The next day, Hideo Kojima indeed presented his proposal. It seemed he had stayed up all night writing it to deliver it directly to Kobayashi Tetsu.
Kobayashi Tetsu skimmed through the proposal. Kojima's idea was to set a specific area on the battlefield where enemies would patrol in fixed routes, and special hostages would be located there.
Players could either charge in and wreak havoc, but the hostages would flee. Alternatively, they could advance slowly, eliminating enemies one by one from behind to rescue the hostages and earn a higher score.
Kobayashi Tetsu pondered the proposal. It wasn't unacceptable, but he wanted to make some adjustments.
"The idea of hostages fleeing is unnecessary. Let's modify it: killing enemies in a specific sequence grants players special weapons. Hostages can still be rescued without following the sequence, but without the special weapons."
"From a design perspective, think of it this way: if the sequence is followed, the enemies are killed before they can raise the alarm, so you get the special weapons. If the sequence is disrupted, the enemies are alerted, and the special weapons are destroyed."
As Kobayashi Tetsu spoke, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Yes, we could actually add such a mechanic to every level. From a design perspective, we can think of it this way: the special weapons are being developed by the enemy, which is why these areas are so unusual. If the player collects all the special items, it's equivalent to gathering the weapon's data and achieving victory. If they don't, they just get a normal ending—rescuing the hostages and returning home safely."
Sigh! A hidden ending.
This special weapon, which requires a specific infiltration sequence to obtain, could serve as an Easter egg.
For example, a missile named KBY.
Hideo Kojima pondered thoughtfully.
"So, at its core, it's still the same principle: don't impose difficulty on the player through the game's mechanics."
"Exactly," Kobayashi Tetsu said. "The hostages are the standard reward, while the special weapons are the special reward. You can prevent players from obtaining the special reward, but you can't prevent them from obtaining any reward at all. Those are two different concepts."
In fact, Kobayashi Tetsu greatly admired the design of The Last of Us Part I. Some rooms required a switchblade to enter and contained abundant supplies. But even without the switchblade, players could still complete the game—they'd just have to manage their resources a bit more tightly.
Another important design principle is not to hide essential items in hidden paths.
Hidden paths might be linked to hidden endings, but standard progression items shouldn't be placed in them.
Hideo Kojima silently noted this.
Iwata Satoru also began planning this plotline, which would be refined later to enhance its coherence. For example, they would consider why enemies would research weapons in the desert and what other secret missions a Jeep might undertake behind enemy lines besides rescuing hostages.
After settling everyone in, Kobayashi Tetsu clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.
"I have an announcement: next week, someone will be visiting Atlas."
Masanobu Endo looked up and smiled. "Even if the President said the US President was coming, I don't think it would affect how we make games."
"It's Jackie Chan coming," Kobayashi Tetsu said.
Whoosh!
Dozens of pairs of eyes snapped to Kobayashi Tetsu.
Jackie Chan visiting Atlas?
Of course Jackie Chan would visit Atlas. To film Street Fighter, he needed to see Street Fighter first.
The movie would be shot in Japan and released in Toei's theaters. In addition to Jackie Chan and his team, Toei actors would make cameos. Kobayashi Tetsu wouldn't be involved in any of the production details, not even the script. He trusted the talented writers in both Japan and Hong Kong!
In April, on a quiet afternoon, Jackie Chan arrived at Atlas and was met with a warm welcome from the staff.
"This way, please!"
Naka Yuji led Jackie Chan to the arcade cabinet, his excitement palpable.
Kobayashi Tetsu stood by, offering a brief explanation: "This arcade machine is for the game Atlas is developing, Street Fighter. The film we're shooting this time is also related to this game."
Jackie Chan nodded. "Games? I played a lot in Hong Kong. There was an FC game based on a fast-food truck story, and the main character was me."
Kobayashi Tetsu thought to himself, He probably just played games like 'Legend of Mir' and 'Play for Fun Blue Moon'! I never expected he'd actually played arcade games.
Despite not being highly educated or fluent in Japanese, Jackie Chan possessed exceptional social intelligence. Even without understanding the details of Atlas, he showered the company with praise, gesturing enthusiastically and giving constant thumbs-ups before finally sitting down at the arcade machine.
Observing Jackie Chan's gestures, Kobayashi Tetsu could tell he wasn't a regular arcade player.
But it didn't matter; this was just an experience.
Naka Yuji carefully explained the game's mechanics, while Kobayashi Tetsu found a new employee to sit opposite Jackie Chan and try out the game with him.
Neither of them knew how to play. Once in the game, they just mashed buttons wildly, throwing punches and kicks at random. They didn't know how to perform special moves or activate their "burst" mode. After a chaotic free-for-all, Jackie Chan narrowly won by sheer luck.
Looking at the colorful screen in front of him, Jackie Chan's eyes widened in amazement.
This is so fun!
He had some familiarity with video games. For instance, his authorization had been used for Jackie Chan's Kickboxing, and in the early 1980s, many FC games were released under his name.
But compared to FC games, the action here was far more fluid than on the console. Moreover, this was Capcom's CPS1 motherboard, a system they had poured all their resources into developing and then sold to Kobayashi Tetsu. It was specifically optimized for action arcade games.
In Jackie Chan's eyes,
The characters' punches and kicks looked remarkably realistic. Even their wild flailing could somehow trigger special moves. While it couldn't compare to his own action films, this was a video game!
Jackie Chan never imagined that games could reach this level of sophistication.
This is so fun!
Jackie Chan turned to look at Kobayashi Tetsu.
"When can I buy this [ Street Fighter ] game? If I can get my hands on it, I'll definitely bring several machines back to Hong Kong!"
"It'll be out soon," Kobayashi Tetsu replied. "The game is currently in development, and we estimate it will be released in July or August, around the same time the movie comes out."
This development timeline was about twice as fast as Capcom's original schedule, thanks to Kobayashi Tetsu's guidance, which helped them avoid many detours.
Jackie Chan nodded enthusiastically.
This is so fun!
He had to buy ten [ Street Fighter ] arcade machines immediately and bring them back to Hong Kong to give to all his good friends!
Kobayashi Tetsu raised his hand, initially intending to scratch his head, but remembering Rumiko Takahashi's advice, he instead pressed his hand to his forehead and sighed.
Is it coming? Jackie Chan Chun-Li!
The filming of the [ Street Fighter ] movie was about to officially begin in Japan. While Japan doesn't have the tradition of a "god-worshipping" ceremony at the start of production like Hong Kong, necessary interviews would still be conducted.
After the ceremony, Jackie Chan spoke confidently to the cameras.
"Yes, I'm very happy to have been invited to star in this [ Street Fighter ] movie. Atlas is a wonderful place, I've been there before, and their boss, Kobayashi Tetsu, is a very interesting person. I also played the [ Street Fighter ] game at Atlas."
Jackie Chan wanted to use a more sophisticated word to describe it, but he hadn't studied much.
After a moment's thought, he finally gave a thumbs-up.
"[ Street Fighter ] is so fun. You have to play it."
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