Monday 12 October 2000
ZAGE Tower, 51st floor. Zaboru had just returned from teaching at the university, and without wasting any ti, he made his way straight to his workshop on the sa floor. His steps were steady but purposeful, his mind already shifting away from the classroom and back into the world of developnt.
Even though the lecture had been engaging, his routine remained unchanged. Work always ca next.
As he walked through the hallway, a few staff mbers noticed him and greeted him respectfully, but Zaboru only gave a small nod in return, already focused on what he needed to do.
Now Zaboru was already seated in front of his PC, the screen lighting his face as he prepared for his next task. Unlike his usual ZAGE projects, this one carried a slightly different tone. This ti, he was working under his alternate developer account—"Isekai."
He leaned back slightly in his chair, a faint grin forming on his face as he reviewed the files one last ti.
"Well… ti to release another ga for this account, hehehe."
This account wasn't ant for large-scale, polished productions. Instead, it was a space for experintation—ideas that were strange, unconventional, or simply too niche for ZAGE's main lineup. And today's release perfectly fit that category.
Zaboru had already prepared two gas for this drop, both of them unique in their own way.
Ecco the Dolphin.
Kolibiri.
He tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, his eyes scanning through the final build.
These kinds of gas… they're weird, but that's the point.
A small chuckle escaped him.
Sotis… the strangest ideas are the ones that leave the strongest impression.
Without hesitation, he moved the cursor forward, ready to release them into the world.
These two gas are unique entries in the shoot 'em up genre, but instead of following the usual formula, they take a completely different approach. Rather than using spaceships, futuristic weapons, or magical elents, both gas are set in real-life natural environnts, turning nature itself into the battlefield. The protagonists are also far from typical—Ecco the Dolphin and Kolibiri, a hummingbird—bringing a fresh perspective to the genre that imdiately stands out.
The stages are inspired by real-world ecosystems, from oceans to dense jungles, making every level feel grounded yet surreal at the sa ti. Enemies are not alien invaders or chanical units, but creatures from nature itself, creating a strange but fascinating contrast between familiarity and gaplay chaos.
What further enhances this uniqueness is the use of a "Real Image Generated Style," where visuals are designed to resemble real-life imagery while still maintaining fluid motion and readability for gaplay. This combination gives the gas a distinct identity—sothing that feels both experintal and artistic, yet still fully playable as a shoot 'em up experience.
Zaboru smiled and then quickly uploaded both gas, setting the price relatively cheap as well—each one at 500 yen. It wasn't ant to be a big comrcial release, just sothing accessible, sothing easy for people to try without hesitation.
He leaned back slightly as the upload progressed, watching the bar slowly fill while his fingers tapped lightly against the desk.
After a short while, the upload completed.
Zaboru's smile widened just a bit. "Hehehe… let's see if these sell well. Though honestly… these are pretty weird gas."
He didn't sound worried at all—if anything, he sounded amused.
To him, this wasn't about sales numbers or reviews. It wasn't about market performance or reputation. This was different.
Zaboru didn't really care if the gas sold well or received high ratings. It would be fine either way. This wasn't a ZAGE release, after all. It wouldn't affect the company, its brand, or its expectations.
This was his alternate account.
A space where he could freely experint, create unusual ideas, and release things that didn't need to follow any standard.
A place where he could simply… make weird indie gas like this, without pressure.
anwhile, in a household sowhere in Japan, Takuya Kagi—a second-generation rich kid with far too much free ti—was relaxing inside his spacious room. The place itself reflected his lifestyle: expensive furniture, the latest electronics, and shelves filled with gas. He wasn't worried about money; if anything, he casually flaunted it, spending without much thought.
He did go to college, but he didn't really enjoy it. Takuya was smart—naturally so—but the routine of studying, attending lectures, and following structure bored him. To him, it felt slow and restrictive. That was why he preferred staying in his room, losing himself in gas where everything felt more imdiate and alive.
And when it ca to gas, Takuya had… unusual taste. Sure, he loved ZAGE titles—he had played almost all of them—and to be honest, he genuinely liked many. Even the ones that weren't exactly his style, he still respected. But what he truly loved were gas with strange, unconventional ideas—concepts that felt a little absurd, even chaotic.
Gas that didn't try to be normal.
That was what excited him the most.
For example, within ZAGE's lineup, titles like Bishi Bashi Special or Base Wars stood out to him. Both were completely unhinged in their own way—random, chaotic, and sotis even ridiculous—but that was exactly why he loved them. They broke expectations, and for Takuya, that unpredictability was where the real fun existed.
And so Takuya was now scrolling through his Steam library, looking for sothing new to play. Steam itself was growing rapidly, with more developers starting to release their gas on the platform, but compared to Zaboru's previous life, the number of available titles was still quite limited. Because of that, any new release—especially from a developer—would easily catch attention, and right now, sothing did.
Takuya's eyes narrowed slightly as he noticed a new entry. "Iseka again?" he muttered, leaning a little closer to the screen. "Two gas released at the sa ti?" He raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "Wow… this dev just dropped two gas at once again? That's kinda crazy."
He clicked into the page and scrolled down slowly. "…Kolibiri… and Ecco the Dolphin?" Takuya tilted his head, then let out a small laugh. "What kind of titles are these…? Weird." But instead of turning away, he beca more interested and opened the screenshots, looking through them one by one. "…Huh."
The visuals were strange, but not in a bad way. The art style felt different—almost like real-life imagery blended into a ga. It wasn't sothing he usually saw, and that alone made it stand out. "…This is kinda interesting." He leaned back slightly, thinking for a mont. "Shoot 'em up… but with animals?"
Takuya grinned. "Yeah… this is definitely weird enough for ." Without hesitation, he moved the cursor and purchased both gas—total 1000 yen, nothing more than spare change to him. "Heh… let's see if this dev is actually onto sothing."
Not long after, Takuya finished downloading the ga and, without hesitation, decided to start with Kolibiri first. He adjusted his posture slightly, grabbed his controller, and launched the ga, his curiosity already building up from what he had seen earlier.
"Heh… the art style is really unique… I can't believe this was made by just three people," he muttered, his eyes scanning the screen as the ga began.
As Takuya explored the visuals more carefully, he noticed how different everything felt. The environnt looked almost like real-life imagery brought into motion, yet it still maintained a ga-like clarity that made everything easy to follow. The movent of the background, the way objects reacted, and even the subtle lighting made the experience feel strangely imrsive.
"…Yeah… this actually looks pretty good," he added quietly, clearly impressed.
For a mont, he didn't rush into action. Instead, he observed, letting the atmosphere sink in before fully engaging with the gaplay. But not long after, his curiosity pushed him forward, and he began playing properly, eager to see how this strange concept would unfold.
The ga is a shoot 'em up, specifically a horizontal one, but it imdiately feels different from anything Takuya has played before. Instead of piloting a ship, the player controls Kolibiri—the hummingbird—darting across the screen with fast, agile movents. It can attack using small projectile shots, almost like seeds or energy bursts, and also release shockwaves that clear space when things get too overwhelming. Throughout each stage, there are various power-ups that enhance its abilities, making each run feel slightly different depending on what the player picks up.
What makes it even more unusual is the setting itself. The battlefield isn't space or so abstract world—it's the jungle. But the jungle isn't just a background; it feels alive, almost like it's part of the challenge. The entire premise revolves around hummingbirds expanding their territory, turning what should be a peaceful natural environnt into sothing chaotic and competitive.
Because of that, the enemies are completely absurd in the context of a shoot 'em up. Instead of ships or monsters, Takuya finds himself fighting frogs, lizards, and even eagles, each behaving in ways that feel strangely fitting yet completely unexpected for the genre. So leap, so dive, so swarm, creating patterns that are unpredictable but still readable once he starts adapting.
And that contrast—that mix of nature and chaos—is exactly what makes the ga feel so strange… yet so fun.
Takuya grinned, clearly excited. "Heh… this is so damn good. I'd give it a 9 out of 10 for … it's so unhinged. I love it." His eyes stayed glued to the screen, fingers moving more confidently now as he began to understand the flow of the ga.
The more he played, the more he got into it. What started as curiosity quickly turned into genuine engagent. He began experinting—testing movent, pushing into riskier situations, figuring out how far he could go before getting overwheld.
"Yeah… this is it," he muttered, leaning forward slightly. "It looks weird, but it plays clean… that's what matters."
He dodged a wave of enemies, then countered with a shockwave, clearing the screen in a satisfying burst. The feedback felt good—simple, but effective.
Takuya let out a small laugh. "Man… this dev actually knows what they're doing."
Without realizing it, more ti passed than he expected. The ga kept pulling him in—stage after stage, run after run, each attempt making him want to go just a little further.
"…Alright, one more run," he said, even though he had already said that several tis before.
He settled deeper into his chair, fully engrossed now. And in the back of his mind, another thought lingered.
"After this… yeah, I'll definitely try Ecco the Dolphin too."
To be continue
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