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[Game] Chapter 78: Bonus for You (1/5)
🕑 Added 2024-12-31 09:44:29 +0000 UTCThe video was just over seven minutes long, so the recording script wasn’t extensive. After a few initial hiccups, the task was finally complete.
Aoba Suzukaze removed her noise-canceling headphones and leaned back in her chair, letting out a deep breath.
"It’s finally done."
Ichin, satisfied with her effort, gave her a light pat on the head. "Not bad at all. You improved quickly. Great job this time! I’ll make sure to give you a nice bonus."
Although Aoba had felt embarrassed during the recording, the promise of a bonus made her smile. She looked at Ichin and said cheerfully, "Thanks, boss!"
"Oh, now I’m the boss, huh?" Ichin chuckled and shook his head. "Alright, go on now. I’ll finish editing the video and get it uploaded. You guys can relax and do your thing—I’ve got promotion work to handle."
When it came to editing videos, there wasn’t much the others could help with, so it made sense for Ichin to handle it alone.
Shinoda Hajime stood behind one of the chairs, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "So, when’s the next recording session? I want in!"
Yun Iijima saw through her intentions immediately. "You’re just after the bonus, aren’t you?" she said, rolling her eyes.
"Hehe, you caught me." Shinoda scratched her head with a sheepish grin. "I’ve been eyeing the latest Kamen Rider Shinkocchou Seihou figure. I’m short on cash."
"Shinkocchou Seihou?" Ichin looked over at her and grinned. "The Kamen Rider Black one? I preordered it. It should be ready for pickup in a few days."
"What?!" Shinoda’s eyes widened in shock. "You got one? I tried, but it’s so hard to preorder. I had to look online and pay a markup. Now I’m practically broke."
Yun Iijima didn’t hold back, shooting her a disapproving look. "You’re always like this—spending most of your money on collectibles and figures!"
As she spoke, Yun couldn’t help but glance at Shinoda’s, let’s say, “considerable assets,” feeling increasingly frustrated. I eat well every day, so why is the difference this big?
Unbothered by the remark, Shinoda leaned closer to Ichin with a hopeful expression. "Ichin-kun, can I borrow your Shinkocchou Seihou when it arrives? Mine won’t be here for a while."
Ichin smiled and nodded. "Sure, I don’t mind. Just don’t break it, okay? This is the first Shinkocchou Seihou figure I’ve bought since moving here. I didn’t bring any of my other collectibles with me."
Utaha, who had been quietly observing, finally spoke up. "I didn’t know you were into this kind of thing. I thought games were your only interest."
"Well, I am a guy," Ichin said with a shrug. "Who can resist Kamen Rider, Ultraman, or Gundam? Unfortunately, we’re still a small studio. But when we grow bigger, maybe we can try creating an IP-based game someday."
Ichin had played plenty of games based on popular franchises like Kamen Rider, Ultraman, and Gundam, but only a handful were genuinely enjoyable. Most were older titles, from years ago, that still held up despite their age.
In recent years, the Kamen Rider games Ichin had played—whether it was the chaotic fighting game Climax Fighters or the story-driven action game Memory of Heroez—had been utter disappointments. Even hardcore fans couldn’t find much joy in them.
(T/N: China has different versions of them so don't know about their rating... [斗的巅峰乱斗])
"Oh! Ichin-kun, you’re truly a kindred spirit!" Shinoda Hajime exclaimed with excitement. "If we ever make a game like that, you absolutely have to let me handle the action design. Just thinking about it gets me hyped!"
"Alright, calm down and go play," Ichin said, waving her off as he put on his headphones and prepared to work.
Eriri watched Ichin’s video editing progress for a moment, then turned to Yukino with a thoughtful look. "Yukino, have you ever wanted to try out one of Ichin-kun’s games? Since it’s break time, how about I give you a quick tour?"
Yukino gave her an unamused look. "If you ask me, it’s you who wants to play, Sawamura-san."
"Not at all! I’m letting you experience it!" Eriri protested, grabbing Yukino by the hand and pulling her over to an empty chair beside Ichin. After seating her, Eriri turned to Ichin and asked, "Ichin-kun, no one’s using this computer, right?"
"Yeah, it’s free," Ichin replied. "Feel free to use it if you want to play something."
"Great!"
Eriri booted up the computer, logged into her Steam account, and quickly downloaded the game. A few seconds later, she handed the mouse to Yukino.
"Hehe, don’t worry, Yukino. This game doesn’t require complicated controls—it’s super simple!"
Though skeptical, Yukino glanced at Eriri. Since she was already seated and had the game ready in front of her, she decided to go along with it and began playing.
Seeing Yukino start the game, Utaha grew curious and pulled up a chair to watch from behind. Meanwhile, Aoba Suzukaze and Sakura Nene wandered off to play other games, while the remaining girls gathered for tea and chatted.
This rare moment of relaxation was a treat. Normally, they worked on Saturdays and only rested on Sundays, so days like this were uncommon.
As for Ichin, he continued working on syncing Aoba’s voice recording to the video subtitles. He carefully fine-tuned everything before exporting and uploading the final version to various platforms.
About twenty minutes later, the second version of the video was finished and uploading. While waiting, Ichin posted an update on Bilibili, announcing that a new video detailing the update would be released soon.
During this time, Slay the Spire had become a genuine hit. From the initial boost from streamers to the subsequent word-of-mouth hype, the game’s Steam reviews maintained an "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating, driving consistent sales.
Ichin had a hunch that the game’s total sales could surpass a million copies within six months.
With Slay the Spire’s success, Ichin felt more confident about paying his team’s salaries and ensuring the smooth progress of Hollow Knight’s development.
Additionally, as the game gained traction, Ichin’s Bilibili account saw daily growth in followers. That day, he had over 90,000 followers and was nearing the 100,000 milestone.
Achieving such results with an indie game was something Ichin took immense pride in.
"Hmm, once the video is uploaded, let’s do a giveaway in the post—maybe 20 activation codes," he muttered, rubbing his chin.
Then he glanced at the group of girls chatting over tea. "Umiko-senpai, quick question: how hard do you think it would be to port Slay the Spire to a console platform?"
Umiko paused, putting her teacup down as she considered. "This game has low performance requirements, so porting it would be pretty straightforward. If you want to do it, it’s absolutely feasible. Are you thinking about moving it to consoles?"
"Kind of, but there’s no rush," Ichin replied. He narrowed his eyes, calculating the potential workload in his mind.
...
