Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Chaotic Game Development Diary (2)
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Making a game takes money.
Personnel costs for hiring programmers, designers, writers, musicians, and so on.
Marketing expenses to spread the word, server maintenance fees, various licenses, and all sorts of unexpected additional outlays that could pop up.
Of course, we were relatively free from these cost issues.
My stepbrother was handling almost all the programming himself, and thanks to this ridiculously high-performance AI that made me wonder how the hell he even created it, we could cover most fields on our own.
Honestly, employees at any average game studio would probably cry foul and scream "fraud" if they saw what we were doing.
But that AI was the problem.
"...The private server and hardware performance have hit their limits. We can't handle Nebula's growth anymore with this setup."
Nebula was the name of the AI my stepbrother had personally created.
According to him, it was a next-generation AI on a whole different level from existing tech, but honestly, I only half-listened to the details.
It's not like I hadn't seen overpowered AIs in subculture stuff before—it's probably just another one of those anyway.
In reality, Nebula's performance was jaw-droppingly impressive.
We were tackling a virtual reality game—not some indie project—with just two people, which was insane, and it was all thanks to Nebula.
He might be at the bottom of the family pecking order and ignored at home, but creating something like this alone proved he was a genius, whether I liked it or not.
The issue was that, no matter how excellent Nebula was, at its core, it was still just a program.
No matter how amazing the software, if it's 10 gigs, you can't store it on 1 gig of hardware. The same went for Nebula: the better the performance, the more crucial the hardware to contain it.
And since Nebula kept growing on its own, ballooning in size, it was even worse.
In other words, we needed more drives or expanded private servers—but we didn't have the cash.
"What about those stocks we bought last time? It sucks, but we could sell them. The news said they've been rising, not falling, right?"
At my question, my stepbrother averted his eyes slyly.
"...Hey, don't tell me you already sold them?"
"Well, technically yes, but I'm still your big bro—don't you think 'hey' is a bit much...?"
Shut up, you idiot.
I've been tiptoeing around your prickly hedgehog ass for over half a year, using polite speech to humor you—that's plenty. What more do you want?
"Cut the crap. Did you sell them or not?"
"I figured it'd dip soon, so I sold early and invested elsewhere, but..."
"From the way you're hemming and hawing, sounds like it tanked."
He hung his head, and I sighed.
One thing I'd learned observing this wannabe mastermind stepbrother for about a year: surprisingly, he sucked at making money.
Well, strictly speaking, he wasn't completely hopeless. He'd whip up vaccine programs, sell licenses, or occasionally hit it big on stocks. If he were truly incompetent with money, he couldn't have even set up the basics to build the AI.
But that level wasn't "swimming in cash" territory. Just decent for a fresh-out-of-school newbie.
Wait, aren't genius programmers supposed to be money wizards too? That's the cliché, right? Crushing stocks every buy, patenting programs to rake in riches effortlessly. Is this guy really the future mastermind? Or did I misread him?
"So, what? You telling me this to do what about it?"
"...Got any spare cash?"
"Don't you think it's pretty messed up for a working adult bro to beg his still-in-school little sis for money, you moron of an oppa? Huh?"
Of course, if we just looked at bank balances, I'd probably have more than him right now.
My ex-athlete, now-coach stepdad adores his polite, well-behaved, straight-A stepdaughter. That's why I keep up the good-girl act around him.
And Mom, who'd always felt guilty about not spoiling me with pocket money back when it was just us, now goes overboard since the marriage gave us financial breathing room.
So yeah, I could front him some cash and tide over his funding crunch temporarily.
But.
"That's not a real fix. Sure, we scrape by now, but you'll just come begging every time you're broke later?"
Plus, if our parents found out I was dumping my savings into him, they'd flip. I'd be lucky not to get a beating from stepdad and kicked out.
Honestly, if his game dev stalled out like this, it'd solve one problem—but given his obsession, he'd probably turn to illegal means to keep going if cornered.
We needed a way to make money.
Legally, and in bulk.
VTuber? Maybe back when Mom and I were scraping by, watching the bank dwindle anxiously—but now? No interest.
Besides, doesn't it look weird if I grind hard just to hand it over to stepbro?
I do have a stake in the game he's making now, so I want to see it finished, but that's separate.
So, the solution was clear.
"—We make a game."
At my words, my stepbrother looked puzzled.
"We already are."
"Not that one. Let's make a lighter mobile game."
Trying to build a virtual reality online game from scratch—the nonexistent endgame of this era—is why we're hitting snags everywhere.
No proper foundation, just shooting for the stars? Of course it's bumpy.
So, we make a stepping stone game to get there.
The devilish gacha game, infamous for sucking players' wallets dry.
"Hmm. Even if it's easier than VR, to make something solid, we'd need to divert most of Nebula's processing power there. We might have to pause the main game for years and focus solely on this. Do we have to?"
This money-dumb stepbro still looked dissatisfied at my killer idea.
Tsk tsk, you foolish mortal.
"Think backwards. Say we save those years and somehow finish our dream game. You think people will just play it?"
"...You're saying my game won't get recognition?"
"It won't get recognized. People won't even try playing it."
An unprecedented massive online VR game from some no-name company with two employees.
Would anyone trust that and dive in? Registering it officially would be a nightmare—VR games mess with brains, so commercial regs are insanely strict compared to past life's games.
Sure, hobbyists in the industry would test it, word would spread, but going mainstream? Years of grind ahead.
"The worldbuilding for the game is mostly done already, right? We use that to make a prequel to the main story. Fans of this gacha game will then be hyped for the VR sequel. The game advertises itself."
But it's a double-edged sword.
We'd gain visibility and fans, but a crap game poisons the next one's image, and we can't run it too greedily.
We're way ahead on personnel—the biggest cost—so even half the industry average monetization should profit plenty. Gacha's built for sweeping cash anyway.
"Prequel, huh. We do have a story prepped for that past-era event. Expanding it could work."
When the hell did he make that?
Unlike me, juggling school and peeking in spare time, this guy's poured his entire life into it. Even watching up close, surprises pop up.
Anyway, as you can see, game quality's no worry.
Money skills are iffy, but as a dev, he's the real deal.
Just yap ideas from the sidelines, and a solid game emerges—fun position to be in.
And so, about a year passed.
Time woefully short to make a proper game, but it flowed on.
📰 Beyond: The Lost Era. Reroll Guide But doesn't this game let you roll as much as you want early on, pick what you like, and start? Is there even a guide?
— Anonymous That's just grabbing the good stuff and going. The real deal is rushing Chapter 1 after, farming resources, and going ham.
— Anonymous Goblins always demand one more after you give 'em one—they never settle.
📰 Got Iris on first paid pull—is this good? Mods doing nothing? No ban on dupes?
— Anonymous Fuck, not one but two at once.
— Anonymous Why not me? Why not me? Why not me? Why not me?
📰 Beyond is a shit game. (Army draft notice image) Anyway, shit game. Seeing this makes it seem like a god game.
— Anonymous Who enlists right now? Reserves should've ended ages ago, no?
— Anonymous Just close your eyes from now on. It'll be pitch black either way.
📰 What did this dev company make before? Gacha structure's standard, but the details are insanely good? Looked it up—seems like their first game?
— Anonymous Quality ain't rookie level.
— Anonymous Rumor some team split from a big studio to make this. Take it or leave it.
📰 Game's good but company looks like it's about to fold—kinda anxious. Didn't they make monetization too generous to attract players? Yeah. They're overextending to beat rivals. If they hike prices later, backlash city.
— Anonymous This gonna bankrupt them? Lol no way.
— Anonymous Worrying about game companies is peak dumb.
Looking at reactions across communities and my steadily fattening bank balance, I let a smile creep across my lips.
He might be the mastermind in the original story, but pulling him to our side? Total cheat code.
Yeah, this much is just right to make tolerating a gloomy guy as stepbro worthwhile.