At present, the three gas in developnt at the company all had their project proposals completed.
Now, sitting in his room, what Ichin was working on naturally had to be a brand-new proposal.
When he first decided to start developing gas, Ichin had drafted a list filled with titles he wanted to make. There were still a few projects on that list that hadn't even been touched yet.
Opening the docunt, his eyes landed on one particular na, and a look of eagerness spread across his face.
The Binding of Isaac.
This was a ga that had devoured countless hours of his life back in the day. The sheer amount of replayability was insane—so many characters with unique traits, endless item combinations leading to different ways of dealing damage… players could spend dozens, even hundreds of hours experinting.
Rubbing his chin, Ichin looked at the rough notes he'd once written down.
"This one's pixel-styled, but with the engine Nene built, it can totally be made. Maybe I should set aside so free ti and try building a prototype myself?"
He had three teams under him. The BattleBlock Theater team was being led by Hazuki, the Shanghai group had their own leads, and he mainly oversaw Dark Souls while checking the progress of the other two projects.
"With so spare ti, yeah… let's give it a shot."
Decision made, Ichin pulled a drawing tablet from his drawer, hooked it up to his computer, and got to work.
The stage design in Isaac wasn't particularly complex—just a series of rooms linked together into floor-based maps. Designing monsters and bosses wasn't hard for Ichin either.
The complicated part was the sheer number of items. That was a massive undertaking. Even with Ichin's extraordinary mory, faithfully reproducing all of them would take a long ti, and he'd have to carefully check for any missing details.
But this wasn't a real obstacle. He wasn't so newbie developer. Even if he forgot an item or two, he could redesign them, maybe even take the already complex item system and push it further.
Ti slipped by, and soon it was 2:30 in the afternoon.
No one in the living room had left yet. In fact, Narumi, Momiji, and Ruri Gokou had all shown up as well.
For Ruri, this was her first ti visiting her boss's ho. At first she felt a bit tense, but seeing that Ichin wasn't around and everyone else was so relaxed, she gradually loosened up.
Waterlon, ice cream, mung bean soup, and even freshly made fruit smoothies—the sumr refreshnt spread here was more than complete.
Nibbling on a chilled slice of waterlon, Ruri looked toward Utaha, who was playing with a cat.
"Um… shouldn't we call Ichin-kun out?"
"No rush. Let him be for a while."
Utaha set the cat down beside her, picked up a slice of waterlon, and took a bite.
"He's probably focused on his work right now. If he's imrsed in it, the first hour or two isn't the best ti to disturb him—it'll break his train of thought. Let see… in about fifteen minutes we can call him out for a break."
Ruri's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
So this is what they call the deep understanding between people who live together? Amazing.
Kō leaned closer, nudging Ruri's shoulder with a grin.
"Surprised, right? Utaha knows Ichin inside and out. They've been together for over two years now, practically joined at the hip—there's probably no one else in the world who understands each other better. Honestly, I know plenty of couples, but it's rare to see anyone with this kind of bond."
"Agreed."
Ruri nodded earnestly.
"Anyone would envy them."
They weren't speaking quietly. Everyone else heard too.
Utaha smiled.
"In that sense, I really am lucky. eting Ichin turned my life upside down in the best way."
Biting into her waterlon, Momiji blinked and then muttered to Narumi beside her,
"Tsuba, why do I feel like the waterlon doesn't taste sweet anymore?"
Narumi nodded repeatedly, staring down at her bowl of mung bean soup.
"Yeah, the taste of dog food is way too strong."
Utaha rolled her eyes at them.
"How is this dog food? I was just saying sothing normal. The only reason you feel it's dog food is because none of you have even been in love before."
Her one sentence hit everyone in the room like an AoE attack.
Well—not everyone. Kō and Rin looked completely unfazed, unlike the others who were clearly stung by her words.
Resting her chin on her hand, Kō chuckled.
"Utaha's blunt, but she's not wrong. All of you are adults, yet none of you have dating experience. Even Yukino and Eriri are eighteen already. High schoolers these days date all the ti."
Yukino imdiately countered,
"True, but most of it is blind infatuation, with no thought to the consequences. Just at Toyogasaki alone, I've seen at least ten couples break up not long after starting. Couples like Ichin-senpai and Utaha-senpai are extrely rare. As for , my priority is getting into Todai. Love isn't in my plans."
Eriri quickly chid in,
"Exactly. Besides, those guys at school are so immature, I wouldn't give them a second glance."
For those unfamiliar with Toyogasaki, this was all news.
Rin tilted his head curiously at Utaha.
"So it really is like they say?"
"Hm~~ more or less."
Utaha took a tissue to wipe her hands, recalling,
"Think about it. Yukino and Eriri are both young ladies from good families—their standards for a partner are naturally high. It's not just about family background, personal qualities matter a lot. Choosing a life partner isn't sothing to take lightly. In that sense, I agree with their mindset. Unless you truly et soone right, there's no point in dating in high school. At seventeen or eighteen, how many actually understand love? The ones who make it to the end are very few."
Eriri might be clumsy and a bit naïve, but spending so much ti with Ichin, Utaha, and Yukino had sharpened her enough not to get fooled by the average high school boy.
As for Yukino, after Utaha graduated she'd taken over the mantle of Toyogasaki's "Ice-Cold Beauty," notorious for her sharp tongue. She never treated unwanted admirers with the sa gentle patience she showed friends like Eriri. These days, no boys even dared to approach her.
Those without even the courage to speak up didn't deserve her attention anyway.
Hearing her little sister's firm stance reassured Haruno. The last thing she wanted was for Yukino to get stolen away too soon.
The chatter continued until Utaha finally stood, glancing at the ti. It was about right—ti to go call Ichin out.
*
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