Monday, 24 May 2001. ZAGE Event Building, Japan.
Right now, the ZEB, which was basically ZAGE's all-purpose event building, had already been arranged into a professional meeting hall for the many ZAGE developers invited to Japan. It was not every employee, of course. Only the higher-ups and representatives from each major ZAGE development team were invited. Even so, the room was already crowded with talented developers from across the world.
There were the Japanese teams: Team IZAN, Team NIWA, Team NOVA, Team KODO, and Team FUMA. From Korea, there was Team Dynasty. From China, there was Team Myth. From London, there was Team OMNI. From the USA, there were Team Enigma, Team Tempest, Team Blaze, and Team Frost. There were also Team Nexus representatives from both the Japan and USA arcade branches, since their arcade engine work had become one of the foundations for ZAGE's next development direction.
Each team brought around eight to ten representatives, mostly team leaders, vice leaders, senior programmers, senior designers, producers, and technical specialists. Because of that, the hall was filled with conversations from every direction. Some developers were greeting old friends, some were meeting rival teams for the first time, and some were already discussing engine rumors before the meeting even began.
Most of them were already slightly fluent in English because understanding English had become mandatory for ZAGE employees, especially for those who worked across international branches. The atmosphere was relaxed, but it still carried a professional weight. Everyone knew this was not a normal meeting.
This was about ZEPS 4.
ot long after, Zaboru entered the hall with a smile, and the noise inside the ZEB slowly began to fade. It did not happen all at once. First, the developers near the front noticed him and stopped talking. Then the team leaders turned their heads. Then the representatives from the back realized something had changed and gradually quieted down too. Within moments, the entire hall's attention had shifted toward him.
Zaboru walked toward the front with a relaxed expression, but there was still a weight in the way he carried himself. To many people in that room, he was not just the president of ZAGE. He was the person who had started everything. The man who created ZEPS 1 with his own hands, led ZAGE through the rise of ZEPS 2, shocked the industry with ZEPS 3, and now stood before them to explain the future of ZEPS 4.
Still, the first thing he did was smile warmly and say, "Hello, everyone! Thank you for coming here after such long flights. I know some of you crossed half the world to attend this meeting, so I appreciate it. Well, it's on ZAGE's money anyway, hehehe."
The hall immediately relaxed. Several developers chuckled, while some of the American representatives laughed openly. That small joke was enough to break the stiffness in the room.
John Romero, the lead of Team Enigma, immediately raised his hand and shouted, "Carmack said the hotel wasn't good enough!"
The room's attention instantly turned toward John Carmack, the lead developer of Team Tempest. Carmack blinked once, looking like a man who had just been attacked by friendly fire in front of the entire company. Then he laughed and said, "Hey, I didn't say that, bastard. I only said the internet connection could be better."
That made the room laugh even harder.
Romero pointed at him with a grin. "See? He complained!"
Carmack crossed his arms and replied, "That's not complaining. That's technical feedback."
Zaboru laughed at that and said, "Don't worry, Carmack. Next time, I'll make sure the hotel has internet fast enough for you to personally approve its existence."
The room burst into laughter again, and even Carmack smiled while shaking his head. The relaxed reaction helped dissolve the tension that had been building before Zaboru's entrance. For a few moments, it felt less like a massive global company meeting and more like a gathering of people who had survived too many deadlines together.
But once the laughter faded, Zaboru's expression gradually became more focused. His smile did not disappear completely, but the atmosphere shifted with him. Everyone in the hall noticed it. The jokes had served their purpose. Now, the real meeting was about to begin.
"Anyway," Zaboru said, looking across the room, "right now, we are here to talk about ZEPS 4. You all know that for the last couple of months, most ZAGE teams have already started learning the early structure of our new development engine. That foundation comes from Team Nexus's arcade engine work, but so far, it is still only a prototype for the real ZEPS 4 engine. Eventually, this will become Unreal Engine 4, and don't worry, it will be shared with all of you soon. But before that, I need to explain what my plan for ZEPS 4 truly is, and why this console should become one of the greatest milestones in ZAGE history."
The developers became excited immediately. Some leaned forward. Some exchanged glances. Others simply stared at Zaboru with full attention. They knew this was not merely a technical briefing anymore. Whenever Zaboru started speaking like this, he was not only explaining hardware or business direction. He was explaining a philosophy.
Zaboru smiled faintly before continuing. "ZAGE's major console journey, excluding arcades, started from ZEPS 1. That machine was basically my own creation. I made it with my own hands, and many of you already know that story. It was small, limited, and simple compared to what we have today, but it gave us our beginning. And sometimes, beginnings are powerful precisely because they are limited. When you have almost nothing, every choice matters. Every pixel matters. Every sound matters. Every second of gameplay must justify itself because the machine gives you no room to hide weakness."
Several older developers nodded quietly. They understood that era better than anyone. ZEPS 1 had been primitive compared to what ZAGE had now, but it had also forced them to respect the core of game design.
Zaboru continued, "Then came ZEPS 2, during the early rise of ZAGE. We were still working from the old office back then, and some of you still remember how cramped that place was. Hahaha. But ZEPS 2 gave us room to breathe. It gave us better visuals, better sound, stronger mechanics, and more space to experiment. That was the era where we learned that evolution does not mean abandoning the past. It means taking the heart of what worked before and giving it a stronger body."
Several seniors developers laughed softly, especially those who had been with ZAGE since the earlier days. Some of them remembered the old office, the cramped desks, the long nights, the prototype boards, and the smell of instant noodles mixed with overheated machines. It was not glamorous, but it was where many of ZAGE's foundations had been forged.
Zaboru's smile softened a little. "Then, in 1997, ZEPS 3 arrived. That was when ZAGE truly started growing into a serious company. ZEPS 3 gave us power, confidence, and a place in the world market. It was the console that told the industry ZAGE was no longer just a strange rising company with strange ideas. We had become a force. And now look at us. In only around three to four years since then, we have become this large. We have offices across countries, teams across continents, and games loved by players all around the world."
The hall became quieter. This time, the silence was not awkward. It was pride.
Zaboru looked at them and spoke more firmly. "That is why ZEPS 4 must be different. We are no longer a small company trying to prove that we exist. We are no longer just challengers climbing from below. ZAGE is already one of the top companies in this industry the pinnacle of video games. Because of that, our next console cannot simply be a normal next step. If ZEPS 1 was our birth, ZEPS 2 was our growth, and ZEPS 3 was our declaration to the world, then ZEPS 4 must be something even greater."
He paused for a moment, letting those words settle.
"ZEPS 4 must be a statement."
The developers stared at him.
Zaboru continued, his voice growing stronger. "Since ZEPS 3 launched in 1997, we have improved in every direction. Our teams are stronger. Our technology is stronger. Our engines are stronger. Our online systems are stronger. Our global branches are stronger. But for ZEPS 4, I do not want a simple leap. I do not want us to take only one step forward and proudly call it a new era. No. What I want is several steps forward at once."
He grinned slightly. "You all know X-Box and iPlay, right? Many people out there think those consoles represent the next generation after ZEPS 3 mean ZEPS 4 should be like that? . well to be fair, they are not weak machines. Microsoft and Apple are not small companies. They have money, engineers, and ambition. But ZAGE's next generation cannot merely stand beside them."
Zaboru's eyes sharpened.
"We will go beyond them."
A wave of excitement moved through the hall. Some developers smiled. Some nodded. Others looked at each other with barely contained anticipation. But Zaboru raised one hand slightly, not to stop their excitement, but to guide it.
"With ZEPS 4, our development capability should no longer feel trapped by hardware in the same way. Of course, no machine is truly unlimited. Every machine has walls. Every generation has its own limits. But compared to ZEPS 3, this will feel like opening a locked door. Bigger worlds, better physics, richer sound, more complex animation, smarter systems, more stable online features, stronger cinematic presentation, and gameplay ideas that were too heavy or too unrealistic before—many of those things will finally become possible."
Then his tone became more serious.
"But listen carefully. Greater potential does not mean you abandon creativity. Stronger hardware does not automatically make better games. A beautiful game can still be hollow. A huge world can still be boring. A cinematic scene can still be meaningless. A powerful machine is only a tool. If you use it lazily, it will only help you create a bigger failure."
The developers became quiet again.
Zaboru looked at each team leader one by one. "A great game is still a great game because of design, direction, emotion, rhythm, control, and the feeling it gives the player. Players do not remember polygons alone. They remember moments. They remember the first time a boss made their hands sweat. They remember music that stayed in their head after the console was turned off. They remember a character's pain, a victory that felt earned, a world that made them want to stay a little longer."
He placed one hand on the podium and continued, "That is why technology must serve emotion. Graphics must serve atmosphere. Physics must serve play. Online systems must serve connection. Cinematics must serve meaning. If technology becomes the master, the game becomes empty. But if technology serves the heart of the game, then it becomes magic."
Zaboru's voice softened slightly. "ZEPS 4 will give you more power, but I expect all of you to remain sharp. Optimize your games. Respect the hardware. Respect the player's time. Respect the heart of the idea. Do not waste resources just because you have more of them. Do not create large worlds only because you can. Do not add systems only because they sound impressive. Ask yourselves what every feature gives to the player. Ask yourselves whether it strengthens the experience or merely decorates it."
He smiled faintly. "A small honest game can defeat a large empty one. A simple mechanic used brilliantly can be more memorable than ten complicated systems thrown together without soul. Never forget that."
Many developers grinned. This was something Zaboru always emphasized, and hearing it now in the context of ZEPS 4 made the message feel even heavier.
Zaboru looked across the hall again and said, "You already know this anyway. That is why you are here. You are not here because you can simply use new technology. You are here because I believe you can understand what that technology is for."
Then he paused, letting the room breathe.
"ZEPS 4 is not just our next console," Zaboru said. "It is our promise. A promise that ZAGE will not become lazy because we are successful. A promise that we will not forget the player because we are powerful. A promise that we will keep creating worlds, challenges, stories, and memories worthy of the trust people have given us."
The room was silent now, but it was the kind of silence that carried heat beneath it.
Zaboru smiled again.
"And that is why ZEPS 4 must not only be stronger. It must have a soul."
Zaboru smiled again. "You already know this anyway. That is why you are here."
Then he placed both hands on the podium and said, "And now, I will tell you something important. ZEPS 4 game development will officially begin next month, in June."
The room erupted almost instantly.
Even the Japanese teams, who already knew slightly more than the others, reacted with excitement. Several developers started whispering quickly. Some smiled like children who had just been shown a secret treasure. Others immediately looked like they were already imagining game ideas in their heads.
Yugo Kanai's eyes widened dramatically. "What!? If we can start game development next month, does that mean ZEPS 4 is already that close to being ready!?"
John Carmack grinned from the USA side and said, "Hell yeah!"
That one shout made the room even louder. Several developers laughed, cheered, or clapped lightly. The energy in the hall rose so quickly that it almost felt like the beginning of a launch event rather than an internal technical meeting.
Zaboru chuckled, clearly enjoying their reaction, then raised his hand again. "Okay, okay. Relax. Don't start building ten games in your head before I finish talking."
That made several people laugh.
Zaboru's smile became sharper, almost playful. "Now, I will tell you the exact specs of ZEPS 4."
The room instantly became silent.
Every developer looked at him.
Even the people who had been whispering stopped.
Zaboru looked across the hall, enjoying the sudden change, then said, "This is where the real meeting begins."
To be continued.
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