Chapter 2: The Shabby Game Store
Sitting alone in a nearby tent, I downed two bottles of soju, contemplating the perks of going solo. What's a day like this without a drink, right? Chuckles. Drunkenly, I sauntered down the streets, my mind racing with thoughts. From tomorrow onwards, I'd be working in a place completely detached from game development. Damn it, is this how my childhood dream of becoming a game designer ends?
Ding-ding-ding. At that moment, a nostalgic sound pierced my ears. Beep-beep-beep-beep... It was like a sound you'd hear in a retro game. However, as I looked around, all I could see were closed shop doors.
Ding! Ding!
But it was unmistakable. That was the sound of Galaga missiles being fired. Could there be an arcade nearby? It seemed unlikely since arcades had all but disappeared by the late '90s. However, driven by the intermittent beat, I followed the sound. It might sound silly, but that repetitive beat was like a nostalgic sound effect from my childhood.
I wondered how long I had been wandering the streets past midnight when I noticed a brightly lit shop in a dimly lit alley. It had an old-school CRT TV and glass display cases, inside of which lay a plethora of gray game cartridges.
"Welcome..."
Inside the shop, an elderly man with white hair greeted me with a smile.
"Hello, sir."
"Why the long face, young lad? What's bothering you?"
"It's just work-related stress. By the way, sir, where did you collect all these retro games? It's like a mini-museum in here."
Indeed, within the narrow shop, various game-related items were neatly displayed. However, there was not a single item from the current generation of games; it was all about the retro games that were popular in the '80s and '90s. Despite that, I found myself strangely excited, as if I had returned to my childhood.
From the sleepless nights spent trying to clear the Ninja Sword series to Final Frontier and Dragon Order, the cartridges were lined up, as good as new.
"How about it? Interested?"
"Are you selling these?"
"Of course, everything here is for sale."
"How much are they?"
"2,000 won each."
"What? 2,000 won!? Sir, these items can go for tens of thousands of won each on the internet, especially this one!" I reached for a golden-shining cartridge. It was once considered a legendary item in the world of friendship-ruining games, known as the Muscle Man of the Family. This golden package was a super-rare item made in Japan, with only eight of them ever produced. If I remember correctly, it went for a winning bid of 300,000 yen in a Japanese online auction... And that wasn't all. There was also a limited-edition mini-car game given out at the Family Summer Camp, and only 100 of these existed in the world.
The games in this store were valuable items that could fetch quite a high price in an online auction.
"You really do love games, don't you?"
"Absolutely. That's why I'm still making games at my age."
"You make games? Wow, that's impressive."
Until yesterday, that was. I maintained a smile while quietly swallowing my words, and the elderly man seemed to take a liking to me, his wrinkles deepening as he chuckled.
"Ah, the games from that era. They were truly something."
I chuckled wryly, holding up a cartridge slotted into one side. It was a masterpiece created in the past by the now-deceased former president of MinTendo, Satoshi Kawata. It was Balloon Fight.
A game that used three balloons to float through the air and pop the opponent's balloons was one of the games my friends and I used to stay up all night playing when they came over during our childhood. It was also the first game to apply the effect of "inertia due to acceleration," an intriguing effect later borrowed for Super Mario's running motion.
"Balloon Fight, truly a masterpiece. You've got a good eye."
"May I take a closer look, sir?"
"Sure, take your time. Since there are no customers anyway."
"Thank you."
I stepped into the cramped store and began to examine various items. While doing so, I happened upon a game console.
"No way... Is this?"
Upon seeing my reaction, a mysterious smile crept onto the elderly man's face as he leaned on the glass display case with both arms. What I had picked up was a Game & Watch.
"I never thought I'd see this again."
I carefully opened the Game & Watch, treating it like a treasure. It could be considered the prototype of the portable gaming consoles currently made by MinTendo.
"Hehe, you like it?"
"Yes, but sir, this Game & Watch model is new to me. I collected the series when I was a child because my parents bought them for me. I remember them well, but I've never seen this model before."
"That's because there's only one like it in the world."
"What!? Only one? If it's so rare, it's hard to believe it's here. I mean, sir, I don't mean to disrespect your shop, but if there's only one, wouldn't MinTendo itself keep it as a commemorative piece?"
"Who said what? Young folks and their assumptions," he chuckled.
"Ahaha... But it's really impressive. The only Game & Watch of its kind in the world... Can I try it?"
"The batteries are inside, so you can try it right away. Go ahead."
"Thank you."
With the elderly man's permission, I promptly opened the lid and turned on the game. Ding-ding-ding-ding~ The game started with a steady beat. To get a better view of the game screen, I moved closer to the fluorescent light. The Game & Watch, which used the "stop-motion animation" technique, had no backlight, making it impossible to play in the dark.
-Company Employee Game-
That was the name of this Game & Watch.
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