泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌 [A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity] Where have all cherry blossoms in Kyoto gone?

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌
[A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity]
 
Where have all cherry blossoms in Kyoto gone?
 
I‘m staying in Kyoto at this moment writing this column. There are many famous cultural heritages in the historical city and some of them are designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I went to visit some tourist attractions such as Tō-ji: it protected the country at the time Kyoto became the capital of Japan and there is the five-storied Pagoda (gojūnotō) which is the national treasure of Japan, Tenryū-ji: it was founded to pray for the repose of the Emperor of Japan, and Chikurin-no-michi (Arashiyama Bamboo Grove): it is a representative sightseeing spot in the city, and Ginkaku-ji: a shogun built the golden temple to keep the Śarīra—Buddhist relics, etc. I found a delicious ramen restaurant, waffle store serving good coffee, and cozy pub by chance while wandering in the streets by a small rental car. I came across a Japanese home with a beautiful garden and I leisurely walked along the trail in an apartment complex. And I visited a shopping mall full of game titles that haven't been localized in Korean yet.
 
I don't intend to talk about my one-week trip to one of the top 10 cities in Japan. I'm trying to calm myself down. I came here for cherry blossom viewing which is very popular around mid-march. I took expensive airfare, accommodation, and rental car hoping to see the Japanese cherry blossoms in full bloom in the peak season. However, they are still in budding. Unseasonably cold weather has delayed flower blooms in the old city. It is a natural disaster for me. I don't think I'll be able to see full-bloomed flowers before I come back to Korea.
 
Similarly, timing is essential for all types of work. Many games are released each year. A few of them only achieve great results, while most of the rest games are rarely noticed by consumers. Of course, not a few games have problems of themselves, however, a considerable number of good ones died out without much response because they mistimed the release. The commercially flopped games must have been developed by numerous employees who put in a great deal of effort working late in common with other successful games. I'm sorry about their misfortune. As I said earlier, it is like a natural disaster since success or failure depending on the time is quite unpredictable.
 
I hear that so often "Luck determines many things in the business; your success isn't down to free will." This also applies to game makers. A few months-prepared trip isn't going well as I would wish contrary to my expectation that the flowers would have reached the peak bloom period during this week in Kyoto. Likewise, so many variables probably decide the fate of the game which usually takes several years to release. Looking at myself left in the old city without cherry blossoms, I hope that many good games won't get their timing wrong and disappear in the market.
 
 
※ This is from Kyunghyang Games column by 泥中蟠龍 since September 2013.
(http://www.khgames.co.kr)
 
Translation by Kim Ki-hui

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