For the rest of the time, Ichin worked on his proposal while listening to Utaha and the others chat about gossip.
Half an hour later, they had pretty much gone through all the gossip, so they casually put on a movie.
While Utaha went to get drinks, Haruno leaned over next to Ichin and looked at the content on his laptop.
"A proposal for a new game?"
"Yeah, a new title in the Tales series. I'm just writing the proposal during my free time for now. If we really start development, it won't be until the second half of the year, maybe even the end of the year. I still haven't started working on the second Garo project yet."
"Hmm, the Tales series, huh."
Haruno had personally cleared Tales of Berseria, and it had left a good impression on her, so she was quite interested in this new project Ichin was working on.
After taking a look, she said in surprise, "Oh? This feels quite different from Berseria. And this heroine's setting is pretty interesting, she can't be touched by anyone? But the male lead can touch her? So the pairing is already set from the start?"
"Exactly. Didn't people say the ending for the protagonists in Berseria wasn't that great? This time, we'll satisfy their wishes. Six main characters, paired off into three couples, everyone gets a bright future."
At that moment, Utaha came back with freshly squeezed juice. Hearing Ichin's words, she grew curious as well.
"Ichin, what are the character settings for the main cast?"
Yukino also leaned in, equally interested in the game's concept.
Ichin then briefly explained the basic settings of the six-member main cast. Of course, it was only a general overview. He didn't go into detailed descriptions of the male and female leads.
Saying too much would ruin the fun. A simple introduction was enough, especially since many of the later developments were tied to the story, which he hadn't even written yet.
But even this brief explanation was enough.
After listening, Utaha said expectantly, "With this setup and world setting, it sounds really good. If this game gets made, the map will probably be much larger than Berseria, right?"
Ichin nodded. "Yeah, it'll be much bigger. I'm planning to make it semi-open world, letting players freely explore a massive map as the main story progresses."
"Semi-open world, huh." Haruno poked his arm and asked, "Ichin, when are you going to make a full open-world game? Something like Starfield?"
"Starfield, huh? That'll be a long way off. The investment required is just way too massive, ridiculously so."
Starfield had been released at the end of last year, and Ichin had played it right away. It was indeed a great game, though the initial optimization wasn't the best. Even with his top-tier PC, running it at 4K and 60 FPS was a bit difficult without lowering some settings.
Fortunately, with subsequent updates, the optimization improved, and now it ran smoothly.
As for open-world games, Ichin had no intention of casually stepping into something as large-scale as a space-themed project.
"As for developing an open-world game myself, we'll take it step by step. After finishing Bloodborne, the next Souls-like game will probably be made into an open world."
"Eh? Turning Dark Souls into an open world?"
Haruno tilted her head and thought about it for a while, but still couldn't quite imagine what that would look like. "With such a huge open-world map, and it being a Souls-like game, letting players run around freely from the start… is that really okay? There should be difficulty differences between areas, right?"
Ichin smiled. "There will definitely be difficulty differences. But I'll also design ways for players to reach high-level areas even at low levels. Whether they can figure out how is up to them."
Since it was an open world, players' desire to explore couldn't be restricted. Aside from certain main story areas, most of the map would be freely accessible.
As for avoiding being crushed by high-level enemies, that would depend on the players themselves. And in this game, Ichin planned to give players mounts. If they couldn't win, they could just run. Grab important items and escape, the worst that could happen was losing some souls.
Ichin believed that after experiencing Dark Souls and Bloodborne, players would already be quite familiar with losing souls and running through maps.
Hearing that it would take a long time before he tackled open-world development, Haruno felt a bit disappointed. She had hoped to play it sooner, but it seemed she would have to wait.
Still, it didn't matter too much. She was usually busy with work and didn't have much time for games anyway. Playing something casual like Fall Guys was enough.
At 11:30 a.m., Ichin stopped working and went out with Utaha and the others. They drove to the reserved seats at Jojoen and had a yakiniku lunch.
After eating, they strolled around a nearby shopping mall. At 2 p.m., the four of them arrived at the café where the blind date was set.
"Hazuki already reserved a table. We just need to find a seat nearby, not too close."
Even though they had come to observe Hazuki's blind date, they didn't intend to disturb her. They would simply sit somewhere and watch quietly.
After looking around the café, they found a booth with a bit of distance but still within view, and ordered coffee and cake.
Taking a bite of cake, Haruno said eagerly, "Ichin, Ichin, when are they arriving?"
"The time Hazuki told me was 2 p.m. It's 1:20 now, so they should be here soon," Ichin said after checking his watch. "But before that, Kō and the others will probably arrive first."
Sure enough, just as he finished speaking, the café door opened again, and Kō Yagami, Rin Tōyama, Nene Sakura, and Momiji Mochizuki walked in.
They spotted Ichin's group, exchanged smiles and greetings, then found another table to sit at.
Everyone had the same goal, quietly observing Hazuki's blind date partner.
While eating cake, Utaha suddenly thought of something.
"By the way, Ichin, how old is Hazuki, exactly?"
As soon as she said it, Haruno and Yukino also realized something. They were all quite familiar with her, yet somehow none of them had paid attention to her actual age.
Ichin smiled. "Looks like Hazuki always saying she's forever twenty has had some effect. She's thirty-three this year. It's about time she found someone."
"Thirty-three, huh… I didn't expect that," Utaha said, resting her chin on her hands. "She's taken great care of herself. Her skin is no different from ours in our early twenties. If she doesn't say it herself, no one could guess her real age. I imagine that university teacher she's meeting must feel quite pressured."
Ichin and the others all nodded. With Hazuki's appearance and background, there was bound to be pressure, even for a university professor.
After a while, Aoba and the others also arrived one after another.
And at 1:45 p.m., fifteen minutes early, Hazuki's blind date partner finally showed up.
...
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