Chapter 45: Case by Case
"Did you try Psyche Battle back then? Mr. Kang's gaming skills are incredible! The scale is on another level."
"Well, it's just a shooting game, you know. In my opinion, Super Mirage 3, which was released recently, is the best. It's going to be a massive hit again."
"Just a shooting game, you say? Haven't you tried Psyche Battle? The immersion is out of this world!"
I was enjoying a cup of coffee in the break room when two male employees entered, chatting excitedly.
"Oh, Mr. Kang..."
They looked at me, and their surprise was evident as they awkwardly bowed their heads.
"Hello. Did you come for coffee?"
"Oh... yes. It's break time."
"I'm here for a break too. Please, have a seat. I'll make a cup of coffee for you."
"No, it's alright."
"Well, employees can have a cup of coffee together. It's no big deal; please enjoy."
The two men reluctantly sat down after I handed them the coffee I had just brewed. Why are they so nervous? Are they new employees?
"Are you both new here?"
"Yes? Oh, we joined the company two months ago."
"Two months... I'm sorry. I've been busy with fieldwork, so I haven't had the chance to get to know everyone."
"It's okay. I heard you're also working on the new console project and even game development this time. You must be really busy."
Without getting a chance to say much, I exchanged a few more words and left the break room, bidding them farewell.
As I walked out, I overheard the voices of the two male employees behind the closed door.
"Wow, Mr. Kang is so impressive. He seems so laid-back... I think he's about the same age as me, but he gives off a total elite vibe."
"I heard he accomplished something big when he was working at the U.S. branch. He seems to be friends with Mr. Shige and Mr. Gunpei. In terms of skill and connections, he's already ahead of our generation."
"Hmm... so that's how the new employees see me."
Since the announcement of the new game, there had been some strange developments within Min-Tendo. Not long ago, there were debates about which game, mine or Mr. Shige's, would be superior. It's not good for two first-party games from the same company to be in such a rivalry, more like a feud than friendly competition.
Realizing it would be too much for both games to be developed in the same department, I decided to allocate the minimum number of staff to the next-generation console development division. As a result, my office was a bit more chaotic than other departments.
As soon as I sat down, Kimura, who was in charge of the new console's controller, approached me.
"Mr. Kang, this is the concept for the new controller. Would you take a look?"
"Sure."
The draft of the new controller from Kimura felt somewhat similar to the NEGA controller design rather than the Super Family's controller that I was familiar with.
"It's not bad as it is, but can we make some adjustments? We still have time, so let's wait for the design team to come up with more diverse concepts."
"Understood. But, do you have any specific requests, Mr. Kang?"
"How about making the buttons a bit larger?"
"Buttons? Didn't we already decide to increase it from 2 buttons to 4 buttons after discussions with the development team?"
"In the future, games are going to get more complex. Right now, it's all about simple actions like jumping and attacking, but as game genres evolve, we might have diverse requirements."
"So, have you thought about how many buttons to add?"
"How about a 6-button system? I recently saw a challenging fighting game at the game center."
"A challenging fighting game?"
In 1987, a game that gave arcade owners a headache was released. Why was it problematic? Because it broke the unwritten rules of game centers.
A game center, a place where regular folks go to enjoy games, was commonly referred to as an "arcade" in South Korea. Despite the pleasant and cheerful connotation of "arcade," it had a stigma as a shady place where delinquent teens smoked and stole money from kids.
Nevertheless, people loved games so much that they would gladly overlook the unsavory aspects of arcades and run to them with just a few hundred won in their pockets.
Anyway, around the end of 1987, Japanese game center owners were not pleased with one game's release. The game causing discomfort was "Street Fire," the first fighting game to use a 6-button layout.
Why were they unhappy with a fighting game that made it easier to collect coins? It was all because of the number of buttons.
Traditional arcade games had a maximum of 4 buttons. In reality, 2-3 buttons were usually enough, and 4 buttons were already considered too many.
However, the sudden appearance of a fighting game with 6 buttons forced arcade owners to either modify the existing cabinets or acquire dedicated machines. Yet, the game's convoluted command system led to a quick decline in popularity.
Despite the command list mentioning moves like "Hadouken" and "Shoryuken," players struggled to execute these moves no matter how they manipulated the joystick. The separate buttons for "strong," "medium," and "weak" punches and kicks were not well-received.
In the end, Street Fire became a nuisance, but it would later make a triumphant comeback by discarding its original style and gaining massive popularity.
"Mr. Kang, you're not thinking of adding 6 buttons just for Street Fire, are you?"
"Why not? Is it a problem?"
"Adding extra buttons isn't impossible, but if you place six buttons on the front, it might make it slightly inconvenient for kids to use due to the larger size."
"Do we really need six buttons on the front?"
"Then where should the other buttons go?"
Seeing the Family Controller on my desk, I handed it to Kimura and said, "Try holding this."
"Huh? Oh, sure."
As Kimura received the controller from me, his fingers instinctively moved toward the top of the controller. I smiled and gave further instructions.
"Stop right there. Let's place the buttons where Kimura-san is gripping."
"Oh, here!"
Kimura didn't say a word and nodded repeatedly before returning to his seat.
Now that one issue was resolved, was it time to talk about Psyche Battle?
I got up from my seat and looked for Mr. Morita, who was deeply engrossed in pixel art.
"How's the Morita illustration work going?"
"Smooth sailing. I'm enjoying the work. I'm in awe of your boldness, Mr. Kang, for placing all the main characters of Psyche Battle as females!"
"Is that so?"
"I believe in you. The day will come when cute girls and sexy characters dominate the gaming world!"
Morita, who always maintained high energy, seemed to be overly obsessed with female characters. He never drew male characters. Even within tiny pixels, he managed to bring out the essence of the characters, eliminating any disparity between in-game characters and illustrations.
"Hey, Morita, can you keep it down a bit?"
"Sorry, Hiyashi. I didn't mean to disturb your coding."
Despite Morita's apology, Hiyashi, who was immersed in his coding, didn't respond. Hiyashi was a coding genius, capable of producing flawless code. However, his short temper and obsession with precision caused conflicts in his relationships with colleagues.
His working style didn't quite align with Shige's, who thrived in a somewhat laid-back, family-like atmosphere where light teasing was common.
That's why I brought these two top-tier otakus under my wing. One was a pixel art machine who couldn't stop churning out art related to cute girls, and the other was a coding machine who could write code with absolute precision.
"But, Mr. Kang, are you really going to do that thing you mentioned before? Are you sure about it?"
"Why? Don't you have confidence?"
"Oh, no, I can do it. I'm just a bit concerned because if anything goes wrong, it could be a headache..."
"It's precisely because it's now that you should do it. Execute it. I'll take full responsibility for any legal issues."
"Understood!"
"Morita... Your voice is too loud."
"Oh, sorry. Hiyashi."
After that, Shige and I would occasionally cross paths in the hallway without exchanging many words. Just like back in the days of Dragon Warrior, Shige had always been quite sharp when it came to games. Even on the day of the presentation, amid the cheers of the crowd, his gaze fixed on me seemed more like that of a rival than a coworker.
To be honest, I didn't feel bad about Shige's reaction. In a way, it was a recognition of me as the top developer in Min-tendo.
But how well did Super Marriage 3 actually sell?
After work, while I was alone at home, my curiosity got the better of me, and I opened up Game & Watch. It immediately chimed with a lively sound.
In the meantime, all the minor incidents that occurred in the gaming industry had been reported through the notifications. After checking a few important alerts, I searched for information about Super Marriage 3.
"Super Marriage 3, an arcade game designed for the Min-tendo Family, sold 40 million copies worldwide. This is the sales figure for genuine cartridges shipped directly by Min-tendo."
Unbelievable... 40 million copies for genuine cartridges alone? That's mind-boggling.
After letting out a small sigh of astonishment at Super Marriage 3's tremendous sales, I picked up the receiver and dialed a number. After a moment of hearing the signal tone, a male voice came through.
"Hello?"
"Hello? Who do you think you're addressing like that? This isn't proper phone etiquette, is it?" I said, trying to keep my irritation in check.
"Junhyuk? Chandrha is working. Do you want to speak to him?"
"Yes."
After a short pause, an indistinct Indian voice came on the line, and soon, Chandrha's voice followed.
"Junhyuk, is it? I've been quite idle these days, as I've already finished making all the expansion cartridges. To send money back to our hometown, we need to work. Do you have any work for me?"
"That's actually why I called. Chandrha, I have one favor to ask."
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This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺