Chapter 13. Those Who Finish Too Fast Are Generally Not Very Good
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Onmyoji's development from initial planning to completion took less than three months in total. Even in the hyper-competitive future of the game industry, that would be considered almost unbelievable.
Normally, a game's development cycle ranges from six months to a year, and there are even titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 that take a decade to perfect.
So how did Onmyoji develop so quickly? There were a few key reasons.
First, the planning was solid. With Kiyoshi Yuuma overseeing everything, most of the design requirements were finalized quickly and passed directly to the programming team, with almost no rework needed.
Second, the project was built on the foundation of Heart of the Sword, which saved a great deal of time on core systems and base-level programming.
The most time-consuming part was the art, since every character had to be newly designed.
But, in Kiyoshi Yuuma's view, a focus on quality would always pay off.
…
Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo
7:00 p.m.
Quintessence.
One of the most well-known French restaurants in the Tokyo area.
"Cheers!!" Tsuda Nao raised her wine glass high and exclaimed cheerfully.
"Cheers!"
The others echoed in unison.
Everyone's face flushed, and they drank their red wine in one go.
Tonight, Tsuda Nao had ditched her usual sharp, professional style and was dressed in a deep V-cut black evening gown. The thin shoulder straps framed her collarbones and slender neck beautifully, while the form-fitting dress perfectly outlined her S-curve figure.
Especially the cleavage—it was like a black hole, pulling every gaze toward it.
Seated to her left was Kiyoshi Yuuma, equally well-dressed in a crisp white suit, with his hair meticulously styled.
Across from them sat three middle-aged men, each with slightly rounded figures.
Despite their unimpressive looks, bordering on "greasy uncles," these men were some of the most influential game cartridge distributors in the Tokyo region.
Pokeni had already signed a tough contract with Nintendo (paying 2,000 yen in royalties per cartridge burned) and passed Nintendo's content review and rating process, earning a 16+ label.
So with Onmyoji completed, the metaphorical bullet was already in the chamber.
The only step left was to release the game.
In 1990, even though the internet technically existed, it was nowhere near widespread. Digital downloads were unheard of. There wasn't even a clear distinction between "online" and "offline" at that time.
At that time, game sales relied entirely on physical stores, which meant so-called distributors.
There were a few major nationwide distributors, and each region had its own key players.
Usually, these distributors purchased stock from the manufacturer and then sold it to smaller dealers, who in turn supplied the local brick-and-mortar game stores.
DUN had some distribution channels of its own, but they were mostly music and video stores. While games could be sold through those outlets to some extent, they were no match for dedicated game stores.
So Tsuda Nao had deliberately arranged this dinner meeting, bringing Kiyoshi Yuuma along and inviting several important Tokyo-area distributor presidents to attend.
"Ah~ Pokeni, huh? I have never heard of them. I'm not sure if they're any good. But since President Tsuda is vouching for it, I'll go ahead and pre-order 300 copies as a trial."
The bald man in the middle chuckled as he spoke, glancing down at the beautifully packaged cartridge sample in his hand and blinking twice.
To be honest, the label art on the cartridge did look pretty impressive.
But who knew what the actual game was like?
If it weren't for Tsuda's sake, he wouldn't have come to this dinner at all.
He'd never heard of Pokeni before, so they probably hadn't made anything noteworthy in the past.
"No, no." Tsuda Nao pretended to be angry, puffed out her cheeks, and stared at him.
"President Hattori, that's awfully stingy of you. I vouch for it, and you only give me 300 copies? If that's how it is, I won't dare come to you again in the future."
"Haha, alright, alright. In that case, let's make it 800. I still have to test the waters a bit. But if sales are as good as Nao-chan says, I wouldn't mind ordering ten times that much."
Sitting beside her, Kiyoshi Yuuma couldn't help frowning as he listened.
Damn it!
Stop looking down on us.
…
Meanwhile.
"Nani?! Pokeni made their game that fast?"
Upon hearing the news that Pokeni's Onmyoji was about to be released, Blue Wings' President, Kobayashi Shigeru, could no longer sit still.
The game industry is a small circle, especially in a place like Tokyo, where there aren't many surviving game companies. A rival like Pokeni naturally stood out, and any news about them spread like wildfire.
Their game was already finished and ready for sale?
It's only been a few months!
Looking back at their own team, Mizutani had just finalized the new script outline. Only a few character designs had been completed, and the art department was still experimenting with different styles without settling on one.
The only semi-encouraging progress was in the programming department, where the foundational framework was more or less built.
Didn't Mizutani say that a good game takes at least a year to polish?
Even the artist they'd brought in, Aoyama Hideo, hired specifically to do the original art, had said the same thing. So why was it that just as they were starting out, Pokeni had already finished their game?
In fact, Mizutani didn't quite understand it either.
He had seen Pokeni's project proposal—in fact, he knew it very well. It was precisely because of this familiarity that he had judged Pokeni's "little" galgame was not little at all and definitely not something that could be developed this fast.
But the current pace of their production made him feel like he'd been slapped in the face. He didn't even feel confident bragging in front of the new President anymore.
"Don't worry," said Aoyama Hideo. "Just because Pokeni is releasing now doesn't mean the game will actually perform well. It could just be a quick cash grab."
The President didn't seem convinced. "But why did I hear that their promotional posters look pretty slick and the character designs and artwork are all top quality too?"
Mizutani Takashi's mouth twitched hard.
They had been making decent progress until the President brought this Aoyama as chief artist in the middle of the process, saying that he was also a very famous original art master in the industry, and his involvement would double their productivity.
And sure, having a skilled artist should be a good thing. But this Aoyama Hideo was just too full of himself.
Riding the high of his past successful games and industry reputation, he acted like he was untouchable.
He kept interfering with Mizutani's plans and showed clear dissatisfaction with the original "pure yet seductive" art style they'd already settled on.
As soon as Aoyama joined, the visual direction of the entire game was flipped on its head. Even now, they still hadn't locked it down.
Worst of all, ever since Mizutani joined this new company, President Kobayashi had promised to promote him to producer, but that promise hadn't materialized yet. He kept saying, "We'll talk after this project is successful."
At first, Mizutani didn't mind. The Street Pickup project didn't officially have a producer title anyway, and as the chief planner, he was essentially already acting as one.
It is not unacceptable to have no title but real power.
The problem was, without the formal title, Buddha-like Aoyama wouldn't listen to him. That was truly frustrating.
Mizutani was now starting to feel a subtle unease about the project.
But giving up now? Impossible. Many of the key team members for Street Pickup were people he had brought over from Pokeni. If the project didn't thrive here, then what was the point of switching companies at all?!
So Mizutani could only bluff his way through: "Games are like men. Those who finish too fast are generally not very good. As people say, good things take time to craft. That's the spirit of craftsmanship. There's no way Pokeni made something good in such a short time."
"Yes, yes, that's right! I completely agree with Mizutani-kun," Aoyama chimed in.
Mizutani looked up in a daze at the mustached man in front of him.
Nani?!
This guy… is actually agreeing with me for once?!