Game Market 1983

Chapter 166: Dragon Mountain - (3)

"Where could there be a good way? We must repay them in the same way they've acted."

"The same way?"

"The owner who opened a shop in a remote place with hardly any floating population said that the prime areas in Yongsan have been taken over by several large businesses."

"Yes, that's right. We tried to set up a shop near there before, but it seemed like the businesses had some kind of unity, and the taxes were too high. We had to give up."

True, it must be so. If a Laon specialized store were to open there, it would shatter the unethical distribution network they've established.

"But, the Nujin Tunnel shopping arcade. In fact, isn't it a good location for business?"

"Well... it's not exactly a good location. It's a bit far from the station, too..."

So, they bought an affordable store at a reasonable distance and transformed it into a district specializing in gaming.

I downed the drink in my glass in one go and smiled at Kim, our CEO.

"Then let's change the game!"

"What?"

"On August 15th, the Laon 1st Anniversary Launch Event will be held in Yongsan."

&

The next day.

I wandered around Seoul's Mapo-gu, unable to find a suitable place to park my car.

"Is there really no place to park this damn car?"

After circling the area a few times, I finally succeeded in parking and grumbled as I got out of the car.

According to Kim, Sonnori operated without a separate office, developing games from the CEO Lee Won-seung's home.

The Korean game development scene in 1992 felt like looking at Japan from ten years ago.

A cramped room with one character designer, one programmer, and a main director coordinating them.

Sonnori, who created the Arc Tosnia Story, was one of the amateur game development companies composed of a similar number of people.

As far as I knew, the Arc Tosnia Story was created in 1994.

A game made by about five to six acquaintances of Lee Won-seung over a year, with a total development cost of around 3 million won.

In the case of indie game development companies, they often engaged in it as a side job, distributing profits among team members after selling the game.

Some might criticize the total development cost of 3 million won, but they didn't rent an office separately, nor did they have facility expenses since they brought their own computers for work.

They developed the game solely using minimal food and living expenses, distributing the profits among the team members after selling it.

This was the beginning of indie game development in early 90s Korea.

*Ding Dong*

After struggling to find the address written on my note, I finally pressed the doorbell of a residential building. A sturdy man's voice came from the intercom.

"Who is it?"

"Hello. I'm Kang Junhyuk, who contacted you yesterday. Are you Lee Won-seung, the CEO of Sonnori?"

"Oh, yes. Just a moment."

*Click*

Facing a small yard attached to the house, I was met with a slightly disheveled man as he opened the glass front door.

"Are you the one from Mantra?"

"Yes. That's me."

I smiled slightly at the tired-looking man.

"My house is a bit messy, but please come in for now."

"Well, thank you."

As per Lee Won-seung's suggestion, I followed him into the house's workshop, which immediately hit my olfactory senses with a nauseating smell of instant noodles and a 1.5L bottle full of cigarette butts alongside various empty cup ramen containers on the desk.

In the poorly-lit workshop corner, I spotted a shadow wriggling on a bunk bed, presumably someone finishing work and crashing.

"Ugh... too chaotic to discuss work here."

Finding no appropriate space to sit for our discussion, I shuffled around the workshop. Lee Won-seung, feeling awkward, scratched his head and finally spoke up.

"Shall we just talk at the living room table?"

"That would be better. Haha..."

After a while, as we shifted to the living room table, Lee Won-seung took out a juice bottle from the fridge but found no suitable cup to pour it into.

Looking at the overflowing sink full of unwashed dishes, it seemed somewhat expected.

"I'm fine, really."

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect you to come directly here, so I wasn't prepared."

"No, it's okay. I rushed the visit anyway. Since I came here to talk about business, things like tea or snacks don't matter."

As I reintroduced myself, Lee Won-seung's eyes widened in surprise as he connected the dots.

"Are you... the developer of Dragon Emblem?!"

"Yes... that's right."

My response startled Lee Won-seung, leaving him momentarily lost for words.

"I was wondering when I heard your name yesterday, but to think it's really you, Kang Junhyuk..."

...Was my name that famous in Korea? It felt awkward, and I scratched my cheek, opening my mouth.

"Thank you for recognizing me. I guess there's no need for detailed introductions then."

"Of course. We've all played the games you created."

"Thank you."

"But someone like you coming to Sonnori, what brings you here?"

For a moment, I almost answered, "Because I enjoyed Arc Tosnia immensely in my childhood."

Arc Tosnia's story, created by Sonnori, was remembered as a masterpiece that marked a milestone in the Korean gaming industry.

The story followed Lloyd, a knight who lost the sacred 'Staff of Kai' in an enemy ambush while escorting it. Lloyd joins forces with the sage Rizail and his granddaughter Ilene to embark on a journey to retrieve the staff.

The narrative was influenced by JRPGs of the time, featuring a linear story structure. It involved buying new equipment in towns and repetitive level grinding, yet it captivated users with outstanding graphics, coherent storytelling, and a unique SRPG combat systema rare combination in domestic games at the time.

Even though Arc Tosnia wasn't an instant hit, word-of-mouth among PC users gradually increased its sales. However, after surpassing 80,000 copies, its sales plummeted rapidly.

The release of Arc Tosnia coincided with the rampant illegal replication of games in Korea. Although they introduced password characters three times during the story to counter unauthorized copying, the appearance of "crack files" swiftly diminished the sales rate.

Thus, after surpassing 100,000 copies, the sales of the groundbreaking Arc Tosnia stalled due to rampant piracy.

However, having garnered such success with limited resources in the domestic market was an achievement not to be overlooked.

"But I couldn't make much money from it..."

Even with 100,000 copies sold, just a thousand won as an incentive per copy would sum up to 100 million won.

However, due to Sonnori's CEO Lee Won-seung's mistake of not considering a sales contract option at the time, the completed game was sold off to 'Soft Lay' at an absurdly low price.

Consequently, all the revenue from Arc Tosnia ended up going to 'Soft Lay', leaving Lee Won-seung with a meager amount of money.

If I had to add a bit more about Soft Lay, the company ran a game industry personnel training

academy called 'Game School' and created games like Poinsettia and Invincible, yet none of them gained much popularity. Later, they changed their name to ST Entertainment, produced a few more games, but ended up closing down after leaving behind a disastrous work called 'The Bluehawk Assassin.'

Excluding the distribution of Arc Tosnia, they hadn't achieved a single success and were buried in the wreckage of illegal game replication, forgotten in an instant.

When CEO Lee Won-seung asked why I had come, I replied, "I played the demo version of Arc Tosnia that you sent to Mantra."

"Oh, you played it yourself?"

"Yes, there were some minor bugs, but it was certainly enjoyable."

My praise made Lee Won-seung blush as he spoke up, "Actually, the combat system of Arc Tosnia was inspired by the SRPG style of Dragon Emblem. But when you, sir, put it that way, I... I'm not sure how to react."

"I heard from Kim Han-seok of Mantra that you're looking for investors."

"Oh... yes. That's right. Sonnori is an amateur game developer, but everyone is as passionate as they come. But to pour that passion into our work..."

"You need funding."

"Yes. Everyone has set aside their day jobs to dedicate themselves to this, but it's become a struggle even to cover living expenses. So, we created the prologue and sent it to various companies to attract investment."

"Did you receive any responses?"

"Oh, fortunately, we received a few calls. Mantra, Soft Lay, and even Mirei Soft, famous for The Legend of Karin, responded positively."

"Soft Lay... you say?"

"Yes. It's quite well-known in PC magazines these days. Have you heard of it?"

"Ah, yes... a little."

"But for someone like you to personally visit our office, that's a first."

"I have a significant interest in Arc Tosnia's story, after all."

"Ah, even your mere mention of it is appreciated. But..."

"Hmm? Is there an issue?"

"Well, actually, we signed a contract with Soft Lay last week."

"What!?"

"Well, I urgently needed the money..."

Awkwardly scratching the back of his head, Lee Won-seung avoided eye contact, looking apologetic.

I glanced at the contract he handed me, concealing my frustration. "No clauses regarding future incentives."

I immediately conveyed this fact to Lee Won-seung. He responded with a wry smile, "At a time when PCs aren't yet widely available in homes, how many could we possibly sell? If we sell 2-3 thousand copies, that would be a success."

This person... severely underestimating the game he created right now.

Trying to maintain a serious expression, I replied, "What if it sells over 100,000 copies?"

"What...?"

"Even if you attach a mere 1,000 won as an incentive per copy, that's 100 million won. Will you give up?"

"Well, that's..."

At this time, 100 million won was an unimaginable amount of money, so Lee Won-seung suddenly began to sweat, stammering, "Would it really sell that much?"

"I'll make sure it does. Cancel the contract with Soft Lay and work with us. I'll take responsibility for any breach of contract fees. But I have a condition."

"A condition?"

"Please release Arc Tosnia's story exclusively for Laon's portable device, not for PC."

Just then, the door to the workshop burst open with a loud thud, as if in response to Lee Won-seung's outcry.

"W-What's going on? Hyung."

The programmer, who had been dozing, seemed startled awake by Lee Won-seung's voice.

Ignoring the agitated younger brother, Lee Won-seung, still puzzled, brought the contract document handed over by Soft Lay and alternated glances between it and me, wearing a bewildered expression.

"Could that really be the possible sales volume?"

"It's possible. I'll cover the breach of contract fees. But there's a condition."

"A condition?"

"If you agree to develop Arc Tosnia's story exclusively for Laon, then"

"Who the heck is he? What right does he have to boss you around, Hyung?"

"Why can't you just stay quiet? What are you making a fuss about in front of a guest?"

"Hyung, do I look calm right now? You're making a mess following his instructions."

"Why are you so upset? What's the problem?"

"Of course, I'm upset! If he says to develop Arc Tosnia for Laon, we'll have to start everything from scratch!"

"Hey, don't panic. I'll be in this battle too this time."

>

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