Chapter 73: Lorong Soft’s Orc President
Chapter 73: Lorong Soft’s Orc President
It also happened to be a time when Ras had begun feeling dissatisfied with this world’s subculture while developing various games.
Specifically, he was dissatisfied with its subject matter and forms of expression.
For example, robots, which were commonly used on Earth, were still considered an experimental concept here. Because of that, he still felt somewhat uneasy about the game Development Team 1 was currently making.
Aside from that, cartoon-like expressions could become a useful tool for computers of this era, whose graphical performance was still lacking. However, because such expressions were not familiar here, it was difficult to use them carelessly.
Beyond those reasons, he also simply wanted to try a manga-related business.
Back on Earth, Ras had liked manga just as much as games.
Not enough to want to draw them himself, but since he had achieved this much success, he thought it might be nice to hire manga artists and create manga suited to his own tastes.
Of course, he planned to attempt that only after the game magazine had become somewhat established.
While they were in the process of creating the magazine company, the game development teams finally produced playable prototypes.
Since it was simpler, required less graphic work, and had more personnel, the Casual Game Development Team finished slightly earlier.
“There don’t seem to be any major problems for now.”
After briefly testing the prototype, Ras showed a positive reaction.
At that, Team Leader Dure visibly relaxed.
Since this was the first project he created after getting hired, it was natural for him to be nervous.
Ras inwardly smiled bitterly as he sensed the gazes of the Casual Game Development Team employees, who were seated at their desks but stretching their necks out like meerkats to watch him. He understood how they felt.
In a sense, it was only natural that there were no major problems.
This game was close to being something made entirely according to Ras’s instructions from beginning to end, with very little creative input from the development team itself.
“Still, there are a few things that need improvement.”
“Yes. What parts?”
Because of that, the things Ras pointed out now could almost be considered his own mistakes.
“I think there are too many block types. Around four should be enough. But there’s no need to delete two types completely. Instead, make the block types differ depending on the playable character.”
But Ras himself had only played Puyo Puyo a handful of times.
Since he was recreating it based only on vague memories, a few errors were unavoidable.
“Ah. Yes.”
In truth, Dure had also felt there were too many block types.
If this were a single-player game like Tetris, having more types might actually have been better. But after testing versus matches, it felt far too complicated. Just as Ras said, four types seemed perfect.
“And make the blocks popping and attacks launching feel faster-paced. Each one is fine individually, but if chain attacks continue one after another, the waiting time can become too long.”
Aside from that, Ras adjusted minor but important details such as rotation speed and input responsiveness.
Since Puyo Puyo was a versus game, such aspects needed careful attention.
“Then I’ll leave it in your hands.”
“Yes. You don’t need to worry.”
In any case, Tetris 2 seemed likely to be completed without issue within the target schedule.
The Super Mario robot version, the game Development Team 1 was making, which Ras called Robot Mario, was not particularly behind in development speed either.
After all, it was also a relatively simple game.
“Ohh! This definitely looks cool.”
Ras admired the transformed robot firing a gigantic laser from its torso.
The robot design was good, and even the effects and sound effects felt perfect.
The scene where a powerful enemy was instantly obliterated and its wreckage scattered everywhere also looked incredible.
This skeleton robot was the treasure vault’s gatekeeper and could never be defeated without this laser.
At Ras’s reaction, Pana’s Graphics Team looked at one another happily.
Meanwhile, Nebrania, who stood with her arms folded while watching Ras’s demonstration, also smiled slightly, apparently quite satisfied.
The scenes of flying through the sky and smashing walls with drills also looked good.
Still, there were things that needed fixing.
“This jump feels too heavy. Make it jump higher. Enough that it feels slightly floaty.”
They had captured the robot-like heaviness very well, but it was excessive.
Since this was fundamentally a game centered around jumping, it would feel frustrating rather than fun at this rate.
And the level design also felt too easy.
“Please make the jumps feel a bit more dangerous and barely reachable.”
“Yes.”
Development Team 1 still did not really have someone who could be called a team leader, but Garazt answered for the moment.
Since Ras was personally overseeing everything, there was no particular need for a director. Still, it felt necessary to appoint someone as a representative.
The most experienced person was technically Pana, but since she specialized in graphics and lacked broader development knowledge, Ras ultimately decided to make Garazt the team leader.
In any case, Ras pointed out several improvements and requested fixes for some minor bugs before finishing his prototype inspection.
This game also seemed likely to release on schedule without problems.
He had been somewhat anxious about replacing the famous plumber with a robot, but now he finally felt reassured.
Honestly, Ras personally found this version more entertaining.
The moment Robot Mario appeared, he instinctively knew it would create another sensation.
Pakanal, the capital of the Brunyard Federation.
Denji, the president of the game distribution company Lorong Soft, had been feeling conflicted lately.
Denji was a heavily built forty-three-year-old Orc and a typical Brunyard citizen.
By “typical Brunyard citizen,” it meant someone who acknowledged the Republic of Smite’s superiority to some extent, but still believed Brunyard was absolutely not inferior to it.
Naturally, such people did not particularly like the Republic of Smite either.
That was why he had focused until now on distributing games produced within his own country.
Even when several arcade games from the Republic of Smite became popular not long ago, he deliberately ignored them.
He thought it was merely a fad that would die down quickly.
This was not an entirely baseless thought.
Originally, in the Brunyard Federation, there were occasional cases where products from the Republic of Smite would briefly become trendy.
The problem was that this blasted trend was not cooling down quickly.
“Boss. Have you seen the new game that came in this time?”
“What?”
Denji answered irritably.
But this brat named Snati showed no sign of shrinking back.
That was because Snati was the son of Bornatz, Denji’s former business partner when they founded the company together.
Damn it. This is my fault for spoiling him just because he’s that guy’s son.
“I’m talking about Fighters’ Club.”
Snati spoke while thumping his chest in frustration.
Still, Denji did not entirely dislike Snati’s attitude. It was not that he was disrespectful. Rather, he treated Denji like a close uncle, and because of that, he often gave sincere advice.
“So what about it?”
“It’s insanely popular! Seriously, there are dozens of people gathered around that game wherever you go these days.”
In truth, Denji already knew that perfectly well.
As someone in the game industry, there was no way he would not pay attention to what was popular lately.
No, he had gone beyond simply paying attention. He had checked what kind of game it was, how long each round took, and even calculated approximately how much money it could earn in a day.
Honestly, Denji himself wanted to import it.
“Boss. Let’s just import it too.”
“...”
Denji also knew it.
The games coming from the Republic of Smite lately possessed incredible gameplay quality.
Still, he believed games of similar quality could absolutely be created in this country as well.
And honestly, though it was not something to say proudly, the reason trends from the Republic of Smite died out quickly was because copied products appeared afterward.
Denji had been waiting for that.
But all that came out were crude imitations that could not even serve as substitutes.
The opportunities to profit kept slipping away, and it was making him anxious.
And now this Snati brat kept egging him on from the side with all sorts of remarks, driving him nearly insane.
After wavering for a long time, Denji came to a realization.
Pride was nice and all, but at the end of the day, he was a merchant.
Did it really make sense to abandon profits that were so obviously right in front of him?
Denji scratched his green head roughly, then looked at Snati with his fierce eyes and finally opened his thick lips.
“...But isn’t it too late to import them now? Feels like all the good spots are already taken...”
The moment those words, which were practically a form of surrender, left Denji’s mouth, Snati’s face instantly brightened.
The guy was already pale to begin with, but now he seriously looked like some girl.
That was the thought that suddenly crossed Denji’s mind after finally giving in.
“No, no. We don’t need to import arcade games specifically. That’s not even our company’s specialty anyway. We can import computer games instead.”
“Hm.”
This, too, was something he had heard several times already.
Sure, arcade games were tempting, but even if they imported them, they would probably only place a few around this area and be done with it.
But for PC games, his company had built a distribution network over many years.
If the games sold, they could rake in money nationwide.
“Fine. Let’s import them. Everyone else is making money, so we can’t just sit here doing nothing.”
“Exactly! Even if we don’t do it, another company eventually will. Somewhere like Pranitiu.”
At Snati’s words, Denji’s expression stiffened.
Pranitiu was a rival company currently fighting Lorong Soft for a place among the top three distributors.
Originally, they had merely been competitors with little direct interaction.
But recently, Lorong Soft had tried to distribute a game called Delos Story.
The contract had been almost finalized, only for Pranitiu to swoop in and steal it away.
Denji hated the developers too, but he could more or less understand them going wherever paid more money.
But he could not forgive those Pranitiu bastards.
If it had been fair competition, that would be one thing. But the fact that they suddenly intercepted the deal without prior contact meant they either had a spy planted somewhere or had pulled some dirty trick.
“What if they cut in line again this time?”
“If we sign the contract first, even those guys won’t be able to do anything.”
“No. If it’s those bastards, who knows. Ah, right! While we’re translating it, they might just import the Republic of Smite version and sell it directly.”
Since many PC users understood the Aran Language, it was not impossible.
Of course, one might ask why they could not simply report them since they held official distribution rights.
But the Brunyard Federation was a country overflowing with products from the Republic of Smite brought in through various routes, including peddlers, even without official distribution.
If Pranitiu used that as an excuse and denied everything, there would be no solution.
“We’ll just have to translate it as quickly as possible.”
Snati also sounded as though there was no helping it.
But after saying that, he suddenly looked like he remembered something and quickly added:
“Ah! Right. Come to think of it, there’s a game club that translates Meta Soft games. How about getting help from those guys?”
“What? There are people like that too? But does that even make money?”
“No. They just do it as a hobby. Without getting paid.”
At that, Denji made a strange expression.
Translating games took quite a lot of time, so from the perspective of a businessman who equated labor with wages, voluntarily doing it for free was something he simply could not understand.
Still, from Denji’s perspective, it was not a bad thing.
Since completed work already existed, some modifications would probably still be necessary, but it would significantly reduce the amount of time needed.