We toured the development room, following team leader Han Seok-ho, the leader of the Battle Royale development team.
He was walking around the development room explaining development episodes and overall progress.
“We added additional development staff ahead of the live service. 2 server programmers, 1 data analyst, 2 UI/UX designers.”
“Then how many are there in total?”
“There are only 30 people. Thanks to the addition of manpower, the development progress has now crossed the 8th ridge. After optimizing, fixing bugs, and setting up the network… … .”
The footsteps he was walking on stopped by themselves. Team leader Han Seok-ho, who was walking ahead, looked at me curiously.
“A game that started development at the end of last year is already 80% complete?”
“Our game is a first-person shooter (FPS) genre game, so the development period is shorter than that of a massive RPG genre game.”
No matter how short the development period for an FPS game is, 80% of it was made in one year?
The more absurd fact was that the game made by cramming was so successful that its name was listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
“Anyway, it seems too fast. How many hours a day do you work?”
“There are no days off. about every day… … Think of it as working for 15 hours.”
If you work 15 hours a day, you work 105 hours a week, or 450 hours if you work all month.
“With a schedule like that, your body would be ruined first.”
“Still, I can’t help it. This game is a project that we started promising to complete within a year.”
“Who made such unreasonable demands?”
“that is… … It is a promise we made among our colleagues.”
“yes?”
Han Seok-ho scratches his cheek and continues talking.
“To tell you the truth, I was thinking of leaving the game industry. I didn’t have any significant success for over 10 years, so I thought this wasn’t the way to go.”
“… … .”
“So I was on the verge of giving up… … My colleagues persuaded me to just add one more thing. So, with the thought that it was really the end, we set a one-year development period.”
A developer who has suffered only failures for 10 years burns the last year and makes a big hit?
A scenario that seemed like something out of a movie appeared in front of me. But it’s not fiction, it’s a true story.
“This way.”
Han Seok-ho led us to the innermost office in the development room.
Inside the office, 8 computers were placed in two rows, for a total of 16 computers. It is probably a space used as an in-house test room.
“The atmosphere here is similar to a PC room.”
Lee So-young, who was sitting next to me, looked around the inside as if she were curious.
“I would have made it like this on purpose to create a similar atmosphere. In Korea, your game performance will be different depending on how much you enjoy playing in PC rooms.”
“CEO, do you think the games developed here will succeed in PC rooms?”
“So you came here, right?”
Just then, the test room door opens and people pour in. They were members of the Battle Royale development team.
Lee So-young whispered, lowering her voice even more than before.
“Why did you bring so many people?”
“Battle Royale is an FPS survival game. It is a method where many people fall in one area and choose the last person. So of course you have to have a lot of people to play properly, right?”
“If the purpose of the demonstration is to use a computer player, I think… … .”
“I think they want to show us how to play properly. Or maybe I’m not ready to be a computer player.”
During the conversation, 16 seats were filled in an instant.
Han Seok-ho, the team leader, sticks to our side and kindly teaches us how to set up the game.
“Click the gun-shaped icon on the desktop. Yes, you can press it, set a nickname, and then enter the waiting room.”
When I access the game as he tells me, a background that is no different from an empty field greets me.
The man standing in the center of it.
I guess this is the character I manipulate.
‘Why do you look so clumsy? Is it because it hasn’t been made yet?’
The game as a whole feels empty. Still, there is no way to determine if this is normal or not.
Why? I’ve never played Battle Royale Ground Zero. At most, I only came across it a few times through articles in newspapers.
‘You’ll find out how this game hit the jackpot when you play it.’
* * *
The gameplay of FPS games is very simple.
When you spot an enemy, point your mouse cursor at it, then click to shoot to kill it.
Here, the difference between the accuracy and speed of the mouse is the difference between victory and defeat, and the skilled person would aim at the enemy’s head and kill it in an instant.
Battle Royale Ground Zero adds RPG elements to it.
By acquiring items scattered throughout the map, you can obtain better guns and bulletproof equipment, and get into vehicles.
In this way, as the element of ‘luck’ is added to the FPS game, where only shooting skills were used to win, the battle royale genre became very popular.
“How was the game?”
As soon as the game demonstration is over, Han Seok-ho approaches.
Not only he, but also the other staff who helped us play were waiting for our reaction with a sidelong glance.
“hmm… … therefore… … .”
My honest evaluation was ‘disappointed’. It’s not that I’m sorry that the game isn’t fun.
Battle Royale Ground Zero is a game that could be more fun than it is now. However, the lack of internal stability was suppressing the fun of the game.
‘I’m so sorry. It would be really nice if I could provide proper support… … .’
I was greedy. The desire to release a more perfect game and make it more popular.
But in the current state, it wasn’t easy. In order to fully support them, first of all, the relationship between the shares held by Bluetech had to be resolved.
‘Next year, the game will be completed. So even if I use a somewhat rough method, I have to make a decision within this year.’
After organizing my future plans one by one in my head, I slowly opened my mouth.
“I don’t think it’s meaningful for me to evaluate it as an outsider in the game field. So, So-Young, an expert in this field, please comment.”
Lee So-yeong, who suddenly received a question, waved her hand.
From noble mtl dot com
“Are you an expert? I am worse than the average person when it comes to games.”
“Still, as a developer, there must be something I felt. You don’t have to worry. You just have to be honest and tell me what you feel while playing.”
“honestly… … .”
“Yes, to be as honest as possible. That will help the development process.”
Is there a word as scary as ‘honestly’ in the position of being evaluated?
There is a lot of tension in the testing room. The developers who helped play looked nervous, and Han Seok-ho, the team leader, swallowed dry saliva.
“hmm… … In my view… … .”
There was no technique like a breaking ball for her. From the first ball, a fastball with a speed of 160km/h is fired.
“The whole thing was like a mess.”
* * *
Bluetech is a company established after the core developers of NK Soft, which is famous for being the best online game developer in Korea, left the company.
In the process, there were twists and turns, such as being sued by NK Soft, but the released MMORPG game became a box office hit and took a firm position.
Since then, Bluetech has been buoyed up by absorbing and merging small and medium-sized developers, and one of the developers that joined at this time was the ‘Battle Royale: Ground Zero’ development team.
At one time, there was a time when the Battle Royale development team was regarded as a nuisance within Blue Tech.
After developing an FPS game, which is an unpopular genre in Korea, and offering to sell it as a package rather than online, how could they look away?
However, at the beginning of this year, WHTS Company formally received an investment offer, and their status was elevated from Aemul Complex to Blessing.
“Why did they come in and squeak nonsense? For what?”
Jeong Tae-jin, CEO of Bluetech, had a red face in broad daylight.
The reason he was so excited was because of a message left by the CEO of WHTS Company who came to the company a few days ago.
[Current Battle Royale is a game that does not meet my expectations. If Bluetech insists on continuing development, we will give up.]
It was practically an ultimatum. Of course, Bluetech was upset, and Han Seok-ho, who was in charge of Battle Royale development, had to be called into the representative’s office every day and listened to nagging.
“No, it’s Seokho. What on earth was the game like, so Woohyuk Shin came and made a fuss? You said you liked it before?”
“This time, I brought someone with me. Because of his harsh criticism… … .”
“Who is that?”
“I am Lee So-young, who developed Acorn Coin.”
Lee So-young was recognized for her ability to develop and operate virtual currency, and was already a celebrity in the IT industry.
Jeong Tae-jin also sighed abruptly, having heard at least her name.
“What are you criticizing?”
“The game crashes every time I switch screens because of dropped frames. They also pointed out character movement, gun feedback, broken backgrounds, and objects getting stuck between terrain.”
“No, why are you so critical of games developed by others? If that’s the case, they’ll make it themselves.”
“There is already such a movement.”
Jeong Tae-jin was so startled that he almost fell off his chair.
“You really make it yourself? how? WHTS Company has no game development experience, right?”
“A developer announcement has been posted on the job search site. He said that as a preference, having experience developing FPS games in the past is fine.”
“They are funny. I know that a game can be created just by selecting people.”
“That’s why a job posting was posted for project team units. It is said that up to 200 people will be selected.”
“What 200 people? under… … I’m really going crazy.”
Jeong Tae-jin knew why WHTS Company wanted to enter the game industry.
It is the combination of cryptocurrency and games.
Since Acorn Coin was already operating in conjunction with SNS, it was easy to predict that its influence would extend to games.
If cryptocurrency is introduced into a game, the value of the game company that developed the game will skyrocket as well.
Jeong Tae-jin held on until the end, waiting for that bright day.
However, if WHTS Company shakes off their hands, Bluetech’s future will not be light, but black darkness.
“If there are rumors that WHTS Company has withdrawn its investment, it will have a negative impact on the success of the game.”
“Write, I know. Isn’t that what you’re doing right now?”
“If there is no plan, why not separate and sell the Battle Royale project team?”
Are you asking to sell your team to a third party? Jeong Tae-jin, who has a hundred senses, immediately realized the intention.
“Hey, Han Seok-ho. Did you get money from WHTS Company?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You took the money! Or why are you talking about selling the development team out of your mouth?”
Han Seok-ho stutters and presents the words he received from the WHTS Company.
“that… … You are right about the offer. He asked me to join him because he will set up a new project team.”
“I knew I would. I will never sell it, so don’t even bring that up in front of me. Got it?”
“You will regret it.”
“Why do I have regrets?”
Jeong Tae-jin let out a loud voice. But a single word was enough to change his attitude.
“The proposed amount is 12 billion.”
If you say that a project team of only 30 people is buying a game made for a year for 12 billion won, you should be suspicious of fraud.
However, the place that made the proposal was the WHTS Company, which is rumored to have the most cash in Korea.
“Are you really going to say no?”
“Hmm, who said no? I just want to think about it a bit.”
That’s what I said, but in fact, I didn’t even have to worry about it.
It is not 1.2 billion won, but a whopping 12 billion won. Who in the world would refuse such a large amount of money?
Jeong Tae-jin’s head was already covered with happy imaginations of spending 12 billion won.