Chapter 173: Gift of the Gods
On the way back from the convenience store, having bought green tea ice cream.
As she took a spoonful of ice cream, a happy smile spread across her face as if she owned the whole world. Unconsciously, I found myself bursting into laughter.
"Ah, it's delicious."
"It's midnight, and you're having ice cream. What if you catch a cold?"
"I know, right? But lately, I've been craving something sweet and refreshing."
I gestured towards her with the bag I was holding, pouting slightly, and murmured.
"I was just kidding, but I didn't know you'd buy ten for real."
I had carefully grabbed the last one in the convenience store fridge, wondering if there were more, I might have grabbed thirty.
"Is this hoarding?"
"Well... did I go overboard?"
Stroking Yuki's troubled expression, we slowly strolled toward the mansion. Cherry blossom petals danced in the air under the white streetlights, sticking to Yuki's hair, yet even that looked like an accessory that suited her well.
"Is it tasty?"
"Mm-hmm."
Seeing Yuki nod vigorously with a spoon in her mouth, I couldn't utter a word of complaint.
"But Junhyeok, I'm curious. What does the title of this project mean exactly?"
"Gift of the Gods?"
At my answer, Yuki looked at me with curious eyes. After hesitating for a moment, I replied to her question.
"I had this thought while planning the story: what if the earnest prayers of the female lead reached the ears of the gods?"
"An earnest prayer, how romantic."
"The story of the Gift of the Gods. Doesn't it feel somewhat familiar? Maybe a story you've heard somewhere?"
"Well... It does feel a bit like that. It's new, but the storyline doesn't seem that unfamiliar. Did you get inspiration from another work?"
"Of course, there is. It's a very famous work; probably almost everyone knows it."
"Really? What work is it?"
Teasing Yuki for fun, I eventually gave in after receiving another smack on my back.
Small peppers are spicy indeed; I wondered how spicy that tiny hand must feel.
Yet, in the midst of it, I was relieved she didn't hit me with that hand.
"The Little Mermaid."
"The Little Mermaid?"
"Yes."
Still scratching the slightly stinging spot on my back, I smirked at her.
"She sacrificed herself for her beloved prince, but he didn't recognize the Little Mermaid. And in the end, he married the princess of a neighboring kingdom..."
"Ah... so if the wrong choice is made in this story...?"
"Well, it might lead to a completely unexpected heroine, right?"
"Oh, really, that's too much again this time. Hmm, but still, it feels less impactful than the scenario I had in mind?"
Before I knew it, she had finished an ice cream cup, pushing a paper cup into a nearby trash can on the way. However, even after tossing the cup, she still held a brown plastic spoon in her right hand.
"Why didn't you throw away the spoon?"
"I wanted to have one more scoop."
Swoosh! Like a predator aiming for its prey, her hand reached out for the ice cream bag, but I quickly pulled the bag containing the ice cream away from her.
In a hair's breadth, she made a cutting motion in the air, showing a regretful expression.
"Huh?"
"We should discuss the scenario now, right? I kept my promise by having the ice cream."
"Fine, alright."
She put the plastic spoon in her mouth, looking quite convincing and amusing, and unfolded an interesting idea.
Later on, after hearing about the new scenario from Yuki, I found myself stopping and looking at her without realizing it.
"How is it? Not bad, right?"
They say two heads are better than one, don't they?
Thanks to Yuki's idea, the story structure and character settings, which were on the verge of becoming loose, seemed to have become much more detailed.
"Is that so?"
"Yes, indeed. Even if I try to be like this, I've been a scriptwriter for seven years, you know?"
Drawing a 'V' with her finger towards me, Yuki, who seemed absent-mindedly organizing the scenario in her head, approached stealthily beside me. And the moment she reached out her hand to the bag containing the ice cream...
Once again, I pulled the bag back and stepped back.
"That's enough for today. I might actually catch a cold."
"Too cautious. I promised to reveal everything only after you gave me ice cream."
"Villains in movies make others spill everything, then pull the trigger in the end."
"Ugh..."
"Consider this as my caring for your health."
"Well, it is getting chilly now."
Perhaps giving up on taking the ice cream from me, she tightly hugged my arm and started walking slowly.
&
Once the basic story and character setup were complete, the 'Gift of the Gods' project rapidly progressed in its development.
The "Gift of the Gods" was not just a simulation for forming connections with someone like in the empty streets but rather presented itself in a visual novel format, resembling a beautiful novel with accompanying exquisite music, rather than focusing on simulation elements based on scheduling and results for dating.
Thanks to this relaxed system, readers could comfortably enjoy the story by making simple branching choices, akin to reading a book.
The reason for choosing this leisurely system was due to the reliance of Laon users on public transportation; thus, I wanted to create a game they could enjoy comfortably during their subway commutes.
The game started each chapter by performing the main song of that scenario. The unique aspect was that based on the clear grade of piano performance, players could recall memories just before a traffic accident and gather clues for the scenario in the chapter.
Thanks to this, Hayashi, alongside composer Ueno-san, ventured into the rhythm game genre for the first time in the gaming industry.
Of course, the fundamental structure of the game borrowed from the format of rhythm games I knew.
The game split the screen in half, allowing players to combine notes like playing a piano by pressing buttons when dot blocks fell within a specific timing line.
Moreover, not missing consecutive notes led to combos; based on the score of these combos, fragments of memories before the accident played like a music video on the right side of the screen.
The very first rhythm game, "Gift of the Gods," had a format that approached the protagonist's true story through these videos and chapter events after clearing.
Composer Ueno-san poured all his passion into the work, believing that players could enjoy the game's story through music.
The game consisted of a total of 6 chapters.
However, after entering the 2nd ending, a new scenario would unfold, allowing players to perform a new song accordingly. Hence, Ueno-san had to compose not only a total of 12 main songs but also basic background music within this tight production period.
While it was possible to outsource BGM, due to his insistence on not compromising the overall image of the game, he decided to handle all the sound-related aspects himself.
With the resolution of sound and system-related aspects, the only remaining crucial element of the game was the character illustrations.
And it is precisely here where what might seem like a lyrical story game utilizing music, the 'Gift of the Gods,' truly demonstrates its depth through its painstaking character settings.
"Maybe Yuki is even more of a story writer than me? After all, despite being in the empty streets, Nanase's sales surpassed Miyuki... Or did Yuki's marriage affect the sales more than that?"
The social phenomenon surrounding 'The Empty Streets' where Yuki took on the role of a voice actress became widely known to everyone present at the Psychic Force unveiling event. However, after the subsequent proposal incident, gamers were shocked immensely.
The ripple effect significantly impacted the sales of 'The Empty Streets.'
Suddenly, the cartridges of Nanase's scenario in 'The Empty Streets' began overflowing in the second-hand market, causing a rapid decrease in sales even for new products.
However, gamers of this era are still generally kind. Thankfully, there were no outrageous incidents like burning comic books or tearing them apart regarding the controversy over the "unvirgin" protagonist in the previous future I knew.
"For now, I've drawn four heroines according to the settings the manager mentioned," Morita handed me the character setting data for the heroines.
As I examined the data, the first was Kaori Yukinojo, a beautiful, blonde, mixed-race violinist. She had an energetic and vivacious personality, recognizing the protagonist's genius-level musical talent from childhood, possessing absolute music sensibility.
The second was Noriko Satsuki, a world-renowned pianist responsible for the protagonist's piano lessons. With her calm demeanor exuding a unique maturity, she seemed likely to garner absolute popularity within a specific age group due to her grown-up charm.
The third was Haruka Ohtani, the protagonist's university junior and a cellist. Despite being shy in front of the protagonist, she exhibited top-tier cello skills. Her personality seemed to gather absolute support from a different age group compared to Noriko Satsuki.
Lastly, there was Rei Igawa, a childhood friend alongside Kaori and the protagonist. Aspiring to be a pianist like the protagonist, she appeared to be a hidden talent who struggled to reveal her skills under the protagonist's shine.
Although she started playing the piano before the protagonist, she seemed like a hardworking character striving not to fall behind the protagonist's innate talent.
The combination of these two peers and one older and younger character seemed to create a perfectly woven set of four characters.
"Alright. Would this be acceptable?"
"I'm glad it meets your satisfaction," Morita sighed in relief after my 'okay' sign.
&
A few days later, posters featuring the backs of the four heroines began appearing in various game stores in Akihabara.
"Hey, what's this? Could it be a sequel to The Empty Streets!?"
"Whoa! Judging from the structure and promotional lines, it seems to be a sequel, right?"
Gamers strolling through Akihabara's streets started gathering around the store as they stopped to examine the four heroines' backs displayed side by side in front of Tamago Shop.
Watching people with curious eyes examining the posters, I leisurely sipped my coffee.
"I wonder what kind of expressions those curious faces will have after clearing the game?"
Thinking so, I recalled the day when Yuki and I bought ice cream and returned, and she suggested a new scenario to me.
"What if... the protagonist's accident was deliberately caused by someone? And what if one of those four heroines was the culprit? How would you feel then, Junhyeok?"
>
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