Game Director from Hell

Chapter 11: Live Broadcast

A post appeared on a North American community that caught people's attention for days.

"'Fucking giant!'"

Roughly translated, it meant something like 'Damn giant!'

It was a post cursing the final boss of Helic, the Cancer Giant.

This was the result of "Mike tester" introducing the game to the hardcore community.

The reason for the curse was mainly due to the Cancer Giant's basic setup.

Thousands of hit points, overwhelming defense reducing all damage to 1, nullification of additional attacks due to its temperament.

To make matters worse, it used almost every gimmick in the game, making it a nightmare for hardcore players like "Mike tester" who tried to take on the Cancer Giant barehanded on their first attempt.

It even led to posts like this:

"'Well, should I at least clear the first round to learn its pattern? I want to experience defeating the Cancer Giant in the final boss room.'"

This was Yeongho's intention.

Basically, early hunting of the Cancer Giant was akin to an easter egg, avoiding anything but the 'escape' option to encourage normal gameplay.

Yeongho hoped players would 'acknowledge' the Cancer Giant's presence as they dodged it and 'learn' its pattern while evading it.

The result was that they'd feel catharsis from defeating the entity they had been avoiding, head-on in the final boss room.

In a regular community, this would have probably led to a trend of users who gave up on the challenge by now, with only a handful progressing to see the ending.

But there was a problem.

This community was different in nature from a regular one.

"'

┕Coward

┕If you're going to be like that, just leave. You don't even have the spirit of a challenge; you're worse than my 5-year-old daughter when she's scared.

┕A guy like that calls himself a gamer? It's shameful as a gamer.'"

Yeongho's intention wasn't accepted by the mainstream of this particular community.

As mentioned before, this community was consumed by the premise of intense challenges and achievements.

"Winning against an unbeatable foe."

Those who refused reason and became fanatical about this premise were these people.

Even if rational words were to come out, they'd quickly be condemned.

In the first place, those who intended to play rationally wouldn't have used a community of this nature; that was only natural.

In any case, the challenge began to gain cult popularity within the community, spreading further like a typhoon.

The culmination of this storm came when those known as 'cowards of the community' fled to external communities.

"'Introducing a new game.'"

While they enjoyed the game itself, they were avoiding the category of challenges they didn't want to take part in.

"'The misdeeds of the hardcore community perverts.'"

It was also the move of those who wanted to ridicule the closed-off hardcore community.

This phenomenon, so to speak, ended up serving as a kind of noise marketing.

The title "Helic" began to appear sporadically even on major communities.

"'So, is it fun?'"

At the moment that question was asked, Helic had already become a new release that could be found by name in large gaming communities.

It only took about three days for that to happen.

Around that time, a post appeared that would mark the end of this entire storm.

"'I mined Helic's game data.

There's an easter egg hidden in Cancer Giant.

If you manage to defeat it before the final boss room, it drops a special item. However, the security is too tight for me to figure out what the item is at my skill level.

Is there anyone who can take this down?'"

Yeongho's easter egg was revealed to the world.

At that moment, the community was swept up in a frenzy of excitement.

Unrevealed data.

Even a developer's easter egg, with particularly strong security.

If you weren't thrilled by such secrets, you probably didn't have the right to call yourself a gamer.

Many people started to take on the challenge of the Cancer Giant, and despite that, with no one managing to succeed, it eventually led to someone putting a bounty on it.

"'Putting a bounty on this damn Giant.

I'm curious about that easter egg, but I can't defeat the Giant with my skills.

Whoever takes down this guy in the boss room and posts a confirmation shot for me, I'll give them $1,000.

First come, first served if multiple people succeed.'"

Writer: S-ven

┕What the...

┕Is it my turn to speak?

┕Someone call the adjacent community!

┕But how can we believe this?

┕Idiot, don't you know the person who wrote this? It's Linton, the son of Hollywood actor Ringhton!』

The following was a miraculous unification.

Although money was abundant, the post of a jobless gamer who didn't want to work hard sparked the flames of the hearts of those with no money and an excess of time.

"'Hey, let's form a temporary alliance.'"

The cowards who ran away and the perverts who persevered to the end came together again.

In addition to them, a majority of users who had been interested in playing the game itself also joined the cause.

"'Cancer Giant Mechanics Overview'"

"'Methods to Bypass Giant Mechanics Using the Map'"

"'Regarding Giant's Hit Detection Frame by Frame'"

Like that, a new wind started blowing.

***

Yeonho went to a PC room.

Having spent the entire day worrying about game reactions and stressing, he decided to take a strong prescription to deal with it.

Excessive obsession with evaluations, if not taken care of in the early stages, could cause huge wounds to one's ego later on.

This was the time to address it.

"I'll feel better if I just focus on something else."

That was the idea behind sending Han Seorim out.

After a long time, he was at home taking a rest, and the day felt quite leisurely.

Of course, thoughts about the game weren't completely wiped away, but...

"For now, I should take a break until the sales outline becomes clear."

The point where the expected sales would rise was still a couple of months away.

It would take roughly that long for the game's dedicated players to thoroughly experience it, evaluate it, and spread the word to the public.

He was talking about overseas sales, not domestic ones.

In the first place, he hadn't aimed for the Korean market at all.

The goal in the domestic market was merely to "establish a minimal purchasing record."

Leaving a review would be even better.

Why didn't he aim higher?

Because failure was inevitable.

"In terms of the reactions we've received domestically so far, we've already achieved our goal. It'll be difficult to achieve more than this."

It was an obvious statement, but a packaged game couldn't capture the mainstream in Korea.

The extensive LAN culture that had taken root in this small land had formed the culture of the "online game market" in Korea.

What Korea loved was competition and multiplayer games based on growth.

Releasing a solo-play indie game like Helic in Korea alone, it would vanish without a trace, wouldn't it?

Especially in this era.

"The golden age of online games."

Online game IPs representing Korea were in their prime, expanding in size.

In this era where there was no venomous BM (Big Money) yet, and no entry barriers due to prolonged operations, online games were explosively expanding under the term "the birth of a new culture."

It might become a bit gloomier in the future, but for now, that's how it is.

"So, in conclusion, it's a time for rest."

Excluding the domestic market response and looking only at overseas, at this point where there wasn't even an estimated sales figure, and with bug fixes completed as well, there was nothing more he could do.

Even coming up with a new work idea wasn't possible.

"I need to increase the scale of the new work."

He had a game he wanted to create next.

Given the current situation, it would have to remain at an indie level for now, but it was a game with a larger scale than Helic.

In that regard, the budget was crucial.

At this point, he didn't even know how much budget he could secure, so it seemed like he couldn't casually proceed to the planning stage.

This was inconvenient.

"It's great that I came back to the past but my career is gone now."

Actually, if he could appeal through his career, methods like "crowdfunding" could be used.

Fortunately, sponsor-based funding had emerged around this time.

If he could pull in the production cost from external sources, he could challenge a game of slightly larger scale.

"But it's a futile idea."

That was the case with Helic at the moment.

The success of funding depended on "how many people are excited about the next work of this game." Currently, Helic, which was his only career, was a small game that would even feel embarrassed to be referred to as a career.

There was no trust to make the funding successful.

"Money, money, money."

He hated the damn company to the core, but as long as he was involved in business, it seemed that money would inevitably hinder him.

"Maybe I should try to find a distributor?"

He briefly considered the terrible idea and then quickly dismissed it.

Oh, getting a distributor wrong and having interference in the game? It would be better to suffer a bit more in a free environment.

Suddenly, he shivered at the thought of being pressured by a distributor.

Without a doubt, it would be much worse than the pressure that came from the company.

In front of money, the director's authority was like a sandcastle.

"Sigh."

A sigh escaped his lips.

Let's stop thinking about money.

During the break, he should concentrate on resting.

He wouldn't even look at the community or Steam sales tab.

For a while, he would rest and revisit the masterpieces released during this period.

The input of a developer was one of the tasks that should never be abandoned in a lifetime.

He picked up his luggage and left the room.

"Yeonho, are you going out?"

"Yes, I'm going to school."

"Ah, our son is studying hard."

"I have to let you relax, Mom. I'll be back."

After exchanging greetings with his mother, he left the house.

His heart felt a bit heavy.

"Sorry, Mom."

Lately, his son wasn't studying.

***

Two days had passed.

It was a day without morning classes, and he arrived at school quietly.

"Sunbae!!!"

A clear shout.

When he lifted his head, he saw Han Seorim running toward him from a distance.

Her face seemed quite anxious, but... wasn't today the last day of the retreat? Why was she still staying instead of going home right away?

There was no time to solve the mystery.

"What's going on..."

"What are you doing that you're coming so late?! Do you know what's happening right now? Why aren't you picking up your phone?"

"...My phone's on silent."

"Argh! This guy is just... Anyway, come with me!"

Han Seorim grabbed my wrist tightly and started pulling me toward the school building.

It was a bit bewildering to be dragged along without even greeting each other.

"What's going on, anyway?"

"Just come! You need to see this with your own eyes!"

There was a sense of urgency in her voice.

No, was she excited?

It seemed like something had happened for sure.

As it got to this point, a sense of unease was beginning to creep in.

"Just tell me..."

"You'll know when you go there!"

Han Seorim had brought me to the club room.

She swung the door open forcefully and dragged me over to the computer area, seating me down.

The computer was turned on.

"Take a look at this!"

She didn't even give me a chance to catch my breath.

Distractedly, I turned my gaze toward the computer area.

And that was the moment.

"Alright, calm down a bit..."

I held my breath.

Because of what was on the monitor.

"What's this?"

"I wanted to ask you!"

Thump!

Han Seorim hit the desk.

Even in that moment, my gaze didn't leave the monitor.

What was displayed was the Steam store ranking page.

Below that, the lower-ranking section.

『97, Hellic』

Hellic was on the ranking.

It was an unbelievable situation.

I looked at Han Seorim.

"Our game is on the rankings! Huh? We're on the rankings?!"

With a bright face, Han Seorim grabbed me by the collar and shook me back and forth.

My head was ringing, and even amidst all of that, the thought of "why?" wouldn't vanish.

And understandably so.

At the moment, Hellic was merely a game that a handful of enthusiasts in the domestic community were enjoying. Since the Steam release in Korea was still a year away, the number of Korean customers using it for accessibility reasons would be low.

So, if there were customers, they would likely be from overseas. It was pretty ridiculous to receive such rapid feedback in the overseas market for a game made by two Koreans who had no connections to the U.S.

But how did the game even get on the rankings?

Moreover, it had overtaken the popular free games that were trending on Steam, even though it was a game that cost $4.99.

"What the heck..."

In a situation I couldn't possibly comprehend, Han Seorim provided an answer.

"Here, take a look at this too."

Han Seorim swiftly moved the mouse, opening a window to the community she frequently visited for ego searching.

Only then did I start to understand the whole situation.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

"This is insane..."

『(Chat) Awaiting for Diablo 3: Breaking News! Hellic Easter Egg Found on a U.S. Community! p.s. It was a large-scale event even offering a reward!』

To summarize, that's what happened.

An Easter egg that was expected to take years to be discovered had already been solved.

And not in the way I expected.