Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Operator Channel Project
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The next morning.
As soon as I entered the office with a light heart, I heard some astonishing news.
"You finished the test assignment? Already?"
Yerin nodded and said,
"To be precise, it's not completely finished."
"How far did you get?"
"Want to check it out?"
I followed Yerin to Yena's desk, where empty Red Bull and Monster cans were scattered everywhere.
I tried to ignore the disastrous sight and looked at the monitor. Instead of the 3D Max from yesterday, ZBrush was open.
My eyes met those of the untextured, achromatic, expressionless Operator—not a rough polygon lump anymore.
"She worked through the night and finished the retopology, but coloring was impossible, so she just collapsed on her desk."
Hearing Yerin's explanation, I examined Yena's creation.
The Operator's signature star embedded in her pupil and the ring of light around her neck were all perfectly implemented.
It was unbelievable quality for a beginner whose only experience was a few freelance gigs, achieved in just one day.
'No wonder the art team staff were impressed by Yena's work yesterday.'
"Senior, this means Yena passes, right?"
"Of course. Shouldn't we tell her directly? Has she gone home?"
"No, she's dead to the world in the nap room after pulling an all-nighter, so I'll let her know when she wakes up."
I nodded at Yerin's words.
"Senior, I'll head into the art team office first then. I've got some backlog."
"Sure."
Leaving Yerin behind as she entered the art team office, I returned to my personal workspace.
'Alright, so today's tasks...'
I sat in my chair, pondering for a moment, then pulled out my smartphone first.
'I should call SFLAG today.'
If Yena's 3D skills had been mediocre, I would've unhesitatingly recommended her to SFLAG.
Her talent as a cartoonist was plenty impressive too.
But now that I knew she had real knack for 3D, I couldn't just send her there—I needed to negotiate an agreement.
'This is getting annoying...'
I went to the break room first and brewed an Americano.
The caffeine forcibly woke my sluggish morning brain, and I immediately made the call.
The recipient was, naturally, Tanaka.
After a few rings, the call connected.
[Director, what's up so early in the morning?]
"Ah, sorry to call first thing, Tanaka. I have something to discuss, so I reached out urgently."
[No problem. I just got to the office myself. Go ahead.]
I gathered my thoughts briefly and explained everything that had happened with Yena so far.
Of course, skipping the 3D details.
"...So that's why I called to ask what you plan to do."
[Hold on, so... the four-panel cartoonist we were looking for is actually the younger sister of our game art director, and she's already been hired at your company?]
"That's right."
[Heh, wow... This is a first for us too.]
"If you don't have a set plan yet, how about this?"
[What, got a good idea?]
"SFLAG wants the four-panel comics themselves, not necessarily the artist, right?"
[Well, yeah...]
"Then how about we handle the freelance contract with the artist directly on our end?"
[Hm... So you'll deliver the comics from Enson, and we'll just handle translation and official account uploads?]
"Exactly. No downside for SFLAG, right? No contract hassles—just translate and post."
[...This isn't something I can decide solo, so can we talk again in about 10—no, 30 minutes?]
"Of course. Call whenever."
[Got it. Excuse me for a bit.]
From Tanaka's reaction before hanging up, it seemed my proposal had landed well.
We were offering to handle the contract work they'd normally do themselves.
Turning it down would've been the weird choice.
And sure enough, my hunch proved right when the phone rang back soon after.
[Director. It's approved just as you suggested. They just want to know when serialization can start.]
"Great. I'll coordinate with the artist soon and get back to you."
[Sounds good. We'll wait—let us know once it's settled.]
Right after hanging up with Tanaka, I called Seol into the office.
It was to elevate the planning doc we'd shelved due to undecided staffing into a full project.
And that day, Seol's plan was officially promoted to the Operator Channel Project.
*
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Once staffing was finalized and the Operator Channel Project kicked off in earnest, things got insanely busy—no time to breathe.
First, I assigned Yena, now officially on staff and coming in daily, to texture the Operator model and handle rigging.
Rigging—adding the skeleton—was the final step to complete the model for video use.
Leaving Yena looking distraught at the flood of tasks right from the start of her day, I next contacted SFLAG.
They seemed briefly surprised by the sudden project news but happily agreed to help.
And that help was...
"Hello. I'm Lina Takahashi, the voice actress for Operator."
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Ji Hojin, General Director of Girls Memorial."
Arranging a meeting with the voice actress playing Operator.
Normally, agencies handle voice actor scheduling, so direct meetings aren't necessary, but...
Today, there were project details to coordinate, so it couldn't be helped.
As our ordered coffees arrived, I handed Lina my business card while she took a sip.
"Thank you. Director is fine, right?"
"Call me whatever's comfortable."
"Okay, Director it is. So, why did you want to meet today...?"
"This is why."
I pulled out the pre-prepared documents and handed them to her.
The first page bore the title: Operator Channel Project.
In Japanese, of course.
Lina took the papers and began reading with an intrigued expression.
I quietly waited as her blonde hair fell over one side while she focused.
How much time passed?
After finishing, Lina carefully set the documents on the table and looked at me.
"It's interesting. My agency hasn't said a word yet... Any reason you showed me the project first?"
"I have a few questions and a request."
She nodded after sipping her coffee.
"Ask away."
"As you'll have seen in the project plan, we'll be using motion capture for this video shoot."
Lina's eyes widened with curiosity.
"Motion capture?"
"Yes. Cutting-edge tech—simply put, we film your movements and overlay the character on top."
I handed her a photo from my bag.
"But it requires prep like in this photo and can be tough, so if you're not up for it, we can use a stand-in..."
"Sounds good. I'll do it."
"Pardon?"
"I'll do the shoot."
"You sure?"
Her immediate response left me flustered, but she doubled down without hesitation.
"I love trying new methods like this. Voice work's gotten a bit stale lately."
Her face definitely looked more vibrant than before.
'The thrill-seeking type, huh...'
I nodded, reminded of the world's variety.
"For now, check the episode 1 script and confirm the video concept."
I handed her the script from the table.
"When voicing Operator, you interpreted her as emotionless, right?"
She nodded slowly while scanning the script.
"Ah, yes. Operator's an AI created by the World Tree, awakened by the administrator—her emotions would be a blank slate."
I was impressed inwardly.
Her take matched exactly what I'd envisioned when shaping the character.
"Spot-on interpretation. But for this video, add a touch more emotion than in the main game."
"Won't that clash? Personality shift might upset fans..."
"That's where you come in. Deliver acting that's close enough to the main game but fresh for users."
Lina jotted notes in her pad and nodded.
"If you're asking that seriously... I'll give it my best."
"Thanks. Looking forward to working with you on the project."
Even after the meeting with voice actress Lina Takahashi wrapped, the killer schedule continued.
Completing Operator's 3D model.
Shooting motion capture footage and recording lines with Lina.
Art team's video editing.
Finally, uploading the finished Operator Channel episode 1 to SFLAG's cloud.
By the time it all wrapped, a full month had flown by.