Chapter 38. As Expected of President Kiyoshi
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After signing the agreement with DUN, Kiyoshi Yuuma hurried back to the company and immediately convened a meeting with the developers of Onmyoji 2.
The main topic was to discuss upcoming changes and production issues.
Several key team leaders had been tormented by him all night and hadn't slept yet.
Chief artist Sakata Taiji sat in his chair with a constipated expression.
"President, is it really okay to change direction so suddenly like this?"
Wasn't it you who said we should go mainstream and stop making galgames? It's only been a few months, and the project is already more than halfway through development. And now you want to change it?
Doesn't that mean all the hard work up to now was for nothing?
"Yeah," Kiyoshi Yuuma frowned, feeling even worse than anyone else inside. "You think I want to go back to making galgames? It's just that I have to consider the basic interests of the company."
If it weren't for the flop of Prestigious Academy, they would've already been developing the next Kairosoft-style game by now. There'd be no need to worry about the sales of Onmyoji 2.
Even if Onmyoji 2 failed, it would have just been a natural reason to give up on galgames entirely.
But now, it's like the forward troops they sent out have already been wiped out. If they don't turn around now, there's a risk the entire army could be annihilated.
Even though Kiyoshi Yuuma was an idealist, that didn't mean he was stubborn to the point of stupidity.
When necessary, he was still willing to prioritize the bigger picture.
Pokeni going bankrupt wasn't the worst-case scenario, but what would happen to all the employees if they lost their jobs?
He patiently explained all of this to the people present, and everyone fell into a heavy silence.
There had been a lot of resentment among the staff lately, especially within the art team.
Sakata Taiji had already completed many of the original illustrations. Now, being told to change things—anyone would find that hard to accept.
…
Akanishi Ken sighed quietly on the side.
The fact that the President was thinking this way just showed how much Kiyoshi Yuuma had matured.
Ideals are important, yes—but surviving in the present takes priority.
That's why Akanishi Ken was one of the rare people in the meeting who fully supported Kiyoshi Yuuma's decision from Pokeni's perspective.
"Yes! I support the President's decision. A leader who can respond to the market and make timely changes—that's something to be grateful for. It's far better than launching a game and seeing it flop."
Due to the impact of Prestigious Academy, team morale for Onmyoji 2 was quite low.
After all, no one knew what would happen if they continued down this new non-galgame path.
But at least if they returned to a galgame format, with Onmyoji 1 as a foundation, it couldn't go that wrong. The risk was much lower.
"Yeah," Sakata said stiffly, "let's just hope there won't be a next time."
Hiss...
Kiyoshi Yuuma heard that and couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable.
In Japan, "Gekokujō"—the tradition of subordinates challenging their superiors—was a cultural thing, and these subordinates really didn't hold back when criticizing their boss.
But since this mess was his doing, he had to accept the criticism.
As long as the product succeeded, being scolded a bit didn't matter to him.
The players might end up saying even worse things anyway.
…
After thorough discussion, many details were gradually confirmed.
First, the story would require major revisions. The main plot could stay, but galgame elements needed to be integrated, which meant the original storyline would no longer flow smoothly.
With the script altered, the art would also need changes.
Some of the pure, wholesome character designs would have to be scrapped, and certain female characters would need more "appeal" added.
Also, Onmyoji's traditional mechanic, subduing demons, would be brought back.
Fortunately, they could reuse character resources from Onmyoji 1 and just add a few new demons that could be subdued and have galgame-style CG scenes.
The galgame storylines for the heroines would need to be carefully crafted, and the specific amount of resources and changes needed was still unclear.
That would depend on the planning team's requirements.
"Yes." As a newcomer to the team, and the lead writer for Onmyoji 2, Urobuchi Gen was under immense pressure.
With both hands on his knees, he had remained tense the entire time since entering the meeting room.
Urobuchi Gen nodded seriously. "I'll definitely write a great script. I won't drag everyone down."
Kiyoshi Yuuma looked at the nervous expression on his face and found it a little amusing.
He walked over and gently patted Urobuchi Gen's shoulder, signaling him to relax.
"Wada, there's no need to be so tense. Just stay calm. Based on your current skill level, there's nothing to worry about."
Urobuchi Gen was just his pen name, while his real surname was Wada.
Kiyoshi Yuuma had already reviewed his resume on the day he joined the company.
"Yes." Urobuchi Gen was still sitting stiff as a board.
"In terms of concept art, I'll join in as well," Kiyoshi Yuuma turned to chief artist Sakata Taiji and said, "Sakata-san, please feel free to make use of me as much as needed—don't hold back."
Sakata Taiji was slightly taken aback. His eyes shifted, then he silently nodded.
Although he was already impressed by Kiyoshi Yuuma's attitude, he still spoke stubbornly, "Of course. As the chief artist, I won't lower my standards just because you're the company president."
"Great!"
Kiyoshi Yuuma broke into a cheerful laugh.
Sakata Taiji is such a classic tsundere.
Don't forget, Tsubaki Furuhara is the project's producer.
Even if you can use your chief artist status to place demands on me, I can just as easily make changes using my authority as the producer.
Still, after the last collaboration, Kiyoshi Yuuma figured this time they'd be able to work well together.
…
As for the programming side, there weren't many issues. After all, Onmyoji 2 shared the same core framework and battle system as the first game. The main changes were going to be in the art resources.
In addition, the development team from Prestigious Academy could also be brought in to help move Onmyoji 2 forward.
Since Prestigious Academy had already flopped, the Kairo game direction was essentially a dead end. Even if there were to be another game in that genre, it would have to wait until the company had enough financial reserves.
Right now, Kiyoshi Yuuma still hadn't even decided what kind of game to develop next.
So the priority now was to give Onmyoji 2 everything they had.
It wasn't quite a dead-end situation yet, but it was close enough to call a do-or-die effort.
…
In the days that followed, Kiyoshi Yuuma was so busy he could barely breathe.
As the producer, he had to oversee every detail of the project. And as a concept artist, he had to continue generating and outputting more character art.
Fortunately, his performance remained stable. The original owner of this body was truly skilled at drawing. Sometimes, Kiyoshi Yuuma would simply picture a composition in his head, and his hands would start moving on their own.
The final result exceeded even his own expectations.
It not only maintained the aesthetic style of Onmyoji 1 but also subtly advanced it to reflect a more modern sense of beauty.
The staff were blown away the moment they saw it.
"Wow! No wonder he's President Kiyoshi, this art is absolutely top-tier!"
"Even if it's not implemented in the game yet, just looking at it makes me want to play. Is this our President's skill, huh?"
"Honestly, I think our President's art is probably among the best in the entire industry."
Kiyoshi Yuuma folded his arms and chuckled coldly from the sidelines.
You're all underestimating me.
If it weren't for hardware limitations, I could easily produce art on the level of Shinkai Makoto, the wallpaper maniac.
But thanks to his involvement—and the shift in direction—the project's progress was now impressively positive, and team morale was recovering at a visible pace.
"Yoshi!"
"Let's use Onmyoji 2 to chase another sales miracle!"