"No—that's not it!" Aki Tomoya retorted emotionally. "I want to create an unprecedented, ultimate romance encounter story. It's for all ages, with no 18X elements whatsoever!!!"
"Isn't that just a GALGAME?" Shin took a sip of coffee and shrugged. "Although I haven't delved much into this area, a visual novel romance game should be the only type a student club can make, right?"
Actually, romance games aren't limited to GALGAMEs. If you wanted to, FPS, RTS, and ACT games could all incorporate romance, even Dark Souls 3 could be turned into a romance game.
However, there's a big problem here—cost.
With a production team of less than five people, three working, one useless, and one flower vase model who might or might not join and is probably useless, what else could they make besides GALGAMEs?
To put it bluntly, these people probably can't even program a game, and their computers might just be for writing and drawing, otherwise they're online junkies.
"Yes, I do want to make a GALGAME," Aki Tomoya nodded.
Although he was quite unrealistic, he was still aware of his own capabilities. He wouldn't want to create anything beyond a visual novel to express the romantic illusions that arose when his hormones were overflowing.
"For this, I need Shin-kun's help. I anticipate the game's text volume will be quite massive, and it would be difficult to complete with just Senpai alone—"
"What's your estimated production cost?"
Shin directly interrupted his lengthy speech, cutting to the chase.
"What's your budget? The budget for game assets, what price range of voice actors do you want, professional or non-professional?
The artist you're hiring, and my payment, how much do you plan to give?"
"Huh?" Aki Tomoya was stunned, apparently not having considered this question at all.
"Shin-kun, this isn't about money. It's not about being so realistic. This is about dreams..."
"I'm talking about reality!" Shin interrupted him again, crossing his arms and looking directly at Aki Tomoya, stating coldly, "Alright, even setting aside production costs, where do you plan to release your game? Steam? Getchu? Or physical offline sales? What platform do you plan to make it for? Just PC?"
"How many copies do you expect to sell? What do you plan to price your GALGAME at? You want to make an all-ages game, but from what you're saying, you want to make a single-heroine romance game?"
"How do you plan to promote it? Just through your video website? Have you estimated the promotional costs?"
"Is the game you want to create potentially infringing on the personal portrait rights of the girl you met? What development tools do you plan to use? Unity? Do you know how to use it? Does anyone in this club know how to use it?"
Shin's barrage of questions stunned Aki Tomoya, and the two girls next to him were also somewhat speechless.
"Aki-kun, you can't create anything by just talking about dreams. The cheapest thing in this world is a dream. To put it bluntly, it's worthless."
Shin finished in one breath, took a sip of coffee, and commented indifferently.
He actually didn't have much ill will towards this boy. Although he was immersed in his own world and oblivious to others, among otaku, he was at most the type who would interfere with others, far from being a criminal.
Although he didn't know much about him, from the look of the two girls next to him, they were probably dragged along as tools. Shin didn't care about this; it was their emotional issue, they were willing to lick each other, and it wasn't his place to judge.
But if you're trying to use me as your free tool, then I won't let you get away with it.
"These, these things... these are too complicated, let's just make the game first..."
"I'm talking about the simplest issues."
Shin once again cut him off, unreservedly saying,
"You haven't even prepared the most basic framework for the game. With just one memory of an encounter, how are you different from someone who lies in bed, gets an idea, and thinks they can win the Akutagawa Prize?"
"I've realized that Aki-kun, you shouldn't be a game producer; you should be a boss. When employees talk to you about salary, you talk to them about dreams, completely ignoring benefits and working hours, just bringing up dreams. You should apply to those exploitative companies."
"Shin-kun, that's too harsh..."
Kotonoha Katsura tugged at Shin's sleeve, looking at the embarrassed Aki Tomoya with some pity.
Too much? Shin didn't think so. At least, judging by the fact that the two girls who liked Aki Tomoya didn't speak up, it was clear that Shin's words weren't too harsh for him at all.
He was just talking about reality. Anyone full of dreams is either a great master, a liar, a black-hearted boss, or a naive simpleton. None of them are likable.
"If you want to achieve your dreams, you first need to get bread," Shin's tone softened a bit, and he said blandly, "The idea of making an indie game is good, not an unrealistic dream. But I suggest that before recruiting a studio, you look at successful cases as examples to imitate."
For example, the famous three doujin miracles, among which Type-Moon's series by Kinoko Nasu, who is doing best now, was originally just an independent GALGAME.
But it was an 18X game, an eroge, and its plot had strong climaxes, with various factors contributing to its excellent sales.
Higurashi, Touhou, Type-Moon—none of the three doujin miracles were purely romance stories. Not to mention now, even when GALGAMEs were at their peak, the market for pure romance games wasn't that big.
The Japanese game market isn't small, but the market share for visual novels is probably less than one percent. Then, after subtracting the fans of major developers—these people buy GALGAMEs mostly to follow the story like a drama series.
The remaining market for independently produced games is only a tiny speck. To break out in this cruel battleground, there are only two paths:
First, GHS (doing something perverted), taking a path that major developers couldn't, creating explosive points that other peers hadn't, and attracting attention and increasing sales with high-quality H-pictures and plot.
Like the Manyo series, or the unconventional Sylvie, and various other popular H-rated GALGAMEs. None of the ones that became popular were purely romance stories. In fact, many later GHS games that wanted to attract attention even started going for cuckolding and grotesque themes.
The second is to take a different approach and focus on plot climaxes. This path is not easy. It's no longer the era of the "three doujin miracles" that could explode in popularity. No matter how explosive your game's plot is, others can spread your story with just one picture and a snippet of text.
Of course, there are also successful works like Steins;Gate that relied on incredibly explosive plots and were eventually adapted into popular anime. But the problem is, their production companies were 5pb and Nitroplus, two not-so-small companies in the industry, and they were eventually distributed by Kadokawa, which is not the same as independent production.
Game streaming on social platforms also made the few potential GALGAME audiences even less willing to buy. These GALGAMEs, which are mostly sold to fans to recoup costs and are therefore extremely expensive, have too small a target audience.
However, Aki Tomoya didn't want to take either of these two paths.
He didn't want to do anything perverted, nor did he want to create plot explosions. He just wanted to make a "dream game." So, please tell me, wasn't he just indulging himself?
He wasn't looking down on Aki Tomoya. Even if he were to invite others, he would at least need to make the most basic planning preparations.
"That's my dream, how could you understand the emotion of that moment..."
Aki Tomoya retorted, feeling very wronged.
"So, can I understand that you brought so many of us here because you want to write a love letter to that girl?" Shin said playfully.
"If that's the case, I'd really admire you. But as I said, I won't help you for free. I can provide the text, but I'll need compensation. And in return, I need you to promise me something."
He had been a bit too emotional just now, but Shin wasn't here to cause trouble. Aki Tomoya's influence on social media and the editor of the black-stockinged beauty next to him were his targets. Providing text was not difficult for him.
"Really—wait, it's not a love letter at all!" Aki Tomoya's face lit up with joy, but he immediately slapped the table excitedly.
"I would never like a 3D girl!!!"
Shin sighed, covering his forehead. Didn't this guy pay attention to his surroundings? Look, everyone nearby was looking over.
"Huh? Isn't that Yoshida-kun?"
Kotonoha Katsura pointed curiously at a boy and a girl at a nearby booth. The girl was the beautiful long-haired one who had been sitting in front of Shin, and the boy was a flashy young man with black and gold highlighted hair.
"Looks like a loose girl," Utaha frowned prettily. "Why are there so many beautiful girls with long black hair at this school?"
"A lot of students come to Setsuna Reiji, but there's also a delinquent like that next to her... This girl, could she be doing compensated dating..."
Eriri's words trailed off, but everyone understood.
"No, the school would never allow such a thing," Aki Tomoya shook his head, analyzing. "If the school caught wind of such a serious violation of discipline that damages the school's reputation, they would be immediately expelled. Of course, if that student was from Sakakino Academy, it might be possible."
This guy's intelligence was actually above average when he wasn't talking about anime, and his words were filled with a strong sense of pride as a Hōnodai student—which was normal, since the grades of the five people present were not bad at all, except for Eriri whose English was a mess, and Aki Tomoya barely meeting Hōnodai's standards.
"Not only that, I bet 10,000 yen that girl was definitely lured here."
Shin squinted, evaluating playfully, "Looking at that girl, she's a mix of expectation and fear, bewildered yet anticipating. Her legs are pressed together, hands on her knees, in a defensive posture. She probably got a makeover during the summer vacation, hoping for a new and beautiful high school life. And at this time, she ran into a small-time thug who hangs out in society, and was easily lured here with a few words."
"After being lured, she's both excited and scared, really wanting to escape this 'real world' she's never experienced, but also wanting to gain some experience. As for the thug, his intentions are simpler: take advantage, get the girl's body, and have a good time."
Speaking of this, Shin patted Kotonoha's shoulder and chuckled, "Kotonoha, remember to stay away from these shady characters in the future. Don't go off with strange men, and don't drink carelessly, especially don't get drunk, okay?"
Kotonoha Katsura nodded obediently. Utaha looked at the two of them with a strange expression. Rather than a couple, she thought they seemed more like father and daughter...
"Standard plot from 18X doujinshi, then this girl will fall, engage in compensated dating, group sex, fall..."
Eriri sighed, then her expression changed and she covered her mouth, changing the subject.
"Shin-kun is very good at reading people."
"It's alright, but is it really okay to leave that girl alone?" Shin retracted his gaze and looked at the table of people. "If things continue like this, she'll probably fall down a bottomless path of depravity. So, should we help her?"
Aki Tomoya didn't speak. He wasn't interested in 3D women. The girl's situation was different from Kasumigaoka-senpai's. Utaha and Eriri were somewhat tempted, but also felt that interfering with others' freedom was truly not good.
Shin basically felt the same way. He wasn't their father. The girl chose her own consequences, and who knew how many people passed out drunk in bars every day and got picked up? At most, he would help secretly.
Then, Shin's expression subtly changed.
The situation seemed to be sliding towards an even more extreme direction.
The girl named Saki left her seat, and the thug eagerly put something into her drink.
Even an idiot would know it was definitely a neuro-stimulant. Utaha and Eriri's eyes instantly filled with disgust, and they immediately prepared to call the police.
"I'll be right back, Aki-kun, want to come along? It's a rare opportunity to gather material."
Shin stood up with a smile, even inviting Aki Tomoya, but the latter seemed uninterested. He didn't mind. In this day and age, there are few brave heroes who would accompany others to uphold justice. Shin actually didn't intend to get involved initially, but if this guy was going to drug her—that was a different story. After all, she was a classmate sitting in front of him; leaving her alone like that was simply unacceptable.
He walked over to the thug and directly sat down at his booth, affectionately wrapping an arm around his neck and smiling, "Not bad, friend, you found a real top-notch catch." The thug was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand in annoyance, "Get lost! That's Master Hayato's prey."
This idiot probably mistook Shin for someone who wanted to join in for a group activity. "Is that so? That's really a shame,"
Shin sighed and shook his head, grabbing the man's head and smiling, "This harmful face, you won't be needing it anymore."
Bang!!! Face violently collided with the table.
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