Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Village Maker
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"Have you ever tried farming?"
"No, I haven't."
When I asked Jackson if he'd ever farmed, he replied that he hadn't.
Actually, it was a perfectly obvious answer.
This wasn't the Middle Ages anymore. What percentage of the population had actually farmed?
"But why do you think farming would be boring?"
"Well, it's got that image of being backbreaking labor, doesn't it?"
That was true enough.
Even I pictured a farmer sweating under the blazing sun, tending to crops.
"Right. I've never farmed myself, but growing something isn't easy."
"Exactly. But turning that into a game..."
"That's why it has to be a game."
"Pardon?"
Jackson blinked at me, looking confused, and repeated, "Pardon?"
"Have you played 'Legend of the Elf' or 'Last Fantasy'?"
"Who hasn't? Any gamer worth their salt has played them."
Jackson answered as if it were obvious.
Those two RPGs were so legendary that even gamers who hadn't played them knew the names.
"What made those games so appealing?"
"Probably becoming the hero of the world, saving it from the demon king by slaying powerful monsters."
Sure enough, both games followed the classic hero's journey, the kind no red-blooded guy could resist.
"Same here. But what if it wasn't a game character—if you, Jackson, actually had to save the world, fighting monsters and the demon king?"
"That..."
Jackson trailed off, clearly imagining it and losing his words.
"It's fun because it's a game. The character handles the hard, dangerous parts, so players can enjoy the story and battle bravely."
In my past life, I'd played and analyzed countless games as a director.
And to me, games shared a lot with horror movies.
Why do people watch horror flicks?
Fundamentally, I thought it boiled down to a sense of safety.
We feel the fear through the protagonists in peril, but also relief—because it's not us; we're safe, just watching.
Games are the same.
"When I played RPGs, I wouldn't move to the next map without max level and the best gear for that field."
"You too, President? Same here!"
"Sometimes I'd grind for hours, farming EXP and gold."
The three big RPG syndromes: mapping syndrome, coward list, and miser syndrome.
The "coward list"—refusing to progress without top gear—resonated with tons of players.
Jackson nodded, so he must've been one too.
"But wasn't that fun?"
"Yeah. I loved one-shotting enemies, so even the grind flew by."
"So farming could be the same, right?"
Crops didn't need realistic complexity.
Plow, plant, water—a simple system would do.
"Real farming's tough because of the labor and waiting. Games eliminate both."
Players just click to grow crops—no months or years of waiting, just a short time till harvest.
"True enough."
Jackson seemed to be warming to the idea of farming in a game.
"Plus, in 'Village Maker', farming's just the foundation."
Just farming alone wouldn't hold players' interest.
"Use crop profits to buy houses, furniture to decorate, pickaxes, shovels—whatever."
Farming's the base; layers of content on top were the key.
"Think about it. Housing alone offers endless play. Pretty homes need rare materials, which need better tools."
Village Maker had endless branching potential, in my eyes.
Take money, for instance.
I was coding the crop pricing system now.
If I make it random... that'll flood players with dopamine.
A crop worth 10 won at planting might sell for 2 or 20.
Some players would diversify; others go all-in for the big score.
Heaven or hell based on luck—already had me grinning.
"This... sounds fun."
"Right?"
Village Maker would appeal to everyone, young or old, male or female.
Like Princess Project.
Just a year ago—in '91—the simulation hit Princess Project burst onto the scene.
It wasn't just popular; it was infamous for another reason.
The game guys played in secret.
With "princess" in the title, it targeted girls, especially young ones.
But ironically, men played it more.
Raising your daughter into a princess through schedules.
The samurai training hooked the guys.
Even standalone, that could've been a hit.
Princess Project masterfully blended sim with RPG, winning everyone over.
I saw genre fusion as the way to broaden audiences.
"But if we're doing that, won't we need graphics?"
As I reminisced about samurai training, Jackson raised a point.
"Exactly. Gear by tiers, crops by states."
And housing meant varied building materials and furniture components.
"No way..."
"You already see the workload ahead. Jackson, you're a gem."
His face soured slowly.
But no helping it.
Rule one of masterpieces: grind your people.
I've gotta bust my ass to hit deadlines too—don't feel too bad.
Seriously, this workload was feasible only thanks to Seon Woo-hyuk's talents in me.
Unlike simple Dead Hills, Village Maker's systems were leagues more complex.
One misalignment, and bugs everywhere—100% chance.
Organic interconnections aren't missing because devs are lazy.
They explode complexity and bugs sky-high.
"Still, just tweak the base designs a bit... We'll manage."
Knowing my load, Jackson grumbled no more and returned to his seat quietly.
Soon, the office filled only with keyboard clacks and pencil scratches.
Oh right, forgot to mention adding dating sim—needs five more female character designs.
I glanced at Jackson, focused on my requests.
Tell him now, he might show up with a gun tomorrow. Better wait till this round's done.
"Those damn HQ bastards—I'm gonna kill 'em!"
"Cool it, Scarlett. What can we do? We're just the branch."
The blonde white woman called Scarlett spat curses straight out of a black ghetto.
Even as the man beside her sweated to calm her, her tirade didn't stop.
"Who the hell pays $700 for a console?! Nendo's selling theirs for half!"
"HQ can't let go easy. Hyper Drive was their only win."
"We made Hyper Drive succeed to grab the next-gen market first!"
Scarlett, Seton North America's Marketing Team Leader, gnashed her teeth in lingering rage.
The man soothing her was Tommy Hwang, Seton North America's President.
They were in a tough spot thanks to HQ.
- Seton's next-gen device will be 'Hyper CD,' combining Hyper Drive with cutting-edge CD storage.
The directive from HQ blindsided the North American branch.
$500 consumer price.
And it required an existing Hyper Drive to even run—not standalone.
Insanity, plain and simple.
Sales had tanked right after Hyper CD's launch, proving it.
What fueled Scarlett's fury more: she'd already submitted a detailed report urging against it—too risky, make it standalone if anything.
HQ ignored it and barrelled into disaster.
"Fuck this, I'm out."
"Wait—however mad, quitting the company—"
"What? I'm heading to the devs."
"Devs?"
Scarlett pulled something from her bag, showing the stunned Tommy Hwang.
"Huh? That's—"
"Yeah. That Dead Hills everyone's buzzing about."
"You mean going to their developer?"
Scarlett nodded at Tommy Hwang's question.
"HQ already fucked up. We gotta patch it somehow."
She explained they had to snag the hot PC hit Dead Hills for Seton before Nendo did.
"It's trendy, sure, but worth that much fuss?"
Tommy Hwang stayed lukewarm despite her passion.
PC hits topped out at 100k copies, in his view.
His attitude burned Scarlett up inside.
HQ, this branch—bunch of complacent idiots!
She'd played Dead Hills herself recently and knew instinctively.
It suited consoles even better than PC.