Chapter 16
The Tokyo Game Show is one of the world's three major game shows.
Let me reiterate: The Tokyo Game Show is not only one of the world's three major game shows but also Japan's largest gaming event.
In other words, there were far more booth staff and attendees than at any other gaming event.
I was doing a final check after finishing our booth setup when I heard a voice. Turning around, I saw Seol with a slightly anxious expression.
"Um, Director..."
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Oh, it's nothing really... I just feel like we're drawing a lot of attention..."
"Of course we are."
"Huh...?"
"Take a look."
I led the puzzled Seol outside our booth.
We were surrounded by numerous booths from Korean companies. In this area, only Enson Korea had a larger booth than ours.
"Just a quick glance should tell you why we're attracting attention, right?"
"Ah..."
"Plus, what's our genre? Mobile games. Look around. What genres are the other game companies showcasing?"
At my words, Seol started surveying the surrounding booths.
FPS, strategy simulations, RPGs, puzzles, rhythm games, action games, and so on...
Everywhere you looked, there were only PC or console games.
"There's nothing but PC and console games..."
"Exactly."
I paused briefly, then leaned in to whisper to Seol.
"Our company is a bit better, but among developers, there are many who have this elitist mindset that PC and console games are superior to mobile games."
"Oh..."
"So now you get why we're drawing attention? And why those looks aren't exactly friendly."
"Yeah... Now that you've explained it, I definitely see..."
I chuckled at Seol's response and added:
"Don't worry about it too much. In a few years, all these attitudes will change anyway."
Seol nodded at my words, and I patted her on the back before sending her back to the booth.
Hmm, this year really is a bad harvest, huh.
Before heading back to our booth, I took a look around. I didn't see any of the games that had been famous before my regression.
There was just one other Korean company booth showcasing a mobile game like us, but it wasn't significant enough to dwell on.
At least, none of the names were on my mental list of successful masterpieces from my memories.
Just as I was lost in thought,
Beeeep─!!
The announcement chime rang throughout the venue, signaling that it was time to open.
With that sound, visitors began pouring in through the opened doors.
The sound of footsteps and chatter reverberated through the hall.
Snapping back to reality amidst the overwhelming atmosphere, I entered our booth and called out:
"Everyone to your positions!"
At my words, everyone moved to their designated spots.
Ye-rin and Seol waited at the booth entrance to attract visitors.
Senior Chae-young stood by in the soundtrack listening zone to assist with audio samples.
Myung-hoon hyung was on standby in the game demo area for technical support.
Yu-mi manned the official merchandise pre-order station.
Lastly, I took charge of overseeing everything, moving around the booth as needed.
But of course,
The first steps of the visitors weren't directed towards us.
Unfortunately, the stars of this game show were Japanese companies.
*
Jae-hyun, attending the Tokyo Game Show for the first time this year, was currently feeling confused.
Wait, the mobile game booths are supposed to be here, but why can't I find them...?
He had definitely followed the event map to the area where mobile game booths were supposed to be clustered, but there was no trace of the Girls Memorial booth.
If this had been an event in Korea, he might have grabbed a staff member to ask. But this was Japan.
After failing to communicate with staff through body language twice, he gave up and decided to search on his own.
After wandering for about 10 minutes,
As he passed through a connecting corridor into another building, familiar company logos started appearing.
No wonder I couldn't find the booth...
Feeling relieved, he was surveying the area where Korean companies were concentrated when,
In the distance, a familiar figure caught his eye.
Karin...?
It was the spitting image of the character who ranked first in Girls Memorial's unofficial popularity poll and Jae-hyun's favorite character.
Jae-hyun approached the Karin cosplayer, hoping against hope, and spoke:
"Excuse me..."
"Yes?"
The moment the cosplayer turned around, Jae-hyun couldn't take his eyes off her.
After all, she looked incredibly similar to his favorite character that he had only seen on screen.
Not only was the cosplayer stunningly beautiful, but her uncanny resemblance to the character left him speechless.
"Um... sir?"
"I'm, I'm sorry. Could you tell me where the Girls Memorial booth is?"
"Are you here to try the game?"
"Yes, that's right."
"This way, please."
Jae-hyun was able to reach the Girls Memorial booth thanks to Karin—no, the booth girl's guidance.
"Follow me inside."
As Jae-hyun followed the booth girl into the booth, he couldn't resist when he saw the life-sized standees.
He had to take a picture.
Karin—no, the booth girl—nodded readily at Jae-hyun's request.
"Usually it's not allowed... but since you're our first visitor, feel free to take pictures before coming in."
Jae-hyun thanked the booth girl as she went inside, then captured the standees with his camera.
This is definitely going to cause a stir when I post it on the community.
Not only was the quality of the standee illustrations impressive, but life-size standees like these were rare to see.
He considered buying some merchandise if it was for sale, but the lack of price tags suggested they were not for purchase.
After taking as many photos of the standees as he wanted, Jae-hyun entered the booth and found himself in another world.
A demo zone filled with numerous smartphones, and next to it, an audio sampling area.
The rest of the booth space was adorned with official merchandise, dolls, and an information desk, creating a cozy atmosphere.
However, the booth girl's earlier comment about him being the first visitor seemed to be true, as there were no other visitors in sight.
"Welcome! This is Girls Memorial, a tale of young girls' youth!"
"Ah, yes..."
Jae-hyun shrank back at the booth girls' energetic, outgoing demeanor.
Suddenly remembering the booth girl cosplaying as Karin, he looked around the booth, but Karin was nowhere to be seen.
"Would you like to play right away?"
Though slightly disappointed, he figured he could see her later since he came to play the game.
With that thought, Jae-hyun put on the headset handed to him by the staff.
Immediately, he heard the bouncy rhythm characteristic of youth—the main OST of Girls Memorial.
Soon after, the Girls Memorial logo appeared on the phone screen, followed by a refreshing cityscape bathed in blue light.
I'm finally getting to play Girls Memorial...!
Jae-hyun's eyes filled with excitement at the thought of being able to properly play the prologue, which hadn't been implemented during the closed beta.
He then began to focus on the screen, tuning out everything around him.
It started with scenes of the academy city "Ark" after the OST ended.
However, it wasn't the same as the PV scenes Jae-hyun remembered.
It was the complete opposite of how "Ark" looked in the PV.
Gone was the peaceful cityscape, replaced by half-destroyed buildings and streets filled with smoke and flames.
Beyond the virtually collapsed city landscape, a young girl's voice emerged along with the script:
[...It was our mistake.]
A girl admitting her wrongdoing in a calm voice.
Usually, Jae-hyun would skip the story, but this time he couldn't.
Despite the 30-minute time limit for the demo, he felt he would regret skipping the prologue.
After calmly confessing their failure filled with regret, the girl finally disappeared, leaving advice to make the right choices to protect the girls' youth.
As the dark screen brightened, the prologue story began.
Jae-hyun savored every line of dialogue as he read through the story.
About ten minutes into playing,
After reading the last line of the prologue, Jae-hyun felt deeply satisfied.
The OST was good, the illustrations were great, and the story itself was engaging and interesting.
But what he appreciated most was how well the general settings of Girls Memorial were incorporated into the limited prologue in an easy-to-understand way.
Feeling deeply satisfied with the prologue, Jae-hyun glanced at the time before moving on to other content and was shocked.
He thought only about 10 minutes had passed, but it had been over 20 minutes.
Realizing he only had about 10 minutes left, Jae-hyun frantically started consuming other content.
Damn, this is frustrating...!
Honestly, he wanted to shout for an extra hour.
If he could extend the demo time with money, he absolutely would.
While the gameplay itself might not compare to PC games, Girls Memorial had an addictive quality.
Combat, character gacha, bond stories, and more.
In just 30 short minutes, Jae-hyun had completely fallen for Girls Memorial.
But all good things must come to an end.
Before he knew it, the 30-minute demo time was over, and Jae-hyun reluctantly looked at the darkened smartphone before standing up.
"Did you enjoy it?"
Startled by an unfamiliar male voice from behind, Jae-hyun turned around.
There stood a man with a friendly expression, looking at Jae-hyun.
"Uh, well..."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Ji Ho-jin, the overall director of Girls Memorial."