Dev Note #8

I hope everyone has been doing well. Summer has arrived quickly, and I hope you're all staying healthy in the heat.

As I work on bringing the ideas and contributions gathered through our crowdfunding campaign and community events into the game, I often find myself imagining the stories behind them. Whenever I place one of these traces into the world, I can't help but wonder: Who left this behind, and what were they going through as the world approached its end?

As I mentioned in the previous dev note, I'd like to share some of the ideas that are gradually becoming part of Goodbye Seoul's world, along with a few of the thoughts they inspired.

"I miss home" "Don't look back"

Steam post imageSteam post imageAs chaos first began to spread, communication networks collapsed, and many people abandoned their livelihoods to return to their families and hometowns.

But with trains and buses no longer operating, leaving the country became nearly impossible—and even escaping Seoul itself required taking significant risks.

Perhaps these messages were left behind by foreign residents who remained in Korea, unable to make it home before everything fell apart. They may have stood on these streets, thinking of the people and places they left behind.

Did they ever make it home safely?

"Ji-eun, Su-jin, Ye-ra, Hye-rin" "So-hee, Ye-jun"

Steam post imageSteam post imageThese are simple traces—just names written side by side.

Yet even in the face of the world's end, having someone to stay with until the very last moment would surely have been a source of comfort, happiness, and strength.

I imagine a group of loved ones gathering together and carefully leaving behind one final mark on the wall.

Among these names are also two characters from another game, Sohee (https://tumblbug.com/twodpix_sohee), who seem to have left their own small traces behind as well. It's a charming thought that the youthful memories of protagonists from another world have found their way into the streets of a collapsing Seoul.

"Professional Astrologer Sun Tarot"

Steam post imageThis graffiti was contributed by Sun Tarot (https://tumblbug.com/u/suntaro), an actual practicing occultist.

To be honest, while working on the game, I secretly hoped to see more playful traces like this—moments where reality and fiction overlap in unexpected ways.

After all, what does it mean to ask about your future in a world where the end is already certain?

Perhaps Sun Tarot remained in a forgotten corner of Itaewon until the very last days, reading fortunes for anxious survivors and offering quiet reassurance to those struggling to face an uncertain tomorrow.

Streamer Min Gyeol-hee's Poster

Steam post imageSteam post imageThis poster features streamer Min Gyeol-hee.

It was inspired by the fan-funded subway advertisements that are commonly seen throughout real-world Seoul stations.

These posters were originally put up before the catastrophe fully consumed the world—back when everyday life still felt normal and peaceful. Around them, countless yellow sticky notes left by members of the fan club Yageumdan remain attached to the walls, surviving even as society itself collapsed.

Now hanging on the dark, abandoned walls of a subway station that no one uses anymore, the posters still seem strangely bright.

They are warm yet bittersweet reminders that even in a world approaching its end, ordinary people once loved, admired, and passionately supported someone. The feelings of everyday life have lingered long after everything else disappeared.

Streamer Fullstop's Poster

Steam post imageThis poster features streamer Fullstop.

The request was to create something that felt like an advertisement for a "final live broadcast" using the streamer's original character artwork.

In Goodbye Seoul's world, the internet and communication networks have already completely failed.

So how would Fullstop announce one last stream?

I imagined them personally drawing poster after poster by hand, each bearing the words "The Last Live," then walking through the streets of Itaewon putting them up one by one.

Perhaps the final broadcast would be transmitted over a radio frequency.

Or maybe, somewhere within the barricaded districts of Itaewon protected by local vigilante groups, a small intranet network still survives—and against all odds, that final broadcast is somehow still reaching its audience.

🏃‍♂️ Closing Thoughts

Recently, we successfully reached one of the major internal development milestones we had set for ourselves.

After such a long journey, the finish line finally feels like something we can see in the distance.

Right now, we're fully focused on polishing and refining the game, pushing forward with what truly feels like the final sprint.

We'll continue doing everything we can to deliver a game that lives up to your expectations.

Thank you, as always, for your support and encouragement.

— JINO

※ All contents of this developer note are subject to change depending on development progress.