Chapter 2 We are confused by our feelings 



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

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Part 7

    The university is now on winter break and the students have disappeared from campus. Most of them were going back home, but those with lonely pockets were busy with part-time jobs.

    In the student apartments and dormitories in my neighborhood, the rooms of students who had just bought the newly released PS3 were abuzz with excitement. As more and more televisions were converted to digital terrestrial broadcasting, the 16:9 screen size that I was familiar with was gradually becoming available.

    In the midst of all this, at the sharehouse where we live, we are still working on the 800 x 600 pixel screen.

    "Kyoya... Check please."

    "Ah, yeah..."

    I received a laptop from Tsurayuki, who crawls out of the room.

    Since then, Tsurayuki has managed to understand the "grammar of Bishojo Games," and is challenging himself to create a game scenario with his excellent writing skills.

    However, it is another matter to be able to write something that is different from what you are used to, and so far I have received three retakes and have been forced to rewrite.

    This is the 4th time, but...

    (Oh, he is doing it properly)

    There's more dialogue, and the ground text is more natural and descriptive, making it easier to read without getting caught up.

    In the first draft, I had to make a lot of adjustments because there were so few lines, but there were an inordinate amount of ground text and a high poetry content.

    If this was the case, it seemed that there would be no problem with the introduction.

    "...Yeah, this is good. Let's go with this!"

    The moment I answered, a relief expression appeared on Tsurayuki's face.

    "Ha~a~, I'm glad, for now I can... sleep."

    As it was, he suddenly slumped down at the entrance of the room, and Tsurayuki began to breathe in his sleep.

    "Yosh, I think we've got a good start... do I."

    I already had a list of characters and had ordered a rough draft from Shinoaki.

    Then, based on the flow of the first part of the game, we need to make the specifications for the background CG, place an order with Yamashina-san, and consult with Keiko-san to integrate the background CG into the game when the picture of Shinoaki is ready. From this point on, the director will be doing a lot of behind-the-scenes work.

    "Nanako, how's it going?"

    When I entered Nanako's room, it was still a little dark as before, and she was working silently with her headphones on.

    "Ah, Kyoya. Right now, I was doing a BGM test."

    She said and clicked the preview button on the screen with her mouse. Although it was monotonous, a piano melody that could be called a "song" flowed from the speakers.

    "He~e, this is Nanako’s?"

    "Yeah, I understood how to place the sounds for now, so I did a test."

    It may be poorly done by the people who are making it for a living, but as an amateur listener, it sounded like it was made to sound like that.

    (That's N@NA for you. She learned how to use it right away)

    I vaguely remembered an interview with N@NA, in which she said that she struggled with digital music at first, but once she learned it, she was hooked and started to post videos of herself singing.

    Not that it's any of my business, but as soon as I found out that Nanako was N@NA, I was going to expose her to the DTM environment at some point. I didn't think that the opportunity would come so soon, though.

    "There are still some features I don't understand, but I'm going to learn how to use them as I make my first few songs."

    The background music ordered from Nanako had several levels of ease of production. The goal was to have the user gradually learn how to make the music.

    "I see. Keep up the good work."

    "Yeah, it's a lot of fun right now!"

    Finally, she seemed to have gotten past the painful initial stage, and Nanako smiled.

    Good, this should motivate me to work on it.

    (Nanako is OK... the next is over here)

    I went upstairs, knocked on the door, and went inside.

    While things had been going well for Nanako, Shinoaki was in a bit in trouble.

    "Hm~m..."

    Shinoaki was just grunting in front of the monitor, her hands not moving very much.

    "Shinoaki, how?"

    When I approached and called out to him, Shinoaki took a deep breath, “Fu~u”.

    "I haven't gotten it right yet... I think the balance is difficult."

    "Hmm, I see..."

    The problem that Shinoaki is facing now. It was the balance of the character's head and body.

    Originally, the human body she was drawing was drawn with a relatively realistic head and body. However, the characters I'm envisioning for this project will be based on a 5.5-headed figure. I thought it would be better for the players to have an average head height of that level.

    "I tried drawing a little, can you look at it, Kyoya-kun?"

    I nodded, Shinoaki opened some image files and showed them to me.

    "……I see"

    The rough sketches of the 5.5-headed characters gave me the impression that they were somewhat out of proportion.

    There was a pattern.

    I knew the cause of my discomfort. It was the eyes. The size and position of the eyes had changed the whole impression.

    (But it's not that bad, and this is good enough for me)

    Originally, Shinoaki's paintings were quite high even at the level of this era. She learned the path of painting immediately, and the final packaging was just about perfect.

    If I were to ask for more time to adjust the balance here, the enthusiasm Shinoaki would probably ask for a few more days. However, if we don't move on to the main production of standing pictures at this timing, the pressure on the overall schedule will become even more severe.

    "No, I think it's fine. This is fine, isn’t it"

    "Eh, really?"

    Shinoaki looked at her picture again, a little surprised. She then looked back at me with a look of surprise on her face.

    "It's true that the balance between the eyes and the whole body doesn't seem to be quite right, but I think this is good in terms of creating a hook. In fact, there are even commercial artists who have this kind of gap."

    "Hmm... But I'm sure they are doing it with a lot of calculation?"

    Shinoaki has repeatedly confirmed whether it sounded like a play on words.

    "Some people might be like that, but there are people who do it naturally, so it's not a problem."

    Guide Shinoaki so that she doesn't feel uneasy.

    I'm not lying to her. There is no need to be particularly good at drawing. Sometimes it is better to have a few flaws in your work so that people will love it.

    In addition, we have our priorities set now. I think it's a good idea to have the current balance here, and then adjust it at the next opportunity. There are many artists who make adjustments gradually.

    Shinoaki seemed to be thinking.

    She took her hand off the pen once, put her hand on her knee, and,

    "I trust Kyoya-kun."

    She looked at me with a serious face.

    "When we were filming the video project and when we were singing Nanako's song, Kyoya-kun was very serious all the time, and he led us all very well. The words he said to me and to everyone else were all full of power. But... "

    She stared at the screen,

    "But now I feel like you are forced to say it... Is it my imagination?"

    My heart thumped loudly.

    "It's..."

    I couldn't reply quickly enough, It's just your imagination.

    I've been talking to Shinoaki straightforwardly about her drawing for a long time now. I think she knew that, and that's why she trusted me.

    But now she's starting to feel insecure. I guess it's true. It would be strange not to feel uneasy when someone you thought was at your standard starts drawing a different line. Especially if you are a creator.

    But I'm still... have to say it.

    This kind of decision-making will continue to be necessary in order to create things as a group.

    Being in the same line of sight as an illustrator forever has a negative effect on the professionalism of a director.

    This is necessary.

    "... It's just your imagination. I look at the whole thing and make a proper judgment."

    I'm not lying. I'm not mocking her.

    It's necessary to look at things from a larger perspective.

    If I say something I'm not confident about here, it will be a burden to the production.

    And if I allow time to be wasted, I will be making the same concessions to Tsurayuki and Nanako.

    So this is fine.

    "I see... This is fine."

    Shinoaki still seemed to be thinking a bit, but eventually, 

    "Yes, I understand. Kyoya-kun says that. I'll draw with this."

    Then she held up her pen cheerfully.

    "Thank you. Well then, let's talk about standing pictures."

    "Yeah"

    I took out the designation form that I had prepared beforehand and began to discuss it with Shinoaki.

    We don't have much time left, but I'll make it work.

    If I do my best here, I can lead everyone to completion.

    Make your heart a demon*... That's fine for the director. (TL/N: Harden your heart)


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