Chapter 7

Before practicing coding, Hyuncheol first decided to handle the sales management he had promised the owner.

Since computers were still in their infancy, he had originally planned to simply create text files if necessary, but fortunately there was already dedicated software for that purpose, and the shop even had the floppy disks for it.

The software cost an outrageously expensive 100 Del, but since the owner had already decided to use computers anyway, he generously permitted Hyuncheol to open and demonstrate not only the accounting software, but every other program as well so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠customers could see them.

But this program really sucks.

That was what Hyuncheol thought while using the accounting ledger software.

It had been designed solely for accounting ledgers and simple memo recording, so its expandability was terrible.

There were a few miscellaneous functions such as simple automatic calculations and date confirmation, but honestly, it felt barely different from simply using a calculator and storing the results as plain text.

Still, since Hyuncheol was already familiar with computers, he quickly learned how to use the program and began by entering the inventory list.

During breaks, he also examined the other programs available in the store.

There were simple graphics programs, sheet music playback software, educational learning programs aimed at teenagers, typing practice software, word processors, and many others.

Contrary to his earlier assumption that early computers would be able to do very little, there was actually an enormous variety of software.

Of course there are games too.

Naturally, most of them were very simple.

There was one that resembled the classic table tennis game Pong, racing games where players dodged obstacles while running, and interestingly enough, even airplane landing games.

Curious, Hyuncheol flipped over the package and examined it. It appeared to be a kind of shooting game.

The objective was to land an aircraft while avoiding anti-aircraft fire, enemy fighters, and missiles.

There were also several other shooting games, along with games that further expanded on the genre, such as brick-breaking games.

From Hyuncheol’s perspective, they felt exactly like the sort of old classic games that, back on Earth, would be bundled by the dozens into a tiny file available online for free.

Yet here, these were genuinely cutting-edge products, each carrying enormous price tags of fifty or sixty Del.

Since Hyuncheol’s salary was only around 900 Del, that meant he would need to work two full days just to buy a single game.

Part of the reason was likely because computers and games had not yet spread widely.

With sales volumes still low, prices had to be raised simply to secure minimum profits.

On top of that, computers were still products used mostly by wealthy people, so companies likely assumed customers would still buy them even at such prices.

For Hyuncheol, this was not a bad thing.

Of course, the low value of his own labor was an uncomfortable reality to face, but he intended to become someone who sold games rather than bought them.

Moreover, judging from the wealth of the Republic of Smite that he had observed so far, it seemed obvious that computer adoption would eventually explode just like it had on Earth.

That meant games could likely be sold at high prices and in large quantities.

Hyuncheol studied programming passionately.

He had motivation, dreams, and not just youth but an actual teenage brain, so his progress was extremely fast.

And the situation of secretly using the store’s computer only made him practice coding even more enthusiastically.

It felt like one of those things that became more fun precisely because he technically was not supposed to do it.

At times, he even found himself wishing customers would not come and that closing time would never arrive.

As a result, by the time he received his first paycheck, he had progressed far enough to feel confident he could actually create something.

Of course, he had not mastered programming or anything close to it. But this was not an exam. If he encountered something he did not know, he could simply check books as he worked.

Hyuncheol began considering what kind of game he should make.

Honestly, what he truly wanted was to create a role-playing game.

But since he still did not understand what kinds of stories and narratives appealed to people in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this world, he decided to proceed cautiously for now.

He planned to attempt something like that only after reading at least some novels from this world.

So he concluded that it would be better to create a game with more direct and intuitive gameplay instead.

Since Hyuncheol knew many classic games, numerous ideas came to mind.

Of course, he could try creating something entirely original, but at least in the beginning, he decided to focus on reproducing masterpieces already proven successful through history.

In any case, this world was different from Earth, and Hyuncheol, who had originally just been an ordinary office worker, was not someone who particularly agonized over artistic integrity as a creator.

He felt no real resistance to the idea.

I can try using my own creativity ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠later, once I’ve got some breathing room.

Once he made up his mind to create a game, Hyuncheol immediately began researching what kinds of computer games currently existed on the market.

“Want me to show you the full list?”

Kandel, a sales representative from a software distribution company, hesitated briefly at Hyuncheol’s question before pulling documents from his bag.

Kandel was a gnome, possessing not only short stature and somewhat large round ears, but also facial features that subtly differed from those of humans.

Still, for someone at what would be considered a mature adult age among humans, he gave off quite an ordinary middle-aged-man feeling.

And since he frequently visited the store for business, Hyuncheol had talked with him many times. Despite being a different race, Kandel was not mentally alien or difficult to understand.

He was simply a decent guy: somewhat timid, unexpectedly persistent, and at times quite kind.

“There’s a list?”

Hyuncheol immediately extended his hand with an eager expression.

After all, from Kandel’s perspective, showing what products his company carried was itself part of his sales work.

“What kind of game is Charge! Paladin?”

“Ah. That one’s a shooting game.”

Most of the titles could be guessed from their names, but whenever something was unclear, Hyuncheol simply asked directly.

There were actually quite a lot of games available.

But somehow, too many of them felt similar.

Especially the shooting games. There were simply far too many.

Well, it made sense. Truly creative and highly polished games were extremely difficult to make.

And beyond that, computer manufacturers themselves tended to mass-produce games in order to increase hardware sales and fill their platforms with software.

Hyuncheol did not know exactly how things had developed on Earth, but here, software companies were very often subordinate to computer manufacturers.

“Thanks.”

“If you’re thankful, stock more products from our company.”

Even while fully aware that Hyuncheol lacked actual authority over purchasing decisions, Kandel grinned as he said it.

Still, he was not entirely without hope.

If Hyuncheol proved himself to be a capable clerk, he might influence the store owner’s decisions.

And from Kandel’s perspective, this Hyuncheol kid seemed fairly intelligent, making the time spent visiting the shop worthwhile as a form of business networking.

Afterward, Hyuncheol ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠searched for computer magazines and even visited other electronics stores to gather information about the gaming market.

At first, he only wanted to avoid overlapping ideas with existing products, but as he continued researching, he gradually learned the rough atmosphere of the industry: current trends, which game companies existed, and which developers were considered successful.

Surprisingly, the market was not as small as he had initially thought.

There was even a sensational magazine article claiming that a developer named Aken Dartan had become instantly wealthy after selling more than forty thousand copies of a shooting game titled That Distant Galaxy.

That meant at least forty thousand computers had already been distributed, and there were already plenty of people willing to open their wallets for entertaining games.

Later, Hyuncheol even learned there had been games that sold over one hundred thousand copies.

Encouraged by this, he immediately began development.

The game he intended to create was none other than the bestselling masterpiece of the century: Tetris.

Since he was simply recreating an already existing masterpiece, the planning phase ended within a single day, and he immediately moved on to designing the game logic.

Up to that point, it was not particularly difficult.

He had played Tetris before and understood exactly how the system worked.

But once he actually began coding, headaches started appearing.

Back when he had studied coding as a hobby, he had even created a version of Tetris before, so he had assumed this would be easy.

But trying to do it entirely on his own without reference materials turned out to be far more difficult than expected.

Fortunately, whether because he had become younger or because this body itself possessed a good brain, whenever he thought deeply enough, solutions eventually emerged.

If he had still been his former self, he likely would have become stuck much earlier.

Even so, he somehow managed to create a basic working version and finally attempted to run it.

“Huh? Why isn’t it working?”

Another problem immediately appeared.

At first, the game seemed to run properly, but then it suddenly froze.

After investigating, he discovered the issue was insufficient computer resources.

For a moment, Hyuncheol panicked and wondered whether Tetris simply could not run on eight-bit systems.

But after carefully reviewing the code and thinking things through, he realized the problem was that his coding had been too simplistic.

He vaguely remembered hearing from an instructor or reading in a book long ago that there were coding methods specifically designed to conserve resources.

Back on Earth, when he had studied programming, Tetris was such an old game that even clumsy brute-force code ran perfectly fine.

Since it already worked, he had never bothered refining it.

Now he regretted that laziness deeply.

Hyuncheol began revising the code.

He identified functions that consumed especially large amounts of resources, such as collision detection, and rewrote them more efficiently.

Afterward, the fixes seemed simple and obvious, but while actually doing them, he truly had to squeeze every ounce of brainpower out of himself.

Aside from that, there were no major difficulties.

The graphics consisted only of blocks and outlines, while the sound effects were nothing more than simple beeping noises.

Even so, the entire process took a month.

It felt like a long time.

He was still learning, still inexperienced, and constantly fumbling due to mistakes.

But while creating Tetris, he could clearly feel his skills improving dramatically. He became confident that if he attempted similar work again, he could finish it within a week.

This is fun.

Since he needed to test the game anyway, and because he found it fascinating that he himself had created it, Hyuncheol played it enthusiastically.

And as expected from a game recognized as a masterpiece, it was genuinely fun.

Honestly, before coming to this world, he probably would not have cared much about such an old game, nor would he have found it especially entertaining.

But now, with his entire environment changed and his only sources of entertainment being books borrowed from the library and old television broadcasts, the game felt not merely fun but intensely stimulating.

Every time a line disappeared, it sent a thrill through him.

There were no major problems with the game itself.

There were no bugs, and the game’s level progression felt appropriate.

To be honest, the highest difficulty level was so hard that even Hyuncheol himself could barely handle it.

Still, considering that games in this era could not easily receive post-release updates or balancing patches, he felt it was appropriate to leave such a challenge for players who would dedicate themselves to mastering the game.

Now the real question is how I’m supposed to sell this thing.

For Hyuncheol, who was accustomed to platforms like Steam and app stores, this felt somewhat awkward.

But for this era, it was an extremely realistic concern.

Fortunately, software distribution companies already existed.

Computer specialty stores were still rare, and naturally dedicated software retailers and large chain stores barely existed either.

Most of the distribution system consisted of rough networks built through relationships between store owners and sales representatives.

Still, for Hyuncheol, who could hardly travel around personally selling floppy disks himself, even that much was something to be grateful for.

He began considering which distributor he should work with.

But without internet access and without any meaningful connections in the industry yet, he had no way of learning the reputations of different distribution companies.

In practice, he was almost forced to choose based on names alone.

The only industry person he actually knew was Kandel.

He had asked him a few questions before, but the gnome always just insisted his own company was excellent, which was not particularly useful.

Even so, Hyuncheol found himself leaning toward entrusting the game to a company where at least he knew someone.

Still, trusting Kandel completely felt difficult.

After all, when he really thought about it, they had only known each other for about two months.