Chapter 18: Character Design Revision

Rewinding time to about two weeks before the Tokyo Game Show...

A visitor arrived at the mobile game development team's conference room.

"It's been a while, Director Ji."

"Indeed it has, Mr. Tanaka."

The man speaking fluent Korean before me was Tanaka Seijo.

He was an employee of SFLAG, the company handling the Japanese publishing for Girls Memorial.

When we first met, I was impressed by his fluent Korean and asked about it, but contrary to my expectations, he was a full-blooded Japanese.

"Looking around the office on my way in, everyone seemed quite busy."

"Can't be helped. The launch is right around the corner..."

"It's the same on our end. Regardless of nationality, everyone's in the same boat right before a game launch."

After some light small talk to break the ice, Tanaka seemed to feel it was time and handed me a document.

"This is the list of voice actors who participated in the dubbing. We managed to complete the full dubbing as you strongly insisted, Director, but..."

"Did something happen?"

"No, nothing like that. They're all professionals, after all. It's just the cost..."

I quickly scanned the document Tanaka handed me.

Izayoi Saori, Ohashi Chiyuki, Kono Shiromi...

Looking at the lineup, I saw names of voice actors considered top-tier in the industry.

"With a lineup like this, any cost is worth it. If anything, it must have been harder to align their schedules. Good work."

"We got lucky."

Seemingly embarrassed by my praise, Tanaka cleared his throat and continued.

"We've handed over everything related to dubbing... Next is the list of advertisements that will start after the launch."

The document Tanaka gave me listed quite a few locations.

"Truck ads, Akihabara outdoor billboards, late-night TV commercials, subway panels... You've put together quite a grand marketing plan, even though we set a separate marketing guarantee."

Tanaka smiled at my words and replied.

"Does that not please you?"

"Not at all. I'm very pleased."

Most games don't market to this extent.

Even with heavy advertising, if the game itself isn't fun, players tend to leave quickly.

But subculture mobile games were different.

Gameplay? Sure, being fun doesn't hurt.

But gameplay wasn't the sole indicator of success.

Even with mediocre gameplay, if you keep feeding the IP as bait, gamers won't escape.

This was the conclusion I'd drawn from observing successful subculture mobile games before my regression.

That's why we needed to increase the proportion of advertising compared to regular online games, to maximize exposure to gamers.

I was satisfied with the alignment in our direction and was looking over the documents when—

"Um, Director."

I looked up from the papers to see Tanaka with an expression that suggested he had something to say.

"Ah, yes. Go ahead."

"There's one request that came from within our company. Would it be alright if I shared it with you?"

"Of course."

"Well, you see..."

Just as Tanaka was about to speak, the conference room door opened and Ye-rin poked her head in.

"Senior, why aren't you answering your pho—!"

Ye-rin's words cut off as she noticed someone else in the room with me, her expression turning awkward.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were in a meeting..."

"Did you call? I had it on silent for the meeting. Sorry about that."

"No, it's fine. Since you have a guest, I'll come back later—"

"Ah, would you mind waiting a moment? I think it would be good for the Art Director to hear this request as well."

"O-okay?"

Having overheard the conversation, Ye-rin cautiously entered the conference room and sat down next to me.

And so, our meeting became a three-way conversation.

Tanaka first handed us a few A4 sheets.

"So, the named characters of Odd Fellows, the main villain group in Girls Memorial, are students infected by the corrupted roots of the World Tree, right?"

"That's correct."

"Well, the thing is... there's been feedback that the named characters' designs are too focused on the creature aspect."

Thinking about it after hearing Tanaka's words, I realized there was some truth to that.

So far, Girls Memorial had finalized designs for five named Odd Fellows members, one for each main story chapter.

Ouroboros, Pyro, Eline, Mystic, and Architect.

Among these, Ouroboros, Pyro, and Eline were creature-type named characters, Architect was male, leaving Mystic as the only female human-type in Odd Fellows.

"Now that you mention it, that's certainly true."

"So, our side is requesting to modify two of the three creature-type named characters to female human forms. What do you think?"

"Hmm..."

As I pondered Tanaka's suggestion, Ye-rin raised her hand.

"Um, there was a reason for that ratio of named characters."

"Oh?"

"You had a reason for that character ratio?"

Ye-rin nodded in response to mine and Tanaka's questions, then continued.

"If you think about it, all the main characters in Girls Memorial are female, except for the player, right? Both the students and the helper Operator."

"That's right."

"Correct."

"But people tend to get bored with the same stimulus, so we increased the ratio of creature-type bosses for the named characters..."

"No, that's not it."

"That's definitely not it."

Faced with the unified response from both Tanaka and me, Ye-rin blinked in confusion.

"I think you're misunderstanding something. The named Odd Fellows members are ultimately choices we're offering to the gamers."

"Choices?"

"Yes, choices. Why do you think subculture mobile games create so many female characters and keep adding more? To stuff players until they burst? No."

"..."

"Think of it like a buffet. Out of all these dishes, isn't there at least one that suits your taste? That's the idea."

"Ah..."

"In the end, gamers focus on enjoying characters that suit their preferences, so they rarely feel fatigue."

"Now that I hear it, I guess I was thinking about it wrong..."

After pondering for a moment, Ye-rin suddenly spoke up with a startled expression.

"But, Senior...?"

"What?"

"Our launch date is already set, right?"

"That's right. Three weeks from now."

"Then you're saying we need to design and draw two new characters, main characters at that, in three weeks..."

"No. App Store review takes about a week, so we need to finish this in 10 days at the latest."

At my words, Ye-rin's face turned pale as she shook her head.

"...I can't do this."

"Can't you manage it just this once?"

"Even if you say that, it's physically impossible...!"

"Excuse me?"

Tanaka, who had been quietly listening from across the table, raised his hand and spoke.

"From what I've heard from the Art Director and Overall Director, it seems the issue is more about the schedule than the design modification itself, is that right?"

"That's correct."

"In that case, how about keeping some of the current concepts and making them half-human, half-beast? For example, like Arachne, a human from the waist up but a spider from the waist down."

"W-would gamers actually like that...?"

When Ye-rin asked with a disgusted expression, Tanaka nodded firmly.

"There's definitely demand. The world is wide, and tastes are diverse. Especially in Japan."

"Ah, I see..."

After that, Tanaka handed Ye-rin various revision proposals that had come up during their meeting.

"If I use these feedbacks for revision... I think I can make the deadline."

"That's great news."

"Mr. Tanaka, was it? Thank you so much. This has been incredibly helpful."

"I'm glad I could be of assistance."

"Well, since time is short, I'll get going now!"

With that, Ye-rin left the conference room, clutching the feedback materials.

"...Shall we wrap up as well?"

"Let's do that. Director, do you have any plans for dinner?"

*

Exactly one week later.

I was working overtime to review materials that had come in from the business team.

Suddenly, a knock on the door startled me.

I thought all team members had gone home since it was past 10 PM.

"Who is it?"

"Senior... it's me..."

Ye-rin's voice, sounding half-dead, came from outside the door.

"Come in."

As soon as I finished speaking, the office door opened, and Ye-rin entered, looking haggard and holding a USB drive.

"One week... revision... done..."

"Couldn't you have asked the juniors for help? Did you draft all the designs by yourself?"

"You know my personality, Senior... I don't let others handle initial character designs..."

"Even so, that's too much."

"Just... check it first..."

"Alright, wait a moment."

I moved to the sofa with the business team materials I was reviewing and checked the contents of the USB Ye-rin handed me.

The USB contained revised design drafts for Pyro and Eline.

Pyro, originally designed as a twisted demonic form infected by the corrupted World Tree, was now a black-eared beauty with a fox mask and impressive burning eyes.

Eline, previously a golem-like form twisted from multiple zombies, now appeared as a beautiful Medusa-type figure with a snake lower body and kimono-clad upper body.

These designs were certainly capable of captivating niche gamers with a taste for non-human characters.

"This is good. I was worried because of the tight schedule, but you really outdid yourself."

"Thank goodness..."

Upon hearing my approval, Ye-rin collapsed onto the sofa next to me, as if all strength had left her body.

"The character designs are perfect, but there are some minor details left to adjust. We'll finish those tomorrow... Ye-rin?"

Instead of an answer, I heard soft snoring. Turning around, I saw that Ye-rin had fallen asleep.

It seemed like all her accumulated fatigue hit her at once, and she fell asleep the moment she relaxed.

She must have been really tired. I'll just cover her with a blanket and get back to work...

Thud.

Just as I was about to get up, I felt a sudden weight on my thigh. Looking to the side, I saw that Ye-rin had collapsed onto my lap in her sleep.

Faced with this sudden situation, I pondered what to do for a moment before finally sighing and turning my attention back to the documents I was reviewing.

Of course, I couldn't concentrate at all.

This was a story from one night, about two weeks before the launch.