Dot Hero's First Major Update
“Write… complete.”
Adam, a 32-year-old game reviewer living in Arizona with no stable job, smiled brightly as he posted on the community forums.
“A perfect strategy.”
Recently, he had paused his professional reviews to focus on other things for a while.
[Dot Hero – Nine-Tail Close-Range Build Strategy]
That was his guide post for Dot Hero.
Once, he had mocked mobile games as low-tier, dismissing Dot Hero. Now, though, he had become a totally different person—a fanboy who posted promotional threads on the community and shared strategies.
“I feel so proud.”
Seeing the rising view counts and excited comments about his fresh builds, he brushed his nose with satisfaction.
“I used to be so stupid.”
Before he acknowledged Dot Hero, he had believed platforms were unequal and games had tiers. He had been blinded by technical skill, gameplay, and empty promises, missing the core.
“Games are just supposed to be fun. Heh.”
Once he accepted that difference, he realized even the games he once called garbage had their own charm. He changed his review style.
He pointed out flaws but highlighted strengths, and his reviews began getting big reactions in the community. Readers who waited for his next post now existed.
“Adam! You said you had a plan for today! Mom, I’m going downtown!”
“Ah! Mom! I’ll get off now!”
Adam, with plans to meet friends, climbed into his mom’s car and headed to the bustling downtown district.
After a short walk away from his mom, he reached his destination.
[John’s Game & Comicbook store]
It was just like his second home.
Clink. As he opened the door and stepped inside, familiar faces greeted him.
“Look who it is. I thought you’d be too busy to come, but here you are, Adam!”
“Haha! He always shows up last, like the final boss!”
“That’s right! Adam’s strategy guide just hit two thousand views! Forty comments! He’s blowing up lately! Are you gonna become a full-time game journalist? I heard some reviewers got noticed and turned pro.”
Adam had been itching to brag about his rising status in the community, but his friends’ praise gave his shoulders a big lift.
“Blowing up? I just reviewed good games. I only introduced them. The strategy… was mostly luck.”
“Such modesty! Anyway, let’s sit down. The regular meetup is just starting.”
It wasn’t some grand event. They simply gathered like-minded people to discuss their latest games, comics, movies, TV shows, and even sports.
During the talk, one attendee scrolled on his phone and brought up Dot Hero.
“Adam, still playing Dot Hero?”
“I have to, since I need to write the guide.”
“Really? It sounds like you’re forcing yourself.”
“Um…”
Adam fell silent at that.
Dot Hero had been the game that corrected his narrow-minded views. It was fun and fresh, yet too short to stick with for two full months.
“Even experts like us might feel the content is shallow.”
That’s why he had been researching new builds to keep it interesting, but it was nearing its limit.
“I know exactly what you’re saying. You’re burned out, right?”
“Of course you do. Recently, every negative comment about Dot Hero got a sharp reaction from me. Honestly, the content is just too shallow. I’ve cleared it over a hundred times! Adam, what about you?”
“I don’t know. I can’t remember the number of pieces of bread I’ve eaten since birth.”
“Haha. Since you’re writing a guide, you probably can’t remember. Anyway, I think I might delete the game soon. Two months is a long time.”
Adam would have gotten fired up if someone had said the game was boring or unplayable, but he couldn’t argue against the idea that there was nothing left to do.
“Well, that’s your personal choice.”
“Speaking of which, I should delete it right away—wait what?”
“Why the sudden change? You said you were going to delete it?”
“There’s an update! Adam, you should check it too.”
“An update?”
Adam pulled out his phone, puzzled. Dot Hero had been released two months ago and received only minor bug fixes—no other updates. If it had just been a bug fix, his friend’s reaction wouldn’t be like this.
[Update]
When Adam opened the store, his eyes widened at the active button instead of the play button. He launched the update and checked the content.
New heroes added: three types.
Challenge mode added.
Character illustrations added.
Adam’s hand trembled as he read the update notes. Adding new heroes and fresh content was great news. But if that was all, he wouldn’t have been this shocked.
“I-Illustration…?!”
With the update complete alert flashing, he quickly launched Dot Hero.
Ding~
The logo he had never seen before appeared in the intro.
“PlayForge? The developers of Dot Hero must have started their own company.”
That detail wasn’t important, but he impatiently waited for loading to finish. Once it did, he hit play and entered the character selection screen.
“Oh my god.”
There really were illustrations.
His favorite Nine-Tail illustration, Moon Angel, Wolf Lady—all of them!
“Whoa. This is what the heroes look like? Compared to the dot version, they feel way more charismatic.”
“Are these characters locked behind something? I can’t see the illustrations without unlocking them. New characters don’t have visible illustrations.”
“Whoa. Moon Angel’s anatomy is insane. How did they draw her so holy yet so lewd… hmm. With such deadly curves. Perfect aesthetically.”
Adam agreed with his friends’ reactions one hundred percent.
“Those who actually know their stuff…!”
Until now, Adam had been curious about what the heroes he loved would look like.
Because the game was popular, fan art and cosplay appeared in the community, but something always felt missing. Drawing a dot-based character always left room for interpretation, so even the same hero looked completely different. Adam often wondered if those were the “real” characters he knew. Now, the official art finally gave him the answer!
“Adam, did you check the challenge mode?”
“Huh? Ah, uh! I’m checking it now.”
Wiping the spit that had dribbled while he talked casually, Adam entered the mode his friend mentioned.
“Ranking?”
“Yeah. There’s ranking now? They rank you per server and give special rewards.”
“Sp-Special reward? What is it?!”
“It’s not written.”
Special reward.
Even though he didn’t know what it was, Adam’s eyes lit up with greed.
“What could it be? A figure? Merch? Or a special illustration?”
Whatever it was, it had to be his.
Adam shot up from his seat.
“Adam?”
“Sorry, guys. I totally forgot about my busy schedule.”
“What’s going on?”
“See you next time!”
There was no time to waste. He had to tackle the challenge.
*
The main fanbase of Dot Hero was overseas. Among them, the North American community reacted best, so while watching user responses there, Adam smiled with satisfaction.
“Thank you for your hard work. The reactions are great.”
“Waaaaah…”
The voices of employees barely hanging on by a thread.
Knowing how they had worked overtime since day one without quitting, Adam encouraged them.
“First, our PlayForge graphic designers, Jeon Seong-bae and Kim Min-ji. Great job! The new heroes’ reactions are wonderful. You both worked so hard on the dots.”
“Thank you.”
“I learned for the first time today that I have such good stamina….”
The others clapped for them while looking exhausted.
“Our programming team can’t be left out either. Adapting to the engine and coding new heroes took real effort. Big applause for Hwang Seok-ho and Kim Jae-min!”
“Despite my lacking skills, I gave it my all! Thank you!”
“No, no. Director, you gave us guidance and added the challenge mode—you worked the hardest.”
Over two weeks, Hwang Seok-ho had grown remarkably. At the interview, he had promised he would never fall behind in diligence, and he had been the first to arrive and the last to leave.
Kim Jae-min needed no words. Though confidence and stamina were still lacking, his coding was on another level compared to even Hwang Seok-ho.
“Next, the illustrator who got the most positive user reactions in this update, our Cha Ju-hee.”
“Ghh…”
“Twenty-three illustrations in two weeks—let’s give her a round of applause!”
“I-I’ll die…”
Overacting.
Cha Ju-hee, our veteran programmer, had worked without leaving the office for a week, sleeping at her desk, yet she never lost her smile. There was no way she could sound weak now.
“Is she still adjusting?”
While working overtime, the overtime instinct buried in her body would awaken. For that, he should give her even more work.
“Thanks to everyone’s efforts, our Dot Hero has reached 3.5 million global downloads. A miraculous achievement without marketing.”
“Oh, oh.”
“Seeing our child’s game succeed makes me so happy. So I prepared a gift for you. It’s also a welcome gift and a first-project success gift. Daniel, bring it.”
“Yes, boss.”
Daniel handed wrapped boxes to each employee.
“Can we open them now?!”
Adam nodded at Hwang Seok-ho, who opened his box with sparkling eyes.
“W-What is this…!”
“Correct. An officially ordered Nine-Tail figure.”
“Oh! Really?”
“It’s a special gift for challenge mode number one, but I sneaked out a few for employee perks. How do you like it?”
“Waaaaah…”
“Hmm?”
Hwang Seok-ho and Kim Jae-min, both game maniacs, looked genuinely excited, but the others seemed a bit dull.
“Seong-bae seems tired, and the female employees’ faces are a bit flat.”
He had expected everyone to be thrilled, but it was disappointing.
Still, the gift was too tempting to pass up.
“Everyone. Before we started the project, I promised you something.”
“S-Surely…?”
“Correct. The promised performance bonus! I’ll deposit it now! Not the 150% I mentioned before—no, I’ll pay 200%!”
“Waaaaah!”
The corner of Kim Min-ji’s mouth lifted slightly, and Cha Ju-hee, who had been lying face-down on her desk like a corpse, shot upright.
“As expected, money is the best for office workers.”
He had been an office worker long enough to know that.
Even while pondering resignation, he had stayed because of the massive salary and bonuses.
“Thank you all for your hard work. You can leave early today.”
“Waaaaah!!!”
The loudest cheer of the day.
“But! Just because the first project is over doesn’t mean our work is finished. We still have to prepare the next project.”
“?”
“While you were focused on Dot Hero, I prepared a new project. Daniel, play the song I prepared.”
“Finally, it’s my turn.”
While the new hires had led the Dot Hero update, Adam and Daniel worked on a different project.
“Play it.”
“Okay.”
Daniel clicked the mouse, and his main speaker poured out the music.
It differed from the usual melodies Daniel created. Harsh, irregular tempo, low tones that grated on the nerves. Music that made listeners tense.
While savoring the music, Adam turned on the beam projector.
“Here is the new game plan. Genre: survival and horror survival game. Multiplayer game where you must complete your goal while avoiding various creatures.”
“Huh? This isn’t supposed to be a cute game company?”
Adam became even more flustered by Cha Ju-hee’s question.
“Is this the company I want to make a game for?”
“Y-Yes? I didn’t know…”
“Anyone else have questions?”
“D-Director. Has the time come?”
“Ah! Seong-bae. Yes. The time has arrived.”
“Finally!”
Jeon Seong-bae cheered as if he had believed it all along.
“At the interview, I said I needed Jeon Seong-bae’s talent. Are you ready?”
“Yes! Of course!”
Seeing his passion, Adam was happy too.
While sharing that passion with Jeon Seong-bae, Cha Ju-hee timidly raised her hand.
“Ju-hee. Speak.”
“D-Director. If this is a new project, does that mean we won’t update Dot Hero anymore?”
“Huh? What do you mean? Of course we will.”
“Huh?”
“Every three months, we should update Dot Hero.”
“T-Then what about the new project? S-Surely…?”
“We’ll prepare it together.”
Cha Ju-hee’s face turned pale with despair.