Chapter 1 We Make Games




Translated: Sei, MTL-sensei-tachi
Edited: Sei, Grammarly no Danna

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Part 3

    "School... story?"

    The three of them faced me on the kotatsu, they all had a scowling look on their faces.

    "What's that, about the genre?"

    I nodded to Tsurayuki's question.

    "Yes. That's what we call it when we put together works that are set in a school. It's not just for doujin, but it's a very popular genre in gaming."

    When it comes to the popular genre of doujin games, the first thing that comes to mind is the biographical stories that have produced big hits. However, in this case, the production period is short and the creator is unknown, so there is not much room for risk.

    This means that the genre is more popular among a wider range of people than biographies, and even newcomers can still get interested in it. That's why it was a "school story".

    "If the school is the setting... what will the story be about?"

    Nanako asked, tilting her head.

    That's right. There are many different kinds of school stories. Some take the entire school to another world, others get caught up in bizarre phenomena. In fact, if you measure it in terms of doujin games, there were many more such unusual ones.

    But this time, I wanted to make it accessible to as wide an audience as possible. Therefore, the content should be very general.

    "It's a romance... It's going to be a very generic romance adventure."

    "Ro-romance...?"

    For a moment, it looked like Nanako had turned her gaze... on me and Shinoaki.

    Something tells me that Nanako is strangely conscious of that word.

    "It's the most popular material, both in the doujin and the commercial world, so I'm sure people will accept it easily."

    "What do you mean, "commercial"?"

    Shinoaki turns her eyes to this side.

    "Ah, I'm sorry, that wasn't clear. Games sold in stores are generally abbreviated as commercial games or commercial."

    I'm afraid I've fallen into the habit of using old words. The words "commercial" and "doujin" are all industry terms when you think about it again.

    "We'll discuss the details again tomorrow. Are there any questions at this point?"

    No one raised my hand.

    Well, I guess that's because they have only vague concerns at this stage.

    "Okay, well, I'll see you at the next meeting..."

    "Oh, sorry. Do you have a minute?"

    Tsurayuki interrupted and stood up.

    Then he bowed his head deeply.

    "I'm sorry, guys. I didn't mean to drag you into this, but... I just couldn't handle it by myself, so I relied on Kyoya, and then I relied on everyone."

    Everyone was silent. They were listening to Tsurayuki's words with serious faces.

    "To be honest, I don't know what I'm supposed to do when I'm told to make a game, but... Now that I'm involved, I'm going to work hard. Best... regards."

    For a moment, there was silence among everyone.

    But the next moment.

    "Fufu~n, it's rare that Tsurayuki is honest like this. Don't you think he'd be willing to do a various of work for us now?"

    Nanako broke the air and said something that provoked Tsurayuki.

    "Shut up, I said I'd ask everyone, but Nanako's share is just 10%."

    "Wait, isn't the allocation a bit odd? At least make it about 30%!"

    The two of them immediately started arguing with each other. I was a little worried that Tsurayuki would feel too guilty, but thanks to Nanako, he seemed to have eased up somewhat.

    "Kyoya-kun"

    Shinoaki glanced at me.

    "We will do some difficult task... Is it okay?"

    She asked in an anxious voice.

    "Aa... I'll definitely do something about it!"

    I said firmly to counteract that anxiety.


Part 4

    The next day, I first went to the club room of the Anime Research Club.

    "I was surprised. I just got a call from you who I just met."

    The president, Yamashina-san, was smiling as calmly as when I met him at the school festival.

    "I'm sorry, but I have an urgent request."

    "He~e, I don't think there's much I can do. What is it?"

    "No, it's something that only Yamashina-san can do."

    "Hou~..."

    I told them in a few words that I was planning to make a game about a school story, that it would take about four months to make, and that the project was designed to help my friend.

    "I would like to ask you to make a background CG."

    Even if we ask Shinoaki to do the standing pictures and event CG, but if we don't spread out the work a bit, we may end up with a flat tire.

    If that's the case, it would be much more efficient to completely divide the background CG work and have a specialist take charge of it, which would also improve the quality.

    We had already confirmed Yamashina-san's ability through the CD-ROM we had received. I wanted to add him to the staff because of his personality and his passion for background CG.

    "...The unit price per sheet is 30,000 yen, and 40,000 yen including the time difference is considered. The total number of sheets will be calculated backward from the man-hours required for the job, but we estimate it to be around 10 to 12 sheets... What do you think? "

    When I told her all the conditions at once, Yamashina-san folded her arms and thought about it, but suddenly she smiled and said,

    "You are... a first-year who just joined?"

    "Yes, that’s right."

    "For someone like you, you've got a pretty accurate reading of the conditions, a sense of the market, and a calculation of the number of sheets based on the number of days. Did you make a game somewhere?"

    ......I've done it again.

    "No, my senpai used to make games... and I just learned that."

    The first thing I did was to cover it up as I did with Keiko-san, but I felt a little remorseful that I was being so deliberate. I'll think of an answer to this kind of question next time...

    "I see. Well, the conditions are much better than those of most commercial companies, and I'd love to try it."

    Even though I was a strange first-year student who came to visit him suddenly, Yamashina-san kindly agreed.

    "T-thank you very much...!"

    "Don't thank me when I haven't delivered anything yet. Let's wait for that stuff until master up*."
(*game development deadline)

    As expected of a person who understands this industry, I could see that he was firm in every detail.

    "I'll be looking forward to your proposal then."

    Yamashina-san said and smiled.