1988 Retro Game Tycoon - Chapter 84



Only Noblemtl

Episode 84 – Happiness isn’t necessarily about grades

The season was now full-blown summer.

Since air conditioners were not widely available yet, the sweltering heat felt even more real. Later on, I thought I would get ‘air conditioning sickness’ in the summer because of the air conditioners.

A day when cicadas chirp loudly under the hot sun.

Our company went on a summer outing to the theater together. It was to watch the movie starring Im Ji-young as a group.

The huge signboard with the face of Im Ji-young as large as one-third of the building was clearly visible from afar.

There are still no multiplexes or online reservations. Even though I had lunch earlier than usual and went to the theater, there were still people lining up in front of the ticket booth.

Maybe because it was summer vacation, I often saw students.

“Okay, I bought the tickets. I chose the second floor so you can see them better. Let’s go in.”

Manager Park Chung-shin bought the tickets on behalf of the audience and entered the theater. In the empty lobby, there were only a few movie posters, chairs, and a concession stand.

“I came to the theater, so I should eat popcorn, right?”

Even when I tried to buy popcorn, there was only one type: popcorn. There were no options like caramel popcorn or cheese popcorn. What a bland era this was.

“Oh, did you know that the movie theater industry actually has a lot in common with home console gaming?”

“The theater is a console? It seems completely different.”

“They may look different on the outside, but they have a lot in common. Think of it this way. Theaters are console machines, and movies are game ROM packs.”

“Oh~, if you think about it that way, they’re really similar. Theaters are hardware, and movies are software.”

“For the film industry to grow, we need to build as many theaters as possible. But, just building a lot of theaters isn’t the solution. If there are no interesting movies, theaters are useless.”

Theaters are essential, but people don’t go to see movies just because they like theaters.

The key to box office success is always held by the movie. The movie industry develops all kinds of technologies, from IMAX to 3D to 4DX, to create a more intense movie experience, but no matter how much new technology is used, if the movie is not fun, it is impossible to achieve large-scale box office success.

At first, new technologies may be novel and exciting, but if they are not combined with interesting software and don’t become part of your everyday life, they will just end up being a one-time thing.

Even we, who are just beginning to develop hardware, should not forget this lesson. The A1 board performance test results were excellent.

After passing the overload test, Lee Ki-cheol regularly meets with Myeongseong Electronics engineers to check the A1 board. The board is now about 80% complete, but more time is needed for mass production.

However, if you focus too much on performance because the hardware is excellent, you may end up with a boring game with only flashy special effects.

We must never forget that technology is best when it is invisible.

As I was thinking this, the lights in the theater went out. Our seats were in the front row on the second floor. The large screen was right in front of us.

The projector started and the film began to play.

The content is vague, but there are a lot of actors I know in it. As I watched the movie, I kept thinking, ‘Huh? That person? Huh? That person too?’

Even when I saw Im Ji-young on the big screen, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Thinking back, it’s still amazing. The fact that I use that person on the screen as an advertising model, play games with her, talk to her without hesitation, and even joke around with her.

The movie was set in a high school. There was more to think about than I remembered. It wasn’t just about school grades, but there were also many scenes where you could feel the economic differences even within the same class.

“Oh~, it’s coming out.”

When the game pocket finally appeared in the movie, our company people were happily whispering.

The male protagonist, who lives an upright life despite not having good grades, manages to obtain a game pocket with difficulty, and the female protagonist, Lee Mi-young, becomes interested in the game pocket, which becomes an opportunity for the two to become close. Of course, the male protagonist has liked Lee Mi-young since a long time ago.

The two people who became close through Game Pocket have a good time playing games together, studying together, and going on outings on the weekends. Then, the male protagonist loses his Game Pocket to neighborhood bullies, and Im Ji-young tries to save up her allowance to buy him a Game Pocket as a gift.

However, the neatly packaged game pocket is discovered by his parents.

– Games? Are you out of your mind right now or not? Where do you have time to do something like this? I’m going to be a senior in high school next year.

– Mom, that’s not it. I was going to give this as a gift…

– What? A gift? For whom? Surely it’s not a guy?

-······.

– Oh my, really! Really! Are you really going to disappoint Mom like this? When I was young, I couldn’t study even if I wanted to. But now, you’re telling me not to do anything else and just to study, so why can’t you? Is it time for you to meet a guy and flirt and play games? Do you really have to drive a nail into Mom’s heart like that to feel better? Is that it?

Her parents, who only care about her school grades, do not understand her and break her game pocket in front of her. She cannot say anything and just cries.

“Poor thing···.”

People all over the theater felt sorry for Im Ji-young as she cried after having her game pocket taken away.

Im Ji-young’s allowance was cut off, and her parents’ interference became even more severe. Then, when she received her final exam report card, Im Ji-young was pushed down to 10th place in the entire school.

Im Ji-young, who couldn’t possibly show her report card to her parents, returns to her apartment but instead of going home, heads to the rooftop.

– Mom, Dad. I’m sorry. I guess I’m not the daughter you wanted me to be. And Namgyu. I’m sorry. I don’t think I can play games with you again…

After hesitating for a while, Im Ji-young left a short narration and threw herself from the roof of her apartment.

The next day, a white flower was placed in her place. The male protagonist, who could not accept reality, sat blankly in the empty classroom. He looked up outside the window, trying to hold back his tears.

I saw the blue sky. It was such a pure blue sky.

That’s how the movie ended.

After watching the movie, we were silent for a while.

It was definitely nice to see the Game Pocket in the movie. It wasn’t just a one-off thing.

Although it is PPL, it is perfectly incorporated into the content of the movie, affecting the relationship between the main characters and becoming a device that symbolically shows the lack of communication between parents and children.

The life of the female protagonist, who ended her life by suicide, was so pitiful that the game Pocket also left a strong impression.

“Shall we all play a game together here?”

“Is that so?”

We all took our game pockets out of our pockets, paired up, and played the game pockets in front of the theater.

Although the game pocket was included in the movie as a promotional tool, it was a small tribute to the youth who disappeared without being able to bloom properly due to being crushed by grades.

Seeing the line of people waiting to buy tickets, it seemed like would be a box office hit this time too.

After watching a group movie, I worked a little more at the office and came home, only to find a stranger at my house.

“What’s going on with Subin these days? It’s an important time, but he’s having trouble concentrating…”

Second, it seems like he is Subin’s piano teacher. I heard that he is preparing for the music school entrance exam by inviting a famous pianist.

Normally, I would have just let it pass, hoping that it would get better, but after watching the movie, I couldn’t just let it pass.

“Subin···?”

I knocked on the door to Subin’s practice room and opened the door slightly. Subin was still there with her hands on the piano keys.

I sneaked over and sat down next to Subin. Only then did Subin turn her head and look at me.

“why···?”

“No, I just. I was wondering what to do.”

We sat in silence for a while. I just blurted out something.

“Come to think of it, I’ve never heard you play the piano at home.”

“Well, that’s because the practice room is soundproofed.”

“Ah… the soundproofing is really good. That’s amazing. Huh? There’s a violin. Do you know how to play the violin?”

“I started learning the violin first. Then I liked the piano more. Now, I just play it whenever I think of it.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. It’s hard to play just one instrument, but you specialize in two.”

“What’s your major? I haven’t even gone to college yet. No, maybe I won’t be able to go to college.”

“Why? Was class a bit difficult today?”

“Today is not the problem. I guess I just don’t have any talent. There are many kids in my school who play better than me. I wonder how many more kids will come from all over the country. There must be kids who won prizes at overseas competitions.”

“The competition seems very fierce.”

“Going to college is a problem. If I want to study more after going there, the only thing left is studying abroad. I’m having a hard time in Korea, so what can I do well in the world? I guess I started for nothing. I’ve spent a lot of money on this so far.”

No, it’s a wealthy family, so that level of tuition isn’t that big of a deal.

But saying that now won’t comfort Soobin.

“You said you were going to make a game and go global, right? In the US and Japan?”

“Yeah, that’s the goal. In Korea, we’re laying the groundwork. I think we’re ready now. We’re currently developing a game called …”

I went to comfort Soobin, and before I knew it, I had been talking for a while about the game I was developing.

Soobin stared at me with a blank expression. Ah, I didn’t come in here for this.

“It’s great for you, oppa. You’re talented at what you like to do. I thought I was like that too, but I guess not. These days, I don’t even know why I started doing this.”

Subin, who had sighed, suddenly started playing the piano.

I was overwhelmed from the first note. Of course, it was a good piano, but the sound was on a different level from the sound of a normal person pressing the keys.

Subin played the piano as if she was in a completely different world. It was Chopin’s Fantastic Impromptu, which I also know very well.

The passionate waves at the beginning soaked my heart with lyrical melodies in the middle and then returned to the beginning at the end. I was truly surprised.

It was clearly the same piano, but the notes Subin played were completely different. The powerful sound resonated through my heart, and the soft poetry was like silk swaying in the spring breeze.

“Wowwoww···!!!!!”

After the performance, I gave a heartfelt applause. But Soobin’s expression was not good.

“I made three mistakes while playing this song.”

“Really? I had no idea.”

“Because you’re not a major. Even middle school students can play this song with their eyes closed. At this rate,…”

“Um… but Soobin. Aren’t you only looking at the bad side?”

“That’s because you don’t know. To someone like me, each and every one of these mistouches can be fatal.”

“Yeah, I definitely don’t know much about this world. But I think I know this one thing. When you take a music school practical exam, the test criteria is whether someone can play the score exactly as written without any mistakes.”

“Not necessarily. Although, mistouch is one of the grading criteria.”

“Right? Then what about the contest? There, they compete to see who can make the fewest mistakes?”

“What! In world-class competitions, not making mistakes is the basic requirement, and the goal is to see who can interpret the score better and play it with their own unique style. What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”

“That’s right. But Subin, why are you only checking how many mistakes you made while playing? Don’t you ask me how moved I was when I listened to it, how surprised I was by each note?”

“Was it really good···?”

“It was really moving. From the moment I struck the first note, it felt like the sound was piercing my heart. A thrill ran through my body and I felt like I was surrounded by some kind of transparent sound curtain.”

“It’s over.”

Soobin’s expression slightly, just slightly, relaxed.

“No. It was real. I’ve never heard such a wonderful piano sound in my life. What kind of technique? The beat? The touch? I don’t know anything about that. But the moment I heard it, I knew. Soobin was playing with all his heart.”

“I did try to be a bit careful. This is the first time I’m playing properly in front of you. On my piano.”

I see you were paying attention to that kind of thing. You were really sensitive, but also had a deep side.

“Soobin, did you know that? There are actually a few bugs in ?”

“Really? Didn’t you inspect and fix everything before selling it?”

“Of course we did a lot of QA before releasing it. But we didn’t completely pick everything out. There was a competition for during the recent company outing, right? There, some elementary school kids were using a bug to jump up the wall. When I checked later, it turned out that only that part was possible. I wonder who found that.”

“That’s strange. I thought it was a perfect game.”

“It may look like that on the outside, but there is no perfect game in the world. Everyone has a few minor bugs. They just don’t show up that much and don’t have a big impact on the game. I think Soobin’s mistake was one of those things.”

“Well, that’s because he’s my brother. The judges don’t think that way.”

“Maybe so. But why does Subin play the piano?”

“Why···? What kind of question is that?”

“That’s what I am. I always want to make the best game, and the reason for that is not just because I want to be the best. It’s because I want a lot of people to enjoy my games.”

“That’s what it means to want people’s recognition.”

“No, that’s a little different. Of course, it feels good when people recognize that the game is fun and technically excellent. I’m happy when it sells well. But that’s secondary. It just follows. The truth is that the game is just good. And when people truly enjoy the game I made, that reaction is good. That makes me the happiest person in the world.”

I brought some fan letters from my room and showed them to Soobin. They were fan letters that I had laminated to keep as souvenirs.

“Money, sales, recognition from people that this is the best game, industry giants. These are all good. They’re all good, but no matter how big a game company I build, if I don’t get letters of appreciation like this from people, it’s all useless.”

“···.”

“Isn’t music similar? If I play the piano to prove how good I am, what meaning does that have for the listener? A performance that doesn’t make any mistakes but doesn’t feel any emotion, or a performance that makes a few mistakes but still feels passionate, which would you, Soobin, want to hear?”

Soobin didn’t answer. I wasn’t expecting an answer either. We all knew the answer.

I don’t know much about music, but I think all art forms have something in common.

No matter how much experience, skill, or vast knowledge you have, if you don’t have sincerity, you won’t create a masterpiece. You may have a brief moment of brilliance, but you won’t be able to create a timeless classic.

In terms of game technology, retro games from the 80s and 90s are incomparable to full 3D games that are almost photorealistic.

But just because a game uses the latest technology doesn’t mean it’s necessarily more impressive. If it were, there would be no reason for me to love retro games so much.

“I guess I was practicing for no reason and was making strange noises and bothering you. I’ll go back now.”

I just got up from my seat. As I was leaving the room, Soobin said.

“From now on, when I practice···.”

“Okay, I’m interrupting you…”

“You can come in and listen anytime. As long as it’s not when I’m in class.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yeah. Jihye keeps nagging so it’s no good, but Oppa is okay.”

“Okay. Soobin, I’m enjoying the recital by myself. Are you still going to keep practicing?”

“huh.”

“Then I’ll listen to some more before I go.”

I was about to leave the room when I sat down again.

Subin started playing. This time, it was an unknown song. But each note seemed to speak to me clearly.

I closed my eyes and listened to the music.

Happiness isn’t the only thing that isn’t graded. Music is, and certainly games are.

Games can be ranked by sales or by popularity.

But no one can rank my memories.

Because games aren’t about ranking.