Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Masterpiece (4)
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I want to succeed with a creation born purely from my own thoughts, not someone else's.
Comics, movies, novels, dramas, music, performances, and so on.
This is a thought that any creator, regardless of their field, would have.
But the world isn't so forgiving.
Unless you're one of the lucky few who shoot to stardom, nine out of ten creators have to kill their own ideas and cater to client demands just to make ends meet.
No, perhaps even those nine out of ten are the lucky ones.
‘But if a creator's own thoughts are completely absent from their work, they can never reach their full potential.’
This was precisely why I had continued to accept Gwajang Seo Eunhye's opinions.
The missing 2% in POD's Chapter 13.
To fill that gap perfectly, I believed that inspiration needed to be breathed not only into the areas I could control but into external factors as well.
I waited for Gwajang Seo Eunhye's emotions to settle before slowly speaking.
“Gwajang Seo Eunhye, do you feel that this music you've created is truly your own work?”
“Yes. For the first time since joining this company, I felt like I created something that was entirely mine.”
“I'm glad to hear that. And I also truly love what you've created, Gwajang Seo Eunhye. I'll be looking forward to more work like this from you.”
Not many words were needed for us to understand each other.
After all, within the system of a game company, most people live under similar circumstances.
Having completely composed herself, Gwajang Seo Eunhye returned to her usual expressionless face, placed her hands on the laptop keyboard, and spoke in a business-like tone.
“Then, let's discuss the necessary arrangements.”
“Ah, yes. First, the lyrics will have to be rewritten to fit this song, right?”
“Yes, we'll maintain the overall flow of the lyrics, but we'll need to readjust the length of the words to match the rhythm and melody of the song. And it would be good to add some brief lyrics to the part I added at the end.”
“Okay. I'll work on that as quickly as possible and send it over, so you can give me real-time feedback. As for what else we need…”
We proceeded to discuss the practical aspects of the work.
Arrangement, post-production, vocal selection, and so on. Opinions were exchanged on many points, and I could tell that Gwajang Seo Eunhye had come very prepared.
I felt confident that I could trust her with this song until the very end.
“Then, I'm counting on you for the Chapter 13 OST until it's finished.”
“Yes, PD-nim!”
And so, the new Chapter 13 OST, remade by Gwajang Seo Eunhye, was off to a great start.
****
The work that followed went very smoothly.
After working on the lyrics, I exchanged them with Gwajang Seo Eunhye a few times to finalize them, then made a guide recording and got approval from Bonbujang Shin Chihwan.
“Holy crap. I was really worried, but this music turned out better than I thought. PD Hyunsoo, you're good at music now too?”
“It's not me, it's Gwajang Seo Eunhye. This company has been letting talent go to waste.”
“Gwajang Seo Eunhye? I never thought of her as anyone special.”
“I didn't give her much input and just asked her to do what she wanted, and this is what she produced. I just piggybacked on her work. You should use Gwajang Seo Eunhye more often, Bonbujang-nim. She's incredibly talented if you just let her showcase her skills.”
“There's a bite to your words, you know?”
“What bite?”
“Aren't you saying that our company's PDs don't know shit and get in the way, preventing talented people from doing their jobs?”
“Isn't that a fact?”
“Yeah, it's a fact.”
At my words, Bonbujang Shin Chihwan nodded, seeming to deeply empathize.
Letting talented people fully display their skills.
From the perspective of someone with hiring authority, this was the most important task and the way to produce results, so his reaction was only natural.
“Well, I'm off, Bonbujang-nim.”
“Alright!”
“Aren't you being a little too casual with me these days?”
“Can't I be? Am I the only one who feels a close bond with you?”
“Then should I just start calling you hyung?”
“Ah, I'd like that, little brother Hyunsoo.”
“Never mind. Hearing that gives me the creeps for some reason.”
“Ah, don't be like that. You're hurting my feelings.”
I shook off the clingy Bonbujang Shin Chihwan and returned to my office, where I immediately started writing the storyboard for the demo track.
As soon as it was finished, I had to send it to Oh Hana to get started on the cinematic work.
‘I should share this with Director Oh Hana, Writer Han Sanghyeok, and our team members.’
In the meantime, there were plenty of other tasks.
The combat balance, managed by team lead Jang Ho, underwent continuous revisions, and we were constantly discussing the necessary resources for the direction with the art team to push the quality as high as possible.
If the limit of what we could normally produce was 100, our momentum was now so good that we were hitting 110, even 120.
‘I'm crazy busy, but for some reason, I don't feel tired at all.’
These days, every day felt fulfilling.
‘Work is fun.’
I was filled with the anticipation of creating a work into which I had poured my all, one that would leave no regrets, and I just wanted to see the result a day sooner.
I felt very sorry that I couldn't see Rokhui often, but we still tried to see each other briefly whenever we had a spare moment or cheered each other on through phone calls.
Time passed by quickly like that.
[Gwajang Seo Eunhye: PD-nim, the final arrangement for the Chapter 13 OST, ‘Pass On Dream,’ is complete.]
[Gwajang Seo Eunhye: Erosion.mp4]
[Me: Thank you! I'll listen to it right away.]
[Director Oh Hana: The cinematic is finished!]
[Director Oh Hana: 13cinematic.avi]
[Me: Great work!]
One by one, the assets that would fill Chapter 13 arrived.
On the day the balance planning and direction were perfectly set, I played the final chapter of POD with the entire team.
The direction for the final episode unfolds with a depression-gripped Van Gogh painting while monologuing the contents of a letter written to his beloved brother.
In the painting battle against ‘Tree Roots,’ which could be called POD’s final boss, there is no music at first, only a dry silence.
But upon completing the painting and defeating it, ashen branches extend from the artwork and pierce his heart, causing Van Gogh to collapse on the spot.
Then, the sand animation created by Oh Hana begins to play along with the OST made by Gwajang Seo Eunhye.
‘Alright. This is the highlight.’
I swallowed hard and focused on the screen.
The first third featured somber music, with a black-and-white montage of scenes symbolizing Van Gogh's life and dreams as portrayed in the game.
[Everyone looks at their dream and talks to themselves-♪]
At the same time, a female vocalist with a husky voice sang the lyrics I had written.
About two-thirds of the way through the cinematic, the music suddenly stops. A single flower blooms where Van Gogh died, scattering seeds into the sky that fly off somewhere.
[Can't you catch it without falling asleep? A dream-]
Then, the sand animation seamlessly transforms into a vibrant 2D cel animation, and the seed, symbolizing Van Gogh's soul, drifts through a field of flowers and beautiful scenery before landing on the ground.
This time, a grand and bright piece of music began to play, powerful enough to blow away all the preceding gloom.
[If there's a milky way of dreams, you'll be the bright-est star within it.]
As the cinematic ended, the screen glowed brightly.
Then, the scene showed his brother, Theo, holding Van Gogh in his arms.
In contrast to his grief-stricken brother, a faint smile graced the face of Van Gogh in his embrace.
After showing that for a moment, the screen faded to black, and the ending credits began to roll.
It wasn't just my work, but something we all created together, and watching it sent a shiver down my spine.
‘Did we really make this?’
I had experienced all sorts of fun and emotions while playing many masterpiece games.
But playing Pass On Dream now stirred up a torrent of emotions within me that I had never felt before.
Dreams. Something that exists in everyone's heart, yet is perceived differently by all. A luxury to some, yet infinitely light to others. It belongs to everyone, yet not just anyone can have it.
While playing this, stories of my parents who gave up their dreams for their children, my sister who wandered without a dream, and myself, who chased a dream but found it difficult to achieve, all naturally came to mind.
My mind grew complex, not knowing how to express this whirlwind of emotions.
Just then, I felt a single tear unconsciously fall from my eye.
‘Damn it. Crying in front of the team is so embarrassing. It makes me look so self-absorbed.’
I quickly grabbed a few tissues, roughly wiped my eyes, and squeezed them shut to get my emotions under control.
I didn't know if this feeling was from the work itself or from the fact that we had all created it together, but one thought was certain.
‘We've made something great.’
Forgotten Andersen's Story, which I made alone.
I felt that we had created a game that was several times, no, tens of times better than that.
It was only possible with everyone's help.
As I slowly looked around, I saw the team members gathered in small groups, talking.
“Wow, amazing. I think I'm going to lose it. I tried so hard to hold it in, but the tears just started falling.”
“*Sniffle.* I don't think you were the only one crying, Mr. Kim Ho. I saw Pateujang Yosep crying earlier.”
“*Sniff.* So moving, so moving. Isn't our PD-nim a total genius? How did he come up with this direction and this story?”
“Damn, for real. Wasn't that final cinematic incredible? I didn't realize it when we were adding the resources one by one, but playing it all together gives me serious chills.”
“The music is killer, too. Seriously. If they sold this as a single, I'd listen to it every day.”
“And seeing my name in the ending credits at the end, I was just like, whoa.”
They were all talking excitedly, as if they had just come from an idol concert.
They all had so much they wanted to say about what they felt, but their emotions seemed to get in the way of their words, making them look like children. I let out a small chuckle.
I strode into their midst, clapped a few times, and said with a bright face.
“Everyone, you've all worked so hard. Without you, this game would never have been completed. I'll be submitting the final build today, and I'll use my authority as PD to request a substitute day off for tomorrow, so everyone please get some rest.”
“Woooooah! Awesome!”
“Great work, PD-nim!”
Everyone cheered at the mention of a day off.
Considering how everyone had been overworking themselves with late nights, giving them one day off was nothing special, really.
“And for those who want to go for a team dinner tonight, follow me. It's not on the company card; I'm paying out of my own pocket. I'll treat you to whatever you want to eat!”
“I'm in, let's go! I'm gonna go all out with the expensive liquor tonight!”
“Hanuuuu! Let's go for Hanwoo omakase!”
“Alright, those who are coming, pack your things and let's go. The rest of you can head home.”
I sent the compiled build file.
A sense of relief washed over me, knowing that we had finished a project we had given our absolute all to.
‘Quest Complete.’
And I pressed the complete button for the surprise quest.
<<Chapter 13 has been completed with an EX ranking!>>
<>
<<You have been rewarded with the ‘God Game Maker's Box’!>>
‘An EX ranking? Is that even higher than S+?’
Then, as if to praise me, God Game Maker displayed a status window with a brilliant design.
As I was staring at it blankly,
“Hurry up, PD-nim!”
My team members, standing in the hallway, called out to me cheerfully.
Just hearing their excited voices was enough to lift my spirits.
I closed the status window, grabbed my coat, and followed them.
‘I'm so glad I became a game developer.’