The office was quiet.Most developers had left. Only Kisaragi, Mori, and I remained, staring at the cluttered whiteboard where deadlines and bug lists were scribbled in black marker.
"Next project," Mori said, leaning back in his chair, "we should… aim bigger."
Kisaragi didn't look convinced.He tapped a pencil against his desk."We have the budget for a small team. Nothing more. If we overreach, we'll crash."
I stayed silent. But my mind was already running ahead.
What if the next game didn't rely solely on action?What if the challenge came from… survival?
I sketched a few rough ideas on the margin of my notebook:
Open environment
Random encounters
Resource management
Real consequences for mistakes
Mori peered over my shoulder."Looks… complicated," he said.
"Maybe too much for now," I admitted."But imagine a dungeon where danger isn't just about monsters.It's about hunger, traps, and time. Where strategy isn't just attack patterns, but survival itself."
Kisaragi finally looked up."You mean… a game that punishes the player for ignoring details?"
"Yes," I said."Every choice matters. One wrong move, one forgotten item, and the game changes."
There was silence.Then Mori laughed."That… could work. It's different. It's risky. But it might… stick."
Risk was what we didn't usually take.We had made small, honest games. Functional, clean, but never revolutionary.
But I wanted more.
That night, I stayed late.I drafted maps and mechanics on paper, connecting rooms, enemy encounters, and survival metrics.Hunger, fatigue, stress, inventory space—every element could affect gameplay.
By morning, the whiteboard was full of diagrams.I stood back and smiled faintly.
It wasn't a finished idea.It wasn't even a complete game.
But it had potential.Something raw, unseen.
Kisaragi entered the office, coffee in hand."What's all this?" he asked.
"An idea," I said."Not on the list, but… it could be something."
He raised an eyebrow."Something risky. Something that might fail spectacularly."
I nodded."Exactly."
And in that moment, I realized: this is how it starts.The games that people remember aren't the ones that follow the checklist.They're the ones born from risk.