Development on Titanfall was also going smoothly. The shooting in particular felt great—thanks to Umiko, a veteran who'd studied FPS design for years, the gunplay was dialed in perfectly.
As for the Titans, while not every class was finished yet, the protagonist unit BT-7274 had been fully designed, and work on the remaining Titans and level layouts was progressing in parallel.
When the Shanghai studio received Ichin's message that they'd be unveiling the game's PV at The Game Awards, the whole team lit up.
Say what you will about Western games media being pretty cash‑grabby in recent years, TGA still draws the attention of players around the world every December.
Announcing a new title on that stage guarantees a ton of eyeballs.
And who doesn't want the game they've poured their hearts into to spread across the globe?
So the Shanghai team kicked into high gear, throwing themselves even harder into development.
The Tokyo studio reacted the same way. Once word got around that Persona had been selected for December's TGA, the office buzzed with excitement.
Everyone had full confidence in Persona's quality—Best RPG of the Year felt like a sure thing.
As for the other categories like Game of the Year, they were as laid‑back as Ichin: great if they won, no big deal if they didn't. Odds were it would go to Breath of the Wild 2 anyway.
But prizes weren't the main point. The most important part was the trailer segment at the ceremony.
BattleBlock Theater would launch in November, so there was no need to air a trailer for it. Dark Souls and Titanfall, though—those absolutely needed fresh content over the next two months to cut into irresistible announcement trailers.
Practically overnight, both studios shifted into high-speed mode. Everyone squeezed every productive minute out of their workday to make sure those TGA trailers would land.
"Of course, there's still no need to work overtime."
At 7 p.m., in a yakiniku place, Ichin, Utaha, Kou Yagami, Rin Tōyama, Aoba, and Hifumi sat around the grill, happily demolishing a meat feast.
The restaurant was run by Chinese owners and blended styles from different regions. The sauces especially came in every variety.
Snipping two big slices of grilled pork belly and dividing them up, Ichin dipped his pieces into a dry spice mix, wrapped them in lettuce, took a bite, and said, "Overtime just burns the energy you need for the next day. Clock out on time, eat something good, go home to relax and play a bit, sleep well, then show up the next morning full of energy—what's wrong with that? I'll never get why people here are so obsessed with overtime. Makes no sense."
Kou felt that one deep in her bones.
"Tradition, I guess—but not a good one, looking back."
Mouth full of grilled meat, she added, "Honestly, life's better now. Ever since I joined your team, my schedule's fixed, my body feels lighter, even my skin's better. Back then I was literally sleeping at the office for about half the month."
Aoba nodded vigorously.
"Totally. I still remember when I first joined Eagle Jump, getting to the office early and seeing Kou-senpai sleeping under her desk. Scared me half to death!"
Rin chimed in from the side,
"Right. She kept pulling all‑nighters at the office. I told her off so many times, but she never listened, so I ended up staying with her a few nights."
The company now was nothing like the old days. Nobody slept at the office anymore. At most, if a task wasn't quite done, someone might stay an extra hour or two—but pulling past midnight? No chance.
A lot of the married guys even praised the system, saying it let them go home early to be with their families, keeping communication alive and their home life warm and steady.
From another angle, you could say Ichin had actually saved a few families that might've run into trouble.
Sipping oolong tea, Utaha smiled.
"I agree—no overtime is best. We already work all day; there's no need to keep going at night. And don't get me started on those who deliberately push daytime tasks into the evening just to rack up overtime pay. Isn't it way nicer to relax like this and eat together?"
That logic might be obvious, but few companies actually manage it.
After the pork belly, they moved on to beef tongue—and the main event: two hefty, beautifully marbled steaks.
When those steaks hit the grill, everyone's eyes lit up, and they couldn't help swallowing.
Since the boss was treating, Ichin went for the good stuff. The people at this table were the backbone of the company; he wasn't going to be stingy.
After they'd eaten their fill, everyone headed home.
Hifumi had just gotten her driver's license and bought a car, so she gave Aoba a lift.
Back home, Utaha went to shower first. Ichin checked on the two cats who'd stayed in, confirmed they'd eaten and used the litter box properly, then headed into the bedroom.
He powered up his PC and logged into QQ. The big single‑player game chat groups where he lurked were already buzzing about this year's TGA.
It was October, and next month the nominee lists would be out—of course people were talking.
He lurked for a bit, saved a few spicy pics the old hands had posted, then opened Steam and booted up The Binding of Isaac.
One perk of being the developer: even you can't rig your own starts.
Luck smiled on him today—opening room Brimstone. Time for a laser build.
Halfway through the run, Utaha came back from her shower. Ichin handed her the controls, grabbed his change of clothes and pajamas, and went to the bathroom.
Soaking in the tub, he quietly mapped out the next two months.
Dark Souls needed more of his attention. To cut a powerful trailer, they'd need grand set pieces, plus some large monsters in playable shape. With two installments planned back‑to‑back, Bloodborne on deck, and even Elden Ring on the long‑term roadmap, the "Souls" line had to be nailed.
As for Titanfall, he didn't need to worry much—Umiko was his handpicked lead. With her watching it, that side was covered.
"Trailers, huh… then I need to get in touch with our partner studio about the music and start hammering out the cues we'll use."
Counting it all up, there was plenty to do—on top of his university coursework.
*
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