Chapter 116

Suddenly, let’s talk about creation.

What is creation? It means endlessly choosing the ‘correct answer’ based on one’s preferences.

Time is not infinite. Normally, someone like me, a Super Developer, would have infinite time, but since I didn’t use cheats for planning and ideas, I was in a similar position to others.

Within the given time, you have to find the ‘correct answer.’

In this sense, creation is similar to Go.

If a Go player had infinite time, they could even beat the god of machines.

But Go has a time attack called ‘byo-yomi.’ You have to find the best move within the set time.

Creation is the same.

Even for amateur creators without deadlines, time is finite.

Before emotions change, before personality changes, before thoughts change, you have to find the best move and complete the work.

And what’s needed here is intuition.

Intuition.

It’s a momentary judgment born from experience.

Countless trials and errors condensed into a single choice. Just as a Go player looks several moves ahead, a creator reads the future of their work through experience.

If reason requires time, intuition is a tool that leaps over that time, and taste is essential for perfecting this intuition.

There are many elements that shape taste.

Taste is the crystallization of the time we’ve lived. Books, movies, music, games, even a passing landscape—all become the foundation for our taste.

Like grains of sand forming a beach, every experience in life completes a unique aesthetic sense and becomes the basis for intuition.

Therefore, everyone has a different ‘correct answer’ they believe in.

Because each person’s life experiences are different.

The explanation got long, so why did I bring this up out of nowhere?

I was too curious about what kind of game I made in the worldline where I’m a woman.

Men and women have different brain structures.

Even if raised in the same environment, what they see, feel, and think is bound to be different.

As proof, look at this: in this worldline, I didn’t pass on an unfinished game to my successor.

The <Infinity Zero> I made as a man was a game that meant nothing unless it was complete.

Playing an unfinished <Infinity Zero> was just like any other common game, so it didn’t leave much of an impression.

In other words, showing an unfinished game meant I didn’t make <Infinity Zero>, and it implied that my taste had slightly changed in the worldline where I became a woman.

Curious about what it was, I stayed up all night.

I downloaded the file Lee Eunmi sent.

The file size was substantial.

First impression? Pass.

Now, the genre was important…

I imagined what kind of game I might have liked as a woman.

Since I casually recommended an otome game to Eunmi, did I like that genre?

Or maybe I enjoyed farming simulation healing games like <Stardew Valley> or collection games like <Pokémon>.

Women like cute things, after all.

Alright, alternate me.

Reveal your taste right now.

Click. I pressed the mouse to start the game.

Perhaps because it was made in the past, the game I made as a woman was PC-based.

It was a very familiar format to me. It even felt somewhat nostalgic.

The game title appeared.

<Snowball Garden>…?

Quite a meaningful title. In an instant, countless images flashed through my mind.

Hmm.

Contrary to expectations, it seemed my taste was similar whether I was a woman or a man.

How boring.

I cautiously pressed the start button.

Black screen with text appeared.

「I met her when I couldn’t fully comprehend the world yet.」

At the same time, an image appeared. A black-haired beautiful girl, my childhood friend. Clearly the ‘her’ referred to in the monologue.

Hmm.

Click.

「Thanks to meeting her, I learned a lot. What I liked, what I should do in the future. Everything.」

Hmm.

Two stacks.

I clicked the mouse again.

What the next monologue said would determine whether I’d continue the game or not.

「I liked swords. I wanted to reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship.」

Safe for now.

If the game had suddenly started talking about game development or something, I would’ve quit, but thankfully it didn’t go there. Seems like there’s some self-awareness about making games.

With a slightly interested expression, I continued the game.

「So I headed to the academy city. To see the same scenery as her.」

Wait, academy city? Like Academy Drift?

Not bad. Actually, it’s good.

In a modern setting, aiming for the pinnacle of swordsmanship, mixing in an academy city makes sense.

A martial arts academy game, huh.

The tension is really rising.

I changed my attitude. From judging the game to enjoying it.

“Snowball Garden” was what you’d call an ‘action-adventure cinematic game.’

It had movie-like direction and cutscenes, emphasized emotional arcs, and used game elements like combat, action, and exploration.

What does that mean?

It means it’s not a scale a solo developer could handle.

That’s probably why, despite borrowing a dream-filled academy city as its backdrop, “Snowball Garden” had very limited areas to explore.

Though the limited space was of AAA game quality.

How much time did they pour into this? It’s scary.

Honestly, I wasn’t a big fan of ‘action-adventure cinematic games.’

I wasn’t like those who outright hated them, saying, ‘I’d rather just go watch a movie,’ but it wasn’t my taste either, and the reason was simple.

I didn’t like how pressing enter as the developer intended made it seem like the user wanted this outcome.

And that didn’t change much in this worldline where I became a woman. Even though I didn’t play “Snowball Garden” deeply, I could tell the developer didn’t like ‘cinematic games.’

But why did ‘I’ choose this genre?

I found out the reason within a minute of playing the game.

“What? Sword training again today? You’re not gonna grow taller like that.”

The protagonist’s childhood friend speaks up. Then.

[Enter an appropriate response.]

A window like this popped up.

Without hesitation, I typed, ‘Shut up.’

“Wow, sharp tongue. Are you hitting puberty already?”

Right after, the childhood friend spat out that line.

It was the expected interaction, so I rested my chin on my hand and stared at the monitor.

Did I give this to my military junior? Did I finish it at least two years earlier than my original self?

In this worldline, ‘I’ focused on just one person, and since “Infinity Zero” had so many NPCs, it wasn’t a fair comparison.

In terms of interaction, “Infinity Zero” was more polished, but “Snowball Garden” had slightly better detail.

But then again, this one focused on just one person, so it’s natural…

Human-like NPCs. That was a field I poured my soul into.

I used every method and means to implement it. So even if it wasn’t perfect, I eventually succeeded in creating “Infinity Zero.”

And that’s why ‘I’ in this worldline chose ‘cinematic games.’

In this worldline, I was also obsessed with ‘human-like NPCs.’ So I used every method to successfully implement ‘human-like NPCs.’

I made them react differently depending on what the player typed.

Why did I do that?

Because there was a human image I wanted to show.

Because there were emotions I wanted to implement.

And ‘cinematic games’ were the best way to convey the emotions the developer felt to the user.

That’s all there is to it.

I kept playing the game.

Hmm. So this was my full power before becoming a Super Developer.

“Infinity Zero” was the same, but it was still lacking.

It couldn’t be helped.

How do you expect to finish something like this as a solo developer?

It was impossible unless time was infinite.

So here, I needed a kick.

A Super Developer’s kick, the ultimate solution.

Rejoice, ‘Han Yoorim.’

The Super Developer who will grant your wish has arrived here.

“You know I have a peach allergy. Just kidding.”

The childhood friend chatters on the screen.

Every time she spoke, I typed various responses and then nodded.

Yeah, it’s better to cut her out.

If ‘I’ in this worldline heard this, they’d ask why I did such a thing, but they’d understand once they heard my reasons.

It feels a bit off to reuse the emotional arcs I already used in “Infinity Zero.”

Creators hate self-replication.

But I’ll make it really fun instead.

So look forward to it.