Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: A New Connection (1)
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“Hyunsoo, come eat.”
“Wow, thanks. I don’t usually eat breakfast, though.”
“How can a PD work like that? You need a good meal to stay sharp and last the day. Koreans run on food, you know.”
The next day, for a late breakfast, I sat around the dining table with my family.
Doenjang-jjigae, stir-fried eggplant, a fried egg, and all the side dishes Mom made herself.
Eating all this together, it had been a while since I'd felt this warm, fuzzy feeling in my chest.
“Do you have anything planned for today?”
“Ah, I’m meeting a friend for lunch today.”
“Handol?”
“No, my high school class president. I ran into him at the reunion yesterday, and he said he works in the game industry too, so we decided to meet up today.”
“Wow, what a coincidence.”
“Right? I was surprised too.”
After finishing my meal and washing up, I threw on some clothes and headed out.
We met at a cafe halfway between our places.
First, coffee.
“I’ll have an iced Americano.”
“I’ll also have an iced Americano, but with three extra shots, please.”
“Three extra shots? You really drink it like that?”
The moment Jang Ho spoke, I turned my head to the side in surprise.
A five-shot iced Americano was practically like chugging straight espresso.
“I need at least this much to feel like my head’s clearing up.”
I relied on caffeine when I worked too, but five shots right off the bat…
That was a choice befitting a class president.
We got our drinks, sat down, and started talking about work in earnest.
I had given him a rough idea of the situation yesterday, but I explained again exactly where I stood within the company and what kind of help I needed.
Normally, I wouldn’t share this much about work, but Jang Ho was always tight-lipped, and since we’d be working together, I figured it was best to share the situation.
It was also a way to show Jang Ho that I trusted him.
<<Your understanding of 'Jang Ho' has increased slightly!>>
God Game Maker let me know in real-time that this method was working.
“Hmm, so that’s how things are. It makes sense. A developer who hit it big with an indie game teaming up with the new department head and climbing the ranks… a lot of people would feel threatened. And if they’re bringing in PD Lee Hyeonho and making all that fuss, it means they’re openly targeting you.”
“That’s why I’m desperately trying not to give them any reason to criticize me. And my weakest area is game balancing.”
After I finished, Jang Ho pushed up his glasses and slowly replied.
“So, what kind of balance do you want to show players in the first build?”
“What kind of balance? I just want it to be a balance that people find fun.”
“That’s too abstract.”
This really was my Achilles’ heel; I didn’t even understand the intent behind Jang Ho’s words.
But it was in my nature to be honest about what I didn't know and to make sure I understood it before moving on.
“Uh, is it? I don’t think I understand exactly what you mean.”
“Hmm, when you write a story or create a character concept, don’t you always think about ‘what kind’ of story you want to show?”
Jang Ho asked back, tilting his head.
What kind of story… True, I always pondered that when creating a new game.
“Right… but I’ve never thought that balancing had a point like that.”
“To put it in extremely simple terms, it’s like this. The game you’re making this time, ‘POD,’ doesn’t have separate in-app purchases, right?”
“Yeah, I’m thinking of a full-price game with a DLC model. Of course, that could change if the higher-ups try to throw a wrench in the works.”
A full-price game.
Simply put, it refers to the payment model of console games, where you pay the full price at once with no additional charges.
“It goes without saying, but if you have a gacha-style payment system, the balance has to be adjusted to create hurdles accordingly. Depending on things like the payment model or the experience the PD wants to give the user, the balancing concept naturally changes.”
“Ah, I get what you’re saying.”
After all, the foundation of planning follows the pattern of ‘WHY (why should we do it)’ to ‘HOW (how should we do it).’
As a competent level designer, Jang Ho would have his own answers and data for the ‘HOW,’ but ultimately, I had to provide the answer for the ‘WHY,’ which would set the game’s direction.
“Can I take a few minutes to think?”
“Take all the time you need.”
Jang Ho shrugged in response, and I sank into thought for a moment, looking at the proposal document saved on my phone.
What did I want to say through this game? What kind of balancing would be needed for that? As one thought led to another…
“POD has a ‘Potion System’ as its core combat mechanic. For the first build, I want to design combat that players will find fun by utilizing this system at each stage. I want that to be the core of the first build.”
The ‘Potion System’ I had showcased in the prototype.
The concept was inspired by artists who drank things like absinthe to create their works.
It wasn’t a perfect system with all the details worked out yet, but the direction itself was relatively clear.
“Tell me more.”
“Well, it was inspired by artists who drink to find inspiration.”
I laid out the design intent of the Potion System and what I wanted to express through it.
Jang Ho took a small notebook and pen out of his pocket and quickly scribbled down my words.
“So, ultimately, you want a balance where hurdles that are difficult to overcome with combat alone can be narrowly cleared by using the ‘Potion System’ at specific moments. After all, for a full-price game, it’s good for players to feel the fun of clearing stages with a thrillingly close difficulty.”
“Ah, right.”
“In that case, what’s the planned volume and total playtime for the first build?”
“I’ve planned for two chapters, with each chapter taking about an hour and a half to two hours. The total number of chapters is thirteen.”
“Hmm, with that much playtime, it doesn’t sound like a game where you just watch the story.”
“Yeah, there will be puzzles in between, and since the process of painting will be expressed through combat, there will need to be leveling processes too.”
“Okay, I’ll have to think about those elements too. Though I’ll only know the specifics once I see the actual game design document.”
We roughly established the direction for the balance, getting in sync with each other.
As I talked with Jang Ho, only one thought came to mind.
‘He’s competent.’
A planner whose top priority is to make rational judgments and ensure the work progresses.
Jang Ho exuded the aura of a competent planner, someone rarer than a national treasure.
“Let’s wrap it up here for today. I’ll send you the detailed design documents and future schedules once I get approval from the company.”
“Okay. I’ll share anything that comes to mind about the balancing direction too.”
After talking for nearly two hours, my mouth was dry.
We sipped our Americanos, the ice long melted, and leaned back in our chairs for a moment.
“Jo Hyunsoo, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“When you made *Forgotten Andersen’s Story* and it became a hit, did you feel good?”
“I did, incredibly so. And beyond that, having a personal project succeed gave me a kind of courage. My whole life, I couldn’t say a peep to my superiors, but after the game took off, I started talking back when my PD said something ridiculous. Then things unfolded in a really dramatic way, and here I am.”
“Hahaha, your life story would make a fun game.”
“You think so? Well, I was lucky.”
“In the content industry, 70% of it is luck, man. That *is* skill.”
Jang Ho stretched and then downed the rest of his coffee.
“Jo Hyunsoo, let’s get going.”
“What, already? Nothing else to talk about?”
“We can do that later, after the project is a success, man. I want to get home quickly and start thinking about the balance.”
The look on his face was like a boy’s, full of anticipation and a hint of a smile.
The moment I saw it, I knew exactly how our class president was feeling.
‘He’s really looking forward to this project.’
That kind of expression never appears when you’re just doing ‘work.’
In other words, Jang Ho was finding ‘fun’ in the very act of participating in my project.
For someone coordinating a project, that was the best reaction possible.
<<Your understanding of 'Jang Ho' has increased slightly!>>
Just as I thought.
“Alright, let’s head out then. I should probably go home and get some rest too.”
“Let’s go, let’s go.”
We left the cafe.
“Well, I’m off.”
Jang Ho gave a casual wave and started walking in the opposite direction.
“Class President.”
“Yeah?”
He turned back to look at me when I called.
“I’m looking forward to working with you. For some reason, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing each other for a long time.”
“What are you talking about? Say that after you see my work, PD Jo Hyunsoo.”
“Alright, get home safe.”
We both smiled and headed toward our respective homes.
I felt like a ship that had been halted by rough waves had finally caught the wind and begun to sail again.
****
After returning home, at 2 AM.
“Ugh, why can’t I sleep?”
I had been trying to sleep, but I tossed and turned before finally getting out of bed.
Maybe because I’d slept in, my mind was filled with stray thoughts, and sleep wouldn’t come easily.
‘Should I go for a walk?’
I carefully slipped out of the house so as not to wake my family and walked along the riverside path.
Walking under the clear night sky and twinkling stars, something I couldn’t see in Seoul, I felt strangely sentimental.
After gazing up at the sky for a moment, I took out my smartphone and opened my messages with Rokhui.
“‘You up?’ ‘You sleeping?’ ‘Good night?’... Stuff like that is a bit lame.”
I typed and deleted a single line several times, feeling a bit cringey, before settling on a simple sentence.
[Me: Rokhui, are you working?]
[Rokhui: Yep, just taking a quick break and eating a sandwich!]
[Me: Is it okay if I call you for a minute?]
A call came through immediately.
<<What are you doing up so late, Hyunsoo? I thought you said you were going to bed.>>
“Ah, I couldn’t sleep. Rokhui, are you still far from finished with your work?”
<<Oh, I’m pretty much done. Just need to add the speech bubbles and dialogue, and that’s it!>>
“Haha, congratulations.”
<<Did anything interesting happen today? Didn’t you say you met a friend who’s a game planner at your reunion yesterday?>>
“Ah, I actually met up with him today and we talked about work.”
I told Rokhui about the day’s trivial events.
“My class president said that to do balance planning, you need a concept for that too. He asked what kind of experience I want to deliver to the users, and as I talked on and on about it, what I wanted became clearer and clearer.”
<<Ah, that makes sense. The nuance of the game would change depending on the difficulty of each stage.>>
“Right? I thought I knew a thing or two about planning, but today I felt like a complete newbie.”
<<Isn’t your friend incredibly competent? You’re going to get some serious backup.>>
Rokhui seemed to empathize with my thoughts and position.
Getting the thoughts that had been swirling in my head out in the open felt a bit relieving.
It occurred to me that maybe the reason I couldn’t sleep was that I hadn’t been able to share the thrill I felt today with anyone.
I felt that it was really nice that we were both creators.
“I’m almost home now.”
<<Oh, really? Then I’m going to go finish up my work too, Hyunsoo! Get inside and go to sleep!>>
“Okay, good luck with your work.”
We ended the call just as I was getting back home.
I felt grateful to Rokhui for talking to me, even though she must have been busy with her deadline.
Just as I was about to go inside…
“What, were you on the phone with your girlfriend?”
“Yeah.”
I noticed a woman standing by a utility pole in front of the house, an e-cigarette in her mouth.
“What the—Noona, what are you doing out here?”
“I don’t know, I couldn’t sleep either.”
“By the way, did you always smoke?”
“Yeah. It’s a secret from Mom and Dad.”
My sister put her index and middle fingers to her lips, and I gave a small nod.
“Since we’re both out, want to talk for a bit before we go in? I said we should grab a drink, but you were so busy that we never got around to it.”
“Ah, right, we did.”
The moment I heard that, I recalled my sister asking to grab a drink, saying she had something she wanted to talk to me about, back when I was having a team dinner.
I scratched the bridge of my nose, feeling a little sorry, and my sister smiled as she spoke.
“Let’s go sit at the convenience store over there.”
“Mm, alright.”
We headed to the convenience store right across from our house.