Chapter 17: I Can Win!

The people in Exidy acted swiftly. In less than five minutes, they unloaded the game console from the Ford pickup.

Removing the tarp, the brand-new machine seemed to possess a magnetic allure, capturing everyone's attention.

"Wow! Is this a prototype? And it even has a design? The straight board of this fridge-like appearance looks so cool!"

"The emerald green casing is so vibrant! Looks like the painting skills are impressive!"

"Bro, did you draw this white snake? 'Snake Game'? Is this game related to snakes?"

Samuel Hois, hands on hips, examined the arcade machine Ethan brought with great curiosity.

Facing his question, Ethan nodded and introduced, "Yeah, as you can see, the game I brought is indeed related to snakes. Or you could say, the player in the game takes on the role of a snake."

"Oh, cool," Pete Kaufman exclaimed. "Letting players play as a snake? That's a creative idea!"

"And honestly, Ethan, just by looking at your design, I can tell your commercialization ideas are strong."

"The combination of appearance and content is crucial when selling machines. Making customers immediately understand the content of the machine at a glance is what a qualified designer should do! Brother, it seems like you have rich design experience!"

"Is that so? Thank you."

Ethan smiled in gratitude and, at the same time, openly disclosed his work experience, "Because two weeks ago, I was still working at Magnavox."

"What?"

Before Ethan's words could settle, Samuel Hois, who was still inspecting the machine, screamed.

"Brother! Can you say that again? Where were you working before???"

"Magnavox."

"Oh! My! God!"

Samuel Hois' face instantly lit up with excitement. He reached out his right hand, tightly shaking hands with Ethan.

"Ethan? Ethan Jones, right? Oh! It's such a pleasure to meet you! You might not know! I'm a fan of Professor Bell! The Odyssey he released before was a miracle! Compressing a computer into a briefcase and embedding 13 games in it! Oh my god! Ralph H. Baer's genius ideas are simply divine! Working with him must be a very happy thing, right?"

Ralph H. Baer is actually the inventor of the world's first home video game console, Odyssey. He made the prototype in 1966 and named it the Brown Box. Magnavox was just the company willing to invest in manufacturing and distributing the Brown Box, so in the industry, people respect Ralph H. Baer for his genius ideas and creativity, considering him the father of video games.

As for Magnavox?

All capitalists are the same, aren't they?

"Kind of." Understanding the key points, Ethan tilted his head and told a little white lie.

At the same time, he gestured for the other party to look at the game, "Mr. Hois, I'm here today to discuss cooperation with you."

"Okay, okay, okay, cooperation, cooperation, cooperation."

Perhaps because being a former employee of Magnavox is prestigious, Samuel Hois immediately rubbed his hands together and shouted to the employee next to him, "Bring me a cable."

With his shout, the employees around him immediately turned around.

After a while, a circuit extending from the warehouse was brought to Samuel Hois.

Familiar with connecting the arcade, the arcade was powered on by pressing the power switch on the backside, and when the circuit was connected, the sound of "ding ding dang ding ding dang" also came out.

This sound left everyone on the scene stunned.

The next second, almost everyone burst into laughter.

"Ding ding dang ding ding dang ding?" Pete Kaufman sang directly.

At the same time, curiosity filled his eyes, "Ethan, if I didn't hear it wrong, is this 'Jingle Bells'? This is a Christmas song, how... did it become the background music for the game in your case?"

This question made Ethan pretend to be calm.

Actually, when choosing background music, he didn't want to use this song, but alas...

"No choice, because I don't have music bacteria, nor do I have money. The former makes it impossible for me to compose for the game, and the latter makes it so I can only use copyright-free 'Jingle Bells.' After all, hiring a dedicated composer in Hollywood is too expensive, not something a machine that hasn't been launched can afford. So, I can only use this non-copyright music for demonstration, showing that the machine has this functionality. But it doesn't matter, right? Because it can be changed."

"Oh! This is really a genius decision."

Pete Kaufman's mouth twitched, uttering insincere words.

And during their conversation, Samuel Hois also examined the "Snake" machine.

He smoothly took out a quarter from his pocket, decisively inserted it into the coin slot, and after a crisp sound, he focused intently on the screen.

For him, the sudden switch of the game interface meant the beginning of the game. But when he moved the joystick, he found that the horizontal bar on the screen didn't move.

"Is it broken?" Samuel Hois turned his head in confusion.

"Of course not," Ethan replied.

"But it's not moving..." Samuel Hois continued to move the joystick.

The next second, when he looked back at the screen, a shocking sound suddenly appeared, as if he had been electrocuted.

"Ding ding ding ding!"

The screen shook, the game disappeared, and the initial interface appeared again.

"WTF???" Samuel Hois was shocked!

"I haven't even played, and I lost?" He couldn't believe it.

The people from Exidy surrounding them also couldn't figure out the situation. Everyone's face showed bewilderment.

Ethan laughed at their dumbfounded expressions and said, "Mr. Hois, I can assure you, there's nothing wrong with my game. If you think something's off, you can try again."

Before he finished speaking, Samuel Hois immediately inserted another coin.

Then, he stared at the screen with eyes as wide as copper bells, focusing on it.

Then, he found that when the game interface appeared, the long bar in the center of the screen would pause for three seconds before moving naturally. Only then did his control become effective.

This discovery made him very pleased, so he controlled the little snake to move randomly.

As Ethan Jones pondered how to play the game, the sound of failure, represented by the electric shock, echoed once again.

"Ding ding ding ding!"

"Oh! FXXk! So, you can't touch yourself!"

This revelation prompted Samuel Hoyt to insert another coin.

And then...

"Ding ding ding ding!"

He died again!

"Damn! Can't you touch the borders either?"

After three consecutive coin insertions, he finally figured out how to control himself to stay alive in the game.

"But how do you clear the game like this?" Samuel Hoyt wondered.

"Why don't you try using the snake's head to hit that white dot on the screen?" suggested Peter Kaufman.

"Hit the white dot? Isn't that an obstacle? You'll definitely die if you hit it!"

"But there's nothing else to hit now! Just try it, maybe it's the key to clearing the level?"

"Oh! Sxxt! If I die, it's on you!"

In Samuel Hoyt's loud exclamation, the snake on the screen collided with the white dot.

With a click sound, the snake not only didn't die but also grew a little.

Moreover, the 0 in the upper right corner of the screen changed to 1.

"Ohhhhhh! I got it!"

This fact delighted Samuel Hoyt.

"This game is about the snake eating the white dots! The more you eat, the higher your score! Reach a certain number, and you win!"

But unfortunately...

The idea was beautiful, but reality was harsh.

When Samuel Hoyt started frantically eating according to his own strategy, the snake on the screen became longer and longer, accompanied by increasing speeds at ten, twenty, and thirty points.

The sudden surge in speed caused Samuel Hoyt's snake to die repeatedly.

And he, gripping the joystick, had bloodshot eyes!

"Oh! Samuel! You lost again! You really suck! Let me try!"

Peter Kaufman, who found it interesting after watching for a while, wanted to give it a shot.

"No! I don't believe it! Can't I clear the level today?"

Samuel Hoyt refused to concede.

"Even if you can clear it today, let me play first! You've been playing continuously for several rounds, bro!"

Peter Kaufman, feeling itchy to try, started squeezing in front of the machine.

"Oh! Peter! Give me one more chance, okay! The last one! I swear! Please!"

However—

When the Game Over appeared on the screen again, Samuel Hoyt showed no intention of stepping aside. Furious, he reached into his pocket to insert another coin.

Then, he found it empty.

"Fxxk!" He cursed loudly at this realization.

He then, with one hand protecting the joystick, roared, "Quick, get me some coins!"

The subordinates, receiving the command, immediately turned around.

But Peter Kaufman was very angry.

"Samuel!!!" He shouted, "You should let me play!"

"I'm feeling it! I can win!" Samuel Hoyt covered the joystick, unwilling to let go.

"But you just said it's the last time!" Peter Kaufman shouted.

"Did I? I don't remember."

Samuel Hoyt blinked as if he had lost his memory.

A look of innocence.

"Fxxxxxxx!" Peter Kaufman roared.

The yelling of the two was observed by Ethan Jones.

With hands crossed, leaning against the car, he had a smile on his face.

He liked this scene!

And he especially loved the enchanting charm of Snake!

Because all of this meant—

Magnavox!