Game Developer in the World of Anime

Seeing the long strip of meat on the cutting board, Hajime Shinoda curiously asked, "Pork belly?"

"Yep, salted pork belly. I'm planning to make a salted pork and vegetable rice dish," Ichin replied as he took out the other ingredients. Washing the knife, he asked, "Want to try it?"

"Is it tasty?" Hajime tilted her head.

"Mm-hmm, it's pretty good," Ichin recalled as he spoke. "The main thing is that it's simple to make. The rice is flavored with salted pork belly, sausage, and mixed with vegetables like carrots and greens. Go ask everyone if they want to join. If they do, I'll make a larger portion."

"Got it!" Hajime agreed enthusiastically and dashed out of the kitchen.

Two minutes later, she returned with Toyama Rin. With a bright smile, Hajime announced, "Ichin-kun, everyone said they want to eat it! We're counting on you!"

Rin walked over and washed her hands. "I'll help out too. My current tasks aren't too busy anyway."

"Sure, that works. Hajime, you can leave this to us. Go handle your own work," Ichin said with a smile.

"Okay~~"

For dinner, Ichin planned to make the salted pork and vegetable rice as the main dish, along with a soup and a couple of simple side dishes.

As Ichin was slicing the salted pork belly, Rin curiously asked, "Won't it be too salty?"

"It would be if left untreated, but I've already rinsed and soaked it. The saltiness should be just right. Besides, I'm adding sausage too, so the pork belly can afford to be milder. Rin, could you help chop these vegetables?"

"No problem, leave it to me."

While chopping, Rin casually asked, "Ichin-kun, is Utaha joining us for dinner later?"

"Yeah, she's coming back, but it'll take a while," Ichin replied with a nod. "She's on a call with her editor right now, confirming some details about her novel. She'll probably be here in about half an hour."

"A novel, huh~~" Rin chuckled. "I've read Utaha's book too. It's really well-written. The second volume is coming out soon, right?"

"Yes, June 10th, so not long now."

As expected, Utaha arrived half an hour later. She joined Ichin and Rin in the kitchen, helping them prepare dinner.

Utaha's parents, the Kasumigaoka couple, were already accustomed to their daughter not eating at home and didn't mind her frequent absences. They had visited Ichin's workspace once before and found the environment pleasant. They even saw it as an opportunity for their daughter to become more sociable.

By around six o'clock, dinner was ready. Rin called everyone to stop their tasks and head to the dining area.

The dishes were already set on the table, and Ichin brought the rice cooker over to serve the rice.

The glistening salted pork and vegetable rice, with its enticing aroma, immediately captured everyone's attention.

After serving the last bowl, Ichin glanced at the rice cooker, which still had a small portion left, and smiled. "Alright, everyone, take your seats. Let's eat!"

"I'm digging in!"

After the group exclaimed together, Hajime Shinoda eagerly picked up her chopsticks, scooped up some rice, and popped it into her mouth.

"Wow! This is amazing! The saltiness and aroma blend perfectly, and the pork and vegetables are so delicious!"

The others shared similar reactions, thoroughly enjoying their meal with bright smiles. Seeing this, Ichin couldn't help but smile contentedly as well.

While eating, the group chatted about their day, sharing updates on their respective tasks now that Ichin was present.

Umiko took a sip of soup and looked at Ichin. "I've reviewed most of the development kit content. Ichin, I'd like to start porting Slay the Spire to the Nintendo Switch."

"You're handling it yourself, Umiko?"

Umiko nodded. "It's not particularly challenging, just an additional feature for touchscreen support. I can hold off on that for now and focus on getting the game to run smoothly on the Switch first. Don't worry, I won't let this slow down the development of Hollow Knight."

Waving his hand dismissively, Ichin chuckled. "Don't worry, I wasn't going to stop you from trying. You don't need to stress about Hollow Knight either—new team members are joining soon, and I'll be working on both projects. Nothing will fall behind."

Hearing this, Umiko smiled, reassured, and continued eating her meal.

After finishing dinner, everyone returned to their tasks in the studio, while Utaha brewed tea for the group. Since Ichin had brought his own tea leaves, green tea had become a favorite beverage alongside their usual coffee and energy drinks.

Sipping tea, Ichin sat beside Umiko, watching her work with the Switch development tools.

Having spent the entire day researching, Umiko's proficiency was notably higher than Ichin's.

While operating the tools, Umiko remarked, "Although Slay the Spire doesn't demand much in terms of technical skills, I suspect the initial packaged version might not be completely stable. Do you think we should make any adjustments to the visuals?"

"Hmm, let's test it first," Ichin replied thoughtfully. "I've already gone with a minimalistic art style during development, and the graphics aren't very complex. Logically, there shouldn't be major issues. But since this is new territory for us, don't hesitate to reach out to Nintendo's technical team if anything's unclear."

"That's my thought too," Umiko agreed. "Simple porting isn't a big deal for me, but optimizing the game could benefit from their input. They've helped many third-party studios port games to the Switch, so it'll save us a lot of trouble."

After observing Umiko for a while, Ichin returned to his workstation, stretched, and began working on Hollow Knight.

Hajime Shinoda was making good progress on the protagonist's motion models, and they were close to creating test scenes to evaluate the game's controls.

Glancing to his left, Ichin saw Hajime wielding a Zi-O's Ride Heisei Blade replica, practicing moves. He said, "Hajime, I'll be getting the Black True Bone Sculpt figure I preordered tomorrow. Want me to bring it to the studio?"

"Oh, definitely!" Hajime's face lit up. "I couldn't get mine—the seller backed out, and I couldn't reserve it anywhere else!"

Though briefly disappointed, Hajime quickly smiled. "But it's fine! Since you have one, I can still check it out. Plus, the money I saved can go toward buying the King Sword SHF that's coming out soon!"

Yun Iijima looked up from her work, exasperated, and said, "I thought you'd save that money."

"Save? No way!" Hajime clenched her fist determinedly. "There are still so many Saber SHFs left to collect. I'm going for a full set! Ichin-kun, how many are you getting?"

"Me?" Ichin rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Depends, but I doubt I'll go for the full set."

When it came to models and figurines, Ichin now limited himself to buying pre-assembled ones he really liked. With his responsibilities at school and the studio, he barely had time to assemble models, making it a waste to purchase them otherwise.

...

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