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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: The New Department Head's Proposal (1)
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"What a load of bullshit. You, release a game? I know for a fact that you've only been on projects that have gone down the drain one after another since you joined this company. Who do you think you're kidding!"
It was obvious Oh Gwangseok would react this way.
Since joining the company, I had bounced between three projects, and the two before this team had been dropped before they even reached release.
In his mind, there was no way I could have ever released a game.
"Didn't I tell you? I said it's a game I made alone. The title is *Forgotten Andersen's Story*."
"This bastard, what kind of crap is he spouting..."
Oh Gwangseok, fuming, searched for my game's title on his smartphone.
An immediate internet search brought up a pixel-art game made with an RPG Maker tool.
To him, it must have looked like a worthless, shoddy game.
"Ha, you're making a fuss because you made a crappy game like this by yourself? If I were you, I'd be too embarrassed to even mention it."
"...If that's what you think, then I suppose it is."
PD Gwangseok, seemingly relieved, snorted and continued his tirade.
I had no desire to get into a childish argument about my game's reviews or its sales.
That man wasn't in any state to be reasoned with anyway, and doing so would just bring me down to the same level as that gorilla.
Conversations are meant to be had with people, after all.
"Well, if that's your opinion, there's nothing I can do. Still, I'm proud of the fact that I made a game on my own."
"How pathetic. What's so great about some punk who just writes scenarios making a one-man indie game? Every new hire from the game design department has done that once or twice. And hey?! Don't you know this company forbids outside work? This is grounds for disciplinary action! Disciplinary action! Huh?!"
Oh Gwangseok twisted my words and turned them back on me as a threat.
It felt like he was methodically erasing every last reason I might have had to stay at this company.
'Well, it doesn't matter anymore.'
Even if there was a non-compete clause, I hadn't stolen any company technology to make my game, so the worst punishment I could receive was termination.
Since I'd started this fight half-intending to quit anyway, the threat of being fired no longer held any fear for me.
"You won't be able to discipline me even if you want to. Because I'll be walking out on my own."
I stood up and walked out of the conference room. From behind, I heard Oh Gwangseok shout, "That... that crazy bastard!" but I didn't bother to respond.
"Haaa..."
I glided down to the company cafe in the basement, bought a triple-shot iced Americano, and sat down in a quiet corner to catch my breath.
"I've really done it now."
As I took a sip of the Americano, I finally felt my heart start to pound.
I didn't have the courage to go back to the office and face PD Gwangseok right away, so I planned to kill some time here before heading back.
'Now that it's come to this, I guess I have to quit.'
Even if my side project didn't lead to serious disciplinary action, my relationship with the PD had already crossed a bridge of no return.
It couldn't be helped, but I felt a slight pang of regret for throwing away a job with a steady paycheck so easily.
'I should at least say goodbye to people before I leave.'
I took out my smartphone.
One by one, I sent messages to colleagues I was friendly with from other projects, asking to grab a coffee.
As awful as my time at this company had been, these were the precious colleagues who had helped me endure it.
I wanted to leave on a clean note, since I never knew when or where we might meet again.
[Daeri Heo Yuri: Oh! I'll head to the cafe right now!]
[Daeri Kang Oman: See you in a bit then!]
It seemed I hadn't been a complete hermit at work, as I easily managed to schedule a string of meetings with four or five people, lasting until quitting time.
'So this is how my eight years at this company end. So unceremoniously. From now on, I'll live my life making my own games.'
I smiled bitterly and scanned the company cafe.
Countless meetings had been held here, and I slowly recalled the happy moments, however infrequent, that I'd spent with my colleagues.
But this place, which seemed to have everything, was missing one thing: the dream of making my own game.
"Dammit... Still, it's a load off my chest."
At that moment, I had no idea.
I had no idea what kind of storm was about to brew within the company...
****
- Department Head Shin Chihwan! The shareholders have high hopes for you. You're a young department head, so you need to show them what you've got.
- This Phoenix project needs to turn out well. The shareholders are expecting a lot.
- The Sajangnim has great expectations for you! You're a man who started as a regular employee and worked his way up from the bottom.
In the department head's small office, tucked in a corner of the 22nd floor of the NB Soft headquarters.
A handsome, sharp-featured middle-aged man was sighing heavily, pressing his fingers into his temples.
"Sigh, what am I going to do with this? It's a living hell, a complete nightmare."
His name was Shin Chihwan.
The new department head of NB Soft's 3rd Production Department, appointed only six months ago.
His career path was highly unusual.
In a company teeming with graduates from prestigious universities, he was a legendary figure from an unremarkable provincial college who, despite his youth and lack of connections, had climbed to the position of department head on merit alone.
He was now one of the ten most powerful people among the company's over 3,000 employees, but every day felt like walking on thin ice.
"I need to produce results quickly before this all goes to shit..."
His foundation was not yet solid, and the company's atmosphere was grim.
After four consecutive games released by other production departments had utterly bombed, the pressure from major shareholders and the board of directors was starting to fall on him.
He had yet to cement his position as department head, and unlike the others, he didn't own a significant amount of stock. He needed tangible results.
'Phoenix... How am I supposed to salvage that pile of shit.'
The MMORPG project, 'Phoenix'.
A white elephant that the 1st Department had been sluggishly developing for two years before giving up and unceremoniously dumping it on the 5th Department.
If he could somehow revive this hopeless project and make it a success?
Shin Chihwan would be able to solidify his precarious position, at least a little.
'To survive, I need a medium hit at the very least.'
People think game companies just need to make good games, but that logic completely changes once a company is listed on the stock market.
Major shareholders gain voting rights on key company matters, and since the stock price directly affects their own wallets, everyone becomes extremely sensitive.
Because of this, the higher-ups will stop at nothing to protect the stock.
Buying back company stock, announcing fake new titles they had no intention of making, recruiting famous game PDs they hadn't planned for, over-the-top advertising using celebrities, inflating performance numbers, and so on...
This was a ruthless system where the higher-ups constantly engaged in political maneuvering.
Shin Chihwan, merely a new department head, had to survive by any means necessary.
And... Shin Chihwan had one more ambition.
'After I get results with the Phoenix project, I want to use that as a foundation to make... an interesting game, one that embodies the philosophy of the 5th Department.'
While the company demanded results by any means, he had always wanted to make fun games.
Even with cookie-cutter games, he was the kind of planner who always looked for ways to make them even slightly different, to find an element that could set them apart.
That was why he was respected by his subordinates and had proven himself to the higher-ups with his skills, earning him the position of department head.
Just as Shin Chihwan was lost in thought...
*Knock, knock—*
"Department Head, it's Oh Gwangseok."
"Ah, come on in."
At that moment, someone cautiously entered the room.
His name was Oh Gwangseok, and he looked like a gorilla.
He was the man put in charge of the Phoenix project simply because he was a junior from K University, the alma mater of the head of the 1st Department, NB Soft's most powerful figure.
His skills were abysmal, and even with the backing of the K University alumni executives, he had failed so spectacularly that he was pushed from the prestigious 1st Department down to the rock-bottom 5th Department.
And Shin Chihwan was now in the position of having to perform CPR on the Phoenix project with this garbage... no, with this man.
"PD Gwangseok. What's the status on the feedback from the FGT business department? The evaluation sheet I saw looked like it got hit by a nuke."
The release date was less than three months away.
Unfortunately, the response to 'Phoenix' was disastrous.
What would happen if they released this game to the market as it was?
The already struggling stock would fall further, and Shin Chihwan's position as department head would naturally be in jeopardy.
"Well... we just have to fix everything based on the feedback, don't we?"
Oh Gwangseok replied to Shin Chihwan's question, his lips pouting as if something displeased him.
"...Fix everything? PD Gwangseok, do you seriously think that's physically possible in under three months?"
"It's a little tight, but we'll manage somehow."
The moment he saw his flippant attitude, Shin Chihwan felt a surge of anger from within.
*Smack!*
Chihwan slammed his hand on the conference table, making Oh Gwangseok flinch in surprise.
"Oh Gwangseok, snap out of it. Do you still think you're riding the coattails of the K University executives?"
"No... what do you mean by that..."
"You were kicked out of the 1st Department. Because you have no skill... You fell from that great 1st Department all the way down to the newly formed, rock-bottom 5th Department. Don't you understand your own situation?"
He was tough on the strong and lenient on the weak.
Shin Chihwan tore into the arrogant Oh Gwangseok with an intensity that could kill, and overwhelmed by his force, a sense of tension finally crept into Oh Gwangseok's voice.
The reprimand seemed to have made him aware of his current standing.
"S-Sorry. That's not what I meant..."
"Right... So what are you going to do about the Phoenix project?"
At Chihwan's question, Gwangseok's eyes darted around uncomfortably before he squeezed out another sentence.
"I-I'll definitely get it done within the deadline!"
"Haa... Definitely?"
Shin Chihwan let out a deep sigh.
It was obvious that at this stage, there was a limit to how much they could change the game, no matter how much they overworked the staff.
Ultimately, a PD's competence at this point was about choosing what to discard and what to accept from the FGT feedback—a matter of selection and focus.
Yet the gorilla in front of him was spouting nonsense about doing everything.
In other words, it was a confession that the PD himself had no idea what to do.
"Let's just look at the FGT results."
Shin Chihwan tapped his fingers on the desk, his eyes quickly scanning the FGT evaluation document displayed on the monitor.
He narrowed his eyes in displeasure, his fingers drumming a steady rhythm on the desk.
"PD Gwangseok, I'm only going to explain this once, so listen carefully."
"Yes, sir!"
"At this point, we can't touch the core systems, right? Overhauling the graphic concept is also a huge risk, and the art team will push back hard, right?"
"Ah... Yes, that's right."
Oh Gwangseok looked as shocked as if he were listening to a shaman's prophecy.
The art team had, in fact, been clashing with him at every turn during the post-FGT improvement process.
"Realistically, you need to narrow the scope of revisions to things like UI improvements, convenience enhancements, and minor tweaks to the 3D character mapping. In situations like this, you have to find the areas where you can get the most effect for the least amount of effort. Instead of cracking the whip on the art team, you need to push the concept planners to find every single thing that can be knocked out within the time limit."
"Y-You're absolutely right."
Just then, Shin Chihwan's gaze stopped at one section.
It was the part with feedback on the scenario and world-building.
"PD Gwangseok, who's in charge of the scenario and world-building on your team?"
"That... would be Gwajang Jo Hyunsoo."
"Jo Hyunsoo? That guy's good at his job. Why did his evaluation come out like this?"
"Uh... what do you mean by that?"
"I remember him from a previous project we worked on. Even as a junior employee, his scenarios and world-building were pretty solid. Now he's a Gwajang, so why is the evaluation a complete mess?"
Shin Chihwan had a knack for remembering people he'd worked with.
It was one of the reasons he'd been able to climb this high.
In his memory, Jo Hyunsoo, who had been with NB Soft for eight years, was an employee who had always performed above average on projects where he was in charge of the scenario.
But the current scenario for the Phoenix project that Shin Chihwan was reviewing wasn't just a mess; it was incomprehensible.
"Perhaps you're mistaken, Department Head? Or maybe he's gotten too complacent and his skills have deteriorated..."
Oh Gwangseok offered an excuse, his voice trailing off as if he'd committed a crime.
'It's obvious.'
Shin Chihwan's lip curled into a smirk, as if he knew exactly what was going on, and he continued speaking.
"Cut the crap. How much did you interfere with Phoenix's scenario, world-building, and overall flow? Don't lie, just tell me the truth."
Shin Chihwan's sharp gaze seemed to see through everything.
Oh Gwangseok swallowed hard and slowly opened his mouth.
"The current scenario... to be honest, I had some involvement."
"I can already picture it. You probably saw something on YouTube, picked up some bits and pieces, and started telling him what to do. The moment you make these kids PDs, they all think they're Steven Spielberg. In reality, they don't have the talent to make a half-decent B-movie."
"I-I'm sorry."
"Whatever, we don't have time. For now, I'll handle the scenario improvements myself. Send Gwajang Jo Hyunsoo to me. I need to talk to him and steer this thing in the right direction."
Most of the other tasks just required following instructions, and it was too late to make major changes anyway.
But with the scenario and world-building, if he could handle Jo Hyunsoo correctly, he could quickly raise the quality and get good results for the effort put in.
However...
"Um, Department Head. About Jo Hyunsoo..."
PD Oh Gwangseok hesitated like a puppy that needed to poop, unable to answer readily.
"What now? What about Jo Hyunsoo? We don't have time, so stop stalling and spit it out."
"This is a sensitive matter to bring up, but he said he's leaving the team due to an unfortunate incident..."
"Huh? What the hell did he do? Why would a talented guy like him quit right before a release?"
Usually, for game company employees, whether or not they stay until a game is released has a significant impact on their next salary negotiation.
Quitting just before a launch was highly unnatural and meant something was up.
"Well, you see, he violated several regulations and there were communication issues..."
After some thought, Oh Gwangseok began to recount the morning's altercation with Jo Hyunsoo, spinning it to be as favorable to himself as possible.
He framed it as Jo Hyunsoo violating the non-compete clause to make and sell a game for profit, and insulting him, the PD, thereby disrupting the team's ecosystem.
But Shin Chihwan was less interested in Gwangseok's pathetic excuses and more in something else.
'What the hell kind of game did he make that a gentle guy like him would talk back to his PD?'
As far as he knew, Jo Hyunsoo was the quiet, bear-like type who just did his job without complaint.
For a guy like that to lose it meant he must have something to fall back on.
"So what's the name of the game Jo Hyunsoo supposedly made?"
"It's not any great game."
"Did I ask you if it was great?"
"It was something like... Forgotten Andersen's Story..."
"Are you perhaps talking about *Forgotten Andersen's Story*?"
"Ah! Yes, yes! That's the one. You know it?"
In that instant, Shin Chihwan's face was painted with astonishment.
"You've got to be kidding me... You call yourself a PD and you don't even know a game like this?"