When it came to music—especially composition—Ichin had always been self-studying. But since he was usually swamped with work, his learning efficiency hadn't been all that great.
Still, for a small game like BattleBlock Theater, his skills were more than enough to handle the soundtrack.
Of course, if it were something on the scale of Dark Souls, then his current level wouldn't cut it. He would need to keep studying much more.
For the music side of things, he had already partnered with a company they'd worked with before. The other party had been preparing well in advance, so things didn't feel rushed.
Two months to prepare a grand, orchestral soundtrack was a trivial task for a professional studio.
As for Titanfall, Ichin could always reach out to a music studio in Shanghai—there were plenty of skilled professionals there too.
"TGA, huh. Ichin-kun, your company is really getting more and more amazing. That's so wonderful."
On Friday, Sayuri Sawamura brought over a pile of snacks as gifts and, seeing the company bustling with energy, spoke with heartfelt admiration.
Ichin bit into a cookie and shook his head. "Not really. We're still far from there. At the very least, we haven't reached the point of contending for Game of the Year yet. But once Dark Souls releases… maybe there's some hope."
Dark-themed games came out every year, but none had ever managed to establish a world and gameplay structure like Dark Souls. On top of that, thanks to the company's top-tier artists, Ichin planned to make their art style even stronger than the Dark Souls he remembered.
The architectural styles, monster designs, humanoid enemy armor and weapons—everything had to be polished to perfection.
And of course, no Dark Souls-style game could be complete without dragons.
In the original Dark Souls 3, even counting DLC, there weren't many dragons. But Ichin wasn't about to let players off the hook that easily. He intended to add several more dragons, each with unique characteristics, as optional elite bosses in certain areas.
They wouldn't be mandatory fights—Ichin designed many routes that allowed players to bypass them. But those who fought and won would obtain rare, high-quality weapons and items.
A unique boss ought to drop something special, right?
Ichin despised the kind of design where you slog through a brutal boss battle only to be rewarded with a few scraps—no proper feedback at all.
Back when he played Breath of the Wild, he often felt this frustration: clearing a monster camp, conquering a shrine, finally opening a chest—only to find a flimsy weapon or a couple of ores. By the latter half of the game, he barely felt motivated to open chests anymore.
That's why, in all the games he'd developed so far, positive player feedback was something he valued deeply.
The tougher the enemy, the greater the reward.
Of course, shortcuts existed in Dark Souls. But if players chose them, they'd naturally miss out on valuable rewards—that was only fair.
And giving good loot never meant Ichin would compromise on difficulty. When it came to setting up tough challenges, he wasn't going to hold back.
After chatting with Sayuri for a while, Ichin went over to Hajime Shinodada's desk. He asked her to pause her work and gathered the rest of the action team for a meeting.
"I looked over the motion set you submitted for Iudex Gundyr. It still needs some refinement."
He had Shinoda pull up the completed animations, pointing at Gundyr on the screen. "Here—the weapon swing. Add half a second more wind-up. Stop making everything so straightforward. Did you already forget what I told you about varying attack speed—fast and slow strikes?"
Shinoda's mouth twitched. "But… this is the first boss, right? Isn't that a bit too hard right at the start?"
"Is it?" Ichin replied calmly. "Don't forget, there's also the 'Champion Gundyr' later. I've already had you cut down plenty for this first version. The real challenge comes from the player's limited healing items early on, paired with higher enemy damage. As long as players pay attention to the animations, it's not too difficult. Even the fast-slow swings can be dealt with—just defend properly or create distance. Remember, this game is built around boss fights. Every boss must have distinct mechanics. I'm not spamming mobs in the exploration parts, so the boss battles need to stand out even more."
Hearing him out, the programmers nodded in agreement.
After dismissing the others, Ichin continued discussing Shinoda's other boss projects before returning to his office.
The maps for the later zones were mostly complete but still fragmented. They needed integration, and Ichin took that task upon himself—along with some additional revisions.
One week later, in the company's conference room.
Everyone was gathered, eyes fixed on the large screen where a test program was running. The content: a boss fight against Vordt of the Boreal Valley—nicknamed the "Ice Dog" by players.
For the demonstration, they didn't just show animations. The entire boss arena had been integrated into a test build.
The demonstrator, Shinoda, controlled a starting knight character—basic armor, straight sword, and medium shield, no upgrades at all.
Though she was the one who created this boss, the action patterns were all Ichin's designs. That alone made her nervous as she showcased the fight.
When the Ice Dog unleashed its relentless charge attack, even Shinoda—an experienced action gamer—panicked. She quickly raised her shield, but after a few rushes, her stamina bar was drained. The Ice Dog followed up with a massive hammer strike, instantly wiping out half her health bar. Game over.
"Ahh! I died!"
Shinoda let out a frustrated sigh at the black-and-white death screen.
Meanwhile, the others watching were buzzing with excitement.
"Heh, I built this stage!"
"The boss stats were my tuning! Too bad she's using base gear. If the weapon was upgraded and the level higher, it wouldn't be that bad."
"Dream on. With those rabid dog-like moves, even veterans are gonna struggle at first."
Though Shinoda failed the demo, the sheer sense of oppression from the boss left Ichin very satisfied.
Clapping his hands, he announced, "Alright, switch to the next one. Next up is Dragonslayer Armor."
*
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