Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: E3 - Hellic 4 (1)
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If I had to recall anything about E3 2018, it would be that it was the event where Sony didn't announce any new hardware, despite its competitor, Microsoft, having just released their next-gen console.
Even so, they had put together a pretty solid lineup and received high praise that season.
Of course, there’s a difference between ‘pretty solid’ and ‘phenomenal.’
In other words, their lineup definitely wasn’t so strong that we’d be completely overshadowed.
Moreover, with our development progress at a decent stage, there was even less reason not to participate.
However, it was obvious we shouldn't get complacent and skimp on preparations.
Let’s break it down, one thing at a time.
‘Do we have the capacity to create a playable demo?’
We do.
We can take a portion of what we’ve already implemented and create a 20- to 30-minute pre-release version.
If we design a compact map and time the boss fight to last about five to seven minutes, we'll have a demo length suitable for a booth experience.
We don’t need to show everything.
As long as we can properly convey the Soulslite genre and the main systems of *Hellic 4*, it will be a success.
Next question, then.
‘What personnel can we utilize?’
For that, we can get help from Sona.
Meaning, we don't have to send our entire company staff all the way overseas.
In short, all signs were positive.
“Let’s reallocate some of the development staff.”
We immediately began creating the demo version for the booth.
* * *
Producing the demo version for the booth wasn't just another task added to our plate.
A question arose during the process.
The question of ‘how will we define this game?’
Summarizing the core systems of a game with dozens of hours of content into a 30-minute demo was like posing that very challenge to ourselves.
In any case, we reached a conclusion.
Stripping away all the minor branches, *Hellic 4* was a game built on the fundamental systems of a Souls-like, with the added map exploration element of Profiling and the execution mechanic of Revolving.
The demo was designed to highlight those points.
“Please make the map as compact as possible. Three profiling clue fragments should be enough. For the boss, let’s use the mid-boss from Chapter 1. Going all the way to Rick Hartmann would be too much.”
The game underwent some changes in the process.
“Let’s add an effect whenever the bullet gauge fills. Something like red smoke coiling around the body. For the sound, a revolver cylinder clicking into place would be good. It will make the generation of the execution gauge easier to see.”
Several improvements were made to the intuitiveness of the main systems.
The existing Profiling system was also enhanced in various ways.
The biggest change was allowing players to combine information at checkpoints instead of having to return to the Ant Tunnel.
It shortened the gameplay loop.
The decision was made based on the judgment that the process of going back and forth could become tedious.
In any case, the demo was produced and revised with a focus on the systems themselves rather than shocking visuals, and as a result, something else received our utmost attention.
“Frame rate check?”
“Done. It won’t be an issue in the demo version for now. We still need to look for minor bugs, but…”
“As long as they don’t impede progress, it’s fine. The demo is short, so we should be able to catch them quickly.”
It was the game feel.
Game feel is important in every game.
But in a Souls-like, where player growth through experience is central, the standard for systemic smoothness, led by the game feel, is much higher.
To put it bluntly, guys like James Han over in California would immediately notice if any optimization issues popped up while playing and would start spewing criticism.
There was no way I would let that happen.
I have absolutely no intention of showing any disappointment in terms of performance while playing the game.
That is the foundation, the very skeleton of the game.
It’s the steel frame of a building, the keel of a ship.
Without a center, it is bound to collapse.
To prevent such a situation, all sorts of tests were conducted.
The QA department was as reliable as ever today.
“There’s a frame drop if you dance between a wall and a monster.”
“Why on earth would you…?”
“The dancing motion strangely synced up with the monster’s attack combo. I was trying to dodge with it.”
“…”
“It actually worked, you know? The hit box settings are really meticulous.”
Anyway, mid-May arrived.
“Great work, everyone. This should be good enough.”
The playable demo for the booth was ready.
* * *
The journey to the United States in early June consisted of the usual crew—me, Yang Gil-sang, Han Seo-rim, Jo A-yun, Myeong-gyu, and the boisterous duo—plus three additional programmers.
We brought only the bare minimum of personnel.
To say that the long journey to the faraway land of America was arduous would be an overstatement; we’d done it too many times already.
Jo A-yun, who used to be nervous just getting on a plane, had now reached a level where she was saving videos offline on her tablet.
From somewhere in business class, I turned my head and saw what Jo A-yun was watching.
“…A-yun, what are you watching?”
“A pa-patch…”
Jo A-yun sheepishly angled the screen toward me.
It was a video related to the final boss, the ‘Black Warrior,’ a character even I, who knew little about *Maple Saga*, recognized.
Jo A-yun’s eyes were sparkling.
Come to think of it, was it around this time?
‘This game’s market share shot up for a while.’
I remembered the past life’s Jo A-yun gushing about how this boss monster had been built up for over a decade and how she had lived for this moment.
Of course, the Jo A-yun of that time didn't play *Maple Saga*.
Seeing this boss monster had made her nostalgic enough to return for a bit, but I recall she couldn't stand the vastly changed systems and quit after just one day.
As my thoughts wandered, a certain anxiety surfaced.
It was because of an event I remembered.
‘Was it next year? No, the year after?’
A massive probability manipulation scandal erupts in the domestic online RPG genre.
Games with dedicated fanbases began holding truck protests one after another, and the issue escalated to roundtable discussions between users and developers.
They called them discussions, but they were more like verbal brawls.
NQ, where I had been, was a step removed from that trend, but… that’s not what’s important right now.
‘…Could it be?’
Just a what-if.
‘…No way.’
I dismissed the unsettling thought.
But it lingered, and out of an abundance of caution, I spoke to Jo A-yun.
“A-yun.”
“Yes…?”
“Let’s say, just hypothetically, a problem comes up in the game you play. No matter what other people say, you have to stay quiet, okay?”
Jo A-yun blinked.
Her uncomprehending look only accelerated my anxious imagination.
The picture began to form clearly in my mind.
The time is a few years from now, a live-streamed online roundtable discussion.
The director of *Maple Saga* is there, and on the user side, Jo A-yun is speaking, displaying her username, [AyuningS2].
—D-Director… do you want… to be hit…?
I flinched, my body jolting.
I couldn’t just dismiss it as unrealistic, because Jo A-yun is a well-known, top-tier hardcore player in the community (she sinks all her allowance into the game).
Whenever new end-game content is released, she’s part of the first-clear raid party and holds a senior position in a famous guild.
The same Jo A-yun who used to get scammed out of items and cry her eyes out had somehow become this monster.
Just imagine if a roundtable discussion were to be held.
Could anyone say Jo A-yun wasn't qualified to attend?
No, she was more than qualified.
Here’s the problem: Jo A-yun is a bit lacking in social skills…!
She has a reputation for being pure evil or a psychopath because her empathy and ability to read the room are so poor!
—D-Director… do you want… to be hit…?
What would happen if Jo A-yun, known as the sound director of Rewind, did something like that in that setting?
I didn't want to imagine any further.
I hastily added more words.
“A-yun. Please, please… let’s talk before you go to any external events, okay?”
“Okay…”
Jo A-yun nodded.
Well, I’ve given her a warning, so I suppose I’ve taken a precaution.
I decided not to worry about it for now.
Only then did I lie back and close my eyes.
A long journey to America.
There wasn't much to do besides eat and sleep, so I focused on clearing my head and resting. Before I knew it, we had arrived.
As I passed through immigration, I had to stop in my tracks.
“Yeon-ho! Over here!”
A hearty-looking Korean man was shouting in Korean from a distance.
I knew that man.
“…President Park Yeong-jun?”
Park Yeong-jun, the president of Neosoft.
He was here to greet us.
Along with Goro Ayado.
* * *
To put it simply, it was the butterfly effect.
“You’re attending this year.”
“Ahaha! So it seems!”
It was because of me.
The domestic game market had changed because of me, and President Park Yeong-jun’s entry into the console market had been accelerated.
To explain the causality briefly: experienced console developers from Rewind entered the job market, Neosoft absorbed them, which boosted their development capabilities and built trust in domestic console development, which in turn led to attracting investment. That’s how they achieved this speed.
Neosoft is a publicly traded company.
Naturally, they had to pull in investment capital to speed up development.
That problem was solved.
In my past life, it took years for the profits from President Park’s cash cow, *Clear Zone*, to be reinvested. This time, they had bridged that time gap with external investment.
“This feels surreal. I never dreamed I’d come to E3.”
Of course.
E3 was undeniably a festival for consoles, so how often would the president of an online game company have something to exhibit?
A question arose in the process: what on earth were they making that they could sign a direct contract with Sony and even come to E3?
E3 has a strict selection process for exhibited games.
To break through with a new IP at such an event meant that President Park’s game had that much appeal, but…
“So, what kind of game did you make?”
Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked, and the answer I received was this.
“It’s a game based on *The Divorce Chronicles*.”
“?”
“A console version of *The Divorce Chronicles*. Mixed with fantasy and turn-based combat.”
“???”
I was even more confused.
President Park then said in a confident voice,
“My friend, a game has to throw away all that lofty dignity and know how to stimulate human desire. That’s why it’s divorce.”
*Slap!*
President Park threw an arm around my shoulder.
“Every married man has a corner of his heart that wants a divorce. Remember that.”
It was a piece of advice I had no desire to remember.
I let it go in one ear and out the other.
* * *
A few hours later, having just finished settling into her hotel room, Seo-rim entered the makeshift meeting room.
At the start of E3, an event that always made people nervous had become something of a tradition at Rewind.
This time, I will survive.
Seo-rim steeled herself and spoke.
“…So, who’s doing the cosplay this time?”
Hire a professional cosplayer?
Considering the tradition of the *Hellic* series, at least, that would be out of the question.
Even the users who frequented the community now accepted ‘the *Hellic* developers do the cosplay!’ as common knowledge!
However, Seo-rim’s prediction was completely off the mark.
“Only one person will be doing it this time.”
Yeon-ho said, looking at Gil-sang as if he wouldn't entertain any objections.
At that moment, a memory flashed through Seo-rim’s mind.
—Do we really have to put the three-legged octopus in the demo?
—Yeah, it’s a must.
In *Hellic 4*, there was a monster with the upper body of a glistening man (bald) and three octopus legs.
It was an idea from Ji-seok that Yeon-ho had refined. Its attack gimmick was to lift its middle leg and whip the playable character with it.
The consensus from those who had been attacked was, ‘It’s vaguely unpleasant.’
Yeon-ho had placed that monster frequently throughout the demo.
And, contrasting that with the current situation, she remembered something else.
Something Yeon-ho had once said.
—A gentleman’s revenge is a dish best served cold.
Indeed, Yeon-ho was carrying out a gentleman’s revenge (a grudge).
Whatever the case, it was a relief.
‘As long as it’s not me.’
Gil-sang’s miserable face was none of Seo-rim’s concern.