Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Next Game Planning
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Let's rewind time a little to the day the Liberty Unnon PV dropped.
Heading back to the office ahead of the team, a chain of worries started swirling in my head.
The reason? The butterfly effect from all the changes since my regression.
All the plans I'd sketched out so far had been based on memories from before my regression.
But Girls Memorial's massive success had thrown every future timeline out of whack.
'I should've prepared for Inmila launching early.'
The biggest issue right now was not knowing when the upcoming games would actually drop.
Girls Memorial was a social game.
A classic early social game built around story, PVP, and assorted mini-contents.
It stayed popular thanks to Yi Yerin's stellar art direction and the story's sheer pull,
but flip that around, and it meant any game that outdid that pull could knock it off the top spot anytime.
The silver lining? We knew about the competition most likely to do just that.
Grand Arc Phantasm, coming next year. Nicknamed "Wan."
The game from Japan that would later spark all those gacha regulations—and earn the moniker "Demon of Gacha."
If I didn't know the future, we'd be blindsided. But at this point, we could prepare.
In this situation, I had only one option.
The next game.
Girls Memorial hadn't even hit its first anniversary yet, so it felt a tad premature,
but it was time to start brainstorming.
To do that, first... I called Seol.
Collaborating with the Creative Director was essential for next-game planning.
I messaged her and waited a bit until I heard a knock, followed by Seol's voice.
"D-Director? You there...?"
"Door's open. Come in."
"Y-Yes...!"
The door creaked open cautiously, and Seol poked her head in before stepping inside with a bow.
"Y-You called for me?"
"Yeah. Got something to discuss. Sit."
"Okay...."
She perched gingerly on the sofa edge.
I grabbed a soda from the fridge and handed it over as I asked,
"How's the planning team these days? Pretty slammed?"
"The planning team...?"
"Yeah."
Seol paused, thinking, then smiled faintly.
"N-Not really busy. The main story update's in final stages, and there's just the summer event story left for peak season...."
"Got it."
If planning had been swamped, I'd have brainstormed solo....
Lucky break.
"Anyway, the reason I called you in is...."
Her expression turned serious as I laid out the whole plan.
Of course, skipping anything tied to pre-regression memories.
Seol's eyes went wide, clearly surprised.
"S-So, you're saying... you called me to brainstorm the next game?"
"Right."
"B-But isn't it a bit early for next-game planning...? Girls Memorial hasn't hit one year yet...."
I shook my head.
"You're right; the timing's a little off. Normally, I'd wait till after the anniversary."
"Yeah...."
"But Girls Memorial blew up so huge that competitors are launching way faster than expected."
"Ah...."
"Still, we're just brainstorming for now."
"O-Okay. So, what do you need me to do...?"
I pondered her question for a sec before replying.
"Any urgent tasks on your plate right now?"
"N-Nearly none. Main and event stories just need final approvals, and no content planned at the moment...."
"Perfect. Then...."
Half a day to organize the scattered next-game concepts and draft the planning doc.
Half a day to gather materials for the brainstorm.
One day should be plenty.
"Come to the meeting room tomorrow at 2 PM. Wrap up anything else beforehand."
Seol nodded readily.
"Got it."
*
The next afternoon.
I arrived twenty minutes early for my meet with Seol and started setting up the room.
Drinks for during the meeting. Copied two sets of the planning doc with main story and concepts.
USB with helpful materials plugged into the room PC, projector ready to go.
By the time I'd handled all the tedious stuff, it was right on schedule.
Three minutes to 2 PM.
Seol slipped in, face full of apologies.
"S-Sorry...! Had a ton of approvals today, so I wrapped them early...."
"You're still early. No rush mistakes, right?"
She shook her head.
"Checked everything twice...."
"Good. Sit."
As she took her assigned seat, I handed over the pre-printed planning doc.
"This is the main story and concepts I whipped up for the next game. Read through and give feedback if anything jumps out."
She nodded and dove in.
I waited patiently, watching her pore over it with a focused look.
How much time passed?
She set it down and looked up.
"Um... Director, a few questions okay...?"
"Fire away. Ask whatever."
She hesitated, then spoke.
"The story mentions the World Tree from Girls Memorial... Shared universe?"
"Not shared—parallel worlds. Centered on the World Tree."
"Got it. Story seems solid overall? A few settings need tweaks, but...."
"Yeah?"
"The big picture holds up, so story's good to go. But the genre's... blank?"
"Yeah... haven't nailed that down."
Seol looked shocked, but no helping it.
I'd wrestled with it all night, no dice.
Girls Memorial was CCG social from the jump, no issues.
But the next one had to counter Grand Arc Phantasm next year, so it needed solid play content.
I'd mulled genres over and over....
Rhythm games and action-adventures were out.
Rhythm was a bloodbath red ocean, didn't fit the story anyway.
Action-adventure? Smartphones weren't there yet, even with huge performance jumps. Our team couldn't swing it.
Left with casual, puzzle, or sims... but those were dead ends too.
Sims had systems locked in Japanese patents.
Casual/puzzle didn't match our user base.
Every option had flaws, so genre stayed blank.
Seol, having heard it all, hemmed and hawed before piping up.
"U-Um... Director?"
"Yeah?"
"If the genre's not set... how about this?"
She handed over her smartphone, excited.
A cute cat and goofy, chibi oni on the title screen.
Cats & Oni.
The casual tower defense mobile hit that once dominated.
Early smartphone smash, still has players here and there....
"Why this...?"
"M-Maybe next game as Cats & Oni-style... tower defense...?"
Tower defense, huh....
Her pitch actually sounded promising.
'Why didn't I think of that?'
Flexible dev could go casual or strategic,
solid fun in the genre, loyal fanbase.
But she seemed to have more; might as well let her roll.
"Tower defense... never crossed my mind. But Cats & Oni feels too casual—tough sell?"
She scrunched her nose, countering.
"Th-That's 'cause Cats & Oni was born casual...."
"Oh?"
"But tower defense doesn't have to be. Like, unlike Cats & Oni, let players place units freely on the map, diversify enemy spawn directions—"
Was she nursing a grudge over no good tower defense since Cats & Oni?
Her spiel kept going nonstop.
A minute in, pushing two... had to cut her off.
"Hold up, Seol. Calm down a bit."
"A-Ah...? Okay."
"So... your three points?"
Free unit placement on map,
RPG elements for character variety,
Special enemies/objects to amp strategy.
She nodded eagerly.
"Y-Yes... Gotta break the classic tower defense mold."
"Hm... not bad?"
Details for planning doc later, but solid roadmap for dev direction.
Finally getting a feel for the game's vibe.
"Think that's enough brainstorming... You did great today."
"N-No, you worked hard, Director... Listening to my ramble...."
"Ramble? Helped a ton."
"R-Really?"
"Yeah. Gave me the direction for the next game."
Her face lit up with anticipation.
I grabbed a pen and filled the blank genre slot.
[Game Genre: Tower Defense RPG]