The Regressed Game Director Is Too Competent

Let us rewind time a little, to the day the PV for Liberty Universe was released.

After parting ways with my team members and returning to the office, a chain of worries began to form in my mind.

The reason behind this was none other than the butterfly effect brought about after the reset.

The plans I had devised up until now were all based on my memories from before the reset.

However, Girls’ Memorial’s resounding success triggered a butterfly effect, causing all the future schedules to go askew.

‘I should have been more prepared for the early release of Inmilia.’

The biggest issue at this current point in time was that there was no way to gauge how quickly the upcoming games were going to be released.

The genre of Girls’ Memorial was a social game.

An early social game, at that—made up of only storylines, PVP, and various small-scale contents.

Though it maintained its popularity through the outstanding work of the art director Lee Yerin and its narrative power, conversely, it also meant that if a game surpassing that narrative charm were to be released early, Girls’ Memorial could tumble from its top position at any moment.

The one fortunate aspect was the fact that we were aware of the existence of the big competitor likely to bring us down.

Grand Ark Phantasm, to be released next year, known colloquially as “Wot”.

It was the notorious progenitor of various gacha game regulation laws that would later be enacted in Japan, often referred to as the “Demon of Gacha”.

If I had no knowledge of the future, I would have been left with no choice but to be blindsided, but at this point in time, I could prepare adequately.

The only method available to me in this situation was one: the next project.

Though it was a bit premature, considering that Girls’ Memorial hadn’t even reached its first anniversary, it felt necessary to at least start formulating some ideas now.

For that purpose, I first reached out to Seol-i.

Collaboration with the Creative Director was essential for formulating the next project’s concept.

After making contact, I waited briefly until the knock came, followed by Seol-i’s voice.

“Director… are you here?”

“Come in, it’s open.”

“Yes, yes…!”

The door opened cautiously, and Seol-i bowed her head before stepping into the office.

“Did you call for me?”

“Yeah. I need to discuss something with you. Sit down.”

“Yes….”

At my suggestion, Seol carefully sat down on the sofa.

For the formulation of the next project, collaboration with the Creative Director was absolutely necessary.

While offering her a drink I retrieved from the refrigerator, I inquired, “Is the planning team alright these days? Everyone busy?”

“The planning team…?”

“Yeah.”

After a moment of thought, Seol smiled and replied.

“N-not particularly busy. The upcoming main story is nearing its final stages, and the only remaining task is the event story update for the summer peak season….”

“That’s good to hear.”

Had the planning team been busy, I would have had to brainstorm everything on my own.

At least this was manageable.

“Anyway, the reason I called you, Seol-i….”

Upon hearing this, Seol listened attentively as I presented the entire plan, omitting any details related to my memories from before the reset.

Seol’s eyes widened with surprise after hearing my story.

“S-so Director, you called me here to begin brainstorming the next project?”

“That’s right.”

“B-but isn’t it a bit too early to start planning the next work already? Girls’ Memorial hasn’t even reached its first anniversary yet….”

In response to her statement, I shook my head.

“You’re correct, Seol-i. It’s a bit early at this timing—we were originally planning to start formulating ideas after the first anniversary.”

“I see….”

“However, due to Girls’ Memorial’s unexpectedly massive success, there’s been a sudden surge in the release of competing games.”

“Oh….”

“Still, we’re just brainstorming for now.”

“Ah, I see. Then, what should I be doing?”

At her question, I paused briefly to deliberate before speaking.

“Are there any pressing tasks you need to take care of immediately?”

“Almost none. The main story and event stories are mostly confirmed, and there aren’t any planned content projects.”

“Got it. Then….”

I mentally organized the settings for the next project and drafted the proposal in a half-day.

Another half-day was spent gathering necessary materials.

All in all, about a day would be enough.

“Come to the conference room at 2 PM tomorrow. Complete all your tasks beforehand.”

At my words, Seol nodded and said with assurance.

“I’ll do that.”

*

The next afternoon,

I arrived twenty minutes before my scheduled meeting with Seol-i and started setting up the conference room.

I organized the drinks for the meeting and made two copies of the proposal I had conceptualized, containing the story and settings.

I connected the USB containing the materials that would help during the meeting to the conference room PC, and configured it so the beam projector could display everything.

Once all the bothersome tasks were done, it was already time for the meeting.

Three minutes before the appointed time of 2 PM,

Seol-i entered the conference room with an apologetic expression.

“I’m so sorry… There were a lot of things to confirm today, and I ended up finishing them before coming here.”

“It’s still before our agreed time—don’t worry. You didn’t rush and make any mistakes, did you?”

She shook her head in response.

“I double-checked everything before coming.”

“Good. Then that’s a relief. Let’s sit down.”

Once seated in the assigned spot, I handed over the prepared proposal.

“Take a look at the main story and settings I’ve outlined for the next project. If you have any feedback, let me know.”

At my words, Seol-i nodded and began to read the proposal.

I patiently waited as Seol-i read through it with a serious expression.

After some time had passed,

Having finished the proposal, Seol-i placed it on the desk and looked at me, asking:

“May I ask a few questions, Director?”

“Of course. Ask whatever you’d like.”

At that, Seol-i thought for a moment before speaking:

“Since the world tree from Girls’ Memorial appears here as well, are the worlds related?”

“In a sense. It’s more like a parallel world rather than a shared one, centered around the world tree.”

“I see. Anyway, the story seems decent. I think there are a few settings that could use some refinement, but in overall structure, I think it works.”

“Really?”

“Yes, the main structure is good. However, I noticed one issue—there’s no specified game genre?”

“That’s… something I haven’t decided on yet.”

At this, Seol-i looked surprised but understood—it wasn’t something I could help.

No matter how much I wracked my brain all night, I couldn’t come to any conclusions.

In the case of Girls’ Memorial, we were able to focus on making a CCG social game from the start without any issues.

However, the next project needed to counterbalance ‘Grand Ark Phantasm’, so it had to be of a genre with substantial gameplay content.

And so the genre was something I constantly pondered…

First things first, rhythm games and action adventures were out of the question.

Rhythm games were already a bleeding-red ocean and didn’t fit the game’s narrative.

Action adventures wouldn’t be feasible even with the rapid advancement of smartphone performance in comparison to before.

Plus, we simply didn’t have enough manpower for such a task.

That left options like casual or puzzle games, or even a simulation RPG—but none of these felt quite right either.

Simulation RPGs were mostly locked under patents by Japanese companies at this point.

Casual and puzzle games didn’t align with the preferences of our current game players.

Ultimately, every option had its drawbacks, and thus I failed to choose any, leaving the genre section blank.

After hearing my full explanation, Seol-i seemed to have something to say and hesitated before speaking.

“Director?”

“Yes?”

“If the genre hasn’t been determined yet… how about …this?”

With her proposition, Seol-i handed over her smartphone with a slightly excited smile.

Looking at her smartphone, the main title screen of a mobile game featuring cute illustrations of cats and comical demon characters appeared: Cats and Oni.

Once a game with overwhelming popularity, it was a casual tower defense mobile game that had made a massive splash early in the smartphone era.

“Wait, why…?”

“H-how about we use Cats and Oni, or tower defense, as the genre for the next project?”

Tower defense…?

After listening to Seol-i, the proposal started to seem quite promising.

‘Why didn’t I think of this?’

Regardless of the development direction, the game could be as casual or as strategic as desired.

Most importantly, the genre itself was fun and came with a solid fan base.

Still, it seemed like Seol-i had more to say, judging by her expression, so I decided to give her some room.

“Tower defense… definitely a genre I didn’t consider. But doesn’t Cats and Oni feel too casual? Isn’t it a bit challenging?”

At my slightly negative opinion, Seol raised her eyebrows and countered.

“It’s because Cats and Oni was inherently designed to be a casual game…”

“Ah, I see.”

“But I don’t think that tower defense games can only be made casually. For example, instead of having the players place defense units in predetermined spots, if they could freely place them anywhere on the map and we diversify the enemy paths…”

It was as if Seol-i had long harbored a grudge over the lack of worthy tower defense games since Cats and Oni, her explanation flowed endlessly.

As the conversation approached the one-minute and then two-minute mark, I decided it needed to be interrupted.

“Hold on, Seol-i. Just calm down for a moment.”

“Ah, yes…? Yes.”

“So… are these the three ideas you mentioned?”

Players can freely place defense units on the map,

Add RPG elements to diversify the characters,

Introduce special enemy types and object variables to strengthen strategy.

At my summary, Seol nodded.

“Yes… I thought the classic tower defense mechanics needed to be disrupted.”

“Hmm… This sounds good.”

Though we would have to delve deeper into the specifics while drafting the proposal, it seemed this could serve as a clear guideline for development.

A sense of direction for the game was starting to form.

“The planning is enough for now… you’ve really worked hard today.”

“No, not at all… Director worked hard listening to my rambling stories today….”

“Ramblings? Not at all, your input was really helpful.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah. Thanks to you, I now have a sense of direction for the development of the next project.”

At this, Seol-i’s face lit up with a hint of anticipation.

To show my gratitude, I grabbed a pen from beside me and wrote on the genre section that was left blank.

[Game Genre: Tower Defense RPG]

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