Chapter 15: Jenga and Ron's Ambition
The Burrow
Ronald Bilius Weasley
July 8, 1989, Saturday
Ron and Ginny played the prototype of Jenga without realizing how time had flown by.
Finally, their mother, Molly Weasley, reminded them that they needed to set the table for lunch, making them realize they'd been playing for hours.
But even though they had to clear the kitchen table, that didn't stop them. Lunch was still some time away, and Ron and Ginny had now moved their game to the living room.
The living room was right next to the kitchen, and empty at the moment. So, they could continue playing until lunchtime and then pick up where they left off.
It was Saturday, so their father, Arthur Weasley, might sometimes sit there reading his newspaper, but only if he wasn't in the garage working on his gadgets.
And since he's not here, it looks like he's in his garage right now.
So, without worrying about disturbing anyone, Ron and Ginny set up the Jenga again on a coffee table in the living room and started playing.
But Ron wasn't just playing the game. After their first game, he'd gone to his room, gotten a quill, an inkpot, and a parchment, and started jotting down improvement ideas about Jenga.
Even though he already had some ideas in mind, firsthand experience and getting feedback from others were essential steps in product development.
Therefore, from the very beginning, Ron planned to test the first versions of his products with his family and improve the games based on their feedback.
He might be the game's creator, but the final versions would definitely be the result of the Weasley family's efforts.
As for the improvements Ron has been considering for Jenga so far...
First and foremost, he absolutely needed an improvement that would allow the tower to stack itself.
Ron currently stacked the tower using the wandless Levitation Charm, but the target audience for this game couldn't do that.
Although Jenga is a game that people of all ages can play, Ron wouldn't let that keep him from missing any critical information.
One of the most fundamental elements of product creation was always considering the target audience's characteristics.
And Ron's target audience was quite clear, not just for Jenga, but for all his other games: Wizards and witches under the age of 17.
This target audience included wizards and witches attending Hogwarts, as well as those who hadn't yet started at Hogwarts.
Of course, older people would likely buy and try out the games and toys, but Ron knew that after graduating from Hogwarts, many wizards started working and entered those busy periods of their lives.
But students and preschoolers didn't have such problems.
During summer holidays, special days and vacations, weekends, and free time after school hours, they could set everything aside and dedicate themselves to the games and toys Ron created.
That's why Ron planned to target this audience not just for Jenga, but for almost all the products he would produce in his first company, focused on games and toys.
This would likely change later when his business reached a more mature stage, but that was a matter for the future.
Therefore, Ron knew that his target audience—wizards under 17 who weren't adults—couldn't use magic outside of Hogwarts. And for children who hadn't started at Hogwarts, the possibility of using magic was out of the question.
So, a large portion of those who bought his game would have to assemble Jenga by hand outside of Hogwarts or ask an adult for help.
But Ron didn't want that. It would greatly diminish the game's excitement and cause players to grow bored with it over time.
In Ron's book, games that quickly bored players were unsuccessful. Ron didn't want to produce games and toys that would be used for a while and then discarded when the buyers lost interest.
And his other planned improvements were generally based on this.
The classic Jenga game was simple, both in its rules and its logic. This simplicity was what made the game enjoyable and quick to understand.
But it was also what quickly bored many people.
Ultimately, some people preferred challenging, complex games rather than simple ones. And some people preferred games that, while not complex, offered more features.
And that's why he wanted to improve Jenga.
One idea that came to his mind was a time-based version of Jenga, assigning a time limit to each player per turn. If a player couldn't pull a block and place it on top of the tower within their allotted time, they would lose, and the tower would collapse.
Or it would explode. Ron hadn't yet decided on the effect that would occur when losing.
Another version Ron thought would introduce a point system. The game would assign a standard point to each block, but risky blocks would be coloured differently, and successful removal of those blocks would yield higher scores.
And the player who knocked down the tower would lose a certain number of points. This way, if the player performed well throughout the game, they could still win even if they knocked the tower.
This version was somewhat similar to the Quidditch point system. Although the team that catches the Golden Snitch usually wins the game, if one team manages to build a lead of more than 150 points, they can still win the game even if the opposing team catches the Snitch.
Ron was sure many young wizards and witches would love it, especially those who enjoyed taking risks.
Ron also considered a version where the Jenga tower swayed and tilted in various directions. Normally, this would cause the tower to collapse immediately, but that's where magic came in.
Ron was considering using magic to keep the blocks together when the tower tilted, but as its tilt and orientation changed, its centre of balance would shift. Therefore, players would need to analyse the risk of blocks depending on the tower's position, quickly pull them out, and place them on top at the right time.
This version would be more difficult and require more focus and skill than others. And Ron was sure that many people would love this version, because it would be the most magical and challenging of all.
Of course, Ron didn't intend to produce and sell these versions as separate products. Wizards and witches would spend money on games and toys they liked, but if Ron produced so many versions of each game, it would be difficult to find many buyers for them all.
After all, the number of wizards and witches in Magical Britain and the world in general was quite small compared to Muggles.
In a large Muggle population, Muggles could produce niche products and still aim for a certain sales potential. But this wasn't possible in the wizarding world.
That's why Ron was thinking of creating a Jenga game where players could choose and play whichever mode they wanted. This would also make buyers feel like they were purchasing multiple games, thus increasing their loyalty to the game and his company.
But after considering all this, Ron encountered a problem.
First, these more complex versions would complicate the rules and understanding of the games. And in some versions, they would create extra work for the players, such as timekeeping or noting down points.
And this would contradict Ron's policy.
Ron's policy was that players should focus solely on enjoying the games he created.
They shouldn't have to deal with other trivial matters.
Moreover, some tasks in these versions couldn't even be done by the players.
For example, in the point version, the criteria for determining which blocks were risky, and in the swinging and tilting version, the angle at which the blocks should be removed for the tower to fall, all needed to be calculated and controlled by the game itself.
And doing all this with magic was impossible. At least not with traditional magical methods.
While magic could do many things, what was needed here was for the game to make precise calculations and execute its functions accordingly.
And even if he found a solution for all this, Ron still felt somethings were missing in the final version he was imagining.
Ron wanted his products to be unique and impossible to copy. He knew that otherwise, imitations would quickly appear on the market.
Perhaps they wouldn't have the same features as his game, but copying a basic version of a simple game like Jenga and adding new magical effects wasn't that difficult.
Ron didn't want to get involved in market share battles or take the matter to court over patent rights.
Looking at the big picture, he didn't have the time to deal with such things.
But that wasn't the only reason Ron wanted to create unique products. Ron didn't want to create just another magical game for Wizarding World.
He wanted Wizarding World to see his games not just as another game, but as a symbol and something ahead of its time.
The moment he thought about it, Ron understood what was missing from his games: innovation and a brand symbol.
Ron needed to take his games beyond their current standards and create a new kind of game through innovation. And innovation couldn't be a small improvement. He needed to create something that Wizarding World would call ahead of its time.
Then no one would be able to copy it for at least a few decades. And by the time they got close to figuring out the games, Ron would have already gone far ahead.
And the other thing he felt was missing was a brand symbol. Ron remembered it very clearly from his previous life. Every famous brand had a symbol, a brand image, and something that made its products unique.
Something that sets them apart from others.
Something that made people prefer them over others.
Something that made people know who the product belonged to at a glance.
What Ron was thinking about wasn't a logo. It was the meaning people attached to the logo.
Apple's image gave the impression that it was ahead of its time with its groundbreaking products and designs. Or Windows' image of being usable by everyone, thanks to its user-friendly interface.
Like Volvo's association with quality and safety over the years, and Atari's and Nintendo's long association with game consoles.
Ron needed something like that.
So, he pondered this at length while continuing to play games with Ginny, but of all the things that came to mind, only one fit his criteria:
Computer games.
Actually, it wouldn't be entirely accurate to categorize Ron's idea as computer games.
Ron wanted to bring the change and innovation that the electronic gaming age had brought to the Muggle world to the Wizarding World.
The Muggle world had already surpassed the Wizarding World in this regard, as in many other areas.
Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Asteroids, Galaxian, and Donkey Kong. All Muggle children and adults could experience these in arcade halls.
And if Ron remembered correctly, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) console should have already been released. Ron recalled seeing its advertisement in one of the Muggle newspapers his father, Arthur Weasley, secretly brought home.
Even though the Wizarding World didn't care about the Muggle world and didn't consider falling behind them a significant thing, Ron couldn't accept that.
Of course, Ron wasn't thinking of making electronic games or producing an arcade machine or computer.
Muggle technology might be about electronics, computers, and programming, but the Wizarding World's technology was about magical crafting.
Luckily for Ron, he possessed Legendary-level talent in this area.
With this skill, Ron planned to build and implement a calculation and management system for his games.
A system that would explain the rules of the games, allow players to choose game modes, handle trivial tasks that would keep players occupied - such as timekeeping and keeping the scores - provide hints if needed, and perform the necessary calculations for game dynamics.
Ron aimed to create a monopoly in the Wizarding World with this system. Only in this way could he build a business empire from scratch without having to deal with numerous problems.
The more he thought about it, the more determined Ron became. He knew this would create a lot of work for him and would likely take considerable time.
But time was what Ron had.
Thanks to the system, in a month's time, while sleeping, he had a year or a year and a half in the Library and Workshop. And frankly, he didn't think it would take that long to achieve his goal with Legendary talent.
Moreover, the system he was going to create wouldn't just be for Jenga; it would be usable in all his other games. And Ron saw the time he dedicated to it as a long-term investment.
Ron was planning to go to his room after lunch and start working on this project.
But he might need some Muggle books as references for this. After all, he didn't need to reinvent the wheel for everything he did.
But to access these resources, Ron needed to complete a new Achievement.
Luckily, this achievement was quite easy for him to complete.
And when he achieved his ambition, Wizarding World games would enter the single-player era.
End of Chapter 15.