episode_0045

December 25th.

A Christmas gift for gamers has arrived.

The first ever ‘game show’ hosted by KIN, [Gamescon]

Naturally, people flocked like crazy and tickets sold out within 30 minutes of going on sale.

And the man who won that precious ticket, Mr. Kim, boarded the plane and arrived in Los Angeles.

Mr. Kim, who arrived at the convention center, which was obviously of enormous size, after enduring the scorching sun, was very excited.

As soon as he entered the exhibition hall, what greeted him was a huge hall and horde that could only be described as magnificent.

“Horde?”

A man whose entire body was covered in green muscles stood before him, and anyone who saw him could tell that he was ” or Horde”.

“Can I take a picture?”

Of course, Mr. Kim, who had already seen the Horde cosplay in the gallery, requested a photo without any fear or hesitation. It was the moment when the digital camera he had bought with great courage really shined.

“Could you please send the photos to this address later?”

“Yes! I’ll send it to you as soon as I get back!”

This is how the cosplay duo that transcended borders was born.

[The ‘Developer Meetup’ will begin soon. Those who wish to attend are requested to come to the central auditorium.]

“Oh, let’s go slowly.”

“Yep!”

***

“Wow, there are so many people.”

“The mic is on, so stop shaking so much…”

“Humanity, humanity. I still tremble when I see a lot of people. The government is the one who made me like this in the first place, so blame them.”

“How many times have I told you not to say that anywhere…”

“People should live by saying what they want to say. If you try to get them to say something, they shouldn’t say it.”

Park Seung-hyeop lets out a deep sigh. For some reason, he is certain that Kim Jeong-jun is making the same expression from afar.

“Well, let’s do a quick icebreaker and get to the main point.”

“Good idea. Um… Actually, I think there are many people here who are thinking, ‘So what are we going to do here?’”

“Actually, there’s nothing much. We just look around the game and explain the development process, intentions, and behind-the-scenes stuff. We also listen to opinions and take questions.”

“We’re almost ready. Um… The first game we’re going to watch is EZ2MX. It’s the beginning of our company.”

A game screen popped up on the screen.

“Actually this is the version ported to the computer.”

“I should say it correctly. To be exact, it’s the version that was ‘intended’ to be transplanted to a computer. It fell through in the middle.”

“The reason it failed is simple. The computer performance couldn’t keep up. Now, this is possible because we’ve modified the computer.”

“That’s quite unfortunate. I’ll try again later when home computers become more powerful.”

“Anyway, back to the game, the process of making this was actually like… a cartoon. I first met the person in charge of our company’s music when we were recruiting for a university club. The reason all the songs with my name on them are jointly written is because of him. Isn’t it romantic?”

“Actually, there’s not much to talk about behind the scenes of development. If I had to pick, it’s just a few bugs? For example… Ah. When I tried to hit Zeus, a different song’s key sound came out. The beat matched better than I thought, so when I first discovered it, I was a little confused, so I asked Lee Seo, and he burst out laughing.”

“Then… This time it’s Strikers. Actually, this game is so simple that there’s not much to say.”

“I still remember you constantly nitpicking about the fighter jet design. If it weren’t for Jiyoung, you’d already be hit.”

“Actually I already got hit once. If I hadn’t taken the stage 5 boss design then I probably would’ve gotten hit more.”

…

“Oh, time flies. It’s time to end already.”

“I was supposed to watch one more game… Well, I’ll wait until next year.”

“You’re going to do this shit again next year?”

“Oh, be careful what you say.”

“No…! You’re not saying you’re going to open this every year, are you?”

“Look at all the people gathered here. They’re all looking forward to it.”

“This profit…!”

Although the emergency situation that caused Park Seung-hyeop to foam at the mouth broke out, the ‘Meeting with the Developer’ ended successfully.

***

Mr. Kim took a short break and then went back into the auditorium.

This time it’s supposed to be a presentation… Honestly, I don’t get it. Are they going to show a new game or something?

While I was waiting in the dark auditorium, the spotlight came on the stage.

And then a man of incredible appearance appeared.

“Hello. My name is Gabe Newell, and I am the content manager. Nice to meet you all.”

A scene was created where everyone was tense and time seemed to have stopped.

“He is the content team leader, but you can actually think of him as Mr. Lee Seo’s warm n-ho.”

Only then did the atmosphere start to loosen up a little.

“Everyone here is probably thinking the same thing. In fact, what else would there be to say at a game show? Video team? Turn on the screen.”

Color is added to the white screen. The picture that fills the screen is none other than…

“Introducing [Half-Life – Multiplayer]”

Waaa …

The stands became a melting pot of cheers and excitement.

“We invited the mod creator who created the existing cooperative mode to create this mod. There are three modes in total: the existing cooperative mode, flag capture mode, and deathmatch mode.”

The demonstration video was short, but to people, that short time felt like an eternity.

A new world unfolded in every scene. In addition to the familiar cooperative mode, there was also a deathmatch mode where players hunt each other, and a capture the flag mode where players team up to steal the opposing team’s flag.

The improved graphics and various effects allowed them to immerse themselves even in short videos.

“Hmm… Did you see it well?”

“””””””◦Yes!!!!!!!!”◦”””””◦”

“Although the video is short, I think I showed you everything you were curious about. So let me wrap it up in one word.”

Newell pauses for a moment and then opens his mouth.

“Congratulations on your entry into hyper FPS.”

And a few letters appear on the screen.

[Experience available at the play booth]

Waaa …

The play booth, which had hundreds of computers, was full as soon as it opened. Naturally, most of them were playing Half-Life multiplayer.

What is everyone saying in unison?

“That’s fun!”

This is pure fun.

In addition to the fast-paced nature of the original Half-Life, some people even use bunny hops to roam around the map, find weapon drop locations, learn the map’s gimmicks, and literally explore the map. On top of that, shooting other people who keep popping up is a really primal fun that’s enough to get your dopamine pumping.

“Aaak!”

The deathmatch game system, which allows you to smile and come back to life even after dying once, virtually eliminated the unpleasant experience of the stage format and single life, and only provided gamers with dopamine.

Gamers who enjoyed a literally frenzied game where they would run around the map, get weapons, and shoot every enemy they encountered, reached the brink of Buddhahood.

“I have no regrets even after I die…!”

“There will soon be a competition where professional gamers from all over the world will gather?”

“Come to think of it, I think I still have some regrets. Where should I go, teacher?”

Mr. Kim put off his Buddhist service for a moment and headed to the convention center.

***

The competition began with a rhythm game. The tournament was structured so that 32 people from around the world would gather in order based on their combined rankings.

[Hello, I am Yoon Ee-seo, the song provider, programmer, and planner in charge of commentary!]

[Snow, who holds the record for the most number of previous commentators! Due to an injury issue, I ended up doing this commentary!]

Yoon Yi-seo thinks that when he says it like that, it sounds like something a noble would say in a fantasy setting.

[The first song is… Ah! Freedom Dive is out.]

[No joke from the start haha! Let the match begin!]

The person who was called in as a commentator was more excited than Yoon Yi-seo expected, and while she was flustered, the competition announced the start.

[If you miss even one beat of the trill, you’ll be completely destroyed!]

[indeed!]

[AAAHHHH!!!]

[The score gap is too big! It seems like it will be practically impossible to catch up!]

…

[Luft Player advances to the Round of 16 for the first time!]

…

[Most of Nagan’s main songs are continuous songs! If you just look at the song selection, Nagan definitely has the advantage!]

…

[Ah, the song…!]

[The song that was mentioned in the meeting with the developers just now has appeared!]

[Can this… maintain 90 percent of the judgment?]

[It’s a hard judgment for the competition right now! I think even 90 percent is difficult.]

…

[Ahhh! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! We’re in trouble!]

[The previous Freedom Dive went well, but this time the judgement is for Freedom Dive!]

…

[Nagant takes home the title of the first winner of the World Rhythm Champions!]

[He took the crown by crushing the Blue and White hard judgment with an accuracy of 94%!]

As the match continued, which was literally gripping, Mr. Kim’s heart was pounding as if it was going to burst.

And next up is Starcraft. Mr. Kim looked at the bracket, hoping to see if his favorite player would appear…

“No Koreans?”

There were no Korean names written on the bracket.