NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 18
Let’s rewind a bit to a day around two weeks before the start of Tokyo Game Show.
A visitor arrived at the conference room of the mobile game development team.
“It’s been a while, Director Ji.”
“It’s been a while, Mr. Tanaka.”
The man in front of me, speaking fluent Korean, was Tanaka Seijo, an employee of SFLAG, the company responsible for the Japanese publishing of *Girls’ Memorial*.
When we first met, I had suspected otherwise due to his fluent Korean, but he turned out to be a completely Japanese individual.
“Looking around your office as I entered the conference room, it seems like everyone on your team is pretty busy.”
“That’s unavoidable. The launch is just around the corner, so…”
“Our side is in a similar situation. Regardless of nationality, it’s always the same just before a game’s release.”
While exchanging light conversation to break the ice, Tanaka, seeming to realize the time had come, pulled out a document and handed it to me.
“This is the list of voice actors who participated in the dubbing. Thanks to your strong push for full dubbing, we’ve completed it, but…”
“Has there been any issues?”
“No, nothing like that. They’re all professionals, so there shouldn’t be any problems. However, the costs are a bit…”
Upon hearing Tanaka’s words, I quickly skimmed through the document.
Izaoyi Saori, Oohashi Chiuki, Kouno Shiromi…
The list included names of top-tier voice actors currently recognized in the industry.
“With this lineup, no expense is too great. In fact, scheduling them must have been the harder task given their status. You’ve done a great job.”
“Luckily, everything went well.”
Feeling somewhat embarrassed by my praise, Tanaka cleared his throat and continued.
“We’ve handed over everything regarding the dubbing. Next are the lists for the ads that will be launched post-release.”
The documents Tanaka handed over had an impressive number of locations listed.
“Truck ads, outdoor billboards in Akihabara, late-night TV ads, subway panels… Although we separately secured a marketing guarantee, this is quite an extensive setup.”
“Should I take it you’re not satisfied with it?” Tanaka smiled and replied to my comment.
“Not at all. I’m quite pleased.”
Most games don’t market at this level.
After all, if the game itself isn’t enjoyable, gamers tend to lose interest quickly regardless of how much it’s promoted.
But subculture mobile games were different.
Gameplay? It’s fun, and that’s good. But successful gameplay wasn’t necessarily the determining factor of a hit.
Even with decent gameplay, if you continuously feed gamers new content through IP extensions, they’re less likely to drift away.
This was the conclusion drawn from observing successful subculture mobile games in the pre-reincarnation era.
Therefore, compared to regular online games, it was necessary to raise the emphasis on advertising to maximize the exposure to gamers.
We were aligned in this approach, so I was feeling content as I went through the documents when…
“Excuse me, Director.”
As I looked up from the documents, I noticed Tanaka’s expression indicating he had something to say.
“Yes, go ahead.”
“There’s an internal request from our company that I’d like to relay. Would that be okay?”
“Of course.”
“Well, you see…”
Just as Tanaka opened his mouth to speak, the door opened, and Yerin poked her head in.
“Senior, why aren’t you answering the phone…!”
Stopping mid-sentence, Yerin looked flustered upon realizing that someone else was present in the meeting room besides me.
“Oh, I apologize. I didn’t hear that you were in a meeting…”
“You called? I had it on silent during the meeting, so I didn’t hear it. Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. Since we have a guest, I’ll just─”
“Oh, could you wait for a moment? I believe it would be better if the Art Director also hears this request.”
“Shall I…?”
After hearing that, Yerin cautiously walked into the meeting room and sat beside me.
Thus, a trio meeting was formed.
Tanaka first handed over a few sheets of A4 paper to both of us.
“So, in *Girls’ Memorial*, the named members of the main villain group, Odd Fellows, are students infected by the corrupted roots of the World Tree, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Well, it was mentioned that the design of these named characters is too focused on creature types.”
Upon reflecting on Tanaka’s words, it seemed there was some merit to it.
In *Girls’ Memorial*, the final number of Odd Fellows named characters constructed so far was five, one per main story chapter.
Uroboros, Pyro, Eline, Mystic, Architecture.
Among these, Uroboros, Pyro, and Eline were creature-type named characters, and Architecture was a male character, leaving Mystic as the sole female in the Odd Fellows group.
“Now that you mention it, you’re definitely right.”
“That’s why we’re requesting that the appearance of two of the three creature-type named characters be changed to female humanoid forms.”
“Hmm…”
Just as I deliberated over Tanaka’s suggestion, Yerin raised her hand.
“There’s a reason we adjusted the ratio of the named characters like that.”
“Is there?”
“Is there a reason you balanced the named characters’ ratios in such a way?”
In response to the questions from Tanaka and myself, Yerin nodded and continued.
“If you think about it, all the main characters in *Girls’ Memorial* are women, excluding the player, right? The students are all female, and the operators, who act as assistants, are female too.”
“That’s correct.”
“That’s true.”
“But people inevitably get tired of repeated stimulation, so we increased the ratio of creature-type bosses…”
“No, that’s not correct.”
“That is definitely not accurate.”
Caught off-guard by the unified reactions from Tanaka and me, Yerin blinked in confusion.
“I think I may have misunderstood something. After all, the named characters from Odd Fellows are ultimately the choices we offer to the gamers.”
“Choices?”
“Yes, choices. Why do you think subculture mobile game companies create and continuously add so many female characters? Is it to feed gamers endlessly? No.”
“…”
“Take a buffet, for example. Among all these foods, wouldn’t you find at least one that appeals to you? It’s the same idea.”
“Ah…”
“In the end, gamers will focus on enjoying the characters that suit their taste, so the likelihood of them feeling fatigued is minimal.”
“I guess I did have the wrong approach…”
After momentarily contemplating, Yerin suddenly looked startled.
“But, Senior…?”
“Yes?”
“Our launch date is already fixed, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. In three weeks.”
“In that case, this is asking you to redesign two new characters, and not just any but main characters, within three weeks…”
“No. Considering the app store’s review process will take about a week, we should aim to finish within ten days at the latest.”
Upon hearing this, Yerin’s expression turned pale as she shook her head.
“…I can’t do it…”
“Can’t you give it one try?”
“Even if I tried, it’s physically impossible!”
“Excuse me…”
From the opposite side of the conference table where he had been listening quietly, Tanaka raised his hand and spoke.
“Listening to both the Art Director and the General Director, it seems the issue isn’t the design changes themselves but the timeline, correct?”
“That’s right.”
“In that case, how about transforming the named characters into half-human, half-monster designs that retain parts of the current concept? For example, something like Arachne, where the upper body is human but the lower body is spider-like.”
“Would gamers even like something like that…?”
With a grimacing expression, Yerin questioned, but Tanaka nodded resolutely.
“There is definitely demand. The world is vast, and people’s tastes are diverse. Even more so in Japan.”
“Ah, yes…”
After this, Tanaka handed over several modifications and options that came up during the meeting to Yerin.
“Using these feedbacks as references, I believe we can meet the deadline…”
“That’s great.”
“Mr. Tanaka, right? Thank you very much. You’ve been a great help.”
“I’m glad I could assist.”
“I’ve got to get going, then, or I’ll run out of time!”
Hugging the feedback materials, Yerin exited the meeting room after saying this.
“…”
“Then, shall we wrap up as well?”
“Yes. Director, do you have any evening appointments?”
*
Exactly one week later.
I was working late reviewing materials passed down from the business team.
Unexpectedly, the sound of knocking on the door startled me.
It was past 10 PM, so I had assumed all other team members had gone home.
“Who is it?”
“Senior… It’s me…”
Yerin’s voice, sounding almost lifeless, came from outside the door.
“Come in.”
The moment my words ended, the office door opened, revealing Yerin with a weary expression, holding a USB drive.
“One week… modifications… done…”
“You didn’t get anyone else to help with the character design drafts? Did you do all of them by yourself?”
“Senior knows my nature… I don’t delegate character design drafts to others…”
“Well, even so…”
“For now… let’s confirm…”
“Alright. Give me a moment.”
After setting aside the business team’s materials, I moved to the sofa to review the contents of the USB Yerin handed me.
Inside the USB were revised drafts of Pyro and Eline.
Pyro, previously designed as a twisted demonic form due to infection by the corrupted World Tree, was transformed into a striking black ghostly young girl with a fox mask and burning eyes.
Eline, who had originally been depicted as a golem-like figure made of twisted zombies, was revamped into a Medusa-like beautiful woman, with her upper body dressed in a kimono and her lower body resembling a snake.
This redesign would surely captivate gamers with specific tastes.
“Great job. I knew it would be tough on such a tight schedule, but you’ve done remarkable work.”
“I’m relieved…”
With the confirmation of my approval, Yerin slumped onto the sofa beside me, seemingly out of energy.
“For now, the character designs are perfect, but there are some minor details that could use adjustments. We’ll finalize them tomorrow… Yerin?”
Instead of an answer, I heard a low snore and looked back to see Yerin had fallen asleep.
Apparently, the accumulated fatigue caught up with her all at once, and with the tension released, she had immediately dozed off.
“Seems like she was tired. Let me just cover her with a blanket and get back to work…”
As I moved to stand up, I suddenly felt an unexpected weight on my thigh and turned to see Yerin had collapsed onto it in her sleep.
Pausing for a moment to consider what to do, I eventually sighed and turned my gaze back to the documents I had been reviewing.
Of course, my concentration was completely lost.
This was the story of a night two weeks before the game’s launch.