泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌 [A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity] A fried chicken restaurant-like game developer

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌

[A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity]

 

A fried chicken restaurant-like game developer

 

The early presidential election, which was originally been scheduled at the end of the year, is probably the hottest issue in Korea these days. I don't think that political pledges of candidates seem an appropriate topic for a column. So I just want to mention youth unemployment such as founding and employment here.

 

One of the candidates has promised to help the young by raising conglomerates' corporate tax or high earners' income tax, on the other hand, another candidate has pledged to increase employment by supporting large enterprises. As I reckon - it's slightly off-topic, though - that latter isn't much different from the "trickle-down effect" of Lee Myung-Bak administration, which seems to be less effective.

 

Not too long ago, I talked about foreign game developers with a friend of mine working for Google. I had a chance to consider investing in overseas game companies a couple of times last year and I found that he also had similar opinions on that.

Many CEOs of the domestic game developers whom I've ever met wanted to get rich overnight. Of course, an investor needs to find a potential game that can hit the jackpot. However, the game maker just failed once usually don't have a backup plan in Korea. The company will go bankrupt. Investment risk for the firm is expected to increase and workers also have to worry about unstable employment. Sometimes, employees aren't been given their back pay for a few months on the verge of going bankrupt until they find a new job.

 

I think that most foreign game developers, which I mentioned earlier, seem to see the game creating differently, unlike local game makers. The majority of overseas game start-ups put generating sufficient turnover for all members first. And the companies look at diverse ways to boost sales when figures reach a certain level. Of course, all firms aren't like that, however, I have the impression that foreign companies seem to happily accept their job more than national developers. Many numbers of employees working in the overseas game companies look satisfying with a certain level of a fixed amount of salary, unlike most Korean workers who feel unbearable mental pressures from the possibilities of the company's failure.

 

People joke that you are going to open a fried chicken restaurant, in the end, no matter what you do. As I see, foreign game developers made up of a small number of members run their companies like operating a chicken eatery doing what they enjoy and aiming at minimum adequate money required for payment. I hope that the president-elect will create conditions that enable every local game start-ups to feed themselves by running a fried chicken restaurant-like game companies. If they can create a franchise from the diner, it would be better.

 

 

※ This is from Kyunghyang Games column by 泥中蟠龍 since September 2013.

(http://www.khgames.co.kr)

 

Translation by Kim Ki-hui

 

 

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

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌 [A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity] Let's take a look at Korea's gaming industry (Part 3)

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌

[A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity]

 

Let's take a look at Korea's gaming industry (Part 3)

 

In the previous columns, I expected that Korea's gaming industry will be difficult in the years ahead. Aside from many other causes and solutions to the bad situation in the field, I want to deal with government policy-related topics.

 

The gaming industry has characteristics of content and software at the same time. Also, various game-related government agencies have announced promotion policies and regulation policies on game addiction which many people kept continually expressing concerns about. When it comes to game promotion policy, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) are in charge of cultural content and content convergence respectively. On the other hand, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) and Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) are involved in regulation policy to prevent excessive absorption on games and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) is directly related to student education. Also, the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) takes an important part in promoting the cultural industry and National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) supports the gaming industry as a branch of the information and communications industry. Besides, Game Rating and Administration Committee (GRAC) rates video games. And there is the Digital Industry Promotion Agency by region.

 

This might look like it is going better for the domestic gaming sector expecting a variety of support providers. However, in contrast, it means that no government agency fully supports the industry. Furthermore, maintaining a consistent and balanced regulatory approach is not easy due to too many game-related government organizations which have conflict-of-interest rules. MOGEF introduced the controversial "Shutdown law (also known as the Cinderella law)" and MEST proposed the "Cooling Off System" bill to prevent online game addictions. Even MOHW has conducted a video game addiction prevention campaign. Korea Venture Investment Corp (KVIC), which is a fund of funds holding a portfolio of other investment funds, hasn't contributed to a pool of money for the gaming sector in recent years.

 

The workers in Korea's gaming industry are the largest number in areas of cultural content and it has established the actual export record of $2-3 trillion a year. I can't understand why the government tries to impose strict controls on the world-class gaming industry not to protect and promote it. A Korean underage player was embarrassed at the international E-sports tournament because he had to give up during the game due to the Shutdown law. And, unlike the unfriendly Korean government, many countries attract local video game businesses pledging full support.

 

In spite of ridiculous situations, the domestic gaming industry has consistently continued to grow. The rate of growth has slowed, however, the gaming sector already exceeded W10 trillion in terms of revenue and sales are likely to rise further. So, in that respect, the lack of an exclusive organization designed to promote the field of game is absolute nonsense. Korea's gaming industry shouldn't have lots of difficulty between the related organizations with their inconsistent policies. It's necessary to build a systematic support system through the institution exclusively for game-connected matters. I expect that the new government will set up a Korean game council, which takes full charge of the gaming sector, like the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).

 

 

※ This is from Kyunghyang Games column by 泥中蟠龍 since September 2013.

(http://www.khgames.co.kr)

 

Translation by Kim Ki-hui