It was a beach.
Under a reddish-purple sky, in front of a jet-black sandy shore, the gray sea swayed—a beach that felt strangely desolate and serene, evoking an eerie sense of solitude. Yet, as if amplifying this ambiance, a foreign presence was arranged on the beach.
"Hmm..."
It was a young girl with fair skin and blonde hair.
She appeared to be around six years old, with a petite fra that made her seem even younger. Her white dress had a touch of formality, reminiscent of a gown worn for a ceremony. Her posture, lying on the beach, resembled that of a deceased person.
What roused her from her slumber was the touch of the waves tickling her toes.
Swoosh...
With the sound of the waves, the girl opened her eyes.
Blinking her eyes drowsily, she gradually sat up and looked around.
Her blue eyes held curiosity, while her pursed lips displayed caution.
And then it happened.
"Hello."
A turquoise-coloured butterfly fluttered towards the girl on the sea breeze.
In the barren landscape, the butterfly shone like a solitary beacon of light.
Curiously, the girl asked, "Who are you?"
Her clear voice rang out like the sound of a bell, and the butterfly responded.
"Just a butterfly you see. I've been waiting for you on this beach."
The tone of the butterfly's voice was mischievous, much like that of a clown.
As the girl reached out her hand, the butterfly gently landed on it, stretching its wings as if stretching after a nap.
In that mont, the girl inquired, "Where is this?"
"Hell."
"Hell?"
"Yeah, Hell where sinners fall."
The girl stared blankly, her head tilted.
The butterfly continued in a low, murmuring voice.
It's hard to describe the tone of that voice...
"You've fallen into Hell."
...Yes.
"Since you were born, for the reason of being born, you've fallen into Hell."
Even with a playful tone, it carried an unmistakable undercurrent of anguish.
"Let's go. I'll send you out of here."
At least that's how it seed.
***
Early May, right after the midterms, in the office on a weekend.
Han Seorim was the first to arrive.
"Good morning, sunbae."
"You're here."
"Yes, the other two are on their way. What about Ayoon?"
"She's almost here."
At this point, we've developed the concept and planning to so extent.
Today is the day for the first eting focused on the actual production.
It's unfortunate that it's on a weekend, but given their student status, there wasn't much choice.
Fortunately, workaholic Han Seorim seed excited.
"Is today the start of the new project?"
"Not exactly the start, more like a presentation. Explaining what we're going to create going forward."
"And you'll be assigning tasks right away."
"Yeah."
"But why isn't it the start?"
"Uh..."
I was at a loss for words.
Han Seorim's gaze turned chilly.
As an awkward silence fell, fortunately, Jo Ayoon arrived.
"Oh, good morning..."
"You're here."
Seeing Jo Ayoon half-open the door and peek her head inside, her awkwardness was evident.
"Good morning. Umm..."
Jo Ayoon's voice trailed off, hesitant.
Is it an issue with how to address ?
"Feel free to co comfortably..."
"Mr...."
"How about boss?"
"Yes, boss..."
Was Jo Ayoon five years younger than ?
Even if a one-year age difference seems significant to a student, it's not really the case for adults, right?
"When you return from the military, You will be like an adult."
Han Seorim said sothing she shouldn't have.
She quickly turned her head, but Han Seorim was already looking elsewhere.
"Ayoon, would you like sothing to drink?"
"Uh, then coffee..."
"Wait. I'll bring it shortly after coming out of the restroom.”
Han Seorim disappeared into the restroom.
It was just Jo Ayoon and in the room.
Awkwardness filled the air as we sat across from each other at the table.
Jo Ayoon was the first to break the silence.
"Um, about the ga..."
"Yeah?"
"I tried Hellic."
"Ah."
So, she played the previous ga because it's from the company she's applying to.
I felt a sense of goodwill.
"How was it?"
"I got scolded by my mom."
"Huh?"
"Because I stayed up all night playing it..."
Jo Ayoon blushed and giggled sheepishly.
It was a heart-warming mont.
Receiving recognition for sothing you've done is truly enjoyable.
"Thanks. I'll take your complint as encouragent."
"Yes..."
Jo Ayoon's head drooped down.
Well, even the timid Jo Ayoon will probably get used to this gradually.
Above all, there was sothing I heard.
"Um, Teacher. Our Ayoon is being bullied at school. That's why it's a bit difficult for her to make friends..."
"I'll help Ayoon beco a brighter adult."
"Ah, thank you so much!"
When t with warm gazes, eventually, I'll see the Jo Ayoon I know.
Shall we start practicing now?
"Have you eaten?"
"Yes, Mr... I an, boss..."
"..."
"What about you, boss?"
"...I ate too."
As I was speaking, Han Seorim returned.
"Ayoon, drink this."
"Th-thank you, unni..."
"..."
Why am I 'Mr.' and Han Seorim 'unni'?
I briefly wondered, but the thought didn't linger.
"Yaho!"
"Yumi's here!"
"Hey, Hyeji's here too!"
Two troublemakers, Yumi and Hyeji, arrived.
Their nas always catch off guard.
"Yeonho, Yeonho! Long ti no see. Did you do well on the exam?"
"Sunbae, Sunbae! We haven't eaten yet. Buy us food!"
"Oh? Is that a geek? Oh my! Why are you so cute~!"
"Uh, hello..."
"Kkahaha! Look at those soft cheeks!"
A rciless slaughter was taking place from the start.
Hikikomori Jo Ayoon was being toyed by two insiders!
"Uh, uh-uhh..."
Jo Ayoon's eyes were spinning.
I can't leave her like this.
Smack!
I made a sound.
"Now that everyone's here, let's start the eting."
"What about our food?"
"...We'll eat after it's done."
Indeed, they were not easy people.
The eting took place at the large table in the center of the office.
I used the projection onto the wall to display the PowerPoint and sat down, capturing the gazes of the team mbers looking at .
There was a sense of unease.
Explaining the project in front of the team mbers felt like sothing I hadn't done in a long ti.
It was amusing, but not in a pleasant way.
-This ti, we're going for a mobile RPG.
From the planning stage, there's pressure from the company in the realm of office developnt.
Among the directors, I, with particularly low authority, felt more pressure.
Taking away all the authority except for the basic and world-building settings was my position, and as a result, the eyes of the team mbers looking at were always filled with disappointnt and fatigue.
That tension escalated until presentation day.
If it weren't for Jo Ayoon, the atmosphere of the eting would have truly been solemn.
-Well then, everyone, let's focus on the eting. Why are you all looking so gloomy? Let's give it a shot, yeah!
Suddenly, a flashback to that ti occurred.
It was a mont when my breathing beca uncomfortable for no reason.
"Sunbae, need to go number two?"
Han Seorim said.
"Wanna go and poop?"
"What's up with you two?"
"Ugh...! It's not about going... off."
"... ."
Only then did I co back to reality.
Ah, perhaps my mood showed on my face.
I absentmindedly touched my lips and managed to respond.
"...No, it's just that I get nervous in front of people. It's fine now."
"Don't be nervous just because you're in front of people. Hurry up and present."
A feeling of gratitude arose.
One could say that she was sharp in reading the atmosphere.
In this aspect, she really helped a lot.
I took a deep breath for a mont.
Then, after calming my mind, I began to speak.
"Then let's begin the presentation."
Bing!
The screen transitioned.
The team mbers' attention was fixed on the screen.
"...The beach? What's that? Ant-human?"
"...It's a girl."
"The artwork is truly dreadful."
The expletives hurt.
Injecting my impressions, I continued speaking.
"This is the protagonist of our new ga. A Caucasian girl. She's six years old. And she'll embark on an adventure with that butterfly."
"Fantasy? Like eting fairies and that kind of genre?"
Han Seorim asked.
I wanted to say sothing bitter, but I answered.
"What fantasy? It's a hellish adventure."
"?"
The team mbers were puzzled.
The criteria for sins reaching hell are different from human laws.
That was my conclusion after investigating countless hells.
From that perspective, a young girl falling onto the outskirts of hell wasn't anything particularly unusual.
There was no concept of protecting children in hell.
They only received fair punishnt.
The girl in the white dress should have suffered in the hell that was assigned to her.
If the butterfly hadn't been there, she would have.
"You don't belong here. So follow , and I'll get you out."
The teal butterfly radiating ethereal light lifted the girl who had awakened on the beach.
What I witnessed is the long and arduous process of escape.
"This is the Hell of Pleasure. The exit is over there. Let's go that way."
I walked alongside the girl and the butterfly.
I faced threats blocking the girl's path, witnessed her overcoming those threats.
Amidst that, I felt sothing distinct.
The girl was indifferent.
No, she was ignorant.
Chasing after the butterfly like an oblivious newborn or soone who had forgotten everything, the butterfly taught the girl the most natural facts, one by one.
The scene that stirred my heart was the light of the girl and the butterfly, like a firefly shining alone in the dark night sky.
Thus, that light beca a journey.
"The genre is action-adventure."
It was the tale of an adventure surpassing adversity.
"And it's drama."
It was a story about the relationship between the girl and the butterfly.
"There will be four chapters. We'll create maps with four distinct concepts. Naturally, the chanics will differ depending on the maps."
The girl journeyed through four hells.
Each of those four hells would be represented by a different chapter.
Through those four chapters, a unified narrative would be built.
"The focus will align with the story."
Unlike during Hellic, this was different.
The coup d'état in the realm, Hell of Self Harm.
Unlike Hellic, which took only background settings and focused on "action," this ti, the "protagonist's story" in the background had to be the driving force of the ga.
By revealing the bond between the girl and the butterfly, their stories and secrets, we would maximize imrsion in the ga.
Adventure gas that are complete stories already exist in the industry.
Yet-to-be-released titles like "Resident Evil" and "God of War."
We will benchmark those gas.
For that reason, enhancing the density of the story through video processing is an absolute necessity.
"We need to insert cinematics at the ga's branching points to reveal the story directly. And we also need to include other dialogues."
"Do we have to create separate cinematic videos?"
A good question.
But it was wrong.
"No, we'll record in-ga footage with changed angles. I'd love to use motion capture if possible, but our budget falls short."
The limitations of indie developnt.
We don't have the resources to rent such expensive equipnt, nor do we have the resources to hire models for motion capture.
It was better to use pixel art and write a script, but then we wouldn't be able to capture the essence of Hell, a core elent of the ga.
"Anyway, this is the basic background concept. It should be surreal and dreadful."
The expressions of the team mbers grew serious.
Each person must be imagining sothing in their minds.
Let's wrap it up here today.
Dumping too much information from the beginning would only lead to confusion during organization.
I said, "The target production period is two years. If the quality isn't there, then improve. We're aiming for the best, not just our best but best of all."
We're aiming for an Indie Ga of the Year.
I won't hastily produce a lacklustre result due to ti constraints.
"So, every tiny detail matters. Let's leave the specifics for the next eting, and let's wrap up for today."
I picked up the remote control.
Bing!
I flipped the slide.
"The ga's title is this."
From the mont I witnessed the conclusion of the girl and the butterfly's tale a long ti ago, the na had been decided.
[Hellic 2: Hell Of Alice]
This was the story of Alice, who fell into the strange land called Hell.
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