Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 1012: The Sorrow of the Overlooked Nobody

"Speaking of the recent movie adaptation project between Gamestar Electronic Entertainment and Tokarev, I have a feeling it won't do well at the box office. He insists on completely following the original story, with almost no changes. Isn't that just reshooting the original game scenes all over again? It's totally redundant."

"Exactly. Movies have souls. Directors should have their own creative freedom. Just blindly following a capitalist's orders to make a film with no creative autonomy — it's an insult to the art of cinema."

Jimmy and the others all shared the same opinions and biases.

They also had something else in common — none of them had benefited from any of these recent film projects. That created a sense of camaraderie between them.

Jimmy smiled and said, "The magazine I run will be publishing a few articles soon, reviewing this kind of film. Mainly to criticize the lack of creative freedom for writers and directors. You guys can take a look once it's out. If you're interested, feel free to post your own opinions on Facebook too."

"Huh? Did you write the article?"

"Yes, my name's on it. I was involved."

"Oh, nice."

The others responded politely, but in their hearts, they all knew not to believe Jimmy's nonsense. Most likely, he had just ordered some junior editor to write it. At best, he gave the general outline. He probably didn't do much himself.

...

...

Still, they envied him. Jimmy had the status of a magazine editor-in-chief — a step above them as mere screenwriters.

But for the sake of future promotion opportunities for their own scripts, they played along with him. Maybe someday, Jimmy's magazine would write something positive about their films... or throw shade at a competitor.

They were all hiding their own agendas.

One of them suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, besides Metal Gear and Uncharted, there's also that unnamed film they're working on. Jimmy, do you know who's directing that one?"

Jimmy thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No idea. I haven't heard anything. Maybe they haven't finalized it yet."

"I wonder if we could... Eh, probably not. We're just screenwriters. Becoming the director of a film like that sounds impossible."

Jimmy replied casually, "Don't say that. Sooner or later, we'll be directing our own films. We can't just stay screenwriters forever. We've all got the skills — we just need a chance."

"You're right, Jimmy. Even if the director hasn't been confirmed, there must at least be a shortlist."

Jimmy said, "My guess? It's probably that guy who directed the Resident Evil movie. He's got a solid reputation now. Bringing him in would have marketing value too."

One of the others scoffed, "Hmph, that guy just got lucky. Half his fame is exaggerated."

He had entered the industry around the same time as that Resident Evil director — or in this world, the director of World War Z. Before that movie, their careers were on the same level, both climbing up from the bottom.

Then that guy struck gold, got picked by Tokarev, and his career took off.

There was even a rumor that the director had always been a huge gamer. When he heard that video games — especially Resident Evil, his favorite — were getting adapted, he got excited and volunteered, even when everyone else was skeptical about game-to-film adaptations.

In the end, it was a win for everyone. With the foundation of World War Z, a polished commercial zombie film, it was hard for any competent director to mess it up.

The group of like-minded people chatted for a long time, then went their separate ways.

A few days later, the magazine articles — including pieces written by some of these screenwriters — started circulating online.

Their main argument was that throwing a bunch of different IPs into one film would exhaust audiences. Just blending in various characters for the sake of it could lead to aesthetic fatigue.

After all, video game art styles are vastly different.

Can you really picture Cloud from Final Fantasy VII Remake standing next to Link from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with its 2.5D art style?

It just wouldn't work.

Because the critics had some standing in the industry, their opinions gained traction.

Gradually, attacking this big IP mash-up movie became something of a trend in the film world.

It almost felt like you weren't part of the "real" industry unless you took a shot at it.

But interestingly, most of the criticism came from the lower tiers of the industry.

At the higher levels — among respected directors and writers — no one said a word.

Even when journalists reached out to them for comments, they were careful with their responses, only saying the film's approach was "innovative" and "challenging."

Jimmy and his circle didn't make much of an impact. That made him uneasy.

Feeling his influence was slipping, he ordered more articles to be published.

But most of them went unnoticed — they sank without a trace.

Just as he was planning his next move, Tokarev suddenly made a big announcement.

The official title and director of the multi-IP film were revealed.

The title, given by Takayuki, would be: Ready Player One.

A brief description of the world setting was released too: a future dystopia where people had access to high technology, but low standards of living. So they turned to video games to find joy and escape reality.

And then came the director reveal.

Jesse Hormier — the living legend of the film industry — had accepted the role.

His reason? To challenge himself once again by stepping into a completely new territory.

Film genres had become too predictable. As a "living fossil" of the movie world, Jesse had long felt bored.

But a film that blended multiple artistic and stylistic game IPs was intriguing.

Even if the filming techniques weren't groundbreaking, the sheer number of cultural references — and the challenge of making them work together without clashing — was exactly the kind of creative puzzle he loved.

As soon as the announcement dropped, Jimmy went silent.

He wasn't stupid. Criticizing that film now would mean publicly opposing one of the most respected figures in cinema.

He immediately ordered all previously published articles criticizing the film to be deleted and scrubbed from the web, terrified someone might use them against him.

But the internet remembers.

There are no true secrets online — only unnoticed ones.

Fortunately for him, neither Takayuki nor Tokarev had ever paid any attention to him.

Which, in a way, was a tragedy of its own — the quiet sadness of being too irrelevant to even be disliked.

Just shouting into the void.