Chapter 156
Chapter 156
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 156
Chapter Title: Countdown (2)
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The downfall of *End of Us 2* was, at least to me, an inevitability.
I had already seen the game’s final product in the future.
No, I had even played it myself.
Even setting aside my principles as a director, it was a given.
Personal ideologies do not exist to be sold as commercial products.
The moment they nonchalantly did so, wasn't the game’s collapse preordained?
Naturally, public opinion was bound to erupt in flames.
Given the game's dramatic structure, the enjoyment of *End of Us* as a form of play was heavily dependent on its scenario.
And that scenario contained a message catering only to a minority.
They even went so far as to twist and ruin the predecessor that fans had adored.
When this happens… it’s common for the game to receive low scores in sales—that is, in its evaluation.
It could have been something I didn't even need to worry about.
However, I, at least, had singled out *End of Us 2* as one of the strongest contenders for this year's GOTY.
This, too, was because I knew the future.
“You can’t ignore initial sales. Especially when the predecessor was a steady seller, the majority of people will buy the new game on a whim, if only for the sake of nostalgia.”
“…What are the projections?”
At Han Seo-rim’s question, I answered without a moment's hesitation.
“It’ll break three million copies in the first month, at least.”
The original *End of Us* was a masterpiece with that much power.
It was also a figure made possible by the changing times and the adoption of multi-platform releases.
Despite being released at a near-full price, wasn't that a devastating number?
The GOTY I was aiming for is the best game of the year.
In other words, the immense impact of sales figures on the GOTY selection goes without saying, and unfortunately, the critic scores would also be in *End of Us*’s favor for now.
‘It’s a phase, like the measles.’
Political correctness.
Under the pretext of embracing diversity, embedding social messages in commercial content has become something of a trend of the times.
Furthermore, aside from the controversial scenario, *End of Us 2* was close to a masterpiece in terms of gameplay.
I had wondered if optimization issues might have arisen from an earlier release date, but from what I’d played, that wasn't a serious problem.
‘If only it weren’t for that damned golf club….’
It would have continued the legacy of a masterpiece.
Ah, just thinking about it made me feel a little heated.
After hearing my whole story, Han Seo-rim asked.
“…Can we win?”
“Yeah, we can win.”
“About the PC stuff. It’s all over the news these days. What if they turn it around and claim our game is the problem….”
“That won’t happen.”
I could be certain, upon certain, upon certain.
I know how the tide of this PC movement turns.
“A strong assertion invites a strong backlash. It’s an immutable law.”
By 2027, the year I died, the PC movement had become a hollow echo.
That was true for reasons beyond all else.
“Games are a mass medium. They can only exist by maintaining their commercial viability.”
So what do you think the end would be for those who willingly abandoned their own commercial appeal?
“Beliefs and all that crap aside, when you’re about to starve to death, wouldn’t your pride break?”
The people who preached their convictions died.
More accurately, they realized how out of touch they had been and returned to the essence of things.
The proposition that games exist to provide enjoyment proved its own truth, untainted by any worldly trend.
In any case, for that reason, there was no need to discuss the trend any further.
It just meant I needed to think of a way to turn the tables.
The screen showed a community forum that Han Seo-rim frequented.
『MyLifeIsntSunny: thatdeadmotherfuckerispissingmeoffwhatthehellaboutmymoney
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh@!!!@#!@
TheKingOneMoreTime: Lord!!! Another one bites the dust!!!』
The atmosphere was chaotic.
And inevitably, the next in line, *Hellic 4*, was brought up.
『WaitingForHellic4: Yeon-ho it's not you right?Yeon-ho it's not you right?Yeon-ho it's not you right?
It's not you riiiiiight????
Warlord of Bangbae-dong: Come to think of it, didn't this guy used to cross-dress a ton?
└ WaitingForHellic4: Aaaaaaaah!!!
lol: lol』
“Hmm….”
For some reason, my gaze shifted from that "lol" nickname to Han Seo-rim.
Han Seo-rim was looking away.
Was this girl taking a jab at me just now?
‘…Anyway.’
I never thought my cross-dressing past would come back to haunt me like this.
It probably wouldn’t cause any major shifts beyond some ridicule, but you never know.
“We need to move up the schedule.”
“What schedule?”
“The developer interview video production.”
Timing is crucial, no matter what you plan.
With the rise of the PC movement, interest in developers' personal ideologies is higher than ever.
This is the perfect time to say it.
—We don’t do that kind of thing.
Loud and clear.
* * *
That was how the incident began.
“A, a video…?”
“Yeah, everyone’s so busy lately that we don’t have anyone to handle the interview shoot. I tried to pull someone from the business department, but their schedule is pretty packed too.”
A manpower shortage for producing the developer interview and game introduction video.
As a countermeasure, Yeon-ho entrusted the filming to A-yun.
“It’s not hard. The editing and in-game footage will be handled by their respective departments, so we just need you to manage the filming.”
In truth, A-yun had been quite free lately.
As for the sound work she needed to do, her team members had now gotten the hang of it (struggling to survive), taking on the majority of the tasks and reducing her workload.
It was then that Yeon-ho, with his eagle eye, had noticed A-yun, and thus Jo A-yun (the salary thief) ended up as the camera director for the interview video.
Yeon-ho encouraged her, saying.
“There’s no one else in the company who gets along with everyone as well as you do. You’re the only one I can ask for this.”
In reality, the employees simply smiled in her presence because they didn't want to get on the bad side of Jo A-yun (the psychopath) and be dragged into the recording studio, but neither Yeon-ho nor A-yun knew of this backstory.
A-yun was simply thrilled that Yeon-ho was trusting her with this, and she nodded her head, brimming with confidence.
“I’ll, I’ll give it a try…!”
A-yun accepted the job and began to mull it over.
Of course, she had already received the overall video structure and interview points.
The important thing was how to direct it in an entertaining way!
Feeling as if she were a real film director, A-yun trembled with creative desire.
*A gentle soundtrack that allows for a long, sustained breath would be better than some grand, epic music. The voices can be made clearer through audio processing and supplemented with subtitles.*
Such thoughts ran through her head, but…
‘Ah, no…’
None of that was her responsibility in the first place.
Her assigned role was to get the developers’ interviews.
A-yun squeezed her eyes shut and groaned.
It was then that someone spoke.
“…Team Leader, what are you doing?”
One of A-yun’s staff members, looking haggard, asked her.
As if he had come at just the right time, A-yun sighed deeply, grabbed the employee, and started to vent.
“So, you seeee…”
She had to get interviews, but how could she make them fun, and she wanted a video where people wouldn't skip through the game-related talk, and so on—a series of concerns that, frankly, the employee couldn't care less about.
The employee thought to himself absentmindedly.
*‘Doesn’t most of it get edited out anyway?’*
Even if he only did sound work, he was still a game developer.
He naturally knew the trends and currents of the industry and couldn't be unaware of how a video like this would be focused.
In a developer interview meant to introduce a game, everything except the talk about the game gets cut.
This meant her worries were effectively useless.
*She could be helping with the mixing in this time.*
A grumbling thought arose, but the employee’s guts weren't strong enough to say such a thing to his young and wicked boss.
*Come to think of it, if I stay here, I'll be working overtime again.*
Feeling an ominous premonition that the nap room (on-call room) was beckoning to him, the employee gave a vague reply and got up to leave.
“You can just get their self-introduction, ask what part they made and how, and wrap it up. Don’t you have a list of questions? Well then, I just remembered I have some work left to do.”
The employee disappeared with the stealth and mystique of a ninja.
A lightbulb lit up above A-yun’s head.
“A, a self-introduction…?”
A good idea had struck her.
* * *
“Y-Your name is…?”
I took a moment to think.
*‘What exactly is this situation…?’*
In front of me was a camera, held by Jo A-yun. I was sitting on a sofa in a corner meeting room with a plain white wall behind me.
Jo A-yun was asking the questions.
“Y-Your name…!”
“…Cheon Yeon-ho.”
She had requested an interview, and seeing her enthusiasm, I decided to play along, but now this was happening.
I couldn’t think she was just joking around; Jo A-yun’s eyes were sparkling too brightly, and her expression was full of life.
*Could she be up to something strange?*
The thought crossed my mind but quickly faded.
*‘Well, if any weird questions come up, the editing team will cut them out.’*
I decided to go along with it for now.
“A-Age and height…!”
“I’m thirty-one this year. My height is 183 or 184cm.”
“Your hobby is…!”
“Games. My special skill is also games. And my job is games. I consider myself quite lucky. The hobby I love became my work.”
“G-Good…! Then, your development experience…?”
“*Hellic 1, 2, 3*, *Identity*, and this current title makes five projects. I’ve been developing for quite a long time, but I often feel my own shortcomings. I will strive to improve at all times.”
“Hehe… Th-Then next, please introduce your latest work…!”
“The release is not far off now. *Hellic 4* is…”
Contrary to the initial ominous atmosphere, the interview questions weren’t particularly strange.
For a moment, I regretted thinking of Jo A-yun as being too peculiar.
Somehow, the schedule was completed smoothly, and Jo A-yun continued to conduct similar interviews with other staff members.
The video editing was finished by early to mid-April.
Because of the busy schedule, I left the final review of the video to Yang Gil-sang.
Time flows one way or another, and while I was busy managing development and schedules, the video was released to the public.
And on that day, I thought to myself.
*‘I should have done it.’*
The video editing.
*‘I should have reviewed it myself.’*
* * *
It was a time when users were groaning from the devastating betrayal of *End of Us 2*.
The betrayal of an anticipated IP was a gut-wrenching experience for game lovers.
Naturally, with things turning out this way, expectations and concerns for the next major title, *Hellic 4*, inevitably grew.
*What if Hellic 4 also follows this trend and ends up being a game the public doesn't want?*
No one could provide an answer to this anxiety.
The developers who knew the answer remained silent.
In truth, releasing too much information right before launch is a loss for the development company as well.
The frustration was understandable, but this time it felt particularly prolonged.
Then one day.
Studio Rewind, as always, scratched the users’ itch at the most opportune moment.
And they did so in a definitive, and truly peculiar, way.
『LetsWalkPoppy: The developer interview lololol is uuuup lololol』
LetsWalkPoppy (an active game journalist), known for being a polite community user, posted an article peppered with an unusual amount of "lol"s.
The post contained a single link, and it quickly shot up to the main recommended page, heralding the imminent release of *Hellic 4*.
It wasn’t just in Korea.
The eyes of gamers all over the world were focused on that interview.
And they could rest assured.
At least, on the PC front.
[Y-Your name is…?]
[…Cheon Yeon-ho.]
[A-Age and height…!]
[I’m thirty-one this year. My height is 183 or 184cm.]
·
·
·
[Development experience…?]
[Five….]
A white background, a sofa, and a single person sitting in a formal posture, speaking to the camera.
It was a familiar setup for men all over the world.
『TheKingOneMoreTime: …Isn’t this an AV intro?』
That’s right.
It was the setup from *that* kind of video, which everyone recognized.
Yeon-ho’s request to emphasize the absence of the developers’ PC leanings in the interview had passed through A-yun’s twisted perspective and the editing team’s madness, then received Yang Gil-sang’s confirmation before being released to the world.
For Yeon-ho, it was a bewildering affair.
But, whatever the case, the effect was undeniable, so even he couldn't say much about this particular approval.
It had certainly made it clear that PC leanings were absent from the game.
『MyExamIsScrewed: I’ll believe in you, Cheon Yeon-ho.
You truly are a ‘man’…!』
Just… a little too clearly.