Game Director from Hell

Chapter 9: Diffusion

As the official release date approached, there was hardly a moment to spare – I was busier than ever.

Launching a indie game involved so many things to consider.

From internal final testing to in-game issues, to external matters like regulatory approvals and establishing the company.

Releasing a game on an individual scale required a lot of effort.

Fortunately, the one consolation was that we had been preparing diligently since the start of 2009.

Now, there was only one thing left to do.

"Now even our senior is returning to school."

"Yeah, that's right."

Returning to school, huh?

I had just finished registering for my classes and was taking a break in the club room.

Han Seorim chuckled.

"Our senior will now be busy with school and work."

"You seem happy about that."

"I've been the only one with a packed schedule until now. How come it's only happening to me?"

"...I'm lost for words."

I had something to say.

It was a fact that I had put Han Seorim through a lot last semester.

But unfortunately, her wish hadn't come true.

"I won't have any urgent tasks for a while. It will probably be mostly minor bug fixes or balancing issues that went unnoticed."

"...Are there still bugs?"

"It's hard to imagine there aren't any. But nothing major should be left. We've rigorously tested for critical issues multiple times."

The anticipated errors would likely be the ones that emerged due to unconventional gameplay.

Since players are more unpredictable than developers when it comes to playing, it's not as simple as doing in-house tests or closed betas.

But that was something to tackle once it happened.

For now, there were more important things to focus on.

"So, why did you upload your profile like that in the promotional post?"

"...Don't bring it up."

Han Seorim's face turned red, and she bit her lower lip.

...I can't entirely say it's not my responsibility. I didn't expect the community knowledge to be so lacking.

I reacted a bit late, but the community was already in a frenzy.

It was regrettable that her identity had been revealed.

But...

"Is it a bad thing?"

If I set aside Han Seorim's personal embarrassment and think about it from a noise marketing perspective, it's something we could tolerate.

Looking at the results alone, we had indeed seen a significant boost in publicity locally.

It had been a week since the promotional post went up, and discussions about the upcoming game were still flooding the community.

The female college student developer had caused quite a stir, and there was also the advantage of timing.

"It's only been a few months since Dark Space was released."

Not just that.

Following shortly after, in November 2008, a survival horror FPS game called 'Dead 4 Alive' was released, which continued the legacy of Dark Space.

The gaming industry also followed trends.

Once a compelling title appeared, a slew of similar genre imitations would follow suit. People might even start saying things like "xx-like."

This phenomenon was particularly noticeable in niche genres like survival horror.

After all, in terms of gameplay, players tend to be more extreme than developers, and therefore it's not possible to catch all these issues. Companies don't rely on in-house testing or closed betas for no reason.

But dealing with those issues could wait until they surfaced.

For now, there were more pressing matters.

"So, the only thing left is to wait for evaluations?"

"That's all I can do in the given circumstances."

With the environment I had been given, this was the best course of action.

All that remained was to humbly await the verdict.

Just one week until the release.

It had gone by fairly quickly.

***The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on n0velbjn((.))com

Gamers are always thirsty for standout games.

Even during the peak times of blockbuster releases, it was the same story.

For gamers who didn't find the game to their liking, there was no way for them to enjoy the current trend.

Kang Seokhoon, a 25-year-old using the nickname "Waiting for Diablo 3" in the gaming community, fell into that category.

"All they talk about is Fallout 3."

Seokhoon's expression grew more frustrated as he swiftly scrolled the mouse.

The entire active gaming community was flooded with talk about the masterpiece that was released last year, Fallout 3.

It might have been the Game of the Year for that year, but it didn't resonate with Seokhoon.

"The game is just too complicated."

He understood the immersion from open-world environments, the exceptional graphics, and great gameplay. But fundamentally, Seokhoon didn't feel the "fun" from those aspects. What he valued in games were action and feedback from character progression.

From that perspective, Seokhoon enjoyed games where he fought against enemies.

"Oh, when will Diablo 3 come out..."

He wanted a dark fantasy game.

He needed a game that could capture the essence of Diablo’s intense battles against dreadful demons.

"Damn those Blizzard folks."

It had been 8 years since Diablo 2 was released, and they still hadn't released Diablo 3.

If they had announced it, shouldn't they be diligently working on the game?

It was a moment when his lips pouted.

『(Game) Nationwide Paladin Association: Fallout 3 is Insane!』

『(Game) S2PoppyS2: A New Kind of Game?! February's Hidden Gem, Eblis Soul! Would You Like to Try It?』

『(Chatter) Lord of Bangbae-dong: Isn't today the day? The day that promotional game gets released.』

One random chatter post on the community caught Seokhoon's attention.

That's right.

Two weeks ago, the promotional post that had buzzed the community finally flashed through his mind.

It was a small curiosity.

"They said it's a survival horror?"

The protagonist with a strangely eerie appearance, fighting against bizarre creatures, and the blue-skinned hero that hinted at action elements.

Changes and combinations in weapons leading to character growth... something like that.

"Should I give it a try?"

He had nothing else to do at the moment.

If he cleared the game and wrote a review, he could aim for the main recommended post.

He felt an itch for it.

Seokhoon entered the promotional post and found the name of the game and the platform.

"Steam? What's this, there's even something like this?"

An overseas platform that didn't even support Korean.

As a user who had mostly played well-known packaged or domestic online games, this distribution platform was unfamiliar to Seokhoon.

Although a slightly flustered feeling surged, his curiosity surged even more.

He was decent enough in English.

Looking up how to sign up wasn't even that difficult.

As Seokhoon looked through the page, he felt a belated sense of relief.

"Well, there's a Korean version in the game."

Of course, that made sense. Since the developer was Korean, it wouldn't make sense if there was no Korean version.

The game had both a Korean version and an English version.

For now, as long as he got to the download, it should be fine.

"Let's see..."

$4.99.

It wasn't even a sum he couldn't afford to spend.

"If this gets me to the recommended post, why not?"

Wouldn't that be a gain?

If he criticized the game, it might even be easier for his post to rise.

Seokhoon grinned to himself.

He stumbled a bit with the unfamiliar foreign payment system but managed to purchase and download the game successfully. He immediately launched the game.

[Hellic]

[by Rewind Studio]

The intro screen displayed red text against a black background.

Below it were tabs for Start, Settings, and Quit.

"It's originally in English."

Seokhoon entered the settings and changed the language to Korean.

Only then did the interface comfortably catch his eye.

Seokhoon didn't hesitate.

He clicked the start button right away.

It was immediate.

[Scream!]

"Ah, that scared me!"

The scream startled Seokhoon.

"Why is this so realistic?"

They call it horror, and the screams really set the mood.

After calming his racing heart for a moment, Seokhoon's interest grew stronger.

What appeared on the monitor right after was a character crawling slowly within what seemed like intestines.

In an instant, the character fell into a dimly lit, cube-shaped brown room.

Seokhoon exhaled and placed his hands on the keyboard.

"What's that in front of me? A saw? Do I pick that up?"

The controls were displayed on the screen through instructions.

Arrow keys and a few shortcuts.

The simple layout made it easy to understand.

"Acquired Saw (lv.1).

Attack Power: 3

Nature: Slashing"

"Tooltip: The 'Slashing' nature has armor-penetrating capabilities."

He was reading the explanations.

And then...

Fleshy, maggot-like creatures appeared on the map.

"Oh, right into a battle?"

Nice and straightforward.

Seokhoon jumped straight into the fight.

And that was the beginning.

Uwaaaah!

Killing enemies.

Crawling through paths reminiscent of intestines.

Slosh slosh~

Crossing the map through openings.

Ding!

Collecting weapons.

Intermittently upgrading, evolving, and synthesizing weapons.

After about 30 minutes, Seokhoon found himself immersed in the game, losing track of time.

"It's easy, right? Will I clear it quickly?"

[Is this really Indie?]

It was a moment when the tension seemed to drop.

Boom―!

"Whoa, damn it...!"

A massive entity four times the size of the playable character appeared.

Seokhoon quickly controlled the character, recovering from the sudden appearance.

"Hidden boss? Or elite mob? Well, let's give it a shot for now."

It looked like a boss.

With its high defense, it seemed like the saw with slashing properties would be the way to go.

The saw's level was 10.

With consistent upgrades, the attack power was raised to a decent level, enough for some damage...

『damage ?1』

...didn't work.

Immediately after, the boss swung its arm.

『You have been instantly killed.』

As the character died, the screen turned gray.

Seokhoon felt a sense of hopelessness.

Gradually, anger welled up within him.

"What the hell is this!"

Thump!

The moment Seokhoon pounded the keyboard, a surge of frustration filled him.

"A mob that can't be killed right away? Oh, it's a damage avoidance thing, right? Yeah, let's see who comes out on top!"

He immediately pressed the "Retry" button.

The save point was at the point just before the cleared map.

Encountering the fight again.

This time, Seokhoon avoided it and cleared the map without engaging.

"The attack range is wide, but the speed is slow. If I pay attention and play carefully, I can definitely dodge it."

A smile tugged at the corner of Seokhoon's mouth.

Just the right level of challenge.

It ignited his competitive spirit.

And so, four hours passed.

"What, when did time go by like this?"

Only then did Seokhoon realize how deeply he had immersed himself in the game.

His gaze returned to the monitor.

"...Do I want to play more?"

That's what those words meant.

"Is it fun?"

The game was enjoyable.

To the extent that it brought immense satisfaction to Seokhoon.

『(Game) Waiting for Diablo3: Reviewing the game that was promoted.

Honestly, I tried the game to see if I could go for the recommended post.

It's on the platform called Steam, but since it's an overseas platform, the process is a bit cumbersome.

I've summarized the details (link) here, so go check it out.

To put it briefly, the game was fun.

Moderately challenging and moderately deep.

The game system itself is very intuitive and versatile.

Received the impression that the skill tree evolution system from Diablo 2 was reproduced as weapons.

Thought it is a hack and slash, but it's also actually "Survival Horror"...

(Screenshot)

This guy gets one-shot no matter what weapon he's holding.

It's a surprise mechanic; you have to dodge his attacks to clear the map, and it's seriously intense haha.

Overall, I'd give it 4.5 out of 5.

I don't know who the developer behind the promotion is, but they definitely have a deep understanding of the game.

The 0.5 missing is because it's not Diablo.

No questions allowed.

<Comment Section>

SpaceWarriorFan: Diablo, why are you talking about other games?

┕Betrayer: This guy made me feel betrayed haha』

Seokhoon's review was posted in the community.

And soon, it quickly gathered attention, climbing up to the recommended post section, stirring up member's excitement.

From then on.

『(Game) Lord of Bangbaedong: Review of the promoted game "Hellic." Enjoyed it without realizing how time flew by.』

Starting with the reviews of a few well-known users who were originally interested in the game itself, the word-of-mouth spread from a small online community.

It was the fluttering wings of a butterfly that could cause a hurricane.