After arriving at the development department, Aoba immediately ran off to find Shinoda Hajime. Before long, the lively sounds of the two of them messing around echoed through the office.
After watching for a moment, Ichin headed into the programming department.
Umiko had already arrived and was working when she turned around and glanced outside.
"What's going on out there?"
"Hajime-san's matchmaking date."
"Oh~~ so that's what it is."
Umiko nodded in understanding.
"Although she mentioned it yesterday, was that guy really that bad?"
Recalling the man for a moment, Ichin replied,
"His appearance was actually decent, but the way he dressed made him look like a host. Besides that, whether it's personality, career, or income, he really isn't a good match for Hajime. It's perfectly normal that she wasn't interested. After all, she earns a very high annual salary now, and she's both attractive and in great shape. It's not like she'll have trouble finding a quality partner."
Umiko nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, that's true. There's no need to rush. When the right person comes along, they'll meet eventually. Just look at Hazuki. Doesn't she have a boyfriend now? We're still young, so there's really no reason to hurry."
"Exactly. That's what we've been telling her too."
Stretching lazily, Ichin opened his computer, organized a summary for the upcoming meeting, printed it out, and then said to Umiko:
"Let's go, Umiko. We should head to the conference room and get things ready. The meeting will be starting soon."
"Alright, let's go."
Taking her notebook with her, Umiko followed Ichin to the conference room.
Fifteen minutes later, employees gradually arrived one after another, waiting for the meeting to begin.
Once Hazuki arrived last, the meeting officially started.
After giving everyone updates on the progress of the company's various projects and discussing several minor adjustments to this week's tasks, Ichin finally brought up the topic everyone had been looking forward to.
"Previously, we held an internal creativity competition. Three concepts stood out from the rest. Two of those games, Monster Train and Salt and Sanctuary, have already been released and achieved excellent sales. The third project, Phasmophobia, is also progressing smoothly in development.
"I imagine that over the past year, many of you have come up with new ideas and inspirations. Therefore, it's time for a new round of our internal creativity competition.
"However, this time things will be a little different.
"Instead of having an internal review process, everyone will present their ideas personally. We'll set aside one or two sessions each week, around two hours each time, for this activity. Anyone who wants to participate can come up on stage, freely explain their ideas, and then we'll discuss them together."
As soon as he finished speaking, lively discussions erupted throughout the room.
"I think it's great! Discussing together might even lead to better ideas!"
"Eh?! But I'm not very good at speaking in front of people."
"Hehe, just give it a try. It's only within the company, so there's nothing to be afraid of."
Hearing the conversations from the employees behind her, Aoba quietly said to Rin beside her:
"Looks like everyone is pretty receptive to the idea."
Rin smiled.
"Our company atmosphere is probably a big reason. Plus, part of the profits from those first two games was given to the employees who proposed the original ideas as incentive bonuses. They made a huge amount of money from that.
"When the company is this generous, it's only natural that everyone feels more motivated. What about you, Aoba? Do you have any ideas this time?"
Aoba shook her head.
"Not really. Compared to coming up with game concepts, I'm much better at designing characters. Gameplay design just isn't my specialty.
"Though Umiko and Nene seem to have something. They've been keeping it secret, though."
Rin nodded thoughtfully, tapping her chin.
"Them, huh? If it's Umiko's idea, it's probably related to shooting games. As for Nene, it's hard to say. Maybe they came up with it together, or maybe there's something else."
After allowing the discussion to continue for two minutes, Ichin signaled everyone to quiet down before continuing.
"Looks like nobody has any objections. Then we'll settle it like this?"
"Sounds good!"
"Boss, when does it start? Do we need to register?"
Ichin smiled and nodded.
"Yes, registration is required. Our time is limited, after all. We can't spend entire afternoons on this.
"For this week, we'll hold the first session on Wednesday afternoon. From now until the end of work tomorrow, anyone interested in presenting can register with me.
"Prepare your ideas in a PowerPoint presentation and send it to my email. Once I've collected them, I'll arrange the presentation order based on registration time.
"There's no need to rush. It's better to fully organize your ideas before submitting them. Everyone will get a chance eventually, alright?"
With that matter concluded, today's meeting was essentially over. It had already lasted nearly an hour.
After everyone began leaving, Ichin noticed Umiko and Nene walking toward him.
Looking at the USB drive Umiko handed over, he smiled.
"You're registering already?"
Umiko nodded.
"Yep. Nene and I worked together to refine an idea. It's based on gameplay concepts we've discussed during our free time and gradually improved.
"It's just a shame we haven't had enough time. Give us another half month, and we could probably have a simple demo ready."
"Your efficiency is honestly ridiculous."
Accepting the USB drive, Ichin continued:
"A demo won't be necessary. As long as the PowerPoint can clearly present the concept, that's enough. After all, you'll be explaining it yourselves on stage.
"In that case, I'll put you two first. No objections, right? You can set the standard for everyone else.
"When Wednesday comes, which one of you will be the main presenter?"
"Me!"
Nene immediately raised her hand energetically.
"I'll do the presentation!"
Umiko nodded as well.
"Yeah, we've already discussed it. This time she'll be the one presenting."
"Alright then, Nene. Spend the next couple of days preparing."
Aside from Umiko and Nene, no one else signed up immediately. It seemed everyone intended to return and properly organize their ideas first.
Holding Umiko's USB drive, Ichin returned to his office and plugged it into his computer.
"Oh? This is pretty interesting. It reminds me of a certain game."
As he looked through the contents of the PowerPoint, a smile appeared on his face.
It was a game he genuinely hadn't thought about in a long time. He certainly hadn't expected Umiko and Nene to have been exploring this particular genre recently.
Nodding to himself, he skimmed through the presentation before saving it into a dedicated folder on his computer, planning to print it out on Wednesday.
When the presentations began, he, Hazuki, and Aoba would serve as hosts and reviewers, sitting in and listening to everyone's pitches. Naturally, they would need printed copies for reference.
But until then...
It would remain a secret.
...