Game Expo Mayhem

The game exhibition was in full swing. 【Ugh… the 22-win streak is finally broken!】

"Huuueeeng." I thought she was just pretending to cry, but her eyes were actually welling up with tears.

"Wailing over something so trivial? How weak."

Word must have already spread while we were playing. Radelli’s viewers came flooding in.

"Comfort her? That thing?"

"You guys are full of crap."

Thinking about it, bullying her once or twice was one thing, but I’d been tormenting her for months without missing a single day. To outsiders it probably looked like she was throwing a tantrum over losing one game, but in reality it was everything that had piled up finally bursting out.

"Still, I should at least protect a guy’s pride, right?"

I walked over to Radelli, who was still sniffling after raging, and she slowly lifted her head.

"Hah, Han Ga-eul?"

When I placed a hand on Radelli’s shoulder, she lowered her head again.

"Radelli."

"I-I’m sorry…"

"Since you’re already crying, cry for a full three minutes."

"…Eh?"

"She’ll leave once she calms down."

Still, as a participation prize I received a panic-field emergency-kit-shaped cushion. Grumble.

While walking around and checking out the nearby booths, a loud voice reached my ears.

"Shall we feed our little one?"

"Food!"

At the word “food,” Baek Seol on my shoulder perked up. She must not have noticed she was hungry ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠while excitedly looking around everywhere. It’s a relief that the little one sleeps well, eats well, and plays well.

Ding!

When I bought a flower and handed it to Baek Seol on my shoulder, she immediately accepted it.

"Eat a lot."

"Okay!"

As I walked a little further up, the delicious smell of food began to waft over.

"Eun-ah unni seems really busy. I’m the free one here."

While heading toward the food court, I spotted a middle-aged man sitting dejectedly on a steel chair inside a small booth. His beard had grown in dark patches and his face looked haggard. Without needing to ask, he had probably poured every last penny into developing a game for some tiny studio, and from the look of things, it was performing terribly.

"Hello."

"…Yes? Ah, yes! Welcome."

His mouth smiled, but there was no hope in his eyes, which were sunken with dark circles.

"Could you tell me about your game?"

"Oh, of course. Our game is a mobile fishing game called Fish & Fishing."

"Aha."

The booth owner handed me his phone, which had the game open. The character holding the fishing rod was stiff as a rock. Even the idling animation was poor. No matter what I touched, there was nothing special about it.

"Kids, take this and try it."

After asking the viewers to try it and some time passed, the booth owner came running over in a hurry. From the way he was holding his phone and talking nonstop, he must have been speaking with his company staff.

"Um… I’m late with my greetings. I didn’t recognize someone so famous."

"Eh? No, I’m just a regular streamer."

"Haha."

A faint glimmer of hope appeared in the owner’s eyes as he smiled awkwardly.

"How do you like our game…?"

"Honestly?"

The booth owner slowly nodded. Even while asking, his tone didn’t suggest he was expecting praise. He probably just hoped it wouldn’t be outright criticized, but this game didn’t even deserve that much. Criticism only comes when there’s interest in the first place.

"You should’ve just held a funeral and told it to die."

While chatting with the viewers, the booth owner stared at me with trembling eyes. He had just received dozens or hundreds of times more attention than usual, so he was probably on edge.

"Sir."

"Y-yes."

"You know how awkward it sounds when you listen to your own recorded voice, right?"

"Yes… I’ve heard that before."

People can instantly tell when someone else is handsome or pretty, but when it’s themselves, humans can’t even judge. The people who made this game knew it had failed, but they probably couldn’t gauge just how badly.

"I’ll speak as a fellow gamer, since both I and my kids like games."

"Please do."

"First, the fish are so realistic they’re unpleasant."

"That’s…"

"You spent a lot of money on it? Still, it’s too much. If you made them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rounder and cuter, it would be much better."

The booth owner’s shoulders slumped.

The viewers, who were better than anyone at dishing out harsh criticism, poured out their opinions one after another. When I showed the continuous chat to the booth owner, he read it without even blinking.

"Sir, do you know that community games are trending these days?"

"Yes, I’m aware."

"From a streamer’s perspective, while some viewers like action games, most prefer a place to chat and tell stories."

The booth owner nodded.

"If you want to capture both viewers who like games and those who like chatting, what kind of game should you make?"

"A community game…?"

"Right. And on top of that, what if popular streamers gathered to play together and showed off their chemistry with fun banter?"

"People would love that."

"Also, nobody wants to stare at a middle-aged man’s butt all day. Please make the characters prettier. No matter what anyone says, most game consumers are men."

"The game ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠itself is solid, so with a few more tweaks it could turn out great. Contact me later and I’ll promote it for you."

"Thank you."

I was just an internet streamer, while he was a developer staking his life on the game. I listened seriously to the opinions of someone I had no right to lecture. He might succeed spectacularly someday.

"These days kids don’t play games with their hearts—they play with the thing on their heads. Make it ridiculously attractive."

— Chik, chik.

"Huu— gather at the smoking area, my kids."

"Huu—"

While smoking and waiting, people started gathering in droves. I hadn’t even announced a signing event, yet more people showed up than expected.

"Seriously, how many are coming?"