Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Trailer (2)
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With the concept finalized, it was time to bring it to life.
This is where things start getting difficult.
To use an extreme analogy, the gap between concept and implementation was as vast as the one between a child's dream of becoming president and the reality of making it happen.
From the modeling stage to the Jailer's mechanics, difficulty balancing, and the flow of the boss fight, there were countless things to consider.
Let's break it down one by one.
‘The modeling isn't a huge concern.’
It was like the child deciding to major in political science to become president.
After all, the character's concept was already perfected in the previous game.
There were two key points to watch for in the modeling: first, erasing the sense of incongruity that comes with rendering a pixelated SD character in 3D, and second, recreating the Jailer's distinct, creaking movements.
Since this was essentially a problem the art team could handle on their own, I decided to focus my attention elsewhere.
This was like the political science major trying to enter the world of politics.
None other than balancing and mechanic implementation.
‘He’s the protagonist of the previous game.’
That was proving to be a pretty big obstacle.
For players of the original—the core fanbase of *Hellic*—the Jailer might be an even more beloved character than Alice, the protagonist of the sequel.
Affection for a character leads directly to analysis.
And the users had already pieced together known information with details provided by the developers to form a solid image of the Jailer's lore.
『Isn't the Jailer the strongest one in Hell? I mean, from a story perspective, he's a torture expert who kills all the sinners.』
It was true.
Even among all I had seen of Hell, the Jailer was one of the strongest beings.
There were many reasons.
Because he belonged to Hell from the very beginning, and because he knew nothing of annihilation.
Because he was so numb that he couldn't even grasp the vastness of eternity.
In every situation I knew of, the Jailer had never once experienced defeat.
‘And that Jailer has to appear as an enemy. He has to be overwhelming.’
But imagine if the Jailer was cleared too easily. It would shatter his character.
On the other hand, what if he's too difficult?
‘That's a problem in its own right.’
This is a game.
It's a form of play where you strive toward the goal of ‘clearing’ it, so we have to choose an appropriate difficulty that the vast majority of players can overcome.
But imagine cranking the difficulty up to the extreme just to protect the lore.
The game would fail.
It's like putting up a wall right in front of the finish line.
‘This is tricky.’
In truth, bringing in the protagonist of a previous game was a hardcore task that inevitably doubled the development difficulty.
But I did it anyway.
The path that could be more fun—that's the highest priority in my development process.
Fortunately, balancing wasn't entirely impossible.
‘Let's use *Hellic*'s lore.’
I just needed to provide the ‘plausibility’ necessary for Butterfly's victory, something that could be inferred from fragments of information.
‘The Jailer's style and power change depending on the weapon he uses.’
That was true for all of *Hellic*, and it would be for future *Hellic* games as well.
Building on that point, I would set the Jailer's weapon.
‘A hacksaw.’
The first basic weapon you get when starting *Hellic 1*.
What if the Jailer showed up with that?
Why would he use an endgame weapon just to catch two women?
Doing so would create a plausible balance.
It would give a mere sinner of a woman a sliver of a chance to stand against the Jailer.
Of course, even so, it's still a sinner versus a jailer.
That dramatic power gap can't be overturned.
Besides, if the Jailer showed up with just a hacksaw and lost to the woman, wouldn't he get slapped with some ridiculous meme like ‘Careless Man’?
So, the direction of the fight needed to be presented differently.
‘Time attack.’
You hang on for a set amount of time against an unbeatable foe.
The advantage is that it can express the desperation of a mother protecting her child.
However, the disadvantage is that if surviving is the only mechanic, it creates the option of ‘just run away from the Jailer the whole time.’
That's why a second element is needed.
‘Countering the gimmick.’
The player must counter the Jailer's patterns at specific phases.
Failure to counter means instant death, forcing a retry.
‘...This could work.’
The fine details would have to be worked out once the polygon models were implemented, but this approach would allow me to design a boss fight that satisfied both tension and narrative.
In other words, it would provide a clean resolution for the ending, which had to change with the inclusion of the Jailer.
Let's imagine it.
The continuous battle between Butterfly and the Jailer. The Jailer remains steadfast, but as Butterfly counters each gimmick, the cracks on her body grow more severe.
By the time she counters the final pattern, Butterfly's arms will have already crumbled to pieces.
At that moment, the golden door vanishes completely.
The two of them see it happen.
Only then does Butterfly collapse with a bright smile.
Because she has fulfilled her purpose of protecting her daughter.
As she crumbles and dies, she keeps smiling, her gaze fixed on the spot where the door disappeared.
And then, a single line.
-...Farewell.
Immediately after, she turns to dust and is swept away by the incoming tide.
His target sinner dead, the Jailer retrieves his weapon and turns away.
Swaaaah—
The sound of the waves will fill the air.
The empty beach will be shown on screen, and the ending credits will roll over it.
I'll need BGM. I'll ask Jo A-yun for some lyrical music.
After savoring the lingering emotions of the ending, it's on to the next playthrough.
The structure is good.
Since players will go into their second playthrough knowing Butterfly's identity, they'll be able to see her dialogue, actions, and motivations from a different perspective.
Of course, I can't just end it there.
‘Now I have to think about the in-game fun.’
Even if the narrative is completed this way, the game itself continues as long as the player doesn't put it down.
Let's add some changes for multiple playthroughs.
And,
‘there has to be a gift for the perverts.’
A hidden route for the final boss fight.
Just like with the Cancer Giant in the previous game, it would be good to create something similar this time.
After all, aren't Easter eggs another source of fun in games?
I immediately began planning it.
* * *
Before I knew it, it was November.
The whirlwind of autumn had passed, and the university was bustling with preparations for final exams.
Looking at the wider world, it was a day in 2010 that made me think, ‘Right, this is what it was like back then.’
“An Italian artisan, one stitch~ at a time~.”
“Kyahahaha! Awe-some! You sound just like him!”
“Myeong-gyu, Myeong-gyu, you're so cool!”
In one corner of the office, Myeong-gyu was clowning around in a sparkly tracksuit.
In an era when broadcast media still reigned supreme, a hit drama like that would set the world abuzz with talk of it wherever you went.
This period was no different.
A romance between a third-generation chaebol in a sparkly tracksuit and a dirt-poor heroine, I think? I remember enjoying it back in the day.
“Myeong-gyu, Myeong-gyu! Do that one! That one!”
“M-Ms. Gwon Ra-im, since when were you so pretty...?”
“Bwahahaha!”
Many thoughts crossed my mind.
Really... so many thoughts.
‘Ah! Myeong-gyu...!’
But I held back.
He looked happy, after all.
I glanced at another corner of the office.
Han Seo-rim, a recent convert to smartphones, was getting the hang of a model from a brand famous for its sturdy electronics, flicking through the screen.
I looked to see what she was doing. It was an online community again.
She never seems to get tired of it.
“...”
Is our office really going to be okay like this?
The thought occurred to me just as Jo A-yun walked in.
“Ah, hello...!”
The moment she opened the door.
Thud—
Jo A-yun and Myeong-gyu both froze at the same time.
So did everyone else.
Because the two of them were wearing identical sparkly tracksuits.
“...”
“...”
The two stared at each other.
Then they looked down at their own clothes.
Their eyes met again, and I could see a storm of indescribable emotions swirling within them.
The most visible were bewilderment, followed by shock, and then a dawning sense of denial and despair... was that self-loathing?
One thing was certain, though: they were seeing themselves in each other.
It was, in a way, like they were undergoing mirror therapy.
“Huh? What's this, did you two coordinate your outfits?”
Han Seo-rim, absorbed in her online community, chimed in cluelessly late.
Jo A-yun slipped out of the office.
About ten minutes later, she returned, back in her usual frog-green tracksuit.
Myeong-gyu had also taken off the sparkly tracksuit.
His T-shirt today featured a drawing of a goat and a wolf tearing at each other.
The meeting room had the atmosphere of a funeral, except for the dramatic duo, who were cackling.
I spoke.
“...Let's start the meeting.”
That's enough fooling around.
We're not a university club anymore (though we did start as one), and we can't let a little incident interfere with work.
Fortunately, the team members quickly composed themselves.
Except for Myeong-gyu and Jo A-yun.
Anyway,
“It's about time we started.”
“Started what?”
“What do you think?”
The prototype development is nearing its end.
Including the final boss, which was quite a headache, all that's left for the game is the programming and sound.
From now on, it's the countdown to release.
So, what do we need to do?
“We need to start marketing.”
Promotion.
The time had come to announce our product to the world, to say, ‘Our game is coming out. Please buy our game.’
And that's the thing about promotional marketing.
The most basic, and best, marketing is to show the product itself.
In the case of a game...
“We need to make a trailer.”
A promotional trailer.
A promotional tool that didn't play a huge role when we made *Hellic 1*, but one that would now have real power, given how much we've grown.
“The art team is done with the first round of modeling, so you don't have much to do, right? Let's get it done within a month.”
December was just around the corner.
The 25th is Christmas.
In other words, it was time to become Santa for the users who had been waiting for *Hellic 2*.
* * *
December 24th, Christmas Eve.
Carols echoed throughout the world.
The streets were filled with trees glittering with LED lights, and smiles never left people's faces.
Watching it all from the warmth of one's room would surely bring a sense of comfort.
And indeed, there were those feeling that very comfort from their rooms.
『(Chat)SweetBelfGuy38: Christmas... My unlucky year is just around the corner... ^^
(Game)S2PoppyS2: Recommend me a cozy game for Christmas!
(Game)ServantOfEvilKimGapSu: Aiwon guild is recruiting!
(Chat)PureAsTears: @guy above, what are you doing in a general gaming community? Get lost and go to your own siteㅡㅡ
(Chat)WaitingForHellic2: Day 381 of waiting. Weather: cold.
(Chat)zZoneHanSu: Ah! I'm so lonely!』
Needless to say, these were the hardcore users of the gaming community.
Pioneers of the metaverse, living in the digital world even on a day like this.
Going out was a waste of time.
More accurately, they had nothing to go out for.
Why? Because they had no plans!
Everyone said, ‘I'm fine,’ but there were definitely some who weren't.
You could tell from the posts looking for a few users who were unusually quiet today.
『(Chat)zZoneHanSu: Where'd FlowerJaehee and Bangbae-dong go...』
...Anyway, it was that kind of day.
The community was peaceful as always, with a constant stream of new chat posts and a few informative articles about games.
It was posted in that very moment.
At exactly 6 P.M.
『(Promo)SeorimSeorim: Here's the Hellic 2 trailer!』
It was the trailer for a game someone had been desperately waiting for.
『
WaitingForHellic2: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
PureAsTears: Oh
S2PoppyS2: Gasp! I'll enjoy the meal!』
The post contained a link.
It led to a video streaming site with a red icon, one that wasn't yet famous.
But it wasn't just that community.
The same post went up on the North American community servers, and countless users clicked the link, heading to the nearly five-minute-long trailer.
And so, the video began.
[Aaaaaaaah!]
The woman's scream, which had now become a signature sound.
Simultaneously, the name [STUDIO REWIND] appeared.
Swaaaaaah—
The video opened with the sound of waves, showing a beach.
A young girl appeared, and a butterfly flew toward her.
A dreamlike encounter. The moment the butterfly landed on the girl's fingertip, the sharp, dissonant sound of string instruments began to play as BGM.
Dum, dum, the beat of a drum added to the rhythm.
The girl departs.
The scene changes.
First, a utopia, heretics, and a flower garden where a giant god resides.
Clang!
With the sound, the scene shifted to a purple landscape, an illusion causing optical tricks, and a distorted mass of human bodies.
Splurt!
Next, a black land, emaciated humans, and a giant, so thin its bones were visible, yet with a grotesquely swollen belly.
Crack!
A plain where ash fell silently. Countless spears resembling thorns jutted from the ground, and perched atop them was a human with the head of a mountain goat, its body pierced by dozens of spears.
Snap!
With a final sharp crack, the crescendoing music subsides.
Swaaaaaah—
Once again, the screen shows the beach.
Where clouds obscure the moonlight, and a golden door stands alone, holding back the waves.
Crunch—
The sound of footsteps on sand.
Crunch— Crunch—
Neither fast nor slow, the sound grows louder.
Leisurely, yet empty, only the sounds of the waves and the footsteps break the silence.
The camera pans to the sky.
The clouds hiding the moonlight part.
It was at that moment.
Shing—
An unsettling metallic sound.
The screen once again shows the ground.
A pale, deathly white foot, sunk deep in the sand.
The angle pans up, showing tattered black burial shrouds, then up to the nape of the neck, and finally to the face, revealed as the cloud-like shadow slowly recedes.
And there it was: eyes and mouth sewn shut, a severed nose, nailed ears, and pale, paralyzed blue skin.
Kkiiik—
For a split second, the figure of the Jailer holding a hacksaw is revealed.
Thump!
The screen cuts to black.
[Hellic 2: Hell of Alice]
With the title displayed in red, the video ended.
The first comment was posted.
『Fuck?』
The monumental first comment was a curse word.
Trailer (2)