Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Let's Just Get Along
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In the office of Seo Donghyuk, the Director of Division 1 and a managing director.
Across from him, PD Lee Hyeonho sat with his legs crossed, an air of complete composure about him.
“PD Lee Hyeonho, I think it’s about time we set a schedule for the prototype. President Oh Geoshin has been nagging me relentlessly.”
“A schedule, you say? Of course, I’ll give you a schedule.”
Team ‘Gold Digger’ was the new team in Division 1, formed with PD Lee Hyeonho at its core.
Given that he had successfully launched nearly ten games, the initial prototype team already consisted of close to ten members, with plans to recruit more.
Naturally, many eyes within the company were fixed on this team with high expectations and keen interest.
“By any chance, has the date for Jo Hyunsoo’s first build been set?”
“It has. I heard the delivery date is set for March 31st.”
“The end of March… not bad. Let’s go with that day. We can completely crush them.”
A sly smile crept across his face.
If they submitted their builds on the same day for review, there was a high probability that the executives would evaluate both at the same time.
In other words, it meant Jo Hyunsoo’s POD and his own project would be compared side-by-side.
This was a golden opportunity to shatter the upstart Jo Hyunsoo head-on.
“A direct confrontation, eh? Not a bad idea. Is there anything I can do to help?”
Seo Donghyuk’s lips curled up, showing he understood the intent.
“Well, how about you take care of this for me.”
Lee Hyeonho placed a file folder he had brought with him on Seo Donghyuk’s desk.
When opened, it revealed a list of ten names.
They were all current NB Soft employees working in various studios.
“What do you want me to do with this list?”
“Have those people transferred to our team within a month.”
“Ugh… within a month?”
Seo Donghyuk’s expression turned troubled.
Most of the ten people on the list were key personnel who were highly regarded in their respective studios.
Using his own sources, Lee Hyeonho had selected the best possible members to crush Jo Hyunsoo in the upcoming prototype production.
“If we want to pick up the pace, it has to be as fast as possible, don’t you think?”
Personnel reassignment.
In a typical game company, this was something that rarely happened unless a team was disbanded or a major internal issue arose.
However, Lee Hyeonho had a history of using this tactic to suck up talent like a black hole at every company he worked for.
It was cheaper and faster than hiring new people, so he, who valued speed above all, used it frequently.
Moreover.
“The teams those people belong to—I hear most of them have mediocre performance or their projects are on the verge of being dropped. At this point, if you just give them a little hint that Lee Hyeonho is calling, they’ll come over on their own.”
Lee Hyeonho had already done a thorough background check on the personnel in question.
Employees who were skilled but in precarious positions.
He knew very well how sweet the fruit of his reputation would be to such people, and he intended to use it to his advantage.
“Alright, I see. Some of these people are in other divisions, so it’ll require some discussion. I’ll get them transferred as quickly as possible.”
“Please do.”
Seo Donghyuk nodded, a reluctant look on his face.
Lee Hyeonho replied curtly, as if it were his due, and rose from his seat.
“PD Lee Hyeonho, I’ll set the stage for you and Jo Hyunsoo as you wish, but you cannot lose this time, not by any chance. If you do… this method will backfire and become poison.”
It was a reasonable point.
It was one thing to pick a fight with someone you wanted to destroy, but Lee Hyeonho was, in any case, a much bigger figure than Jo Hyunsoo.
What if he were to lose to such an opponent, even by a slim chance?
The fallout would naturally be greater for the bigger party—that is, Lee Hyeonho and Director Seo Donghyuk.
However.
“What? Ahahahaha!”
Lee Hyeonho burst into a mad laugh as if the suggestion was absurd, then suddenly his expression hardened as he continued.
“That will never happen, Bonbujang Seo. If I were the type to lose to some guy who makes cheap, trashy games, I never would have made it this far in the first place. You just make sure to clean up after me so there are no obstacles in my way. That’s how we’ll succeed in that thing we’re aiming for, isn’t it?”
<That thing>—that was the very reason Seo Donghyuk had bothered to bring the rogue Lee Hyeonho under his wing.
The likes of Bonbujang Shin Chihwan and Jo Hyunsoo were merely sacrifices for that goal.
“Yes, I trust you.”
“You’d better. Because I’m going to completely flip this mom-and-pop shop of a company upside down.”
As Seo Donghyuk spoke with a worried face, Lee Hyeonho flashed a rotten smile and left the room.
****
After the first submission date was set, Team ‘Christian’ threw themselves into their work with a frenzy.
<<Activating Skill ‘Acceleration!’>>
<<Analyzing ‘Chapter 1 Stage 4 Scenario Document’ using Skill ‘Document Improvement Solution.’ Grade is determined to be A+.>>
<<Analyzing ‘Chapter 1 Stage 1 Combat Prefab’ using Skill ‘The Best Advisor!’ Grade is determined to be S-!>>
Of course, the one grinding away the most was me.
‘This is the first time I’ve ever been this busy at a company.’
I wrote every document, and every time a combat scene prefab (a term for a prefabricated unit; in development, it refers to a form where specific scenes, animations, or characters are bundled into a set unit for easy use) was created, I had to review it and provide feedback.
In truth, I was single-handedly managing the work of at least four or five people, so even for me, it was honestly not an easy task.
Leaving work at 11 PM was the norm, and I worked from home on weekends, so I felt like I was losing all sense of time.
Still, the fortunate thing was—
[Me: Ugh, sorry, Rokhui. I have a document I need to finish by today. Can we postpone our dinner plans for another time?]
[Rokhui: lol, it's okay. I have a manuscript deadline anyway, so I didn't have much time either. Wanna hang out on a call tonight instead?]
[Me: That would be really, really great.]
Rokhui was completely understanding of my busy situation.
Dinner plans and dates were often replaced with working together on Hangouts, and during that time, we would look at each other’s work and give feedback.
It was a little disappointing, but it also felt like we were having a rather constructive kind of relationship.
‘Once the game is released, I should use my sabbatical and take her on a trip abroad. I feel so bad.’
When the game launches next year, I’ll have enough years of service to be eligible for a sabbatical.
If our relationship was still going strong by then, I thought it would be nice to go on a trip somewhere.
Creating such rewards in my mind helped me find a little strength amidst the hardship.
Furthermore.
“Pateujang Yuri, about the oil painting animation we applied. It seems to be causing a bit of overload in the scene in Chapter 1, Stage 3 where the character drinks absinthe. We’re thinking of re-inserting the resources this way, could we ask the graphics department to edit them? We could do it ourselves, but we’re not very familiar with Photoshop, so it would take time.”
“Oh, of course! I have some free time right now, so I can do it for you right away.”
It wasn’t just me who was struggling; the team members were as well.
Although they worked fewer hours than me due to the 52-hour workweek limit, they used up almost all of their allotted overtime. And even in these tough conditions, no one complained, cooperating as much as possible and faithfully carrying out their respective tasks.
‘I definitely picked the right team leads.’
Of course, the two team leads were central to this.
Despite their limited experience and age, both of them were visibly trying their best to manage their team members with great care.
It was partly possible because the organization was still small, but considering their age and experience, it was an impressive feat.
‘At this rate, I might be able to get all the planning for the first review done before the Lunar New Year.’
This year, the Lunar New Year was in mid-February.
If I could finish the planning by then, I could invest the remaining time in feedback and balancing to improve the quality.
I was working as usual, sipping my iced Americano, when it happened.
<<The content of the main quest ‘How to Fasten the First Button’ has been updated!>>
Additional Condition: Receive a higher evaluation for the first build than Team ‘Gold Digger’s’ prototype. (NEW)
‘What? The quest content changed? An additional condition?’
I was a little flustered by the status message I’d never seen before.
Team Gold Digger was the name of PD Lee Hyeonho’s team.
Why was God Game Maker suddenly pushing me into a competition with that team?
This had never happened before, so I had a bad feeling.
‘Something must have happened behind the scenes.’
Wondering if there was something going on in the company that I didn’t know about, I checked Blind and asked Bonbujang Shin Chihwan.
But there was no particularly noteworthy information.
I sought out the person who was most knowledgeable about these things.
[Me: Daeri Son Seokjin, can I ask for a favor?]
[Daeri Son Seokjin: Ah, PD-nim! Yes, yes, just ask me anything.]
Daeri Son Seokjin.
As someone who had joined the company through open recruitment, he had an information network spreading far and wide, making him the best source among my acquaintances.
[Me: Have you heard anything about Team Gold Digger’s prototype schedule or anything unusual?]
[Daeri Son Seokjin: Nothing specific yet, but I'll ask my friends from my recruitment class and let you know.]
[Me: Thanks.]
About thirty minutes passed.
[Daeri Son Seokjin: PD-nim, I asked around, and they say Team Gold Digger is currently absorbing personnel from other teams through transfers. A lot of them, too.]
[Me: Ah, and is there anything else?]
[Daeri Son Seokjin: Hmm, their prototype submission date is set for around the end of March? Is something wrong?]
[Me: No, nothing in particular, just curious. Thanks for looking into it. I’ll buy you a meal sometime.]
[Daeri Son Seokjin: Yep, yep! I'm good anytime.]
The moment I heard that, I felt a slight chill run down my spine.
‘The prototype submission date is around the end of March.’
Lee Hyeonho’s project was a massive MMORPG.
Naturally, its development period would be different from the smaller-scale POD.
Because of that, I had expected the prototype wouldn’t be out until April or May at the earliest.
‘But he’s releasing the prototype at the end of March, intentionally overlapping with POD’s first build submission?’
It was obvious.
This was a ploy to crush us by deliberately overlapping the evaluation periods.
The reason God Game Maker had changed the main quest content must have been influenced by Lee Hyeonho’s actions.
‘I don’t know what kind of prototype will come out at the end of March, but knowing that man, he’ll stop at nothing to crush us.’
As I was thinking that.
<<Your understanding of Lee Hyeonho has increased!>>
-Lee Hyeonho plans to release a prototype build at the end of March to make the POD project pale in comparison. (NEW)
The understanding system confirmed the facts for me once again.
‘Crazy. We’re still colleagues at the same company. Is there really a need to go this far?’
It was absurd.
No matter how intense internal politics got, I couldn’t comprehend how someone could think of crushing a colleague at the same company like this.
Well, if he was going to attack me like this, I had no intention of just sitting back and taking it.
‘I need to complete a first build that can land a counter-punch.’
Lee Hyeonho would undoubtedly use his glamorous network of connections to bring a flashy prototype that would dazzle the executives.
If our game was placed next to that?
‘Even if it has fresh elements, it will feel somewhat plain. To overcome this, we also need some kind of weapon.’
However, this was not easy.
I had already shared with the team members what the scope of the first build would be.
The team was just getting used to the work process. If I were to change the direction of our work now just to beat Lee Hyeonho?
That would be an act of a PD eroding his own team’s trust.
In the end, the best-case scenario was for me to find a weapon to defeat Lee Hyeonho on my own.
‘I have to make it happen, no matter what.’
I opened a notepad and started jotting down ideas.