Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: Planning - Demon's Relic 2 (1)
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The success of *Hellic 4* sent shockwaves through the industry with its record-breaking numbers.
First off, selling 3.2 million copies in its first month was a feat achieved by maybe one game a year.
In other words, it was a performance worthy of a top GOTY contender, which also meant it was just that well-made of a game.
Secondly, the significance of its genre was unique.
For a Soulslike game developed by an external studio, not the original creators, to achieve such results proved that the Souls genre, even without its signature difficulty, was ripe for creative reinterpretation. The implications were huge.
Some were even saying things like this:
[Dadbom: *Hellic 4* might be the start of more of these 'light' Souls games.]
[Luka: I hope so. Super difficult games just stress me out.]
For players who were barred from enjoying the Souls genre by its difficulty, *Hellic 4* was a golden opportunity.
Moreover, since the ripple effect of such an opportunity on sales had now been proven, it wasn't far-fetched to think that other game companies would start scrambling to develop their own 'Soulslite' titles.
Of course,
[jessica: It'd be great if they did. But whether they can pull off *Hellic 4*'s level of quality is another story.]
The players were ruthless.
Any game that came out next billing itself as a 'Soulslite' would inevitably be compared to *Hellic 4*.
Just as other games in the Soulslike genre are compared to those from the original creators, Flare Soft.
Few major developers would be willing to take that risk.
As these opinions gained traction, the anticipation dwindled to mere wishful thinking.
In any case, the next Soulslite wasn't their immediate concern.
[micetester: James is streaming. Looks like he's attempting a perfect clear of the Sleepless Swarm of Grief.]
With *Hellic 4* still brimming with hidden mechanics and Easter eggs, the hype had yet to die down.
***
It had been a month and a week since the release.
Rewind's Development Team 1 was spending their days in silence.
It wasn't a funereal atmosphere; people just weren't coming into the office.
“But is it okay for us to take this much time off?”
Han Seo-rim asked.
I replied.
“If we don't rest now, when will we? We're going to take a bit of a break before the next project. At least for this year, there's nothing else urgent.”
“So we’re taking the whole second quarter off?”
“We'll help out other teams and work on strengthening our foundations. Besides, the award ceremonies are at the end of the year.”
From a marketing perspective, this was a crucial juncture.
We were already a strong contender for GOTY.
We had outperformed *End of Us 2*, which in my past life had been our biggest rival.
*Seiro*, on the other hand, wasn't a major threat in terms of sales due to Flare Soft's signature difficulty.
Of course, if my intervention in this life caused that to change, it could become dangerous… Still, the power of mass appeal was not to be underestimated.
In short, having beaten our two biggest competitors, we needed to prepare for post-awards marketing, like a GOTY Edition.
One might say I was counting my chickens before they hatched, but we needed to conserve our energy and resources to handle various related public activities at the right time.
And so, today.
I opened Blind, the professional community app, right in front of Han Seo-rim.
When a person gets bored, there's nothing quite as fun as teasing someone else.
“Getting paid to do nothing is the best… huh.”
It was definitely Han Seo-rim's post.
Her shoulders twitched and her gaze drifted to the window. There was no room for doubt.
She coughed up an excuse, of all things.
“…You just can’t tell what people are thinking. The employees act so passionate to your face, but then they go and do things like this behind your back.”
“Should I try to hunt them down?”
“Hey, that’ll ruin the office atmosphere. A reign of terror is bound to collapse.”
“You sound pretty serious about defending them.”
“Defending them? Me? No, I’m just worried. About you.”
There was a strange accent on the words ‘I’m’ and ‘you.’
A vein popped in the white of Han Seo-rim's eye.
*Hmm, maybe I should stop here.*
“You're right. What's the point of dissecting the community forums just to hunt someone down? Despite what I say, everyone works hard.”
“Right?”
“Still, there’s one person I’d like to catch.”
“Who?”
“The person who first started calling me ‘Cheon Yeon-ho, that motherfucker’.”
That damn nickname had spread to the players, and now ‘motherfucker’ was attached to my name like a proper noun.
It's not that I hate it, but the nuance is just... you know.
As I said it, Han Seo-rim stared off into the distance.
A low groan escaped her lips.
“Hmm…”
Ah.
*…So it was you?*
Suddenly, Han Seo-rim spoke.
“Hey, if you’re free, want to go work out?”
“Seo-rim?”
“You’re looking thin again lately. Since we’re on break, let’s bulk you up a bit. You need to build a nice frame for the awards ceremony. We’re going to win GOTY, aren’t we?”
“Han Seo-rim?”
“Get up.”
Han Seo-rim pulled me to my feet.
And so, feeling like a pig being dragged to the slaughterhouse, I headed to the gym.
“Uraaaaaaagh!!!”
I heard a monstrous roar.
So familiar…
“That’s Nishimura. Must have a big meeting soon, huh?”
“Looks like it.”
…It was the roar of Nishimura, preparing for his meeting (sparring match).
***
The man, Nishimura Keisuke.
On the verge of the duel of a lifetime, he was pushing his physical specs to their absolute limit.
There was no particular reason for it to be the duel of a lifetime.
It was simply because they had entered the process of deciding the heroine concepts for *Demon's Relic 2*.
They had already established the world and its framework.
After developing the prototype, they added a few demo skills to establish the core mechanics.
They had gone through the level design process, focused on the game's selling points, and solidified the reward structure. It was all done.
*Demon's Relic 2*, like the first game, followed a [Dungeon Clear → Contract Reward] structure.
However, dungeons were replaced with ‘Archangel Shrines,’ and contracts were expressed as ‘Stigmata.’
On top of that, a method was devised to strengthen the reward and growth structure: ‘Adaptive Growth.’
Since they had drastically reduced the number of heroines from the initial plan, they needed a way to provide the same level of diversity as *Demon's Relic 1*.
It was only natural; in a game designed for at least thirty hours of content, gameplay would become too repetitive if players only used the ten archangels—the ten skills—recorded on the Sephirot Tree.
Thus, they had to milk the ten heroines for all they were worth.
They borrowed the ‘Item Growth Build’ system from *Hellic Identity*.
The system worked by unlocking higher-tier skill builds as the player's adaptation to a Stigma increased through frequent use.
This, in turn, tied into ‘Affection.’
They finalized a concept where Adaptive Growth and rising Affection were linked, and the heroine's relationship with the player would be redefined based on the chosen build path.
In other words, it was time to decide on the actual ‘moe attributes.’
Take the already-confirmed relationship with Raphael, for example.
Raphael's Stigma, possessing healing and buffing abilities, would be placed on the chest, based on her position on the Sephirot Tree.
Her moe attribute would be ‘Maman,’ like Baal from the previous game.
In other words, the nurturing type.
From there, if the player specialized in the ‘Healing’ build, her maternal instincts would strengthen, and she would become more nurturing toward the protagonist. Conversely, specializing in the ‘Buff’ build would bring out her more childish tendencies, making her cheer for and depend on the protagonist.
To put it in industry terms:
‘Regression to infancy—!’
“Kuaaaaaah!!!”
Strength surged through Nishimura’s body once more.
From a normal perspective, it might be hard to understand the appeal of a woman regressing to a childlike state, but otakus know.
That’s what makes it hot.
“Uwoooooooh!!!”
This meeting's agenda was Metatron.
The one who presided over the beginning and the end of the Sephirot Tree—a true monster among monsters who effectively occupied two points by herself.
According to lore, the name of the starting point is Metatron, and the end point is Sandalphon. Isn't the implication of this perfectly clear?
*A dual-personality heroine!!!*
If they were to create moe attributes from that, the answer was already decided.
There was no need for explanation.
The most fitting form was to have a Metatron build for the beginning and a Sandalphon build for the end, changing her appearance and personality as the build progressed.
To that, Copson had said:
—We can't combine two of the ten Sephirot into one. Let's make them separate characters and split the builds.
A man who doesn't get it is a sinner.
Therefore, Copson was a sinner.
—Fool!!! Do you not understand the significance of having a heroine who can only be obtained through my choice, and another who becomes permanently unavailable for that playthrough, Copson?! It gives me! The player! The feeling that I am ‘exerting influence’ on that world!!!
A single, irreversible choice was a device that greatly enhanced player immersion.
It was worth it, even if it meant reducing the number of skill builds.
—Doing that makes Metatron too special!
—She’s in the main heroine position, so of course she is!
—Hey! Have you forgotten that the balance must be kept equal!!!
—We can just adjust the numbers in-game!!! Do you just want to shit out a boring game?!
And if Metatron being the only special one was the problem, that was fine.
—We just have to add similar mechanics to the other characters!!! It would effectively be nine heroines, so there’s no issue with resources! Yes! That’s what we’ll do! We’ll delve deeper into the heroines!
—This isn't something to decide now, Nishimura! The main system is still being tuned!!!
It was inevitable that their voices would grow louder.
Both men were that cornered.
The world was changing fast.
After *Demon's Relic*, the trend in bishoujo games had shifted to mobile gacha formats—collection-based games where you gather heroines and display them like bonsai trees.
Nishimura knew.
He knew that format was perfectly optimized for otakus who needed to engage in their fandom anytime, anywhere—a format that was close to ultimate.
But before being an otaku, he was a game director.
And as a director of AAA games at Rewind, a studio focused on console game development, Nishimura could not choose that path.
Even beyond his personal feelings, he had to consider the concept of the Rewind brand.
*Rewind is a well-made developer that creates AAA games. The release of Hellic 4 has elevated our brand image once again.*
Cheon Yeon-ho, once an indie director he admired, was now his superior whose back he had to follow.
Furthermore, the very next batter up was his and Copson's *Demon's Relic 2*.
*It has to be the best.*
Therefore, the limitations of the game's format had to be overcome with ‘willpower’!
“Uraaaaaaagh!!!”
Today's bench press: 100 kg, 10 reps, 4 sets.
He could lift heavier, but he deliberately chose not to.
For muscles inflated beyond a certain point would inevitably lead to a loss of agility.
He was in the midst of awakening and tearing his muscle fibers, to the point where steam rose from his body.
And so, Nishimura finished his workout for the day.
Less than a week remained until the sparring match.
The time for the final check passed in a flash.
The day of the showdown.
Rewind’s sparring zone.
As Nishimura climbed into the ring, he saw Copson, who was already flooding the space with his aura, pressing down on it.
That was not the path of righteousness. Nor was it a selfish path, nor a demonic one.
He had now attained enlightenment, becoming simply a martial artist.
A man stood before him, determined to see his will through.
If that was the case, what must I become?
*The same.*
Not the Lord of the Black Serpent Union, but simply a martial artist.
“Hey, Copson. Have you stored enough stamina?”
“Yes. Enough to tear you to shreds.”
They took their stances.
Beginning with a solid guard.
Diiiiing—!
The bell had rung. This was the moment of decision.
The agenda: [A Sparring Match Regarding the Deepening of Each Heroine's Gimmicks, Including Metatron's Dual-Personality Characterization] had begun.