Chapter 184
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: Open World (4)
The three core elements were now all in place.
Map, character, and gameplay.
There's a saying in the industry.
When introducing a game, if you can explain what it is and how it's played in a single sentence, then it's an intuitive blockbuster with a clear direction.
In that regard, Hellic 5 was crystal clear, easily summarized as 'a game where you receive visions from the scholars of Hell in an open-world map to uncover its secrets.'
The fact that it supported countless playstyles internally, all of which could be encompassed within that single sentence, was the icing on the cake.
Now, it was time to move on to the next major stage.
“Let's add some detail.”
A rough sketch of the details.
The phrasing sounds strange, but it can't be helped.
In the early stages of game development, developers must create a prototype to verify if the game, when actually running, properly reflects the intended design.
No matter how grand our ideas are, whether they are actually great to play is another story entirely.
Because of this prototyping phase, the planning team's meetings were endless.
―How about we focus the Yuras school's alchemy items on overcoming obstacles?
―Wouldn't that overlap with the Colburn school? They're the ones with engineers and geologists who tear up the ground and walls.
―The idea is to encourage creative play. While Colburn smashes through terrain, Yuras could manipulate map objects in unconventional ways. You know, like taming monsters with potions, sneaking through dangerous areas by spreading sleeping agents, or extending vines from objects to swing around like Tarzan...
When you set the stage, plenty of ideas emerge.
That was the fundamental structure of how our planning team operated.
I would create the core idea and its framework, and the planning team would fill in the derived and applied concepts.
The stage of creating build concepts for gameplay involved this much discussion.
Of course, some topics generated more excitement than discussion.
―Let's make Hadelrun a self-destruct class.
―Come on, just self-destructing is a bit much. They're not an armed terrorist cult.
―They weren't?
―…Were they?
This was the case for the Hadelrun school, the most troublesome faction even in the Hell of Hedonism.
As a school founded by theologians, astronomers, Confucian scholars, and the like, the group's nature leaned heavily toward religious fanaticism.
On top of that, wasn't this Hell?
Dropped into an environment so perfect for believing in the existence of God, they had gone completely wild.
I had simply recounted my memories, explaining two things to the team: 'they are a crazy cult that doesn't shy away from self-destruction' and 'they treat every other school as heretical.' And that's where the conversation went.
Thus, a battle mage class with the most unique skill concept was born.
―In Hell, there are no physical limitations, right? What if they can turn their bodies into bombs or consume health and mana to transform... you know, become a monster that spews acid blood everywhere?
―That sounds fun. Their body swells up like a balloon, and a fountain of blood bursts out with a sizzle...
―But didn't we decide on playable characters with customization? The modeling...
―The art team will figure it out. It sounds fun, so let's put it on the list.
After a long process of deciding what to keep and what to discard, I became the final decision-maker.
“This one is confirmed. The next one is on hold; it's too messy, so let's test it in the prototype before deciding. And the last one is scrapped.”
―W-what, why! Nothing is more Hadelrun-like than a... genital sword fight...
“I said, it's scrapped.”
―Argh…!
Having defeated Senior Planner Kang Ji-seok (the man obsessed with genital sword fights), I concluded the planning stage for the builds.
Since we had decided on concepts rather than detailed classifications, there would likely be many changes down the line.
But still, my heart pounded with excitement.
There was a certain magic to seeing imaginations that had only existed as text on paper come to life visually.
The completed plan was delivered to the programming team.
For some reason, Myeong-gyu kept glancing at me, his lips twitching.
“Yeon-ho.”
“Yes?”
“Did I do something wrong? Or have I upset you recently? I honestly don't know...”
“Nothing like that.”
“I'm sorry. I'm just really sorry.”
I had no idea why he was suddenly acting this way.
I asked out of pure curiosity.
“What are you sorry for?”
At that, Myeong-gyu's face went blank.
“Uh…”
“See? You have nothing to be sorry for. Let's get back to work.”
“……”
How anticlimactic.
I left the silent Myeong-gyu behind and returned to my desk.
***
Programmer Go Myeong-gyu, a man who lived his life like a light novel protagonist.
But that didn't mean he was without worries in his life.
No, it was precisely because of that that he had more to worry about.
“I'm home.”
“…Brother, why are you so late?”
The one who greeted Myeong-gyu upon his return was his much younger sister.
Faced with his sister's pouting face and crossed arms, Myeong-gyu couldn't help but shrink back.
The words he managed to get out were...
“Yuri, aren't you going home?”
“This is my home.”
“…I mean, to Mom and Dad's house.”
“This place is closer to school than their house. Mom and Dad said it was okay.”
It was an emergency.
Myeong-gyu tried to pinpoint where it all went wrong.
‘Ah, I shouldn't have moved to Pangyo.’
It was during the early to mid-production of Hellic 4.
He had gone to the trouble of buying a house in Seoul, but the workload for Hellic 4 was so immense that he never had a chance to go home.
So, he had rented out his house and bought a new one near the company. Since then, his younger sister, Yuri, who had enrolled in a high school near Pangyo for her commute, had started staying over very frequently.
There was a reason this was possible.
To begin with, Myeong-gyu's salary was far beyond that of a typical chief programmer.
That was because Yeon-ho valued him so much that he had essentially bought his loyalty with money to keep him.
Besides that, there was Yeon-ho's advice, which was closer to a demand, that he should never sell the house in Seoul.
Thus, a situation was created where he had one rented-out house in central Seoul and one he owned in Pangyo.
‘Come to think of it, this is all Yeon-ho's fault, isn't it?’
This was less than a year before the merciless surge in Seoul's housing prices.
Myeong-gyu failed to recognize his savior and resented him instead.
Anyway, putting that aside, there was the current situation.
“Myeong-gyu! What are you doing at the door? Let's go in!”
“Why are you frozen agai… Huh? Yuri-Yuri!”
Yu-mi and Hye-ji appeared from behind Myeong-gyu, who was standing at the entrance.
Myeong-gyu had brought them along after they asked to have dinner together.
Yuri's expression was frozen solid.
No, it was beyond that; she looked like a demon.
Myeong-gyu didn't know what Yuri was thinking, but he knew for sure that this situation was not good for him.
It was instinctual.
“Well, hello there.”
Yuri spoke in a voice that was anything but well, but she couldn't win against the extroverted demon duo.
“Yuri-Yuri! Let's go suck the youth from this high schooler's skin!!!”
“Kyahahahaha! Yuri-Yuri, we're seeing you so often!!!”
“Ghk, ghhh…!”
No matter how talented she was, the blood flowing in her veins was still Go family blood.
Go Yuri could not defeat the hyperactive duo!
And one more thing!
“Oh right, Yuri-Yuri, your college entrance exams are in less than 100 days, aren't they? How's the studying going?”
“Keuk!”
“Hanguk University is nothing special. Just nail the basics and you'll get in!”
“Ghhhhhh…!”
Go Yuri (19), a high school senior with less than 100 days until the entrance exams, an age where she was endlessly vulnerable in a battle of wills against Hanguk University graduates.
“Should we help you study?”
“Me too, me too! I got all Grade 1s on my exams!”
Yuri hated these two.
They clung to her brother at all hours, draining his soul with their bewitching laughter. To her, there were no demons worse than these.
In other words, to Yuri, the two were positioned as 'the villainesses who stole her brother'.
But she couldn't beat them, neither in social standing nor in mock exam scores.
Resentment welled up inside her, but she had no way to release it.
So what was she to do?
Her misplaced anger turned toward the one person she could vent it on.
“Brother, is this how you live these days?”
It meant, *Are you living a debauched life, playing around with women like this?*
It was a double-edged question, and Myeong-gyu didn't fully grasp its meaning.
He simply took it to mean, *Do you always come home this late?*
“Mm, yeah. Pretty much. It can't be helped.”
“What can't be helped?”
“...?”
“What is it that can't be helped?”
“Uh…”
*It's work, so of course I spend a lot of time with my colleagues.*
Before he could even say that...
“You're always like this.”
A reflexive answer came out.
“…Sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?”
“Uh…”
In that moment, Myeong-gyu was hit with a wave of PTSD.
―*What are you sorry for?*
He remembered what Yeon-ho had said to him a few days ago.
Myeong-gyu's breathing grew ragged.
His vision went white, and his mind filled with Yeon-ho's inhumane commands.
*What are you sorry for?*
To Myeong-gyu, those words were just a reminder of Yeon-ho's inhuman whip-cracking, which meant 'work even if you have to cut into your sleeping hours.'
“Gah-heok…!”
Myeong-gyu clutched his throat, his eyes rolling back.
He was hyperventilating.
“B-Brother!”
“What! What's wrong with him!”
The potentially tense atmosphere was thus resolved through Myeong-gyu's sacrifice.
It was for the best.
…Probably.
***
A few days later, in a small conference room at the peaceful Studio Rewind.
“Everyone, the time is drawing near.”
A deep, solemn voice echoed.
The conference room was completely dark, save for a few anachronistic candlesticks casting a dim light that made objects barely discernible.
The scene was reminiscent of a secret worship service in the dead of night.
In fact, it was quite similar to a worship service.
The blue eyes of the man standing in the center glinted sharply.
“Development is nearly complete. You've all worked hard.”
“Amen…”
“The results will prove that our blood, sweat, and tears were not in vain.”
“Amen…”
“Even if the results are poor, it is fine. For we have done our best.”
“Amen…”
The blue-eyed director, Yuri 'Blood Demon' Jackson, spread his arms wide.
“Hellic 2 Rewind, prepare for launch. I will take full responsibility in the event of failure.”
That's right.
This gathering was to celebrate the completion of development for the Hellic 2 remake, which was now entering the optimization phase.
It was a gathering to announce the first sortie of the only team within Studio Rewind that had yet to produce any tangible results.
It had been a long, long time of hardship and humiliation.
Especially for Yuri.
He was suddenly told to direct and was put in charge of a standalone title.
No matter what he said, his team members would just react with things like, 'As expected of Yuri!', adding to the pressure.
To cope with it, he wore a mask, reigned supreme, and was reborn.
Not to mention the process of sending spies to other teams to scrape their development know-how, and the moments spent researching and verifying day and night to ensure gameplay stability.
…In truth, he had simply worked hard as a normal director, but Yuri himself, drunk on his role as a cult leader, was oblivious.
Yuri said.
“It is all thanks to you.”
Without the tenacious bond of a unified faith holding them together, reaching this point would have been absolutely impossible.
Now was the time for validation.
Yuri clenched his fist.
“Now, let us go.”
To the land of fantasy.