“You’re right, Kim Dae-ri.”
This was the comment thrown out by the team leader as he came in, preparing to start work after arriving.
What could it mean? Kim Dae-ri stopped typing and asked back.
“What do you mean?”
“Our advertisement. We put a proposal to Mollu, but we got rejected.”
“Rejected?”
“It’s been a while since we sent it, and there’s been no response, whether she read it or not.”
The team leader clicked his tongue as he stirred his mixed coffee.
“I told you it wouldn’t work. She’s someone who doesn’t usually take on advertisements, and she’s been busy lately, so I figured it would be even less likely.”
“I thought if Mollu were a real gamer, she’d want to try our game… What a shame.”
“Were you the one who sent the proposal via email?”
“Yeah. She doesn’t have a personal contact number, so that’s the only way to reach her.”
“Her inbox is probably piled up with emails, and not just for game ads, but other industries as well.”
The team leader let out a sigh.
“No matter how I think about it, Mollu is just perfect… There’s no one like her…”
“Exactly.”
Kim Dae-ri agreed with him. No matter how bad the game might be, just having Mollu play it even once would have a significant ripple effect.
But Dae-ri thought the game being released now wasn’t that bad either.
Not just because it was released by his company, but even when viewed objectively, it was at a decent level.
Naturally, that made him greedy.
‘She broke up with her girlfriend just to make this…!’
He worked overtime every day and didn’t take weekends off. He asked for understanding from his girlfriend, who he had dated after much difficulty, and she said she was okay with it, but it seemed like just words.
As days passed, their once constant communication grew sparse.
A ghosting breakup. His love ended in the worst possible way.
Given the effort he put into this masterpiece, mediocre promotion was not going to cut it.
Mollu, who was at the top among current streamers and someone the industry was in turmoil over not having advertisements, needed to support him.
‘First of all, getting in touch is a problem.’
Emails had been sent incorrectly. He was in a situation where he couldn’t check emails properly.
He also had his Switch whispers closed due to harassment from trolls recently.
Even if he managed to get in touch, that would be a problem.
Could he attract Mollu’s interest and prove that his game was different from others?
So, whether she would voluntarily promote it was crucial.
Was there a good way?
“What kind of advertising fee did you have in mind?”
“The CEO seemed to like my explanation and allocated a bigger budget than expected.”
“Is this the kind of amount? You didn’t mention MZ or anything when you went there, right?”
“How did you know? He was really into it.”
In this regard, he respected his senior. The fact that he could pinpoint the CEO’s weaknesses and flatter him so effectively was admirable.
The advertising budget was a significant amount, enough to say they pulled in a substantial budget.
It was almost too much to spend on a one-time advertisement.
‘Do we really have to limit it to just one time?’
A sudden question arose. Normally, game advertisements would set conditions for even the longest streams to just that one day’s broadcast.
But if the budget was this high? Couldn’t they explore other methods?
A good idea popped into Dae-ri’s head.
“What about a challenge?”
“A challenge?”
“It would be like a festival for everyone.”
A challenge, commonly referred to as a marketing strategy tried early in the releases of hard difficulty soul-type games.
It’s a method where clearing the game is difficult, so it awards a large amount to the first person to clear it, creating excitement that makes it feel like a competition for both the broadcasters and the viewers.
Dae-ri was suggesting that they attempt such a challenge now.
“I understand. But if we do, we’ll have to change the conditions slightly.”
“In what way?”
“Our game does have difficulty, but it isn’t as hard in comparison to other games that are rumored to be challenging. So instead of that, we’ll reward players who find Easter eggs or hidden routes and endings. The world is vast and we’ve intentionally hidden a lot.”
Just from that one idea, others flowed out. Each of his statements had a sound logic.
If someone were to ask where their game had invested most, they could definitely say it was in creating the open world and hidden features.
They’ve included meaningless macguffins that seem significant and sprinkled in elements that would be hard to find unless discovered by chance.
“If that’s the case, it means that not only streamers who are good at the game but also a wide variety of others would challenge it. This emphasizes unpredictability rather than just physical skill.”
“Naturally, that would attract more people. If word-of-mouth gets going properly, that is.”
“Well, that…”
The amount of the challenge prize would likely lead to exaggerated and rapid spreading of word.
That was an obvious statement.
“If the promotion is done by an unspecified number of people instead of a set number… that’s not bad.”
“If things go well, Mollu might participate as well. To me, she seems more interested in events like this rather than money.”
“If that’s the case, that would be perfect.”
He was gently poking the nose of a sleeping lion. As long as he didn’t provoke it, the lion would be unable to resist its curiosity.
“But what if Mollu participates in the challenge but doesn’t win the prize?”
“Well, it wouldn’t be bad for us.”
“That’s true. Just having her do it would be enough promotion.”
‘But I don’t think that will happen.’
Dae-ri swallowed his words. As a long-time viewer of Mollu’s streams, he had a feeling.
If Mollu participated in the challenge, she would not return empty-handed.
*
<World.23 is coming to streamers with a very special event!>
This notice, spread through Switch’s main page and various communities, quickly circulated everywhere.
It was an unusual promotional method for a new game, emphasizing that the game was a fresh title even for true gamers.
And because the prize for the event was substantial, it drew considerable attention.
“One, ten, hundred… how much is this? You’re throwing this kind of money for a challenge?”
The theory arose that a mysterious rich person had used their wealth to start a game company and develop the desired game, while the challenge began.
– But why is the game name World.23?
– The announcement emphasizes the vast world, but I guess that’s its feature?
– Why the 23 at the end?
– Maybe it’s because it’s being released in 2023?
– For now, the company clearly lacks naming sense.
From low-quality streamers to large corporations, many were debuting new streams due to the condition set by the game company that streams must be conducted when finding hidden routes or Easter eggs.
Those who learned about the challenge through their own research or their viewers all participated for various reasons.
Most reasons revolved around the money, but.
In contrast, one person who didn’t fit most of those reasons was currently downloading the game.
“This looks fun; just when I didn’t have anything to do, this is perfect.”
After fulfilling her contract for the number of commentary rounds with the league, Mollu was ready to participate in the challenge.
Today marked the third day since the World.23 challenge started.
It was obvious that she was a latecomer who started later than everyone else, but that didn’t matter.
After all, she was participating purely for her own enjoyment.
If she were to take on the challenge, it would certainly take up a considerable amount of her streaming time.
Viewers, thrilled by the sudden increase in streams, could only cheer.
[The best game of this era, World.23]
[Undoubtedly the GOAT of the year. ㅇㅇ No objections accepted.]
[Simply the best game company, ATX.]
[Can’t even get the name to stick in your mouth, lol.]
[You’ll get used to it eventually.]
[It was a long time of humiliation and persecution… now it’s time to return as glorious Mollu’s fans.]
[Those days without broadcasts were so cold.]
Having completed the download, Mollu started the game.
“Oh, the background music is nice!”
[It’s got a travel vibe.]
[Is it set in a medieval background?]
[The art style looks fantasy, though.]
[It’s going to give all the traveler vibes.]
As she enjoyed the music, she began the game.
“First up is character creation. You can choose between male and female. They said there are a lot of Easter eggs, but doesn’t that mean the conditions would vary based on gender?”
[Sounds plausible?]
[Watching other streams where they played first seems to suggest it.]
[Skipping details due to spoilers.]
[Those who’ve seen it on other streams, get out now.]
[If you’re a true fan, you should be watching Mollu’s stream first;;]
[For real, they should exchange first experiences with Mollu.]
[Oh, come on.]
[Exchanging first experiences in World.23… that’s precious.]
“Oh, there’s customization too.”
In the character customization, the details could be adjusted quite thoroughly.
“Ah… in games like these, character customization is another layer of enjoyment.”
[What customization? Let’s move on to speedruns!]
[Surprising, I thought the moderator wouldn’t care about customization.]
[For real, customization adds to the fun.]
[Let them enjoy!]
[This person actually came here to have fun, lol.]
While other streamers were running around frantically searching for Easter eggs and hidden routes, Mollu’s stream flowed peacefully and calmly.
