Chapter 95
Chapter 95
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Collective Intelligence
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Until now, the planning team meetings had mostly followed a pattern where I would give instructions, and the team members would agree and follow.
Therefore, this gathering, where we all sat around and shared our opinions, was quite awkward for both me and the team.
The reason I pushed for it, nonetheless, was because I saw the possibility that collective intelligence could yield more meaningful results than what I could create alone.
“...and that is the direction we’ve currently set. Does anyone have any ideas related to this?”
My explanation of the future direction for *Identity* was finished.
The team's reaction was positive.
Opinions came out right away.
Mr. Park Ho-su was the first.
“President, do you have any plans for multiplayer?”
“Multiplayer, you mean?”
“Yes.”
What followed was a rather long statement, uncharacteristic of Mr. Park.
“I understand that the focus is on role-playing. I think strengthening the life-skill content is a good idea. Regardless of the QA team's reaction, its effectiveness has already been proven in various RPGs. However, from that perspective, I believe we also need to consider ‘how it will be perceived.’ After all, the human desire for ownership is invariably intertwined with the desire to show off.”
An expected opinion.
Moreover, he had touched upon a key point.
I nodded.
“I am considering multiplayer as well. As you said, Mr. Park, the act of creating something is inevitably tied to the emotion of wanting to show it off.”
Without need for a complex explanation, one could understand this just by looking at the ‘online MMORPG’ genre, as Mr. Park’s example illustrated.
Just thinking of the leading domestic titles, there was Mabinogi, a pioneer in this field, and ArcheAge, which elevated freedom through player interactions like housing and raiding.
The slogans such games put forward are ‘Another Me’ or ‘Interaction.’
That’s because this is precisely what players find appealing.
It’s a perfectly natural phenomenon, so no one needs to be ashamed of it.
History proves this as well.
Weren't the tea parties of medieval European nobles a prime example of how obsessed humans are with showing off and interacting?
Setting aside the digression, there was one more characteristic most of those games shared.
“Games with a high degree of freedom tend to have very high player loyalty.”
That is, the attachment to the game is quite deep.
So much so that the genre earned the nickname ‘salmon games.’
No matter how much they quit due to a disagreeable patch, they would eventually reminisce about the good times and log back in.
The concept of ‘my own thing’ had a way of evoking a unique sentiment that nothing else could replace.
However, I couldn't create a full-fledged online environment for that reason alone.
There was a fact that shouldn't be forgotten.
“Ultimately, this is a console package game. Creating an online environment is more difficult than you might think.”
“Do you have a method in mind?”
“I’m thinking of limited multiplayer. If what players want from interacting with others through housing content is to satisfy their desire to show off, then we’ll tailor it strictly to that concept.”
At those words, Mr. Park let out a small “Ah” and replied.
“The main story will be solo-only, is that right?”
“Yes, it’s best to prevent exploits like obtaining high-tier seedlings or recipes by joining someone else’s main story. Additionally, we won’t implement a trading system. Exchanging items via drops will also be disabled.”
“It would certainly be problematic if a market for in-game currency formed. It’s a package game, after all.”
“Yes, a package game should fundamentally be a format where a player can experience all content fully on their own.”
Thus, the game's multiplayer function will be designed strictly to satisfy the desire to show off by inviting others to one's village to look around.
If I were to add another feature… a co-op labor system for helping with menial tasks like mining or chopping wood out of pure goodwill would be nice.
Mr. Park nodded, having understood.
Next up was Mr. Kang Ji-seok.
“Then the important thing is the sense of achievement at each milestone. How about adding experience points or levels to each life-skill content? Conveniently, in *Identity*, players acquire each type of content through an item called a ‘face.’”
“Adding levels to the items?”
“Yes, or we could call it proficiency. I played a game like that once, and it was quite good. When you can see the experience bar, you get more invested in the grinding content, don't you think?”
Mr. Kang smiled.
This was certainly a good idea.
“Let’s go with that. Please draft the detailed specifications for it.”
“Yep.”
More opinions followed.
“What about linking life-skill content? Like combining tailoring and blacksmithing to create special equipment…”
“Oh! How about grades or levels for farming tools?”
“I think we should prioritize intuitiveness. Too many systems will create a barrier to entry for understanding them.”
“Oh! What about an NPC affinity system? Since the NPCs you rescue during the main story’s turning points join the player’s village, right? I think it could create a deeper attachment to the NPCs!”
A sense of surprise washed over me.
It was because I was beginning to see the capabilities of the planning team, something I hadn't realized when I was trying to do everything myself.
Have they been thinking of these kinds of ideas all this time?
‘I…’
Perhaps I hadn't been utilizing this team properly until now.
A feeling of self-reflection began to well up inside me.
“Um, can I say something too?”
The team’s youngest member, Ms. Yesl, cautiously raised her hand.
When I nodded, she began to speak.
“Life-skill content is good, but I don’t think it should overshadow the adventure, which is the main part of the game. *Identity* is the story of E-40 wandering the empire and growing.”
“That’s true, isn’t it?”
“Yes. You’ve already done a great job of connecting it narratively and systematically, President… but I still think there will be people who aren’t interested in life-skill content. I’m one of them. When I play games, I just like to fight.”
She smiled awkwardly, having hit the nail on the head.
I thought for a moment and was soon able to come up with a rather plausible solution.
“...Let’s do this. The game can be cleared without engaging in life-skill content. However, the stat ceiling can only be broken by doing both.”
“Ah, that would work well.”
“That was a good point. There is a certain balance required for game progression.”
As the meeting continued, the silhouette of the game *Identity* became clearer.
Before we knew it, two hours had passed.
Yet the team members didn't stop pouring out their ideas.
I should probably wrap up today’s meeting for now, organize the content, and then continue in the next one.
Just as I was thinking that.
“P-President…!”
Jo A-yun, who had been observing the meeting, spoke up.
Did she have an opinion too?
I looked at her and nodded, and she said.
“Ca-can’t we fight with things like farming tools or pickaxes?”
Suddenly, a stir went through the entire planning team.
Jo A-yun smiled brightly and said.
“A-a pickaxe to the head… thwack…! Th-the secret martial art passed down to a single successor…! The legendary head-splitting pickaxe technique…!”
The planning team members looked at each other.
I, too, shared their glance, feeling a sensation like a bolt of lightning striking my mind.
Mr. Park muttered.
“…A hidden combat skill that unlocks when you raise the level of a life-skill ‘face’ and the affinity with the related NPC to a certain point?”
“Yes, yes…!”
The moment Jo A-yun nodded, the team and I exchanged a look of understanding.
‘That’s good.’
That is a… very interesting system.
***
-What do I do now! I’m going to be caught by the Expressionless and punished!
E-40 fretted and pondered before coming up with a brilliant solution.
He would hide the farmer in a secret place no one knew about!
He knew of one such place.
It was in a good location, with human interaction at a level of absolute zero, and a place where the farmer could do all the gardening he wanted.
-What? You want me to follow you?
E-40 nodded and led the farmer away.
The place they arrived at was a forest.
It was the very place where he had lived with Smile.
-This is a ruin, isn't it? The hut is burned down.
E-40 felt a pang of sadness.
He remembered that he had left in such a hurry that he couldn't even retrieve Smile’s remains.
Seeing that the other knights’ bodies were also gone, it seemed a follow-up team had disposed of all the corpses here.
E-40 forced down his rising melancholy, shook his head, and led the farmer deeper into the woods.
They couldn't stay in a hut that had already been discovered.
The place E-40 was heading to was a clearing in the forest near a cliff.
It was a place impossible to find unless one knew the terrain from living there, and even if one knew the geography, it was a very secluded, sunny piece of land that couldn't be entered carelessly.
E-40 himself had stumbled upon this place by chance while wandering the forest to hunt.
-This is it? Wow…!
The farmer gasped in admiration.
E-40 felt a strange sense of pride.
He gently touched the soil of the clearing and then spoke in a voice filled with awe.
-The soil is excellent! It’s so rich in nutrients that anything planted here will grow strong and healthy! I can do my gardening here without anyone ever finding out!
The smile on the farmer's face grew wider.
He spoke to E-40 in a voice thick with emotion.
-Thank you! Thanks to you, I’ve found my dream and my safety! I don't know how I can ever repay this kindness!
The farmer embraced E-40 and continued.
-I’ll build my foundation here! Come visit often! Oh, I’ll give you this! It’s called a spatial teleportation magic stone. If you plant its core here, you’ll be able to return to this place no matter where you are! Of course, don’t forget to use it in a safe place!
E-40 took the magic stone and nodded.
He thought to himself that he would have to visit the farmer often.
Then something occurred to him.
E-40 belatedly asked what he should do with the ‘Sun-Scrunched Face’ he had taken from him.
The farmer replied cheerfully.
-That? You keep it! You can use it to walk around outside, or if you ever want to try farming, give it a go. While you’re wearing that face, you’ll gain incredible talent in farming!
An unexpected gain.
With this, he would be able to enter the heart of a city with ease.
As E-40 jumped up and down with joy, the farmer said with a warm smile.
-This smile is amazing. Just having it on my face gives me the confidence that I can become someone who can do anything! I’m having the happiest moment of my life! You’ll probably meet other people and share this smile with them too, right?
E-40 nodded.
Just as she had said that smiles spread, he felt that this smile could save many unhappy people.
The farmer responded to that.
-Then bring the people who gain a smile to this place! The outside world is dangerous, so let’s build a village just for us! Smile Village! What do you think? Let’s create the happiest village together!
His dream-like voice seeped into E-40’s heart.
E-40 particularly liked the name ‘Smile Village.’
He nodded vigorously, and the farmer laughed, “Hahaha!”
-Then do your best! I’m going to build my house and start growing flowers right away! Oh, and if you have any questions about farming, just ask anytime!
And so, after establishing Smile Village with the farmer, E-40 set off on his journey once again.
He now had two faces.
***
The plan had taken shape.
*Identity* was to be a game that complexly linked and created interaction between a combat-based main story and housing content centered on life skills.
Here was the problem.
How does an ‘awesome idea,’ born from the planning team racking their brains, become a game?
The answer.
“The new plan is here.”
It is made with the blood and sweat of the programming team.
Go Myeong-gyu smiled awkwardly as he watched his team members’ faces instantly darken.
It was an understandable reaction.
‘We have a lot more to do.’
The number of elements to implement had drastically increased.
Especially with the life-skill content, there were even crafted items that linked different professions, making the code that needed to be written much more complex.
He could guess what was coming.
Whatever they imagined, bugs even more bizarre than that would manifest in the game.
‘We haven’t even fixed the flying calf bug yet.’
A sigh almost escaped him, but Myeong-gyu held it back.
If he, the team leader, showed a lack of spirit, the team's morale would plummet.
So, instead of a sigh, he chose something else.
The corporate card emerged from his chest.
“Let’s have beef tonight. We’re in for some hard work for a while.”
He was a pretty good leader who knew how to handle people.
***
A short while later, in the QA department.
It was the day for testing the newly implemented system’s test cases (TC).
An employee, Jin-seong, spoke to his team leader, Seong-cheol, in a disgruntled voice.
“Team Leader.”
“Yeah.”
“I can’t get out.”
Click, click. Jin-seong’s hands tapping the controller were frantic.
In contrast, Team Leader Seong-cheol’s demeanor was calm.
“Out of what.”
“Sir, I can’t leave your village. This is a multiplayer bug, isn’t it?”
They were in the middle of a demonstration for the co-op labor content.
Jin-seong, who had been helping Seong-cheol gather firewood, was feeling greatly perplexed by his current inability to log out.
Seong-cheol let out a low sigh and murmured.
“Jin-seong, you still don’t get it?”
“What?”
Just as Jin-seong’s head tilted in confusion.
“You’ve been kidnapped.”
“?”
“Go chop some more wood. I’ll file the report later.”
Jin-seong stared at Seong-cheol with cold eyes.
Angel (1)