Game Director from Hell - Chapter 48: Collaboration (2)

The meeting was scheduled for the next day.

The person who came to the office of Studio Rewind was a deputy from the ‘Burger Land’ sales team, and to summarize his opinion, it was indeed a collaboration request.

“This time, Hellic 2 created a huge sensation, both domestically and internationally. Oh, of course, I enjoyed playing it too!”

He complimented with a cheerful smile, and then got to the point.

“We at Burger Land are planning to launch a new seasonal product. We want to name it ‘Alice’s Cheeseburger’…”

To put it bluntly, he wanted to put a name on a limited-edition menu.

In other words, they wanted to attract Hellic fans as customers.

It wasn’t a bad idea.

No, it was actually a good idea.

Except for the fact that it was quite bewildering.

On their end, they could secure a customer base, and we could gain recognition for Alice and Hellic among customers who weren’t interested in the game by having our names on Burger Land’s menu.

In other words, we could secure an additional user base for Hellic who would be curious about the game.

Does it end there?

No, we can add the final touch before the awards ceremony.

And it has to be very grand.

Of course, it’s not all good.

In my previous life, I was even the team leader of a game company known as a large corporation.

It’s not a joke to think about how such a collaboration limited-edition menu is created.

“It’s a way to clear inventory.”

In this era, it’s still uncertain whether collaborations that involve creating separate menus are popular, but in my time, there was a certain trend.

It involved attracting fans of another IP by somehow using up the ingredients of a menu item with poor sales.

Of course, they don’t make terrible food.

After all, that would go against ethical standards.

It should be edible to some extent.

Honestly, as long as it’s at that level, it doesn’t matter.

“All right, a collaboration.”

Let’s approach it in a narrative way.

The food that the unfortunate butterfly enjoyed the most in her life.

If we do image-making with a cheeseburger that has the salty taste of tears, that should be enough.

Of course, they won’t just borrow the name.

Even in this era, if it’s a collaboration marketing, there will be giveaways and such.

But the sophistication of marketing might not be up to the standards I know.

If you’re going to do it, it’s better to sell well.

No, it had to sell well.

Furthermore, we didn’t know when such an opportunity would come again, so we had to leave a good impression.

To confirm, I asked, “So, let’s start by discussing the giveaways.”

“Yes?”

“How do you plan to structure the promotional items?”

The deputy from the sales team responded with a professional smile.

“Ah! First, we’ll embed a lottery code, and the winners will receive cultural gift cards…”

“No, not that.”

Look at that.

It’s lacking in emotion. Emotion.

The 21st century is the era of emotional marketing.

“I suggest using limited-edition promotional goods. If we want to draw in our fan base with the food itself, there should be a reward that entices their taste buds, shouldn’t there?”

“Are you suggesting…”

“I have a good idea.”

I whispered, and Mr. Seo Munhyun, the deputy from the sales team, widened his eyes in surprise.

“…Are you possibly a genius?”

I’m from the future.

I held back from saying that.

***

The heat of Hellic 2 has not yet subsided. In fact, it was quite unusual for it to fizzle out in less than a month, despite achieving such impressive sales figures. Moreover, beyond its storyline, the game itself is well-crafted, and there are still quite a few players enjoying Hellic 2 within the community.

Of course, most of the posts that are currently popular in the community focus on various unconventional character builds and hidden route rewards. Particularly, clearing the extremely challenging hidden route has become a highly recommended topic.

However, amidst all this, an incident occurred that stirred up the posts related to Hellic 2, which were gradually becoming standardized.

It all began with a post that announced a review event winner, and it quickly gained attention within the community.

“WaitingforHellic3: Won the Event!!! Lol”

“ZonhanSoo: Lol, I also got it, guys.”

The review event, originally planned as part of the game’s release, had a success rate of approximately 130:1, but someone managed to win the merchandise. What made it even more intriguing was that two community members were the lucky recipients.

“BangbaedongPi’sLord: Show us the merchandise quickly…”

Curiosity surged among the community members. It was understandable because despite the tremendous popularity of Hellic 2, Studio Rewind, a small indie company consisting of just six employees, had limited resources to produce and sell merchandise. Users were aware of this, so their dissatisfaction was more about the merchandise’s composition rather than anything else.

After all, the official merchandise for Hellic had a sense of rarity. If someone was willing to pay one million won for an Alice figure after the success of Hellic 2, that would be self explanatory. Therefore, when a teaser about new merchandise was announced, the anticipation among users soared.

Finally, after two days, the first lucky recipient of the merchandise shared a review of the items. “WaitingforHellic3,” one of the biggest fans of the Helic series, posted it.

“(Review) Cheon Yeonho is a Bad Guy…”

The choice of title was well thought out, perfectly in line with the community’s habits. When the content was revealed, users immediately understood the meaning of the title.

“The merchandise consists of two figures and one frame… But the frame is really…”

(Two Alice figure images)

(A butterfly-shaped figure in human form)

(Frame image)

Tears welled up in their eyes…

The picture in the frame depicted a scene where a butterfly in human form held Alice in its arms and smiled warmly while touching foreheads. The merchandise covered events after the hidden ending.

<Comments>

BangbaedongPi’sLord: Wow…

KkotjaeheeAngduIpsul: No… No…ㅠㅠㅠ

ClearWithoutT: Why didn’t they give it to me? Why didn’t they give it to me? Why didn’t they give it to me?

Gooksinanayo: I’m really jealous…

ItnowaynKyogisa: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

It wasn’t just about rarity; the event merchandise was designed to satisfy users within the limits of fan service. For a while, discussions about the ending as a plot point resurfaced, and later, conversations about acquiring the merchandise itself became the main focus.

And then, at a perfect moment, an announcement regarding merchandise-related events was made.

“What’s this?

(Burger Land Collaboration Event Banner)

Hellic is collaborating with Burger Land?

The giveaway is a merchandise lottery ticket.”

Alice’s Cheeseburger. They highlighted a reason for users to buy it, causing a stir as soon as the collaboration hamburger event was announced.

***

I brought the newly released burger.

As I unwrapped it, the cheese between the burger patties started oozing out.

No, it was more like collapsing.

“Wow, I’m going to gain weight.”

Han Seorim, who was dedicated to self-control, expressed her concern.

But her gaze couldn’t seem to stay away from the burger.

It’s understandable.

Alice’s cheeseburger concept was all about “overflowing cheese.”

According to Burger Land, they modified and perfected the prototype to fit the concept of Helllic 2, so it’s not surprising that it’s often referred to as a “weight-gaining” when you stuff so much cheese between the two patties.

…Yeah, it’s practically Butterfly’s cheeseburger, not Alice’s.

Because as time passes, the burger keeps dripping due to its overflowing shape.

Burger Land said it symbolizes the butterfly sacrificing itself to protect Alice?

I vaguely agreed with their explanation, even though it was clear they just slapped something together. But suddenly, it made sense to me, and I thought most users would feel the same way.

After taking a bite of the burger, I said, “It’s delicious.”

I meant it.

I would wholeheartedly refute any thoughts of it being overpriced.

Alice’s cheeseburger, which seemed to contradict my expectations, was a delicious burger that most cheese lovers would enjoy.

I started to feel sorry for the sales team I had clashed with for no reason.

Looking at the actual response to the burger made me feel even more that way.

“…Well, it seems to be selling well.”

Han Seorim, the community influencer, brought in the burger’s response.

That was evident even from the most representative comments.

『(Review) zZoneHanSu: Is this even a hamburger?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

(A gif of cheese oozing out between the burger patties)

Haven’t had such a hearty burger in a while. It’s a bit expensive at 7,500 won for just a burger, but it’s thick enough to justify it.

I think you can enter the coupon on the Burger Land website, right?

I just need the figurine from the lottery; that would be great.』

It was positive.

Despite the somewhat high price due to ingredient costs, it received evaluations like “worth the money” at the very least.

When I thought about how we planned and executed the event in just two weeks, I still couldn’t fully grasp how we achieved this quality, but… well, it was a good thing, right?

“The sales are increasing. From our perspective, this is all we need.”

The event was simultaneously held in Burger Land’s home base in North America and in Korea, where Studio Rewind is located. The friendly feedback from both sides boosted both the burger and game sales.

“I didn’t know there would be so much interest in merchandise. It’s more than I expected.”

I knew that users wanted Hellic’s merchandise, but the demand was beyond my expectations.

User feedback is crucial.

With this level of demand, it might be worth considering a full-fledged merchandise business.

Since we’ve already decided on the direction of a packaged game, we shouldn’t ignore the potential of this IP-related business.

“Let’s organize user feedback related to merchandise separately and create a file. We might need it later.”

“Okay.”

“And start preparing gradually.”

My words made Han Seorim’s expression stiffen for a moment.

Other employees who had been listening from afar had similar reactions.

Yes, it’s only natural to be nervous.

“Tomorrow is the departure day.”

It was the third week of December, the end of the year.

In other words, “Let’s go to the awards ceremony.”

It was time to conclude the journey of Hellic 2.

***

We had to endure a long flight.

Among us, only Han Seorim and I had experience with flying.

I had travelled to Japan or the United States a few times in my previous life due to work.

Han Seorim had apparently gone on quite a few family trips.

“From when I was a child, I’ve travelled to almost everywhere except Africa and the Arab countries.”

She was undoubtedly from a wealthy family.

In any case, what I wanted to say was that this was the first overseas trip for the team members.

I knew they had worked tirelessly with tight schedules and heavy workloads.

Thanks to them, Hellic 2 achieved unbelievable results. Even though it was a business trip, I wanted to use this opportunity to repay them a little.

That was the reason.

“Wow, they’re serving steak in the sky…!”

First-class.

It was my first time flying in it too.

“…Yeah.”

“We can watch movies too! This is amazing…!”

Jo Ayoon, who had just finished her college entrance exam, suddenly became lively.

It was only now that her previous life’s personality started to emerge a bit.

Despite the overwhelming feeling of spending around ten million won per person for an 18-hour flight, I tried not to think about it.

With taxes deducted, didn’t we still achieve nearly a billion won in revenue?

It was an experiment worth trying with this money.

“Yeah…!”

I should enjoy it.

I must enjoy it.

At some point, I had heard of the “18-hour confinement” and decided to experience it first-hand.

I ate without a break, drank without a break, and slept without a break.

The result, so to speak, was an unexpected benefit.

I successfully melted away the fatigue that had accumulated from marketing after the launch.

By the time we landed, my body was in surprisingly good condition.

It felt like I had regained the vitality of my twenties that I had felt when I first regressed.

It was then that I decided I needed to fully restore my physical condition during the award ceremony tour.

Enough of reflection time.

“Here we are, in the United States!”

The exuberant duo exclaimed with excitement.

Han Seorim distanced herself from the two of them, looking embarrassed, and came over to me. Meanwhile, Jo Ayoon and Myungkyu had blank expressions as they stared at the foreign scenery.

It was better to let them enjoy themselves.

For now, we had to get through the airport.

“Let’s go. We need to check in at the hotel first.”

We had booked three rooms.

One for me and Myungkyu, one for Han Seorim and Jo Ayoon, and one for the enthusiastic duo.

We had a proper tourist schedule until the actual award ceremony, which was the day after tomorrow.

We had completed the immigration procedures with the team members and were about to move on.

“…Sunbae, look at that.”

Han Seorim narrowed her eyes and pointed to something among the crowd waiting for arrivals.

In the midst of a group of people waiting for incoming passengers, there was a middle-aged man holding up a sign.

[Welcome Hellic!]

My body stiffened involuntarily.

A scruffy beard, blond hair, a clearly overweight figure that looked like a typical heavy drinker, and a red nose—it was undoubtedly Aldred Russo, the leader of Studio Valhalla.

He was looking at me with a sly smile.