After dinner, since they were all college students now—and Yukino even had her own car—there was no need to rush home early. So Utaha pulled her along, and everyone sat down together for tea and conversation.
Talking about company matters, Kou Yagami turned to Ichin.
"Since someone's stage design got approved and will be rewarded next month, everyone else is fired up. They all want to come up with something good before the deadline. Utaha, how's your design coming along?"
With a smile, Utaha replied,
"I just need to finish the last part. I won't show it off half-done. Once it's complete, then I'll reveal it."
"Eh~~ so confident, huh."
Ichin sipped his tea, then asked Kou,
"What about you, Kou? No plans to design something yourself?"
"Not me." Kou waved her hand.
"I know my strengths. If it were designing characters or something, I'd be fine, but for obstacle-based stages like this? I have no talent at all, so I won't join the crowd. Besides, didn't you say you were giving us a raise? I'd rather not waste brain cells over a small bonus."
True enough—after mentioning raises at dinner previously, Ichin had gathered Kou and the other veteran employees the very next day, sitting down with each of them to talk about salary adjustments.
The exact increases differed depending on their roles, but compared to others in the same industry with similar years of experience, even younger staff like Tsubame Narumi and Momiji Mochizuki saw impressive raises.
Ichin valued talent and ability over seniority. His veteran employees hadn't let him down once, and he was more than happy to give them more.
With salaries raised, people like Hajime Shinoda and Tsubame Narumi—who had originally wanted to try designing Fall Guys stages—decided to let others take the chance. If inspiration struck later, they'd simply share their ideas with the dev team after the deadline. Whether they got the bonus or not didn't matter anymore.
Even someone like Shinoda, who used to live paycheck to paycheck, now had significant savings thanks to steady raises—she'd become a proper little rich lady. As for those like Aoba, who already had the habit of saving, their finances were even more stable.
Hearing Kou's reasoning, Rin Toyama chuckled and nodded.
"True. Raises are more practical. Let the younger, more energetic ones chase the bonus. We still have plenty of development work on our hands."
Dark Souls had been in development ever since Persona released last year—nearly a year of work. And even so, progress was only around 40%.
Designing monsters and bosses was relatively straightforward. Once the tone and style were set, plenty of ideas could follow.
The hardest part was the maps—the sprawling castles and environments. The architecture needed to match the world's lore: vast and imposing on the outside, intricately designed within, layered vertically to make full use of space, and rich with areas for exploration.
They also had to scatter hidden corners for ambushes and jump scares, deliberately crafting malice to challenge players.
That was where the real mountain of work lay.
As for the lore, main storyline, and side quests for NPCs—Ichin had taken full responsibility. The main plot had been almost complete since the planning stage, now already polished. Only some of the NPC storylines still needed refining.
Multiple endings, the interplay of side quests, and how they all impacted the main narrative—those needed careful design to ensure replay value and a rich multi-run experience.
"Dark Souls…"
Ichin leaned back on the sofa with a sigh.
"This game will most likely be delayed this year. We'll need at least another year of development. But thanks to Fall Guys and Titanfall—which will release on time this winter—it's not a big problem. By next year, once Dark Souls launches, plus Apex running as a free live-service title, we'll be set for this year and next."
Kou began counting on her fingers.
"Let's see… we started with Slay the Spire, then Hollow Knight, Persona, BattleBlock Theater, Binding of Isaac—that's already five titles. And with this year and next, we'll have four more. Our development pace is honestly terrifying!"
"This is the result of everyone's hard work," Ichin said with a smile.
"My plans mean nothing without the team's execution. But even now, our numbers aren't enough. In the second half of this year, we'll need another wave of hiring to fill the empty desks. By the year after, we can start thinking about getting our own independent office building—our base.
"The current rented place won't be renewed. The old location will stay on as one dev team's office, effectively a branch studio. That way, we can keep expanding, developing multiple projects of different scales at the same time."
"Oh! We'll get our own building?" Kou's eyes lit up.
"When we visited Nintendo's HQ, I was so jealous of their tower!"
"Don't get carried away." Ichin rolled his eyes.
"At most, it'll be a mid-size office building, five or six stories tall. And that's if we can even find a place ready to move in."
"There should be." Yukino spoke up.
"In Tokyo, with my sister's management, our family's business has been growing, and resources have expanded. If you need a place, I'm sure she could find something quickly."
"That would be ideal. When the time comes, I'll definitely ask Haruno-nee."
Ichin wasn't the type to waste available resources. Family connections like that could save him both effort and money. And since they were family, he wouldn't let Haruno lose out either—maybe a little under market rate, but never at a loss.
Ichin would never let his own people suffer.
Rin Toyama patted Kou's shoulder to calm her down.
"Alright, don't get too excited. It's still the year after next—quite a wait."
"True, we'll need more staff first before moving."
Kou nodded, still unable to hide her smile.
"An office building of our own… it feels like only once we have that will we truly count as a big-name developer."
In truth, given their sales, reputation, and team size, the company already qualified as a fairly large studio.
But compared to the established giants, the gap was still there.
On that, Ichin's confidence never wavered.
"No need to rush. Step by step—we'll become a true top-tier developer in due time."
*
RedX43's Note:
➤ Want More? Get up to +70 Extra Chapters on Patreon!
➤ [email protected]/RedX43
➤ +300 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter Drop!
➤ Thanks for the support! 🙌