Chapter 42: The Rhythm Game Craze, “Civilization and War”

Of course, if the game failed to become popular, the rental contracts would end and Panchi Games would have to take back all the machines themselves. That was why Cheims and the Panchi Games executives could not simply rejoice at the order volume and instead nervously waited in suspense.

Tryunsi, in the western Republic of Smite.

Tryunsi was a quiet rural small city with a population of just over two hundred thousand. Still, a city was a city. In the downtown district there were fairly tall three- or four-story buildings, and the roads were noisy with many cars and people coming and going.

As Tots walked sluggishly through those streets, he felt as though something was lacking.

Having just entered middle school at fourteen years old, he was like most people living in smaller cities. He thought this place had everything one could need, yet somehow it still felt disappointing.

Maybe it’s because there are so many women selling produce on the streets?

Avoiding a large pile of bamboo shoots sitting on the sidewalk, he found himself thinking that. Perhaps because it was a farming city, many people simply sold crops they had grown right out on the street instead of at proper stalls.

But that could hardly be considered something lacking. If anything, it was something abundant here and rare in cities.

While wondering what exactly it was, he passed by a bookstore and saw a poster attached outside, immediately realizing the answer.

It’s because new things arrive late!

Below the hand-written phrase “Latest Trending Novel!” outside the bookstore was a title that, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠according to Tots’s memory, had already been featured in magazines two months ago.

Of course, it might still be trending in Ranchert. But seeing it advertised shamelessly as the latest trend despite arriving two months late made him think, So this is what the countryside is like.

He had vaguely realized it before, but today it became unmistakably clear.

It was not just novels. Clothes, food, movies, and even computer games, which had recently become his interest, all arrived much later.

It had been the same when Pac-Man and Tetris first came out as arcade games. Since he had already enjoyed them on computer, he had been extremely excited. The magazines had called them huge hits, so he waited eagerly, only for them to arrive after he had grown tired of waiting and half forgotten about them.

Though saying he got tired of waiting was questionable considering how much allowance money he ended up spending once they finally arrived.

That was why he had little interest even while passing by Plaza Street.

Plaza Street was a place where several arcade machines were gathered together, making it an extremely popular spot among the children of Tryunsi.

However, an exciting song he had never heard before suddenly reached the boy’s ears. Since he was fairly interested in music, he knew all the latest songs.

Stopping in place, Tots searched for the source of the sound and soon arrived near an arcade machine surrounded by a huge crowd.

It was a flashy-looking machine, and the moment Tots saw the screen, he immediately recognized it. The rapidly falling rectangular blocks were far more extravagant than the PC version, and the endless bursts of “PERFECT!” made it unmistakably Beat Heater.

He had read articles saying it was in development, but he had never heard anything about it being released. Yet here it was, standing proudly in this backwater town. The sight was so unexpected that he could barely believe it.

Still, the explanation was simple. The arcade owner, who had already made a fortune from Pac-Man and Tetris, had immediately accepted after Panchi Games recommended the machine and explained the rental service.

“Wow...”

Tots pushed through the crowd and secured a spot near the screen to watch. Before long, he unconsciously let out a gasp of admiration.

First of all, instead of the plain squares from the PC version, these had depth and much cooler colors. Whenever the timing was matched, they burst upward like explosions. Not only that, but the text colors were also much more vibrant.

But beyond the visual effects, the music itself was incredible. He had no complaints while playing it on computer, but compared to this real music, it immediately became obvious that the old version had only been an imitation.

Damn it. I don’t have any allowance left.

Tots endured for a while, but eventually he pulled out the coins in his pocket and stacked them atop the pile of coins waiting for turns. The only fortunate thing was that once he started enthusiastically pounding the buttons during gameplay, he felt completely satisfied.

In this way, the arcade version of Beat Heater caused a powerful reaction across the entire country. The music effects, incomparable to existing games, had become an overwhelmingly powerful weapon.

The record player and changer that Panchi Games had struggled so hard to develop and install were finally showing their true value.

Anyone with even the slightest interest in games could not help becoming curious. On top of that, the game fully displayed the intense colors arcade machines were capable of, and the dazzling flashiness naturally drew attention.

Even people who did not play the game found it enjoyable just to watch and listen, so crowds constantly gathered around it. And because that led to many players, arcade owners rejoiced. Their only complaint was the hassle of having to remove piled-up coins too often.

This alone would have been joyful news for Ras, but Barbal Soft brought him another piece of good news as well.

“Sales of the PC version of Beat Heater are rapidly increasing.”

“What? Really?”

Once the arcade version became a hit, interest in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠original game increased in reverse. Moreover, some people disliked crowded places and thought that instead of constantly feeding coins into arcade machines, they might as well enjoy it comfortably at home on a computer.

Ras had expected it to some degree, but receiving profits he had not been particularly counting on still made him extremely happy.

Should I just buy a small building and move out with this money?

Since that problem had been bothering him lately, this thought immediately came to mind. However, it only brushed past briefly before his focus returned to games.

Whether he looked through magazines or listened to the news coming from Barbal Soft, it seemed rhythm games were receiving an even greater response in arcades than he had imagined.

In fact, Ras himself had once gone to inspect a place nearby where arcade machines had been installed almost like bus stops.

Not long ago, one restaurant he had entered to fill his stomach before heading to Teacher Bert’s house to study had also installed a Beat Heater machine. What left the strongest impression on him was that nobody was eating. Instead, everyone crowded around the arcade machine.

Though the restaurant owner watching from the kitchen wore a rather conflicted expression.

It feels like rhythm games are in the middle of a huge boom...

Ras recalled memories from Earth. The time when rhythm games had once exploded in popularity. Normally, no matter what game it was, people would eventually grow tired of it after repeated play. The excitement would cool down, and trends would move elsewhere.

But back then, rhythm games had poured out one after another, so instead of cooling off, the craze only intensified. To exaggerate a little, it felt as though half the machines in any arcade were rhythm games.

Ras believed that because of such a boom, even after periods of decline, rhythm games had repeatedly opened new golden ages by standing out in markets beyond arcades.

PC games, online games, portable rhythm games, and even mobile games.

And Ras suddenly wondered what it would be like if he introduced one of the major games that had led those golden ages here. Just imagining that same frenzy being recreated sent chills down his spine.

Everyone would have different opinions, but the game that remained most strongly in Ras’s memory was Pump.

To be honest, Ras was not the type who enjoyed moving his body around and attracting attention, so he had not played it much himself. But he clearly remembered people enthusiastically stepping on the dance pads while drawing everyone’s attention whenever he visited arcades back then.

But for this, I’d have to collaborate with Panchi Games from the very beginning.

Unlike Beat Heater, which had been extremely profitable this time around, it would probably be difficult to simply create and sell the original game for profit, then tell them to make the arcade version themselves and collect royalties afterward.

Of course, they could make a PC version by replacing note nodes with directional keys. But it would be difficult to truly call that the original Pump. Perhaps it would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠work if portable Pump versions existed first. However, if they told players who expected the arcade Pump experience to press arrow keys with their fingers instead of stepping on panels, they would probably get cursed out thoroughly.

Once Project War is finished, I should start writing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the proposal immediately.

Feeling fortunate that Project War was already nearing completion, Ras focused once more on wrapping things up.

“Let’s concentrate, everyone. We’re almost finished, and if we accidentally overlook something now, everything we’ve done so far could become worthless.”

Ras said this while looking around at his employees, though the words also applied to himself.

The better things went, the calmer he needed to remain. If his heart became too excited, he might casually overlook flaws or problems. Thanks to that mindset, Project War was completed at a very satisfying quality level.

And as always, they gathered opinions from the employees to choose a title.

“I think simply calling it War wouldn’t be bad either.”

This was the opinion of Garazt, who had first brought up the keyword. He looked first toward his coding colleague and university senior Kelliper, then exchanged looks with the other employees to gauge their reactions.

“It’s not bad. But it also feels too vague...”

Pana tilted her head while speaking. Seeing her naturally express an opposing opinion made Ras feel that repeatedly telling everyone not to hold back their thoughts during meetings had been worthwhile.

One thing Ras had considered problematic during his office life on Earth was people who turned workplaces into social clubs. Of course, getting along well was not a bad thing, but if people stayed silent because they feared being disliked despite having different thoughts, then discussion and debate became meaningless.

“Hmm. I only thought that because this game doesn’t use real history and is literally a ‘war simulation.’”

“Ah! Then how about War Simulation? I think that wouldn’t be bad as a title either.”

Hearing Garazt stubbornly defend his opinion, Jenny raised her hand energetically and claimed one of the words for herself.

“I think that sounds pretty good. Of course, we’ll still write down Mr. Garazt’s War as a candidate.”

Ras wrote the two titles on the chalkboard with chalk. Afterward, the employees continued suggesting more ideas, and before long the chalkboard was full. However, this time there was nothing that truly stood out as the one.

That did not mean the titles were bad. It simply meant choosing one was difficult. So after thinking for a while, Ras decided to settle it through a majority vote.

“Alright. We’ll go from the top one by one. Raise your hand if you think it sounds good. You can vote for multiple titles.”

Afterward, they went through the chalkboard one title at a time while recording scores, and the results came quickly.

“Good. The title of this game will be Civilization and War.”

Watching the employees applaud, Ras found himself thinking about something. This title had been Aspa’s suggestion. Yet hearing the word “civilization” in the title had startled him a little. Aspa could not possibly know about Earth’s Civilization, which Ras had used as inspiration, yet he had still suggested a remarkably similar title.

Moreover, seeing how the other employees had also chosen this title as the best made him wonder whether it was coincidence or simply that people tended to think alike.

In any case, after completing the opening sequence, the game underwent one final round of testing before being sent to Barbal Soft through Tshtet.

“Meta Soft’s new game?”

Jennifer had entered the president’s office on business and noticed Paul Roxy staring intently at a diskette in his hand. Remembering that she had just run into Tshtet earlier, she realized this must be the game Meta Soft had said they would send that morning.