Chapter 37: Mobile Game Development Team Restructure

The 1st anniversary video for Girls Memorial was released.

Our interviews were featured in the opening segment, but since each person's interview was less than a minute long, I hadn't expected much from it.

However, contrary to my expectations, the interviews caused quite a stir in the community.

It was so surprising that even I, who regularly monitored the community, was taken aback.

Here are a few examples of the prevailing sentiments in the community:

[Username: OO]

[Title: Holy crap, the Sound Director for Girls Memorial is actually super famous]

【List of compositions from when Chae-young was SBC's Music Director】

I thought the name sounded familiar, and my memory was spot on!

How the hell did they manage to snag a former broadcasting station Music Director?

I've brought a list of the songs she composed. Pick any one and give it a listen.

You'll recognize it right away.

[Comments][Chronological Order]

- Wow, no joke, she actually composed these songs? LOL

- No wonder the BGM was so damn good when the story picked up pace LOL

- I've heard almost all of the songs listed in that image

[Username: NN]

[Title: Creative Director? Who the heck is this? LMAO]

【Photo of Yoon-seol wearing a rabbit mask and making a V sign】

I was wondering why she was the only one wearing a rabbit mask during the interview LOL

Turns out she's the Story Director LOL

Her reactions were on point when the interviewer teased her a bit LOL

[Comments][Chronological Order]

- Thought it'd be boring, but I'm going back to watch it again

- She's so freaking cute LOL

[Username: GodGodMemorial]

[Title: Looking at it this way, the lineup for Girls Memorial's production team is insane]

General Director: Former Main Director of Blood Alliance 2, the cornerstone of ND Soft.

Art Director: Also a former Art Director from ND Soft.

Sound Director: Former Music Director at SBC

It's obvious that even the Director in the rabbit mask and the male Development Director are at least from big companies like Anson.

Why is the lineup so star-studded for a mobile game?

Looking at it all laid out, I'm speechless LOL

[Comments][Chronological Order]

- Why is this actually true? LMAO

- No wonder they demolished the Japanese market LOL

Most of the posts were praising the team or expressing surprise at the team members' past experiences.

I wasn't too surprised about Nana or Ye-rin since their backgrounds were somewhat known, but I was genuinely shocked that someone had dug up Senior Chae-young's history.

I hadn't expected anyone in the gaming community to be knowledgeable about broadcasting station directors.

Anyway, even though the interviews were less than a minute long and quickly buried under new topics, it was still a satisfying outcome.

While there was a festive atmosphere both in and out of the game, what was I doing?

I was in a one-on-one meeting with Su-yeon in the CEO's office.

*

The CEO's office was silent except for the sound of papers being turned.

Sitting across from me was Su-yeon, apparently just back from headquarters, dressed in a two-piece suit and seriously reading the report I had handed her.

"Um, Ho-jin."

"Yes?"

"I understand the intent of your proposal, but... isn't it still a bit early for the next project?"

It was the same point Seol-i had made when I first proposed the next project.

Well, considering that PC games were still dominant at this point in time, it wasn't an unreasonable question.

If I hadn't traveled back in time, I'd probably be thinking the same thing as Su-yeon right now.

Of course, that's just a figure of speech. Knowing the future direction, there was no reason not to choose the correct answer.

"CEO, how long do you think the lifespan of a mobile game is?"

"The lifespan of a mobile game? Well..."

Su-yeon tilted her head at my unexpected question instead of answering.

"For successful mobile games, it's about 3 years. For mobile games overall, it's only 6 months."

"Come on, that's ridiculous. Even PC games often have services running for over 5 years."

"As you know, unlike PC games, mobile games inherently have limited content due to the nature of the platform."

Su-yeon nodded at that.

"Go on."

"With limited content, users inevitably consume it faster, which necessitates frequent updates."

"If this continues, the quality of live service will inevitably decline, and this vicious cycle directly impacts the game's lifespan."

What I told Su-yeon was the process that all mobile games had gone through before my regression.

But at this early stage of mobile gaming, it was hard to believe.

That's probably why Su-yeon was pondering so deeply.

Su-yeon crossed her arms and thought for a while before asking me,

"Let's say we develop the next project as you want. What about Girls Memorial then?"

"I'll have to hand it over to one of the directors. Girls Memorial is already on track, so there shouldn't be any major issues."

"From an operational standpoint, that's true, but... won't the users be upset if you move to a new project?"

"That's why I plan to make appearances when we need to show face to the users. Most of our team members are introverted anyway, so no one's likely to object to this."

Su-yeon's expression softened slightly at my smooth responses to her questions.

"...Alright. So, how would our director like me to help?"

There was a hint of intrigue in Su-yeon's voice as she asked.

"First, I plan to restructure the mobile game development team."

"Restructure? All of a sudden?"

"Unlike with Girls Memorial, we need a new team to develop the new project. But just blindly expanding the team is also tricky."

"So how do you want to restructure it?"

"Instead of the current team system, I was thinking we could create studios for each project and manage them separately."

"Studios?"

"Yes. Create individual studios and assign projects to them. This would make project management easier and improve efficiency in personnel management compared to the current team system."

At those words, Su-yeon seemed to have a good idea and reached for a pen and paper on her desk.

"...Okay, how about this?"

As she spoke, Su-yeon started drawing an organizational chart on the paper.

"You're saying we should restructure the current team into a studio system, right?"

"That's right."

"Then let's put the studios in a horizontal structure and create a new headquarters to oversee them. You'll naturally go there as the head to oversee everything."

The paper Su-yeon had drawn on showed an organizational chart with a large rectangle labeled "New Headquarters" containing several smaller scattered rectangles.

"This restructuring would be perfect, but is it really okay? Starting with the executives..."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Su-yeon blinked as if she'd heard something absurd and asked back.

"Why would the executives object? They definitely won't oppose anything you're trying to do, at least."

"Come on, there's no way."

Even though Confucian culture still lingered in our country...

There's no way the executives would look kindly on someone in their early 30s like me taking a headquarters position.

Seeing my attitude, Su-yeon smirked and continued.

"We turned a perpetually loss-making subsidiary that was always walking on eggshells around headquarters into a profitable golden goose in one fell swoop. Those guys won't object. No way."

"When you put it that way, I guess you're right..."

"See? Well, that solves one problem... Anything else you need?"

Anything else...

"We might need some additional personnel."

"You're not talking about junior-level staff for the new project, I assume... What kind of personnel do you need?"

"A senior-level developer who can serve as a TD (Technical Director)."

"I already gave you an ace."

"Myung-hoon is definitely an ace. But..."

"But what?"

"I want to hand over the Girls Memorial director position to Myung-hoon."

At those words, Su-yeon pondered for a moment before nodding.

"A director with a development background would be good... Alright. I'll find a way to get you a senior-level developer. You can head back down for now. Is there anything else you need?"

I nodded at Su-yeon's question and stood up.

Honestly, I hadn't expected to gain this much from today's meeting.

Today was a lucky day.

"Then, I'll be heading back down."

*

After leaving the CEO's office and returning to our floor, I first sent a text to Myung-hoon asking him to come out of the office.

This wasn't a conversation to have in front of the team members.

The restructuring of the mobile game development team and the launch of a new project.

Although these two matters were already decided, it wasn't yet time to tell the team members.

After sending the text and waiting for a moment, Myung-hoon opened the door and came out of the office.

"Ho-jin, you're back?"

"Yeah, Myung-hoon. I said I had something to talk about."

"It might be a bit long to discuss here. How about we go to a café? I'll treat you to a coffee."

"Sure? Alright, just give me a sec. I'll let the team know and be right out."