Chapter 21: Bug (2)

My heart is pounding.

My mind is as hazy as if I'm walking through fog.

My clasped hands are damp with cold sweat.

There wasn't anything particularly wrong with my reaction.

It was simply because this was the first time I'd shown my face directly to users, both before and after my regression.

"First, on behalf of the Girls Memorial development team, I sincerely thank all the users who have chosen our game."

...or so I thought, but once the filming started, my body relaxed faster than expected.

My racing heart calmed down,

My hands dried, and my foggy mind began to function properly.

"However, we deeply apologize that such an incident occurred due to our inadequate preparation and response, even though it's been only a day since our launch."

As I continued speaking and looked at the camera, I made eye contact with Ye-jin.

Ye-jin and Yu-mi nodded with expressionless faces, as if to say I was doing well.

Reassured by their gestures, I continued speaking.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize through this video."

I bowed my head to the viewers, not just as a formality, but as a director truly feeling the weight of responsibility.

"We, the development team, will make every effort to ensure that such incidents do not occur again, learning from this experience."

This was the end of the prepared apology.

Now it was time to use both carrot and stick.

"Furthermore, recognizing our responsibility for this incident, we plan to provide generous compensation to ensure users are not disappointed. We will also strive to minimize user losses in resolving this situation. However!"

I paused briefly, took a sip of water, and then continued.

"We will conduct a thorough investigation to check for any abuse of the bug, and users who have unfairly benefited from the bug will face appropriate penalties."

To prevent setting a precedent, I had no choice but to make this clear.

There had been games that fell into ruin after giving slap-on-the-wrist punishments to bug abusers.

I couldn't let Girls Memorial follow in those footsteps.

"Lastly, I understand that some of you may be disappointed or angry that we've caused such concern from our very first launch, but please watch over us. We will repay your trust with improved performance."

Finally, I bowed my head towards the camera one more time.

"Thank you."

*

After the early morning bug chaos, the community was in utter disarray.

After the server was shut down due to the bug, there was radio silence following the notice that they were investigating the cause.

This neglect was enough to throw the community into chaos, especially with the influx of all sorts of people due to the launch hype.

However, this chaotic community situation was quelled by a single announcement post two hours later.

[Username: oo]

[Title: ‘Girls Memorial’ notice is up OMG (translated)]

Hello, this is ‘Girls Memorial’.

We'd like to inform you about the measures taken regarding the issue of repeated mail rewards and our future plans.

Before we explain the situation, we sincerely apologize to all administrators who have been looking forward to and playing our game for the inconvenience caused by this error.

We conducted an emergency maintenance to fix the issue of duplicate rewards in the mailbox, and normal access is now possible.

However, due to the repeated receipt of pre-registration rewards, we are currently in the process of reclaiming excess Magic Stones through a comprehensive investigation.

Therefore, for accounts that require reclamation, we are sequentially lifting temporary restrictions after completing the reclamation process.

For cases where reclamation is impossible due to already used items, we will implement usage restrictions in accordance with our game operation policy.

Additionally, we have prepared emergency maintenance compensation to express our apologies to the administrators who experienced significant inconvenience due to the maintenance conducted after today's launch.

[Emergency Maintenance Compensation Details]

※Emergency Maintenance Compensation

2,000 Magic Stones, 500 Activity Points, 50 Affection Gift Selection Boxes, 500 Student Enhancement Tickets, 200 Magic Batteries

※Distribution Period: After emergency maintenance ends ~ Wednesday, October 31

Please make sure to log in and claim your rewards within this period, as the compensation items will disappear after the distribution period ends.

Once again, we deeply apologize for the inconvenience caused.

We will learn from these errors and strive to provide a more stable service.

[※The Director's apology video will be uploaded to the official Girls Memorial YouTube channel.]

[Comment Section][Sorted by: Oldest]

- Kya, as expected, I believed in you, Enson!!!!!!!!!!

- Wow, the compensation is insane OMG

- Isn't that enough Magic Stones for 1,000 pulls?

- Rerolling difficulty is gonna drop significantly

- Wow, their response is on a whole different level compared to "that game" OMG

[Username: ThatStupidGame]

[Title: Summary of the difference in bug response between 'that stupid game' and Girls Memorial...txt]

'That stupid game': Drags their feet unless the bug affects their profits, no compensation even for critical bugs that force server shutdowns.

Girls Memorial: Immediate apology and generous compensation for server shutdowns, director personally bows his head<-(NEW)

No wonder Inmila users are switching to Girls Memorial lololololol

[Comment Section][Sorted by: Oldest]

- What kind of fight were those Inmila players even in? lololol

- Looking at it like this, they were total suckers lololol

- The compensation they're giving out this time is insane

- What's up with the people still sticking with Inmila? For real lololol

[Username: oo]

[Title: Girls Memorial Director's apology video is up!!]

【Photo of Ho-jin bowing in apology】

I thought he'd just read an apology script forced by the company and be done with it, but that wasn't the case.

I expected him to apologize in Japanese since the issue occurred on the Japanese server, but I was honestly impressed seeing him speak Japanese naturally without a script.

He must have put a lot of effort into this despite being busy with the bug.

Other game company directors should learn from this.

[Comment Section][Sorted by: Oldest]

- I wasn't that interested in mobile games, but this is making me want to try it

- Honestly, I've been feeling this since the Tokyo Game Show reviews, but this director seems pretty likable

- For real lol At least he seems better than those directors who make crappy games and then act all high and mighty

- I'm thinking of giving it a try, is it still worth starting now?

ㄴThe game just opened yesterday, so it's plenty good to start now. Go for it

I put down my smartphone after monitoring the community and thought to myself.

This went over better than I expected...

I had anticipated that we'd just get fewer insults at best, given the terrible timing of the bug.

But that was my misconception,

And the result was that our image actually improved compared to before the bug occurred.

Should I push a bit further since things have turned out this way?

After pondering for a moment, I picked up my smartphone and called Tanaka.

[Director, I was just about to call you. How's the situation on your end?]

"The apology video is getting a better response than expected, so I'm a bit taken aback. How about in Japan?"

[It's the same in Japan. The number of active users has increased by nearly 30% compared to before the bug, and user reactions are positive.]

After considering Tanaka's response for a moment, I cautiously spoke up.

"It feels like this crisis has turned into an opportunity... How about we take one step further?"

[Do you have something good in mind?]

I paused briefly before answering Tanaka's question.

"Our first pickup PV upload is scheduled for next week, right? With the actual pickup implementation the week after."

[That's correct.]

"Then, how about we reveal the PV now while the atmosphere is good, and implement the pickup the following week? I think this is the most opportune time, with user attention at its peak."

[Hmm... This is another matter I can't decide on my own, so it might take some time.]

"That's understandable. I'll wait."

[But won't the higher-ups dislike this? We've already given out Magic Stones as bug compensation, and if we move up the pickup period in this situation...]

I could easily guess the unspoken part of Tanaka's statement.

He probably meant that conducting a pickup after already giving out generous compensation might negatively impact sales.

It wasn't entirely wrong.

The compensation would certainly have some effect on sales.

"But just as we can't avoid making kimchi for fear of maggots, I'm confident we can draw out even more with the current user interest and enthusiasm."

[If that's really what you think, Director... Alright. I'll contact you when we have a result.]

"I'll be waiting for your call."

Although I didn't get a definitive answer to my proposal, I wasn't particularly worried.

After all, I had already proven my ability in the process of managing public opinion.

I expected to receive approval before long.

And as if to prove my prediction right, my smartphone rang again a few hours later.

[All the proposals you suggested have been approved, Director.]