Became the Mother of Virtual YouTubers - Chapter 89

After finishing the online meeting with Kamishiro Rei, Jin Ha immediately sat down in front of the monitor as soon as she took off her VR device.

She was itching to implement the ideas that popped into her head during the conversation with Rei right away.

“By the way, Rei was much more particular than I expected.”

Even while grumbling with a short sigh, a subtle smile lingered on her lips. For Jin Ha, being particular was a compliment.

It felt refreshing to receive detailed work guidelines after only hearing, “Please do as Jin Ha wishes.” If it had been simply being stubborn, she would have frowned, but as long as it was proactive suggestions for a better stage, she welcomed it wholeheartedly.

The more fussy it was, the more impossible it seemed, the more Jin Ha’s heart was lifted. Perhaps this was like a developer’s instinct.

Jin Ha launched the VR editing tool first and brought up the virtual space for the concert stage. She then called in a template avatar and floated it in the air.

“I really wish I could have received Rei’s avatar 3D model separately.”

Unfortunately, she couldn’t receive the VRM file. Security issues were obviously a hindrance. NiseLive was extremely sensitive about providing original avatar files of its affiliated VTubers to external freelancers.

Of course, not having the file didn’t mean she couldn’t develop it. If it was missing, she could just create a simplified version. There was no shortage of learning materials available. For a large corporation like Kamishiro Rei’s, mimicking a makeshift model was no big deal.

After implementing the hair and the fluttering winged outfit, she began simulating how the fluid should realistically dissipate in the wind.

“This flying simulation will be a bit more complex.”

Adding two wings to So-yul was not that difficult. She just created an illusion by fixing the avatar and moving the surrounding background. There was no need to track So-yul’s actions.

However, Rei needed a direction that allowed her to directly interact with the audience while flying on stage. This meant that more complex and subtle movements needed to be tracked and processed in real-time.

Jin Ha adjusted the air resistance value in the physics engine that imitated the avatar’s skeletal and muscular structure and repeated several tests. Each time a test was run, Rei’s avatar would sway in the wind, or the wing outfit would flutter unnaturally. However, rather than panicking, Jin Ha calmly readjusted the values as if she had expected it.

“When turning in the air, I’ll make the hair follow a little late… and the outfit should move a bit more fluidly…”

When she replayed the simulation, Rei’s avatar glided gracefully in the air, moving vibrantly. Movements that were impossible in the real world looked completely natural in the virtual world.

“I think this is good enough for the initial version of the flying direction…”

Next was the individual perspective direction for the audience. Jin Ha needed to implement a technology that allowed each audience member to see different scenes based on their viewing angle and position using a hologram and multi-camera system.

At first, she simply arranged a few cameras centered on the stage to check the view from the audience’s perspective. Soon, a complicated problem arose. Since different videos needed to be shown from multiple angles simultaneously, the amount of calculations exploded.

If it was simply about broadcasting recorded videos, it wouldn’t be an issue. However, latency in a live stage was a critical issue.

“If I processed it thoughtlessly, there could have been noise on the stage.”

After much consideration, Jin Ha divided the stage into multiple layers. LOD (Level of Detail). By rendering objects close to the audience in high resolution and those farther away in low resolution, she solved the problem. This approach not only reduced the computational load of videos but also created a three-dimensional and realistic effect, almost like a hologram.

Furthermore, she thought, “Let’s make the audience feel that it’s a special direction just for them.”

Muttering to herself, Jin Ha stretched out. Her eyes and head were stiff. Checking the date and time on her smartphone, she realized that several hours had flown by.

“This wasn’t something to tell Summer.”

Jin Ha slid off the chair like slime and laid down with the blanket.

“Ugh! My back…!”

She began to think that she needed to move to a place where she could fit a bed. Before that… she should at least change her chair to something decent.

*

After a long, sweet sleep, Jin Ha crawled back onto her chair like a zombie and sat in front of the monitor again. Now, it was time to tweak the system to make stage effects react in real-time to Rei’s voice and the music’s atmosphere.

Jin Ha gathered past live videos of Rei from YouTube and fan communities one by one. The quality of AI ultimately depends on the amount of data it learns from. In that respect, Rei was the perfect VTuber optimized for Jin Ha’s work style.

From the vast amount of data collected, Jin Ha constructed an algorithm to analyze pitches and rhythms. Music, after all, could ultimately be described as a combination of waveforms and mathematical expressions. Representing that as a mathematical function was a breeze for Jin Ha.

Based on the meticulously designed formula algorithm, she connected various codes and effects to automatically transition the stage lighting and hologram direciton. With each keystroke, brilliant effects unfolded on the screen.

During the soft humming part, it created a gentle and lyrical atmosphere. As the song built up to its climax, the stage lights shone brilliantly, sparkling dazzlingly. It felt like witnessing a living, breathing stage.

The last task was the smooth transition of camera angles, one of the trickiest parts of a VR live concert. Although each audience member could freely manipulate the viewpoint through their controller, it was crucial to provide cinematic camera work automatically during important scenes.

“Every audience member shouldn’t miss the key scenes.”

Jin Ha contacted Se-yeon to secure the bird’s-eye view of the concert hall. After extracting the location distribution and movement pattern data of the audience seats, she implemented an AI-based auto camera direction system. It was a system that automatically transitioned to the most interesting and dynamic scene by predicting multiple audience members’ viewpoints.

Afterward, through numerous tests, Jin Ha finally succeeded in achieving smooth and natural point transitions. The stage, directed under Jin Ha’s AI camera direction system, maximized immersion like a scene from a movie.

“I think I’ve roughly implemented what Rei wanted…”

After completing the stage direction draft to show to Rei, Jin Ha put on the VR device and meticulously checked the entire stage composition once more.

“This isn’t bad.”

Surprised by her own results, Jin Ha let out a short whistle of admiration.

Rei’s avatar, flying and gesturing on the heavenly stage. The lighting and holograms on the stage changed enchantingly with the music. The camera angles naturally shifted with the audience’s gaze.

All of it came together perfectly, creating a fantastic and vivid experience.

“I should take a sigh of relief after sending this off.”

After sending the work results to Rei, Se-yeon, and the stakeholders of NiseLive, Jin Ha headed toward her unmade bed. It was exactly one week since she had the meeting with Rei.

*

Jin Ha’s second meeting with Rei was also held in a private room of VRChat.

“Everyone, including the branch manager, praised it highly…”

Just a few hours ago, Jin Ha had a face-to-face meeting with NiseLive’s art team. There, everyone, including Se-yeon, applauded when they saw the “draft” Jin Ha brought. They shed tears of emotion, saying they never expected her to bring such near-complete work so quickly.

“…I can’t believe it.”

Rei, wanting to confirm it with her own eyes, set up a separate online meeting. Inviting Jin Ha through VRChat, she carefully inspected the stage draft Jin Ha had created, displayed in the virtual space, checking every nook and cranny. She wondered if there were any tiny flaws or if there was something she could nitpick.

“…”

The stage, as if built on clouds, was dreamily magical and enchanting. Every gesture by Rei scattered glowing particles softly. Light trails followed her gentle movements. Even when her winged outfit got tangled in her hair, instead of a clipping issue, it fluttered delicately, inadvertently causing Jin Ha to gasp in admiration.

People said being in the VR space Jin Ha created felt like shifting dimensions into another reality.

‘…The rumors were true.’

Rei bit her lip slightly.

This stage was honestly too good. No, it was close to perfect, even beyond what she had wanted.

‘Is this really a draft? Isn’t it already complete?’

Of course, it was true it was made hastily in a week, so calling it a draft wasn’t a lie. But even considering that, the quality was substantial.

Jin Ha, the designer, exceeded her expectations by perfectly digesting her requests. She understood the mysterious charm of the character Kamishiro Rei precisely. It even included details that Rei herself hadn’t thought of.

But,

“Well… it’s not bad.”

She couldn’t reveal her true feelings.