Game Director from Hell

Chapter 10: Prize

Entering is easy, graduating is tough.

In the gaming industry, it's a fairly famous saying.

The meaning of the saying was just that.

Games should be intuitive enough for players to grasp the mechanics easily, while also incorporating deep complexity within that intuition.

It seemed like a simple concept, but putting it into practice was challenging.

Well, if it were that easy, why would there be a majority of games being criticized as "too difficult" in the world?

From that perspective, Yeonho's "Hellic" fulfilled the premise quite well.

『(Game) Waiting for Diablo3: Hellic is fun even after multiple playthroughs. Your playstyle changes dramatically depending on the build.

(Guide) Lord of Bangbaedong: For those curious, Hellic Attribute Guide 1: What is "Slashing"?

(Guide) Bridle Inspector: Build for Crushing Poison in Hellic Chapter 3! You guys should try it too @@@

(Chitchat) National Paladin Association: What's up with the scream in Hellic's intro? LOL, I heard that's a girl's scream. Maybe...?

(Guide) ClearSkyWithoutT: I'll tell you how to avoid the Cancer Giant's attacks easily LOL』

Hellic gained immense popularity within the community.

Of course, it was an immense popularity only within the realm of hardcore users who read every single post in the community. However, it was undeniable that its influence was growing.

As mentioned earlier, it was the concise yet deep mechanics that drove this.

Fundamentally, Hellic entrusted all the changes in a player's stats to their weapons.

These weapons were categorized into different "Attributes" based on their types, and by combining them, players could evolve their playstyle in unconventional ways.

In other words, there was room for exploration.

Hellic's users pondered over which weapons to combine, how to upgrade each weapon within limited resources, and ultimately, what build to complete. To solve these challenges, they engaged in repeated playthroughs voluntarily.

It could be considered a resounding success of intention.

There were other aspects, such as the uniqueness of the visuals, the eerie sound effects, and the unbeatable boss, the "Cancer Giant." However, the core was the mechanics.

Yeonho had created a game with solid elements of fun.

Seorim scrolled through the evaluations, then looked up at Yeonho and asked, "What do you think?"

The answer came back, "Can you stop looking?"

"What?"

"Studying evaluations like that. It's a bad habit."

Seorim's lower lip protruded slightly.

"Aren't you happy? You're getting praised by people who don't even know you."

"If you obsess over evaluations, your subjectivity gets shaken. It can be fatal for bugs in the next project."

"What are you talking about?"

It was out of curiosity that she was looking at evaluations. Why was he talking about subjectivity and whatnot... Anyway, he could be oddly conservative at times.

Seorim continued browsing the community.

Her search history was already filled with Seorim's mark.

『<Search History>

Hellic

Hellic

Promoted Game

Cancer

Cancer Giant

Sound

Art

Seorim

Han Seorim』

It was true for most people.

The experience of being noticed by an undetermined multitude had a sweet and thrilling side that could paralyze reason.

Seorim was no exception.

As she had received praise for being the pretty girl from a well-off family since childhood, she found it difficult to break free from the sensation of being recognized without those innate factors.

But in life, where there's sweetness, there's also bitterness.

『(Game) SpaceWarriorFan: Hellic is boring, tsk tsk tsk--』

"What's wrong with this guy?!"

"What is it?"

"He's saying our game is boring!"

Seorim angrily tapped the screen with her finger.

However, Yeonho's response was nonchalant.

"Maybe it doesn't match his taste."

"No, aren't you mad, Sunbae? Huh? Look at these disrespectful scribbled emoticons he's put here!"

"Enough. That guy."

Yeonho casually turned his head away.

Seorim's frustration bubbled up.

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Yeonho, who had been doing his own thing this whole time, was just so annoying.

"Why aren't you even paying attention to our game?"

"You see, don't you? I'm playing a game."

"I know! You know, you're asking what game is capturing my attention so much!"

Seorim pulled a chair next to Yeonho.

Yeonho had connected a game console to the TV from somewhere and was busy playing a game with a click-click sound.

It was a 3D game set in a dark environment.

The playable character resembled a medieval knight in armor, facing a grotesque creature that was swinging its arms wildly.

And then, it happened.

Yeonho's character was struck by the creature's arm and died.

[YOU DIED]

"Oh, I died."

Chomping his lips, Yeonho respawned at the checkpoint.

Seorim frowned.

"Is this fun? You've been dying over and over."

"It's fun. It's a game I like."

"This? What's the title?"

"Demon’s Soul."

"I don't know this game."

"You hardly know any games. And there's no need to. It's been out for about a month."

"Huh?"

When Seorim tilted her head, Yeonho added.

"It's still an undiscovered game."

"Sunbae’s taste is quite niche."

"It's not niche; this game will explode."

In that moment, the screen turned gray again, and the [YOU DIED] message appeared once more.

Yeonho returned to the checkpoint.

Seorim was not sure.

"It's amusing, isn't it? What's the point of a game where you keep dying?"

"That's the point of fun... Well, if you don't understand, never mind."

Finally, Yeonho released the joystick.

It seemed that his gaming session was over for now.

Seorim stared at Yeonho with her round face, and he leaned towards the computer and said.

"Let's check."

"What?"

"Well, the sales."

Seorim's eyes widened.

"Sales? Is it already calculated?"

"Yeah, right at this moment."

Seorim immediately got close to Yeonho.

Right after, she peeked at the monitor and said.

"Still, about 4,000 copies sold, right? That's what's being said in the community!"

Expectation was inevitable.

The game's evaluations were generally positive within the community, and its mention was slowly increasing. So, it was anticipated that meaningful sales figures would follow suit.

But Yeonho dashed those expectations in an instant.

"You'd need to do well to reach 400. Around that much."

"Huh? Only?"

"Want to bet?"

It was a statement that scraped Seorim's pride.

Seorim, in her frustration, blurted out, "Call!"

...And Seorim lost.

"387 copies. I won."

"...Lies."

Seorim mumbled in a disappointed voice.

She couldn't believe it.

However, the number displayed on the monitor was brutally confronting reality.

"Just 387 copies...!"

After all that effort!

With such positive evaluations!

Just 387 copies...!

Frustrated, she pouted, and Yeonho said casually.

"That community isn't even a national one. This result is good enough considering that. Plus, AAA games are pouring out right now. Hardcore gamers don't pay much attention to indie games released on overseas platforms."

"Th-then what do we do?"

"What can we do? We have to wait until the word spreads more. The substantial sales will come after we climb up the platform rankings. It's a long battle. We're newcomers, after all."

"Should we do more promotion? Or..."

"Enough already. Excessive promotion is poison. It's better to gradually improve user evaluations."

What does that mean?

It was a matter of pride.

"It's fun, so why not!"

Aside from the fact that it was a game she personally created, Helic was one of the most enjoyable games she had played, to the point where she could count it on one hand among all the games he had ever tried.

It was enough to erase the thought of "I should stop developing if it gets boring" someday.

She had put in effort, and yet the result was this situation.

No matter what she tried, she couldn't catch a break, and a relaxed attitude was something she just couldn't understand.

Her expression involuntarily became tense.

"Now that the game's settled, let's focus on more urgent matters."

"What's that?"

"Are you not properly attending school?"

Seorim narrowed her eyes.

"What are you talking about? If it's about school, I'd outperform seniors by many times."

"Our school trip is the day after tomorrow."

"Huh?"

"This kid really didn't know."

Yeonho said, looking bewildered.

"Community, sales figures, whatever—it's like we won't even be able to dream about the internet for a few days. Calm down."

Only now did Seorim remember.

"Oh, right."

They were in the middle of a semester.

She had taken care of proxy attendance, and then she had forgotten.

Today, too, Seorim was on the path of becoming a competent developer.

***

"Hoyoung! Your private tutor is here!"

"Yes! I'm all set!"

His online nickname was 'Gobiric Investigator'.

Currently in his senior year of high school, living in Cheongdam.

Hoyoung, a young man in a time when everything other than studying was fun, immediately turned off his computer at his mother's call.

Seven sessions of tutoring to be completed within a week.

The inevitable duty of the eldest son bearing his parents' expectations.

With a deep sigh, Hoyoung moved towards the desk he had prepared in advance.

"Today's English conversation."

Just thinking about it made Hoyoung feel more at ease.

Unlike the other teachers who were fixated on exam scores, native English speaker Mike was practically a friend to Hoyoung.

"Hey, Hoyoung!"

A bearded white man extended his fist.

Hoyoung grinned and bumped his fist against Mike's.

"Hey, Mike."

"Did you bring all your homework?"

"Of course."

"Okay then!"

With a casual shrug of his shoulders, Mike sat down on the chair.

Hoyoung took the seat opposite him and said,

At that moment, a broad smile lit up Hoyoung's face.

"So have you tried all Out?"

"I cleared it all the way through. It's truly a masterpiece."

"Really? You're not kidding."

It was an English conversation.

Even if it was a conversation about games, if it's done in English, isn't it still a part of language practice?

Mike's gaming preferences came up by chance that day.

Since then, their conversation lessons turned into a time for "game talk."

It was one of the few moments in the week when Hoyoung felt truly alive.

Being a high school senior in a prestigious school, Hoyoung didn't have many friends to discuss games with anyway.

"There are so many fun games these days. There's no time to be bored, right?"

Hoyoung strongly agreed with Mike's words.

With big AAA games coming out left and right, honestly, isn't it a day well spent if you only play games?

Especially when among all those releases, there was one game that had captured Hoyoung's heart.

And today, Hoyoung was sharing the story of that game.

"Mike, have you played Helic?"

"Oh, that Korean indie game! I downloaded it yesterday. I'll have to check it out as soon as our lesson is done."

"I really recommend it! It's holding up well even against the flood of AAA titles."

A smile tugged at the corners of Mike's lips.

He still seemed only mildly interested.

But that was okay.

Hoyoung knew just how to pique his interest.

"It's challenging. The difficulty ramps up to insane levels depending on how you play."

"Oh?"

"Among them, there's a boss monster called Cancer Giant. The mechanics behind this guy are..."

Mike, a native English-speaking conversation tutor.

As a gamer, his inclination was to enjoy games in a hardcore manner, taking the difficult path, a "masochist" in other words. In other words, he fell into the category that Hoyoung was most wary of.

***

That evening at Mike's place.

In a foreign land all alone, a can of beer and a compelling game were the things that soothed Mike's heart.

And today was no different.

After finishing work, he immediately cracked open a beer can and turned on the computer.

"Helic, huh."

The platform was Steam. Why would a developer distribute a game there when it hadn't properly spread in Korea yet? The puzzle was momentarily puzzling, but it quickly disappeared.

Mike didn't know the developer's thoughts, after all.

There was only one thing that mattered to Mike.

"Now, Cancer Giant. Let's see what this guy's about."

A boss monster that couldn't be defeated through normal means.

But hitting it does wear down its health.

What did that mean?

"It's telling me to defeat it."

Mike couldn't think of any other meaning.

So he fired up the game he had downloaded the day before.

"Screams!"

The intro's scream was quite crisp.

"The atmosphere is good."

But if the atmosphere was all, there wouldn't be a reason to play.

Pressing the start button was the next step.

And so, the game began...

"Oh wow! Is that it?"

It didn't take long for him to encounter Cancer Giant.

That was the beginning.

[GAME OVER]

"Fuck!"

Mike slammed his keyboard with his fist.

It skims past, still dying; hitting it doesn't do more than 1 damage.

His frustration was at the exploding point due to that outrageous status.

But the smile on his face told a different story.

Cancer Giant was the taste he'd been looking for.

"When will you stop standing there like that?"

How thrilling would it be to see that thing collapse at his feet, trembling?

The thought alone sent shivers down his spine.

He couldn't take it any longer.

Mike immersed himself in the game, almost frantically.

He couldn't let go of the keyboard until the morning light.

"Fuck!"

His scream replaced the crowing of the morning rooster, echoing through his room.

Anyway, to cut to the chase, the hunt for Cancer Giant ended in failure.

Exhausted, all he managed to do was post about it on the North American community, instead of directly in-game.

"'Fucking good game.'"

Accompanied by a few screenshots, the introduction of Helic spread quickly.

"'Mike Tester brought a new game!'"

His community nickname was 'Mike tester.'

He was a well-known user in a North American hardcore gaming community.

With this endorsement from the industry's voucher, Helic, bearing the title of a recommended game, began to garner attention quietly within the minor leagues of North America, even before Korea.