RoleplayNovel Chapter 68 Am I the chicken?
Chapter 68 Am I the chicken?
Yang Yi ran her fingertips back and forth over the test handle equipped with the HD vibration motor, already having a clear plan in mind.
The prototype's performance far surpasses that of commonly used eccentric rotor motors on the market, with layered vibration and start-stop response being on completely different levels.
By comparing it closely with the specifications of the finished product in the previous life, it is clear that the current engineering sample is still far from perfect and is far from being a mature form.
Given its current size, it's practically impossible to fit it inside a small game controller that's comparable to the Switch's size.
He looked up at the R&D director beside him and asked, "Could we compress this HD motor to the size of a mobile phone SIM card?"
Upon hearing this, the R&D director frowned instantly, turned around and stared intently at the structural modeling data on the screen, pondering for a long time before speaking with a hesitant tone:
"Mr. Yang, this goal is quite difficult; it's almost equivalent to scrapping the existing architecture and developing a new product from scratch."
"Although the driving principle is the same as the existing prototype, the cavity space and counterweight structure have to be completely redesigned after the component size is reduced. With the change in size, the vibration frequency and the upper limit of output will fluctuate significantly, and it will be difficult to replicate the current effect in the finished product."
He paused, then continued to add the difficult points:
"In addition, there is the precision machining of ultra-miniature springs. Domestic supporting processing plants have limited process margins, and it is difficult to guarantee the yield rate of mass production of small parts."
"Even if it were developed, it wouldn't be easy to apply to a game controller; the vibrations from a micro motor would have difficulty even penetrating the controller's outer shell..."
The subtext is self-evident: miniaturization is feasible, but the process is complicated, the yield rate is low, and the final cost of manufacturing a single piece will be much higher than the current large-volume prototype, and it is not very useful for the handle.
Having never seen the mature business practices of his previous life, he found it difficult to keep up with Yang Yi's train of thought.
In his view, or in the view of the current R&D personnel, the performance of this controller can already crush ordinary controllers on the market, so why take the risk of miniaturization?
This miniaturization solution has no practical value.
Is it intended for use in in-ear headphones?
Yang Yi listened for a long time and understood the technical difficulties of micro motors. As for the application scenarios, he had already planned them out.
Listen carefully, he's about to show off!
Yang Yi walked straight to the whiteboard and began to draw lines.
"The reason you think it's unnecessary and impossible is because you don't know what the final device I need to adapt to looks like."
With a swift stroke of the pen, a pair of exquisitely designed, symmetrical, separate handles instantly appeared on the whiteboard.
This is the mature and perfected Joy-Con split handle form that came later.
All the engineers present stared intently, never having seen such a thin, compact, yet fully functional handle structure.
Yang Yi drew a cross-sectional structural diagram and disassembled the internal design layer by layer, revealing the ingenuity of this advanced equipment to everyone.
As he drew, he analyzed the intricately stacked internal components line by line:
"At the top of the handle, we abandoned the traditional heavy joystick and adopted an ultra-miniature piezoelectric joystick module, which is only one-third the size of a conventional joystick, saving a lot of vertical space while retaining omnidirectional control and pressing functions."
"The side trigger position abandons the mechanical transmission structure and uses an ultra-thin spring-type trigger module, compressing the thickness to the extreme, and is almost installed against the shell."
"The main body of the device does not use a standard square battery, but instead uses a custom-made curved, high-density lithium battery that perfectly fits the curvature of the handle, making full use of every gap and eliminating any waste of space."
"A miniature six-axis gyroscope and accelerometer are embedded in the gaps and blind spots of the fuselage to achieve high-precision spatial motion sensing positioning."
"A simple sensor will also be installed at the bottom to recognize object outlines and gesture shapes. Subsequent software will enable unique features such as rock-paper-scissors recognition, fingertip heart rate detection, and positioning of peripheral cardboard modules."
Finally, he circled the only flat, empty compartment in the lower half of the handle.
"The entire structure was compressed to the extreme, and the entire process was stacked and spaced out. The whole device was squeezed to its limit, leaving only a space the size of a SIM card."
"This space is specifically reserved for a miniature HD vibration motor."
After he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.
All the engineers stared intently at the cross-sectional structure on the whiteboard, their eyes filled with utter shock.
They finally understood!
I also understand now. It wasn't that Yang Yi was forcing the development, but rather that the physical structure of the split-type small handle was inherently limited to only be compatible with micro HD motors.
The R&D director was shaken and took the initiative to speak:
"Mr. Yang, we understand! The split handle structure is too intricate, and space is extremely limited. The miniature HD motor is the only matching vibration solution, making the miniaturization effort entirely worthwhile!"
With the R&D director's support, Yang Yi opened up and began explaining the interaction design of the controller.
Then, draw a system interaction logic diagram to highlight the most revolutionary design of this controller – a single controller can stand alone as a complete controller, and a pair can instantly become two sets of control devices.
The entire firmware has three built-in grip recognition algorithms:
The first type magnetically attaches the left and right sides together, inserts the matching grip, and combines them into a complete full-size controller, compatible with major console games;
The second type is two controllers that are attached to the sides of the handheld console and serve as the original integrated controllers.
The third type features two separate controllers that can be held horizontally. The pair of controllers can be directly separated into two independent sets, allowing for immediate two-player gaming without any additional peripherals.
The whiteboard displays hardware cross-sections, software flowcharts, and three gripping modes arranged side by side. From infrared recognition to the underlying firmware logic for splitting and sharing, a complete set of advanced designs has been fully implemented.
The dozens of hardware and firmware engineers present held their breath, their initial skepticism turning into utter astonishment.
This design is absolutely brilliant.
While it may sacrifice some of the feel, the gamepad's infinitely expandable gameplay and built-in sharing features bring endless possibilities.
According to the boss's idea, the design of this controller is extremely difficult, as high as three or four stories.
The project team is really going to be busy from now on.
Seeing everyone's amazed expressions as they were captivated by the cutting-edge design, Yang Yi felt satisfied, nodded slightly, and turned to look at the R&D director beside her.
"The development of the split mini gamepad with the micro HD motor is proceeding as usual. In addition, the regular universal gamepad with the HD motor will also be launched at the same time. It will be mass-produced as a separate peripheral and sold on the platform to meet the needs of ordinary players."
Changing the subject, he followed up with another key project, "By the way, how's the development progress of the linear trigger project that was initiated earlier?"
The R&D director reluctantly withdrew his gaze from the blueprints, composed himself, frowned slightly, and began to report the problems, rattling off a series of professional mechanical terms and structural issues.
"We've encountered two problems that we haven't solved yet, and they might take some time... and the trigger lock..."
Yang Yi managed to grasp the current development progress by navigating the various technical terms used by the R&D director.
I couldn't help but complain in my mind: Damn it! I can't understand so much of what's going on. If only the system had a built-in progress bar!
It's one thing to not understand the finer technical parameters, but as the person in charge of the company, you also have to put on a knowing look and pretend to be an expert.
Fortunately, he had a thorough understanding of the overall product roadmap and top-level design. Whenever the conversation turned to the big picture, he could always interject with precise suggestions, thus preserving the boss's dignity.
Although Yang Yi pretended to know what he was talking about, the R&D director didn't know. In his eyes, the boss who could design such a portable handle must be a genius!
Moreover, no matter what technology the two were discussing, the boss could always chime in and pinpoint the direction of their research.
The boss pointed out the direction of voice coil motor research, which he had never even heard of before.
However, upon closer analysis, it seems to have great research value and is highly feasible.
After several rounds of communication, the R&D director became increasingly impressed, feeling that his boss had exceptional vision and unfathomable insight, and could dispel the fog of R&D with just a casual remark.
Yang Yi's act was very successful, but what was the price to pay?
The cost was that the already numerous technical terms in the conversation became even more prevalent, giving Yang Yi a headache.
------
On the other side, at Pig Farm Glory Studio.
The atmosphere in the large office area was dull and oppressive. Sun Shan slumped in his office chair, staring intently at the computer screen with a worried expression, his fingertips repeatedly refreshing the backend data, his face growing increasingly grim.
Just three hours ago, his "Ten Deadly Sins of the Bee Swarm," a lengthy work of over a thousand words that he spent an entire night polishing, dominated the trending topics on the internet.
The number of reposts and comments surged, and it seemed that the project was about to turn around its reputation by riding the wave of public opinion and revitalize its revenue by attacking the swarm of terrorism.
In the blink of an eye, all the hype was extinguished as if doused with cold water, the trending topics disappeared out of thin air, and the topic's popularity plummeted.
Unwilling to give up, he switched to several backup accounts and posted additional revelations and provocative posts that stirred up conflict. The posts that used to easily ignite discussions now disappeared without a trace, failing to even generate a ripple of comments or views.
A large number of the吐槽 videos previously created by bloggers and editing accounts on the platform have been taken down and blocked. The remaining content is all subject to hidden traffic restrictions, making it difficult for ordinary users to see.
Having been in the industry for many years, Sun Shan instantly saw through the tricks of the trade: this was a targeted control exercised by the platform, with someone behind it using massive channel resources.
He knew perfectly well that it couldn't possibly be Swarm Technology that had taken action.
Although Hive has been incredibly popular in the gaming world for a short period of time, with one new product after another becoming a hit and a huge player base.
But ultimately, it is just an emerging startup, its focus is limited to game products, and its foundation in the full-platform Internet ecosystem is shallow. Its size is at most that of a small company.
Without authority, channels, or capital, they simultaneously blocked public opinion across major social media, video, and application channels.
After ruling out the bee swarm, there's only one answer left—XunTeng has taken action.
Cold sweat streamed down his temples, soaking the back of his shirt. Sun Shan slumped into his office chair, his mind in turmoil.
He just couldn't understand the logic behind it: XunTeng and Beehive had clashed several times, and XunTeng had suffered losses twice in a row.
On the surface, they are real competitors. Logically speaking, when someone publishes an article attacking the swarm and ignites negative public opinion, the best solution for XunTeng is to stand aside and kick them while they're down. At the very least, they should watch coldly and reap the benefits. There is absolutely no reason for them to take the initiative to help their arch-rival cut off the negative buzz.
Sun Shan muttered to himself subconsciously, "Helping the bee colony? That doesn't make sense..."
A moment later, he shook his head sharply, dismissing the conjecture himself.
Xun Teng was not acting out of kindness or to help Yang Yi out of a predicament; there was absolutely no mutual assistance or friendship between them.
Sitting at his workstation, Sun Shan felt increasingly choked up the more he thought about it. He subconsciously muttered to himself, "Could it be that Xun Teng is holding a grudge, simply retaliating against my copywriting that criticized Xun Teng the day before yesterday?"
He was filled with resentment, secretly criticizing XunTeng for its narrow-mindedness:
"What kind of business is this? In business, it's all about teamwork. Joining forces to suppress rising new swarms is the safest approach. Instead, you're picking on me and being petty and vindictive. It's really disappointing."
In his original plan, after he exposed "The Ten Deadly Sins of the Beehive," XunTeng was supposed to secretly add fuel to the fire and use public opinion to severely damage the Beehive.
This was a golden opportunity to severely damage a rising star, and it's uncertain when we'll be able to seize such a suitable opportunity to launch an attack again.
As the thought crossed my mind, a new question arose:
XunTeng holds the power of traffic across the entire platform. In the past, it clashed with Yang Yi several times. Despite having overwhelming capital, it never resorted to such ruthless means of blocking channels. Why did it target one of its own studio managers?
A chilling thought suddenly crept into his mind, and Sun Shan froze: to make an example of someone.
Instead of seizing the opportunity to kick someone when they're down, Xunteng took action to quell negative public opinion and turned its attention to dismantling its own pig farm subsidiaries.
It wasn't about helping Yang Yi at all; it was about using Sun Shan as a model for the entire industry.
Could Sun Shan be that chicken?
After figuring this out, Sun Shan felt weak in the knees.
Sun Shan continued to ponder, and if the truth was indeed as he had guessed, then he could start looking for a burial plot in advance.
Given XunTeng's extensive experience and resources in the internet industry, dealing with a mere studio manager like him would be a simple matter of lifting a finger and completing the task in a matter of minutes.
XunTeng doesn't even need to get involved personally.
As long as XunTeng makes its stance clear, downstream application distribution channels, short video platforms, partners, and other astute collaborators will naturally follow suit and take sides.
They quietly cut off all traffic-driving resources for "Operation Terrorist Hunt" and terminated business cooperation.
Supply chains and outsourcing service providers across various industries will also deliberately keep their distance, for fear of getting involved or offending the giants.
Although the pig farm he was backed by was a large and powerful entity, Sun Shan knew very well that his unauthorized posting of articles to incite conflict and his repeated offenses against the two giants were all his own actions from beginning to end.
Ding Sanshi only instructed him to capitalize on the hype to recoup project costs beforehand; he never authorized him to write "Ten Deadly Sins of the Beehive" to maliciously smear the project.
When it comes to the point of being held accountable and investigated, in order to protect the group's reputation, the pig farm will most likely cut ties decisively, putting all the blame on him alone, sacrificing the pawn to save the king.
Thinking about it now, I realize how brave I was the other day; I dared to say anything.
Yang Yi was really lucky; he slapped Xun Teng twice and got himself to be the scapegoat.