Chapter 134

Slump [슬럼프]

[Noun]

1. A temporary decline in skill or performance.

2. A period where efficiency or grades drop below the usual level.

It’s not like I was overflowing with inspiration, bursting with ideas, or having concepts pop up like breathing every single moment.

I also had a lot of moments where things didn’t go well. For example, when I was making *Cosmic Osuary*, I faced many hardships.

Ideas wouldn’t come, so I even went to the sauna and scrapped things.

The same goes for *Resurrected Students Also Need Love*. It was a bit lighter, but there were still parts where I got stuck.

I just didn’t talk about it. The trial and error I went through was quite significant.

I’m not a game developer with an infinite well of ideas, as people might think.

On top of that, I made way too many games.

Let me list the games I made in about half a year.

If we exclude *Infinity Zero* since it doesn’t exist in the world anymore:

*Fantasy Life*, *Excel Busters*, *Resurrected Students Also Need Love*, *Cosmic Osuary*, *Cosmic Origin*, *Eternal World: Tower of Transcendence*, *RE: Snowball Garden*, and *Haunted Building*.

That’s a total of 8 games.

Making 8 games in half a year? From the outside, it might seem like I had an endless spring of ideas.

But as I mentioned earlier, I didn’t exactly have an infinite fountain of inspiration.

So how did I manage to churn out 8 games?

It was simple.

Contrary to people’s perception, I wasn’t creating entirely new things.

Instead, I was consuming what I had built up over time.

*Fantasy Life* was a game I had wanted to make ever since I played *Minecraft*. *Excel Busters* came to mind when I learned about motion recognition through *Meta Quest*. *Resurrected Students Also Need Love* was a part I took from *Infinity Zero*.

*Cosmic Osuary*? It was an adventure game I had been thinking about for a while, with various ideas added to it. *Cosmic Origin* was its prequel.

The same goes for *Eternal World: Tower of Transcendence* and *RE: Snowball Garden*.

One was just an adaptation of an existing game, and the other was essentially adding flesh to something someone else had already created.

*Haunted Building* was a slight exception, but even that was based on ideas I had while playing horror games.

If you’re thinking, “Wait, don’t other creators do the same?” Yes, they do. That’s how creation usually works.

Creation is the process of filtering the works you’ve consumed through the sieve of your own taste.

So I wasn’t doing anything particularly strange. Everyone creates like this.

But.

That’s exactly why it was a problem.

If I had truly had an infinite well of ideas, I wouldn’t have struggled like this.

Because I was similar to others, I got stuck for similar reasons.

So.

To sum it up.

I didn’t have a game I really wanted to make at the moment.

“Unnie, look over there!”

Bunny Run pointed to the entrance with her finger. Slightly above it. After spotting the *Super Mario* character hanging there, I said:

“Bunny Run, you’re surprisingly like an insider. I didn’t know you’d enjoy theme parks this much.”

“Aren’t you excited, unnie? That’s a game, you know.”

“I’ve got a good idea of how you see me now.”

Thinking I’d go crazy over anything game-related? That’s the biggest misconception ever.

A hardcore gamer like me actually scrutinizes everything meticulously…!

“What does that have to do with being a gamer?”

“If I had to compare, it’s more related to MBTI.”

“Are you a T?”

“Kind of.”

I’m someone who thinks MBTI’s accuracy is questionable, but I still trust the results themselves.

The test itself asks questions like, “Do you enjoy staying up late and waking up at noon?” and if you answer “Yes,” it says, “Congratulations, you’re someone who stays up late and wakes up at noon.”

At least that’s more rational than blood types and zodiac signs.

“I thought you’d like it here, unnie.”

“I thought so too.”

I had a hunch when Bunny Run suddenly suggested going to Universal Studios.

Why would an indoor person like Bunny Run go to a theme park like an outdoor person? There’s only one reason.

To comfort a super developer stuck in a slump and, in the process, try to hypnotize them.

Haven’t you given up yet?

I told you, hypnosis won’t work on me, so give up.

“Unnie! Look over there!”

Or maybe not. Maybe she just came here because she likes it.

Thinking about it, Bunny Run was really excited about water activities when we went to Okinawa too.

Chaenarin also…

Same here.

Don’t tell me I’m the only one here who’s into Indian languages?

Was I the only one fooled again?

“I got my hopes up on my own and disappointed myself. I get it now. I guess I really don’t have any comrades.”

“Turtle. Should we head in now?”

“…I guess so.”

Ignoring my words, Chaenarin and Bunny Run went inside.

I quickly followed them in.

Looking around, there were as many people as ants.

So this is why Yahweh hit the reset button.

I missed Noah’s flood.

“Unnie, look here. The top 7 rides you must ride at Universal Studios. Number 1 is [Harry Potter].”

“Then should we ride that first?”

“No. We should ride others first based on the route. Let’s start with Hollywood.”

Suddenly, Bunny Run felt very unfamiliar.

Why is she so skilled, thorough, and planned?

Does she have a lot of experience?

“Bunny Run, be honest. You’ve been to theme parks with your boyfriend multiple times, right?”

“Unnie, what are you talking about? I’ve never dated a guy.”

“Then you’ve come here often with friends? So you lied about not having friends.”

“…Unnie, what are you talking about? I don’t have friends.”

“Then how are you so skilled? It doesn’t make sense to be this good without experience.”

Yeah, when you think about it, it doesn’t make sense.

Someone who looks like Bunny Run being a paragon of purity doesn’t make sense, and her not having friends doesn’t make sense either.

The truth of the case has been revealed.

“The culprit is Bunny Run, who gave false testimony. It’s you!”

As I pointed and declared, Bunny Run opened her mouth.

“…Simulation.”

“What did you mutter? Did you say, ‘I didn’t think I’d get caught here. Not bad’?”

“I ran a lot of simulations at home…”

“What should we ride first? There’s a parade at 6 PM, so let’s watch that before we go.”

Still, it was a relief.

It wasn’t that she went to theme parks alone, but just ran simulations.

If it were the former, I would’ve cried and almost solved my slump.

But it’s a lie.

We moved to board ‘Hollywood The Ride (Backward Version).’

“The line is long.”

As expected of a theme park.

Even on a weekday, the wait starts at 1 hour.

“…Yoorim unnie, water.”

“Thank you.”

I took a sip of the water Chaenarin handed me.

“Turtle, what about me?”

“…Help yourself.”

“You want me to steal it?”

Listening to Chaenarin and Bunny Run’s banter, I fell into thought.

Whether it’s burnout or a slump, the solution was similar.

One thing people who’ve experienced a slump unanimously say: it’s rest.

Just rest. Then the path will open.

Humans are creatures who seek answers from the past. So, like the seniors before me, I came here to rest, but, well, I haven’t seen much effect.

Even though I’m here, mixed in with the crowd, waiting an hour under the scorching sun to ride a screaming machine, nothing comes to mind.

Well, that’s to be expected.

After exhausting everything I’ve built over 23 years, if it all came back just from waiting for a ride, no creator in the world would struggle.

But from that perspective, isn’t this rest meaningless?

I’ve never felt tired myself. I wasn’t built that way.

I’d rather spend this time enjoying anime, manga, novels, movies, dramas, and games for input—.

“Ahhh!”

“Wow.”

After our turn on the rollercoaster, my thoughts.

Riding a rollercoaster backward is quite fun.

“Unnie, next is Jurassic Park.”

“You’re really enjoying yourself.”

“Unnie, aren’t you?”

“It’s better than I thought.”

People need to rest too.

Would the seniors have told us to rest for no reason?

Alright.

I declared.

“Since we’re here, let’s enjoy the full course in Japan. Something will spark and come to mind.”

*

I realized why the seniors always said to rest.

Rather than wasting energy on things with no answers, just rest.

That’s what they meant.

On the 5th day of the Japan trip.

The situation hasn’t improved.

It’s gotten worse.