This is really Thai hot pants!

Chapter 95 This is really Thai hot pants!

Borrowing an auditorium from Stanford is actually very simple, because the support program for Game of Destiny was personally approved by President Fred Terman. Once this relationship is established, let alone borrowing an auditorium to hold a new product launch, even if you were to demolish the observation tower commemorating the former US president, well, that really wouldn't work.

However, this is not important. After all, Ethan is not a bad person. With his application, Stanford directly gave him the oldest memorial chapel on campus. In the school's words, the names memorial chapel and Game of Fate are a perfect match.

When Ethan received the proposal, he was completely bewildered, because the Stanford Memorial Chapel was built by Mrs. Stanford in memory of her deceased husband. Although it is open to the public, it is rarely used for commercial purposes. At most, it is used for weddings and funerals for faculty and students within the university, or for award speeches and promotion speeches by individuals who have made outstanding contributions in certain fields.

And now...

Is this where a game company holds its new product launch event?

Doesn't that sound kind of funny?

But Evelyn didn't think there was any problem. On the morning of April 11, while tying Ethan's tie, Evelyn said, "I've already sent the game copy to Mr. Vinton and Principal Fred. They were very surprised by the game's AI performance and liked the application of the AI ​​concept in the game. So, holding the press conference at the Memorial Church was their idea."

"I see?" Ethan was immediately relieved.

At the same time, he glanced at himself in the mirror. His figure, dressed in a black suit and red tie, looked far more handsome than Tom Cruise. Even so, he still felt a little uncomfortable. "Can I change into a plaid shirt and jeans?"

"I feel a little awkward wearing a suit today."

Ethan couldn't understand why someone who works in the gaming industry would have to wear a suit to a press conference.

Aren't tech people all free spirits?

Especially since he was wearing a red tie around his neck!

If he went to New York, he might be mistaken for a comrade by a real estate agent.

However, his suggestion was met with a rebuttal: "No way!"

Evelyn gripped his tie and said, "I don't mind your usual carefree jokes, but you have to be serious today!"

"Because in addition to our own people who have been invited, there will also be many outsiders coming to watch today."

Evelyn wasn't lying, because after she submitted the completed game, the list of invitees to the Pac-Man press conference popped up like a list of gods in a mythological tale, with one name after another appearing.

Initially, Ethan simply wanted to invite some people around him, such as Steven Spielberg who had helped him and his father Arnold Spielberg, to let them witness the birth of Pac-Man and show them that their help had not been in vain and that Ethan Jones could really produce a groundbreaking work. He also wanted to invite some media to witness the event in person, and that would be the end of the press conference.

As for the actual sale?

Of course, that's because they bought press releases from the media!

Once the media releases the news, curious merchants will naturally come to inquire. At the same time, he will also organize people to do on-the-ground promotion. When they sell with the widely publicized media reports, the efficiency will be much higher than selling quietly on their own.

That will be the real time for negotiations.

But now?

When Ethan drove his beloved Dino 246 GTS with Evelyn to Stanford Memorial Church, he had just entered backstage to prepare when Damio Dean, a company executive, immediately handed him an updated list of attendees.

With just a quick glance, Ethan felt like his head was about to explode.

"Did Steven Spielberg's father bring an extra person today?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah~" Damio Dean nodded. "That's a friend of his from when he worked at General Electric, and the person in charge of inventing GE's first computer. His name is Homer Oldfield. He came because he's a good friend of Mr. Spielberg, and he's also a friend of President Fred Terman. He used to work at Stanford Research Institute, which was twenty years ago. Although it's been a long time, after hearing that his good friend had saved a groundbreaking game, he decided to come and see what his friend had discovered..."

"Got it... He's a big shot..." Ethan muttered to himself.

"And Professor Ralph Bell brought more people today too?" he asked again.

"That's right. After listening to our game story, Professor Ralph Bell decided to bring his friends along to witness history. They were the inventors of the original brown box in Milova Odyssey..." Damio Dean answered quickly.

"Got it... This is a group of top talents..." Ethan marked it in his mind.

"And then, Steve Wozniak's father came too?" Scrolling down, he found another note.

Damio Dean immediately reported, "Yes! Mr. Wozniak's father is here too. Moreover, after arriving, he greeted Principal Fred Terman. I heard that Mr. Wozniak's father was involved in the Stanford Research Institute's research on missile propulsion systems."

"Alright...you all have a good dad..." Ethan said with some emotion.

Then his gaze swept downwards, and he noticed—"William Hewlett? David Packard? They're here too?"

These two are the founders of HP.

"Yes, Professors Hewlett and Packard are currently in California. The Terman Engineering Center, which our school is building, was donated by them. They are here to review last year's engineering audit report."

Damio Dean explained, "The timing was just right, so they decided to come and take a look. At the same time, they were also curious to see which company Principal Fred Terman had taken a liking to after all these decades..."

"..." Ethan was utterly speechless.

"What are all these things?"

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey..."

"Who are these big shots? Why are they at a game launch event?"

Ethan was both amused and exasperated.

But at the same time, he also knew that these people probably wanted to see what kind of AI humanity's current civilian technology could create.

Although the concept of AI was not unfamiliar to them, Ethan even believed that if these people really wanted to write AI code, they would definitely be better than Evelyn and Woz. But unfortunately, the times were a cruel meat grinder.

In the same era, there are countless people who understand technology, and at the same moment, the same inspiration may emerge on this vast earth. But only when inspiration and technology truly collide can they spark the most brilliant fireworks!

Whoever can combine technology and inspiration first will stand at the forefront of the wave!

"Oh dear...it seems like not choosing 'Space Invaders' was the right decision..."

"When the gears of fate turn here, isn't it only natural that I should show off?"

Ethan pursed his lips, trying hard to suppress his laughter.

However, just when he thought everything would be easy and he only needed to introduce the game to the bigwigs present, he arrived at the entrance of the passageway, ready to go on stage just in time, but the discussions outside made his mouth dry.

Even though he has lived two lives, it seems he has never experienced these things.

He has never given a speech in public, let alone in front of a group of bigwigs.

This unfamiliarity made him a little nervous.

"Damn... how can Steve Jobs have such a strong mentality?"

Ethan suddenly remembered that hippie.

Because he clearly remembered that last time this guy was promoting "Snake" in front of hundreds of people.

Far from being afraid, he interacted enthusiastically with the people below.

That sense of ease really made him a little...

"Hey! Hey! Hey!"

In a daze, a call interrupted his thoughts.

Ethan turned his head and saw that the usually energetic young man was dressed to the nines today.

"Wow~ Ethan~ You look so handsome today~" Jobs, wearing a suit and with long hair flowing down his shoulders, spoke first.

"Why are you here?" Ethan asked, puzzled.

"I just came to see you!" Jobs replied quite naturally. "You're going on stage soon, so I came to check on you."

"WTF? You're not here to laugh at me, are you?" Ethan immediately sensed something was wrong.

"..."

"Oh! Sxxt! Am I that bad? I came because I thought you might be nervous!" Jobs rolled his eyes, then hooked his arm around Ethan's shoulder and said, "Don't be nervous, bro, public speaking is actually a very simple art..."

"When you stand on the stage, you are the focus of everyone's attention. At that time, you may be afraid, afraid of saying the wrong thing, saying the wrong word, afraid of embarrassing yourself in front of the audience, because you want to show everyone your most perfect self, and that is the source of many people's nervousness."

"Overcoming this is actually very simple. I won't tell you to calm down and speak slowly. I will tell you that it's okay if you're nervous, because you can just speak in short sentences. You don't need to speak long passages like you would in a speech at a large gathering, even if the audience is full of elites. You just need to use the simplest words to describe what you want to express."

"For example, if you designed the welcome message as 'Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the launch event for the new product of Destiny Game,' you can completely change it to 'Good morning, gentlemen and ladies…', breaking one sentence into three sentences, or even using shorter phrases. Wouldn't that make you less nervous?"

'???'

Ethan tried it briefly, and then he found that it seemed to make some sense!

However, when he asked Jobs how he knew about this phrasing and punctuation, Jobs suddenly shrugged and said—

"I made that up..."

"Because I never get nervous in these kinds of situations..."

"Oh! You son of a bitch! Get the hell out of here!" Ethan's vision went black, and he was just short of kicking Jobs.

"What the hell is this?!"

"You're kidding me!"

However, after Jobs's antics, Ethan immediately felt much more relaxed.

Before Steve Jobs was fired, this guy actually said some useful things.

"Ethan! A speech is just about getting the audience to listen to what you want to hear!"

"If you don't know what to say, then showcase your product. When your product is powerful enough, it can overshadow all the flaws in your presentation!"

"Finally, there's one more thing..."

"Today is not only your game's new product launch, but it's also a recognition ceremony for their achievements, okay?"

These words startled Ethan, who then smiled and said, "Okay."

He admitted that Steve Jobs was right about the last point.

When it was 10 a.m., Ethan entered the auditorium at the prompting of another employee of the company, Euryth Noble.

When the 17th-century Spanish-style relief appeared before him, the forty-odd dark figures below were actually his friends, right?

"Ladies and gentlemen, good morning, welcome to the new product launch event for Destiny Games..."

Ethan raised the microphone, and at the same time, he let go of his anxiety. Although he had written manuscripts before, he now felt that he could do it without one.

As Steve Jobs said, a speech is really just a few points.

First of all, thank you—

"Thanks to Stanford University for their support, and thanks to President Fred Terman for his help. It is because of your kindness that our company has been able to obtain such an excellent research and development environment..."

The former president of Stanford, who had never met Ethan, nodded slightly upon hearing these words, a hint of appreciation appearing on his plump face. Although Ethan didn't understand the meaning behind his words, he also knew that the former president wasn't surprised at all.

"Thank you for Professor Ralph Bell's generosity, and thank you for Mr. Arnold Spielberg's selflessness. Without you, our company simply wouldn't be able to continue making games..."

The two old men whose names were called smiled and raised their hands, giving Ethan a brief nod. After that, they looked around, accepting the friendly smiles from those around them. Their happiness seemed to come from the heart.

"Thanks to Mr. Chuck Patel and his MOS 6502 team for their perseverance and hard work. Without the CPUs you provided, we simply wouldn't have been able to complete this game..."

Chuck Patel was the most respectful person at that moment. He immediately stood up, clasped his hands together, and shouted to Ethan, "I also want to thank you! Ethan! Thank you for your help! Thank you for using my chip!"

These words were met with a burst of applause.

Because everyone present knew exactly what those words meant.

Although shipments of personal microcomputers have not yet seen explosive growth, after six months of dissemination, the entire scientific community has come to know that the MOS 6502 is currently the cheapest and best-performing chip on the market.

The person who made chips truly affordable was Ethan Jones.

Smiling and nodding in agreement, Ethan continued, "Thank you, Professor Vinton Cerf. Under your tutelage, my sister has learned a great deal about computer skills. Without your guidance, we would certainly have encountered countless thorny problems in game development..."

"Thanks to Steve Wozniak. Without your help, the development of this game would definitely have taken much longer. Also, thanks to his partner Steve Jobs, because the Apple computers they developed were an important tool in our development..."

As Ethan read out these names, he could clearly feel the smiles directed at him from below, and the admiration cast his gazes at the professors whose names were called. Although many of them were strangers to Ethan, it didn't matter, right? Because most of those who came here were brought by friends, and in the eyes of friends, fame was indeed more important than fortune.

As for why?

Very simple!

Who among those sitting here hasn't achieved financial freedom?

Oh yes...

Steve Jobs.

Damn it, I was careless and didn't flash.

After expressing gratitude, it was time to introduce the new products.

Although the environment today wasn't as noisy as it was at Atari, and the people below were unlikely to interact with him unless they were genuinely shocked, that didn't matter much, because Ethan had confidence in his product.

"The product we're launching today is called 'Pac-Man,' and its inspiration comes from 'Snake.'"

"When Snake was first released, we received feedback from some players. Some players felt that a snake eating alone on a flat surface looked very lonely in the empty space."

"So I improved it a bit, turning the snake into a person and the empty map into a maze."

"And what he had to do was go and eat the food in the maze."

"Once the little person has eaten all the food in a maze, it can move on to the next level."

"Then it will keep eating."

"To paraphrase the Los Angeles Times, I still retained the greed inherent in human nature in this game."

"But what can I do? I was just too greedy."

"I hope all my works will become huge hits."

"Oh, by the way, there was another person there who was even more greedy. That person's name is Steven Spielberg. When I called him that day, he told me that his next movie would definitely be a huge hit because he would use his work to educate those who looked down on him and show them what real cinema is!"

Ethan paused for a moment at this point.

"Hahaha……"

As he expected, laughter immediately erupted from the audience.

"Splash..."

At the same time, applause of approval followed.

Fred Terman, sitting in the front row, spoke up at the opportune moment, taking a microphone and saying, "Oh Ethan, I think there's something wrong with what you're saying, because those who can sit here are all greedy..."

"I've lived here for seventy years, and I've witnessed Stanford grow from nothing, but I still hope it can become even better. Isn't that a greedy thought?"

"Even though David and Bill are no longer managing HP's day-to-day operations, they still hope that HP can become a century-old company. Isn't that greed?"

"I've heard about Professor Chuck Patel's story. He wants computers to be available to the public. Isn't that just greed?"

"And then there's Professor Ralph Bell, who's here today. He'd rather not charge royalties than let you make games; he wants to bring more joy to the public. Isn't that even more greedy?"

At this point, the old principal's voice suddenly rose in pitch.

The room erupted in laughter, followed by applause in approval.

Even more so, there was the accompanying banter and jokes—

"Ethan, Fred is right, only the greedy succeed!" Homer Oldfield, the head of General Electric's computers, sitting next to Arnold Spielberg, exclaimed.

"Who doesn't want to go down in history?" The MOS developers next to Chuck Patel burst into laughter.

"If pursuing better is greed, then we at HP are willing to be greedy to death," declared David Packard, the founder of HP.

After the initial murmurs subsided, Fred Terman continued, "So, Ethan, I've always thought your *Snake Game* was quite good; its premise was in line with human nature. And I don't think you'll disappoint us with this game today either..."

At this point, the 76-year-old man stopped talking.

Ethan didn't hesitate and continued the conversation, "As Principal Fred and everyone else have said, today's game is actually more greedy, because I hope its name will resound throughout the world."

He ripped the screen off the Pac-Man machine next to him.

As he moved, an arcade machine depicting four ghosts chasing Pac-Man appeared before everyone.

"The concept for our game is very simple..."

"Players control a little character who tries to survive by eating all the beans in the maze."

"Meanwhile, there are also four guardians in the maze, who are working hard to protect their home."

"This red ghost has a bad temper, I call it persistent, because once it spots a player, it will relentlessly pursue the player, trying to drive them out of their home."

"This pink ghost is a mischievous girl. I call her Precognitive because she can come to the player's destination ahead and ambush them."

"This blue ghost is a clever one. I call it Encirclement because it will cooperate with its red companion to surround the player."

"And this orange ghost represents the most neutral aspect of human nature. I call it nonchalant because it won't attack the player unless the player actually provokes it."

Ethan pointed to the images on the arcade machine and explained them to everyone.

Each time he introduced a ghost, the faces of everyone present became more serious.

Because everyone knows that this is the AI ​​demonstration they most want to see.

After Ethan finished his introduction, the tech-savvy experts all narrowed their eyes.

When this scene unfolded, Ethan knew the time had come.

He immediately turned on the electronic arcade machine.

For ease of demonstration, this arcade machine still uses an external wired controller.

As he moved, the game quickly reached the first level.

Under his control, the yellow Pac-Man ran out of the central hut and kept eating along the bean trail on the map.

After eating about ten beans, the red phantom suddenly activated, relentlessly pursuing the yellow Pac-Man.

No matter how the yellow Pac-Man tries to escape, the red, hot-tempered man won't give up and keeps chasing after him relentlessly.

Furthermore, the Red Ghost's speed increases as the number of beans on the field decreases...

When one-fifth of the beans on the field were eaten, the surging pursuit truly had the feel of a reckless brute!

"Although the algorithm is very simple to write, the inspiration is amazing."

A comment popped up from the guest seats below.

Just as people were about to join in, the pink ghost suddenly appeared.

As soon as she appeared, she rushed towards the player's location, but unlike the red ghost, she did not relentlessly pursue him. Instead, she came to the player's front, intending to ambush him.

Moreover, the pink ghost reacts whenever the yellow Pac-Man changes direction.

She will change positions to ambush players from a better angle.

What's most amazing is—

"This pink ghost actually takes a detour???"

That's right! When a wall on the map blocked the location of Pac-Man and the Pink Ghost, the Pink Ghost directly chose to go in the opposite direction of Pac-Man's movement and ambush him!

At first, people didn't see anything strange about it.

But when the red ghost drove Pac-Man to the pink ghost's position, the prescient ambush immediately astonished everyone present—

"Oh!!! This algorithm is actually quite sophisticated!!!"

"This isn't a literal collaboration! The algorithms for Red Ghost and Pink Ghost overlap!!!"

Just when the guests thought that Pink Ghost's algorithm was already amazing, because its dynamic computing power was a complete manifestation of the CPU's power.

The next second, the yellow Pac-Man had already eaten two-fifths of the beans on the map.

Then--

The blue ghost that triggered the event darted out of the haunted house!

then--

It became the most dazzling star of the entire event!

Because it uses vector calculations to attack the player from the other side of the red ghost!

When the actual encirclement occurred, everyone present frowned!

If that's all there is to it, then it doesn't count as true intelligence!

When the blue ghost abandons the path where the pink ghost is and goes to other forks to intercept Pac-Man...

The anthropomorphic representation of three people as a group astonished even the seasoned researchers who had been engaged in scientific research for many years.

"Oh my God! How long did it take you guys to write this algorithm?"

"Oh—while we keep emphasizing the learning capabilities of artificial intelligence, why hasn't anyone thought that games are the best demonstration of that?"

"Although this is just a game, it's worthy of being published as a research paper! And this game could be used as a teaching tool in engineering departments of major universities! What is machine logical thinking? What is artificial intelligence? Although we can't turn machines into brains yet, this kind of logical judgment in pursuit is the best practical demonstration!"

Although the discussion had already begun, Ethan did not stop.

Because the Orange Ghost is the one who truly understands human nature.

When Xiao Cheng entered the map, everyone present realized just how much this AI resembled a human!

Once a player enters its hunting range, it works like it's being watched by its boss while at work, and it works hard!

If the player escapes its pursuit range, it will start slacking off, just like a worker discovering their boss has disappeared!

Once a player enters his hunting range too many times in a short period of time, he will, like countless PTSD patients who have suffered from the boss's debuff, engage in a period of retaliatory "high-efficiency" work!

After waiting for the player to escape its pursuit for a long time, it started to slack off again!

When this vivid and lively scene appears on the arcade screen...

Even though the forty-odd people present were mentally prepared, they were still shocked!

"This is truly a real application of AI technology in games!"

"While we all have the ability to write such algorithms,... we genuinely lack the inspiration..."

Having already seen the results, Principal Fred Terman smiled and made the final decision.

At the same time, he stood up and walked shakily to the arcade machine, wanting to appreciate the AI's performance in the game up close.

Once the first person steps forward, a second will naturally follow.

Ralph Bell rushed to the arcade machine. As he observed Ethan's movements while controlling the controller and watched the four ghosts chase each other in the game, the smooth and effortless pursuit made him laugh.

"Oh, Ethan—is this the damn gift you gave me?"

"Your game is absolutely amazing!"

"It's so great that I feel like the best thing I've ever done in my life was to become a consultant for your company!"

If there's a second one, then naturally there will be a third, a fourth, a fifth...

Despite the presence of many influential figures at the scene, Steven Spielberg remained unfazed and went straight to Ethan's side.

"Oh my god! I've never seen a game like this before! This looks so interesting!"

At the same time, he also wanted to try out the latest game, "Oh Ethan... my good brother... let me play a round..."

The next second, his mind wandered and he remembered something else, "Oh right! Didn't you promise to give me an arcade game console?"

"Is this mine?"

"Can I take it with me later?"

Before Ethan could answer, a roar rang out, "Oh, Steven—calm down!"

That was Arnold Spielberg's voice.

"How can I stay calm? This game is fucking interesting!" Spielberg completely ignored his father's advice.

He nudged Ethan lightly with his body, trying to take the external controller from his hand.

This situation left Ethan somewhat bewildered and amused.

Since the game demonstration was already finished, he didn't insist any further and simply handed the controller over.

And when he faced the guest seats again...

The sight of almost everyone crowding around him, their eyes filled with longing, startled him!

But the next second, he became happy again.

Because he knew that the press conference was a great success!

"Do you like it?" Ethan patted Chuck Patto on the shoulder and said with a smile, "It's made with your chips."

"Oh—it's such an honor!" Chuck Patto hugged Ethan, laughing loudly, "Ethan! Thank you! You've proven to us that MOS 6502 is really useful!"

After returning the hug, Ethan went to Ralph Bell's side and put his arm around him.

"So, Professor Bell, are you satisfied with this game?" Ethan patted him on the shoulder with a smile.

"Arnold is right, you young people are just more quick-witted than us." Ralph Bell opened his arms and hugged Ethan. "Thank you, you've given me a new perspective. Perhaps the era of circuit boards really is over..."

These words made Ethan laugh and nod.

Being able to show off in front of these big shots, that's really...

Thai pants are hot!

Of course, there's something even cooler waiting for him than showing off.

When Ethan looked around, he noticed that two people were still sitting in the guest seats.

Not only that, at this moment they were completely stunned, staring blankly ahead.

This situation led Ethan to take a slight detour and dart behind them.

Then, he opened his arms and hugged the two of them.

Then, he smiled and said, "Nolan, it's been half a year. How have you been?"

"You came here today, saw my game, what do you think?"

That's right, one of the people Ethan was hugging was Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari!

Upon hearing Ethan's words, the guy's eyes widened immediately, and he turned his head with difficulty.

Those bloodshot eyes were filled with shock.

"great……"

He managed to utter his assessment with difficulty.

"Oh, thank you." Ethan nodded with a smile in thanks.

Then he turned his gaze to another person, "What do you think, sir from Miluohua?"

Upon hearing this, the old man in the white suit immediately began to pant heavily.

After a long pause, he finally said, "Very...very good...excellent..."

"Thank you." Ethan smiled, his eyes crinkling.

He patted their arms lightly and said happily, "It is truly my greatest honor that you both like it."

He bowed slightly and then left.

That dashing figure made the two of them clench their fists.

But a moment later, the sudden feeling of powerlessness made them hunch their backs.

Because they know this is Stanford!

They understood it better than anyone else...

None of the guests at the event are people you can mess with!

(End of this chapter)