The modeling for E-40, Miso, and the main monster ‘Expressionless’ in the prologue part ca a while later.
“Cute…”
Jo Ayoon exclaid, her cheeks flushing with delight.
It wasn’t just Jo Ayoon; the character had a charming and adorable appeal that received praise from most employees.
Choosing cartoon rendering decision is refird.
“With this, we can ease the barrier of popularity.”
Inherently, the ga had a dark world and a heavy narrative. If realistic graphics were added to such features, the genre itself could beco a barrier to entry.
Choosing cartoon rendering helped alleviate that. If the visual elents conveyed lightness, the heaviness of the narrative might not be as apparent.
This was an attempt that could only be made in the context of the ga Identity.
Anyway, setting aside such considerations.
“I’ve got the pieces. System QA is smooth too.”
Now it was ti to implent the actual ga progression.
The difference from before was that I wasn’t involved in every step this ti.
Thanks to the experience gained from developing Hellic 3, the developnt team had beco quite competent. Now, my subordinates could think and calculate things on their own.
I would mainly handle the overall assessnt and inspection, except for a few tasks that only I could do.
One such task was scenario writing.
“Boss, is Chapter 1 scenario ready?”
“It’s still in progress.”
The scenario – the task of creating the backbone of the ga.
The reason I personally wrote the scenario was simple: I believed that no one else could express this world better than the one who created it.
Next was the issue of how to refine this world into a suitable narrative.
It was a crucial problem.
As the ga Identity adopted a non-mainstream world, the way it was expressed could affect the imrsion in the world.
For example, if the Identity’s setting was buried in the narrative, players might not understand the current situation or the purpose of the ga.
On the other hand, bombarding players with a script to explain the unfamiliar world might overwhelm them, and they could lose interest in the ga.
No, they might not even bother to read the script in the first place.
The conclusion was converging towards excessive narrative information.
Players didn’t co to read a novel; they ca to play a ga.
In one word, it was about ‘information control.’
A crucial task.
I couldn’t follow the direction of the previous life’s identity.
It masked the unfriendliness of the setting with indie expression and atmosphere.
This ti, ‘friendly explanation’ was a definite necessity, and there was a thod for that.
“Make everything familiar except the setting.”
In food terms, it could be explained as ‘spicy rice cakes with unique ingredients.’
To feel familiarity in unfamiliarity, the narrative or developnt direction followed clichés.
In the process, showing what ‘face’ represents in the ga wouldn’t be difficult for players to understand.
The usefulness of the thod itself had been validated in the previous life.
The sound of rustling—
I pulled the screen down.
The table of contents unfolded before my eyes.
‘Narrative of Identity follow a linear structure.’
Although it may appear as an open-world, the user’s movents within it are strictly controlled by the narrative, despite utilizing a single land. In other words, the order of this table of contents becos the progression sequence of the ga.
‘The story revolves around E-40 wandering through the Altore Empire, eting nurous people, and gaining enlightennt through interactions with them. It’s about dealing with the sought self.’
Thus, the ga had to tell only that story from beginning to end.
No external beliefs should be incorporated, and stories that do not align with the the consciousness should not be mixed in.
Humans are more conservative creatures than one might think.
Careful persuasion is needed to change ‘unfamiliarity’ to ‘familiarity.’
For example, ‘tone consistency.’
In the context of a painting, it ans completing the picture only within the category called ‘harmony.’
If failed, the consequences are as certain as they can be.
To illustrate, the discomfort caused by the ‘romance added to a chaebol drama’ would likely be comparable.
‘Every narrative must be tied to the category called the self. From the protagonist’s journey to the hardships of those encountered and ultimately reaching the destination.’
The ans are expressed through the ‘face.’
Then, how to make this familiar.
As ntioned earlier, placing all elents except the face in a familiar background would suffice.
‘The world is a totalitarian dystopia. The protagonist was a high-ranking officer of that empire who beca a traitor.’
Isn’t it a verified taste?
Anyone who has learned a bit of history would know.
Totalitarianism cannot stand if desire is not erased from humans, and even if it is established, each individual within it groans in agony.
In the world, the ‘face’ will highlight the agony of those between the compulsory mission imposed by the state and individual desires.
It may seem like poking at the ideological flaws of totalitarianism.
Identity will make the world of ‘Altore Empire’ less unfamiliar for players who play the ga and see the ending through such a thod.
One more thing, obtaining faces… in other words, adding ‘characteristics’ to items can also increase the narrative understanding of them.
To do that, there is sothing to do.
‘The first step is…’
First, the ‘Harvesting,’ one of the core production systems.
A farr with a ‘sun-beaten face’ who handles it.
『C1: Empty Harvest』
The beginning will depict a wheat field beyond the adow.
***
E-40 crossed the vast prairie and arrived at the golden wheat field.
Scarecrows with fierce faces were scattered around, and the wheat swayed as if stretching its waist.
This was the soil that nourished the crops for the imperial subjects.
E-40 walked through the wheat field, recalling the ti when he had co here for inspection.
That’s when it happened.
A cry passed through E-40’s ears.
“Sob…!”
Perplexed, E-40 followed the sound of the crying.
There, a farr wearing a straw hat was crying with a sickle stuck in the ground.
As E-40 approached, the farr, sensing his presence, looked up and exclaid, “Oh!” in surprise.
“Ugh! Who are you?”
Shouting, the farr trembled, holding the sickle on the ground.
He noticed E-40’s face covered with a black cloth.
“You, you’re a criminal! Covering your face ans you have an unscrupulous face, right?! Oh, yes! Robbery! You’ve co to rob the wheat!”
Clutching the sickle on the ground, the farr looked nacing.
E-40 wanted to explain that he was not an enemy, but at that mont, the farr, as if suddenly losing strength, sat down again.
“…Never mind. It doesn’t matter if I get robbed. Hey, robber. Can you at least listen to my complaints before robbing the wheat?”
E-40, still puzzled by the misunderstanding, nodded and sat down beside him.
The farr began to speak as if he had been waiting.
“As you can see, I’m a farr. I received the ‘sun-furrowed face’ as a hardworking laborer to ensure the great empire doesn’t go hungry. It’s been ten years now. I’m a capable farr, capable enough to tend to this vast wheat field alone.”
He shouted with pride.
Then, his voice beca lancholic.
“…But, you know, I used to have dreams when I was young! But now, I can’t rember what they were! I’ve been farming for too long. I’m good at farming, but I don’t enjoy it. “
E-40 pondered.
In the past, he might have arrested a farr making such disrespectful remarks and hunted his face.
Even in such circumstances, the farr continued to speak.
“When I was young, I had things I wanted to do! But now, I can’t rember them! I’ve been farming for too long. Even after this year’s harvest is over!”
Thump, he stomped his foot.
Then he burst into tears.
“They’ll co to collect the taxes soon! I have to smile and say I worked hard in front of those bastards! I can’t do anything else! The empire gave this face!”
He scratched his face.
“Ah! It’s too sad! I don’t even know if this face is furrowed by the sun or twisted with anger anymore! I wish soone could tell ! Hey, criminal! What should I do? If I can, I want to throw away this face!”
E-40 was astonished.
For the first ti in his life, he openly faced the empire’s blatant hostility towards the face they had bestowed upon him.
During his days as a face hunter, no one dared to utter such words in front of him.
Amidst this, the farr continued.
“When I was young, there was sothing I wanted to beco! But now, I can’t rember. I envy you, criminal. You must have sothing you want to be.”
E-40 felt envy for him.
He rembered that he had never had anything he wanted to beco in the past and still didn’t have it now.
All he had was the face that made Miso proud.
His resolution was for this reason.
E-40 wanted to help him.
In the process, he hoped to understand a bit about what he wanted to beco.
Action followed.
Swish!
E-40 raised the knife above his head.
“Ahh!”
The farr scread, but E-40 didn’t flinch.
Then, pointing the knife in the direction of the empire, beyond the distant mountains, E-40 didn’t move.
The farr, confused, finally asked, “Are you going to help ?”
E-40 nodded confidently.
***
Not everyone can fully love their work.
No, considering that most people work for a living, loving their job is often more challenging than one might think.
To the point where there’s a saying that if a hobby becos a job, it turns into sothing to be disliked.
The character of the farr was created based on such thoughts.
Precisely, confessing a shaful inner truth, the motivation for that character was ‘myself in the workplace.’
Recalling monts when even project authority was taken away, feeling disillusioned by the chanical act of “making gas,” it must have been a pivotal mont.
Only now could such words be spoken.
In the past life, I consistently ignored that fact.
Anyway, setting aside such matters, let’s roughly outline the flow of the story.
E-40 helps the farr and, in the process, learns who the farr is.
It’s a story about the aning of harvest and gathering, and the farr’s dreams.
The general flow is already established.
However, this ti, as always, the most challenging part is to redefine the character’s motivation.
The mont wasn’t vivid enough to bring back the impressions of that ti, and beyond that, I didn’t want to incorporate the remnants of my pride into this ga again.
The process needed to be careful.
Since Identity carries significant weight in each character’s narrative, it’s essential to grasp their appealing points each ti.
So, I thought about how to express the farr and today was the day for that.
“Mr. Yeonho, why does it taste so bad today? Did my mom forget to put enough red pepper paste?”
Yang Gilsang asked during lunch at the snack shop.
“Uh, I have sothing to think about for a mont.”
“Planning again?”
“Yeah, you know, if you press the first button wrong, you’ll have trouble with the rest.”
“Haha, the spirit of a craftsman!”
“It’s not that serious.”
Answering, I lifted the spoon.
Yang Gilsang ca to the snack shop himself and was boiling ran.
At that mont.
When he lifted the chopsticks to mix the noodles, sothing caught my eye.
‘Ah, his hairline widened.’
Co to think of it, in 2015, there were only five years left for Yang Gilsang’s skinhead.
Suddenly, a vivid inspiration struck .
‘…Empty Harvest.’
The title of Chapter 1.
Thinking about that, sothing.
“Ugh, ran needs red pepper after all. Don’t you think so?”
Sothing…
“Mr. Yeonho? Why are you looking at my head like that? Oh, this? I think I put too much gel on it lately; it feels like it’s falling out. I should take care of it for a while.”
Sothing…
“…Have you been to the hospital?”
“Ah, co on. Don’t say that again. I’m fine. It’ll grow back.”
Sothing caught my attention.
aningless farming, resulting in emptiness and despair, and self-loathing due to the inability to accept their own fate, the destinies of two n facing self-destructive endings ignited a creative urge deep within .
‘Ah…’
This is it.
It might be a bit sudden, but…
‘…Farr.’
Yang Gilsang was a farr who couldn’t harvest.
Undoubtedly, as a character, there was no one more fitting as a motivation for a farr than him.
I found a breakthrough dramatically.
‘…Farr.’
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