The Game Developer Who Left the Company Is Too Competent

2. Project Pantheon(1)

Nexle Headquarters.

Kang Geon, who had been waiting impatiently in the empty reception room, stood up with a bright face when Lee Tae-young entered. Then, when he saw the hand image, his expression stiffened slightly, but for a moment, he approached with a more welcoming face than ever before and asked for a handshake.

“See you in two months, Director Taeyoung Lee. It’s the first time I’ve met you since I started a company, right? You look healthy. Director Son Young-sang.”

Lee Tae-young smiled, and Son Young-sang only nodded slightly. A full-fledged conversation ensued between the three people sitting facing each other on the sofa.

Taeyoung Lee said.

“You must be busy, so let’s get straight to the point. First of all, we have decided to proceed with the publishing contract as scheduled.”

‘it’s okay!’

Kang Gun clenched his fists that he had placed under the table. But the most important part remains.

“And the size of the investment.”

gulp.

Kang Gun swallowed dry saliva.

“It was decided at 1 billion.”

For a moment, Kang-geon doubted his ears.

‘what?’

It was by no means a small amount, but it was an amount that fell short of expectations.

Only 1 billion?

Kang Gun asked in a trembling voice.

“This, the size of the primary investment is that much… … Are you talking?”

Instead of answering, the only thing that flew out was a strange smile.

Kang Geon, who was greatly embarrassed, stuttered involuntarily.

“Ho, didn’t you like the results of the Hoshi Pandaemonium test?”

“no. I think it’s a well-made game. The response to breaking through the limits currently being published is not bad… … This is the final size of the investment.”

Before I knew it, the friendly smile on Lee Tae-young’s face had disappeared.

“If you sign the contract, I will deposit the money right away. What would you like to do?”

“… … .”

It was an amount I hadn’t even thought of.

The investment scale is only 1 billion?

The amount initially expected was up to 10 billion won and at least 8 billion won. It didn’t mean that he had it alone, but in the early days of development, when he showed Lee Tae-young the alpha version and drew a sketch of the contract, the amount that was implicitly matched was that much.

‘Why all of a sudden… … ?’

The back of my head was tingling because I hadn’t really thought about it.

Kang Geon, who managed to make up his mind, replied in a heavy voice.

“I need some time to think.”

* * *

Lee Tae-young, who was watching Kang Geon leave the reception room, said.

“How do you look?”

“You look shocked. I heard that the scale you were talking about was 10 billion?”

“At the time, I thought it was worth it.”

A cold smile appeared on Lee Tae-young’s lips.

“But not anymore.”

“What if I show it somewhere else?”

“So if the investment is confirmed, it’s good. CEO Jeong is good because he is invested, publishers are good because they can have sweet dreams, and we are good because we can watch in real time the pain of being beaten by our competitors.”

“Once a human being… … .”

Son Young-sang, who clicked her tongue and checked her watch, stood up from her seat.

“It’s about time. It’s ready, so let’s go.”

“Finally, I got to see the main character of the rumor in person. I heard PD Choi praised that friend as a master of presentation?”

“He said he learned a lot.”

The two moved from place to place while talking and arrived in front of a small conference room.

When I entered the room, I saw a young man standing there waiting.

Son Young-sang, who was sitting in the seat, nodded his head with a faint smile. Soon, a calm yet powerful voice rang out.

“hello. I am Taeyeon Yoo, a game developer. Let’s start the presentation of ‘Pantheon’ from now on!”

The first time I dreamed of becoming a game developer was when I was in middle school.

At that time, Taeyeon encountered a lot of games and started to draw a huge picture while researching in her own way.

The pantheon of pantheon.

Manma War Pandaemonium.

A huge story about the confrontation between the two forces.

Originally it was just one game, but as time passed and attention to detail, the scale of the two stories naturally grew.

So I ended up giving two different starting points.

As Son Young-sang listened to the story, his eyes twinkled.

“It starts with different projects, but in the end, because they share one worldview, it means that they will eventually come to a common point.”

“yes. I think you can think of the contents of the hero universe of company M in the United States.”

The two, who had already experienced the Pandaemonium test version, trembled as they recalled this grand picture.

Lee Tae-young asked with an excited face.

“Awesome. Considering the game nature of Pandaemonium, it is a project with good odds. The problem is the copyright… … .”

“There is no need to worry. I have the copyright, but I haven’t signed a contract yet.”

“Do you have the copyright? how?”

After conceiving the contents of Pantheon and Pantemonium, I had a history of serializing and publishing e-books on the Internet as a study.

“This is an e-book contract.”

“Ohh. Then, what happened to the contract with Bless?”

“The CEO said he would respect my publishing rights and asked for a contract, but it was delayed for various reasons, and now I’m here.”

I smiled thinking about that time.

“At the time, I didn’t intend to pay a lot of copyright fees because I was loyal to CEO Jeong, but even that seemed a waste.”

“People are so savvy. Anyway, I can bring the Pandaemonium titles as well so I can continue working on them. thank god.”

“It’s a pity that I couldn’t bring the produced sauce.”

“No regrets at all.”

Taeyeon continued with a confident voice.

“Originally, I wanted to use the new unique engine to give a cartoon-like feel to the animation.”

“Cartoon rendering?”

“It’s an animation, so that’s good. It’s still good, but I think it’ll be even better that way!”

Son Young-sang, who showed interest as a developer, was relatively calm, but Lee Tae-young was different. It seemed that the green light had been turned on for his business acumen.

The reaction of the two directors was so good that Taeyeon was excited and gave the presentation tirelessly and enthusiastically.

The prepared document had already come to an end, but apart from that, the three people exchanged opinions nonstop.

It wasn’t until dinner time that I came to my senses.

Lee Tae-young thought about it for a while, and said, “It must have been regrettable to part with you like this.”

“How about having dinner together?”

“I’m fine, but… … Since earlier, Jong-hak kept bothering me about the results.”

“Oh, is it? Then PD Choi is also called. We are no longer strangers. isn’t it?”

Lee Tae-young’s words were very meaningful.

Taeyeon looked at Son Young-sang with a trembling expression. Known as iron-blooded among the developers, he had a warm smile like the man next door.

“I will!”

Taeyeon tried to suppress her rising emotions and sent a message to Choi Jong-hak.

The presentation of a new project prepared for two months without sleep was over.

* * *

Unable to accept Nexple’s proposal, Kang Geon went around other companies.

However, investment and publishing contracts were not so easy and quick.

‘What should I do? Should I follow Nexle’s suggestion?’

Kang Gun was in a difficult situation.

Since the investment did not go ahead as planned, there was no opportunity to be seen in the development work. Originally, it was the producer’s job to supervise the production, but he had declared that he would also take on the role of director.

And for two months, he took advantage of Taeyeon properly and took control of the work as a star developer.

Then, as he was absent a lot, there was no opportunity for the work to go smoothly. Furthermore, Taeyeon, who took a few steps back from her producing and directing duties, was not as enthusiastic as before.

‘I have to keep quiet until a decision is made.’

The presentation, which began with Choi Jong-hak’s arrangement, was obviously well received.

The two directors, who are the absolute power of Nexle, said not to worry and wait for good results, so there was nothing to get hit in the back of the head.

Taeyeon watched the current situation with interest.

‘What kind of judgment will CEO Kang Geon make?’

* * *

As a result of the presentation, the number of Son Young-sang looking for Taeyeon increased.

– If there’s nothing to do, let’s have dinner together tonight.

“Maybe?”

Taeyeon, who left work that day without notice, went to a nearby meat restaurant. While waiting after ordering meat and alcohol, a sharp-looking man wearing horn-rimmed glasses entered.

As soon as he sat down in front of Taeyeon, he released all his guard and said with a warm smile.

“It’s nice to see Yoo Tae-yeon so often. How are you feeling these days?”

“I feel like I am on a covert mission. I have to work without revealing my position as much as possible until something is decided.”

“ha ha ha!

Grilling meat and clinking glasses, the atmosphere was very friendly. If Son Young-sang’s attitude had been witnessed by Nexple officials, they would have been greatly astonished.

Because he was never a laughing stock.

As the mood matured, his mood became serious. Taeyeon felt it too and straightened her slightly sloppy posture.

Son Young-sang said.

“The scale of investment is tens of billions. I want you to join us within a month and proceed with the development work.”

‘Bae, ten billion?!’

It was an unimaginable amount of money.

Taeyeon gulped and listened to the words that followed.

“I want you to show me the alpha version within a year, is that okay?”

“Enough is possible!”

“great. In the presentation, the expected completion date of the closed beta specification was set at around 2 years and 5 months, but is it still valid?

“yes!”

“If you need help, tell me or director Lee Tae-young. And let me know as soon as possible about the joining date. Because the president wants to have a meal with U PD.”

“Chairman?”

“You know that the chairman is also a developer, right?”

“Sure.”

Although he has now stepped back from the front line of development, Nexple Chairman Yoo Jin-seong was also an outstanding developer. Most of the online games in the early days of Nexle were born from the hands of two people, Young-Sang Son and Jin-Sung Yoo, the chairman.

“They showed a lot of interest in the U PD project. They want to meet in person and hear a lot of stories.”

“… … .”

“Don’t be burdened. You just have to treat it like me. Because you have a hot temper.”

How can I not be burdened?

It is said that Korea’s top game company, the main character of Nepple Myth, has expectations and interest in himself.

‘It burns inside.’

Interest in itself is not bad.

The problem is what happens if you don’t fill it up even a little bit.

Taeyeon murmured after pouring a glass of alcohol and drinking it all at once.

“I feel like I’m going to get sick all of a sudden.”

“ha ha ha!”

Leaving behind Son Young-sang’s laughter, Taeyeon drank soju in succession.

‘Can I really do it well?’

* * *

Everything was decided well, so there was no reason to hesitate any longer. Taeyeon said to Kang Geon.

“There is something I want to tell you.”

“What. say it.”

Kang Geon, who answered nervously, as if things were not going well, changed his attitude after seeing Taeyeon’s serious expression.

“Are you serious?”

“yes.”

“Okay, let’s go out and have a cup of coffee.”

The place we arrived was not at the in-house cafeteria, but at a cafe outside the building. Kang Gun crossed his arms and said without even looking at the cafe latte Taeyeon brought.

“Now tell me.”

Taeyeon threw a fastball without hesitation.

“I will quit that company.”

“what?”

“I am going to quit the company.”

Only then did Kang Gun ask with a puzzled face.

“Why are you suddenly like this? what happened?”

“… … .”

His expression became serious.

Taeyeon answered dryly.

“It’s hard.”

“What is difficult?”

“Everyone. It’s just all difficult.”

Kang Geon, who was about to pour out curses with his eyes wide open, as if he was angry at those words, managed to suppress his anger.

“You say it right. What are you complaining about? Did you get a job offer on good terms?”

“I think I’ve done enough with the CEO, so I’m going out. Now I want to do what I want to do.”

“Hey, what do you mean by that? Pandaemonium is your project. That’s what you were trying to do!”

“It was mine. But the representative took it away.”

“… … .”

Kang Geon, who had an exasperated expression, growled like a beast.

“Did you really think I took your place?”

It wasn’t just because of that reason, but it’s true that it was the trigger, so Taeyeon didn’t answer anything.

In the end, Kang Gun couldn’t stand it and burst into anger.

“Call it a horse!”

Lightning struck the quiet cafe. The barista and other customers stared at Kang in amazement.

He poured out his shouts without paying attention to the gaze of others.

“Did you think of me as such a petty bastard? Did I steal your project? I? why? why! What am I sorry for!”

Instead of answering, Taeyeon showed the full text of an article about Pandaemonium posted on the gaming community.

“look. It’s a game by star developer Kang Geon.”

“That’s just an article title!”

“There are not just one or two articles like this, but dozens. The contents of the interview… … .”

“It’s just a knight! An article with the reporter’s subjective thoughts! Can’t you tell the difference?”

As he showed no sign of calming down, a female barista who had noticed him approached.

“Could you please lower your voice?”

The cafe atmosphere was very bloody. Customers who had been paying attention were grumbling and leaving. Even in this situation, Kang Geon only glared at Taeyeon.

‘You’ve completely lost your mind,’

Taeyeon sighed and said.

“sorry. I’ll be leaving soon.”