Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 899: Progress

"The modeling is fine, all the character models are basically done. After all, the visual requirements for this game are not very high, so it's been easy to develop."

"The programming is also going smoothly. The game's size is medium, and the progress is about 70% right now. We've developed quite a few large-scale games, so handling a medium-sized game like this is no problem. Even the Unreal Engine itself has built-in convenient programming functions that solve at least half of the programming issues."

"The sound effects team has half of its people still out gathering sound, but overall the progress is fast. I estimate that the sound effects should be finished within three months."

"The motion capture team is about the same. The most challenging part is the character motion details that the president requested. I have to say, the president is truly a detail freak. Some aspects, according to the president's industrialized game development theory, should be streamlined, but this time the president specifically asked for this to be enhanced. Could this contradict the president's theory on industrialized game development?"

Kawahara Rinto was taking notes and, upon hearing the motion capture team leader's question, he looked up and said, "About that, the president has already explained before. Industrialized game development is not about saving manpower, but about maximizing the creative potential of the game. The time saved in things like the game engine and motion capture systems isn't about saving money—it's so the developers can have more time to think about how to add more highlights to the game. It seems like you haven't fully grasped the essence of the president's industrialized game development approach. I think you should go back and take a look at our internal training videos."

The motion capture team leader immediately looked a little embarrassed.

This leader had actually joined the game development team somewhat later in his career; he was previously a motion director for tokusatsu (special effects) shows at a TV station.

Later, due to his exceptional skills in motion design, he was recruited by Kawahara Rinto.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

He wasn't exactly passionate about games; his strength lay in his technical skills.

Hearing Kawahara Rinto's words, he felt a little uncomfortable.

But Kawahara Rinto didn't press him too hard. After brushing it off, he continued to gather progress updates from others.

"The concept art and modeling are proceeding simultaneously, and they're almost done. We're now just coordinating with the modeling team to strengthen some of the finer details."

"The main and side storylines are still in the process of refinement. After all, this game has more endings than previous games, and some of the endings are interconnected. The progress is about 30%, but everything is still on track."

Kawahara Rinto said, "You can speed up the pace a little. Your storyline design is a bit slow. If the modeling and motion capture are finished and you still can't provide a comprehensive story, the game development won't be able to proceed. Also, the voice acting needs to be done. Without your lines, the voice acting can't move forward either."

"I understand. I'll speed up the progress."

Kawahara Rinto nodded and said, "Good, move on to the next one."

"The promotional materials and teaser videos are being edited simultaneously. We don't need to worry about this; we've already been collaborating with the marketing and PR team. However, I hope we can produce a few real-time demonstrations of boss fights soon so that our marketing efforts have a clearer direction."

Kawahara Rinto then turned to the programming and modeling teams and said, "Coordinate well, and I don't need to say more."

The report was almost finished.

Kawahara Rinto roughly estimated that, with the current overall game development progress, it should be around 60%. If there are no major bugs in the game programming, the game should be ready for release by the end of this year.

At that point, Ghost of Tsushima and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice would be competing side by side, and it would depend on which one from their respective development teams performed better.

However, deep inside, Kawahara Rinto was confident in the Sekiro his team developed.

Compared to Ghost of Tsushima, a complete standard industrialized game, Sekiro was a more unique product.

The more unique a game is, the more it attracts core players.

And core players are the most willing to spend money.

So as long as they put in the effort, there was still a possibility for extraordinary success.

But just like some of the concerns raised within his own team, he also worried that the game's difficulty might be a bit too high.

Although Sekiro was only considered a medium-scale game in terms of size, the manpower and resources put into it were substantial. The game's unique artistic atmosphere also became one of its characteristics. To help with this, he had even hired top-notch artists from outside.

If it weren't for the endorsement from the Japanese government, these top-tier artists might not have been willing to collaborate on the project.

Oh, and they were actually quite interested in the Sekiro world-building itself, although the alternate history aspect didn't appeal to them much.

But the Japanese-style backdrop was still quite attractive, which is why they were willing to contribute their artistic talents.

Also, the money provided by Gamestar Electronic Entertainment wasn't insignificant.

Perhaps, as Kawahara Rinto thought, the last point was the most important to these artists.

Top-tier artists usually enjoy high status, but their daily lives aren't as wealthy as they might seem. It was rare for them to get such an invitation with so much funding, so they really couldn't turn it down.

Of course, in the end, the money was very well spent.

These artists produced an entire set of Sekiro art pieces, and the Japanese government was very satisfied. They even began researching whether they could hold a large-scale art exhibition based on the Sekiro game.

This would greatly enhance the game's prestige and help spread Japanese culture, and the Japanese government was willing to provide full support, including venue and funds, while Gamestar Electronic Entertainment just needed to provide the art. Gamestar certainly wouldn't refuse.

Now, back to the game difficulty itself.

He remembered that the president had told him that once they completed the initial stages of the game and tested the gameplay, they would understand the charm of Sekiro.

It was at this point that Takayuki arrived at the Tenth Development Department, and Kawahara Rinto had just finished reporting the gathered data to Takayuki.