Game Developer in the World of Anime

Porting a game is never an easy task, but since Slay the Spire has a relatively small game scale, the process is still quite manageable.

However, after some thought, Ichin decided to put this decision on hold.

"Right now, we're short-handed, so it's better not to spread the tasks further. We should focus on finishing what's at hand first." Shaking his head, Ichin smiled and added, "I guess I'm being a bit greedy."

Yagami Kō looked at Ichin and said, "That's normal. I used to think about making all kinds of games too, but over time, I've learned to focus my energy on the work in front of me. Ichin-kun, besides the game plan you just showed us, you must have other ideas, right?"

"I do!"

Ichin didn't hold back, pulling a chair over to sit beside them. Smiling, he said, "The fantasy-style game that Aoba wants to make—I've got that planned as well. Whether it's a passionate, heroic style or a darker, more profound one, I've got both ideas. However, the development for these will be tough. If I talk about them too much, I'll just distract you all. Let's finish what we have in hand first. If everything goes smoothly with Hollow Knight, and we release it this year, maybe next year we can start working on something on a larger scale. But we'll need to hire more people, especially for art and programming."

Aoba Suzukaze and Sakura Nene, who were busy playing games, overheard Ichin's words. Aoba instantly lost interest in the game.

She put down her controller and looked toward Ichin, saying, "Ichin-kun, after you said that, it's hard not to get distracted!"

"Is that so?"

Ichin scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "Alright, I won't say anything more. I haven't even written much of those plans. Once Hollow Knight progresses and I have some free time, I'll talk to you all about them. I'm sure you'll love them."

In the studio, Aoba loved fantasy-style games, and since one of her favorite game series, Fairies Story, was a heroic, passionate themed game, she'd definitely like a Tales series too.

Iijima Yun's work mostly focused on monster design, and she especially enjoyed creating the grotesque but cool monsters. Dark Souls's design would likely appeal to her.

Kō and Rin both liked a wide variety of game styles, enjoying a mix of genres.

As for Hifumi, she loved modern and fashionable themesPersona 5 would be perfect for her.

Shinoda was into tokusatsu series like Power Rangers, but that could be addressed later. Ichin had some ideas, and once the company gained more popularity, he could try negotiating IP adaptations for these.

As for Umiko, she liked survival shooting games.

Hmm~~~

Ichin clasped his hands together and thought deeply, which made everyone around him curious.

"Ah, this theme might work," Ichin suddenly said, an idea sparking in his mind. He thought of a game: Titanfall and its spinoff, Apex.

There were two Titanfall games, both excellent first-person shooters with a futuristic theme. Although the sales weren't great, especially with Titanfall 2 releasing during Battlefield 1's launch, the game's reputation was outstanding.

As for Apex, the battle royale game derived from it, Ichin clearly remembered how, in the first few days after release, it was absolutely dominating the charts. Player numbers were skyrocketing. Even though the game environment was somewhat damaged by cheating, it was still a great game, and the subsequent updates remained stable.

In this world, however, there were no Titanfall or Apex. The battle royale genre was still monopolized by PUBG and Fortnite.

With Umiko, a die-hard shooting game enthusiast on the team, maybe Ichin could even consider making games like Titanfall or Apex Legends in the future.

Suddenly, a small, soft hand waved in front of his face, pulling him from his thoughts. Ichin turned to see Shinoda Hajime leaning in and raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"

"You're asking me what's up?" Hajime laughed. "Ichin-kun, you were zoning out for almost a full minute. What were you thinking about?"

A whole minute? Ichin furrowed his brows in confusion.

From behind him, Utaha's voice chimed in. "Oh yes, you were definitely lost in thought, Ichin-kun. You didn't even notice me walking over."

Looking up, Ichin was greeted by Kasumigaoka's gaze. Well, just her gaze—everything below it was obscured by… let's just call it overwhelming proportions.

Straightening his neck, Ichin cleared his throat. "Fine, I'll admit I was spacing out. But I'm not telling you what I was thinking about."

Umiko set down her teacup with a smile. "Let me guess—another game idea? Better not tell us, or you'll have everyone rushing back to work in no time."

She wasn't wrong. Ichin scratched his head, sighing to himself. There were too many games he wanted to make. One step at a time, he thought.

Sooner or later, he'd get to them all.

On the other side of the room, under Eriri's constant and overly enthusiastic guidance, Yukino finally snapped. Setting the mouse down, she looked at Eriri and said, "Sawamura-san, could you kindly stop talking? I already understand how to play."

Faced with Yukino's icy stare, Eriri immediately straightened up and nodded furiously. "Alright, alright! You've got this!"

Watching Eriri's awkward retreat, Kasumigaoka walked back over, a smirk playing on her lips. "Oh, dear Eriri-san, perhaps you should stop trying to coach others. After all, your own skills leave much to be desired."

"What are you talking about? I'm pretty good, okay? I've made it to Ascension 6!"

"Ascension 6? My, my. I thought you'd be further along." Kasumigaoka gave her a patronizing look. "I'm already on Ascension 10. Aoba, how about you?"

Suddenly dragged into the conversation, Aoba Suzukaze looked up, a bit startled. "Huh? Oh, I've reached Ascension 16."

Nene Sakura enthusiastically raised her hand. "Me, me, me! I'm at Ascension 19! I'll probably hit 20 soon!"

"What?!" Aoba gawked at her friend in disbelief. "You were only at Ascension 13 a few days ago! How did you get to 19 so fast?"

"Heheh~" Nene put her hands on her hips, her chubby-cheeked face full of pride. "This is what they call natural talent, Aoba. You can't compete!"

"Ugh! I don't believe this. I'm starting a new run right now!" Aoba declared, firing up Steam and launching the game.

Meanwhile, Eriri sat off to the side, a vacant look in her eyes as she questioned everything.

Am I really that bad at games?

As this realization dawned on her, Yukino nonchalantly cleared the first boss of the game's first act and glanced at Eriri. After a moment's thought, she decided against comforting her and simply moved on to the second act.

This game... it's actually pretty good.

...