Chapter 91: Chapter 92: Empty Harvest (1)

The modeling for E-40, Miso, and the main monster ‘Expressionless’ in the prologue part came a while later.

“Cute…”

Jo Ayoon exclaimed, 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 refirmed.

“With this, we can ease the barrier of popularity.”

Inherently, the game had a dark world and a heavy narrative. If realistic graphics were added to such features, the genre itself could become a barrier to entry.

Choosing cartoon rendering helped alleviate that. If the visual elements 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 game Identity.

Anyway, setting aside such considerations.

“I’ve got the pieces. System QA is smooth too.”

Now it was time to implement the actual game progression.

The difference from before was that I wasn’t involved in every step this time.

Thanks to the experience gained from developing Hellic 3, the development team had become quite competent. Now, my subordinates could think and calculate things on their own.

I would mainly handle the overall assessment 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 game.

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 game Identity adopted a non-mainstream world, the way it was expressed could affect the immersion 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 game.

On the other hand, bombarding players with a script to explain the unfamiliar world might overwhelm them, and they could lose interest in the game.

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 come to read a novel; they came to play a game.

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 time, ‘friendly explanation’ was a definite necessity, and there was a method 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 development direction followed clichés.

In the process, showing what ‘face’ represents in the game wouldn’t be difficult for players to understand.

The usefulness of the method 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 movements within it are strictly controlled by the narrative, despite utilizing a single land. In other words, the order of this table of contents becomes the progression sequence of the game.

‘The story revolves around E-40 wandering through the Altore Empire, meeting numerous people, and gaining enlightenment through interactions with them. It’s about dealing with the sought self.’

Thus, the game had to tell only that story from beginning to end.

No external beliefs should be incorporated, and stories that do not align with the theme 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 means 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 means are expressed through the ‘face.’

Then, how to make this familiar.

As mentioned earlier, placing all elements 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 became 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 game and see the ending through such a method.

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 something to do.

‘The first step is…’

First, the ‘Harvesting,’ one of the core production systems.

A farmer with a ‘sun-beaten face’ who handles it.

『C1: Empty Harvest』

The beginning will depict a wheat field beyond the meadow.

***

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 time when he had come 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 farmer wearing a straw hat was crying with a sickle stuck in the ground.

As E-40 approached, the farmer, sensing his presence, looked up and exclaimed, “Oh!” in surprise.

“Ugh! Who are you?”

Shouting, the farmer 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 means you have an unscrupulous face, right?! Oh, yes! Robbery! You’ve come to rob the wheat!”

Clutching the sickle on the ground, the farmer looked menacing.

E-40 wanted to explain that he was not an enemy, but at that moment, the farmer, 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 farmer began to speak as if he had been waiting.

“As you can see, I’m a farmer. 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 farmer, capable enough to tend to this vast wheat field alone.”

He shouted with pride.

Then, his voice became melancholic.

“…But, you know, I used to have dreams when I was young! But now, I can’t remember 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 farmer making such disrespectful remarks and hunted his face.

Even in such circumstances, the farmer continued to speak.

“When I was young, I had things I wanted to do! But now, I can’t remember 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 come 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 me 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 someone could tell me! Hey, criminal! What should I do? If I can, I want to throw away this face!”

E-40 was astonished.

For the first time 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 farmer continued.

“When I was young, there was something I wanted to become! But now, I can’t remember. I envy you, criminal. You must have something you want to be.”

E-40 felt envy for him.

He remembered that he had never had anything he wanted to become 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 become.

Action followed.

Swish!

E-40 raised the knife above his head.

“Ahh!”

The farmer screamed, 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 farmer, confused, finally asked, “Are you going to help me?”

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 becomes a job, it turns into something to be disliked.

The character of the farmer was created based on such thoughts.

Precisely, confessing a shameful inner truth, the motivation for that character was ‘myself in the workplace.’

Recalling moments when even project authority was taken away, feeling disillusioned by the mechanical act of “making games,” it must have been a pivotal moment.

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 farmer and, in the process, learns who the farmer is.

It’s a story about the meaning of harvest and gathering, and the farmer’s dreams.

The general flow is already established.

However, this time, as always, the most challenging part is to redefine the character’s motivation.

The moment wasn’t vivid enough to bring back the impressions of that time, and beyond that, I didn’t want to incorporate the remnants of my pride into this game 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 time.

So, I thought about how to express the farmer 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 me during lunch at the snack shop.

“Uh, I have something to think about for a moment.”

“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 came to the snack shop himself and was boiling ramen.

At that moment.

When he lifted the chopsticks to mix the noodles, something caught my eye.

‘Ah, his hairline widened.’

Come to think of it, in 2015, there were only five years left for Yang Gilsang’s skinhead.

Suddenly, a vivid inspiration struck me.

‘…Empty Harvest.’

The title of Chapter 1.

Thinking about that, something.

“Ugh, ramen needs red pepper after all. Don’t you think so?”

Something…

“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.”

Something…

“…Have you been to the hospital?”

“Ah, come on. Don’t say that again. I’m fine. It’ll grow back.”

Something caught my attention.

Meaningless farming, resulting in emptiness and despair, and self-loathing due to the inability to accept their own fate, the destinies of two men facing self-destructive endings ignited a creative urge deep within me.

‘Ah…’

This is it.

It might be a bit sudden, but…

‘…Farmer.’

Yang Gilsang was a farmer who couldn’t harvest.

Undoubtedly, as a character, there was no one more fitting as a motivation for a farmer than him.

I found a breakthrough dramatically.

‘…Farmer.’