After lunch, Aoba, Nene, Kō Yagami, and Shinoda all took a nap, only getting up around two o'clock.
Stretching as she walked out of her room, Kō said energetically, "That nap was great! I feel so much better!"
Just then, Aoba and Nene erged from the room next door, both of them looking refreshed as well.
"I'm so thirsty. Is there anything to drink? Aoba, I want a cola."
"Waking up and drinking cola right away? Are you trying to beco a lazy shut-in?"
Ever since Ichin had jokingly called cola "the nectar of lazy shut-ins," Aoba could never look at cola the sa way. She'd pretty much stopped drinking it altogether.
Though, she seed to have forgotten that when it ca to sugar content, bubble tea wasn't any healthier than cola.
There wasn't any cola around, but there was plenty of black tea and coffee. Nene didn't complain and poured herself a cup of black tea before settling into a chair.
Haji had co out a few minutes earlier than the others and was already back to playing her ga. Since there weren't any imdiate issues with the gaplay, she didn't have much work to do and was happy being a temporary ga tester.
After beating a boss, Haji looked over at Ichin and asked, "Ichin, is there anything I need to prepare for tonight's stream?"
Hearing her question, Ichin glanced at Haji's outfit. She was wearing a short-sleeved shirt with a hoodie over it—a casual, slightly androgynous style.
However, thanks to Haji's incredible figure, no matter how boyish her outfit was, she still looked undeniably feminine.
After a mont of thought, Ichin replied, "You don't need to do much. Your outfit is fine as it is. Just ask Rin to help you put on so light makeup before the stream tonight."
He checked the ti. It was 2:15 p.m.
When it ca to work, creating a patch for _Hollow Knight_ wasn't too complicated, and the ti left was more than enough. So, Ichin decided to hold a eting with everyone that afternoon.
He clapped his hands to grab everyone's attention and said, "It's the weekend, and our rule is that even if we co to the studio on Saturdays, we don't have to push ourselves too hard. As long as we follow the plan and finish before the deadline, that's fine. We still have plenty of ti this afternoon, so let's have a eting in the lounge. I have a feeling so of you are already itching to hear about the new project, so I'll give you a little preview today."
"Oh! A new project!"
Kō imdiately perked up and was the first to jump to her feet. "Let's go, let's go! eting ti!"
Eriri was also excited and followed closely behind Kō, saying, "I've been wanting to ask about the _Persona_ project for a while now, but Ichin never tells anything. Finally, I'll get to hear about it today."
Everyone else was just as eager. Even though _Hollow Knight_ was still two weeks away from release, the remaining work was mostly just testing and optimization. It was the perfect ti to learn about the new project.
Among them, Hifumi, usually composed, looked genuinely excited for once, holding her notepad and walking next to Aoba.
Seeing Hifumi's expression, Aoba couldn't help but chuckle, "Hifumi-senpai, you're really excited, huh? I guess a modern-thed project is right up your alley."
Hifumi's eyes held a hint of a smile as she nodded and softly said, "Actually, when I'm resting at ho, I've been drawing so character designs. I rembered a bit of what Ichin explained to us last ti."
Surprisingly, Yun Iijima remarked, "It's rare to see you so dedicated. Make sure to bring your designs over for us to see later. With your skills, I'm sure Ichin would be more than happy to use your drafts."
"Well, we'll see. Let's take a look at the full project plan first."
When they arrived at the lounge next door, everyone took their seats while Ichin connected his laptop to the TV and sat cross-legged on the floor.
"Alright, let's get started. Feel free to ask any questions along the way. Everyone's input is welco."
With that, Ichin opened the docunt he had prepared in advance.
The ga's title appeared on the screen—sothing everyone was already familiar with.
Ichin then began explaining the ga's setting.
"The story takes place in the modern day, set in Tokyo. For the ga's map, I plan to recreate real-life locations within the ga. Of course, it won't cover all of Tokyo—primarily, I'm thinking of Shinjuku, Shibuya, Roppongi, and Akihabara as the major locations. Surrounding these will be smaller maps with side quests, all interconnected by the subway.
"The protagonist will travel between locations, with the transition scenes depicting subway rides. During these rides, there can be dialogue or news updates relevant to the current storyline. As for the maps, Hazuki, this part will be your responsibility. Take real-life photos and create the models based on them. Think you can handle that?"
"No problem, leave it to ," Hazuki replied confidently. "I'm really familiar with Tokyo, after all. But so of the branded stores will need to be replaced, right?"
Ichin snapped his fingers. "Exactly. We'll need to replace those brand-na stores. So of them will be designed to tie into the plot. We'll discuss that later—no rush. For now, let's focus on building the maps. Now that I've explained the locations, let's talk about the gaplay.
"For _Persona_, I'm planning to make it a turn-based RPG, primarily focused on progressing the story and building relationships between characters. The estimated playti for a first playthrough will be around 70 to 80 hours."
"Seventy to eighty hours?" Kō Yagami exclaid in surprise. "And it's a turn-based RPG, too! Ichin, aren't you worried that no one will be interested in a ga like that?"
"That's a fair point," Ichin replied with a smile. "But let ask you, Kō—when it cos to a modern-thed, turn-based RPG set in Tokyo, what would you care about the most?"
"Hmm..."
Crossing her arms and thinking it over, Kō finally answered, "Since it's set in modern-day Tokyo, any major inaccuracies would break the imrsion. And then there's the style—if the aesthetic and character designs aren't appealing, then people definitely won't pay attention."
"In other words, it needs eye-catching design elents."
As he spoke, Ichin closed the docunt and opened the only two completed character design illustrations he had painstakingly colored over ti.
One image displayed the entire cast in their school uniforms, while the other showed them all in their Phantom Thief outfits, with their Personas standing proudly behind them.
These two drawings were a massive effort, pieced together by Ichin little by little whenever he could find the ti.
"Well? These character designs should be enough to grab people's attention right from the start, right?" Ichin said with a smile, gesturing at the stylish Phantom Thief artwork displayed on the TV. "Turn-based combat might be an old genre, but it can still be made to feel cool and fresh—if you put in the effort."
...
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