Game Developer in the World of Anime

Umiko's approach was indeed clever. No matter how strong the enemy, fighting in that kind of environment up top was just plain unfavorable.

In open areas, dodging and creating distance was much easier.

Soon, Umiko led her character back down to the lower area, and moments later, the katana-wielding enemy—Uchigatana Guy—came charging after her.

Umiko quickly raised her shield and blocked the incoming strike, then immediately went on the offensive and landed several hits.

Three slashes in, with her stamina nearly drained, she pressed the dodge button to retreat.

But before she could fully recover her stamina, Uchigatana Guy rushed in and broke through her guard with a single strike, leaving her unable to dodge.

With two clean hits, he finished her off.

Umiko let out a breath and set down the controller, rubbing the space between her brows in frustration as she stared at the black-and-white YOU DIED screen.

"This game is a mental battlefield… Can't the stamina bar be a little longer? Just three hits after blocking and I'm out of juice!"

Ichin chuckled. "That's the fun of it, right? If you had more stamina, you could just spam combos and trivialize enemies with low poise."

Uchigatana Guy's poise wasn't even set that high. If the stamina bar were 1.5x or 2x longer, players could wipe him out with ease.

"Next!" Umiko handed the controller to the next in line—Yukino—then turned to Ichin. "Let them play for a while. You come look at this. I helped Nene polish up the game engine she wrote. It's still got its limitations, but it should be plenty for making smaller 2D games."

"That engine?"

Ichin recalled it now. When Nene had first submitted her resume, she'd attached a small 2D side-scrolling game. Everything—from the art to the programming, even the engine itself—was entirely her own work.

He walked over to the table where the laptop was placed, opened Umiko's notebook, and began checking out Nene's engine.

Umiko sat down beside him and said softly, "She asked me about engine development back when she was working on her own. I reviewed her early version back then—it was way more basic than now. After joining us, she kept improving it privately, and I gave her some feedback."

Ichin nodded as he listened, reviewing the engine's structure.

There was no denying it—Nene, a top student accepted into a prestigious women's university law program, had an incredibly sharp mind.

But more than that, she was bold.

Most people trying to make games would rely on existing engines—like Unity, which is free and widely used.

But Nene had gone all-in. She wrote her own engine from scratch—and actually made it work, building a functional 2D side-scrolling game on top of it.

After spending over ten minutes reviewing the overall structure, Ichin was about to say something when he realized that at some point, Nene had slipped over to his other side and was staring at him, eyes sparkling with anticipation.

He smiled and flicked her forehead gently. "Alright, stop looking at me like that. Your improved engine can definitely handle 2D side-scrollers. Keep the art style simple—cartoony, nothing too complex. It supports both local and online co-op, and from the look of it, it doesn't require much system resources. Oh—how's the compatibility with the Nintendo Switch?"

"Totally fine!"

Nene answered instantly. "I even tested that old side-scroller on the Switch. After debugging, it runs at a stable 60 FPS with no issues!"

"Is that so?"

Ichin smiled in satisfaction. "You really are a genius, Nene. For indie teams making 2D games, this is a solid foundation. And there's still plenty of room to expand or modify. If you're open to it, I'd like to work with Umiko to help refine it further and promote the engine publicly. Of course, we can also use it in-house. As its creator, you'll definitely get paid for licensing."

"Huh? Really? That's amazing!"

Nene jumped with joy. "But you don't need to pay me! Just knowing my engine will be used for a real game is already the happiest thing for me!"

Ichin gestured for her to sit back down. "You're getting paid, period. You built this engine from the ground up. Here's the plan: our company will continue expanding. Once Persona finishes development, I'll put together a new project specifically tailored to your engine. We'll develop it in-house, and that game will be the vehicle we use to promote your engine."

Ichin already had several game ideas in mind that would suit her engine—titles like BattleBlock Theater, Lost Castle, and other stylized indie games.

They were distinctive, low-cost to produce, and well within their capabilities. After finishing Persona, they could assign part of the team to spend six months testing the waters with a new title.

Hearing Ichin's words, Nene was overjoyed. After profusely thanking him, she ran over to Aoba and gave her best friend a tight hug.

"Aoba! My engine's getting used for a real game!"

Aoba, who had been focused on the intense action on screen, was startled.

After hearing the news, she hugged her back with genuine happiness.

"That's awesome, Nene!"

At that moment, Eriri—who had just been defeated again by Uchigatana Guy—set down the controller and looked back at Ichin.

"So… another new project?"

"Still early. For now, let's stay focused on finishing Persona. Nene's engine can only support a specific style of game, so it's unlikely we'll need your help for that one. Your talents would honestly be wasted there."

Hearing that, Eriri tilted her chin up proudly.

"Hmph~ Of course! I'm—wait—I'm the genius illustrator Eriri Spencer Sawamura!"

Utaha squinted at her smug face and teased, "A couple compliments and you're already full of yourself, huh?"

"Shut up! I am a genius!!"

And just like that, Eriri tossed the controller at Aoba and leapt toward Utaha once more.

*

Author's Note:

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