[Game] Chapter 459-460

Chapter 459: The Script of Tales of Berseria

At around three-thirty in the afternoon, Utaha and Yukino finally arrived at the company.

Of course, afternoon tea time at the company was already over, but the two had bought iced milk tea on the way, so there was nothing to worry about.

Since both Utaha and Yukino were fond of Fall Guys, the first thing they did after arriving was head over to the Fall Guys development team. After checking out the new skins under development, they came to Ichin’s office.

Seeing Ichin working hard in front of his computer, Utaha walked over with a smile, stood behind him, and gently kneaded his shoulders.

“Ichin, don’t tell me you’ve been working the whole day?”

“Pretty much. I just had something to eat and rested a little.”

Without stopping his hands, Ichin chuckled. “By the way, Hazuki brought me two slices of cake earlier. I already ate one, so you and Yukino should share this cheesecake. If it’s not enough, I’ll have someone bring in another piece.”

“Cake, huh. Just perfect—we only bought milk tea and didn’t grab any snacks.”

Picking up the cake, Utaha said cheerfully, “But one slice between the two of us is fine. Milk tea already has plenty of calories.”

She then sat down on the office sofa with Yukino, and together they polished off the cheesecake.

Watching Utaha sip her milk tea after the cake, Ichin thought for a moment and asked,

“Utaha, would you be interested in writing another script for one of our games?”

“Oh? You’re calling on me again?”

Putting down her milk tea, Utaha’s interest was piqued. “So, what kind of game is it this time?”

“Tales of Berseria. I mentioned it to you before.”

“Oh right, the one from the heroine’s perspective? A revenge-themed story?”

After recalling, Utaha reached out her hand.

“Do you have the world setting, an outline of the plot, and character drafts? Let me see them first.”

“Yeah, I’ve already written most of that part.”

Ichin printed out the document from his computer and handed it to her.

“It’s not in its final form yet, but it should give you a clear idea of what the game is about.”

Taking the material, Utaha began reading.

This time, the game was set in a fantasy world of swords and sorcery—completely different from the novels she usually wrote, or even the Persona story she had previously worked on.

Accepting this task would be a brand-new challenge for her.

But Utaha never feared challenges. By the time she took the documents from Ichin, she had basically already decided to accept.

Yukino, sipping her milk tea, also curiously leaned in to read along.

Although Ichin was a science student, Yukino knew he was also very talented in creative work. Whether it was building world settings for games or giving Utaha advice for her novels, he was always impressive.

She herself read plenty of novels, but all she could really do was offer critiques—pointing out strengths or weaknesses. She could probably make a good editor if she ever abandoned law in the future. But to become a creator like Utaha or Ichin? That wasn’t realistic for her.

Half an hour later, both Utaha and Yukino had finished going through the documents.

Utaha set the papers down, her eyes sparkling with a creative fire.

“Ichin, I’ll take this script. I’ll write you a main story you’ll be satisfied with!”

Seeing her willingness to take it on, Ichin felt relieved.

He could write it himself if needed, but Utaha’s delicate prose was leagues ahead of his. And with the protagonist being Velvet, it was far more fitting for a female writer like Utaha to capture her perspective.

“Alright, once I refine the project proposal a bit more, we can discuss the details of the main story. But before that, make sure you handle your own novel properly. I don’t want Sonoko coming after me for stealing your writing time.”

Utaha smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll manage.”

At this point, Yukino picked up the document on the coffee table and flipped through it again before looking at Ichin.

“So, about the game’s ending—you don’t plan to write one?”

“I’ve thought about the ending,” Ichin said with his arms folded. “But after weighing it all, I decided this conclusion works best. After all, this character was created solely for revenge. Nothing can stop her, and she has no room left in her heart for other emotions. For a character like that, what would count as a good ending? Meeting someone she loves, completing her revenge, and then living peacefully ever after? That wouldn’t really fit, would it?”

Yukino furrowed her brows, thought for a while, then sighed and nodded.

“True. Since you’ve already set the tone for the character, this ending may indeed be the best. So after Tales of Berseria, do you plan to make a sequel?”

“A sequel? Not for now.”

Ichin tapped his chin. “But I am considering building on this battle system to create more Tales titles in the future. The sword-and-sorcery setting is versatile, with a lot of room to expand. Even if it’s not a direct sequel, I could write a prequel set hundreds or thousands of years earlier, or a story set centuries later, or even tales from another world within the same universe.”

As long as the scripts were solid, the system could be reused for a long time. Making three to five games with it would be no problem at all.

Ichin had already planned the company’s future teams: one focusing on small to mid-sized boutique games, one on Souls-like titles, one on the Tales series and other RPGs, and finally, the Titanfall/Apex group—which, besides developing new titles, also had to run Apex’s online service.

But if the studio was to split into four groups, more recruitment would be necessary.

Hearing Ichin’s vision for the Tales series gave Utaha new ideas.

“Ichin, in that case, this could totally become a full-fledged IP. Have you considered expanding into anime, light novels, or manga as well?”

“Of course.”

Ichin snapped his fingers. “That’s all in the plan. Since I intend to make the character designs top-tier, it’d be a shame not to expand. Anime and manga, sure. As for light novels, that’ll need more thought. I won’t dump that work on you, Utaha, and I don’t trust just anyone else with it either.”

For anime, they could continue discussions with Kyoto Animation, or if they were unavailable, ufotable and similar studios were also possible options.

For manga, there were plenty of mangaka under Fushikawa’s label to choose from.

In short, there were countless possibilities to explore.

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Chapter 460: Is This Game Training Masochist Players?

Ichin didn’t need to share this whole string of ideas with the rest of the company just yet. After all, the Dark Souls project still wasn’t finished. No matter how much they sped things up, the earliest release date would be around February or March next year.

After briefly discussing some details of Tales of Berseria with Ichin, Utaha pulled Yukino away, not wanting to disturb his work in the office.

Once outside, Utaha headed straight for the Fall Guys development team again. Tales of Berseria wasn’t at the point where her script was needed yet, so she figured she might as well spend more time with the team brainstorming new skin designs.

Yukino, on the other hand, walked over to the art department and sat down beside Eriri.

At the moment, Eriri hadn’t noticed Yukino’s arrival. She was frowning intently as she worked on modifying the model of a pitch-black monster that looked as though it had been coated in oil.

Just one glance at the model made Yukino frown.

“Eriri, is that also a monster from Dark Souls?”

Only then did Eriri realize Yukino was sitting next to her. She glanced over and nodded.

“Yeah, it’s one of the Dark Souls monsters. I’m reworking it right now. The first version didn’t meet Ichin’s standards, so he gave me some notes. I’m making the changes now.”

As she spoke, Eriri added a glossy sheen to the monster’s black surface, making it look even more repulsive.

“Ugly, isn’t it?”

Yukino still frowned.

“Mhm, it really is unpleasant. I don’t know much about Dark Souls. Are there a lot of monsters like this?”

“There are plenty. Hardly any of them are beautiful designs. This game leans heavily into dark aesthetics. A lot of monsters are downright nightmare fuel. The one I’m revising now is actually one of the tamer ones—it’s mainly just twisted limbs and disgusting color tones.”

“What’s this monster called?”

“Pus of Man,” Eriri explained. “According to Ichin, it’s basically the result of being corrupted by abyssal power in the Dark Souls setting. The body turns into this thing, like it’s wrapped in tar. In the game, it doesn’t appear often, but it’s strong. Its weakness is fire. Honestly, this one’s not too bad. Hey, Yun, show Yukino the Basilisk, will you?”

“Hm?”

Hearing Eriri, Yun Iijima smiled and nodded.

“Sure, I’ll send you the picture.”

She forwarded an image, which Eriri opened on her computer.

Yukino found herself staring at a frog-like creature with grotesquely oversized eyes. Just a couple of glances made her feel deeply uncomfortable.

Eriri closed the image after a few seconds and returned to her work.

“To be honest, I don’t like looking at these monsters either. But the game’s type makes it addicting. Once development is done, I’m definitely going to play through it. Sigh, what a sin. Yukino, do you want to try it with me? It has co-op!”

Yukino shook her head immediately.

“No thanks. Just seeing these monsters kills any desire I might have had. I’d rather play The Binding of Isaac. Compared to this, Isaac’s art style looks almost cute.”

“That one’s 2D pixel art, so of course it feels different.”

Eriri shrugged, still tweaking the monster model.

“Not playing might be for the best. One of Dark Souls’ maps was designed personally by Ichin—it’s full of malice. That Basilisk you just saw shows up there, along with huge poison swamps. Just stepping in them builds up poison. Running and rolling are all affected. It’ll definitely disgust a lot of players. Who knows what’s going on in his head, always trying to torment players.”

Although Eriri said that, the look on her face made Yukino feel like she enjoyed that kind of player-trolling design.

Recalling the company’s previous playtests, Yukino couldn’t help but think: once this game releases, just how many masochistic players are going to be trained?

After watching for a while, Yukino decided not to bother Eriri anymore. She found a quiet spot and began reading a book.

As the time drew close to six o’clock, Ichin finally finished his work, shut down his computer, and left his office.

After gathering Utaha and Yukino and bidding the others farewell, they left for the day.

In the elevator, Ichin turned to Yukino.

“Yukino, Haruno is coming over for dinner. You want to join?”

“I knew it…”

Yukino finally confirmed her sister’s true motive for moving in next door—to freeload meals!

Thinking it over, she nodded.

“Alright. I’ll impose then.”

Since they still had plenty of ingredients left from yesterday, there was no need for a supermarket run. They drove home in two cars.

While Yukino and Utaha played with the cats in the living room, Ichin headed into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Cradling the increasingly plump Peppa in her arms, Yukino glanced toward the kitchen.

“Shouldn’t we go help? He’s been working all day.”

“No need. If Ichin needs help, he’ll say so.”

Utaha, feeding George a small treat, smiled.

“He invited you to eat, not to cook. It’d be ridiculous to have you in the kitchen. I’ll check on him later. If he’s struggling, I’ll lend a hand.”

Yukino nodded. Her attention was soon stolen by Peppa, who was stretching its head longingly toward George’s snack.

By six-thirty, Haruno had also returned from work.

After putting her things away and changing into casual clothes, she came next door.

“I’m home~!”

She greeted Utaha and Yukino in the living room, then slipped into the kitchen.

There she found Ichin focused on cooking. Looking into a bowl of blanched pork belly slices, her eyes sparkled.

“Braised pork for dinner?!”

Ichin nodded while heating the pan.

“Yeah. Braised pork, dry pot cauliflower, asparagus with shredded pork, and a winter melon rib soup. Three dishes and a soup should be enough, right?”

“More than enough!”

Hearing the menu, Haruno was delighted. She hugged Ichin’s head and planted a kiss on his cheek.

“That’s your reward from your big sister. Keep it up! I’ll head back out.”

Ichin rolled his eyes as she left. Less than a minute later, laughter and noise floated in from the living room.

With a helpless shake of his head, he went back to cooking.

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