforts is a bit different. Bohemia Studio The game is developed from a macro point of view, and most of the real graphic effects that can be seen are provided, while the "Real Town Project" starts from the onlookers, trying to create a real virtual operating system, such as Plant growth system, intelligent active autonomous bodies (that is, various NPCs), etc., are more likely to be reflected on the data level.

Take plants as an example. In the "Real Town Project", you can see plants germinate, grow, mature, and age according to certain rules, and you can see a living plant. In the game of Bohemia Studio What I saw was the situation of plants fluttering with the wind. When the artillery fire hits, the plants may be destroyed, but the plants inside are just a lifeless object.

"If the two worlds can be merged together, maybe..." Zhang Lexing touched his nose, thinking of some possibility, but he stretched out his hand to the keyboard, and quickly pressed the call hotkey of ICQ, Then I sent a message to Yang Xinxin: "Sister Xin, are you there? There is a project I think we can talk about."

……

Mark Ray Spanell is now distressed that his brother André Spanell can work on the game code-named "RealBattle" (that is, the game developed based on the "RealVirtuality" 3D engine), Bohemia The only project currently in the office) is constantly improving, but he cannot.As the president of Bohemia Studio, he must consider the market prospect of the project. Yes, his brother can be immersed in a technological paradise, but he has to deal with those cunning businessmen.

Andre Spanell thinks "RealBattle" is good, so does Marc Ray Spanell, but the game publishers don't see it that way.They usually exclaim after playing the "RealBattle" demo that Macray Spannell brought along: "My God, does anyone play this game!"

Mark Ray Spanell and his brothers thought that the games they developed must strive for authenticity, but they hit a wall when they reached the publishers. Those people found that the protagonist in "RealBattle" was different from the previous games, and it was not a one-of-a-kind game. The "Superman" hero can carry a dozen long and short guns, carry heavy equipment on his back, run rampant, jump up and down, meet gods and kill gods, and Buddhas and Buddhas.

In "RealBattle", you can only carry one long and one short weapon, plus some auxiliary equipment such as grenades. The bullets are not endless, and it is not like some games where you can pick up weapons and ammunition casually. If you don’t know how to use the control point in the battle, maybe even the enemy will burn out the magazine before seeing it, and it doesn’t feel refreshing at all.The process of fighting is also very boring. I don’t know where to shoot with a gun. I often don’t even show up to the enemy. Scenes.

In this way, Mark Ray Spanell's promotions hit a wall one after another, and he was almost scolded directly, and even better, he was politely asked to leave. In short, he got nothing.If Bohemia Studios were a larger company, Mark Ray Spanel would not be in such a hurry. He could wait for the game development to be completed, and then participate in a game exhibition such as E3 to gain some fame. , and then go to the game publisher, it should be easier to learn more, even without looking, someone will come to the door directly.

Bohemia Studio was established for just over a year, and the only project during this period was "RealBattle". At first, the Spanell brothers thought that the game development would be completed this year, but they realized that it was not so easy. The scale of the project is huge, and it is often limited by the frequency of the PC processor and the rendering performance of the 3D graphics accelerator card, so some trade-offs have to be made, so that the development of "RealBattle" has not been completed until now, but the company's funds are still there. It's almost spent, and if Mark Ray Spanel can't find a way to get a sum of money as soon as possible, maybe the "RealBattle" project will always be in an unfinished state.

If you want to get money before the game development is completed, the most convenient way is to sell the game copyright to the distribution company. Of course, the premise is that the distribution company values ​​the game, and you have to accept the exploitation of the distribution company. Unfortunately, Bohemia Studio Now there is no chance of connection being exploited.All the well-known publishers in continental Europe, Marc Ray Spanell, have already traveled all over the place, and their lips are almost worn out, but they have not even gained anything. Now he is considering whether to go to the UK to try his luck, maybe Maybe some miracles can happen there. If it still doesn't work, then he can only go to the United States to try.

Just when Markley Spanel was packing his bags and was about to leave for the British Peninsula, he suddenly received a call from the United States, saying that he wanted to have a business meeting with Bohemia Studio. This was the first time anyone I want to talk to my company, although I don't know what to talk about yet, but for a game development company, talking and talking is not just that.Excited, Marc Ray Spanel immediately agreed to the request of the other party to meet. At this time, the Bohemian studio was not on airs, and in the afternoon of the same day, he met the person who came to discuss with him.

"I'm Miller, the manager of VS Investment Fund, Mr. Spanell, hello!" Sure enough, if I hadn’t made an appointment with Mr. Spanell, maybe I would still be lingering on the streets of Prague.”

Marc Ray Spanell laughed and chatted a few words, and then the two went to a cafe near the studio.Bohemia Studio has not been established for a long time, and it is not yet luxurious enough to have a spare place to use as a meeting room. Sometimes employees need a place to discuss issues, and they will come to this nearby cafe.

After two cups of coffee, Miller explained his reason for coming. Simply put, VS Investment Fund has taken a fancy to Bohemia Studio and intends to acquire a part of the shares so that the two parties can carry out closer cooperation. As for the amount of acquisition, of course At least 60% must be achieved.At first I thought I was here to talk about games, but I didn’t expect it to be acquired immediately. It is also a kind of recognition from a certain point of view that my company is recognized by others. At least it shows that Bohemia Studio is not like the previous paragraph. Time those publishers say nothing.

But being acquired by others like this is not the result that Mark Ray Spanell wants. At least at this stage, the two brothers don't want to hand over the control of the company to others, but Miller immediately said another sentence , which made him have to become cautious.

"Mr. Spanell, I heard that your company has a loan of 200 million US dollars that is about to expire..." Miller said casually after taking a sip of coffee.

Markray Spanell's heart skipped a beat, he didn't expect that the other party had made such sufficient preparations in advance, even figured out the loan of 200 million US dollars that was about to expire.When the Bohemia studio was first established, the Spanell brothers scraped together $7 to $80 as start-up capital. Although they knew that after investing in the development of the "RealVirtuality" 3D engine, hundreds of thousands of dollars It was quickly consumed. In order to sustain the development work, Marc Ray Spanell had to borrow some money from the bank. Now the loan is due in three months, which is why he is anxious The main reason for finding a distribution company is that if there is no way to sell the copyright of the "RealBattle" project, Bohemia Studio will be out of business.

"Mr. Spanell, 1000 million US dollars, 60% of the shares." Miller put down the coffee cup in his hand, his conditions have been made, and now he is waiting for the other party's answer.

Markley Spanell was silent for a while, it seemed that the other party was bound to win, if he did not agree, maybe the bank would not be so easy to explain.After a moment of silence, Marc Ray Spanel thought about it. Anyway, if Bohemia Studio can't get money in the short term, it will only end up in bankruptcy, and the basically completed "RealVirtuality" "The 3D engine and the "RealBattle" project under development will definitely be auctioned off to pay off the debt. At that time, the two brothers will still lose their hard work. Instead of doing this, it is better to sell it at a good price now and keep some of it.

Next, the focus of the two parties quickly shifted from "whether to sell" to "how much to sell" or "how much to pay". After several seesaws, the two parties finally reached an agreement that VS Investment Fund invested 1200 million US dollars to purchase Bohemia Work In the future, the daily operation and game development of Bohemia Studio will still be in charge of the current team, and Eidos company in the UK will be introduced to be responsible for the game distribution work. What Mark Ray Spanell is worried about This has all been resolved.

……

"Brother, the small company you asked me to help buy has already been settled. But I don't understand, it doesn't cost much, why don't you do it yourself?" Yang Xinxin asked puzzled during the satellite video connection.

"Well, Sister Xin, you will know after a while. Don't worry, the project I introduced to you will definitely not be bad, and you will definitely double your investment in the future." Zhang Lexing did not explain, after all, now " Operation Flashpoint has not yet been completed, and the follow-up "Virtual Battlefield Space" is still a castle in the air. It is naturally inappropriate to talk about military orders now.In fact, if Zhang Lexing directly buys Bohemia Studio, I believe the other party will not have much resistance. However, if this happens, it may be difficult to provide military training software for NATO in the future. After all, it involves the military. On the one hand, the censorship must be much more complicated, and it would be different if it was put in the hands of Yang Xinxin, after all, she had already changed to an American nationality.

In fact, what Zhang Lexing needs is not Bohemia Studio, but the technology of Bohemia Studio, which is controlled by Yang Xinxin. If he wants to use the game engine of Bohemia Studio, it has nothing to do with directly mastering it himself. There is a big difference, anyway, it also costs money to buy.

"Sister Xin, since Bohemia Studio has completed the acquisition, let's sign an agreement." Zhang Lexing said with a smile, he can't wait to get the "RealVirtuality" of Bohemia Studio The 3D engine is up...

(End of this chapter)