Game Director from Hell

Chapter 31: Interview (2)

A small rectangular device that fits in the palm of your hand.

The modern world's greatest invention, a smartphone that weighs only a few hundred grams but allows you to peer into the world.

It's been three years since I last held one of these in my hand.

"So small."

It feels rougher than I remember.

The apple-shaped icon I take a bite out of seems oddly familiar.

Suddenly, I wonder, who would have known until now?

That this small portable communication device would turn the gaming industry upside down.

"About three years left."

It started in the late 2012s, so there's roughly that much time left.

Just a few more years, and mobile games will begin to dominate the entire market.

Especially with the introduction of the insidious "microtransactions" in casual games.

I furrow my brow.

"Yeonho, why do you think our customers play games? Huh? They don't play games just for the sake of playing. They play games to exchange a small amount of labour for money and get appropriate rewards in return. Rewards, that's what it's all about. The core of the game is that."

In my previous life, the company's director said that.

I have to admit, as distasteful as it may sound, he was mostly right.

Given the inherent limitations of mobile games, it was even more so.

Due to the device's poor heat dissipation, performance had to be lowered beyond optimization, almost reaching the point of "thermal meltdown."

And the resource issues, how serious were they? Considering that one game could devour the entire device, specifications were a necessary compromise.

That's not all. The touch-only control system caused fatigue for complex and precise maneuver. That's why they introduced the "auto-hunting" system.

A sneaky cyber-jungle sprouted up.

Users sit still, staring at the screen, and when their character, controlled by AI, can't progress any further, they open their wallets.

They feel satisfaction watching their character become stronger and seeing their rankings rise.

If you ask if that's wrong, I could also answer.

"It's not wrong. It's one of the directions. Actually, it's right."

Regardless of how you look at it, if the users are satisfied, it's a good game.

Performance proves it.

Over the next ten years, the smartphone game market with such a business model surpassed the PC and console game markets in terms of revenue and rose to the top of the market.

You could say that those who didn't ride that wave turned their backs on the times.

Well, that's one way to put it.

With overwhelming accessibility for portability, a market in the form of an app store where you can see the entire market at a glance, and the optional "partial free-to-play" system, the entry barrier for smartphone games was lowered to almost nothing.

However, it still didn't look good.

Not for me, at least.

"The market is growing, but the quality of new releases is becoming mediocre."

Especially in Korea, this trend was pronounced.

Naturally, to become a bit more commercial, everyone had to do that, and the number of highly anticipated new releases was decreasing as time went by.

Volatile games began to dominate.

It's not that there weren't high-quality games. It's just that, due to the market's structure, they couldn't become mainstream.

When did it start? I can't remember exactly. At some point, gamers started to look at new releases from major game companies with apprehension rather than anticipation.

The open beta of a new release had become a funeral procession in nine out of ten cases.

The small peninsula that once proudly bloomed as the flower of the gaming industry was now filled with users who had left, worn out by a model that pursued extreme commercialization.

It wasn't a metaphor. There were actually cases of users driving trucks to the company.

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I once saw that scene on my way to work. Now, it's just a memory.

Whenever the voices criticizing excessive commercialization grew too loud, the director would say:

"Throw out some feed."

The so-called "baiting public sentiment" in-game rewards.

The effect was outstanding. Eventually, players who had affection for the game couldn't help but think, "Have these guys really changed?"

But the day even that didn't work came when the stock price fell, and they paid the price.

Anyway, the point is that when this trend continues, commercial demand may increase, but the quality of the game industry itself cannot be defended.

In other words, the ground begins to dry up.

To the point where even the big game companies that were so impressive are planning AAA-level projects for public sentiment capture, do we need more words?

• Yeonho, I'll hand over the AAA-grade project I'm planning. So, this time, do as I say. You will be criticized? I know. You know how much I care about you, right? Just endure it for now. You have a sense of it, and everyone in our company knows that. Who doesn't know that? So I'm sorry. Just endure it this time, okay?
• ...Yes.
• Okay, the results of the discussion with the business department have come out. Let's go back to the package composition first. It's about the desire to purchase. The core package of this game should be shown first when the tutorial is completed.

Unpleasant memories flashed by.

Living as a director in name only, making empty promises, and being a scapegoat.

...I tried to erase it.

All that I'm thinking now is the inevitable flow that everyone knows about.

"I have to make a choice too."

I, who will continue in this market, also have to make the choice they had made.

It's time to define the direction of the studio.

I was even thinking about such things.

"Hello."

The reporter who came to the office greeted.

"Hello."

"Oh, you look quite handsome. Nice to meet you. I'm Jinwoo, a game reporter from Jin Sungilbo. Ah! I had fun playing Hellic! It's been a while since such a game came out in Korea."

"You're too kind."

"You're humble."

He smiled brightly, and his friendly demeanour was likable.

Today's purpose was to request an interview for "Hellic 2."

For me, it was a choice to establish a foothold in Korea, and for this reporter, it was a choice to cover an exclusive story that no one else had covered.

"Shall we start the interview right away?"

The reporter took a seat.

It's good that there's no unnecessary chitchat.

"Yes, please go ahead."

The interview began.

***

The interview went smoothly.

At least as far as Game Department reporter Jin Woohyung could tell, it was one of the smoothest interviews he had conducted with a small to medium-sized developer.

"First, I'd like to ask about the concept of the game 'Hellic.' I noticed that there are differences in the background between 1 and 2, despite using the same name."

"We all live in our own hell. The concept comes from that idea. Someone who has ruined their own body falls into Hell of Self Harm. Someone who harbours false beliefs falls into the Hell of Heretics. It's an extension of that concept. In addition, I'll refrain from giving away too many spoilers about the exact background and story of Hellic 2."

"I heard that you started as a university club. When I first heard that fact, I was quite surprised. I could feel traces of professional techniques throughout the game. Of course, the actual gameplay experience speaks for itself. Have you had any prior experience like this before?"

"I studied a lot. There are so many outstanding seniors in the industry that their research was particularly helpful. But above all, I think the hard work of our team members and the love of our players played a big role."

"That's a model answer. Let's move on to the next question. Your studio is named 'Rewind.' Could you tell us the reason behind this name?"

Jin Woohyung was feeling quite surprised. The image he had in mind was of a young passionate college student developer team, who had worked their way up to their first interview. He knew they had even cosplayed at G-STAR to promote their game. But now, facing him, it was like dealing with "big studio team leaders." He answered smoothly, professionally, and carefully selected words that showed his awareness of the media.

"It's going to be a hot topic."

A good headline, indeed. With his skills, masks, and the title of "emerging star in the North American market," the title "K-Developers" would resonate everywhere, especially in a time when interest in games was high.

"'K-Developers Making Waves in North America!' That should make a great headline."

Jin Woohyung chuckled as he flipped to the next question.

"Well, it may seem a bit bland, but... I can't skip this question. Moving on to the next one. What is the future direction of Studio?"

That was the moment.

"Hmm?"

Yeonho's expression changed slightly.

It was hard to put into words. It was a gut feeling that reached out from the realm of experience that Yeonho had gained from meeting many people.

Awkwardness? Hesitation?

It seemed to be showing on Yeonho's face for a moment.

His gaze moved to something in his hand.

It was a smartphone.

Quite a hot topic these days.

"Was that a difficult question?"

Jin Woohyung asked subtly.

For some reason, he had a feeling that this would be the key question of today's interview.

His intuition was correct.

"No, it wasn't."

Yeonho held the smartphone tightly.

An emotion that couldn't be identified settled on his expressionless face.

And then the answer came.

"Direction. It's an important question, especially for small production companies like us."

Yeonho spoke at a neither fast nor slow pace.

It was the first time for this moment.

"I always have something in mind. What is the standard for a good game? What kind of games do I enjoy, and what games do we as a studio passionately pursue?"

From Yeonho, who appeared to be a seasoned veteran, the passion of a young man was visible.

"I always think about it. The Legend of Zelda, Mario, GTA, Biohazard, Doom, Final Fantasy. Many games, like the ones I loved and that led me down this path."

What could be seen as desire.

"They were all like that. Purely fun, and just thinking about those games made me happy, allowing me to reminisce about the good old days. Even now, hearing that a sequel is coming out makes me excited just like back then. Take, for example, The Legend of Zelda. I want to make a game like that. That feeling has always been in the corner of my heart."

"So... you want to make a game like that. Is that what you mean?"

"No."

Jin Woohyung hesitated for a moment.

Yeonho continued without hesitation.

His eyes sparkled with determination.

"I want to surpass it. I want our game to become a name that defines the era."

For a moment, Jin Woohyung thought to himself.

It was a professional habit.

'How can I weave this into an interesting narrative?'

But amidst his thoughts, Yeonho's words continued.

"AAA-grade GOTY. That's what we aim for. To achieve that, we need to climb to the top of the indie scene right now. 'Hellic 2' is our attempt to win the title of Indie Game of the Year. That's our short-term studio direction."

Anyone in the know understood.

In Korea, AAA-grade games were a rarity.

The vast internet infrastructure that covered this small piece of land was more suited for a system called "console" than anything else.

In this context, this young man was essentially saying that he would succeed in the online market, something no one had achieved in Korea so far.

Jin Woohyung asked with a pleased expression, "That's quite an ambitious dream."

And he awaited the response.

"It's not a dream if it's not challenging."

What was visible was the enthusiasm of youth.

It seemed like an interesting article was about to come together.

***

There is no better example to use when discussing any market than the market itself.

After all, there are no other examples that can encompass soil, seeds, climate, growth, and decline.

From this perspective, let's talk about the game market.

"AAA-grade games are the soil."

Creating a healthy market, in other words, fostering something new in the market, is what AAA-grade games do.

The rigidity of the market essentially stems from the fact that "something new isn't coming out."

Someone has to take on this challenge.

That's what I want to do.

It's not some grand goal like leading the market.

I just didn't want the games I loved, love, and will love to stagnate.

...No, to be honest, even that might be an excuse.

It's an excuse to justify thinking that someone like me should exist.

I know it too.

The path I'm going down is a thorny one.

From basic issues like capital, labour, and marketing for entering AAA-grade games, to external issues like dealing with investors and management pressures, and even breaking through the formidable barrier of turning a profit – if you consider all of that, it might take a lifetime to become wealthy.

Maybe I'll sink before that.

Let's look at the other path.

If I choose to develop pay-to-win mobile games, I can reach the top of the market with just a change of heart.

I've lived on the frontline of that harsh ecosystem, so I know how the market flows and what the customers want.

I can think of more than ten games right off the bat.

Making disposable games, selling them, making new ones, and selling them again? It's easy.

But I don't want that.

Inherently, thoughts tend to be buried.

Touching the mobile market for the sake of raising capital will inevitably have an impact on future development.

You might start thinking about other options and doubt your own convictions.

I want to block even that possibility.

I'm not denying the mobile game market.

It's just that my goals and the market's goals are different.

So, I've chosen the dream path.

They say I'm an art fanatic.

Obsessed with masterpieces, stubborn, and delusional.

But even if that's the case, I'm willingly embracing a dream.

"Let's start the meeting."

I will be the patient.

"We're going into Chapter 2 design. We've rested enough; let's dive back in."

As always, it's either this or I feel like I'm going to die.

That's why I've tried dying before.

"Chapter 2 is the Hell of Pleasure. We're going to create something dreadful and abstract."

I didn't want to live that kind of life again.

Above all else, I didn't want to live a life where I regretted not choosing the dream.