Game Developer in the World of Anime

Chapter 628: Plans for the Next Three to Five Years

Listening to Eriri's loud complaints, Ichin, sitting beside her, ended the stream and stretched lazily. "Relax, relax. So what if you got sniped? Don't forget, we didn't even stream the past couple of days. Wasn't it you who got so carried away climbing ranks that you insisted on streaming to show everyone your skills?"

"Shut up!" Eriri shot back. "Isn't it because of the script you wrote for Tales of Berseria that broke everyone emotionally? Players were all expecting some kind of happy ending, but in the end, Velvet sacrificed herself, and that little kid too! After seeing that kind of ending, who else are players supposed to vent on if not you?"

Ichin simply shrugged calmly.

"Doesn't matter. That kind of script suits me best anyway. The tone of the main storyline just isn't meant for a happy ending. Though, for the next entry in the Tales series, we can make it a good ending."

Now that Tales of Berseria had been released, aside from the upcoming projects like Bloodborne, Salt and Sanctuary, and GARO 2, Ichin also needed to find time to write the script and draft a proposal for the next Tales title, Tales of Arise.

And it wasn't just Tales of Arise. As more and more games had been developed over the past few years and the company's reputation continued to grow, Ichin had gained many opportunities to exchange ideas with veteran developers in the industry.

Through these discussions, he had accumulated a great deal of development experience. Much of it had been recorded, and he felt it could soon be applied to a future project.

That project was Elden Ring.

Ichin had always had his eye on this game. Although he hadn't played the official release, he was familiar with the test version and had seen the trailers.

Given the company's current capabilities, Ichin already had the confidence to develop Elden Ring, and he had a rough idea of how to approach an open-world Souls-like game.

However, after careful consideration, he decided to complete Bloodborne first.

The reasoning was simple. If they made a massive open-world title like Elden Ring first, then later released a more traditionally structured game like Bloodborne, players might not accept it.

Moreover, Bloodborne was a game Ichin personally loved, so it was something he definitely wanted to bring to life.

Back then, Sony had ported other exclusive titles like God of War, Horizon, and Uncharted to PC, yet Bloodborne was left out. Even though many players were eager to experience a high-resolution, high-frame-rate PC version.

Since that was the case, Ichin decided he would make it happen himself.

Seeing how unconcerned Ichin was, Eriri could only sigh helplessly. Still, she picked up on something unexpected.

"You already have ideas for the next Tales game? How many entries are you planning to make for this series?"

"It's not about how many," Ichin said with a smile, raising a finger and shaking it. "You have to understand, the combat system in Tales of Berseria was developed by learning from Capcom and combining it with our own ideas. This system is incredibly valuable. There's no way we'd just use it for one or two games and discard it.

"As long as we have good scripts, we can keep making more. With such a strong foundation for the combat system, we can modify and evolve it, giving each entry in the Tales series its own unique flavor."

"As for upcoming projects, our next plans are Bloodborne, Salt and Sanctuary, and after finishing that, a new GARO title. The next Tales game won't start until next year, or maybe even the year after."

Ichin's ideal schedule was to begin development on the new GARO title after Salt and Sanctuary released next year. Then, release Bloodborne by the end of next year or shortly after, and only then begin work on Tales of Arise.

After both GARO and Tales of Arise were completed, and once the new project from the Shanghai team was finished as well, they would gather most of their members from both sides to develop Elden Ring.

This entire development cycle would likely take four to five years.

"Sigh, that's a lot of games to make…" Ichin muttered, then added, "But now that you mention it, our company does seem to have an issue. We don't have enough writers. From the very beginning until now, every story-driven game has had me handling the writing. Even for Persona, Utaha only participated in parts of the script, while the main outline and worldbuilding were still written by me."

"Hiring people for other roles is easy, but finding the right writer is really difficult."

Ichin sighed helplessly. "Not just in the gaming industry. Look at tokusatsu, whether it's Ultraman or Kamen Rider. Even with a huge budget and amazing effects, if the scriptwriter is terrible, the ratings will still drop to rock bottom.

"It's the same in games and anime. A lot of sequels get ruined just because the writer changes. So rather than gambling on unknown writers, I'd rather handle it myself for now. I've also asked Utaha to see if there are any suitable candidates in her department."

Utaha, who had been browsing on her tablet nearby, turned her head and said, "There are actually two girls in my department who used to be scriptwriters in the school's drama club. I've read their work and even given them some advice. Their foundation is pretty solid. If you're interested, Ichin, I can introduce you to them the day after tomorrow when we go to college. They haven't decided what to do after graduation yet."

"Sounds good. Let's meet them tomorrow."

Ichin agreed. Just as Eriri had said, while he could take on the role of a writer himself, the company still needed to build up a team of writers. Even if they were fresh graduates, as long as they had potential, he could train them over time.

Glancing at the time, it was already 3:30 in the afternoon. Ichin turned to Eriri and asked, "Are you staying for dinner tonight, or heading back? I should start preparing soon."

Eriri rubbed her stomach and asked, "What are you guys having tonight?"

"Oh, so you're deciding based on the menu?" Ichin rolled his eyes before turning to Utaha. "Utaha, anything you feel like eating?"

"I'm fine with anything, but Haruno doesn't seem to be in great shape today. Let's ask her first."

"Alright, I'll go check on her."

A few days ago, Haruno had been full of energy, but unfortunately, as a woman, she couldn't avoid dealing with her monthly cycle.

On top of that, she had eaten too many cold foods recently, making this time particularly painful. She had been resting in her bedroom all afternoon and hadn't come out.

Ichin left the media room and walked to Haruno's door, knocking lightly.

"Haruno, are you awake?"

"Come in."

Hearing her response, Ichin opened the door.

Inside, Haruno was lying on her side on the bed, holding her phone. Compared to the morning, her complexion had improved slightly, but she still looked pale.

"Haruno, I'm about to start dinner. What would you like to eat?"

"Mmm, dinner…" Haruno set her phone aside and sat up. "I don't really know what to eat. You already know what I should avoid, so just make whatever you think is best. Oh, and I'd like some soup."

"Soup, huh…"

Ichin thought for a moment. "How about I go out and buy a chicken? We can have chicken soup tonight."

"Sounds good!"

"Alright, I'll head out to buy groceries. Get some good rest."

With that, Ichin prepared to go out.

...

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