Interview (2)
I glanced down through the window. One by one, programmers were arriving for their interviews.
The notice had said casual dress was fine, and it showed. A suit that didn’t fit at all, sleeves flapping like a windmill. Thick plaid shirts, the kind they called “college fashion” in the future, were also common.
Compared to the people I remembered from job fairs back when I had no name, these candidates looked almost respectable.
‘At least no slippers and tank tops this time.’
‘Is there really a difference between a check shirt and tank tops? They’re completely different. The check shirts are the “new” trend on campus. These guys probably wore their best clothes.’
‘I used to wear that stuff in school back in my previous life too.’ I only realized later how lame it was and threw everything out.
“Let’s get started soon.”
“Got it!”
Cha Ju-hee had sharpened her nails since yesterday. “Whew. I’m… a little nervous. I never imagined I’d be the one asking the questions…”
“You’ll get used to it. You’ll be leading the team as team leader.”
“I still don’t know why they promoted me. Mr. Seok-ho would’ve been a better choice.”
“Timid but skilled. Or bold and confident but no better than the team. Who do you want to follow?”
“I-I think I’m the right one. I understand.”
Sorry, Mr. Seok-ho. But looking at objective skill, it wasn’t time to hand him the leader spot yet. Even if his performance had skyrocketed after joining, we couldn’t do that.
‘One day he’ll reach the level where he can lead the team.’
Knock knock. A voice came from the door of the temporary interview room.
“Director-nim. Should I let the next applicant in?”
“Yes. We’re ready.”
We sat like the Three Musketeers in pirate comics, waiting for the first candidate.
“Hello. My name is Han Seong-min. Nice to meet you.”
He spoke confidently, but his tension was obvious. I smiled and tried to ease him.
“Don’t be too nervous. Relax. Just relax.”
“I-I’m already very relaxed! Just hearing your voice is—!”
“Relaxing about our company? Ah~ Small company, right? Just applied, huh? No problem if you fail.”
“No! I gave everything for this company!”
I sighed inside as I watched Ju-hee start ramping up.
‘This isn’t a pressure interview…’
She looked almost dangerous with those wide, unblinking eyes behind thick glasses.
I poked her thigh with my finger.
—Why?! I’m only asking questions!
—Don’t. You’ll mess up if you’re nervous.
—What? I haven’t even started yet!
She replied with her eyes. The candidate was out of answers. I had no idea what interview she’d been through, but she clearly thought she was in the clear.
I stepped in before she could break him.
“Mr. Han Seong-min… You developed a program? Solo?”
“Yes! Simple alarm and stopwatch. But I added a feature where math or specific patterns reset the timer.”
“Interesting.”
It looked unrelated to games, but coding was still coding. The good coders always performed.
“Do you know what PlayForge is?”
“Yes! The developer of the number-one mobile game ‘Dot Hero’ and the indie record holder ACD. Their works are from PlayForge.”
“You know the basics… Then how much do you know about games? We need developers who love games even if they’re not professionals.”
Mr. Kim Jae-min’s eyes lit up like a switch had flipped.
“Name ten games you consider your life’s masterpiece.”
“Um… Could I have a moment to organize my thoughts?”
“Hmm. It’s disappointing when they don’t just spit it out. I’ll give you ten seconds.”
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound of his fingers on the table echoed through the room.
I stared at him in surprise.
‘Jae-min… you’re actually good when it counts!’
They say a chair makes a man. I had worried a shy guy who couldn’t even scold his team might break under pressure, but I was wrong.
‘He’s always been this passionate about games, even at PlayForge.’
I had wasted my worry.
“Time’s up.”
“I’ll begin. Dun Eternal, Pokémon HeartGold, To the Mars, Gate 2, BioShock, Red Dead Redemption—”
“Quick question. What do you think Mr. Han Seong-min wanted to convey in To the Mars?”
“Loss and regret, of course. Life is full of wounds. But instead of dwelling on the pain, you accept it and move forward—”
“Stop. I just meant the famous game. Sorry.”
Mr. Kim Jae-min nodded at me.
I thought he was fine too.
“Last question. What is a good game and how do you create one?”
The candidate hesitated, then answered weakly.
“Games are… fun…”
“Hmm.”
“I think you have to make them with passion.”
His face froze. But it was exactly the answer I wanted.
‘Games have to be fun. And passion is mandatory.’ He said it himself. No overtime complaints.
I circled the answer on the form.
“Best of luck.”
“I’ll work hard if I’m hired!”
The first candidate left.
There were still fifty more interviews.
The questions stayed similar.
“Ten life games? I-I mean—”
“Confirmed. Next question.”
The candidate who showed no interest in games and couldn’t explain his projects was rejected. At least he looked confident.
“Why did you choose backend instead of frontend?”
“Um… I might sound weird saying this, but I enjoy designing server architecture. It feels good, and there’s a strange joy in controlling the whole system… Kinda like a dark knight in a movie, right?”
“Wow… If the server crashes at 2 a.m. and you’re the system administrator, how will you handle it?”
“I’d go to work. That’s my job.”
A candidate who felt joy designing servers. He was so good I skipped the rest of the questions and ended the interview.
“You can go now.”
“Already? Just now?”
“That answer was enough.”
I personally saw him out, scratching his head.
I rejected whoever I needed to reject, accepted whoever I needed to accept, and held the rest in reserve.
“Best of luck!”
“Thank you. You two worked hard too. Let’s do our best in the Art Team interview this afternoon.”
I had interviewed all morning, but the afternoon was still full of them. After lunch, I focused again.
“Your portfolio is excellent. But… did you intentionally blur some details? Look at the shoulder and collar area here. Why did you draw it this way?”
“I-I got focused on the visible part and missed… I didn’t think you’d zoom in like this…”
“Hmm.”
While Jae-min had shone in the morning, it was Ju-hee’s turn now. She had called it “pressure interview pressure interview song,” but she hammered every candidate with facts from the portfolio.
“This is a mistake even college students make… Why no shading when light comes from the upper left?”
“Ah…!”
“Show me your hand. No calluses? Did you stop using a brush or pen recently?”
“That’s not it. I got a manicure—”
She was the interview room witch.
“Director-nim. The last applicant seemed good! I think he’s skilled!”
“You pushed him that hard and then said he’s fine?”
“Me?”
Pushing so hard and calling him okay felt psychotic.
Thanks to her, many candidates fell one by one like fallen leaves in autumn.
The final Art Team candidates list was ready.
“Eleven openings wanted, but fourteen candidates. Who to reject.”
“Can we just hire everyone?”
“Will you set the salary, Ju-hee? Too many people and the office will be cramped.”
“That’s not the point… More is better. When the company grows, we’ll need more people for middle management.”
“Hmm.”
She wasn’t wrong.
It was better to hire extra now.
The reason I only wanted eleven for Art Team was that too many personal workspaces would hurt comfort and work quality. But three more might be okay.
“Agreed.”
“Great!”
More people meant more headaches for middle management, but Ju-hee was still a newbie.
‘Ju-hee suggested hiring them. I didn’t object.’
Finally, the QA team remained.
The hiring criteria for QA were slightly different from Programming or Art.
Major? None existed yet. License? Software testing certification wasn’t common.
So what was my standard?
‘Experience and game skill.’ I planned to hire true gamers.
*
University was what Koreans called a “third-tier school.” No impressive certificates or scores.
The only thing Kim Namgung-woong, a healthy South Korean youth, had was his body. His legs shook with nerves as he sat for his interview.
Shiver shiver shiver shiver.
How many applications had he passed? When he told his mother he was going for his morning interview, she said, “I didn’t know you were job hunting.” How much it stung.
‘Stay calm, Woong-ah. Answer the questions calmly.’
He imagined the typical interview questions.
—Mr. Namgung-woong. You have no part-time experience? What did you do after graduation?
He played games at home.
—Everyone has basic computer skills, but zero certifications…
He played games then.
—You don’t manage yourself at all. You won’t get good impressions, but bad ones are worse.
Unfair. His appearance was just how he was born. If he dressed up, it would actually be decent.
Shiver shiver shiver shiver.
He thought of every possible question the interviewer might ask, but the nervousness only grew. No matter how he thought, his future looked bleak.
‘No way. Maybe they’ll like game experience. The application asked for full gaming history.’
From middle school to now, how many games had he played?
Console, PC, board games—anything in the gaming category. No specific reason. Just fun.
“Namgung-woong. You can come in.”
“Yes!”
The three interviewers looked scary and stared at him coldly.
Swallow. His throat was dry.
“Hello!”
He bowed 90 degrees.
“Hello. Sit down.”
“Got it!”
The center man read his documents as if he had no interest.
‘Is he the highest ranking?’
He wondered why the scariest-looking person sat at the top, but he quickly composed himself. Answering too casually might make him fail the interview.
“Ooh.”
“….”
The center man looked up from the papers with interest.
“Namgung-woong.”
“Y-yes!”
“Realm Master Tier, Star Ladder score 2300, Eternal Tale 4th job character, Team Fortress Expert Assassin rank… And many more games? Can you prove it?”
It was a strange question, but he nodded confidently.
“Yes! If I had a computer, I could do it right now!”
Games were his life.