1988 Retro Game Tycoon - Chapter 29



Only Noblemtl

Episode 29 – Secret Proposal

“Wow, the atmosphere really comes alive when music comes in. Music is more important than I thought.”

“Of course. Even in the same scene, the atmosphere changes when the music changes.”

Yang Geun-seok was impressed while watching equipped with BGM.

The upbeat music added rhythm and energy to the game. President Jeong nodded with satisfaction.

“Now it’s really complete. By the way, you’re so good at picking music too. There’s really nothing CEO Seo can’t do.”

“It’s all thanks to my good brother.”

“Oh, really? Wow, this is a really great family. Is it because of the blood?”

I don’t know, but my second child, Subin, seems to have different blood.

Because he completed the basic melody and shared it with me in just two days. And he did not do just one, but five songs.

“What are your classes at school?”

“I heard everything. Of course.”

“But you did it this quickly?”

“I just organized the things that came to mind during breaks, lunch, and between practices. Also, I have a friend in the composition department who helped me a lot. He knows about , right?”

“Oh? I see you tried the demo version. It definitely went viral.”

“When I told him that this was the music for , he jumped up and down and said he made it too. Numbers 4 and 5 were made by my friend.”

“Thank you, my friend. Bring me sometime later.”

“Look at it.”

“Yeah. Anyway, you too, and that guy is really great.”

I was so amazed that I couldn’t close my mouth.

“It’s not that hard to write a song if you have an image in mind. The problem is that most of them aren’t very good songs.”

The second one said, casually running his long fingers through his long hair. He could easily make a living just by being a shampoo commercial model instead of doing music.

No, I don’t. It’s a family where you don’t have to work your whole life. I guess I’m still not used to it, so I keep forgetting.

I listened to the five songs my brother and his friend made over and over again and chose the three that I thought would best fit with .

“Let’s do 1, 2, and 4. Two that feel light. And one that feels tense. What do you think?”

“Okay. And I was thinking, there’s that scene at the beginning of the game, right? The first scene where you see the New York apartment. How about using this music there? It’s a pretty emotional feeling at the beginning of the game.”

The second one was playing and playing the synthesizer next to it. It felt like a thin curtain of light was spreading in the middle of the night. It was a famous melody.

“Is this Beethoven’s piano sonata? ?”

“That’s right. The introduction of the first movement is repeated like this, and when the intro ends and the police appear and the game starts, it connects right away with the melody number 1 from before, making it lively.”

As the intro ended and the real game began, the second one naturally connected the melody of Moonlight Sonata as the background music. The gentle emotion suddenly changed to a cheerful one, naturally letting us know that it was just the beginning.

“Wow~, I asked him to compose background music, and Subin even directed the music for me? This would be perfect for the intro to . Thank you.”

“Since I’m going to do it, I might as well do it well. Then I’ll work on variations of the melody 1, 2, and 4 and bring them to you.”

“Yeah, but Subin. While you’re at it, why don’t you do some ending music with your friend?”

“Until the end?”

“Yeah, I had fun pampering my ears with the music you made from the beginning to the end stage, but when my ear-piercing music comes on during the ending screen, which is supposed to be the most touching, won’t all the emotion disappear?”

The second one glared at me.

“Oppa, you’re more serious than you look?”

“Yeah, I have a really long aftertaste. Didn’t you know? I’m not going to forget this until I die and my ears rot away.”

“Ugh…, I got it.”

The second one sighed deeply as if he couldn’t stop himself, and eventually finished the ending music.

The youngest helped with animation work, which cut development time in half, and the second one took care of the music, protecting the gamers’ ears from rotting while playing .

, which started as Namjoon’s idea, became a game that was truly created with the whole family, with his father allowing him to start a business, his mother providing start-up funds, and his two younger siblings helping with the work.

How is it, Namjoon?

I think you’ve done a pretty good job with this, right? I believe you’ll be quite satisfied with it.

has been a game with special meaning not only to me but also to this family in many ways. I am honored to have been able to create such a meaningful game.

“What about the production plan for the ROMPAK? I hope there will be no problems?”

“Okay. I’ve secured the ROM chips, cartridges, cases, and supplies. Now I just need to get the game data. Put it in the ROM chips, assemble the cartridges, check for defects, put stickers on the packs, and pack them in the cases. It’s that simple.”

“What about the warehouse?”

“Oh, there’s a place nearby that I’ve been using for a long time.”

“Is there a place that President Jeminan knows about?”

President Jeong hesitated at my question.

“Well, that’s true… but this is also a place that a lot of people from Seunsangga use.”

“Then, even if it’s a bit inconvenient, please use a different warehouse for the . It’s a place that people in the shops here don’t often use.”

“Hmm, you wouldn’t believe me. Hey, would you still do something like that?”

“Just in case. As they say, ‘Ubiquitous’, right? Since it’s such an important game, I don’t want any variables to arise.”

“If Representative Seo says so, I understand. I’ll look into other warehouses.”

“Thank you. And please do not leave the diskette or any other original data in the store. Always carry it with you wherever you go. Be careful not to lose it.”

“If that bastard Kim Ho-seung dares to open the door and come into this store, I’ll be the first to cut off his throat, but I understand that. If something happens, I won’t have the face to face the CEO.”

“It might be annoying for you, but take good care of yourself. You’re probably really pissed because you failed at hacking the demo version.”

“Yeah, don’t worry. I’ve been keeping my radar on the Jeminan side anyway. I think they’re preparing something too, but it’ll take 10 years to catch up with .”

“They’re definitely up to something. Please keep an eye out until the game is released.”

I asked everyone to be a little careful with electronics, since this is a wild time when the video game market is not yet fully established.

In the Internet age, online security such as hacking may be more important, but now we need to be more careful about physical theft.

“Here is the final data for . Now, please start producing the ROM pack. I will check the case design and poster one last time.”

I handed the diskette containing the final data to President Jeong. President Jeong accepted the diskette carefully as if it were a sacred relic.

“Okay, don’t worry. I’ll call you when the printing schedule is set.”

“Okay, then I’ll be going now.”

I left All Electronics and headed to Myeongseong Planning. Now the launch is really just around the corner.

***

After Seo Nam-joon left, Yang Geun-seok stared intently at the floppy disk containing the final data for .

“Wow, it’s so amazing that there’s an here.”

“Be careful, Geun-seok. You’ll get into trouble for no reason.”

“Hey, boss, no matter what you say, it’s like there’s something wrong.”

“Still, you should always be careful about your conduct before doing something important. I’ll go to President Hwang’s house tomorrow to start making rompacks, so you look for a new warehouse.”

“Are you really going to buy a new warehouse? Is it really necessary to do that?”

“I don’t think anything bad will happen to me either. As Representative Seo said, Ho-seung is no ordinary guy. It wouldn’t hurt to be careful.”

“But even so, Namjoon is acting so strangely. Well, it’s not that I don’t understand since it’s the first game he made, but···.”

Drrrrrr.

At that moment, the sound of the door opening loudly was heard. President Jeong and Yang Geun-seok looked toward the door at the same time and were startled. A face they knew well was coming into the store.

“Oh my~. It’s been a while, brother. How have you been? I haven’t been able to visit you even though you live so close.”

“What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing? You’re really cold-hearted, hyung. I came here just to see you after a long time. What, nothing has changed here.”

President Kim Ho-seung of Jeminan said as he looked around the store carefully.

On the counter was a floppy disk with the words ‘Emergency Escape Final Data’ written on it. Yang Geun-seok moved slightly and covered the floppy disk with his body.

“Well, all game stores are like that. Do the stores change when the games change?”

President Jeong also noticed Yang Geun-seok’s intentions and pretended to look at the counter while he took the floppy disk and put it in the inside pocket of his jumper. His heart was pounding for no reason.

“I heard you’re very busy these days?”

Kim Ho-seung looked at Jeong Chun-bae and asked him a question that had a lot of meaning.

“Oh, what could I be busy with? President Kim of Cheonggye Media is probably twice as busy as I am. He even set up a research lab and is working day and night.”

“Brother, are you still misunderstanding me because of what happened with Byung-chul and the kids back then? I told you that I didn’t sneak the kids away without telling you. They said that I was an MSX expert and wanted to make a game that would sell well, so that’s how it happened. I really didn’t know that you were making a game with them. Please believe me.”

“Okay. Let’s talk about the past again. And what the hell kind of brother is that? Just call me boss.”

“No, but how can I call you boss? Without being rude.”

Then, Kim Ho-seung sat down on the chair naturally and asked Yang Geun-seok.

“Hey, Geun-seok. I came here and you didn’t even bring me a glass of water?”

“Huh? Huh? Just a moment.”

Yang Geun-seok looked back and forth between the two presidents, not knowing what to do, and then poured some water into a cup and brought it out.

“What are you really here for? Are you a busy person?”

“Brother, I heard you’re working with a guy named Seo Nam-joon these days?”

“Are you investigating me?”

“What about background checks? Every game shop has a rumor about the game that my brother spreads around. How can you not know that when you have Seun Shopping Mall?”

“Really? Have you tried ?”

“Of course I tried it. It was pretty well made. But it wasn’t as good as I expected. I met him once before by chance, and he seemed to be good then, but he acted so good that I thought he would come up with something really amazing.”

“Oh, really? I look really good. And it seems like the other game shop owners all think the same way as me.”

“He definitely has a lot of potential for development. It’s just that he’s young and doesn’t have a lot of courage.”

“Well, your fighting spirit is no joke either.”

“yes?”

Kim Ho-seung and Yang Geun-seok were both surprised by Jeong Chun-bae’s counterattack. This was because they knew Jeong Chun-bae’s personality well, as he was not good at saying unpleasant things in front of others.

“Hehehe, I guess you’ve gotten used to being with that guy. Brother, come here and sit down. I came here today to make an important suggestion.”

Kim Ho-seung straightened his back and looked at Jeong Chun-bae across the counter.

“Okay, let me hear what you have to say. What are you talking about?”

“The game Seo Nam-joon made, . Your brother’s company, Modu Electronics, decided to distribute it, right?”

“I heard that there’s no one in Seun Shopping Mall who doesn’t know that. Yeah, that’s right. So what?”

“Please leave the to me.”

“what?”

Jeong Chun-bae opened his eyes sharply. Yang Geun-seok’s heart sank.

“What are you talking about right now? What are you leaving to me?”

“. This game is different from the games that have been released in Korea so far. It will be a size that even Modu Electronics cannot handle. I know it’s a bit odd to say this, but only at the level of Jeminan can we handle the quantity stably on a nationwide scale.”

“You said it wasn’t as good as you expected earlier? Why are you greedy now?”

“It wasn’t like that compared to what Seo Nam-joon said. As for the game itself, I have to admit it. It’s probably the best Korean game that’s ever been released.”

“Is it only Korean games? They are not inferior to Japanese games.”

“Yes, that’s right. Since it’s such a good game, shouldn’t we, Gemininan, be in charge of distributing MSX games in Korea? That would be more helpful to Seo Nam-joon and his friend. He’s just starting out in game development, so wouldn’t it be better to do business with someone who can sell at least one more?”

“What do you want to do now?”

“Of course, I don’t mean to say that I will just swallow up what you do. I will yield to the shops that you and I are close with. Naturally, I will give you the first priority in terms of quantity.”

“So you want me to hand over the distribution rights and sell whatever you give me? Why on earth should I do that?”

“Otherwise, it might be difficult to sell .”

Kim Ho-seung changed his posture, crossed his legs, and crossed his arms as he spoke.

“What are you talking about now?”

“Since I specialize in MSX, I’ve become close with a lot of stores, right? What I’m saying is that if you don’t go through me, it might be difficult to sell to those stores. Oh, because these people value loyalty so much, they won’t accept MSX games from any stores other than me. I’m okay with that.”

“Are you threatening me right now? Jeminan, I will stop the stores that are lining up on your side from selling . Is that what you’re saying? Is that right?”

“You’re misunderstanding again, brother. It’s not that I’m stopping them, it’s that they only receive the items I provide because of their loyalty to me. How can I stop them?”

Kim Ho-seung said with a leisurely smile.

Jeong Chun-bae was nervous. It was not that he was not, but if Gemini, the most influential MSX distributor, were to exert pressure in some way to prevent stores from stocking , the number of retail outlets that could sell it would decrease significantly.

No matter how fun the game is, if the store doesn’t have the item, you can’t buy it. is limping from the start.

“president···.”

Yang Geun-seok, who was standing behind Jeong Chun-bae, also felt uneasy and his voice trembled slightly.

Kim Ho-seung said.

“Brother, you have to think carefully. In Korea, if you want to sell any kind of MSX game, it has to go through my hands. But since I’m your brother, I’m giving you this opportunity. It’s because of old friendship. Leave it to me. It’s good for you, and for Seo Nam-joon and that guy. You know that, right?”

“hmm···.”

Jeong Chun-bae looked like he was thinking seriously. Yang Geun-seok swallowed hard and looked at Jeong Chun-bae.

Finally, Jeong Chun-bae opened his mouth.

“Ho Seung-ah.”

“Yes, brother.”

“If you’ve heard the sound of a dog eating grass, then go now. It’s not the first or second time you’ve been taken advantage of. This time, I won’t be robbed.”

“Brother, you are making a big mistake now.”

“Go away. I don’t want to sit like this anymore.”

Kim Ho-seung stood up from his seat, glaring at Jeong Chun-bae. The moment Kim Ho-seung left the store, Jeong Chun-bae called Yang Geun-seok loudly to the back of Kim Ho-seung’s head.

“Hey, look. Geun-seok!”

“yes?”

“You go down to the supermarket and buy some salt. Some bastard came in and started making trouble. You have to use a lot of salt.”

“Yes! Salt it! Understood!”

Yang Geun-seok’s excited voice resonated through the hallway of Seun Shopping Mall.