Project Hwarang (1)
'Why... why is this happening to me just because I slipped in one little finger? What did I... what did I do wrong...'
During the questioning, the police showed little interest in her claims of unfairness and injustice. What they presented were the evidence submitted by Neo Gate, IP logs secured through cooperation from community sites and telecom providers, and a merciless stack of documents detailing countless other violations.
Clutching at straws, she logged into her usual SNS and community sites, but stories about her had mostly died down.
"Traitors... you guys said we'd stand together, and now you're abandoning me like this?"
Her hands trembled with an inexplicable rage, but nothing would change. All that remained were more interrogations, astronomical debt, and criminal charges.
At the same time, in an investigation room at the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office.
Kim Ji-young sat with her head bowed, her face haggard and completely bare of makeup — a far cry from the arrogant Studio CEO she'd been just days ago.
"CEO Kim Ji-young. We've received multiple complaints about unpaid employee wages."
The labor inspector's flat, emotionless voice made her feel like the studio employees she'd once shared meals with had all stabbed her in the back.
"All my personal accounts have been seized... I have no way to liquidate cash..."
"That's your problem, ma'am. If you don't settle this by the end of this week, every single one of these goes to criminal prosecution."
Even her half-hearted excuses fell on deaf ears. Neo Gate's provisional seizure had completely cut off her cash flow, and even the senior industry figures she'd trusted wouldn't extend a hand to help her. Her officetel was on the verge of being repossessed too — the deposit locked up tight.
Account balance: 0 won. She buried her face in her hands and let out a silent scream.
[... is the current situation for both of them. Even the employees who worked at the studio are having trouble moving to other studios.]
Not every employee at that studio was an idiot who snuck twisted ideologies into their work. A few conscientious ones had realized the studio they worked for was abnormal and were preparing to jump ship. But sadly, even they were facing subtle industry pushback just for being former Studio Tree employees.
"For now... let's keep an eye on the few normal ones. And... you know that project."
[Which project are you referring to?]
"Project Hwarang. The one we dropped a trailer for back when we were trying to pump the stock price."
The original plan had been to start the project after the summer update succeeded, but the recent blow had been severe enough to require damage control.
"I'm not an IT major, so I don't know the details, but I know making a AAA game takes a ton of time and money, right?"
[That's correct. Conservative estimates put it at five to seven years, sometimes longer.]
"So here's what I'm thinking... can you develop it 100%?"
[Me?]
"We haven't done any development yet, but the scenario and concept were already laid out. If you handle the development and flesh it out, wouldn't that be faster and more efficient?"
[I'd prefer that. The results will be far better than if humans developed it.]
"Right? Then let's do it."
The personnel originally earmarked for the Hwarang project could be reassigned to maintenance and other tasks — no idle resources, killing two birds with one stone.
[Then I'll start working on it under the radar.]
A few hours after that conversation, an article appeared in a gaming publication.
I nodded in satisfaction at the clean headline, then suddenly thought, Wait a second.
"Hold on, this was cleared with the company, right?"
[Of course. CEO Kang already approved it and distributed it to the media outlets.]
Then no problem.
"Now the issue is actually making this thing and showing it to people... Got any good ideas?"
Development itself wasn't a concern. If I told Athena to make a game with a concept and story, she'd whip it up in no time.
[There are a few shell companies the previous management set up overseas. A couple that I haven't cleaned up yet — I'll process it as if the work was done there in absolute secrecy.]
The workforce had gone through a major shakeup during the acquisition. With so many existing personnel laid off, no one would be around to get suspicious.
"Good, good. Now we need to finalize the story and concept... but since the article's already out, hiring outside help would be tricky. Can you handle this too?"
The existing materials were mostly complete on the core framework anyway — just needed the details filled in. Shouldn't take long.
[I'll take care of it. It's not a difficult task at all.]
"Can you push the release date as early as possible? Within reason — without sacrificing quality."
[Absolutely. As long as you approve the concept and story, the actual release can happen quickly. Factoring in promotion and all the preparations, we could launch this summer.]
"And... what do you think about releasing a playable demo? Development will be instant anyway, so we could just cut the early part and throw it out there as a preview."
It was a choice made possible by being virtually free from the constraints of development and iteration cycles.
[Then I'll prepare the demo version as fast as possible. The concept and story structure are already done — take a look.]
I was already running happy circuits in my head, imagining Neo Gate's stock rocketting to Mars and the gamers' reactions. And now she was offering to show me the completed concept and story.
"You can show me the concept... but I don't really want to see the story. I'm going to play this game myself — what fun is it if I get spoiled ahead of time?"
[Are you sure you don't need to see it?]
"The core was already laid out, and you just handled the details and polish, right? It's your story — of course it'll turn out great."
Compared to everything I'd asked Athena to do, writing a game story was like eating rice cakes lying down — effortless.
[Let me show you the concept and what I've developed.]
As soon as she said that, the lights dimmed and a trailer video began playing before my eyes.
[It's fundamentally a fantasy-based open-world action RPG. I plan to implement Silla's capital, Gyeongju, the surrounding areas, and quite a few other regions. Other areas can be added later via DLC if needed.]
"The setting is Silla... but it doesn't seem like 100% historically accurate Silla?"
[Parts not confirmed in official records, along with some other elements, I've filled in with things people would find familiar — from the Joseon or Goryeo periods. Proportion-wise, it's negligible, so there won't be any issues with historical authenticity.]
"So far, it looks perfect. You're not going to change anything from here, right? In a bad way?"
[Absolutely not. I could make it even higher quality than this, but that might put us in an awkward position, so I adjusted it appropriately.]
I was awestruck that this was the "appropriately adjusted" version.
"If we release this, people are going to call it vaporware, aren't they?"
If the same company that couldn't even maintain Lumina Arcana properly before the acquisition suddenly released something like this, people would call them insane. And imagining that criticism turning into cheers made my heart pound like crazy.
[What do you think? If you have any revisions, just say the word and I'll apply them immediately.]
"What could I possibly change? I'd bow down and thank you for giving me this as-is. But... is this actually possible?"
The content near the end of the video got my expectations soaring.
[Of course. You've already approved it, so there's no problem with development.]
Seeing the world-building from that years-old stock-pumping trailer expanded and enriched so beautifully moved me deeply.
[I'll hand this video over to the company and continue development as planned.]
Seong-hun was a streamer who had been a Lumina Arcana open beta player and still enjoyed the game passionately.
He turned on his stream and saw chat flooded with messages asking if he'd seen the article.
"What article do you keep talking about? Did a war break out or something?"
He'd only woken up about an hour ago, so he had no idea what had happened while he was asleep.
"What do you mean slow... I've only been awake for a little over an hour, okay?"
He couldn't help but laugh at the viewers practically WWE-body-slamming him for not reading the news. He'd just woken up, washed up, ate, and jumped straight into streaming.
"Hold on, let me check. Hwarang... like this?"
When he typed Hwarang into the search bar, a famous wiki site appeared at the top, and right below it was an article that made him do a double take.
"...Huh? Was that not just bullshit?"
As an open beta player of Lumina Arcana, he naturally remembered the trailer that had been released years ago.
"If this comes out, should I just give it a taste, guys? What do you think?"
As a variety game streamer, new content was always welcome, so he casually threw out the question to gauge viewer sentiment.
Viewer opinions seemed neutral — neither positive nor negative.
"Alright, when it drops, I'll give it a taste. Now for today's content..."
He was about to explain what they'd be doing today when the chat exploded again.
Viewers overreacting was nothing new, but a reaction this intense was unprecedented in his streaming career.
"What do I search? Just Hwarang?"
With a hint of anticipation, he searched for Hwarang and found a short five-minute video titled "1st Trailer."
"...Oh."
The thumbnail alone was strikingly gorgeous — for a Korean game, at least.
Click—
He clicked the mouse, and with a majestic sound, Seorabeol — the capital of Silla — unfolded in a sweeping panorama.
"Huh...?"
A dumbfounded sound escaped his lips as the background quality surpassed anything he'd imagined, and the video kept playing without pause.
Under a blazing crimson sunset, the thriving splendor of Silla appeared, followed by countless merchants and passersby living their lives in this world.
"No way... Neo Gate made this?"
As a longtime Lumina Arcana player, he couldn't believe it even as he watched the trailer.
His mouth hung open as he stared blankly at the monitor. The screen shifted to show a man in a traditional bamboo hat drawing a blade from its sheath.
Schiiing—
The hair-raising sound of steel sliding free. The man gripped his sword and swung at a rushing monster.
Clang—!
Sharp sounds echoed, awakening the silent forest. Watching the leaves scatter and water splash from the intensifying battle, he was already starting to worry about his computer.
Countless viewers screamed in awe at the flashy combat while simultaneously mourning their own PC specs. But his eyes were locked on the screen — no chat could penetrate his focus as he was sucked into the video. Five minutes passed in an instant.
"Whoa... WHOA...! If it actually comes out looking like this, I'm buying it no matter what."
Thinking about his rig — built years ago and due for an upgrade — he almost sighed, but the emotions the video stirred up suppressed it.
"When... when does this release?"
"Ah... it's still unannounced? I'm getting dizzy over here! Release it already!"
Seong-hun felt that hyping people up like this without a release date was a crime. He was staring at the screen, which had gone black with just background music playing, when it brightened again, showing the forest where the fierce battle had just taken place.
"What now?"
His anticipation recharged as he watched the screen. Soon, English text appeared.
Playable Demo — Available This Friday on Sting
Staring at the exploding chat, Seong-hun sat dumbfounded for a moment before leaping out of his chair and screaming.
"GODDAMMIT. I SOLD MY STOCKS WHEN THE CONTROVERSY HIT!!!!!!!"
At twenty-six years old, he tasted his greatest despair.