Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Prototype Review (1)
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On the 24th floor, the top floor of NB Soft, in the main conference room.
The executives began to gather one by one.
“Good morning, sir. Good morning, Director. Good morning, Division Head!”
Shin Chihwan, the head of Division 5 and the lowest on the totem pole, greeted every executive who entered the conference room with utmost respect, handing them documents he had prepared.
The documents summarized the strengths and core systems of ‘Pass On Dream,’ the game his division was in charge of. He had pulled an all-nighter with PD Jo Hyunsoo to create them.
‘They suddenly postponed the meeting by a day, so we had time to prepare… I hope this makes a good impression.’
The reason Shin Chihwan was being so deferential was that today was the day of the prototype review for ‘Pass On Dream.’
In this meeting, the executives would deliberate and then vote to decide whether the prototype would proceed to full development.
As the division head in charge, he had three votes, but securing over 60% of the total votes was no easy task.
What Shin Chihwan considered fortunate was that the company president, Oh Geoshin, who wielded absolute power, had shown interest in PD Jo Hyunsoo's work.
‘On the surface, it’s a vote, but if the president is already backing a project, the executives have no choice but to act as a rubber stamp.’
The executives were all on two-year contracts.
Since Oh Geoshin, who owned over 30% of the company’s shares, had the most influence over their contract renewals, no one in this room would dare defy him.
Besides, that wasn’t the only thing Shin Chihwan was counting on.
‘The game also turned out much better than expected. Let’s just believe in the simple truth that a good game will win people over.’
The Pass On Dream prototype was so well-polished it was hard to believe it had been made by just three people in a month.
The exquisite combat balance, the novel concept of framing combat as the process of painting, the clever idea of representing potions as the alcohol artists drink to play a major role in battle, the high-quality oil painting-style graphics, the smooth optimization, and the resulting performance.
Honestly, the build was of such insane quality that he suspected they must have outsourced some of it.
With this, he felt that even the PDs, jaded as they were by mass-produced games, would have to acknowledge it to some extent.
‘Hoo…’
Some time passed, and just as almost all the executives had gathered, Seo Donghyuk, the head of Division 1, spoke up.
“Alright, everyone, please take your seats. We will now begin the prototype review meeting.”
For a moment, Shin Chihwan thought he had misheard.
“Excuse me, Division Head Seo?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Aren’t the President and Vice President here yet?”
At his question, Seo Donghyuk suddenly flashed a sly grin.
An ominous feeling that was hard to put into words…
“Ah, did you not hear, Division Head Shin? The President and Vice President have a meeting with a congressman from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism today, so they were unfortunately unable to attend.”
“But the meeting was originally scheduled for yesterday and was postponed to today. It seems a bit strange for the schedules to overlap like this…”
“I know, right? The President’s whims are not something new. Thanks to that, it looks like I’ll have to lead today’s meeting.”
The moment he saw that smug face, Chihwan knew instinctively.
‘Damn it, that bastard orchestrated this.’
President Oh Geoshin wasn’t a developer by trade; he had succeeded in distribution, so he had a massive complex about “not knowing games.”
Perhaps because he didn’t want to be looked down upon, he never missed a prototype meeting unless something truly exceptional came up.
But… a meeting with politicians was a different story.
Depending on how a few words were exchanged in those meetings, a game company could become a social evil that created addictive substances… or a patriotic enterprise that sold proud Korean content overseas.
There was no way Seo Donghyuk, the company’s number three, would have been unaware of such a crucial matter.
He had almost certainly pulled some strings to make the meeting and the review overlap today.
‘So his warning last time wasn’t just empty words.’
When Seo Donghyuk had openly displayed his displeasure, he had expected some interference.
But he never dreamed he would throw such a blatant, early curveball.
“Then let’s begin the meeting. We’ll start with an opening statement from Division Head Shin Chihwan, the head of the division in charge of Pass On Dream.”
“Yes, understood. I’d appreciate it if everyone would look at the documents I’ve handed out.”
They say if you keep your wits about you, you can survive even in a tiger’s den, but this was beyond entering the den; he was already halfway down its throat.
Shin Chihwan’s mind raced, trying to figure out how to overcome this meeting.
But…
‘It’s a checkmate.’
At least half of the executives here were likely Seo Donghyuk’s people.
Having already stepped onto a battlefield where he was overwhelmingly outmatched, achieving victory seemed unlikely.
If the prototype failed to pass here, they would have to create a new build and go through another review.
That would delay the project’s staffing.
Moreover, if a prototype of this quality couldn't pass, it was obvious that the morale of PD Jo Hyunsoo's team would plummet.
As he was thinking this, trying to buy as much time as possible…
“Division Head Shin, I asked for your opening statement.”
Seo Donghyuk urged him on, his voice tinged with slight irritation.
To Shin Chihwan, it sounded like he was being told to just go through the motions, as the outcome was already decided.
In the end, all Shin Chihwan could do was open his mouth and look at the documents he had prepared.
“Pass On Dream is a game currently in development by ‘Christian,’ a new team in Division 5. This build was produced with a focus on implementing the core combat system, and establishing the graphic tone and presentation…”
He calmly began his explanation of the game.
However, everyone else wore bored expressions, as if they couldn’t care less.
Chihwan did his best to highlight the game’s strengths, guiding the narrative with his own logic, and concluded his opening statement by appealing to the benefits the game would bring to NB Soft upon release.
“That concludes my opening statement. Now, I would like to hear the opinions of the other division heads.”
As he glanced around, the executives avoided eye contact, hesitant to speak up.
Chihwan sensed the chilly atmosphere, and in that silence, only one person slowly raised his hand.
It was the head of Division 1, Seo Donghyuk.
“I’ll start.”
“Yes, please go ahead.”
“First, I got the impression that the game’s overall presentation, graphics, and combat system are novel.”
Surprisingly, he began with positive words.
But that was just the bait.
“However, because of that novelty, I feel it’s too detached from the public’s taste. Unfamiliarity means people are hesitant to try it. From the perspective of people who play our company’s games, I honestly think they’ll wonder, ‘What on earth is this?’”
Seo Donghyuk’s attack came swiftly.
With every word he spoke, the executives who hadn’t even made eye contact with me nodded their heads in agreement.
Chihwan made a mental note of their faces.
These were the people who had joined hands with Seo Donghyuk to exclude him.
‘The head of Division 3… Division 4… the Business Department… It’s all enemies here.’
An executive meeting might seem like a democratic process where everyone has a vote, but in reality, it wasn’t.
In a company, it was a given that the one who spoke their honest opinion would be targeted.
Because of this, when the person with the most authority, like Seo Donghyuk now, set the tone, everyone else tended to follow suit.
Essentially, Seo Donghyuk would decide the outcome of this meeting, and the rest would likely just act as his rubber stamp.
But Shin Chihwan had no intention of giving up here.
If he were the type to yield to this level of attack, he would never have made it this far.
“Thank you for your valuable opinion, Division Head Seo, but I see things a little differently. In the case of PD Jo Hyunsoo’s previous work, ‘Forgotten Andersen’s Story,’ it also had very niche gameplay and story. On top of that, it had somewhat crude graphics, but it became a hot topic in the console game market and achieved great success. If user expectation is based on the fact that this game is made by PD Jo Hyunsoo, or rather, the super rookie developer ‘Christian,’ then I believe presenting a novel and unprecedented game like this prototype is the right direction. If a game with this kind of originality does well, it will be a great help in securing the IP that the president has been emphasizing all along.”
In truth, Division Head Seo Donghyuk’s argument was nothing short of absurd.
The reason the company, and President Oh Geoshin, had approved this project’s strategic plan in the first place was because it was ‘a style of game our company has never had before.’
Following the success of the Marvel Universe, the entire content market, including the game industry, was hell-bent on securing new IPs, and NB Soft had jumped on that bandwagon.
That was why they were pursuing businesses like creating various genres of games, animations, and movies using the IP of their core title, ‘League of War.’
The problem was, it had repeatedly failed.
‘League of War succeeded as a game, but its potential as an IP is too low.’
League of War was a game that found success through its systemic fun and well-designed business model.
Moreover, its use of a proprietary engine resulted in low system requirements and a small file size, which was effective in overseas markets where smartphone performance was still lacking.
On the other hand, its conceptual elements, which are most closely tied to the strength of an IP, were too weak.
Most of the characters in the game were close to imitations of other famous games, and the story, while trying to be serious, was honestly not the least bit interesting.
‘It’s so bad that there are rumors even the planners on the ‘League of War’ team don’t know the game’s world and story.’
With the game that accounted for 80% of the company’s revenue in this state, NB Soft found it difficult to ride the IP-securing trend, which was why President Oh Geoshin had thrown his weight behind Jo Hyunsoo’s game, thinking it had a high chance of helping with that trend.
“Well, I think that’s just your personal opinion, Division Head Shin.”
He continued speaking in a tone a superior would use with a subordinate.
“Our identity at NB Soft is a mobile game company. A company with over a trillion won in annual operating profit. I honestly don’t know what expectations to have for such a non-mainstream game or how it’s supposed to generate revenue. In a market with already fierce competition, to waste resources on a project with such low potential… and you mentioned IP earlier, but don’t we already have a successful IP called League of War?”
But Seo Donghyuk completely refuted Shin Chihwan’s logic.
It was because the more success Jo Hyunsoo and Shin Chihwan achieved, the more the exclusive power of ‘League of War’ would inevitably weaken.
“Division Head Seo. This prototype is a version made by just three people, and Team Christian’s final headcount is only ten. That’s less than a tenth of the cost of a typical new RPG team. To call that a waste of resources is…”
“Ah yes, yes, I know it’s low-cost. And it’s amazing that three people produced a build of this quality. But let’s think about it differently, Division Head Shin. If we were to put such talented people… on the currently successful ‘League of War,’ wouldn’t that produce much better results?”
“By that logic, are you suggesting we put all the company’s manpower into the League of War IP?”
As Seo Donghyuk’s logic devolved into absurdity, Shin Chihwan snapped back, slightly flaring up.
At that moment.
“Whoa, whoa, Division Head Shin. Don’t get excited. He’s just saying we should look at the realistic side of things, the realistic side. That PD Jo Hyunsoo might be famous, but isn’t our League of War known globally?”
The other division heads pretended to mediate while subtly siding with Seo Donghyuk.
Shin Chihwan tried to poke holes in their absurd arguments with a few sharp points, but each time they talked in circles, continuing to voice negative opinions.
The absence of President Oh Geoshin was a bitter pill for Shin Chihwan to swallow.
This went on for about 40 to 50 minutes.
“The meeting seems to have gotten too heated. Let’s take a short break before we continue.”
The executives were given a short break.
To soothe his burning insides, Shin Chihwan ordered an iced Americano from the company cafe and chugged it down.
‘Damn it, what do I do about this situation? If this falls apart here, I’ll have nothing to say to PD Hyunsoo.’
His worries mounted.
But even if he returned to the conference room, he couldn’t think of a clever way to break the current stalemate.
And just then.
Bzzzzzzzzzz!
Suddenly, Chihwan’s smartphone buzzed loudly.
It was a call from PD Jo Hyunsoo.