Game Empires Crumble and the Nice Boat Returns

Children's game companies have a duty to take proactive safety and protection measures for their players. To prepare for cases where capsules fail to detect user health issues, the government imposes dual obligations on game companies. Examples include mandatory reconnections after 12 hours of play and collecting health data from users who play abnormally long sessions, as per the terms of service. It was a provision that had essentially become a dead letter—no one paid attention to it, and no one stepped up to enforce it strictly. But once it got properly stuck in the public's bad books, it was a law that was hard to shake off.

'How could a one- or two-year-old baby be playing a game without even the language module, and the game company not know about it?'

Riot Games felt wronged. Just a few years ago, they were protesting against collecting even a single piece of user personal data, and now they were flipping the script like it was nothing. It was infuriating.

But their fun little spectacle watching didn't last long.

After the Legacy of Legend business suspension incident, Wearsoft Korea had prepared thoroughly. They gathered solid evidence that letting Name access age-restricted content was truly an act of force majeure from the company's perspective. But the Fair Trade Commission's hammer struck an unexpected spot.

Just like that, pro gamers, game industry folks, and internet broadcasters all became NEETs overnight.

Perhaps the true culprit behind this butterfly effect—Name's whereabouts drew attention. She popped up occasionally in World of Arceria, but never followed through with a stream. Viewers worried endlessly: When would her health improve? Was she dying quietly somewhere unnoticed?

By that summer, when mentions of Walpurgis outnumbered news about Name, a Twisty notification quietly announced her return.

Demand was high, but supply was one-of-a-kind. Even without studying economics, viewers were feeling the pains of monopoly firsthand.

Viewership surged at a terrifying rate. But Name's responses were as curt as ever. For a full 10 minutes, viewers enjoyed sea breeze and wave sounds before spamming sleepy emotes. Finally, Name's voice lifted their heavy eyelids all at once.

"How about it? Pretty adult hobby, right? Ah!"

The phone, fixed on the sea, slipped—spinning wildly before hitting the deck. When Name picked it up again, the screen showed vast ocean, a small pilot boat tied to shore, and a wooden fishing rod precariously leaning on the railing.

"Ah, Chaos-nim, welcome back. I heard. Well, actually, I just found out now. No idea why, but they say LoL and WoA are down right now."

Jobless streamers belatedly turned on just chatting, but live-talking without prepared content was never easy. So they flocked here en masse upon hearing Name went live.

With streamers' back-to-back donations making regular viewers shy away, Name suddenly yanked her rod—no bite in sight. The crude branch rod snapped midway, unable to withstand the water's pull. She irritably tossed it into the sea, grabbed the camera, and stepped off the boat.

The camera, showing only seagulls, finally turned toward Name for the first time.

"..."

Squinted eyes from the hot sun, chubby cheeks that'd boing back if poked. The straw hat smooshing her hair and her slender limbs reminded everyone this girl was just eight.

"I'm not for kids."

Name picked up a decently thick branch from the roadside. "Let's head to the mountains."

She led viewers up the back hills.

While Arin and Minwoo took turns enjoying Autumn Tale's Terra Burning, editor Seomaru messaged me that our livelihood was in jeopardy.

Rice bowl cut off? Because I hadn't streamed lately? But I'd sent him recorded WoA footage with Adella, and highlights alone were racking up views.

Just because a kid appears doesn't make it a kids' channel. I skimmed the kids' channel criteria Maru sent. High detection ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠risk if actual children appear, toys, nursery rhymes, or kids' animations. He blamed my old math proof video. Common sense: How is that kids' stuff?

I pondered deeply. Sure, fronting a low-age kid could cause misunderstandings. How to escape that? I recalled Professor Cheon's favorite hobby: fishing. Kids hate it most. But I'd never fished in my past life, and slapping string and a worm on a stick wouldn't catch much.

People should stick to what they're good at.

All ages... all ages... Ah!

Documentaries are perfect all-ages content, right? Then Man vs. Wild flashed in my mind. For someone like me—more nights on cold dirt under leaves than warm beds—it was ideal. Hell, I could call myself an expert here. Perfect evidence to shove at Maru later.

I headed straight to the mountains. Midway up the dense-wooded slope, I spotted a snake climbing a tree.

"Look, this is a half-striped keelback."