Game Developer in the World of Anime

Chapter 637: Akane Kosaka’s Invitation

After spending two days sightseeing in Tokyo, the whole family took a flight straight to Hokkaido.

As for Ichin, he naturally stayed behind in Tokyo to continue his work.

If it had been September, he might have gone along for a few days of fun. But now that it was October, time was tighter, and he had no mood to travel.

Utaha and the others, of course, went along on the trip. Ichin was the only one left at home, but it wasn't anything he couldn't get used to.

At the very least, the cats at home kept him company, and when it came to meals, he had Kō and the others at the company. There was no shortage of people to eat with.

After spending five days in Hokkaido, everyone returned to Tokyo. They rested for a day before heading back home.

Once his parents left, Ichin's life returned to its usual calm rhythm.

That morning, while he was busy at the company, his phone rang.

It was Akane Kosaka.

Ichin was a little surprised, but he didn't think too much about it. Sitting in his chair, he answered the call.

"Good morning, Miss Kosaka."

Hajime, who was working nearby, glanced over curiously when she heard that.

From the phone, Akane's voice came through.

"Good morning, Ichin-kun. How has the game development been going recently?"

"Pretty smoothly." Ichin spun lightly in his chair and smiled. "You didn't call just to ask that, did you?"

"Of course not. I have something important," Akane said with a smile. "If you're free this afternoon, could you come by my company? I'd like to invite you to try out our new game's demo."

"Oh? A demo?"

Ichin raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued. "Wasn't your demo supposed to be released in November? There's still about half a month left. Letting me try it now… you want feedback?"

"That's right. We've invested a lot of time and resources into this game, so ever since it was announced, we've felt a strong sense of urgency. I originally planned to contact you right after the announcement, but I heard from Utaha that your family was visiting, so I delayed it for a few days. So, Ichin-kun, would you be willing to come and try it?"

After thinking for a moment, Ichin agreed right away. "Sure. I'll come by at two in the afternoon. Is that okay?"

Hearing him agree, Akane let out a small sigh of relief.

Although she was confident in the new game, she still wanted to refine it further. After some consideration, she decided to invite Ichin, a fellow developer, to give his opinion.

Compared to others in the industry, Ichin was someone who didn't hold back and was willing to offer honest, objective feedback.

"Alright, then I'll be waiting for you at two this afternoon."

"Got it. See you then."

After hanging up, Ichin looked at Hajime and the other members of the programming team who had been watching him, then shrugged. "Going to try out a new game this afternoon."

"A new game, huh."

Arms crossed, Nene Sakura said curiously, "I watched the announcement video. It looked pretty good, but I wonder how it actually plays. Ichin, can you bring a few more people along?"

"Not today," Ichin replied. "The public demo will be out in about half a month anyway. And this is just a demo. At most, we'll get a feel for the foundation of the game. It'll definitely be different from the final product."

After saying that, Ichin stood up.

"I'll head to my office for a bit."

When he returned to his office, Utaha was there, wearing headphones and typing away with full concentration.

Ichin didn't disturb her. He simply walked over and sat beside her.

Only then did Utaha notice him. She looked over and smiled. "Give me a moment, I'll finish writing this part."

She quickly typed out three more lines, saved the document, and took off her headphones.

"Ichin, why did you come up here? Weren't you working?"

"I just got a call. From Akane Kosaka."

"Oh~~ so that's it." Utaha nodded in realization. "She called the day after your parents arrived. I told her to wait a week before contacting you, but I forgot to tell you afterward. Well, no big deal. She invited you to test the game, right?"

"Yeah. I'm going this afternoon. Do you want to come along?"

"Of course." Utaha smiled and nodded. "I want to see how the game has been progressing these past few days. I was already planning to check in once a week anyway. And I'd like to try out the demo myself. I've only seen bits and pieces of the development before, never actually played a completed demo."

This was Utaha's second time participating in game development as a scriptwriter, and it was for another company's project rather than her own. She was taking it very seriously.

At noon, they had a simple lunch in the company cafeteria, rested for a bit, and then headed out together.

When they arrived at Akane's company, she was already waiting.

Seeing the two step out of the elevator, she immediately walked over with a smile. "Good afternoon, Ichin-kun, Utaha. Come in."

Inside the company, compared to Ichin's last visit, there were noticeably more employees. He saw many unfamiliar faces.

"You've expanded your team?"

"Yep." Akane nodded happily. "Although our profits aren't as impressive as yours, we still have steady revenue. We've been hiring continuously during this project, and we've managed to find some excellent talent. We even poached a few people from other companies. Otherwise, this project might have been delayed by another month or two, and only released at the end of the year."

It seemed Akane was quite capable when it came to recruitment.

Ichin also recalled that she had been in the industry for several years, and her network was no worse than Hazuki's at his own company. With her connections, it wasn't difficult for her to find suitable talent.

Still, Ichin's company already had sufficient manpower, so there was no need for him to envy her steady recruitment.

When they reached the meeting room, two computers were already set up, ready for Ichin and Utaha to try the demo.

"Please, have a seat. What would you like to drink?"

After sitting down, Ichin said, "Coffee."

Utaha also asked for coffee.

Akane instructed her assistant to fetch the drinks, then said, "Let's get straight to it. The game icon is on the desktop. You can use either a keyboard or a controller, we've optimized for both. I hope that after trying it, Ichin-kun, you can give me some suggestions for improvement."

Opening the game and picking up a controller, Ichin smiled. "Well, that depends on how it feels after playing."

...

RedX43's Note:

➤ Want More? Get up to +50 Extra Chapters on Patreon!

➤ [email protected]/RedX43

➤ +300 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter Drop!

➤ Thanks for the support! 🙌