Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Easy to Start, Hard to Master
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Easy to start, hard to master.
It was a well-known saying in the game industry.
The meaning was simple.
A game should be intuitive enough for a player to easily grasp its mechanics, yet contain a profound depth to explore within that intuition.
It sounded simple, but it was difficult to put into practice.
After all, if it were that easy, why would so many games be criticized for being ‘convoluted’?
From that perspective, Yeon-ho’s ‘Hellic’ thoroughly satisfied the premise.
『(Game)WaitingForZodiac3: Hellic is fun even on multiple playthroughs. The playstyle changes completely depending on your build.
(Guide)BloodLordOfBangbae: For anyone curious, here’s a Hellic properties guide Pt. 1: What is Severance?
(Guide)HighSchoolBerserker: The Crushing Addiction build for your 3rd Hellic playthrough! You guys should try it too@@@
(Chat)NationalPaladinAssociation: By the way, what’s with that scream in the Hellic intro lol. It sounds like a woman. Could it be…?
(Guide)FlawlesslyClear: Here’s the perfect way to dodge the Cancer Giantㅋ』
Hellic was creating a storm within the community.
Of course, this ‘storm’ was limited to the hardcore users who devoured every last post, but it was an undeniable fact that its influence was gradually growing.
As mentioned before, the reason was its simple yet deep mechanics.
Fundamentally, Hellic entrusted all of the player's stat changes to their weapons.
These weapons were grouped into a category called ‘properties’ based on their type, and combining them allowed for the development of unconventional playstyles.
In other words, there was ‘room for research.’
Hellic’s players mulled over which weapons to combine, how to upgrade each weapon within a limited budget of resources, and what final build to complete. To solve these puzzles, they voluntarily embarked on multiple playthroughs.
It was a success of intent.
There were other contributing factors, like the unique visuals, the bizarre sound design, and the unbeatable boss, the ‘Cancer Giant,’ but the core was the mechanics.
Yeon-ho had created a game with a solid foundation of fun.
Seo-rim scrolled through the reviews with her mouse wheel and spoke to Yeon-ho.
“What do you think?”
The reply came back.
“Can you stop looking at those?”
“At what?”
“Scouring every single review like that. It’s a bad habit.”
Seo-rim’s lower lip jutted out.
“Aren’t you happy? We’re getting praised by all these strangers.”
“If you get caught up in every little comment, you’ll lose your way. It’s a critical bug for developing the next game.”
“What are you talking about?”
She was just looking because she was curious. What was all this about losing your way… He could be strangely conservative at times.
Seo-rim continued her tour of the community.
Her search history was already plastered with her ego.
『[Search History]
Hellic
Hellic
Game that was promoted
Cancer
Cancer Giant
Sound
Art
Seo-rim
Han Seo-rim』
Most people were like that.
The first experience of being noticed by an anonymous crowd was so sweet and stimulating that it could paralyze one’s reason.
It was even more so for Seo-rim.
Having been praised as the pretty young lady from a wealthy family since she was a child, she found it hard to escape the feeling of being acknowledged for something other than those innate qualities.
But if life had its sweet moments, it also had its bitter ones.
『(Game)ILoveSpaceWar: Hellic is boring,, tsk tsk tskㅡㅡ』
“What the hell is this guy’s problem?!”
“What’s wrong?”
“This guy wrote a post saying our game is boring!”
Seo-rim shouted, jabbing a finger at the screen.
But Yeon-ho’s reaction was lukewarm.
“Guess it’s not his cup of tea.”
“Aren’t you angry? Huh? Look at this rude emoticon with the crossed-out lines!”
“Let it go, you.”
Yeon-ho nonchalantly turned his head away.
Seo-rim was fuming inside.
She couldn’t stand Yeon-ho, who had been slacking off this whole time.
“What are you even doing that you don’t care about our game?”
“Can’t you tell? I’m playing a game.”
“I know that! I’m asking what game has you so engrossed!”
Seo-rim pulled her chair over and sat next to Yeon-ho.
Yeon-ho had connected a console he’d brought from somewhere to the TV and was busy playing.
It was a 3D game with a dark background.
The player character was wearing armor a medieval knight might wear, and across from him, a hideous-looking mass was swinging its arms around.
Just then.
Yeon-ho’s character was struck by the mass’s arm and died.
[YOU DIED]
“Ah, I died.”
Yeon-ho smacked his lips and returned to the checkpoint.
Seo-rim frowned.
“Is this fun? You’ve been doing nothing but dying.”
“It is. It’s a game I like.”
“This? What’s it called?”
“Evil’s Soul.”
“Never heard of it.”
“You don’t know much about games in general. And it makes sense. It only came out about a month ago.”
“Huh?”
As Seo-rim tilted her head, Yeon-ho added, still tapping away at the joystick.
“It’s a game that hasn’t gotten any spotlight yet.”
“You have pretty niche tastes.”
“Niche? This game is going to be huge.”
At that moment, the screen turned gray, and the words [YOU DIED] appeared again.
Yeon-ho returned to the checkpoint once more.
Seo-rim was certain.
“You’re kidding. What’s so fun about a game where you just die all the time?”
“That’s the fun part… Well, if you don’t get it, never mind.”
Yeon-ho finally put down the joystick.
He stretched, seemingly done with the game for now.
Seo-rim glared at him with a pout, and Yeon-ho walked over to his computer.
“Let’s check on it.”
“Check on what?”
“What do you think? The sales.”
Seo-rim’s eyes lit up.
“Sales? Are they tallied already?”
“Yeah, the numbers just came in.”
Seo-rim immediately moved to Yeon-ho’s side.
She peeked at the monitor and said.
“We must have sold at least 4,000 copies, right? With all the talk it’s getting in the community!”
She couldn’t help but be hopeful.
The game’s reception was generally positive across the community, and with the increasing mentions, she expected a significant result.
But Yeon-ho shattered her expectations with a single stroke.
“400, at best. Around there.”
“Huh? That’s it?”
“Wanna bet?”
His words bruised Seo-rim’s pride.
In a fit of pique, Seo-rim yelled, “You’re on!”
…And so, Seo-rim lost.
“387 copies. I win.”
“…No way.”
Seo-rim muttered in a hollow voice.
She couldn’t believe it.
But the number on the monitor cruelly stated the reality.
‘Only…!’
Only 387 copies!
After all that hard work!
With such good reviews, only 387 copies!
As she trembled with frustration, Yeon-ho spoke calmly.
“It’s not like that community is used by the entire nation. This is a decent start. Besides, this is the season when all the AAA titles are being released. There aren’t many hardcore gamers who would go out of their way to look for an indie game released on an overseas platform.”
“Th-then what do we do?”
“What do you mean? We wait for the word-of-mouth to spread. The real sales will come after we hit the platform rankings. We have to play the long game. We’re a new studio, after all.”
“Should we do more promotion? Or maybe…”
“No. Excessive promotion is poison. It’s better to slowly build up user reviews.”
How could he say that?
This was a matter of pride.
‘But it’s fun!’
Even setting aside the fact that she had made it herself, Hellic was one of the most fun games Seo-rim had ever played.
It was so good that it had erased any thought she once had of quitting development when she got bored.
She had worked so hard, and this was the result.
She couldn’t understand Yeon-ho’s calm demeanor when they should be scrambling to do anything and everything.
Her expression soured.
“Forget the game for now. Let’s take care of what’s urgent first.”
“What is it?”
“…Do you even pay attention to your school life?”
Seo-rim narrowed her eyes.
“What are you talking about? I’m doing way better in school than you are.”
“Our MT is the day after tomorrow.”
“?”
“…She really didn’t know.”
Yeon-ho said, dumbfounded.
“Forget the community, forget the sales figures. We won’t even be able to dream of the internet for a few days. Cool your head.”
Only then did Seo-rim remember.
‘…Oh, right.’
It was the middle of the semester.
She’d asked someone to mark her as present a few times and had completely forgotten.
Today, too, Seo-rim was becoming a proper developer.
* * *
“Hoyoung! Your tutor is here!”
“Okay! I’m all ready!”
Community username: ‘HighSchoolBerserker.’
Current age: high school senior. Residence: Cheongdam-dong.
Hoyoung, a young man at that age when everything but studying is fun, immediately turned off his computer at his mother’s call.
He had seven tutoring sessions a week.
It was the unavoidable routine of the eldest son, who carried all of his parents’ expectations.
With a deep sigh, Hoyoung moved to the desk he had prepared in advance.
‘English conversation today.’
The thought put Hoyoung’s mind at ease.
Unlike the other tutors obsessed with entrance exam scores, his native-speaking instructor, Mike, was more like a friend.
“Hey, Hoyoung!”
A bearded white man extended a fist.
Hoyoung grinned and bumped his fist against his.
“Hello, Mike.”
“Did you finish your homework?”
“Of course.”
“Okay~!”
With a shrug of his shoulders, Mike sat down in a chair.
Hoyoung sat across from him and spoke.
A wide smile spread across his face.
“So, did you try All Out?”
“Finished it. It’s a masterpiece, as expected.”
“Right? It’s insane.”
It was a conversation in English.
Even if it was about games, if they were speaking English, wasn’t it still conversation practice?
It had all started when he happened to discover Mike’s taste in games.
From that day on, their conversation class became a time to ‘talk about games.’
It was one of the few moments in the week when Hoyoung could breathe.
Besides, as a student at a prestigious high school, Hoyoung didn’t have any other friends to talk about games with.
“It’s great that so many fun games are coming out lately. No time to be bored, right?”
Hoyoung strongly agreed with Mike.
With major AAA games being released one after another, honestly, even if he ignored his exams, a day wasn’t enough to play them all.
Among them, one game in particular had captured Hoyoung’s heart.
Today, too, Hoyoung talked about that game.
“Mike, so have you played Hellic?”
“Ah, that Korean indie! I downloaded it yesterday. I’m going to play it right after class.”
“I’m telling you, you have to! It can totally hold its own against the AAA games coming out now.”
A smile played on Mike’s lips.
He didn’t seem particularly interested yet.
But that was fine.
Hoyoung knew just what to say to pique his interest.
“It’s hard. The difficulty skyrockets depending on how you play.”
“Oh?”
“There’s this boss monster called the Cancer Giant. Its gimmick is…”
Mike, the native English conversation instructor.
As a gamer, his tendency was that of a ‘masochist’ who enjoyed taking the hard road and playing games in the most hardcore way possible.
In other words, he was the type of gamer Yeon-ho was most wary of.
* * *
That evening at Mike’s house.
What soothed the soul of Mike, who lived alone in a foreign land, was a can of beer and a decent game.
Today was no different.
After finishing his work, he immediately popped open a can of beer and turned on his computer.
‘Hellic, huh.’
The platform was Steam, a platform not yet properly established in Korea. Why would the developer choose to release their game there?
A flicker of curiosity rose but was quickly extinguished.
The developer’s thoughts were none of his business.
Only one thing was important to Mike.
‘Alright, Cancer Giant. Let’s see what you’re made of.’
An unstoppable boss monster that couldn’t be defeated in a normal playthrough.
But, when you hit it, its health does go down.
What did that mean?
‘It means you’re supposed to kill it.’
Mike couldn’t imagine any other intention.
He launched the game he had downloaded the day before.
[Kyaaaaaaah!]
The intro scream was quite a clear shriek.
‘Hmm, the atmosphere is good.’
But atmosphere alone wasn’t enough.
What mattered to Mike was the in-game fun.
He immediately pressed the start button.
And so the game began…
‘Ooh! Is that him?’
Before long, he encountered the Cancer Giant.
That was the beginning.
[GAME OVER]
“Fuck!”
Mike slammed his fist on the keyboard.
A single graze meant death, and his attacks only did 1 damage.
The insane stats made him furious.
But the smile on his lips said it all.
The Cancer Giant was exactly what he had been looking for.
‘Let’s see how long you can stand there like that, you bastard.’
How thrilling would it be when that thing was on its knees, trembling at his feet?
Just the thought sent a shiver down his spine.
He couldn’t wait any longer.
Mike focused on the game, completely absorbed.
So much so that he couldn’t take his hands off the keyboard all night.
“Fuck!”
His scream, not a rooster’s crow, echoed through his room at dawn.
In any case, to state the result, his hunt for the Cancer Giant was a failure.
Exhausted, he simply posted this on a North American community forum from his home country.
『Fucking good game.』
The introductory post about Hellic, accompanied by a few screenshots, spread at a rapid pace.
『Mike Tester brought a new game!』
Community username: ‘mike tester.’
He was a well-known user in a hardcore gaming community in North America.
And so, with the title of a game recommended by an industry seal of approval, Hellic began to quietly attract attention in the niche circles of North America, even before it did in Korea.