1988 Retro Game Tycoon - Chapter 129



Only Noblemtl

Episode 129 – Variable Wing

After CEO Seo Nam-joon went on a business trip to Japan, Starbeat employees continued their daily lives as before.

Even if the CEO is away, the company does not stop and projects continue to run.

The same was true for Development Team B captain Park Geon-hyeong.

Ahead of CES, Team A is in the midst of developing , while Team B is in the midst of developing .

The fact that was participating in the world’s largest electronics show was a great stimulus and a burden to Park Geon-hyung.

America, a game that was made by putting our heads together in a dorm room with other members!

When I first made , or rather , I never even dreamed of advancing into the American market.

I just thought that computers and programming were so fun, and the world of video games that I encountered while studying was so fascinating that I thought, let’s make one too.

His dreams were never grandiose.

No, I thought it was grandiose back in the day.

It was just a bunch of amateur college students getting together to try to make a commercial game. I thought it was a really difficult dream to take on.

But after joining Starbeat and meeting Seo Nam-joon, I realized to my bones how small my vision and perspective were.

“To promote , we will hold a baseball game at Dongdaemun Stadium. It will be broadcast nationwide on TV.”

“We have decided on Im Ji-young as the model for the Game Pocket TV commercial. There will not be a single word about the game in the commercial.”

“We start developing arcade boards for arcades and our own 16-bit console.”

“ will be ported to Mega Drive within a month. It will be released in Japan as well as the United States through Sega.”

“I submitted my application to participate in CES.”

At first, Seo Nam-joon seemed like a god of game programming and planning.

I wanted to learn everything about game development from Seo Nam-joon, who turned the Korean game market upside down with .

But as I watched the game development process, launch process, and negotiating and collaborating with business partners, I soon realized that game development was only a part of CEO Seo Nam-joon’s capabilities.

Making a game isn’t everything.

The ‘game world’ that CEO Seo Nam-joon sees is fundamentally different from that of Park Geon-hyung. It is incomparably wider, deeper, and farther ahead.

Seo Nam-joon was looking at Korea, not Seun Shopping Mall, and the entire arcade and console market, not just MSX, and now he was targeting the global market.

Park Geon-hyung wanted to have the same skills, insight, and vision as Seo Nam-joon. However, it was difficult to even catch up with his programming skills.

“This business trip will be a bit longer than usual. Please take good care of the company while I am in Japan.”

Before Seo Nam-joon went on a business trip to Japan, he called in the two captains, AD Choi Han-il, and HR manager Park Chung-shin and gave them a favor.

“Don’t worry and have a nice trip.”

“I say this, but I’m not really worried. That’s why I can trust you and leave.”

Seo Nam-joon greeted her with a smile and left for his business trip to Japan.

Until then, I thought that Park Geon-hyung was no different than usual. He just had to keep doing what he was doing.

“It’s Christmas and the end of the year, but it’s a very important time for the company and our team. Let’s work hard and surprise the CEO when he comes back!”

“OK, when the boss isn’t here, the progress is going very quickly!”

“What’s wrong, Captain Park? Aren’t you a little too motivated? Then I’ll finish the game before CES. Take it easy~.”

Captain A’s Ancient Dragon passed by and joked as he watched Team B show their fighting spirit.

However, game development was not as easy as Park Geon-hyung thought.

The first clash occurred during a seemingly insignificant design meeting.

consists of a total of 4 stages, and each stage features a different mecha machine.

1) Stage 1 (Space): [Space Bomber] with powerful firepower and an extended booster attached to the fighter.

2) Stage 2 (The back side of the moon): [Space fighter] body with the expansion booster removed.

3) Stage 3 (Moon Surface/Alien Base): [Moon Tank] separates from the fighter body and runs on the moon surface.

4) Stage 4 (Inside the Alien Base): Reinforced Spacesuit [Battle Suit]

The point of is that as each unit separates on each stage, its firepower and armor gradually weaken, and the game viewpoint changes, making it feel like you’re playing a different game.

However, Team B had not yet finalized the three-stage mechanical design.

The development team created a virtual aircraft and tested various weapons, including lasers, bullets, missiles, and bombs, and even created a first demo, but the aircraft design was still incomplete.

Team B’s Hyunwoo Seok, who was in charge of design, and the art team’s Seongbeom Ko often had different opinions.

No, it was almost always different.

“Captain, please take a look at the design of the space bomber. What should we make for the tail fins? I think something like a pointed triangle would look good, but Seongbeom hyung said a large trapezoid would suit him better.”

“The point of a bomber is its powerful firepower and heavy body. Then the tail wing also needs to be balanced. If you just dot Woo-seok’s design, it won’t be noticeable.”

“But if we do that to the tail wing too, the fuselage will look too dull.”

“I get that you want it to feel nimble, but that’s because you’re going to be showing it as a fighter in 2nd edition. The 1st edition space bomber should have a more solid feel to it. Don’t you think so, Captain?”

“hmm···.”

After Seo Nam-joon filtered out the designs that were too diverse and decided on a direction, the fuselage design also took on a certain outline.

The two seemed to be in sync for a moment, but when they got into the details, they started clashing again over every little thing.

Even now, there has been no compromise on the tail wing design.

The original design process involved the art team consulting with the development team to set a direction, then working on various character and background designs, which were then confirmed by CEO Seo Nam-jun.

It was a conflict that would not normally occur.

However, was a game that started from the Tobagi project, and it had a special meaning and affection for Team B, which included many Tobagi members.

Since Hyunwoo Seok was studying industrial design, this project was exceptionally planned by Team B and the art team assisted.

Since the art team doesn’t have many people, the plan was to focus more on .

However, things don’t always go as planned.

Every time Hyunwoo Seok and Ko Seongbeom clashed over design, Captain Park became embarrassed.

As the captain, I had to make a choice, but I couldn’t be sure what was better. When I listened to Hyunwoo Seok, it seemed right, and when I listened to Ko Seong Beom, it seemed right too.

As a result, there were many cases where we had to print out all the dots and compare them, and Kim Han-sol, who was in charge of the dots, also had a lot of work to do.

“Do I have to take pictures of all of this again?”

“I’m sorry. I know you’re busy right now, but I just want to make sure you have something better to do.”

When he changed the title to and came up with a new concept, Park Geon-hyung felt like the game was half-finished.

The game framework was complete, and I had gained experience while making , so I thought I could make it without much difficulty if I focused.

However, because the important design was sluggish, we couldn’t move forward as quickly as we had hoped.

However, it was not possible to hand the design back to the art team.

The art team was already putting more effort into , and it was regrettable that Park Geon-hyung was there, but it was obvious that Hyun Woo-seok’s opposition would be particularly strong.

“Was making a game this difficult···.”

Park Geon-hyung felt a huge difference between making games during his time at Tobagi and making games at Starbeat.

At that time, I didn’t really care about the results. I just chose what seemed good at the time, and if it was really difficult, I avoided the problem and went in a different direction.

The people who made the game were more important than the unknown people who would play it. Thinking back now, it was the self-satisfaction of thorough amateurs.

But making games at StarBeat means selling them to a ton of game fans for money.

If I just make something however I want and it fails at the box office, not only will the fans be disappointed, but it will also cause serious damage to the company.

When Seo Nam-joon left for a business trip, Park Geon-hyung felt the weight of the captain and the weight of the ‘decision’ even more keenly.

While the CEO is away, all decisions regarding Dark Moon fall to Park Geon-hyung.

Park Geon-hyung tried to be a balancing weight between the two designers, but he had difficulty making decisions because he was not confident.

The very next day after the tail wing crash, Hyunwoo Seok and Ko Sungbeom again had different opinions on the design.

This time, the fighter design for Stage 2 was the problem.

Ko Sung-beom argued that the space fighter aircraft should have variable wing design.

Hyunwoo Seok immediately objected.

“Brother Seongbeom, this is space. In the first place, there is no air to resist, so why do you have variable wings? Doesn’t that make no sense?”

“If you look at it that way, all space-based shooter games don’t make sense. They don’t need wings in the first place, right? But in reality, they all have wings. Why is that? First, because we think that flying requires wings, and second, and more importantly, because they’re cool.”

“I know it’s important to look cool, but it doesn’t have to be a swing-wing aircraft. Doesn’t this look too much like an F-14? It’s a spaceship.”

“I don’t understand why it’s called the F-14. The shape itself is completely different. Isn’t it unreasonable to insist that everything with swing wings is an F-14? If that’s the case, then every design in the world is a plagiarism.”

“So, when people see this, won’t they think it’s a rip-off of Afterburner 2? It’ll just be a slapdash Afterburner?”

“What? A salty burner? Are you done talking? Haa···, where did that guy learn design?”

“Then why do you always talk about the F-14 and Top Gun even though you graduated from art school?”

“Because that’s the coolest! If you don’t like it, come up with something cooler than this. Then I’ll be convinced right away. But, you only bring me things that look like they’re half-finished.”

“Wow…! Brother, you’re just trying to put in your own favorite things into the project?”

“Me? Okay, okay. Let’s say that’s true. But let’s say that’s true. And you? Don’t you think that is yours? This is a game made by a company. It’s not a personal project. If you want to insist on your own ideas like that, why don’t you just do it from the beginning and make everyone else tired?”

As Go Seong-beom and Hyeon Woo-seok met, their emotions grew increasingly intense.

Captain Park intervened and tried to stop them.

“No! Hey, wait a minute! Why are you guys like this?”

“Wait a minute, Gunhyung! We have to get this over with.”

“Okay, let’s get this straight. Why are you interfering with me and making me tired? It’s because you···!”

“Stop it! What are you doing! At the company?”

Just as the two were about to grab each other by the collar, AD Choi Han-il, who was watching the situation in the conference room from outside, intervened.

When AD Choi Han-il, who is usually quiet and doesn’t say much, suddenly shouted, the conference room became quiet as if cold water had been poured over it.

Go Seong-beom and Hyeon Woo-seok’s faces were red because they were still excited.

“I’m sorry for causing a commotion, Captain Park Geon-hyung.”

“Oh, no. I should have done better in the middle, I’m sorry.”

“Since both of you seem excited, I’ll take Seongbeom out so he can cool his head.”

AD Choi Han-il took Ko Seong-beom out of the company.

“Why did you do that? Are you kidding me? There are things you can say to people at work and things you can’t say to them.”

Park Geon-hyung and Hyun Woo-seok were left alone in the conference room.

Park Geon-hyung asked, but Hyun Woo-seok kept his mouth shut and just listened to what Park Geon-hyung said. Then he blurted it out.

“Honestly, isn’t it? What’s the point if the design is cool? It just looks like crap.”

“Woo-seok.”

“You too, hyung! Why don’t you take my side? Is this a game you’re making just for my own good?”

“Hey, Woo-seok!”

After saying those words, Hyunwoo Seok got up from his seat and left the company.

“ha···.”

Park Geon-hyeong slumped back in his chair, feeling as if all the blood had drained from his body.

I tried to do better while the CEO was away, but instead, an accident occurred.

I thought it was just a clash of opinions that arose at work, but the conflict between the two seemed deeper than I thought.

When it was time to leave work, AD Choi Han-il called Park Geon-hyeong to have a drink.

“I often have these kinds of meetings where I get to hear stories about how things are going these days. It’s embarrassing to only do this after something has happened.”

“No. I’m sorry for making you worry, AD.”

“No. I didn’t pay much attention to either. Seong-beom said that it was going well, and although it seemed like there was more work than I thought, I thought it was still a process. But I didn’t know that the two of them were still doing that. It was my fault.”

“Absolutely not. It was my fault for not being able to properly coordinate in the middle.”

“I think Woo-seok went out and didn’t come back. Is that okay?”

“He’s bright and playful, so people don’t know that he has a very cold side. But he’ll be fine after a day of sleep. I’ll make sure he doesn’t do that again.”

Choi Han-il and Park Geon-hyung talked over soju glasses. It was the first time the two of them spoke openly.

Choi Han-il said after drinking a glass of soju.

“I envy you.”

“Huh? Are you jealous?”

“You can be so angry. Isn’t that possible because you’re a college student? Oh, and the captain said he dropped out?”

“Yes, my parents were very much against it, but I went to my hometown and knelt down all night long and barely got permission. I thought I had grown up a bit as I started living in society, but looking back today, I see that wasn’t the case at all. I’m really embarrassed.”

“It all comes down to time. How could I not feel angry? But it’s still amazing. You’re working hard at a company at an age when you should still be having fun on campus.”

“Now that I think about it, the art team is made up entirely of college graduates. Our development team also has high school students. Maybe that’s why the art team seems a lot more mature when they work.”

“What? Does age matter in this job? Look at the CEO. He’s younger than Woo-seok.”

“Oh, that’s true.”

The two of them laughed as if it was ridiculous.

“I thought I was responsible for all this time, right? But looking back today, I think I wasn’t. In fact, I think I was hiding behind the scenes, leaving all the important decisions up to the CEO. That’s why I think I’m more disappointed in myself than angry at Woo-seok.”

Park Geon-hyung drank all the soju he could.

“Well, actually, our CEO is really strange. That he could do that at that age. Actually, when I first met him, I was a bit disappointed. I thought that if I had grown up in a better environment, if not in a wealthy family like that, I could have grown up a lot more. But after I joined the company, I realized that it wasn’t true. Even if I had been born into a wealthier family than that, I don’t think I could have done that. So don’t compare me to the CEO.”

When AD Choi Han-il revealed his true feelings, Park Geon-hyeong didn’t know what to say in response.

The two poured soju in silence and emptied their glasses.

“Can I just say one thing?”

“Of course, AD. Of course. Please speak sharply. I will listen carefully.”

“The captain tries to be too omnipotent to everyone. Of course, that’s good, but when you have to make decisions and take responsibility for something like this, it’s easy to get swayed by people.”

“Even without that, Woo-seok kept asking why I wasn’t taking his side. Hearing that made me feel even more frustrated and hurt.”

“In the end, the most important thing is to do your job properly. I’m not good at taking care of people, but I’ve found that when things don’t go well, the relationships I’ve made at work all fall apart. Even the people I call my brother and sister fall apart when things go wrong. I don’t know because my company is growing so fast, but that’s how the world is.”

“Should we do that too?”

“Well, I don’t know. So I do the best I can to save the relationship.”

“What is that?”

“Doing a good job. Doing it as excellently as possible. Always focusing on the work and thinking about what is best for the project. After all, relationships can only be maintained if the work is done well. When I was working at an advertising agency, I was misunderstood and had a hard time, but I think it was thanks to that that I caught the CEO’s eye and was able to come here.”

“ah···.”

“When you don’t know what’s better, there’s no other way. You have to study twice as much as others and think three times as much. If we can’t keep up with your abilities, shouldn’t we try harder than you?”

That day, the two drank more alcohol than they usually could.

But for some reason, Park Geon-hyung didn’t take it.

When I got home, Hyunwoo Seok was sleeping with the blanket over his head.

Park Geon-hyeong snickered and went to bed without washing up. Then he spent the night wondering what he should do.

The next morning, as soon as Park Geon-hyeong arrived at work, he called Hyun Woo-seok and Ko Seong-beom into the conference room.

The two people looked at each other awkwardly.

“I won’t force you to apologize to the two of you. In fact, the real fault is mine for not being able to properly play the role of leader between the two of you. I’m sorry.”

“No, that is···.”

“brother···.”

When Park Geon-hyung sincerely apologized, the two people were embarrassed and didn’t know what to do.

“So I kept thinking about it.”

The two people became tense at Park Geon-hyung’s words.

I thought he was going to talk about what happened yesterday, but Park Geon-hyung started talking about something else.

“Our fighter design. Should we have a swing wing or not? I think we need a swing wing.”

“yes?”

“But it’s not the way Mr. Seongbeom suggested, where it folds back and forth. In fact, the wings don’t move either. I’m not good at drawing, but if I were to roughly draw it, it would look like this…”

Park Geon-hyung picked up a pen and began to draw on paper. The two people looked at him with bewildered expressions, not knowing what was going on.

“Stage 2 is a low-altitude mission that flies very close to the lunar surface, right? So altitude is very important.”

The two nodded to Park Geon-hyung, who was talking about something they all already knew.

“And when I thought about our fighter jets, which are like a moon tank with a propulsion engine and wings on top of it, I thought that this would be a much more intuitive way to express the altitude increase and decrease. So, something like this.”

“ah···?!”

Park Geon-hyeong drew a picture of a tank with propulsion engines attached to both sides, with both engines rotating up to 180 degrees around the center axis.

It was designed to be able to rise and fall vertically in place by bending up to 90 degrees up and down.

“Wouldn’t this be a way to achieve both design and functionality? Since the engine has to keep moving according to the movement, we’d have to put in a lot of dots, and it might be a bit difficult to implement, but I think this would be a way to achieve both style and practicality. What do you think?”

“Hmm… it looks okay. It’s a simple concept of attaching a moving engine to a moon tank, so the design direction is also set.”

“I like it too. I think it suits .”

The three put their heads together and began to create a new fighter design.

The company staff, who were worried that there might be another loud noise, were relieved to see the three of them discussing heatedly.

That day, the three of them focused on the mechanical design late into the night.

‘s mecha design has made greater progress than in the past few months.

“I’m back!”

Seo Nam-joon returned from his business trip to Japan.

The end-of-year marketing results were a huge success.

Seo Nam-joon, who shared the results of his business trip, immediately started checking the project.

“No, what happened while I was away? The design came to life.”

Seo Nam-joon was surprised when he looked at the design sketches for .

had several mechanical design sketches and various notes attached to the partition, and each time the design was modified, a new design was added on top of it, making it easy to see the modification process.

“Oh~, I especially like this spaceship design. I think we’re almost there now. I guess I’ll have to leave often. I think you work better without me.”

“Hey, what are you talking about, sir?”

“Then something big will happen.”

When Seo Nam-joon made a joke, people laughed out loud and tried to stop him.

Park Geon-hyung, Hyeon Woo-seok, and Ko Seong-beom were just making excuses.