“What is this… … .”
Han Seok-ho, the development team leader of Battle Royale, couldn’t help but feel absurd after receiving the report.
The number of temporary server accesses, which had been around 5,000 just a few days ago, had reached 30,000 in just two days.
“I didn’t even promote it, but where do visitors keep coming from?”
The operations team member who brought the report stutters an explanation.
“At first, it is said that many people logged on to help streamers practice for competitions. But as it went viral… … .”
“Streamer? Who are you talking about?”
“Victor, Ninja Deb, Come On Gee, Martin Puck, Rookie Tyler, and 20 other streamers logged on.”
I don’t know other IDs, but I’ve heard of ‘Victor’ and ‘Ninja Deb’.
Big streamer with millions of followers.
Since such people are playing Battle Royale, the temporary server has no choice but to burst into laughter.
‘If they all make paid purchases, there will be no problem, but what if I only enjoy the free time and then skip everything?’
More than 100 million won has already been spent on server maintenance. We’ll have to wait at least half a year before the official release of the game, but until then, we have no idea how much money it will cost.
CEO Shin Woo-hyuk said to leave the server open, but will he still think so after the damage exceeds billions and billions?
Han Seok-ho’s mouth went dry with anxiety.
Is it right to maintain the server as it is, or should we block outsiders even now?
Even if I was moaning alone, it wouldn’t be a problem. He runs out of the office at a brisk pace, clutching the report.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?”
The person Han Seok-ho visited was Lee So-yeong of the virtual currency development team.
Since it was impossible to visit the CEO directly, at least I found someone I knew and had a high standing in the company.
She blinks her big eyes a couple of times, then nods.
“Please speak.”
“Ah, yes. It’s nothing else, you know we opened the tournament server this time, right?”
Han Seok-ho conveyed the details of what had happened so far to Lee So-young in as much detail as possible.
As she listens, she listens with a steady nod of her head.
“Isn’t it good when a game under development is popular? It will also make it easier to find bugs.”
“That’s right, but the problem is cost. Since we have already spent billions of dollars on server maintenance alone, I don’t think we will be able to afford it if more people increase in the future.”
“Didn’t the CEO say anything?”
“They said you could just leave it alone.”
Lee So-young, who has heard this far, gives an answer as if she has nothing to think about.
“If the CEO told you to leave it alone, do it.”
“I would have done the same with a few thousand people, but the number of users has already exceeded 30,000.”
“What does it matter whether there are 30,000 or 300,000 users? Are you afraid that a team leader will be held accountable later?”
Han Seok-ho looked at her slightly, then nodded with difficulty.
“To be honest, I don’t have that kind of side.”
“Ah, our CEO is not the kind of person who will hold accountability for failure. And I heard that this case was directly ordered by the CEO?”
No matter how much the owner ordered, if the project fails, the team leader level cannot avoid responsibility.
In particular, if it was a game development team with a weak foundation, it would not be strange if the entire team was blown away.
“I’m guessing you don’t know because it’s been a while since Team Manager Han came, but there is an unwritten rule in our company.”
“What unwritten rule?”
“Follow the CEO’s instructions without questioning or questioning.”
It was a very natural thing in Korean corporate culture where top-down is strict. However, at WHTS Company, the phrase ‘asking and not arguing’ was used in a slightly different meaning.
“How many of the projects that you led directly do you think will be successful?”
“well. Because he’s famous for his business… … Do you think you have been successful enough to be seven or eight?”
“It’s not seven or eight, but it’s 100 percent.”
Han Seok-ho examines her expression, wondering if he heard it wrong. Then the same words come out again.
“Everything you put your hands on has been successful.”
“That couldn’t be… … .”
“It’s impossible, but we’ve seen and experienced it. That’s why there was an unwritten rule to ask and not argue.”
Lee So-young stares into the sky with eyes that do not contain the slightest doubt. It wouldn’t be easy for a nun at the cathedral to make such an expression.
“So don’t worry. It will definitely work out this time too.”
“Ah, yes… … .”
Han Seok-ho reflexively nodded, but his head was more messed up.
It was because he had no idea where to start or how far to believe what she said.
* * *
The battle royale competition, which was originally scheduled to be held as an in-house event, became a big issue with the participation of famous streamers.
In the early days, a few streamers participated just for curiosity and prize money, but now it was considered a competition where streamers risked their pride.
However, since it was an in-house competition, it was inevitable that many people would participate.
In particular, it was almost impossible to obtain an invitation letter needed to access the temporary server, so 99% of the visitors were accessing through illegal routes.
– Anyone seen Ninja Deb play yesterday?
From noble mtl dot com
When someone throws a rice cake in the lobby of a battle royale game, fans flock to it.
– I saw! It was fantastic!
-Viktor did better than ninja Deb. In the end, I was unlucky in the seat, so I died first.
-That’s a skill too. Ninja Dep thought to the end and got a good seat in advance.
Even after that, the streamer fans continue to debate for a long time over who is better.
Then someone brings up another topic.
-I’m a little anxious these days. Aren’t there too many accessors?
-Not many. A game that hasn’t even been officially released has 50,000 concurrent users! that’s absolutely awesome
– I don’t like it. 50,000 players in a free game is a disaster, not a jackpot. Consider the cost of maintaining a server.
-We’re testing the game.
-No company uses 50,000 testers.
– If the game company had an idea to stop it, they would have stopped it a long time ago.
-Isn’t it because there’s a competition soon? I’ll just block it once the contest is over.
All chats stopped after this chat. It was in a state of being stuck, where messages could not be entered at all.
Just then, a green message appears in the lobby.
[Nice to meet you who loved Battle Royale. I am Han Seok-ho, the general manager of Battle Royale.]
[A major announcement of Battle Royale will be made soon.]
As soon as the manager’s message ended, the chat ban was lifted again.
Of course, the chat room in the lobby was in a frenzy.
-Are you the real operator? I’ve never seen a green message before.
-What is the big announcement? Is this a contest announcement?
– What is it? Server Shutdown Notice. How can they keep the server open when they’re not even philanthropists?
– It’s finally here… Friends, it’s been fun so far.
-It’s not too late to talk about it after seeing what kind of announcement it is. That could be good news.
Then, about a minute later, the green message appears again.
[The first thing to announce is about the in-house competition. As you all know, it is true that the current in-house competition has ceased to fit the purpose of being an in-house competition.]
[Therefore, the development team plans to revise the rules so that only WHTS Company employees can participate in the in-house competition.]
If only executives and employees attend, the efforts of the streamers who have practiced so far will be in vain.
Naturally, the streamer’s fans heard the news and went wild.
-What are you talking about all of a sudden? So what about Ninja Deb? Are you saying you can’t participate in the competition?
– It’s ridiculous. What if we change the rules with only one week left before the tournament! are you kidding
– Withdraw! Withdraw!
Hundreds of chats pour in in an instant. As a result, the chat becomes inactive again, and a green message appears.
[Your passion is well known to the development team. That’s why we want to open our own battle royale competition, not an in-house competition.]
[named Battle Royale Beta’s strongest bike! Anyone eligible to participate is OK. The prize money is 20,000 Acorn Coins, four times more than before!]
When chatting was disabled, emoticons flooded the chat window.
Most of them were positive emoticons such as a thumbs up or a heart.
[The official beta server will open in about a week, and applications for participation are accepted on the official SNS account.]
[Thank you for using the Battle Royale temporary server so far.]
* * *
After taking his hands off the keyboard, Han Seok-ho took several deep breaths, as if he was hyperventilating.
Both arms were trembling, and the pupil also repeated running in all directions as if there was an earthquake.
“Chief Han, are you okay?”
When I ask, he blinks for a long time and then nods.
“Gwa, it’s okay.”
“You don’t look okay at all. Shouldn’t you go to the hospital? Or call an ambulance?”
“Oh, no. I guess I was nervous because I was afraid the reaction would be bad.”
“This server has been kept open as a favor until now. Even if the development team shuts it down at will, who will say anything?”
“that is… … It reminds me of the past.”
Han Seok-ho took another deep breath before finally continuing his words.
“Battle Royale is the third game I developed. The games we had previously developed were not popular, so we had to close all the services without lasting long.”
He forcibly raises the corners of his mouth.
“From then on, the act of closing the game server was very difficult for me.”
“Even though it’s a temporary server?”
“Any server is the same. this… … Closing the server made me feel like the world in the game was over.”
Since Han Seok-ho’s game development career is said to be 11 years, it means that he has poured more than 5 years into each game.
It seems that some kind of trauma occurred during the successive failures of such a painstaking game.
‘Is this the reason why he didn’t seem confident in the game he made?’
The developer’s psychological state also affects the development.
I took the phone out of my pocket and picked it up, hoping he would regain the confidence he had lost.
Tok. Tok. Todok.
I posted a short message on social media. It was a message of three or four lines, but the effect was stronger than any other speech.
“Chief Han!”
Shortly thereafter, one of the development staff came running.
He hangs his head in amazement as if he saw me sitting belatedly.
“Is there a problem?”
“Within 15 minutes of announcement, the number of beta server participants exceeded 1 million!”
Han Seok-ho looks at me with wide-eyed eyes. It looked like he was asking what the hell was going on.
“I announced a small event on my SNS. It seems to work.”
He hurriedly turns on his phone and checks social media. Then, along with the employee next to him, he screams in amazement.
“What do you mean? If you win first place in a regular game, not a competition, you give me virtual currency?”
“The clearer the reward, the more immersed you will be in the game. Oh, by the way, I plan to keep this operation going forward.”
“CEO, if you scatter cryptocurrency in this way, you will have a huge budget… … .”
I cut and enter while he is talking.
“I take care of things that make my head hurt like the budget. So, team leader Han, just focus on development.”