NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 8
“Everyone, may I introduce Sound Director Chae-young Han, who will be joining our team starting today and will be in charge of sound.”
The weekly morning meeting, held once a week.
After wrapping up her work at the broadcasting station, Senior Chae-young joined our team, and the conference room erupted in applause as I introduced her.
“Ah…nice to meet you all. I’m Chae-young Han, and I’ll be taking on the role of Sound Director. It’s been a while since I’ve worked in gaming, but I hope to work well with all of you.”
After finishing her introduction with a polite bow, another round of applause followed.
After allowing a moment for everyone to become acquainted, I resumed the meeting.
“Alright, that concludes this part of the meeting… Yerin, Seol-i, Senior Chae-young, and Myunghoon, please stay behind for a moment.”
As the other team members left the conference room, the four I mentioned remained. I first turned my attention to Chae-young.
“First and foremost, Senior Chae-young, our team needs you to compose the main OST for our game.”
“OST? Sound good to me. Do we have any samples?”
“No, we do not have any samples. However, after reviewing the game’s setting book and story, feel free to create based on your impressions.”
“Hmm…so this is why you brought me in? To push me from the start.”
“Exactly.”
“Well, alright. Is there a set timeframe for this work?”
“Not at this moment. We’ve only just begun this project, so while it’d be great for me if you could finish quickly, try not to stress too much and focus on your work.”
“Understood. Any other considerations I should keep in mind?”
“As I mentioned in the materials I sent you, this OST will be central to our game, so please aim for a vibrant and youthful high-school teen vibe whenever possible.”
“Vibrant, high-school, youthful…got it.”
“You can work from the recording studio, which you can find down the hallway to the left upon leaving the office.”
“Okay~.”
With her tasks set, Chae-young exited the conference room, and I turned my attention to Myunghoon.
“I’ve reviewed the material you’ve submitted, Myunghoon. Is full 3D combat too demanding, despite heavy optimization?”
Myunghoon nodded with a look of difficulty on his face.
“I’m working on optimizing with the art team, but while Apple devices hold up relatively well in terms of frame rates, Androids are… well, abysmal.”
“Hmm… I anticipated this issue. For now, let’s only implement a prototype and re-test once new Android models come out next year.”
“Agreed.”
“Development won’t have any pressing issues for the time being, so focus on creating a solid prototype for internal testing only—no bugs. Understood?”
“Of course.”
With the feedback concluded, Myunghoon gathered his notes and exited the room.
Watching his firm and reliable retreat, I couldn’t help but feel reassured.
“Hmm… coders really should be like that.”
As the meeting room door closed, I turned my attention to Yerin.
As if she already knew what I wanted, she immediately activated the beam projector.
On the previously blank wall of the conference room, the illustrations of three representative heroines appeared.
“Based on the rough sketches by our senior, I designed the characters to reflect their unique roles, emphasizing different points for each.”
Yerin paused briefly for a sip of water before continuing.
“Because uniforms are a core feature, we’ve adapted elements of both Korean and Japanese sailor-style uniforms, despite the limited range of outfits available globally. Is that okay?”
Listening to Yerin’s explanation and reviewing the characters’ school uniforms, it was clear that traces of the sailor-style and H-beam styles had been preserved.
“Finally, to distinguish the source of the students’ powers, I’ve introduced wrist rings as personal markers.”
“To this degree, it’s fine—pretty good, in fact.”
Despite the compliments, I found myself instinctively tilting my head in thought.
There felt like something was slightly lacking.
As though missing seasoning in a dish.
“Something feels a bit off…”
“Is that so?”
Yerin wore an expression of uncertainty as she tilted her head.
With that, I examined the character illustrations again.
“Ah… I see.”
Now I understood what the problem was.
“Yerin, Seol-i, come over here.”
As they approached me, I pointed to the character illustrations.
“I think about it…don’t these three seem a bit too plain?”
“Plain…?”
“I’m not referring to the design being plain.”
Even in terms of costume design, Yerin’s talent was clearly evident—perhaps reminiscent of the Blue Astras from before my regression. It was apparent that she had honed her skill through doujin circle activities.
But something was still missing from Yerin’s current work at this moment.
Character.
“The characters are beautiful, as is the costume design. But why do they feel slightly lacking? Because they lack character.”
I picked up the tablet pen beside me and added a hairpin and elf ears to the first character—Corone’s blue hair.
“Our game doesn’t take place in modern times, right? The girls are students, but they use various weapons and have special abilities. So doesn’t it make sense for non-humans to exist?”
“Ah…that’s true.”
“Besides, in the synopsis, what was the first present Corone received after recovering her memory? A Chichijou merchandise bag. So drawing her wearing it like this—what do you think?”
“Having just the bag hanging on the shoulder seems a little dull for a girl, so maybe we could also add a keychain?”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
“I’ll consider it.”
“As for the second character, China, she’s a stereotypical blonde character. So why not try a quieter, more introverted personality?”
“Keep the sharp eyes?”
“Yes. A quiet and sharp exterior but a kind heart that loves taking care of animals like dogs and cats could work. Also, let’s make her chest the biggest—people have certain expectations depending on hair color.”
While this feedback didn’t phase Yerin, who had experience with adult doujin art, Seol-i reacted differently.
“Biggest…chest…”
Her face immediately turned bright red.
It seemed she lacked immunity to such content.
“Finally, Yuzuki is all good, but doesn’t her school—the Oracle United Academy—inspire something else?”
“Um…perhaps a diligent student vibe?”
“Something along those lines, but different. An Oracle, right? That suggests she’s into science, like researchers or laboratory work. In that case, wouldn’t it suit her better to present her as an indoor type who doesn’t venture out much?”
After resizing Yuzuki with Photoshop and adding a lab coat over her school uniform,
“With her typically pale complexion from staying indoors, and slight dark circles, but maintaining a bright attitude instead of the stereotypical melancholic expression—what do you think?”
The expression now captured on Yuzuki’s face entirely transformed her character.
“How about that? Completely different character, isn’t it?”
“Senior, this is—”
“Amazing…”
With the admiration of Yerin and Seol-i, I saved the modified designs and proudly moved on.
“When designing the initial characters, try emphasizing their unique personalities. Now, did you mention completing the mascot character design?”
“Ah, yes. Here it is.”
With Yerin’s computer manipulation, the trio illustration disappeared and was replaced with a young girl, around 9 or 10 years old.
She had a platinum blonde hime-style cut that reached her waist, and a short-sleeved knee-length dress with a golden pattern.
Her pupils featured embedded stars, adding to the mysterious aura with the luminescent ring encircling her neck, hinting at something otherworldly.
“Perfect…”
The illustration exceeded the initial concept, fulfilling my request for an inhuman-like mystique perfectly.
“The operator as the mascot character needs no further feedback, right?”
“That’s correct. Seol-i helped a lot.”
“Seol-i?”
“Yes, the iris design and color combinations were based on Seol-i’s suggestions.”
Upon Yerin’s statement, Seol-i, blushing furiously, nodded in agreement.
“The producer really sent us nothing but top-tier talent…”
“Character design seems solid in this direction, right? If you run into any blockers, feel free to ask.”
“Understood.”
“And Seol-i, is the synopsis sorted?”
“A-Ah, yes! I’ve uploaded the main story up to Chapter 3 to our internal cloud…”
“Good job. How’s the rough key visual?”
“I already drafted an initial rough… and will hand it over to the Art Team once Yerin finishes up with character designs…”
“Great. While the Art Team works on the key visuals, have the planning team, excluding the main story writers, prepare for the PV storyboarding.”
“Ah, understood!”
“Alright, both of you can get back to work now.”
As they bowed politely and left the conference room together, the sigh I’d been holding in finally escaped me.
“Alright, with this, we’ve at least passed the starting line for the project… but with some time left, should we perhaps look into merchandise?”
Shaking my head at my own whimsical thoughts, I headed toward my private office.