Vol. 2 Chapter 36 – Amateur and Pro

“A commercial product at your company… No, no, no, no… That doesn’t make sense, Taiju-san.” (Reiya)

“Huh? What doesn’t?” (Taiju)

“Because, this is something I just made as a hobby… You’re kidding, right?” (Reiya)

The proposal felt so unrealistic that I assumed it was just another one of his usual pranks—

“Like hell I’d go through the trouble of making something like this as a joke.” (Taiju)

He cut me down with overwhelming logic.

Yes, the images displayed on the screen clearly weren’t something made as a joke.

They were the work of a professional designer who had spent time refining them.

Only the creator myself would know they originated from my random doodles.

“No, but… if it’s not a joke, then it makes even less sense… Are you serious?” (Reiya)

The situation was so abnormal that my true thoughts slipped out.

“Dead serious. You’re the one who asked, right? For a professional opinion.” (Taiju)

“Well, yes, but… isn’t this going way beyond just an opinion?” (Reiya)

“You think? My opinion is that this is a game that can sell commercially, so let’s make it together.” (Taiju)

His words and actions seemed so utterly bizarre that my mouth hung open.

“No, but a game made by an amateur like me…” (Reiya)

“Who made it matters less than whether it’s fun or not. Your game is fun! That’s all there is to it!” (Taiju)

His words made my heart squeeze tight.

“Sure, as a work, it’s still rough as hell. I liked the base concept of incorporating classic CRPG elements into a roguelite, but the characters and backgrounds are mostly placeholders, and the level design is a mess. Well, that’s exactly why we should finish it at our studio.” (Taiju)

“But, your place, Taiju-san, it’s a company, even if it’s small. Will the other people agree—” (Reiya)

“They do. All of them.” (Taiju)

“Eh? What do you mean…?” (Reiya)

“I mean, I asked the other two. What do you guys think of this, I asked.” (Taiju)

As he spoke, the slideshow started again from the beginning.

“Then they started saying stuff like ‘My creative urge is surging’… and this is what came out. Well, I figured I’d need something decent to convince you anyway, so it worked out perfectly… Sorry for not telling you beforehand, though.” (Taiju)

“Th-That’s fine, but… could you let me take another proper look?” (Reiya)

“Sure, here you go.” (Taiju)

He removed his hand, granting me control of the mouse.

Click, click. I went through the images from the beginning with my own hand this time.

With each page turn, an indescribable, strange emotion welled up from deep within my heart.

To think that the characters and world I created could look like this in the hands of a professional.

A sense of elation, unsure if it was happiness or embarrassment…

“I thought this during your previous work too, but the person who draws these is really skilled and draws catchy art… Well, they’re a pro, so of course they are…” (Reiya)

“Hmm… But this is before I’ve done any revisions or corrections, so it’s full of personal taste.” (Taiju)

…Now that he mentioned it, the female characters’ thighs were indeed unusually thick.

Also, glasses, which weren’t in the original designs, had been added to several characters.

But setting that aside, there was no doubt it looked incredibly appealing even at this stage.

It was good enough to sell as an art book just like this.

“By the way, when did you start making this?” (Taiju)

“Um… Around my second year of middle school, I think. Mostly fumbling my way through… little by little…” (Reiya)

“Huh, since middle school… Haven’t you made anything else?” (Taiju)

“It’s not that I haven’t… but nothing really good enough to show anyone…” (Reiya)

“Ah, I see… So? What’s it gonna be? You in, or out?” (Taiju)

His renewed request for confirmation left me speechless.

Currently, with the rise of distribution networks that don’t require going through major publishers, the indie game industry worldwide is booming like never before.

Many individuals and small teams make a living this way.

The reason I asked Taiju-san for his opinion was undoubtedly because I myself had considered that path.

Because I wanted to explore even the slightest possibility, to follow in Hikaru’s footsteps.

However, this far exceeded any scenario I had envisioned beforehand.

It felt like I was playing sandlot baseball and suddenly got drafted.

“Could I… take it home and think about it for a bit…?” (Reiya)

And so, I couldn’t bring myself to nod yes right then and there.

Taiju-san probably hadn’t expected me to decide immediately either, telling me not to rush my answer.

＊＊＊＊＊

The moment I got home, mental fatigue hit me all at once, and I collapsed onto my bed.

‘Seriously…’ (Reiya)

I replayed Taiju-san’s words from today in my mind.

The plan is for our studio to finish this game you made as a commercial product.

Becoming a professional creator, sending my own game out into the world.

It had to be a dream every gamer has had at least once.

Indulging in that fantasy, the first time I made a game was in my first year of middle school.

A nondescript puzzle game made using textbooks and online information.

It wasn’t particularly fun, nor was it particularly bad.

Of course, I never released it, and it vanished along with the lifespan of my hard drive.

Since then, I’d made several more new things, only to delete them without releasing them.

Because I lacked the preparedness to send my work out into the world and face criticism for it.

‘And now, suddenly… as a company product…’ (Reiya)

If released as a product for money, it would naturally be unavoidable to face criticism from many people.

Moreover, as Taiju-san said, I’d likely have to dedicate almost my entire summer vacation to it.

It would make it impossible to take the summer cram school course I planned for the entrance exams in a year and a half, and I’d have to drastically reduce my part-time shifts, causing trouble for Ichiru-san too.

Things that weren’t problems while they were just fantasies now pressed down on me as the heavy burden of reality.

Just thinking about it made my spirits sink heavily.

“Come to think of it, what’s this…” (Reiya)

Trying to think about something else to distract myself, I remembered the item Taiju-san had given me just before I left.

I took the large-capacity USB flash drive out of my pocket.

‘He said I’d understand if I looked inside…’ (Reiya)

Getting up from the bed, I plugged it into my computer’s USB port and sat down in my chair.

The window that appeared on the screen showed multiple named folders.

Seeing the name ‘Ruleless Dungeon’ among them, I immediately understood that these were all games Taiju-san had made previously.

‘I see, he wants me to think about it by referencing his past work…’ (Reiya)

As a test, I opened the ‘Magma Diver’ folder closest to my cursor and installed the game.

――――――

――――

――

“…Huh!? It’s already this late!?” (Reiya)

I realized I’d lost track of time and had been completely absorbed for three hours.

‘But man, this is incredibly fun…’ (Reiya)

You dive into magma to collect minerals, upgrade your dive suit and facilities, and defend your base from enemy attacks.

Putting it into words, it’s a repetition of simple elements, but it’s just highly addictive.

‘The longer you dive, the more rewards you get, but the risks also increase. That risk-reward balance is exquisite… The feeling when a risky, aggressive dive succeeds is incredible…’ (Reiya)

I was impressed by its level of polish, easily rivaling his latest work, ‘Ruleless Dungeon’.

Moreover, judging from the year displayed on the title screen, he made it when he was in high school.

It reaffirmed my belief that he was an amazing person, making a game like this at the same age as me.

Completely different from me, who couldn’t even muster the courage to release the games I made.

With that thought, I launched another title.

The next work, and the one after that, were also fun, but—

‘This one was fun too… but compared to the previous two, it had some flaws…’ (Reiya)

Regarding the fourth work, I saw a slight tarnish on his seemingly perfect talent.

Looking at the production year, it seemed to be a title made the year before ‘Magma Diver’.

Even the great Taiju-san couldn’t make every single game perfect, it seemed.

Feeling somewhat relieved, I installed another work.

‘Hm…? This one’s… leaning pretty heavily towards bad…’ (Reiya)

The work made the year before that was honestly bordering on being a kusoge.

It felt like popular elements of the time were thrown into a large pot and boiled down rapidly over high heat.

Because too many disparate things were crammed in, it became unclear what the selling point was supposed to be.

It wasn’t unplayable, but it was at a level where you’d slightly regret paying money for it.

Even monkeys fall from trees. Even kappa drown.

Well, things like this happen, I thought, and moved on to the last work—

“Wh-What is this…” (Reiya)

I was startled by the title screen, which was excessively cluttered, disorganized, and utterly lacking in design sense.

The production year indicated it was from when Taiju-san was in middle school, apparently the oldest game among those given to me today.

However, thinking that maybe the gameplay was fun despite the poor visuals, I tried playing it…

“Pfft… Ahaha…!” (Reiya)

The gameplay was also kusoge level, enough to make me laugh.

It was a side-scrolling action game, but the controls were extremely poor, and the enemy hitboxes were ridiculously large, making it nothing but painful to play.

Additionally, the visibility was catastrophically bad, and it was packed with beginner traps on par with a board game made by an elementary schooler.

It wasn’t difficult in a way that could be a selling point; just the creator’s ego pushed to the forefront.

It was only marginally better than an asset-flip kusoge due to feeling the creator’s passion, but it was far from something that could be sold as a commercial product.

‘This isn’t much different from the first game I ever made…’ (Reiya)

Looking at the GAME OVER screen, which evoked not even a shred of frustration, I laughed again.

It seemed Taiju-san, who I thought was so amazing, wasn’t amazing right from the start.

I didn’t know how he released this back then, but I could tell he wouldn’t have received any decent reviews.

But because he kept creating without letting that discourage him, he is where he is today.

So, the difference between me and Taiju-san is basically…

Just as I began to understand the intention behind being given this, my phone chimed with a notification.

Practice is over! What were you up to? (Hikaru)

Opening it, I saw a message from Hikaru, who had finished her practice.

Laughing my head off at a super kusoge. (Reiya)

Ehh, lucky~... I wanna play too! (Hikaru)

I wonder. I doubt he'd let you play this one. (Reiya)

?? What do you mean? (Hikaru)

Naturally, my meaning didn’t get across, and only confusion returned.

Even Taiju-san probably couldn’t bear to show this to the world, let alone his little sister.

Don't worry about it. More importantly, there's something I want to ask you, Hikaru. (Reiya)

What is it? (Hikaru)

Hikaru, why did you decide to become a pro tennis player? (Reiya)

Before I even had time to think after sending it, a reply came back.

Because that looked like the most fun, of course!! (Hikaru)

That answer, so perfectly Hikaru-like, made me chuckle involuntarily.

It seemed the world consists of three types of people: those who can prepare themselves for failure, those who cannot, and those who don’t need any preparation at all.

Thanks. That was incredibly helpful. (Reiya)

I sent a reply of gratitude and switched conversation tabs.

I might not be able to become the third type, but I at least want to become the other one.

With firm resolve in my heart, I began typing a message.

I'd love to work together with you all too, Taiju-san. (Reiya)

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CRPG: Computer Role-Playing Game