Game Director from Hell

Chapter 21: Boss Design (1)

It was a day when the young girl had started her journey with a butterfly, hoping to turn back time.

Behind the ominous beach where not a single bright colour existed, lay a forest.

There, the girl learned the basics of survival from the butterfly.

How to eat, how to silence one's presence, and at times, how to confront enemies.

[Those are demons. Inhabitants of this hell, but they were once humans who wandered for too long and became consumed. They loathe all living things.]

The butterfly referred to the demons as they looked like charred skeletons.

If we were to represent them into a game terms, they were like skeletons.

They would rush at anything living without direction, and then, when the surroundings grew quiet, they would slump like corpses.

They were the first enemies the girl encountered and the first ones she defeated.

Using a slingshot, she aimed the transformed butterfly and shot rocks to stun the skeletons.

As such encounters became more familiar, the butterfly spoke.

[Do you understand? Hell is filled with truly terrifying things, and this place will make you just like them. To avoid that fate, we must escape quickly.]

"How did they end up here?"

[...Let's go to the cave.]

The butterfly did not reveal everything to the girl.

It simply led her to the cave, guiding her towards the escape route from the beach.

[Behind this cave is another part of hell. From now on, it's the real beginning.]

The girl followed the butterfly's words.

Her attitude was submissive, as if she needed to obey rather than think for herself.

"Yes, let's go."

I followed the girl and the butterfly into the cave as if I were entranced.

That was how we passed the first part of Hell.

The scenery still haunts me.

[This is the Hell of Heretics.]

Despite being called hell, it seemed like heaven.

It was a utopia that could not exist in reality, and I was awestruck by the profound tranquillity that pervaded the entire place, more than anything, by the existence beyond comprehension.

[Do you see that giant figure?]

The butterfly pointed to a 'god' there.

Though seated with its buttocks on the ground, it was so colossal that it could pierce the sky.

But I could perceive no other information.

[That's a god. Not a fake god created for profit, but a real god that has existed in the realm of ideas for a long time.]

I definitely saw him with my own eyes.

But other than the fact that he was there, I couldn't express anything.

It was as if the information engraved on my retina didn't connect to my brain.

If I turned my gaze away for a moment, the image of the god I had seen would be erased from my mind.

The reason was explained by the butterfly.

[How does he look to your eyes?]

"...I don't know."

[Hmm, it's because you don't have a religion.]

Summarizing the lengthy explanation that followed, it was something that only existed within the realm of ideas, so it couldn't be defined.

The form of a god was essentially what people imagined and believed in, so as an atheist, I couldn't define it.

That's the end of the story there.

After finishing the story about the god, the butterfly explained how the girl could escape from this place.

"This is where people with peculiar faith come. It's a place where they worship their beliefs under the constant gaze of the god, making them regret their faith. Look over there. The heretics are praying to the god."

"Please, please, give me an answer...!"

However, the god remained silent.

I had a strong belief that this was their punishment.

[At first, everyone tries to escape from the gaze of the god, but when they realize it's impossible, they rush towards the god. However, they can never reach him. The god does not allow the heretics to come near. No matter how hard they try, they can't get close, and that's when they start to regret. They give up everything and pray like that.]

As the butterfly had said, the suffering heretics were divided into various groups.

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Some hid in the temple, some came out and begged, and others rushed toward the god.

[We need to reach the god while avoiding them. The place where the god sits is the only way out of this Hell.]

That's how the girl's adventure began.

The girl had two enemies.

"They are sacrifices! Offerings from the god!"

The heretics who committed sins to seek forgiveness.

And,

Thud!

The god.

[The god dislikes material beings. That's why your presence here is bothersome to him. But it's okay. You are not a heretic, so you can gain the favour of the god. This is a test!]

The god occasionally clenched his fist and struck at the girl.

With the guidance of the butterfly, she barely avoided such attacks and fought against the rushing heretics.

Mostly dodging or evading, and when there was no choice, the butterfly transformed into a sword or a club, clutched by the girl's hand.

The girl's fighting style was like a crazed person swinging a cursed blade in a manga.

Anyway, the important thing was that the girl reached the god and faced her final trial.

The god lowered himself silently.

To the size of a two-story building.

[The god is testing your worth. Let's fight.]

The girl fought alongside the butterfly.

She avoided, blocked, and counterattacked against the god's attacks, which were incomprehensible even to the god's eyes. In the end, she gained the god's approval.

As the exhausted girl staggered, the god simply watched her and opened a path.

It was a pure white door.

[Let's go, to the next Hell.]

The girl walked once again.

***

The demo version with the reduced map size and the modelling of the heretics was finally completed.

I had now placed Alice and the butterfly into the Hell of the Heretics.

First, I set up the basic controls, patterns for the heretics who would become monsters, and routes for farming various items, excluding issues like bugs that might arise from interactions.

Apart from that, there weren't many challenges.

Originally, the Hell of Heretics was relatively easy to adapt from a gameplay perspective when analysed.

"Hell Of Alice" is fundamentally an adventure genre game.

However, the foundation of the "Hell" IP is horror.

So, I had to incorporate horror elements into the adventure.

"Let's focus on stealth missions that weren't included in the previous instalment. The surprise elements (jump scares) leading up to reaching the god's room should be added to the god. Express them with the god's punches."

Besides that, I worked on the characteristics and combinations of weapons.

This was achievable by smoothly integrating them into the gameplay, mainly through the butterfly.

"Just implement a growth stat system for the butterfly. Alice is sufficient as the main character's body."

The idea was borrowed from the skill growth system.

It involved implementing a skill tree in a mind map format.

Players could choose various directions for selective growth, such as long-range builds using a slingshot, melee builds using a club, or cut-focused builds using a sickle, depending on their choices.

Unlocking higher-level weapons for each build would be achieved through farming materials.

"The transformation of each form will be assigned to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quick slots."

The weapon transformation animations were implemented quite smoothly and beautifully.

Of course, due to the limitations of the time and manpower, the effects that matched my vision didn't come out as expected, but that couldn't be helped.

Anyway, with all of that done, there was one thing left.

The boss implementation.

The modelling for the boss hadn't come out yet. Actually, not even the concept art had been completed.

Therefore, for the boss, I had only roughly represented it as a pile of polygons.

I raised my head and looked towards the art team.

It was currently 9 PM, and Han Seorim was alone, tirelessly reworking the concept art.

"Sigh..."

She let out a sigh every ten minutes or so.

Her head was spinning from all the revisions she had done.

I felt a pang of guilt.

The reason she was putting in so much effort was ultimately because of the design of the "God" that I had instructed.

• Represent the human form in a way that's not intuitive. But make sure the impression of a god is clear.

I knew it was impossible to reproduce the exact form of the god I had seen, so I had proposed my own compromise.

Well, if it was a form that couldn't be recognized even when seen, then modelling or imagining it would be impossible.

But I also knew this:

"Satisfy me with 'Do it however you want' is the hardest way."

The truth behind that statement is akin to "Satisfy me with your own perspective," which makes it even more difficult.

But the reason I didn't backtrack on my words was simple.

"You can still grow. You need to develop your intuition. This will be an experience as an Art director."

And it's because it was Han Seorim, of all people, that I could say this with confidence.

I knew her future.

There was a quote from an interview about "Lost Kingdom" that the overall director had said at some point.

"I don't give specific designs. I always use sensory expressions with my Art Director. She pulls out the most beautiful designs from free imagination."

Han Seorim's biggest strength lies in her creativity that comes from a different place than others.

That creativity had reached a level where it would create designs that no one could follow in 10 years' time.

Now I know a fact:

Han Seorim entering the game industry happened at a later time than now.

So, if I process the raw gem that is Han Seorim from now on, wouldn't she become even more exceptional than she would have been back then?

I can do it.

So, I order her.

But...

"Seorim..."

I have to manage it.

"Yeah... Uh, okay."

Han Seorim turned around, her gaze unfocused. Dark circles were prominent under her eyes.

She's overworking herself.

She's as dedicated to his work as I am, so there's no way I can just brush it off.

I can't expect everyone to follow my pace as I did when I was developing on my own.

Above all, it would be foolish to shatter the current Han Seorim, who is driven by her potential.

"Let's stop here for today. Go home and get some rest."

"Excuse me? Just this much..."

"I'm going to cut off the power."

Han Seorim's face showed discontent.

I asked her, "Are you attending your school classes properly?"

"Well..."

"Your response is slow. And I heard from Yumi and Hyeji that your attendance is borderline."

These were the words that reached me after I entrusted her with the boss design.

It seemed like perfectionism had taken over.

It had been almost a year since then, and seeing her every day, I could sense it to some extent.

"...I'm still okay."

Her tone was full of dissatisfaction.

I said, "Taking a break is also a part of work, especially for you."

I got up from my seat and approached Han Seorim.

On the monitor, I could see the artwork she was working on.

The outlines were there, but there were traces of modifications all over, indicating hesitation and uncertainty.

I pointed at it.

"The more you edit, the worse it gets. Aren't you thinking while you draw?"

Han Seorim's lips formed a straight line.

A rare sign of affirmation.

It wasn't something that happened often.

In the creative field, the time spent on the concept and the time spent on the actual creation were inversely proportional. The most ideal situation was prolonged brainstorming and a short period for actual production. This way, the details became more intuitive.

Of course, excluding the areas of editing and security. In the end, what I wanted to convey was that Han Seorim was currently on a deteriorating path, judging from what I had just said.

I spoke a bit harshly, "You don't have a clear image in your mind. That means you don't have a definite direction. Ultimately, you might have convinced yourself that you'll figure something out no matter what since you've put in so much time and effort, and yet you're not getting good results, which made you anxious. That anxiety would have led to overworking."

"..."

"It's a vicious cycle, and you know it. You know it, but you can't fix it. Am I wrong?"

Han Seorim's expression frowned.

For a moment, there was a tense silence.

And then, Han Seorim covered her face.

Her words were filled with a sense of melancholy.

"...I haven't been resting much lately."

"You're restless even when you lie down to rest. You think that somehow, if you keep at it, it'll work out."

"Being obsessed with it, huh? If you don't get some fresh air, it affects your overall perspective."

"Is that really the case?"

Han Seorim looked at the monitor with questioning eyes.

Soon, a bitter chuckle escaped her lips.

"Ah, this is really weird."

"What's weird?"

Her confused words sounded like a complaint.

"It's all your fault, Sunbae. For making me do things like this."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. It just makes it more pathetic."

Indeed.

Han Seorim, with her strong pride, would probably interpret my apology as "You made me do something unreasonable."

In most cases, words were often interpreted that way.

"...I've said it before, but I entrusted it to you because I believe you can do it."

"I know."

"Right now, your condition is not good because you haven't rested."

"I don't need any consolation."

Han Seorim suddenly tapped her forehead on the desk.

She looked lifeless.

Ah, what should I do in situations like this?

I thought for a moment, then found an answer.

"Team Leader! Let's stop here and go have some drinks!"

I could assign her a different task.

No, in Han Seorim's case, I should divert her attention from work.

"Seorim."

"Why do you keep calling me..."

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Work..."

"That's enough. Let's go outside and take a break. Walk around with me."

Han Seorim turned her head.

She had her head buried on the desk and was peeking at me with resentful eyes.

Hmm, it seems like she's considering something.

"Is this not a date, then?"

"Let's call it a company welfare event."

Han Seorim's silence continued for a moment.

Then, at the end of it all, she finally responded, her face still scrunched up.

"What nonsense."

Her twitching smile was a sign of approval.

"Don't go back to your work. Go get some sleep. Let's meet for lunch tomorrow."

Managing employees can be quite challenging.