Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Collaboration (2)
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Switching to emergency alert.
Studio Rewind temporarily became Rewind Prep Academy.
“How’s A-yun’s progress in her classes?”
It was a system run by Director Han Seo-rim.
“Her math is a stable Grade 3. She can maintain that grade even if she fails the killer questions.”
“Social Studies is Grade 4. I don’t think it’ll be easy to raise it. Because of the amount of memorization…”
“Life and Ethics is fluctuating between Grade 3 and 4.”
The teachers for each subject began their briefings.
Han Seo-rim’s eyebrows furrowed in concern.
“...Why is Life and Ethics the risky one? It should be the easiest subject.”
Life and Ethics, its full name.
It was a subject with a reputation for being the most manageable in the humanities curriculum.
The teacher in charge, Kim Hye-ji, spoke as if it were unfair.
“That’s because A-yun is…!”
I had a feeling I knew what Kim Hye-ji was going to say.
I suddenly remembered something Jo A-yun had once said.
-I-It’d be fun if a missile suddenly flew in and killed everyone...!
She had said that on the day we watched a very touching family movie together.
Dopamine addict Jo A-yun, her sensibilities and worldview were quite unique.
Han Seo-rim trembled as if she couldn't bring herself to accept that fact, but soon succumbed to reality.
“...Make her memorize it. Just tell her to cram.”
“Roger…!”
Finally, it was my turn.
“Yeon-ho, how’s A-yun’s foreign language score?”
Foreign language, you ask.
I’ll give you a clear answer.
“It’s touch and go.”
“?”
“A-yun’s weak when it comes to language.”
Touch and go, and by that I mean fluctuating by a single question.
That was the case even after she mastered another type of question from the 30s section, bringing her to a level where she could get two out of three right.
As for the reason.
“She has trouble focusing on the listening part.”
“She gets the listening questions wrong?”
“She says she ends up analyzing the classical music that plays during the listening test.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Tell me about it.”
What could I do when she said it herself?
It was a real shame for me too that the listening section, which everyone assumes is an easy pass, had become her stumbling block.
“But there’s nothing more we can do.”
The lifespan of Rewind Prep Academy: just two days.
It was two days before the big exam.
* * *
Test-takers receive a lot of consideration from society.
This tendency is especially prominent among the adults around them, because they’ve all been through that period and know the tension involved.
A-yun was no exception.
“A-yun, did you sleep well?”
Early in the morning, after receiving her parents' encouragement, she found her coworkers waiting for her in front of the test site.
It was mid-November, when the biting wind made you pull your coat tighter.
With so much attention on her, A-yun felt shy and just nodded.
“Y-Yes…!”
“Did you eat well? Have you used the restroom? Oh! You stopped listening to music, right? I told you not to for a week…”
“E-Everything’s fine…!”
A-yun nodded confidently.
For some reason, she felt sorry that Seo-rim looked more nervous than she did.
‘Should I have studied a little harder?’
A sudden wave of guilt washed over her.
If she had known it would be like this, she wouldn’t have secretly played games at the PC bang for a year.
She should have studied for one more hour a day and memorized ten more vocabulary words.
She shouldn’t have lain down to sleep under the excuse of clearing her head.
Should’ve, should’ve, should’ve…
A-yun was having the same clumsy regrets that all test-takers do.
Of course, that didn’t mean time would rewind.
A-yun felt a pang of guilt from the affection she felt in Seo-rim’s warm embrace.
It felt like needles were pricking her insides.
Just then, Seo-rim whispered.
“You’ll do great. I believe in you, A-yun.”
“Y-Yes…!”
“A-yun-A-yun! Here, have some chocolate! You need sugar for your brain to work!”
“Here’s coffee… no, that’s a diuretic, so let’s go with warm honey water instead!”
The chocolate that popped into her mouth was sweet.
Then, the warmth of the honey water sliding down her throat soothed her nerves.
“Go, A-yun!”
Myeong-gyu said.
Finally, it was Yeon-ho.
“Go crush it. You can do it.”
Shaking a tightly clenched fist with a deadpan expression was so typically Yeon-ho.
The sight made A-yun smile.
Receiving others' expectations and support was still unfamiliar, but it was a happy feeling nonetheless.
She wanted to repay them.
“Y-Yes…!”
The main gate of the high school serving as the test site.
In the middle of the crowd that had come to cheer on the students, A-yun raised a fist above her head and declared.
“I-I’ll crush it…!”
She said, full of fighting spirit.
And so, amidst the cheers, she entered the test site.
“Ugh…!”
Jo A-yun was crushed.
Fortunately, the preliminary scoring showed she had just barely met the minimum grade requirement.
* * *
-Phew! President! Really, if it weren't for you, I don't know what would have happened to our A-yun… I can't thank you enough. Really…!
Jo A-yun's mother showed her gratitude.
It was beef.
“Hehe, this is delicious…”
Jo A-yun, happy that her preliminary scores were a success regardless of the details, was completely relaxed.
Exactly two weeks after the exam.
There was one simple way to describe the change in Jo A-yun.
“You've already gained 20 levels.”
“Yes! I grew overnight!”
“Not regressed?”
“Huh?”
“...It's nothing.”
Well, the exam was over.
As for the practical exam, her teacher said it would be stranger for her to fail, so I guess I could rest easy.
I had to stop thinking about this.
It was time to start thinking about work in earnest.
And as it happened, there was a very important matter.
I returned to the office after the company dinner.
I opened my inbox and viewed the invitation I’d received the day before.
[Congratulations! Your company's Hellic 2: Hell of Alice has…]
To put it in a nutshell, it was this.
‘...An awards ceremony.’
We had been nominated for an award.
In other words, the end of the journey called Hellic 2 was just around the corner.
A wave of emotion washed over me.
I had run toward this moment, and now that the finish line was in sight, all sorts of thoughts were flooding my mind.
But among them, the thought that resonated most deeply was none other than this.
‘...I can finally go.’
My past life came to mind.
The time when I died from overwork right after making ‘Identity’.
Back then, I was the undisputed favorite to win.
The public's evaluation said so, and the numbers said so.
The game's impact was just that immense.
Of course, it was a game I’d made while destroying my body. What else could you expect?
‘But in the end, I never made it to the awards ceremony.’
I died while packing my suitcase.
I was on the phone with Jo A-yun, with less than seven hours until my flight.
The moment came to me vividly, then faded away.
It wasn't important now.
‘I'm back here again.’
That was all that mattered.
I had another chance to see the sight I’d never reached.
The proof I had been so desperate for that day was now extending its hand to me once more.
What should I say?
This feeling, this emotion.
As I pondered, my gaze naturally turned to the office.
“Myeong-gyu! You up for lunch?”
“Ah… P-President! Myeong-gyu is playing games again…”
“Ah, A-yun! You’re playing that game too…!”
“What are you all doing during work hours!”
Looking at the chaotic office, a mix of sighs and laughter rose up from within me.
‘I'm not alone. Not this time.’
It was different from the past.
I'm standing in the same place, but I'm a different person.
I can't erase those days.
But I think I can say I'm better off than I was back then.
At least, I'm not like I was then, so lost in my own world that I couldn't see what was around me.
If there's one other difference… yes.
‘This time, it's not a guaranteed win.’
It wasn't good news.
But it was certainly news that fueled my passion.
I pulled up an internet article, and a gaming news piece immediately showed our competitor.
『Studio Mojin's My Craft Sweeps the Industry!』
My Craft was released a short while ago.
It showed the same devastating performance I remembered, heralding a future where it would record billions in revenue, a future that would not change this time either.
This very My Craft was the opponent we had to compete with for this year's awards.
A complete victory was absolutely impossible.
However, it wasn't hopeless.
‘We can compete. If it's decided by initial sales alone, for now.’
Of course, My Craft was My Craft.
An unprecedented masterpiece in indie history, and a magnum opus that would build up an absolute sales volume that no one could ever hope to surpass.
A cultural phenomenon that transcended gaming.
However, its rise to such heights was a matter for the future.
For now, within the confines of the indie scene, Hellic 2's reception was also extraordinary.
‘I pushed the initial sales beyond their limits. All to take this one down.’
Of course, one could cite various practical reasons for the marketing, but in the end, the core reason was this game.
To win the Indie GOTY, we had to sell enough to be able to compete with My Craft, and for that reason, I tried every aggressive marketing tactic I could.
It was necessary, and this trophy would be sweeter than anything in the world.
Because this award wouldn't stop at just GOTY.
‘It has to be now.’
This period was the only chance to earn the title of 'the indie game that beat My Craft'.
Even if we couldn't win, just posing a threat would create quite a stir.
It was inevitable; even GTV5, which had broken all-time AAA sales records, couldn't beat My Craft's total revenue.
It was another sky above the sky.
In the coming future, what game could possibly challenge it again?
Therefore, at this very moment, when its rocket hadn't launched yet and was merely floating somewhere between the atmosphere and the stratosphere, we had to strike and surpass My Craft, even for a brief moment, to add strength to the Hellic IP.
We needed to consider the factors for achieving that.
The best game of the year according to each webzine is the GOTY.
As such, there are hundreds of types of GOTYs, and naturally, they are not all considered to have the same weight.
Right now, there's a trend of using the number of awards won under the banner of "Most GOTYs" as the standard, but that's ultimately just a local trend.
And the talk of some overseas users.
Even that will change in the future.
In the end, what gets major recognition are the so-called "Big Five Game Awards," which are considered the most prestigious.
Among them, the one that would come to be considered the one and only standard for GOTY, The Game Awards.
It's the awards ceremony currently known as the Spike Game Awards.
Fortunately, we were nominated for all five of the Big Five Game Awards.
What we were aiming for was the indie category of those five awards, and the GOTY at the indie game festival called IGF.
‘Awards are the company's brand value.’
A game's awards become a strength for the IP in a different way than sales figures.
This is especially true for packaged games, where reviews have a direct impact on sales.
What's the point of further explaining the market structure where resistance to purchase increases because you're stuck with it once you buy it?
To put it simply, in this market where awards can conversely affect sales, a strong award history is bound to be crucial for our future endeavors.
After all, aren't we aiming for a AAA title next?
Suddenly, a memory about the protagonist of Hellic 3 came to mind.
-You there. You. O heavens. You terrible being.
To properly illuminate their journey, that kind of volume would be essential.
I was lost in thought.
“Yeon-ho! Are you skipping lunch again today? We're going for Chinese.”
Han Seo-rim asked.
I looked at the clock.
It was already one o'clock.
I wasn't particularly hungry.
I had too much to sort out in my head, so I had no appetite.
“You guys go on without me. I have to check some schedules.”
“Ah, the plane tickets for the awards ceremony?”
“Yeah, and I need to start picking out hotels too.”
Just for the Big Five Game Awards, it was a long journey back and forth between North America and Europe.
The team members were happy to get a trip abroad out of it, but as the one in charge, I was faced with a mountain of tedious tasks.
It was a good thing sales were high; the cost of plane tickets alone was enough to break my back.
I was in the middle of coordinating the schedule.
*Ting—!*
Suddenly, an email landed in my inbox.
“Hm?”
Could it be an invitation from another awards ceremony?
The moment I opened the email, thinking just that.
“?”
It was an email from a completely unexpected place.
[Greetings! The Pride of Burgers! This is Burgerland!]
An official email from a hamburger franchise that started with that line.
In summary, it was this:
-Hey, you wanna do a collab with us?
“???”
I had no idea what was going on.
Collaboration (2)