210. happy day
The simple StarCraft tournament ended rather blandly.
Of course, Ho-young’s victory was won.
Billo Fer, whom I met in the final, was a little better, but he was no match for Hoyeong.
It was a natural result because the experience gained from the beginning was different.
‘This is close to completion. There are some things that are slightly different from what I remember, but the balance seems to be better now.’
When StarCraft was first released, it bought a lot of complaints from users due to the wrong balance.
It is only after a few balance patches are made that the sky-sent balance is achieved, which does not require a single patch for the next 10 years.
Of course, it is true that the first limited edition of StarCraft was also coveted, but Hoyoung dared to participate in the competition because he wanted to feel the balance himself and give advice to the development team.
However, if he was already balancing this much, Hoyoung didn’t seem to need to step out.
Hoyoung thought it was a good phenomenon because game companies such as Blizzard and id Software thought that good games like in history would come out when Hoyoung was not involved as much as possible.
‘On the contrary, it’s really fortunate that more advanced games are coming out.’
However, there was only one area that Hoyoung was actively involved in, and that was support and technology.
The development cost required for game development can be used almost infinitely if the proof is thorough, and the office building, shuttle, and in-house welfare are treated as the best in the industry, no, with a little exaggeration, so developers can maximize their creativity for the game. You just have to perform.
‘Don’t worry about the side things, just make a good game!’
It was his motto for all the companies Hoyoung owns.
And now.
There was one thing that bothered me more than these issues.
The Blizzard employees whispered, thinking that Hoyoung couldn’t hear them, but Hoyoung heard everything they said.
“How is our boss so good at games?”
“Where did you practice at least?”
“Where would you like to practice? This game is still in development and the beta version has not yet been released.”
“Wow···. So you’re saying you’re a genius at games too?”
Hearing the muttering behind him, Hoyoung felt a bit remorseful.
So I pretended to be nothing and turned to the staff and said.
“everyone. After playing this game called StarCraft, I feel infinite trust in our Blizzard. Obviously, this game will be a game that sweeps the world beyond North America. In that sense, I will buy the beer party that I decided to do with the participation fee today. Save the entry fee and use it for the next company event.”
The reaction to Hoyoung’s words was intense.
“Wow! thank you!”
“As expected, he is our boss!”
“Today is literally a party!”
Hoyoung found it absurd that regular employees other than Alan Adham or Michael Morhaime called him boss, but decided not to point it out.
“Michael. Is the place reserved?”
“There are places we always go. Even if you don’t have to make a reservation, all of our staff can enter.”
“It’s good. Then, let’s all clean up and move to that place.”
“haha. Okay. did you all hear? Let’s get ready to leave!”
Blizzard employees quickly laid down their positions and started leaving the company one by one.
Hoyoung was dumbfounded by this free and active atmosphere, but at the same time laughed.
I wondered if it was because of this atmosphere that it was possible to make a game that was so creative and focused on fun.
At some point in the future, Blizzard loses its creativity, makes and operates games for money, and picks up PCs, but that may not happen in the future.
Hoyoung vowed to never let Blizzard go over to Chinese capital.
.
And a few hours later, after the hectic dinner, Hoyoung was back at the company with several senior executives.
The beer party with Blizzard employees was literally hectic.
Hoyoung has experienced many H&H and Hermes get-togethers in Korea, but I could feel another cultural difference at the get-togethers of American companies.
Korean get-togethers tend to feel like a kind of unity event.
There is a strong feeling that everyone is together in the same place, such as toasting with one theme and congratulating them when there is something to celebrate.
But dinners in the US felt like a party.
It was easy to understand why Alan Adham called it a beer party rather than a get-together.
Everyone enjoys it together in one place, but they play separately by talking to like-minded people or changing conversation partners.
Hoyoung felt that this culture was unfamiliar, but he found it rather comfortable.
Because there was no case where I had to force myself to set the mood or drink alcohol for my boss.
Returning to the company with Hoyoung were Alan Adham and Michael Morhaime, as well as Bill Roper and Chris Metzen.
They weren’t drinking too much, and it didn’t look like they had been drinking too much in the first place.
“So, is there anything else you want to show me?”
The four men vigorously nodded at Hoyoung’s words.
Hoyoung looked cute and smiled.
The reason they gathered separately was not grandiose.
“We made another game experimentally. This is also near completion.”
Michael Morhaime spoke, and Bill Lofer took over.
“The overall concept was taken from Chris Metzen’s idea here. And the three of us put our heads together to create a worldview and plan. Although the game can be a little gloomy because it is inspired by the story of demons and angels…”
“Hey Bill. Wouldn’t it be quicker to stop talking and show you?”
“… okay.”
Alan Adham interrupted Bill Lofer.
Ho-yeong thought that Bill Lofer showed the temperament of a two-much talker.
But apart from that, Hoyeong could feel her heart beating again.
After hearing the keywords angel and devil and the word gloomy, I could only think of one game.
‘It’s Diablo.’
Diablo.
If StarCraft put Blizzard in the ranks of world-class companies, it was the game that opened the era of Blizzard in earnest.
Although Diablo 2 is a worldwide mega hit, Diablo 2 could not have come out without Diablo 1.
And Diablo 1 was also better than expected.
Weiyiying-
Billo Fer inserted the CD into the computer and the CD started spinning furiously.
and
ttiring ttiring ttiring-
A red devil’s face as if staring at the screen along with the familiar BGM.
And the word Diablo, which looks like it’s on fire.
It was exactly the same as Diablo that Hoyoung remembered.
Bill Lofer glanced at Hoyoung and started the game.
Since it was still a demo version, it seemed that no story or cinematic trailer had been inserted, and it went straight to the game screen.
Then, a male character stood in the middle of the dark village.
‘Sorcerer… And Tristram…’
Hoyoung felt more nostalgic than when he played StarCraft.
When he was in graduate school, StarCraft was often enjoyed with undergraduates and researchers, but it was more so because Diablo was a game that could be said to have a stake in his life.
“boss. How is it?”
After Hoyoung didn’t say anything for a while, Billo Fer looked at Hoyeong and said.
“Are you too gloomy?”
“Look, what did I say? No matter how much RAM it eats up, it can’t be helped, but you said you shouldn’t leave the village dark like a fog.”
In the midst of that, Hoyoung almost burst into laughter.
The gloomy and dark atmosphere of the town was actually due to insufficient RAM capacity.
“there···. Whose idea is this game?”
“Last year we acquired a company called Condor. Billofer added the idea to the game being developed at Condor, and Chris Metzen added the concept art.”
“okay.”
Hoyoung nodded.
Originally, a company called Condor was acquired by Blizzard and established a subsidiary called Blizzard North, and the project that the company was working on was Diablo.
However, this time, Blizzard seemed to have decided to completely acquire Condor instead of making it a subsidiary.
‘Anyway, around 2003, along with the resignation of Billofer, it was merged with Blizzard, so that’s probably what it is anyway.’
Hoyeong thought to herself and understood.
However, the rest of the people thought that Hoyoung was not saying anything because he didn’t like the game.
“Are there any problems?”
“Acquiring Condor didn’t cost a small amount of money, but the developers of Condor are also great people. If you really hate this game, you can always knock it over.”
Hoyeong smiled at the young men with anxious faces.
A smile full of satisfaction.
“no. Does not matter. Really good.”
Hearing Hoyoung’s words, Blizzard’s leadership was finally able to laugh.
“phew. okay.”
“I thought there was a problem and was worried.”
“haha! I’m really glad you like it. To be honest, our plan does not end here. The worldview I already had in mind is so loud that it wouldn’t be strange even if the second or third episodes came out.”
Billofer said while sweeping his chest.
“Is this game also going to be released next year?”
“That’s right. Although the timing overlaps with the release of StarCraft, the genre of the game is different and, above all, the target audience is different, so we decided that there would be no major problems.”
“yes. good. Gamers around the world will be happy next year. Because there will be two great games like this coming out.”
Hoyoung smiled heartily.
Currently, Ho-young has only one thing he regrets, even though he lives a life without a blink of an eye.
It was that he could not enjoy the various cultural industries he had enjoyed and watched.
Whether it’s the development of hardware or operating system technology, Hoyoung can intervene somehow to advance the release date.
However, I thought the game and the movie had a slightly different ark.
Hoyoung kept asking himself whether a better game could come out when he pulled the time when the creators could show their abilities.
‘But now I know. I know that if I help them, it will not just advance the timing, but will come back with more positive results.’
A job that does not interfere with creation and provides a better infrastructure so that you can focus only on game development.
Hoyoung felt that this was a fate he had to give to the developers after he returned.
“It is a very, very happy day. I will not spare any investment in this Diablo project, so please make it with as much effort as possible.”
“Just leave it to me.”
“I will not disappoint you. boss.”
“Now then, shall we go out and really enjoy the night? Didn’t you hardly drink at the beer party earlier because you wanted to show this off?”
“haha! You noticed that. Even so, the ending was a little disappointing.”
Hoyoung and the four men of Blizzard left the company.
Hoyoung truly enjoyed the time he had with them.
Although the games have not yet been released, Hoyoung felt that his actions so far were being acknowledged.
