episode_0005

As we began working with Team Nervous Lee, something caught my eye when the following letter arrived:

[A new HTTP and HTML compatible web browser is also in the works. I have enclosed the results with some sensitive code removed, so please give me some feedback on this as well.]

Web browser. Originally, it was a general term for applications such as Chrome, Edge, and Safari that were commonly used in the world. To be exact, it can be seen as a tool that allows access to the Internet based on WWW. Before the introduction of web browsers, the appearance of PC communication that we commonly think of, which is displayed as a black prompt window, was taken for granted.

I was excited at the thought that I would finally have a computer environment that I was familiar with, so I connected the floppy disk that had been included in the mail to my computer and ran the browser in an experimental environment.

Of course, it was a bit different from the browser design I had in mind. As soon as I saw it in operation, my heart that had been racing was shattered. It seemed like the computer environment I was used to was far away.

The response speed was a bit slow, but the stability was perfect. This was definitely due to the improvements we had suggested.

“But it’s definitely a bit slow. If I keep waiting like this, time will run out.”

“Good point. So, can we improve the speed?”

“Wouldn’t it be hard… As you said last time… UDP, right? Unless you’re using a protocol that doesn’t have that reliability responsibility…”

“But when I tried that, more than half of the packets were lost. That’s not usable unless physical packet loss is almost eliminated.”

“The reason for the slow speed is not our problem, but the network status problem…”

The members each exchanged fairly sound opinions, but no clear solution was reached.

“Okay, I don’t think we can solve this at our level anyway?”

“Would this be possible?”

“I can’t do this either. I can’t respond to external or hardware factors either.”

Everyone looks gloomy. What can I do? It will be a long time before I can get into the hardware side of things, so there’s nothing I can do. And the internet speed is not something I can control yet.

“Then let’s change the way we think a little. Since waiting is something we can’t do anything about, what if we didn’t have to do anything while waiting?”

Everyone tilted their heads, then one by one they seemed to have come to an epiphany, clapping their hands or seeing a lightbulb pop up above their head… What? Why is that popping up?

“The problem with waiting is that it’s boring, so the problem is not getting bored at that time!”

“That’s right. I’ll buy you a snack later.”

The senior who got the snack from me as a reward for speaking first with envious eyes… I think his name was Im Jin-bae. Anyway, I looked at that senior.

“Okay, the sooner and more you can give your opinions, the better. In the classroom, you don’t have to ask questions or make presentations, but let’s do it here.”

This is the educational method I learned while attending compulsory education. If there is a reward, people will do almost anything. Especially if the reward is food.

“As you all thought, I’m going to put a game here. So what are the prerequisites?”

“Low capacity and resource usage.”

“That’s correct. What else?”

“Accessibility!”

“Golden~ Correct answer! If we add a little more, there might be some simple gameplay. This could also be included in accessibility.”

***

“Let’s first decide on the goal of the game.”

“Goal?”

“Yes. For example, a plumber defeats an evil boss (a noodle eater) and saves a princess. Well, it doesn’t have to be a story like that.”

“I don’t think it’s something you can do while waiting for a while once the story starts. I think it would be better to exclude the story altogether like Pac-Man.”

“That’s true, but Pac-Man also has a pretty long playtime.”

“Let’s talk about that later. For now, aside from the story and goal setting… the goal will ultimately be to accumulate points.”

Well, if you tell me one, I’ll know two, if not ten. This junior is proud of you.

“Now, I need to decide on a game style. As I said before, I want it to be a fairly short playtime.”

“First of all, using the stage won’t work. Playtime is a problem, and capacity and resource management, as mentioned earlier, will be difficult.”

It’s a pretty good direction. It seems like there’s a pretty constructive conversation going on…

“If you do it that way, resource management will be difficult. Why not just fix the axis so that it moves only horizontally…”

“The essence of a game is fun, right? If there’s only one action, is it fun to just click a button?”

Well, I guess that’s what it would be like. I spoke very vaguely and gave off very abstract ideas from the start.

“Don’t raise your voice like that.”

The sight of everyone closing their mouths and only then realizing how embarrassing it was when I raised my index finger and spoke.

But the original version of this line hasn’t come out yet. Can I use it now?

“I thought about it for a bit…”

A format where a dinosaur runs around in a very simple manner.

Obstacles made up of only cacti, rocks, and pterosaurs, and two simple controls: jumping and lying down to avoid them.

An extremely short playtime based on a simple difficulty structure that gradually increases in speed.

And even capacity and resource compression using the tile method used in Super Plumber Brothers.

The explanation from the perspective of the members was roughly as follows.

The result was a unanimous passage.

Because the game was so simple, we got right into working on it without any lengthy meetings.

First, I designed the textures including the dinosaurs together with the first art slave, Yu Ji-young, who was brought in from the industrial design department. As expected, I was able to finish the work faster than I thought because I used what I had in mind as the basis.

And Yoo Ji-young definitely drew it well with dots, as befitting an industrial designer, with good visibility. When I tried it, it came out looking like, how should I put it, vomit, but when Yoo Ji-young did it, it turned into a proper unpaved road.

“Now it’s the seniors’ turn to step up. Let’s think about how to write the code. I’ll be as immersed as possible.”

To be honest, I already told you the method through the interview, so you can’t do this.

“That…Is that you?”

“Huh?”

“Can’t I include a photo with this?”

“Yes????”

What I overlooked was that the browser didn’t have a feature to display images right away. It had only recently been released with the Mosaic web browser, which was the first browser to have this feature, so this browser didn’t have it yet.

“… Let’s add feedback separately and implement it in code first. There’s more to do.”

It only took a moment for the members’ expressions to turn sour.

Later, when the image display function was added, the image processing technology that had been developed several years later in the original world was applied to advance the image technology itself. David would probably be surprised.

***

End of March, CERN Laboratory, UK, OOO

“David? The mail has arrived.”

“Just leave it there, where the mail is piled up… It’s overwhelming just reading stuff from other labs…”

“This is also from a research institute. I heard it’s a team called KIN from KUST?”

“I’ve never heard of it. Is it an affiliated organization?”

“I don’t think so. But it’s international mail… What kind of parcel-level mail is it? It seems like it’s worth a look. What do you think?”

“Haa, just give it to me once… Let me read it…”

David Lee received such a thick piece of mail, opened it up, and started reading. At first, he seemed to be not very interested and just skimmed through it, but at some point, his eyes suddenly grew wide.

“Ned, where did this come from?”

“It’s a team called KIN from KUST. Looking at the zip code, it’s a place I’ve never been to before.”

David’s eyes, as he read the improved section of http, were no longer showing an ordinary gaze.

“… Turn on the lab computer right now. I have something to try.”

“What is it?”

“Read it. It will make your eyes light up.”

David handed Ned a stack of academic papers that had arrived in the mail and started working on his freshly booted computer, running his code editor and compiler as if he was possessed. He was starting the development of the Internet in real time.

Exactly three days later, the Internet achieved about five years’ worth of optimization in speed and stability. It was the moment when the first believer of Yoon I-seo was born in the UK, and the IT powerhouse Korea got its start.

And then a few weeks later, another mail from the KIN team.

“Oh my god, the Savior has given us grace!”

“Hey! Tear that up reverently!

But David looked a little disappointed as he read the very first part of the letter.

“… Web browser? If this was what you sent back then, none of the features you’re working on now would exist?”

“The image display is somewhat done, and there is nothing more that can be done to improve the speed. We have done everything that can be improved.”

The team members, including Ned, listen to David reading the letter slowly and respond curtly.

“…”

“David? What’s written there?”

Then, when David suddenly stopped talking, the puzzled team members expressed their doubts.

“Everyone, turn on your computers. The Holy Spirit has given us a revelation.”

As expected, after successfully upgrading her web browser two days later, Yoon-seo was elevated from Holy Spirit to Virgin Mary. This was a long time ago, but it was no problem for her name to appear in the book as the Mother of the Internet.

***

[Your team’s feedback has always been a fantastic experience for us. The contribution of the image display code is a technology that is ahead of the prototype technology we have already accepted and produced. The technology that can efficiently expand the color palette when displaying the colors of an image can also be applied to the image file itself. The image display technology that you have provided feedback on has been immediately reflected in this browser.

And for games that are played while loading, our engineers are quite satisfied, but we are a little concerned about the public’s opinion. It is a common type of game and there is no particular problem, but society has become negative about the word game itself. We will try our best to include it, but please understand that it may be removed depending on the response in the future.

[Thank you always for your good feedback]

“Well, I thought this would be the reaction. But when I actually saw it in person, I felt dirty.”

“… You’re speaking hotly, Yoon-seo.”

“People should be honest. Honestly, isn’t everyone’s heart the same right now?”

“That’s right. It really makes me feel dirty.”

It’s a world where you have to be so careful about just one word, the word “game.” It feels like a sanctuary where you absolutely must not cast a shield, so I’m not feeling very good.

“It’ll get better once the internet becomes more widespread. At least people who use the internet won’t be negative about games.”

I said it with confidence. I was that confident. I was confident that the moment the Internet becomes widespread, everyone who uses the Internet will become addicted to games. This is not something that can be stopped just by blocking it.

Just look at Korea in the world. Even if you try to block games, think about all sorts of outrageous methods, such as using airtime or using your parents’ name to evade and circumvent such restrictions.

We have always seen that culture is not a subject of control that can be stopped. It has been that way and it will be that way in the future.