Wemade Connect, which caused a surprise sensation early last year with 'Lost Sword', has announced the release of 'Make Drama: MAD' this coming June. Make Drama: MAD is a subculture collectible RPG crafted with a light and cheerful Isekai sensibility, embodying the theme of 'an RPG you want to play'. It is a title that has attracted attention since its initial reveal for its characters featuring the art style of illustrator 'Snowball', who is familiar to some users. Following the incident last March where the ONE Store CBT, initially rated for ages 15 and up, was prematurely halted due to censorship issues, the game has lifted censorship and upgraded its rating to "Not suitable for minors," foreshadowing a wider spectrum of stories and characters. 'Make Drama: MAD' has embarked on its full-scale campaign ahead of its June launch by participating in the Illusta Fest held at KINTEX from the 23rd to the 24th. Prior to the event, we had the opportunity to meet with the development team and hear more details about the game. (From left) Fluffy Duck Creative Director Jung Ji-hoon, Scenario Manager Kim Jae-won, CEO Lee Jung-hoon ©Wemade Connect Experts in this field have gathered: Fluffy Duck and 'Make Drama: MAD' Q. You are introducing your first title, 'Make Drama: MAD,' but before that, what kind of company is Fluffy Duck? CEO Lee Jung-hoon = It is a company where most of the members are passionate about subculture games. We established it in 2023 with the goal of targeting the adult audience and creating content that they can definitely enjoy. Q. I met you a long time ago during your time at DMM Games Korea, and now, several years later, you have established your own company and are taking on the challenge of launching a new subculture game. What points did you focus on during development? CEO Lee Jung-hoon = We discussed this extensively even before establishing the company. Given that the subculture game market has grown significantly and garnered much attention, competition is expected to intensify further. We believed that when creating a game amidst this environment, the most important factor should be 'what we do well.' In other words, we determined that we had a chance of success only if we released a game based on a certain level of accumulated experience and know-how. Therefore, we naturally reached the conclusion to narrow our target audience to adults and sharpen our skills during development. Q. The game title ‘Make Drama: MAD’ is unique. What is the meaning behind it? Kim Jae-won, Narrative Manager = The title first came to mind to convey the idea of ​​users and characters boisterously continuing the story together. Literally, it is about users directly 'making a drama.' We wanted to convey the meaning that users should not stop at simply collecting and nurturing characters, but rather enjoy the narrative by forming relationships with the characters and creating their own stories while playing the game. The subtitle ‘MAD’ literally implies ‘even crazier’ fun. CEO Lee Jung-hoon = We wanted users to feel a bit of curiosity and wonder upon seeing the title, wondering, ‘What kind of game is this?’ That is also why we named it a bit ambiguous. ©Wemade Connect Q. Following the decision to sign the publishing contract last March, preparations for launch are progressing rapidly, including the CBT and pre-registration. When did you start development? CEO Lee Jung-hoon = After establishing the company in 2023, we went through a pre-production period of about half a year in the second half. Then, we started full-scale development in early 2024. Q. How would you describe the motto of ‘Make Drama: MAD’? CEO Lee Jung-hoon = If you ask what the motto of our game is, it is quite difficult to define it in a single word. "There are just so many different things to consider, you know (laughs)." Creative Director Jung Ji-hoon = "The very first thing the development team discussed was, 'Let's not make a difficult game.' As subculture games become increasingly sophisticated these days, playtimes are getting longer, and it seems there are more types that require a strong commitment to dig deep once you start playing. It also feels like this trend is even more pronounced in games that aim to be blockbusters. Consequently, people started playing to enjoy the game, but at some point, they found themselves dedicating quite a lot of time to it, giving the impression that the priorities had been reversed. With the market generally heading in that direction, I wondered, 'Do we really need to go in such a heavy direction as well?'" Of course, it provides as much fun as the effort put into playing it, but it would be even more tiring if you had to sprint through everything. Although the content has changed slightly as the story has been refined, the core keyword of the initial story narrative was ‘freedom.’ Even after the narrative was meticulously polished, the direction of ensuring users could enjoy the game freely and without pressure remained completely unchanged.

Q. Since this is a character game, I am curious about the favorite characters chosen by the development team. Which character is your favorite?

CEO Lee Jung-hoon = While developing the game for the past two years or so, my mind changed frequently whenever a new character was released... but for now, I will choose 'Lumina' as she is currently set as my KakaoTalk profile picture. To describe Lumina's characteristics, she is a character with a somewhat naive side, to the point where you might wonder if it is okay for our game characters to be like this. Personally, rather than characters who are overly precise and smart in everything, I prefer characters with a gentle personality and a naive charm, and Lumina fits that preference well. Of course, her appearance style is also to my liking. Kim Jae-won, Narrative Manager = My favorite character is ‘Seven’. Rather than just the appearance, as the narrative writer creating the scenario, I developed an attachment to the character during the process of designing him as someone "completely obsessed with dopamine." In the story, Seven is a character who is obsessed with gacha machines and probability games. As I projected my own image onto him—someone who cannot quit character-collecting games and constantly opens his wallet—I naturally felt a connection and grew fond of him. I really should stop slamming my paycheck in now, but I just can't seem to stop (laughs). Jeong Ji-hoon, Creative Director = As an Art Director, I feel like I would feel bad for the others if I said I had a biased affection for just one specific character. Instead, if I had to choose a character I have a 'love-hate' relationship with, I would like to mention 'Isabelle,' who will be unveiled this fall. Isabelle was a character whose initial work was completed around January 2024. However, while we were actively continuing development, a character with a somewhat similar design was released first in a competitor's game, unfortunately. And it was a character with quite a significant impact. So, my first thought was, 'Ah, if I don't completely overhaul the design, I'm going to be in big trouble.' So, I had to fix everything from scratch, including the visuals I had already established. I consciously changed various things to avoid overlapping with other games, and the amount of work turned out to be truly enormous. However, when people next to me, including Manager Kim Jae-won, saw the work, they said, 'This character is so pretty; we worked so hard on this, surely it won't end up being a 3-star character, right?' Everyone in the development team burst out laughing at that moment, but looking back, we went through a death-like, tight deadline schedule. In any case, having gone through so much trouble, we intend to polish it up thoroughly until the very end and present it to you.

June Release Announcement: MAD Drama, Will Show a Hit to Expand the Genre's Boundary