Chapter 37
The one-year anniversary video for *Girls’ Memorial* has been released.
Our interview was positioned to decorate the opening of the video. However, since each individual’s interview was less than a minute long, I wasn’t really expecting much.
Contrary to my expectations, the interview sparked a massive reaction within the community. Even I, who was monitoring the community, was genuinely surprised by the response.
Here’s a selection of the typical community sentiments:
[Nickname: ㅇㅇ]
[Title: Did You Know the Sound Director of Girls’ Memorial is Super Famous??]
[Chae-young’s Composition List from Her Time as Music Director at SBC]
I knew her name sounded familiar, and I was right. Wtf.
How did they manage to hire someone who was a Music Director at a broadcasting station?
I’ve pulled a list of her compositions; just pick any and listen.
You’ll recognize them immediately.
[Comment Section][Registered Order]
-Wow, no way this is true, right? lol.
-No wonder the background music during story scenes was so great!!
-I recognize almost all the songs listed in the screenshot.
[Nickname: ㄴㄴ]
[Title: Creative Director? Who’s This Guy? lol]
[Picture of Yoonseol wearing a rabbit mask, giving a V sign]
She was doing an interview in a rabbit mask the whole time lol.
Turns out she’s the story director.
When the reporter would tease her during the interview, her reactions were hilarious.
[Comment Section][Registered Order]
-I skipped it at first, thought it’d be boring, but I came back to watch it.
-She’s super cute!! lol.
[Nickname: 갓갓메모리얼]
[Title: Now That I Think of It, the Team Behind *Girls’ Memorial* is Insane!]
Executive Director: The main director of *Hyeolmaeng 2* (Former ND Soft Executive Director).
Art Director: Also a former ND Soft Art Director.
Sound Director: Former Music Director at SBC.
Even the rabbit-mask-wearing director and the male development director are top-tier talents from major companies at the very least.
Why is this lineup for a mobile game so extravagant?
[Comment Section][Registered Order]
-Honestly, this is all true lol.
-No wonder they crushed the Japanese market lol.
Most responses were of this nature—admiring the team or expressing surprise at the members’ past careers.
I wasn’t entirely surprised since both me and Yerin had somewhat publicized backgrounds, but finding out about Chae-young’s career was indeed quite shocking. I didn’t expect that there would be people in gaming communities well-versed enough to know broadcasting executives.
Anyway, though the interviews were less than a minute long, they quickly got buried under new buzz, but it was still a satisfying result. With the game both in and out generating such a festive atmosphere, I, on the other hand, was having a one-on-one meeting with Su-yeon in the President’s Room.
*
The president’s room was quiet, broken only by the sound of pages turning. Across from me, Su-yeon sat in a two-piece suit, clearly having just returned from Head Office, deeply engrossed in the report I had given her.
“Uh… Mr. Ho-jin.”
“Yes?”
“I understand the gist of the proposal, but isn’t it a bit early to start thinking about the next project?”
It was the same critique that Seol-i had raised previously when we were brainstorming the next project.
Of course, in a world dominated by PC games, it’s a valid question—not surprising at all. After all, if I hadn’t regressed, I’d probably have thought the same way as Su-yeon right now.
That said, when you already know where the future is headed, there’s no reason not to pick the right path.
“President, how long do you think mobile games have before they become obsolete?”
“Mobile game lifespans? Hmm.”
Su-yeon tilted her head, confused by my unexpected question.
“For successful mobile games, the lifespan is around three years. For mobile games overall, it’s closer to six months.”
“Come on, that can’t be true. Look at PC games; lots of them last longer than five years.”
“President, as you know, mobile games simply can’t offer the same amount of content due to the platform’s inherent limitations.”
Su-yeon nodded.
“Keep going.”
“As the content becomes thin, users consume it faster, which requires more frequent updates. Inevitably, this leads to a decline in the quality of live service, creating a vicious cycle that shortens the lifespan of the game.”
This narrative about the future of mobile games is something I’d learned through my previous life. But at this nascent stage of mobile gaming culture, it’s a tale that’s hard to believe.
That’s why Su-yeon was hesitant to accept it.
She folded her arms and contemplated for a while, then asked me,
“If we were to proceed with the next project as you wish, Mr. Ho-jin, what is your plan for *Girls’ Memorial*?”
“One of the directors would take over. The project is already on track, so there shouldn’t be any major issues.”
“True, operationally speaking, but won’t users be unsettled when they discover you’ve moved to another project?”
“Because of that, when it’s necessary, I’ll still show up for the users. Honestly, most of my team are introverted and wouldn’t oppose this.”
Each time she asked a question, my answers flowed without hesitation, and Su-yeon’s expression softened slightly.
“…Alright. How would you like me to help, Director?”
The tone of her voice when she asked this was tinged with interest.
“First, I’m planning on restructuring the mobile game development team.”
“Restructure? Suddenly?”
“Developing a new project would require a new team, but just arbitrarily expanding it could be awkward.”
“So how do you want to restructure it?”
“Instead of keeping the existing team structure, we could create separate studios for each project and handle them individually.”
“Studios?”
“Yes. We could establish individual studios and assign projects accordingly. This would simplify project management and make personnel management more efficient than the current team-based system.”
At this, Su-yeon grabbed a pen and paper from her desk, seemingly inspired by a good idea.
“…Alright, what if we do it this way?”
As she spoke, she began drawing an organizational chart on the paper.
“You’re suggesting we restructure the existing teams into studios, right?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, we’d keep the studios in a horizontal structure and establish a new division to oversee all of them. Naturally, Mr. Ho-jin would serve as the department head.”
In the paper diagram, Su-yeon had drawn a large rectangle labeled “New Division” encompassing several smaller rectangles.
“If we restructure this way, it seems like it would be perfect, but would it be alright? Starting with the executives…”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Su-yeon blinked, as if I had said something outlandish.
“Why would the executives oppose this? They wouldn’t object to anything you’re trying to do, surely?”
“That’s highly unlikely…”
No matter what, Confucian culture still lingers in our society…
There’s no way the executives would look kindly upon a 30-something taking the head of a department.
At my attitude, Su-yeon chuckled and continued.
“You turned a perpetually loss-making subsidiary, which had only ever lived off our headquarters’ scraps, into a golden goose. Why would they oppose you now? Absolutely not.”
“Listening to you, I can see what you mean…”
“Right? So, is there anything else you’d like me to help with?”
Help…
“We’ll need some personnel supplementation.”
“You’re not talking about the junior-level members for the new project, correct? And how many people exactly?”
“A senior-level developer suitable for the role of Technical Director.”
“But I’ve already assigned an ace to you.”
“Yup, Myunghoon is that ace. But…”
“But what?”
“I want to hand over the director’s position of *Girls’ Memorial* to Myunghoon.”
At my words, Su-yeon seemed to ponder for a moment before nodding.
“Having a director with a development background is a good idea… Alright, I’ll try my best to get you a senior developer. For now, you can head back. Do you need anything else?”
At Su-yeon’s question, I nodded and stood up.
To be honest, I hadn’t expected to gain so much from today’s meeting.
Today was lucky.
“Alright, I’ll head back then.”
*
After leaving the president’s room and descending to the office floor, I first sent Myunghoon a text message asking him to step out.
It wasn’t something I wanted to discuss with the team present.
Though the reorganization of the mobile game development team and the launch of a new project were already settled matters, it wasn’t yet time to inform my team.
After sending the text and waiting a moment, Myunghoon came out of the office.
“Are you here, Myunghoon?”
“Yeah, what’s up, Ho-jin?”
“This might take a while to explain, so would you mind stopping by a café? My treat.”
“Sure, hang on, I’ll let the team know real quick.”