episode_0027

A gaming center in the heart of Silicon Valley.

The four rhythm game consoles that came in during the middle of the night and connected to the network started working in the morning.

Since Yoon Yi-seo had already advertised on Digital Inside, the arcade was experiencing unprecedented prosperity.

But if you look at it this way, it’s no different from the early days of KIN Arcade, with only different people.

The only thing different was the presence of a signboard.

A poster like this was attached to the square signboard.

[Get a card from the counter and play the rhythm game!]

Thanks to that, the counter was crowded with people for the first time in a long time.

A card that looks like a business card at first glance, made of thick paper with a thin coating.

At first glance, this card, which had a QR code printed underneath the words [KINet PASS], looked like nothing special.

Rather, some people think that it looks no different from the low-quality advertising cards that are often displayed in public places.

Due to the limited time, the work was hastily produced by the designers without confirmation from Yu Ji-young.

However, the true value of this card was demonstrated in front of the rhythm game console, as shown on the signboard.

The moment you hold the QR code up to the red-glowing glass on one side of the game console, magic happens.

A password window will appear on the screen, and an account will be created by pressing the game console’s buttons as a keypad.

Now, whenever you hold up your card, you can log in to your account by simply entering your 4-digit password!

“Renewed, amazing!”

It was a system that automatically recited magic spells.

But as we all know, the significance of this card’s existence is…

“What is this? Why is it locked?”

[Unlock] is a viciously vicious system!

Most of them don’t even tell you the unlock conditions!

It’s sad to see that most of the songs that were listed as the best songs of all time on Digital Inside are locked as songs with unknown unlock conditions.

‘I’m going to keep coming here anyway, so if I just keep hitting on it, won’t I be able to unlock it eventually?’

Everyone’s thoughts were flowing according to Yoon Yi-seo’s plan.

This is what happens when a human who knows gamers’ psychology all too well becomes a service monopolist at the top of capitalism.

***

Meanwhile, fans and practitioners of the EDM genre were looking at rhythm games from a different perspective.

“The future of electronica lies in rhythm games!”

“The real New US Garage has arrived!”

” You are talking about EDM paradise, guys~!”

As a rhythm game that calls itself a comprehensive art, Yoon Yi-seo unintentionally changed the history of music, a branch of art.

And creators are a group of people whose creative desire burns when they encounter something new.

“What? The founder of SounDrive sampled all the sounds used here?”

“Wait a minute, that person’s nickname is written as a rhythm game composer?”

And these people also could not avoid seeing the foreign news called Yoon Yi-seo.

Some of those who were fascinated by Yoon Eui-seo’s music even went so far as to visit KIN’s garage.

“Please give us the honor of having our song featured in your game, sensei…!”

“If my shortcomings are the problem, please teach me…!”

If it was just one or two people, it wouldn’t matter, but since different people kept coming, Yoon Yi-seo was in quite a difficult situation.

***

“Now that it’s like this, let’s turn this into content, right?”

“How?”

“We’re opening a song contest. If people want to submit their own songs to the game, we should let them do so.”

A wintery January, with no snow, typical of California.

However, Sound Live was heating up with a heat comparable to that of the summer of 1994 on the Korean Peninsula.

Because a banner with the words [WORLDWIDE RHYTHM CONTEST] written in large letters the size of a door, which was noticeable to everyone, was floating at the top of Sound Live.

People clicked on the banner that suddenly appeared out of curiosity, and couldn’t help but be shocked by its contents.

Composers each submit a song and it is evaluated, and the top 3 songs in the final ranking are given the honor of being included in the rhythm game.

Of course, fame doesn’t end there. KIN unconditionally credits the composer within the game and also provides generous prize money.

Although the winning song’s license belongs to KIN, considering the prize money, it seems like a fair deal.

It was a competition that even composers who weren’t interested in rhythm games should give a try at least once.

The competition period is a generous one month.

The [WRC] competition, a long-standing tradition that has seen composers perform miracles every year despite the cold spell, has opened.

***

And of course, the servers crashed.

From downloading sampled sounds from SoundLive, to uploading songs from composers, to the traffic of gamers who are naturally excited to listen to music.

I rushed to the computer center to buy server equipment, got the server back to normal, and then the server crashed again in an instant.

This endless cycle ended after a week.

“More people challenged than I thought. Should I like this or not…”

“Well, what’s good is good. Honestly, I’ve almost reached the top of the server, but at this level, the server won’t crash easily.”

“I think I can rest now… I’ll get some sleep first. I’m tired from maintaining the server and listening to songs all night for a few days.”

“There’s no way Yoon-seo would be tired! Reveal your identity and get out of here, doppelganger!”

“It’s a reptilian disguised as Yoon Yi-seo! Kill him now!”

I tried to sleep wrapped in a thick blanket, but instead I was wrapped in a mat.

This is so unfair. I’m a human too!

***

Looking at the crazy traffic coming into the server this time, I thought of something to try.

“Let’s quantify all the traffic indicators and make them into data. Both Sound Live and Digital Inside.”

“Why all of a sudden?”

“We need to create a stable income. And the best way to create a stable income is through advertising.”

“What does that have to do with traffic metrics… Ah!”

“You get the idea, right? “We have this much influence, so we can make this much money with banner ads. So invest in us and enjoy the amazing advertising effect.”This is the kind of marketing we do for businesses.”

Banner advertising is always successful.

Oh, of course, banner ads are not something that has not yet existed in this world. It is not some modern genius theory, and the idea of advertising on the Internet has existed since the Internet first came out.

However, these advertisements can only be made by directly contacting or being contacted by famous web pages. This means that advertisers have to try to somehow connect with the web page creator.

In this situation, it is a very attractive proposition for advertisers to be able to help advertisers place their ads by just entrusting them with the task of advertising.

Oh, what does the publisher gain?

What is it? We get paid every time you show us an ad. Of course, we’ll still make some money on the balance sheet.

The Internet will eventually become a platform-based territory. Money will roll in just by acting as an intermediary.

We need to quickly take over the Internet ecosystem, just like Google did.

First of all, we have two cheat keys.

The first is, of course, the existence of Digital Inside. Digital Inside is already the world’s largest Internet community.

The second is slightly connected to the first, which is [personalized advertising]. It analyzes the interests of the target audience and sends out advertisements tailored to them, thereby maximizing the advertising effect.

This was possible because there was a template called “Gallery” that clearly showed the interests.

The material was thoroughly prepared and a week later, it was ready to change the landscape of Internet advertising.

***

“… That concludes my presentation.”

A rental office where Yoon Yi-seo’s investment briefing session is held.

I hope you didn’t stutter at any point. I was so nervous that I don’t even remember what I said.

“The guys who made games came here to do something and it was nothing special.”

As soon as the presentation was over, an old man left the office.

“That person’s company is… Allian Investment Bank. Allian Investment Bank just lost about $500,000. Maybe more.”

“Can you be sure that Internet advertising is that effective?”

“This is an estimate, but it is the most conservative estimate possible. To be honest, I think it will have twice the effect of this estimate.”

“I like your enthusiasm. Our company will pay for the advertising and even invest in it.”

“We too…”

In the dot-com bubble era when optimism was rampant, getting investment from an IT startup was like eating cake.

Later, [AdSense], which monopolized Internet advertising, was stretching and getting back on its feet.

1997. It was a year of upheaval on the Internet from early spring.

After the investment briefing, an investor approached me and spoke to me kindly.

“By the way, why didn’t you come to our company? The HR manager looked sad.”

“… Yes?”

“A certain level of autonomy in hiring the entire team, an absurd salary, and even the ability to add conditions as desired. If it were me, I would have been tempted to come here for those conditions. It’s the first time I’ve seen the always arrogant HR manager look so flustered.”

“Yes?”

“Huh?”

Only then did Yoon-seo realize what an opportunity she had missed.

“Ah… I like making games as I please. This is just an extra thing. ”

All she could do was keep complaining that she was better at making games.

Actually, it’s not self-justification, but it’s somewhat true, but let’s just call it a new grape here.