Chapter 17: I Can Win!

The people from Exidy moved swiftly, unloading the arcade machine from the Ford pickup in less than five minutes.

As the tarp was pulled away, the brand-new machine gleamed, magnetizing their attention.

"Wow! This is a prototype, right? And it even has a design? This fridge-like shape looks pretty cool!"

"The olive-green casing is so shiny! The paint job looks top-notch!"

"Bro, did you paint this white snake? 'Snake Game'? Is this game about snakes?"

Samuel Hoyse, hands on his hips, curiously inspected the arcade machine Ethan had brought.

In response to his question, Ethan nodded and introduced, "Yes, as you can see, this game is indeed about snakes. Or more specifically, the player assumes the role of a snake."

"Oh, cool!" Pete Kauffman laughed. "Letting the player be a snake? That's quite a creative idea!"

"And honestly, Ethan, just by looking at the design, I can tell you have a strong commercial instinct."

"Combining appearance with content is crucial when selling a machine. The customer should immediately know what the game is about, and that's what makes a good designer! You clearly have a wealth of design experience."

"Do I? Thank you," Ethan smiled and graciously accepted the compliment, revealing, "That's because I was still working at Magnavox just two weeks ago."

"What?"

Before Ethan could finish speaking, Samuel Hoyse, who had been inspecting the machine, let out an astonished cry.

"Bro! Can you say that again? Where did you work before??"

"Magnavox."

"Oh! My! God!"

A look of pure excitement flashed across Samuel Hoyse's face as he eagerly reached out and shook Ethan's hand tightly.

"Ethan? Ethan Jones, right? Oh, it's an absolute pleasure to meet you! You may not know this, but I'm a huge fan of Professor Baer! What he achieved with the Odyssey was nothing short of a miracle! Compressing a computer into something the size of a briefcase, with 13 built-in games? My God! Ralph Baer's genius is practically divine! It must've been a privilege to work with him, huh?"

In truth, Ralph Baer was the true inventor of the world's first home video game console, the Odyssey. He built the prototype in 1966, calling it the Brown Box, while Magnavox was merely the company that chose to invest in and manufacture the device. Thus, within the industry, it was Baer, with his extraordinary ideas and creativity, who was revered as the father of video games.

As for Magnavox? Well, capitalists are all the same, aren't they?

"In a way," Ethan, fully understanding the context, tilted his head slightly and told a white lie.

He then gestured towards the game and said, "Mr. Hoyse, I'm here to discuss a partnership with you."

"Okay, okay, okay! Partnership, partnership, partnership!"

Perhaps it was the prestige of being a former Magnavox employee that impressed him, as Samuel Hoyse immediately rubbed his hands together and called out to his staff, "Bring me a power line!"

At his command, one of the employees quickly turned around.

Moments later, a power cord, stretching from inside the warehouse, was brought to Samuel Hoyse.

Expertly connecting the arcade machine, he flipped the switch at the back. As the power flowed through, a familiar chime echoed: "Jingle bells, jingle bells..."

The sound made everyone pause in surprise.

In the next instant, almost everyone burst into laughter.

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way?" Pete Kauffman began to sing along, his eyes brimming with curiosity. "Ethan, if I'm not mistaken, that's 'Jingle Bells,' right? It's a Christmas song, so... why is it the background music in your game?"

Ethan forced himself to remain calm.

In truth, he hadn't wanted to use that song for the background music, but unfortunately...

"I had no choice. I lack musical talent, and I don't have the money. The former makes it impossible for me to compose my own music, and the latter means I can only use copyright-free songs like 'Jingle Bells.' After all, hiring a professional composer from Hollywood is far too expensive—something an unreleased machine can't afford. So, I'm using royalty-free music for now to demonstrate that the machine has such capabilities, but it's not a big deal, right? It can be changed."

"Oh! That's a brilliant decision," Pete Kauffman said, his mouth twitching as he voiced the polite lie.

Meanwhile, as they conversed, Samuel Hoyse had already figured out how to operate the 'Snake' machine.

Pulling a quarter from his pocket, he confidently inserted it into the coin slot. After a crisp chime, he focused entirely on the screen.

The sudden shift in the game's interface signaled the start of the game to an old hand like him. Yet, when he moved the joystick, the snake on the screen didn't move.

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

"Of course not," Ethan replied.

"But it's not moving..." Samuel continued to fiddle with the joystick.

The next second, as he returned his gaze to the screen, an electric shock-like sound blared abruptly.

"Ding ding ding ding!"

The screen flickered, the game disappeared, and the start screen reappeared.

"WTF???" Samuel Hoyse was stunned.

"I lost without even playing?" He was incredulous.

The onlookers from Exidy were equally baffled, their faces filled with confusion.

The utterly perplexed expressions made Ethan laugh. "Mr. Hoyse, I can assure you, there's nothing wrong with the game. If you think otherwise, feel free to try again."

Before he could finish his sentence, Samuel Hoyse had already inserted another coin.

This time, he widened his eyes, staring intently at the screen.

Then, he noticed that when the game interface appeared, the snake in the center of the screen paused for three seconds before it started moving on its own. Only at that moment did the joystick become functional.

This discovery delighted him, and he began to guide the snake randomly across the screen.

Just as he was trying to figure out the game's mechanics, the sound of failure struck once again.

"Ding ding ding ding!"