Thank you for all the patrons Ilmi Sumitro, eduardo diaz, Erik Hartleben and Andres Ulloa.
Part 1
"The situation in our department, to be honest, is not good."
The day's meeting began with Miyamoto-san's reluctant face.
"We've lost the general affairs work that we were originally doing. Well, if we really don't do anything, the oppression will be stronger."
Kojima-san says with her usual nonchalant manner.
If you don't have a job, the image of slacking off will inevitably follow. If people talk about how they are being paid for doing nothing over there, it will also lead to a decrease in allies.
Originally, the time that would have been saved by not having to perform general administrative duties would have been allocated to development work. However, with the project itself postponed, no budget could be allocated and nothing concrete could be done.
"Are all projects currently frozen?"
"Yeah. We can't move freelancers if we don't have a budget."
Of course they have their lives, too. It is impossible to ask them to devote their time to a project that they do not know if it will bring in money.
"We need to come up with something immediately."
Miyamoto-san smirked at my words,
"I'm already on it. For now, I've decided that the 13th department is going to be the planning demon."
"The planning demon... Ah."
So the point was reached.
Due to the nature of the company, the submitted project must be returned after some kind of approval process. Since Succeedsoft is a company that thinks of plans and produces them in a physical sense, there is no way that they would reject such a proposal, so even if it is an offer from the 13th Department, it will be handled officially. Even if it is never accepted.
"You're putting out dummy projects, aren't you?"
This will prolong their lives for the time being. If someone asks, "Are you working?" You can answer back in a dignified manner, "Have you received the approval for the project that I submitted the other day yet?".
"You are indeed very perceptive. That's how it is. We've got plenty of stock."
Miyamoto-san even seemed somewhat happy. Perhaps he is the type of person who gets fired up in an emergency situation like this.
"Well, that's about the 13th department. What about the 2nd department?"
"Over here is... Right."
I told him that I had difficulty getting used to the place at first, but that I had become comfortable with it through working there, that the work place was exhausted because it was being used as a tool for the factional strife even in the blossoming development department, and that Kawasegawa had asked me to cooperate again.
"The 2nd department seems to be having a hard time with that, too."
Although Miyamoto-san is concerned about me saying so, it is still a story with a future compared to the hardships I just heard about in the 13th department.
"Well, let's continue to look for people who could be our allies, including in the case of MysClo. And it doesn't look like we can make any major moves at this point yet. Let's see what steps we can take to get the Grape through without any taboo."
Everyone nodded in agreement with Miyamoto-san's words.
The lack of significant improvement in the situation makes it tempting to settle for something immediate, but making a bad move now could undermine the moves that have been made so far.
So now, little by little, we are adding more and more people to the 13th Department. We need to find strong allies, not just the five people in the department.
"Areh, speaking of which, where's Horii-san?"
There are five people in the department, but only four of us are here now. Yes, because the all-important head of the department is absent today.
"Yeah, I heard he's busy with some business he's taking on personally."
Kojima-san answered without hesitation.
"Personally?"
"He used to be a great programmer. When they found out he was free, they pulled him out of other projects."
"He~e, that's what happened."
Once again, I learned about an unexpected side of Horii-san. How many faces does he have?
"Well, I don't have anything to do either, so I outsource my programming. Isn't that what happened to Horii-san?"
"Is that...... so?"
It's not that Horii-san was pointing us in the right direction at a time like this, but still, the absence of someone who was always there is somewhat unsettling.
Anyway, today's meeting has been over.
"Alright, dismissed. Thanks for your good work."
At Miyamoto-san's greeting, everyone gets up from their seats and prepares to leave.
As each of us left the room, I stared at the RINE screen.
(Kawasegawa, are you okay?)
On the way home, I was told that Kawasegawa will be making a progress report to the executive director today. Since MysClo is running a little behind schedule, they have been meeting in person more and more often these days to make sure things are on track.
However, if one thinks about it normally, such a thing should have been done at a meeting including other departments, and it would be strange to go to the trouble of calling only Kawasegawa to report on the situation.
"It must be harassment, I'm sure."
Calling them up and having them report the delay, rather than emailing or calling them, is mentally unbearable, no matter what the reason for the delay is. On top of that, does he want to make her understand that he is superior and that he has the power and authority, and to have her obey him?
Somehow, I need to figure out a way to save MysClo. The Grape alone was having a hard time, and the goal was becoming even more difficult to achieve.
.
Part 2
"That concludes our progress report."
I finished my usual disgusting report.
I was in the executive director's office on the 26th floor of the head office. I was standing straight and still in front of the executive director, who was flipping through a document with his hand.
"Hmm, I see. To put it simply, well, things are delayed."
"Yes... I'm sorry."
The project did not progress well. It is no wonder, then, that if we are constantly being harassed by specifications that change from the upper management, we will not be able to make any progress.
However, I am also aware that the game industry itself is at a turning point. The days when you could sell hundreds of thousands of copies of a major consumer game without much effort are long gone. We are now moving from the original plan to a new plan that is in line with the times, taking into account the linkage with social media. I am not opposed to that in itself.
However, the specification changes, which were made by the upper management, were one-sided and arbitrary, with no consideration given to the progress or motivation of the workers. As the head of the department, I tried to make adjustments, but was told that this was the decision that had been made. With a sense of anguish, I informed the staff members about the results of the change. Naturally, a backlash ensues. With each repetition, motivation in the workplace continues to decline, and eventually the most influential personnel leave the company.
As a company, that is not a good thing. Naturally, other companies in the same industry will not leave a promising candidate alone. They immediately join other projects and begin to demonstrate their abilities. The staff members who see this are even more discouraged and resentful, wondering why they are the only ones who have to suffer. The criticism, of course, is directed at me, the head of the department. But there is nothing I can do. All I can do is apologize.
My head is spinning.
Do these people not care about the workplace? Rather, do they want to destroy the game itself?
It was so bad that I ended up thinking so.
"It says that the scenario is slow and stuck."
The executive director says in a bored tone as he taps his finger on the spot where it is written.
"Why don't you just get a substitute writer and have him do it for you? Why don't you do that?"
"That's..."
It is true that the scenario is running behind schedule. However, the reason for this is that repeated specification changes have resulted in many unnecessary rewrites.
The cost for that, of course, is paid for, but that does not mean that everything can be covered by it. Naturally, the motivation of the writer will decrease.
Not to mention that the scenario is written by one of the most popular writers of the day, Kawagoe Kyoichi. He has amassed ample experience as a creator, and if he were to receive such a response now, he would naturally feel that he was being disrespected.
"I can't do that."
"Why? What is your reason?"
"The original reason for the delay was that we had caused inconvenience to the client by changing the specifications. But now that we've made a replacement, it's not surprising that we've been dropped from the board. Worst case scenario, it would be publicized and criticism would be directed at us."
"I'm sure you've got the money and the contract in place to prevent that kind of thing. Didn't he sign a contract that says we will pay for damages if he goes public with what he is working on?"
"Yes, that's true."
Of course, if you write about it on social networking sites, that is what you will be compensated for. If we go to court, we may win.
But that is not what is important. The act of treating an artist named Kawagoe Kyoichi so poorly and without respect will remain. It is conceivable that there will be no creators who will work with Succeed in the future.
"I'll tell you something for the record."
The executive director tossed a stack of papers onto the desk and spoke as if he were talking to a junior member of the circle,
"I really don't want you to have any special feelings or attachments. It's just a waste of time."
"......"
A deep, strong pain that seems to gouge deep into my insides. I am not being physically hit, but this person's words, his voice, everything comes at me like a blunt weapon.
"Kawasegawa-kun, I count on you."
"Count on me, what do you mean...?"
Finally, I squeeze out a reply. I feel as if my guts, which have been stirred up, are about to be vomited out along with my hatred.
"You are excellent. You know what I mean, you understand, and you have to do the best you can. You understand that, right?"
I want to kick the desk and ruin everything.
I think so every time I come here. I was never a person who would endure such things. I was the kind of person who said what I couldn't do, and I was the kind of person who would openly warn others about things that were not right.
But now, I am here at this company because of this person.
"...... Yes."
The executive director nods in satisfaction.
"Don't waste your life and career on temporary feelings."
As expected, I could not bring myself to respond aloud. Hanging my head slightly forward, I left the room as if to say, "That's enough, right".
The moment I left the room, pressed the elevator button, and entered, I pressed my hand against the door and groaned faintly.
"How ...... did this happen."
The world of film, which I loved, had become a world of old-fashioned style and restrictions. Fed up with a world with no future in sight, I jumped into the game industry, where there was still room for improvement.
But even there, it was a place filled with the dead, clinging to past glories. Stubborn middle-aged and old people blocked my way, and I was brushed aside at every attempt to try something new.
As I shed tears of frustration, it was the executive director who reached out to me.
『I know exactly how you feel. So let's do something new together.』
At the time, he was the head of the 2nd Development Department, and under his leadership, I was able to come up with new projects one after another. We brought quality and a solid worldview to the social game world, which was still in its infancy, and created the groundwork for the game to become an IP. It was one of the few successful cases of a game maker that matched the trend of consumer games, which were said to be in decline at the time.
At the time, I really respected the executive director. I believed that his promotion and becoming a director would help me get promoted and create a new trend.
But that was soon betrayed.
He was only using us. The only purpose was to raise more revenue than the old faction for his own promotion.
So when I eventually tried to adopt a creator-oriented policy, they eliminated them one by one, telling us not to waste our time.
He and I had different perspectives on the grand plan to use the platinum generation.
All he wanted was the name of the creator. He just wanted to raise the company's profile by announcing it and getting people talking about it.
In fact, since that objective was achieved, he has been telling us to take away the practical work and make it all about the name, using quality as an excuse for failure to produce results.
I want to create the best work with them. The dream that I have been envisioning since my college days is now on the verge of disappearing.
I take a deep, deep sigh. I don't know how many times I've done that already.
.
Part 3
The day after the meeting of the 13th department, I was more nervous than ever.
That's just how it is. Because I actually meet and discuss with the artists whose works I have been seeing for a long time, and whom I have always respected, despite being of the same generation.
"It's been amazing... Really."
New tasks handed down from Kawasegawa.
It was the main writer of the Platinum Generation Project, Kawagoe Kyoichi, in charge of facilitation.
Originally, Kawasegawa was in charge of this role, partly because she was a fellow alumna. However, she herself had become busy with other tasks, and it had become difficult for her to concurrently handle the job. The situation was the same for Kuroda, who was running around as a director.
However, it is not possible to assign other appropriate staff members to work with big names. The position is not suitable for a person who is not only a creator, but also able to monitor the progress of the project.
Kawasegawa wanted to put me in that position. It was a horrible thing to do, but if anyone else could have done it, it would have been difficult.
"Alright, let's get motivated..."
I slapped both cheeks in front of the bathroom mirror, opened the door quickly, and jumped out.
[Herr Hashiba! Guten Morgen, gutes Wetter. An einem solchen Tag möchte ich spielen, ohne zu arbeiten.]
I almost fell down in the doorway.
"Ichikawa-san, good morning. Is that a German greeting?"
"That's right! You understood very well~! "Hashiba-san, good morning. It's a beautiful day. On days like this, I want to play instead of working!" That's what it means!"
Ichikawa-san has recently been studying German because she needs it for her work. But it was only recently that she told me that she memorized words by writing them on sticky notes and sticking them up, so she seems to have progressed very quickly from there to be able to do simple greetings already.
"Yes, it's a beautiful day, but I can't go out and play today."
"He~e, why is that~?"
I explained to Ichikawa-san the brief background of the project.
"I see, I see. So today, Hashiba-san is going to meet the person whom you admire~"
"Right, of course it's work, so I'm going to put it in a sensible manner."
Actually, I was a little troubled at that point. How should I respond when I met Kawagoe Kyoichi? I asked Kawasegawa and Kuroda, but they only gave me the obvious answers, especially that I should just act normally, so I was wondering what to do.
Would it go easier if I told them that I am a fan and work with them, or should I just keep it as a job?
"What should I do about that...?"
Somehow, I felt like talking to a senior in life. I thought Ichikawa-san seemed to have a lot of knowledge about this and that in human relations.
"Hmm. That's right..."
Ichikawa-san was troubled while holding the broom,
"You see, we talked about frames and relationships before, when we were doing the name-calling."
"Now that you mention it...We did."
I think I was too particular about that kind of thing.
"Regardless of interpersonal relationships, "frame" and "relationship" can really become a hindrance if not used correctly."
"Hindrance, is it..."
Rather, I feel that communication would be easier if I were in something like that, but I wonder if that is not the case.
"I don't know Kawagoe-sensei, but if you first come to him and say you're a fan, I feel like he might step back a bit."
"I see..."
Indeed, that may be true.
"So, instead of telling him that you're a fan, he might be pleased to hear you casually mention his work when you're talking and say, "These scenes are..." Or "These lines are..." or something like that, and casually divert from the work... What do you think?"
Awesome, indeed, that would be more natural and would make a better impression because it's not being forced.
"Thank you, that sounds great... I'll give it a try."
"I can't give you any guarantees~. Hashiba-san should think about it before making a decision~."
However, as I thought, Ichikawa-san is amazing. Although she is only one year older than me, I feel that she is far ahead of me in terms of life experience.
"Ichikawa-san, did you come up with the idea of the 'frame' and 'relationship' you mentioned earlier?"
In response to my question, Ichikawa-san nodded her head,
"I think it's my idea and my father's idea, too~. I grew up being told these things."
I see, that means she was well educated...
"My father used to say. If you frame people and create relationships with them, they become complacent and don't think about anything else. If you do that in a company, that person will never grow."
"Wow, it sounds like a quote from a book."
It's the kind of language you might find in a P●P library or something.
"But I prefer being a caretaker, and I don't understand the difficult stuff!"
Ichikawa-san smiles.
"I, too, am glad that Ichikawa-san is the manager. If it had been a business rival, I probably would have been driven into a corner."
"No way, I'm always kind~"
I made her look a little disgruntled at the end.
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