NOVEL NEXT Chapter 61
‘A god of game marketing has appeared.’
It was the evaluation of the community users regarding the pre-launch moves of Reverse Arcadia’s Korean server.
Once again, Ho-jin proved with results that the users’ evaluations were not wrong.
The only domestic mobile game to exceed 800,000 pre-registrations.
On the day of release, this number was proven not to be inflated as the game instantly topped both download and sales rankings on the two major platforms.
Certainly, there was some controversy about external variables such as the presence of Kei Ishida and marketing strategies possible only for large companies, but the results were undeniable.
The first-ever simultaneous top sales ranking in both the Korean and Japanese markets of the two major platforms.
Indeed, a mouthwatering piece of news, journalists began churning out numerous articles.
[Reverse Arcadia Achieves Unprecedented Top Sales Rankings in Both Korean and Japanese Markets]
(Reporter Kim Jae-seop)
Today, Enson GT’s new subculture game ‘Reverse Arcadia’ reached the number one real-time sales ranking on both Korea’s Play Store and App Store, showing its exceptional popularity immediately after release.
Furthermore, by securing the number one sales ranking in both Korean markets, it established a golden milestone of being ranked number one in sales in both Korean and Japanese markets of the two major platforms.
…
EnsonGT SM Division Department Head Jihojin PD stated, “We are deeply honored and grateful for achieving the top sales ranking in both the Korean and Japanese markets. We will do our best to repay the support of the users.”
===
Such articles spread quickly through retweets and once again stirred the community.
***
As the launch of the Korean server became an unprecedented success, the schedule naturally began to fill up.
From simple requests like media interviews or collaboration inquiries to lecture invitations from universities and various workshops.
Today’s scheduled lecture was part of this growing list.
It was a mobile game workshop organized by Enson Korea, and it was rather surreal.
I had to lecture on the discourse of moe and subculture in front of current professionals.
It wasn’t particularly embarrassing, but it was certainly an unusual experience.
After finishing the lecture, as I was leaving Enson Korea’s headquarters, a phone call came in.
‘Who’s this?’
Thinking there might be a problem within the team, I checked the caller, only to see an unexpected name on the smartphone screen.
‘Kim Tae-yun’
He was the art director from the neighboring team at NDSoft, someone I used to know well.
Back in the previous timeline, he was a close friend whom I gave advice to when he was contemplating his future as I was retiring.
But at this point in the current timeline, after his job change, we occasionally exchanged greetings due to a lack of meeting opportunities.
‘I wonder what this brother wants suddenly?’
Out of curiosity, I picked up the call, and a familiar voice came through the smartphone.
[Ho-jin, are you available for a call now?]
“Sure, I’m available. How have you been?”
[I’m fine, always the same. How about you?]
“Recently, I’ve been incredibly busy and just going with the flow.”
[First of all, congratulations. I saw the article, sounds like it was a huge success, right?]
“Eh, it was just luck.”
[Three consecutive successes aren’t luck; it’s skill. So, Ho-jin…]
“Yes?”
[Can you spare some time tomorrow?]
After hearing Tae-yun’s question, I briefly checked my schedule and responded.
“Tomorrow I don’t have any major plans, so it’s possible. What time would you like to meet?”
[You choose the time that’s convenient for you. I’ve taken leave until the day after tomorrow, so I’m free.]
“Then, how about we meet at 11 a.m. at the café across from NDSoft? It’s not crowded and it’s a decent place.”
[Ah, Baekgeumdae is fine. I’ll be there by 11, so we’ll discuss the details when we meet tomorrow.]
“Alright.”
After hanging up, I began to wonder about the reason for this meeting.
Tae-yun’s nature was such that while he’d gladly consult others, he wasn’t the type to open up easily.
‘Well, I’ll find out when we meet tomorrow.’
I had other schedules lined up after this, so I set aside my thoughts about Tae-yun and headed back to the company.
***
The next morning.
I arrived at the café earlier than the scheduled time.
Even so, it wouldn’t be right to keep my senior waiting.
After entering the café, I ordered two Americanos and waited. Soon, a familiar figure walked in.
“Brother, over here!”
Hearing my call, Tae-yun approached without delay.
He looked pretty much the same as the last time we met, though he appeared somewhat emaciated and tired, likely from heavy dark circles.
Tae-yun, too, looked at me and smiled as if relieved as he sat down.
“It’s been a few years, but you haven’t changed at all. Is the company treating you well?”
“Well, what do you mean by treating well? With constant overtime and external meetings, I’m exhausted.”
“Complaining, huh? Speaking of which, have you ordered? What would you like to drink?”
“I already ordered two Americanos. You only drink Americano anyway.”
Hearing this, Tae-yun looked at me with an amazed expression.
“It’s been years since we last met, yet you know me better than my wife.”
“I’ve known you for years. By the way, how is Sister-in-law?”
“Ah, pretty much the same. She manages the house and takes freelance work, also occasionally helping with company tasks.”
“Hmm, does that mean Sister-in-law will soon be returning to active work?”
“Perhaps, right? But why? Is manpower that short in your place?”
I sincerely nodded in response to Tae-yun’s question.
While junior-level employees were plentiful, senior-level staff I could trust with responsibilities like Yerin or Yena were always in short supply.
“Someone with Sister-in-law’s current skills could probably find any company asking her to start working tomorrow…”
“Is it really that bad?”
“Yeah, these days, if you stick around long enough in any role like development, planning, or art, people either quit for higher-paying jobs in other industries or simply leave because of overwork.”
“We haven’t changed much from our days, have we?”
“It seems we haven’t.”
As we conversed, the drinks we ordered arrived.
“I’ll drink mine, thanks.”
Looking thirsty, Tae-yun downed a large gulp of his Americano, then after a brief pause, gazed at me before speaking softly.
“Speaking of which, Ho-jin, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Can you tell me how it was after you quit your job?”
Tae-yun’s expression as he asked the question was very serious.
Now that I thought about it, was he still working at NDSoft?
Before my regression, he quit in 2014 and started his own company, but since I hadn’t heard anything since, I assumed he quietly retired again.
But apparently, that wasn’t the case.
“What exactly do you want to know?”
“Your mindset when you decided to quit and any reflections thereafter?”
“Are you thinking of quitting NDSoft, Brother?”
In response to my question, Tae-yun nodded.
Clearly, something significant had happened.
“When I decided to leave, there wasn’t much to it… I just wanted to make the games I wanted.”
“Ah, I remember now. You told the Department Head that you wanted to create games filled with cute girls and then walked out, right?”
“How did you know that?”
The moment I asked, startled by the expression of surprise, Tae-yun snickered in response.
“The Department Head was absolutely enraged that day, and the news spread around the office. You really should have seen the boss’s expression.”
“Anyway, where were we? Oh, well, after leaving the company, I realized that developers should indeed create the games they want to make.”
At my story, Tae-yun’s expression seemed to reflect even more concerns.
“Now tell me about you.”
“My story?”
“Yeah. Why did you, who’s otherwise fine working, suddenly contact me to ask about career changes after resigning?”
At my question, Tae-yun sighed deeply and began to narrate the events that had transpired.
“So… NDSoft, seeing my success, pivoted their roadmap towards mobile games and brought you on as an Art Director for a new project, but the project turned into a mess, right? Why?”
“The higher-ups gave feedback… Except it was more like they were just opposing everything outright.”
“What kind of feedback?”
“The genre of the games you’ve made so far is subculture mobile games, right? Lots of cute girls appear.”
“That’s right.”
“The new project that I joined was also a subculture mobile game, albeit closer to RPGs.”
“Our NDSoft did that? Seriously?”
“I thought it was a joke at first and sent the proposal back a few times. Somehow, the project began, but…”
“What happened?”
“Things were fine at the beginning. But around a year after the project started, feedback came down from up top.”
“What was the feedback?”
“To add PVP and siege battles as content, and adjust the BM accordingly.”
“What?”
Taken aback by this unexpected story, I was incredulous and clarified.
“You’re kidding, right? PVP in subculture mobile games is one thing, but siege battles? For real?”
“If it were a joke, I wouldn’t even be telling you this. You should have seen the expression of our executive director when that feedback came down initially.”
“So, did you actually take that feedback? Really?”
“You know well. Our directors don’t have authority. Tearing things apart while they’re in development because someone says so? We ended up doing something like it. But the bigger problem was…”
Tae-yun took a sip of coffee, seemingly exasperated, as he continued his explanation.
“Since it’s a subculture genre, they wanted us to reduce the level of exposure. And they wanted to increase the ratio of male characters since there were too many female characters.”
I couldn’t believe my ears with all the absurd requests.
Reducing exposure and increasing male characters in subculture games?
Is this a new concept for game suicide?
Tae-yun understood my thoughts and continued with a wry expression.
“Eventually, the project went downhill, with a significant staff turnover. Watching it all unfold, I felt it was best to escape.”
After listening to all of Tae-yun’s story, the first thing that came to mind was this one question.
“Brother, let’s escape?”