Northern Defense (3)
The curry katsu was excellent. Excellent enough to drag a half-dead guy back to the land of the living. I finally started looking human again only after scraping my tray clean.
Yaruru, sitting across from me with her spoon in hand, stared at me blankly.
"Chase, you look a bit better than before, you know."
"I'm just glad lunch was curry katsu..."
"But you're still kinda weird-looking, you know."
"Hey, hey, steady on."
She was being too harsh. I chugged some water and let out a sigh. Yaruru's words were straight facts, so I couldn't even argue. My reflection in the mirror had been zombie-level horrific, even to me.
'I nearly jumped out of my skin seeing a zombie in the mirror.'
Yaruru stuffed her mouth full of curry and chewed away.
"Doing something shady again, you know?"
"Nah, nothing like that."
"If it's not shady, why are you holed up in your dorm looking all wrecked... Oh, I get it, you know."
"...Whatever it is, it's not what you're thinking."
"Mhmhm."
"..."
"Anyway, don't overdo it, you know."
"Worried about me?"
"Yeah. So it's not awkward eating lunch together, you know."
What a weird conclusion. I let out a hollow chuckle, and Yaruru, looking like she couldn't care less, shoved another mouthful of katsu in.
After that, she didn't pry anymore until we left the cafeteria. Anyone watching would think nothing had happened. But when we parted ways in front of the dorms...
Yaruru waved her hand.
"Chase."
"Yeah?"
"Don't stay up too late doing mhmhm stuff tonight, you know."
"It's not that."
She shrugged at my response and headed into the girls' dorm without a second thought.
"If it had been mhmhm stuff, I wouldn't be this wrecked."
...What the hell was I even saying?
After pulling an all-nighter, attending the 9 a.m. lecture left my brain even more muddled. Anyway. Today was one of those rare days with no afternoon classes. After lunch, my condition had recovered a bit.
"Haa... Something's still missing, though."
The Snow Myth Wolf was just a Snow Myth Wolf, and the Ice-Armored Brute was too tanky and annoying. Aurora Penguin? That was pure frustration fuel.
Still, I'd pulled it up to a solvable level with unit awakenings and strategy. So what was the problem?
'What's the difference between the games I enjoyed in my past life and the one I'm making now?'
The game's quality was improving bit by bit. The map design was perfect. Unit balance offered real choices, and the monsters weren't pure bullshit. They were annoyingly realistic in just the right way.
But... why did it still feel off?
"Something... something's lacking..."
I flopped onto my bed as soon as I got back to the dorm. Part of me wanted to just crash, but... my instincts screamed that if I lay down now, I wouldn't wake up until tomorrow morning. Even if I did wake up midway, diving back into the status window would wreck my sleep cycle completely.
In the end, I gritted my teeth and summoned the status window.
"Phew. Yeah, just a little bit, then sleep."
Of course, a resolution I'd never once kept since my past life.
Create - Edit - Load - Export
"I'll edit Northern Defense."
As soon as I said it, snowflakes began drifting in the pure white space. Walls rose up, and in the distance, silhouettes of soldiers clashed fiercely with monsters.
Seeing the fruits of my weekend labor hit me more with a headache than a sense of awe.
"...Let's check the logs again."
I pulled up the test panel and reviewed the records one by one.
Defeat. Victory. Defeat. Defeat. Victory. Victory. Victory. Defeat.
"Looks more playable than I thought... but I don't know about other people's standards."
The Ice-Armored Brute's charge collapsing the center lane. The Aurora Penguin shaking up the backline and ruining the board. And just the Snow Myth Wolves.
"Still better than the start! Yeah!"
Ice-Armored Brute from unkillable boss to mid-boss. Aurora Penguin from board-breaking ICBM to backline disruptor. Snow Myth Wolf from fast trash to a real threat if you get cocky.
Not bad, even from an objective view. But it still felt lacking...
I watched the test footage alongside the battle logs.
"Hm...? I think I get it."
Some games had even me, the creator, sweating bullets. Others were boring wins. The footage's frustration, boredom, and fun weren't averaging out consistently.
...Why?
I replayed the test videos one by one.
First game. "This is pre-cost nerf..."
Generous early costs let me plop high-tier units on two of three lanes right away, snowballing hard.
Second game. "Right after the patch."
Costs halved, couldn't deploy properly, low-tiers everywhere. Retired before I could do anything. Pass.
Third game. "Similar to the first..."
One high-tier carried everything. Even at 4-awake, it had 70% damage share by wave 7...
To sort my hazy thoughts, I pulled up the memo app on my mana panel.
Units... OP...? Choice freedom and player highs... What to focus on? Choice?
"That's it! Exactly!"
Focus left, center crumbles. Fortify center, flanks annoy. High-tiers weak early, low-tiers hit limits. Choice. Whatever you pick or ditch, the tactile feedback was faint.
I'd been fixated on individual units, missing the big picture.
Realizing what I'd overlooked, I opened the status window panels right away.
"Cut initial costs... and nerf generation rates."
Early game gets tougher, but...
"Low-tiers can handle it."
High-tier bloodline rush? Tough.
"But waves start 5 seconds after stage begin."
"Cheaper low-tiers, clearer concepts."
I tweaked placement slots and overhauled the map. Narrowed left path for bottlenecks. Right path: placement limits so special mobs like Aurora Penguin feel extra annoying.
And center...
"Mid's gotta be open field, right?"
"Player thinks the game's rolling their way."
Without realizing I've rigged the board.
Warning! No free slots available. Will overwrite previous save. Proceed?
"Obviously."
Now for final tests. I loaded the updated game right away.
Northern Defense
Game starts with epic BGM. Early costs noticeably tighter, so I spammed low-tiers and grabbed one high-tier: 4☆ Commander Lanpole.
Left: low-tier tank + buffer Lanpole, just those two. Ignored right, dumped rest into center.
"Wave 1's fine like this."
Monsters incoming. Snow Myth Wolves swarm center, then Ice-Armored Brute lumbers in.
Old version? One high-tier solos. Not anymore.
"Costs too low, and my only high-tier's a buffer."
Save left, center shakes. Hold center, right bleeds. But first wave.
"Just tank left, round's easy."
And by my math...
Kyaaang— Kraaang— Crack, kyaaang!!
Solid.
"This! This is it!"
Perfect's boring if repeated. Choice and focus. The risk-return thrill that grips the heart—that's fun.
Doped on victory dopamine, I hit next game.
"Last one might've been luck. Yeah, not playing for fun."
Deadliest dev trap: one good run and calling it "done."
Right?
Second game total opposite.
"Oh no. Screwed."
Skimped early for late high-tiers—fatal. Ignored right too long, Aurora Penguin exploited it. Air attack unit, of all things...
2☆ Siege Master Dale.
"Just hold this wave... was gonna reinforce right!!!"
Dale pops, balance crumbles.
"...Still fun, though."
I muttered at the results. Not unfair... yeah, unfair, but my choices' consequence. Just... bad judgment.
"Even better."
Subtle satisfaction and languid dopamine haze. I closed my eyes briefly. But my lips stayed grinned sky-high.
"Reactions gonna be wild."
Heehee... Anyone seeing me might call me insane.
But what can I do? Imagining others hooked like me...
"Hee... heehik..."
Eye strain eased a tad, I cleared my throat and forced my grin down.
Premature hype before release? Nah.
"More tests the better... one more?"
Plenty of time till morning lecture. Sleep? Dead men sleep plenty.