Game Director from Hell

Chapter 40: Closed Beta

On April 10th, a day when the spring breeze gently brushed against cheeks, Jo Ayoon sat in a dark room with closed curtains, staring blankly at the monitor as her fingers moved.

Tap-tap, the sound of the keyboard echoed through the air.

Wheeeen, the fan whirled, creating a noisy hum.

However, Jo Ayoon remained oblivious to it all.

[...Goodbye.]

The final moments of the butterfly were being displayed on the monitor.

She had suffered in life and regretted even in death. Now, at the end of all her hardships, what else could she focus on?

Jo Ayoon's world already existed somewhere inside that monitor.

She was now playing the prototype of Hellic 2, a game without the sound.

This was the story she needed to craft from now on.

[Game Clear]

The message signalling the end of the story appeared.

This marked her 18th run cleared.

Jo Ayoon took a deep breath and, with a determined look in her eyes, clicked the "Retry" button once again.

She wasn't ready to return to reality just yet.

She needed to immerse herself deeper into the game.

To add the music, she needed to understand the butterfly well enough for it to conclude the story from the butterfly's perspective.

And so, the 19th run began.

There was a change.

"...Yes."

Even though Jo Ayoon had seen all of this before—the butterfly leaving Alice, facing the warden with a drawn sword, struggling to hold onto her crumbling body—this time, she felt a different emotion.

It was a strange change that couldn't be described in words.

Shooom—

She heard the sound of waves crashing.

Even though it was a soundless game.

As she watched the butterfly crumble, Jo Ayoon whispered to herself.

"So that's how it is."

The butterfly must have heard this sound too.

Throughout facing the guardian, bidding farewell to Alice, and even in her final moments, the butterfly had always been swaying by the waves.

It wasn't just the background; it encompassed the entirety of the butterfly's life.

And so, she decided.

"I prefer it without sound."

The theme would be the soundless scream.

Playing without sound made the intensity less overt.

Rather, it made the butterfly's struggle even more poignant.

Her expression, similar to Alice's, remained emotionless, rarely changing.

Even as her body crumbled, there was silence, and the emotional tension remained disconnected.

However, for a brief moment, the final smile was even more stifling due to that gap.

"Let's eliminate the sound."

Unnecessary melodies and beats were all removed.

Jo Ayoon only thought about what was necessary.

"The sound of waves."

Noise that made the silence even more profound.

"Footsteps."

The sound of footsteps pacing around the spot where Alice had left.

"The sound of the Warden's drawn sword, the creaking of steps, irregular movements."

All the grimness and threats, colliding with the butterfly, would become the rhythm.

In other words, sound effects would set the framework to maintain the consistency of the thought process.

With that decision made.

"Silence, beach, sad ending."

She expanded the keywords once again.

"Exclude electronic sounds. Exclude grandiosity. Just a melody that can be summed up in one sentence is enough."

It shouldn't be monotonous, but it should be heavy, and at the same time, it should be light.

A subtle beat should dive deep into the soul, embracing the space and the butterfly's story.

"There's one."

Jo Ayoon's gaze shifted to her desk.

"Music box."

A melody that, despite its clear and pure sound, couldn't be matched with any other instrument due to its unique weight, fluctuating between melancholy and tenderness depending on how it was played.

Starting from the slow striking of the keys, the accompaniment would envelop the sounds of waves, footsteps, and the collision of metal blades.

"The ending's BGM will be the music box."

That's how the end of the butterfly's journey, so intense and beautiful, would be adorned.

After all the battles were over and the beach fell silent once again, as the ending credits rolled, the fading sound of the music box would provide the finishing touch.

Click—

Jo Ayoon began to play the music box. The sound of the keys echoed in the room.

Jo Ayoon closed her eyes and deconstructed the melody.

Composition is about building up.

Jo Ayoon reconstructed the rhythm based on the melodies she had accumulated in her mind, creating a new piece of music.

The rapid work pace was because her emotions had already shown her the path the music should take.

It was similar to the process of a writer who had been writing for a lifetime refining their thoughts into words on paper.

She hummed a tune briefly in the dark room.

"...Done."

Jo Ayoon smiled.

Then, she headed to the recording studio with her hat pulled down low.

Two days had passed like this.

It took Hellic 2 to its last stage.

"You did well. It's great."

The attempt was successful.

If you could call it a success, it was clear from Yeonho's eyes that his soul had left him.

In June, the alpha version was finally completed.

It took Jo Ayoon as much time to fill in the sounds, debug, and conduct internal QA after that.

All the issues that had surfaced were resolved.

Myungkyu had worked quite hard, but it was worth it.

"It's done! It's finally done!"

On the day Myungkyu announced the end of development, he cried his heart out.

There was a moment when you could clearly see the stress Myungkyu had accumulated afterward, and it was then time they brought in external testers.

"Oh wow! Myungkyu, how have you been?"

"Jinkyung?"

Jinkyung, who was Seorim's elder brother, was called, just like during the Hellic 1 testing.

He was Myungkyu's junior by a year, and personally, their relationship didn't seem that great.

Of course, it was mostly Myungkyu who seemed distant.

It wasn't hard to understand why; Jinkyung, who was like the incarnation of an extorvert, probably had a lot of friction with him.

Anyway, let's move on from such petty stories.

"Since it's a testing, I assigned Myungkyu as the leader. If there are any doubts, please talk to him about it."

Myungkyu was in charge of QA.

That day, Myungkyu had beaten Jinkyung to death for a total of seven hours.

"Again."

"Oh wow!"

"Again."

"Oh, oh wow..."

"Again."

"...?"

Myungkyu seemed genuinely happy that day.

After that, there were times when Jinkyung complained to me, but that's another story.

In the end, after a lot of hard work, the game finally reached a level where a closed beta was possible.

And that brings us to today.

"Great job, everyone."

It's the day of the team dinner.

The menu is pork belly, just the first round.

I filled my soju glass and said, "It's been almost two years, and we managed to finish it right on schedule from the initial planning stage. Except for Seorim, most of you were probably new to game development, so I'm really grateful for how well you've all adapted."

It wasn't just empty words.

Despite being a newly established studio with mostly rookies, Hellic 2 had been completed as a product that far exceeded expectations.

How can I claim that this was solely my accomplishment?

What I did was fundamentally within the scope of a director's duties.

Coordinating the team, sketching out the overall concept of the game, and finally turning it into a product.

Getting this far was all thanks to the team members who excelled in their respective roles.

As I looked around, the smiling faces of my team members filled me with confidence.

On a day like this, I should share some good news.

"Today, take a break. Rest tomorrow too. Starting the day after tomorrow, let's work hard again."

I raised my glass.

My team members also raised their glasses with noticeably more relaxed expressions, and Jo Ayoon, while raising her soju glass, pinched the back of Yeonho's hand and then held up a cola can with a sulky expression.

A simple toast.

"Cheers."

Glasses clinked.

It happened three days before the closed beta.

***

July has arrived, bringing with it the sweltering heat of summer.

And the closed beta access for Hellic 2 has been distributed.

The community has been buzzing about it for the past few days.

In the first week of July, the most searched word on the community was the owner of the closed beta access, ClearWithoutT

『(Chat) Waiting for Hellic 2: ClearWithoutT, where are you? Please come out! Huh? You received it! You got the closed beta access!!!

(Chat) Lord of Bloodshed in Bangbae-dong: ClearWithoutT, come out. Seriously, come out.

(Chat) S2PoppinS2: Please say something at least ㅠㅠ

(Chat) Love for Space Wars: Looks like this person is gone for good lol』

A week ago, Studio Rewind's official social media account posted that closed beta access and merchandise had been sent out.

Considering that 'ClearWithoutT' was known to reside in the Seoul area, there was no doubt that he had received the game and this was confirmed by a post from just a week ago.

『ClearWithoutT: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Closed beta access distribution has startedㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ』

A post that couldn't be more nonchalant even if you turned it upside down.

Many users expressed their desire for reviews in the comments, but the result was this.

It went silent.

(Chat) FlowerLips: Does anyone know where this guy lives?

And then, a post like that was made.

(Game) ClearWithoutT:...

The protagonist appeared in the community.

<Comments>

WaitingforHellic 2: Why now!!! I wanted to see you die?!

Lord of Bloodshed in Bangbae-dong: Please do a review. Please.

SweetBelNam39: Sir, how is the game?

Great Detective Cucumber: Sir, please check your messages, please.

The welcome was warm.

The moment the community stopped buzzing with posts and traffic rushed to 'ClearWithoutT's' post.

A post with no content, just the title '...'

And then, he posted one more thing.

(Chat) ClearWithoutT: How is this even an indie game?

It's unbelievable. I'm the kind of person who can't stay away from the community for more than a week, but I didn't even think about it this time;

I can't help but be amazed;

They say this game was developed by a team of 6, but it does seem like a lie;

When it's released, all of you should definitely play it!

Oh, and one more thing.

(Alice Figurine)

The figurines are so cute lol.』

It was a review.

And it was a ruthless review that didn't say a word about the game's content.

The community members who were eagerly waiting for something to happen were naturally disappointed.

(Chat) WaitingforHelic2: Aaargh!!!

Starting with 'WaitingforHelic2,' many users began to curse and express their frustration.

If it were anyone else, they might have been hurt by such insults and left the community, but this time, the target was different.

The undisputed keyboard battle champion within the community, the villain who could tear apart anyone who came against him. Once again, he showed his extraordinary resilience.

(Chat) ClearWithoutT: If you're unhappy, you should've won the closed beta access lol

That day, Kang Seokhoon, who used the community nickname 'WaitingforHelic2,' collapsed with his head down.

While the Korean community was ablaze, a similar situation was unfolding overseas.

For some reason, all the recipients of the closed beta access had gone silent.

Regular gamers who were excited about the game were left feeling disappointed.

That's when all eyes turned to streamer James Han.

He had promised to showcase the closed beta gameplay in his videos.

But even he went silent.

Users were anxiously waiting for someone to come forward and at least talk about the game.

Some even went as far as saying, "The game is so boring that no one can even review it."

This was what they called the grapevine effect.

『Go to hell, freaking Hellic.』

And then, it happened.

"On game."

A short review was published in the number one gaming magazine, "On game."

"I played the highly anticipated new game [Hellic 2: Hell Of Alice]."

It was a review that came out unexpectedly and in an unexpected format.

But one thing was certain.

That review created an unprecedented buzz.

"I won't say it's the best game ever or the world's best. Everyone has a favourite game, and I can't force my opinion by denying their choices.

However, I have to say this.

At the very least, it has the best ending of the year.

It surpasses any AAA game.

• Game Director Aldred Russo."

A name that always came up when naming the greatest directors.

Anyone with even a slight interest in gaming couldn't be unaware of his works.

The review from Aldred Russo caused a sensation in the industry.

Hellic's reputation took on a completely different meaning than before.

To put it in simple terms, it was like this.

(Chat) Postponed Military Service Great Detective: I postponed my military service. I think I should play Hellic 2.

A game that hadn't even been released had shaken someone's life.

That's exactly what happened, and it was three days later.

"On Air."

James Han made his move.

On a platform called Twitch, which had been launched less than a month ago.