Chapter 179: Caneghem Joins

Life is a miracle shaped by countless choices. 

And along this journey, where every person walks their own unique path, we eventually arrive at crossroads, moments that have the power to alter the course of everything that follows. 

For some, that crossroads may be an exam. For others, a job interview, a decision, or even a seemingly ordinary string of numbers. Whatever form it takes, there is always a moment that carries extraordinary significance, a moment when one choice can change everything. 

And for Jon Van Caneghem, that moment was the sunny afternoon when he first met Ethan. That meeting a year ago had completely changed the fate of this young man who had switched from a medical degree to the game industry.  

His first game, Might and Magic, had become a huge hit on NovaBox, and even now, it still felt like a dream. 

Although the success had brought him considerable money, Caneghem remained deeply accustomed to tinkering with game development himself. 

Rather than using his earnings to expand his studio, he chose to improve the tools he worked with first. He replaced his old development equipment with better hardware and bought a batch of high-quality coffee beans that, according to what he had heard, had been imported from overseas. 

Coffee was the best mana potion for programmers. 

..... 

It was early 1987, and Caneghem had just tossed an empty pizza box into the trash. His way of celebrating the New Year had been simple: a double-cheese sausage pizza. 

After washing his hands, he went back to his PC and began digging through the stack of papers scattered across his desk. Eventually, he found the most neatly bound stack of documents in the pile. 

This was the design document for Heroes of Might and Magic that Ethan had given him. 

Caneghem had to admit, the document was incredibly thorough. It was far more detailed than he had expected. 

The game was a spinoff set in the Might and Magic universe. Players would take on the role of a ruler, fighting the native forces of the continent of Enroth as they struggled to claim the throne. 1

Turn-based strategy. On paper, it shouldn't have been particularly difficult to make. 

At least, Caneghem had already worked out what he thought was a pretty solid design. Then fate decided to complicate things. 

The release of the NovaXeno, along with Civilization, GAMENOVA's first-party strategy masterpiece had ushered in an entirely new era for strategy games. Together, they marked the beginning of the end for the 8-bit era. 

And suddenly, the early draft Caneghem had once been so proud of looked painfully outdated. 

Caneghem was a competitive man, so there was no way he was going to let that slide. 

So, after Ethan sent him a NovaXeno along with a copy of Civilization disc, Caneghem made his decision the very same day he finished playing it. 

Start over! 

Hell, it wasn't as if he had anyone else to support. The money Might and Magic had earned was more than enough to keep him going while he devoted himself to his next game. 

At worst, he could spend another few years laying the groundwork. 

Fortunately, the NovaXeno development kit wasn't all that different from the old NovaBox hardware. The basic development environment remained familiar, but the new system came with a huge range of additional features, and more importantly, they were remarkably easy to use. 

"Hrrrgh..." 

Caneghem raised his cup and finished his coffee in one gulp. Only then did he look at the design document and scratch his head. 

"Could it be that I'm working too slowly? Maybe Ethan's getting impatient." 

Quite a few elements in this design document were things Caneghem had already seen in Civilization. Then again, a whole year had passed. 

"Forget it. Just forget it. I don't have a big team, and I'm no Ethan or Carmack. If it takes longer, it takes longer. I'm not going to sacrifice quality just to make up for lost time." 6

Caneghem slapped his cheeks, quickly driving the thought that had flashed through his mind just moments ago. 

'Should I just get it done quickly and call it a day?'  

No. He had to trust Ethan, and more importantly, he had to trust himself. Just then, the telephone suddenly rang. 

"Hello?" 

"Hello, Caneghem? Would you be interested in leading a company? I have a studio here that specializes in adventure games, but I don't have any immediate plans for it." 

"...?" 

"Hello? Did I dial the wrong number?" 

Hearing only silence on the other end, Ethan called out twice more, growing increasingly confused, before Caneghem finally responded. 

"Ah, sorry. I'm here. What did you mean by that?" 

"Exactly what I said. I just bought Activision. They've got an adventure game studio under them, and the people there are pretty good. So, would you be interested?" 

As Ethan spoke, his gaze drifted toward David, who was still sitting nearby with a bewildered expression on his face. 

David swallowed with difficulty, completely unable to understand what was happening before his eyes. 

This is just too damn surreal, man. Fantasy games are all fake, this is the real fantasy. 1

And as strange as Ethan's behavior was, David had caught one name in particular. 

"Caneghem..." 

He knew that name. Or rather, it would be difficult for any serious RPG fan not to have heard of him. 

Jon Van Caneghem. 

Until recently, he had been an unknown young developer. Now he was the creator of Might and Magic, one of the three major RPG franchises, and the best-selling third-party game on NovaBox. 1

"Anyway, that's the situation," Ethan continued. "Developing for a 16-bit console is a lot more demanding, so I figured you could use some extra help." 

There was another long silence on the other end of the phone. 

"Ethan, I don't have the time or energy to run another development studio. I'd rather work on my own projects without anyone breathing down my neck." 

Taking on support from a larger company came with plenty of benefits, but it also came with its own set of expectations. 

If he were no longer on his own, as he was now, could he really continue developing games purely for the sake of creating something great? 

Could he still obsess over the little details without worrying about budgets, schedules, or someone else's expectations? 

Caneghem already knew the answer, and he wanted no part of it. It would go against the very intention that had driven him from the beginning. 

Maybe having GAMENOVA behind him would give him a bigger team, more resources, and the ability to make even more money. But was that really what he wanted? 

Of course not. If money was all he cared about, why had he left medicine in the first place? 

He could have simply stayed on the path toward becoming a doctor. And this wasn't some half-hearted career he'd abandoned, either. He had been working toward a genuine medical degree. 

"Hmm... I see the problem." 

Ethan thought for a moment. 

"How about this? As head of Infocom, I'll bring you on as our Executive Creative Director. You can focus on the creative side, while the day to day operations remain under Activision as they are now." 

"...?" 

Ethan wasn't offering to help him hire a few more developers. He was making a direct attempt to bring him into the company. 

Caneghem had dreamed countless times of an opportunity like this... of becoming a true member of GAMENOVA rather than remaining a third-party developer. 

No matter how close he had become to Ethan and the others, no matter how often they ate together or spent time talking about games and everything else under the sun, there had always been one unavoidable fact. 

Officially, Caneghem was still an outsider. He wasn't like Sir-Tech or Origin Systems, established independent studios with years of history behind them. 

Caneghem had started from almost nothing, and he had never been particularly attached to the idea of staying independent forever. 

When he had visited GAMENOVA to study their development process, he'd seen Will and Sid there. So, he knew GAMENOVA's development division had already grown considerably and was bringing in new people. 

And to be honest, Caneghem really envied those lucky bastards, he was even insanely jealous. 

'Why them and not me?' 

Caneghem had asked himself that question more times than he could count. 

He knew he wasn't necessarily the best developer in the industry, but he wasn't some nobody, either. 

And now, at long last, Ethan had formally invited him to join GAMENOVA, a chance he had been waiting for all this time. 

"Absolutely! I'd be really happy to join the team and be a part of the company." 

Caneghem's voice was barely able to contain his excitement. 

'Oh man, I can't believe it! I finally made it!' 

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