Chapter 26
Chapter 26
Alex Carter? Anyway, he said Velocity, right?!
Foreign languages were always harder over the phone than face-to-face.
Fortunately, the words used were relatively simple, and at the very least, Seongcheol had correctly caught the company name.
It seemed the call had connected properly.
“Hello, this is Seongcheol Kim from Parallel Soft.”
After safely delivering the greeting he had repeated over and over in his head, Seongcheol found that, contrary to his worries, he was able to continue speaking in English properly and explain the purpose of the call.
“We would like to discuss distributing our game through your company.”
[We always welcome good games. In that case, when would you be able to visit with a playable version?]
It sounded friendly, but it was also a perfectly natural response.
Seongcheol unconsciously wet his lips once before speaking again.
“However, we are a Korean company. So we require full publishing support, including translation.”
[...Korea?]
Sensing a slightly negative undertone from the reply, Seongcheol quickly poured out the prepared points.
“Yes. The game is already performing very successfully here. It has received high praise from multiple computer and gaming magazines. We have also already signed with a Japanese distributor and are preparing for release there.”
[...]
The silence from the other side made Seongcheol’s chest tighten anxiously.
He desperately searched for something else to say.
At that moment, the voice returned through the receiver.
[...Really? What’s the game called?]
“It’s called The Land Of Fantasy!”
Feeling as though he had come back from the dead, Seongcheol hurriedly answered.
Asking for the title meant they intended to investigate further, which already indicated considerable interest.
[Ah! And could you also tell me which Japanese distributor you signed with?]
“Yes. TechnoShoku.”
[I see. Understood. Then for now, please send us a package copy.]
“!!”
Without realizing it, Seongcheol clenched his free hand into a fist.
Of course, they still needed to evaluate the game and conduct separate negotiations afterward, so this was barely the starting line.
But even so, this reaction could already be considered very positive.
Many Korean developers had never even reached this starting point.
Even while making the call, Seongcheol had prepared himself for the worst-case scenario of simply being ignored.
“Yes. If you give me the address, I’ll send it immediately.”
Afterward, Seongcheol wrote down the address they provided, exchanged brief farewells, and ended the call.
“Phew...”
That sigh was partly relief that things seemed to have gone well, but also because the short conversation had completely drained him.
But it wasn’t over yet.
Even though the atmosphere had not been bad, they ultimately still intended to judge based on the game itself, meaning nothing was finalized.
So to improve the odds, they needed to send proposals to several distributors.
After taking a short break, Seongcheol began contacting other distributors as well.
[Hello!]
Afterward, Seongcheol shipped packages to all the addresses they had secured.
Included with them were hastily homemade English manuals created by Insu, Seongcheol, and Hyein.
After sending packages to six companies in total, Seongcheol decided to wait for now.
Theoretically, the more companies they contacted, the higher the probability of success.
But effort and cost were also issues, and he judged there was no need to go that far.
Considering the quality of The Land Of Fantasy, Seongcheol was confident that as long as those six distributors weren’t complete idiots, they would definitely respond.
Contrary to how nervous he had been, or rather, the reason he still managed to directly call American companies despite being nervous, was because he had that much confidence.
Five days later, at Velocity Entertainment headquarters in Texas, America.
“Three?”
Jonathan Harris, the senior game evaluation manager, checked the number of packages that had arrived today.
Sighing, Jonathan carried them over to his desk.
He had joined this company because he loved games, and there had once been a time when he was thrilled just to play new games before anyone else.
But when a hobby became work, it became difficult for the enjoyment to last.
Moreover, genuine gems were rare in this world.
After spending years dealing with things that were little more than piles of code, the respect he once had for game developers had nearly vanished.
Even so, work was work, so Jonathan began checking the packages one by one.
Then one of them caught his attention.
[FROM KOREA]
Ah. So this finally arrived.
It was the game from a developing country called Korea that had boldly contacted them directly requesting publishing support.
At first, there had been a lot of discussion within the company regarding the request.
But after verifying the details, most of what the developer Parallel Soft claimed had turned out to be true.
And the graphics and reviews shown in magazines had been quite impressive, so expectations for the game had naturally risen somewhat.
Jonathan immediately opened the package.
...The packaging passes, at least.
Maybe it was because he hadn’t expected much, but the simple yet clean feel was actually fairly good.
Moreover, the vivid colors and classical fantasy-inspired imagery stirred curiosity and interest, making it quite a sophisticated design.
He carefully opened the package further.
Inside were manuals and several diskettes.
...Four... five, six. That’s a pretty substantial volume.
Since this was supposedly a somewhat verified game, it probably wasn’t sloppily made, meaning those six diskettes represented a substantial amount of content.
Despite the countless disappointments he had experienced, Jonathan, true to someone who joined this company out of pure passion for games, began feeling anticipation once again.
“So it’s 256 colors after all? The sound isn’t bad either.”
After briefly evaluating the title screen, he immediately selected “Start Game” at the top.
He didn’t know Korean, but options in that position were always obvious.
“Oh... this is pretty good?”
He had already seen some in-game screenshots through Japanese magazines.
But seeing it directly on a monitor made it obvious that the graphics were genuinely impressive.
America already had many games that used limited colors and hardware performance to create visuals bordering on art.
So The Land Of Fantasy’s graphics were not shocking enough to completely stun him.
But it was undeniably a well-crafted graphical presentation that made excellent use of the 386’s capabilities.
The readability is good, too.
Despite using vibrant colors, the artwork felt somewhat simple.
But unlike games whose designs became difficult to understand because they overcomplicated everything, both the characters and backgrounds here were immediately recognizable.
And they were visually appealing as well.
Does it feel similar to Japanese manga? Maybe because Korea’s nearby?
Jonathan gave the graphics a high score.
Then he entered the actual game.
So this is the “3X4 System” the magazines mentioned? It definitely feels different from previous RPGs.
At the time, Korean magazines were difficult to obtain in America.
So he had only seen Japanese magazines, but their coverage had been too brief to fully understand the game’s systems.
Thus, while reading through the included manual, he slowly learned the game.
“...”
Three hours passed like that.
Jonathan had become completely absorbed in the game before suddenly snapping back to reality and hurriedly checking the clock.
12 o’clock? Already?
Apparently, hunger from lunchtime was what finally brought him back to his senses.
Jonathan slowly looked back at the game screen.
This game really is...
A masterpiece.
He had already witnessed several games in his life that redefined the gaming industry.
And now it felt as though he had encountered another one.
The combat system in particular was truly revolutionary.
Even while constantly comparing the game to the manual because of the unfamiliar language, he had completely lost himself in it.
Of course, part of that was because Jonathan was an authentic hardcore gamer who genuinely loved games.
But precisely because of that, he could not doubt his judgment that this game was a masterpiece.
On top of that, the unique companion system felt like it endlessly expanded the possibilities of the combat system.
Moreover, unlike the increasingly prominent JRPGs of the era, the game’s high level of freedom combined with its immersive combat system made it feel as though players were truly being drawn into another world.
Jonathan quickly flipped through the manual.
There were still systems he had yet to experience.
Of course, it was possible that not every remaining part would be filled with masterpieces.
But after what he had already played, Jonathan had reached the conclusion that they absolutely needed to secure this game.
Contrary to their worries, most of the American distributors Seongcheol contacted responded positively.
“Ah! Yes! Thank you very much. However, I think we’ll need to discuss the conditions further. I’ll contact you again.”
When the very first reply came from a company called PixelWave Distribution, Seongcheol was deeply moved.
But after receiving consecutive calls proposing contracts afterward, he gradually regained his composure and confidence.
Because of his age, Insu couldn’t stay at the office too late and usually returned home relatively early.
So when Mom or Dad received these calls, he was often nearby listening in.
After all, because of the time difference, American business hours corresponded to early mornings or late nights in Korea.
In truth, while he hoped for American expansion, he still carried many anxieties because even in 2025 it remained difficult.
But seeing his father accomplish it so naturally caused admiration to well up inside him.
“Insu, I still think Velocity is the better option. Some places are offering a higher percentage, but...”
The companies offering higher percentages were all small distributors.
Perhaps that was why they were making such aggressive offers, but without company size to back them up, their distribution capabilities inevitably had limits.
Partnering with a weaker company and growing together would probably make for an interesting story.
But reality required cold judgment.
And honestly, even if it cost a little more, he would rather ride in a sturdy limousine from the beginning than experience the nerve-wracking danger of performing acrobatics on a shabby motorcycle.
Using passion for game development alone was already enough.
“And there wasn’t any company besides Velocity that discussed translation and marketing in such detail while also promising investment, right?”
One of the reasons Velocity couldn’t offer a higher revenue split was precisely because of those publishing costs.
“Yes. Dad’s right.”
Right after speaking, Insu briefly thought maybe he should have said, “You’re right, Father.”
Even though all the vocabulary existed in his head, the habits formed while living as Insu made it difficult to change naturally.
And since everyone around him still saw him as a seven-year-old, nobody pointed out his speech patterns, which likely contributed to it as well.
Despite worrying about his wording, he had no objections to Seongcheol’s opinion.
Not only was his father’s reasoning sound, but after witnessing his capabilities, Insu’s trust in him had reached its peak.
“Then please handle it.”
“Alright. Then we’ll sign with Velocity.”
Just thinking about flying to America to finish the negotiations and complete the contract made Seongcheol dizzy.
But this was a contract to sell a Korean-made game created by his own son to an American company.
That fact alone filled his chest with pride.
And when he saw the trust shining in his son’s eyes, it felt like he could handle something far more difficult and dangerous than this.
Three weeks later, Seongcheol took paid leave.
He already had a passport from his previous business trip to Japan, but obtaining the visa had taken time.
Even so, this had still been considered relatively fast.
Fortunately, he had accumulated vacation days, but since he had recently taken leave not long ago, his supervisor’s gaze carried a slight hint of displeasure.
But that was all.
There wasn’t any backlog of urgent work, and Seongcheol wasn’t easily replaceable personnel, so even his supervisor couldn’t interfere recklessly.
And Seongcheol resigned from his position as CEO of Parallel Soft.