Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 720: A Small Accident

Mika truly lived up to being a student of Tokyo University of the Arts.

At the same time, she was clearly a very gifted individual with exceptional talent in illustration.

In just a short time, she had already sketched out several classic poses of Bayonetta, the protagonist of Bayonetta.

At this point, the model could be built entirely based on the shapes she had drawn.

It really proved that talented people needed to be actively sought out and nurtured.

"You're hired. Your salary will be based on the standard rate for a full-time game character designer. If you can prove yourself with these two projects, your pay will increase accordingly."

Takayuki was already very eager to keep Mika Yoshida on the team.

Mika was delighted — being hired by the company she had dreamed of joining was a huge source of joy.

...

...

Especially since she had apparently gained the recognition of Takayuki himself — a godfather-like figure in the game industry. That made it all the more meaningful.

"Can I start working officially now?" she asked.

"Don't you still have classes?" Takayuki replied.

"Yes, I haven't graduated yet. But don't worry, Takayuki-senpai. If you assign me work, I'll definitely do everything I can to meet your expectations!"

"That's fine. Game development isn't something that happens overnight. The timeline is a lot longer than you might imagine. We usually reveal new games only after a good portion has been developed — rarely do we announce them too early. These projects haven't been fully revealed yet, so you have plenty of time."

"I understand! Please look forward to what I can do!"

With a capable character designer now secured, Takayuki could breathe a little easier.

Of course, that alone wouldn't be enough. He would still need environmental artists, prop designers, and other art staff.

Game development today was no longer like in the old days.

Modern games demanded industrialized production. The division of labor had to be precise in order to ensure quality.

Takayuki began scouting for other visual designers.

But that was a lot easier than finding a character designer.

Scenery, props, and monster designs only needed to complement the protagonist. Mika Yoshida would be the lead designer for both NieR: Automata and Bayonetta. She was the core.

Once the visual design was secured, the next step was music.

Gamestar Entertainment now had its own professional in-house composers. All Takayuki had to do was delegate the musical direction.

With that, development on Bayonetta and NieR: Automata officially kicked into gear.

Meanwhile, Monster Hunter: World was also approaching a critical development phase.

At the same time, all those so-called "activists" outside were still loudly spreading their ideals — environmentalism, animal rights, human rights. These topics were the flavor of the moment.

Takayuki completely ignored them. Other game companies also seemed to fall silent for the time being.

Rather than caving in to these loud voices, many were now waiting to see how Gamestar Entertainment's showdown with these groups would unfold.

If even Gamestar had to cave, forced to develop games according to those people's ideals, it might very well signal the future direction of the entire industry.

But right at that moment, a surprising little event occurred.

It involved an elderly man, over sixty years old.

He had fathered a child later in life — a son who tragically died in an accident, leaving the father to bury the child. It was a heart-wrenching event.

Many sympathized, but people also forget. Tragedies on the internet are common; not all are remembered for long.

However, this one had an unexpected follow-up.

The man's name was Anthony — a typical American.

While sorting through his late son's belongings, he came across his son's old game console.

It was a GS1, the previous-generation console from Gamestar Entertainment.

Inside, there were clear traces of his son's play sessions.

He remembered how often they argued over video games.

But now, there was no one left to argue with.

If... he thought... if his son could come back, even for a moment, he wouldn't care about games anymore. He wouldn't argue. He wouldn't care if his son succeeded or failed in life — as long as he lived.

Looking at the console only brought sorrow.

He had intended to burn it.

But that day, some relatives came to pay their respects, and one of the children took an interest in the console. Moved by emotion, Anthony handed it over.

He thought that would be the end of it — he'd live the rest of his life in loneliness and sorrow.

But one day, the child returned — with the game console and a pile of game discs.

Anthony was confused.

Then the child said something he would never forget:

"Uncle Anthony, I often hear my parents talk about Cousin Anthony. They said ever since he passed, you've always wished he could come back. So I was thinking, maybe there's a way — to bring back a part of him."

Without saying much else, the child turned on the console and inserted a disc — Need for Speed.

"What are you doing?" Anthony asked, confused.

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The child calmly loaded a single-player time trial mode.

"Uncle Anthony, look. That's Cousin Anthony."

He pointed at a ghost racer on the screen — a translucent image driving along the track.

Anthony stared at the screen.

Something stirred in him — a strange, unexplainable feeling.

"You're saying... that's Anthony?"

"Yes. This game has a time trial mode that records the best run as a ghost. This one was left behind from when Cousin Anthony played it."

Anthony was stunned.

The child then raced alongside the ghost, trailing closely behind it all the way to the finish line.

"What happened to the ghost?" Anthony asked anxiously as the translucent racer vanished at the finish.

"Don't worry, Uncle Anthony — there's more."

The child finished the race, and the leaderboard appeared.

Right there at the top was Anthony's son's name: Little Anthony.