A Pleasing Idea?
Well, how about it?
The new update plan for Dot Hero had nothing particularly special to it. All it was, was a custom plan just to gauge the new hires' abilities.
“Alright. First, we're adding three new heroes. As you can see, the targets are the Healing Factor concept Z-man, the Turned Alien concept Alien Missionary, and the Sniper concept Scope Woman.”
The new hires' startled gazes followed him as he continued the presentation, completely unaware it would start like this.
“From the Programming Team, Jae-min and Seok-ho.”
“Yes!”
“Ne? Ne.”
“You two will spend the next few days ripping apart, tasting, and enjoying the Dot Hero engine I created. The timeframe... about three days? If that's not enough to master it, I don't know what is.”
Jae-min, who had coded a lot, looked at the three-day deadline with a face that showed just how tough mastering the engine really was. Hwang Seok-ho, on the other hand, who didn't know much, burned with the will to try his best.
“If you hit any roadblocks, come see me anytime. Don't just try to half-understand and move on. If it's unclear, ask me for sure.”
“Yes, yes...”
“Understood!”
“Oh, and once you're familiar with the engine, I'll immediately have you program the new characters. So work hard~”
Next came the instructions for the two graphic designers in the Art Team.
“Min-ji and Seong-bae. You all know Dot Hero uses pixel art, right?”
“Yes. We learned it in advance.”
“Haha. I was a Dot Hero fan even before I got hired.”
“That's good. Then, you two will implement my concept art sketches in pixel form. Oh, are either of you new to pixel art?”
Both shook their heads.
“Then, I trust you'll understand just how important every single dot is. I'll leave it to you for now. I'm quite picky with Dot Hero, so prepare yourselves for some tension.”
“Yes.”
Kim Min-ji answered shortly, as if annoyed, while Jeon Seong-bae raised his hand with a vague expression.
“What is it, Seong-bae?”
“Um... Director. Are new bosses or mobs not being added in this update?”
“Yes. We're not planning to release new stages. Oh, wait... is it because they're not creatures?”
“Aha ha... I was just asking.”
Jeon Seong-bae was evasive, but it was clear he was a little disappointed he couldn't make creatures.
“Seong-bae. This is a project to check your skills, so don't be too disappointed. I mentioned in the interview that you're in charge of a project you really need. Don't say you can't do it later.”
“If it's about making creatures, I'm all for it! Just leave it to me!”
After assigning the graphic designers their tasks, he looked at Cha Ju-hee.
“Director. What should I do?”
“Ju-hee, you have to do a really big job. Whether you do it well or not will decide if Dot Hero takes off into space or stays just another game that hangs around in the atmosphere.”
Dot Hero was still at the top of the rankings, but that wasn't enough for him.
“M-me? I have to do something that huge?”
“Yes.”
What Ju-hee had to do wasn't anything else—it was to draw illustrations.
In the initial plan, he had wanted to include not only Dot Hero character selection screen but also high-quality illustrations of the heroes themselves.
‘I gave up because of budget and my own skills.’
He had definitely drawn many Dots during development. He had gone back and forth, repeating dot placement and erasure while thinking about how to convey the characters' appeal. And the result? Users fell in love with the Dots he drew.
However, there was a massive gap between something you had to ‘feel’ and something you could intuitively ‘understand’ like illustrations.
‘How important is an illustrator?’
Having no choice, he released the game, but now things had changed. With him, there was an illustrator who would churn out illustrations endlessly for just a salary.
“You need to draw illustrations for the heroes.”
“Ugh... Is it illustrations? I'll believe you and leave it to you—”
“All twenty of them plus the three new ones coming with the update.”
“Ne? A-all of them? Then the deadline...?”
“Two weeks.”
“Ne?”
“I heard you correctly. Exactly two weeks. I'll give you.”
Her face turned pale from shock.
If she had been a programmer under him in his past life, she would have been happy about the overtime. But this Ju-hee was still just an illustrator before she became a fan of overtime. Her expression was uneasy.
“D-Director. Drawing all that many illustrations in this short time is a bit tough—”
“Ju-hee. Just do overtime.”
“Ne?”
“You'll like it.”
“Ne??”
Ju-hee's lips drooped. It looked like she was gathering her resolve. He turned his eyes away from her and looked at the team members.
“Does it seem like I'm giving too much work to all you new hires?”
“...”
“That's right. The quantity is a bit much. Not a month, but two weeks. Some of you must be worried about how many overtime shifts they're going to make you do.”
“...”
“Or you might think I'm treating you too harshly by paying you a pittance while making you work so hard.”
“...”
“But this Jo Yihan knows better than anyone that there is no free labor. Daniel. Next slide.”
“Yes, boss.”
The last slide of the PPT had a large text that read “Double Salary Event.”
“You've heard about the overtime culture in small and medium enterprises where you work normal hours and don't get paid properly, right? We don't have that here. Your overtime will be paid as overtime pay! That's a promise!”
“Oooo.”
“Work deserves work pay! If you meet the deadline I set, you'll receive 150% of your salary as performance bonus!”
“Oooo!”
“Finally, food expenses! Unlimited while working overtime!! The boss is crazy! Even if you hate overtime?”
“Ooooooooo!! No way!”
The employees, who had looked gloomy, suddenly brightened.
“Alright! Now let's make the game with enthusiasm!”
“Yes!”
It was truly satisfying to watch.
‘Poor things. They don't even know they're selling their souls for money.... Lord, please watch over these pitiful lambs.’
“Daniel. Shut up.”
Excluding Daniel, who just looked at the employees sadly beside him, it was truly satisfying.
‘She's younger than me. What is this person anyway?’
Cha Ju-hee, who had become the illustrator for PlayForge, found it incredible that her boss and director was Jo Yihan. She always used honorifics in personal matters, but switched to casual speech when it came to games—on top of that, her abilities were far beyond her years.
“Alright. Seok-ho. This is a click.”
“Ooo...”
“This is coding.”
“Ooo... I understand perfectly!”
“Explain it to me.”
“...”
“Alright. I'll explain again.”
To her, who didn't even know the ‘P’ in programming, Jo Yihan seemed like a pretty decent teacher. Her skills for Hwang Seok-ho, who had only seemed passionate and not sure of his role on the first day, were visibly growing.
“Jae-min. Good job. Good, but... this part. Doesn't this code look a little messy here?”
“R-right? It runs fine and no bugs... have appeared...”
“Argh!!! Jae-min. How can someone who knows it act like this! Every small part like this piles up and makes the program heavy, causing memory crashes. Look. Like this, it's easier to read, the program won't strain, and no bugs will appear?”
“I-I can't believe it! I didn't even think of that part... I must not have the talent like the director...”
“You can do it too, Jae-min. It's just a difference from my experience. When I was your age, I think you'd do even better?”
“R-right? But the boss is younger than me... Ah, no.”
For the relatively less skilled Seok-ho, basic training. For Jae-min, who had basic foundations, advanced study. Exactly like a veteran instructor tailoring lessons to each level.
What surprised her wasn't just his programming skills or teaching ability.
‘Why can a programmer draw Dot so well...?’
He also had an eye for art that he could be recognized for by the graphic designers Kim Min-ji and Jeon Seong-bae.
“No. This isn't a Dot!”
“If you gave me more clear instructions, I'd be grateful.”
“Min-ji. Dot is art of a ‘sense’ that's hard to express in words. Ugh. Can I borrow your pen for a moment?”
He received the pen from Min-ji's pen tablet and, after a short moment of consideration, modified the graphics she had drawn.
“Here. Here, if I place a dot, it should capture the feeling... Yeah. It looks like Scope Woman's gun has become a bit more lively, doesn't it?”
“Hmm. Definitely.”
“Let's skip the gun part and focus on this cowboy hat part. The detail here is too much. The feeling is preserved well, but the hat has a droopy eye, right?”
“I understand the feeling.”
Kim Min-ji and Jeon Seong-bae couldn't escape his direction either.
“Seong-bae. Are you not wanting to work?”
“N-no...”
“If that's not the case, why hasn't the part I told you to modify been fixed?”
“Director... To be honest, inspiration isn't coming.”
“Which part?”
“How exactly can I make this Z-man's zombie feel more zombie-like... The animation of the attack motion isn't hitting the spot.”
After a short moment of consideration, Jo Yihan stood up Jae-min.
“Seong-bae. Stand up.”
“Ne? Ah, understood.”
“From now on, imagine a zombie as drawn in popular media.”
Jeon Seong-bae, startled by the incomprehensible instruction, did as he was told.
“D-did it.”
“Did you imagine enough?”
“Yes!”
“Then, imitate it.”
“Ne?”
“Like me!”
Creak. Creak. Stumble. Stumble.
Suddenly, Jo Yihan started imitating a zombie. Seong-bae, looking at him, also started imitating a zombie.
“Grrrrr. Seong-bae, what are you doing? Not just the body—sound too!”
“Gr... grrrr...”
“Do zombies only make the sound ‘grrrr’?”
“G-giiieek.”
“That's right. Keep going!”
In the peaceful office, two zombies suddenly appeared. It was a strange occurrence, but since there was too much work to bother looking, and such antics had become familiar, no one paid them any attention except Cha Ju-hee.
“G-got it! This feeling!”
“That's it! Now we're talking. Good. Seong-bae.”
“Haha! It was because my direction was excellent! Thank you!”
After passing the programmers and graphic designers in turn, Jo Yihan turned his eyes toward Ju-hee.
A start.
Like she had seen nothing, Ju-hee lowered her head.
‘Please, don't come. Please, don't come.’
Her prayer wasn't answered.
“Ju-hee.”
“D-Director.”
“You seem to have a lot of time. Show interest in other people's work.”
“Ah, no. That's...”
How else to say it.
Two adult men were doing zombie play in front of her.
Ju-hee wanted to protest with an unjust heart, but remembering the man in front of her was her superior and employer, she firmly closed her mouth.
“You seem to have plenty of time. It looks like the work has progressed quite a bit. Let me take a look? Can you show me the work?”
“Y-yes, here.”
“Hmm.”
The more she saw him folding his arms and carefully inspecting the work, the more uneasy Ju-hee's heart became.
“Ju-hee.”
“Ne, ne!”
“Again.”
“Ne?”
“If you looked at the planning document, you'd understand. Nine Tail is a hero who lives off her beauty in the setting. She shows off the full charm of a mature woman. However, the volume feels too flat?”
“L-last time I raised the chest and hip sizes, you said they were too flat...”
She timidly protested this time after he reduced it per his direction.
However, in the game industry, and especially in the development department, the director is soon considered a god.
“I told you during the interview. Drawing illustrations is what an illustrator does—bringing the first step of my imagination to reality. This is not my Nine Tail in my imagination.”
“T-then, can you give me at least a hint of the specific size...”
“That's not cool.”
“Eek...”
“It's bigger than this and smaller than last time.”
In the end, it was the message to draw it as she liked.
Creak.
Ju-hee's pretty teeth screamed.
“It's done...!!”
“Ah! And, Ju-hee. How many illustrations are left?”
“14... I still have a lot left. I think the speed needs to pick up.”
“Creak.”
“Ju-hee?”
“It's done...”
Ju-hee resented that Jo Yihan kept asking her to modify every time, but on the other hand, she understood why he acted that way.
‘The quality of the work keeps improving. And the strange feeling that overtime is becoming more enjoyable... Am I losing my mind?’
She got angry when asked to modify, but she felt that her drawings were upgrading as he said, so she couldn't just dismiss the suggestions as useless.
“Alright. Everyone, let's eat dinner! Today's tteokbokki! Who wants to eat bibim naengmyeon?”
“Waaaa...”
The employees in the office moved like zombies.
With familiarity, they quickly ate and disappeared back to their seats, while the youngest was busy with the cleanup, but happily handled by Jo Yihan and Daniel. It had become the daily life of PlayForge Studio.
Two weeks had passed, and the results were in.
“How is it? These are the results of the blood, sweat, and tears you've all poured out in front of your monitors. In my opinion, they're pretty good, but do you think so too?”
“Ye...s.”
Her voice was dying, but there was heat in it that made Jo Yihan smile.
“Then, let's go get feedback from the users.”
It was the first update for Dot Hero after its release, about two months ago.