The supervisor picked up the fax with a puzzled expression, and the lead programmers gathered around.
"Toy Story? Pixar? Disney?"
"Bernard at Sega North America Headquarters has been busy in the States too. This is Disney's big end-of-year release, produced by Steve Jobs' Pixar studio. It's a fully computer-generated animated film—remember, fully CG." Takuya Nakayama tapped on the table, emphasizing his words. "Bernard snatched this adaptation rights from the jaws of a tiger; it was a hard-won victory."
At that moment, a man sitting in the corner, fiddling with a black development kit, turned around.
It was Yuji Naka.
The "Father of Sonic" had been living like a hermit for the past six months.
To support the launch of the Jupiter Console, Takuya Nakayama had forced him into the Technical Department to hammer out the underlying tools and engine for the development kit.
Now that the tools were finished, even this tech fanatic, Yuji Naka, was itching to get back to game development.
"A full CG movie?" Yuji Naka pushed up his glasses as he took the fax and glanced at the character sketches: a cowboy sheriff and a guy in a spacesuit. "The materials... look kind of plastic-y."
"Exactly!" Takuya Nakayama snapped his fingers. "Jupiter's current 3D capabilities are perfect for rendering those high-gloss, smooth plastic textures. Real people or complex natural landscapes might be a struggle, but toys? That's our sweet spot."
Yuji Naka's eyes narrowed, his mind already calculating the polygon count needed for modeling.
"You personally polished the engine. Nobody understands how to squeeze every bit of performance out of Jupiter better than you," Nakayama said, looking at his prized employee. "So, what do you say? Do you continue working on your tool library, or do you lead this team to turn this movie into a game?"
"I've finished building the framework for the tool library. We have a decent set of tools already. Any new features will just involve adding functionality to the existing framework and optimizing it further. I don't need to stay on this project." Yuji Naka slammed the fax on his desk, his arrogant demeanor instantly returning. "I'll take this on. It's the perfect opportunity to test whether Jupiter's current physics collision module can handle a game like this."
With the lead designer taking charge, the office atmosphere shifted from apprehension to excitement.
In the next half hour, the whiteboard was quickly filled with various bizarre sketches.
"I've read the outline for the movie script: two protagonists vie for affection, only to fall on hard times and return home." Takuya Nakayama, marker in hand, drew a large house outline on the whiteboard. "But the game can't just follow the movie. The film is only ninety minutes long, while the game needs to keep players engaged for over ten hours. We need to add more."
"The perspective is a major challenge." A level designer suggested, "If we're using a toy's perspective, ordinary tables and chairs become cliffs, and the floor becomes a vast plain."
"Exactly. We need to fully embrace that sense of scale," Takuya Nakayama added. "For humans, the distance between a desk and a bed is just a few steps. But for Woody and Buzz Lightyear, it's an adventure across the Grand Canyon. You need to design interactions that only toys can perform."
He paused, remembering some classic levels from his past life, and couldn't help but smile.
"Don't just think about parkour in the house. Give the players a sense of pressure." Takuya Nakayama drew a barking dog next to the house with his pen. "Like that silly dog next door. In the movie, it might just be background scenery, but in the game, it's Godzilla."
"That's a great idea!" Yuji Naka's eyes lit up with inspiration. "We could create an escape level. Players would need to use other toys at hand—like using the Slinky dog as a bridge or the remote-controlled car as a vehicle—to evade the dog's pursuit in the backyard bushes. The dog's leash length would naturally define the safe and dangerous zones. We could even have the toys drive a lawnmower to scare it away!"
"And batteries," another planner chimed in. "Buzz Lightyear is an electronic toy. We could design a mechanic where he needs to collect batteries to use his laser or flight wings. That would be much more interesting than a simple health bar."
Watching the team's ideas grow wilder with each passing moment, Takuya Nakayama nodded in satisfaction.
This was the most endearing quality of Sega's tech-savvy engineers. Give them a good idea and enough trust, and they'd create a whole new world for you.
"Alright, you handle the specific level design yourself. I won't interfere," Takuya said, tossing the marker back into its slot. "I have just one request."
Everyone fell silent, turning to look at him.
"May. The E3 Expo in Los Angeles," Takuya held up three fingers. "Three months from now. I want a trailer."
"If we can't get actual gameplay footage in time, find some storyboards or rendered clips from Pixar and splice them in. Mix it with fake gameplay demos that look like they could run on the Jupiter." Takuya walked to the door, turning back with a smile. "The key is blending real and fake. As long as the final product is genuine, there's nothing wrong with a little pre-show hype."
"Three months?" Yuji Naka smirked, a confident smile spreading across his face. "That's tight, but we'll draft the basic level structure and head straight to Hollywood."
After leaving Yuji Naka's Development Team, Takuya headed to the adjacent conference room.
In the room, Rieko Kodama was passionately explaining the structure of Phantasy Star IV on the whiteboard, while Toshihiro Nagoshi sat nearby. Though holding a pen, his mind was clearly elsewhere.
Seeing Takuya Nakayama enter, Nagoshi sprang to his feet as if his chair had a spring.
"Alright, enough of this charade of listening to gibberish," Takuya waved his hand, signaling Kotama to continue her grand narrative. He led Nagoshi to the smoking area at the end of the hallway.
After lighting his cigarette and taking a deep drag, Takuya looked at the somewhat stiff young man through the haze of smoke.
"Phantasy Star III was Kotama's domain. I'm sure you've gained plenty of experience there by now. It's time for you to take the reins." Takuya flicked the ash from his cigarette. "Seen the news lately?"
Nagoshi paused. "Are you referring to Kobe?"
"Yamaguchi-gumi members are everywhere, handing out milk powder and delivering water. The public's perception of these tattooed brothers has completely changed." Leaning against the window, Takuya's voice dripped with amusement. "They used to be seen as vermin, but now they're viewed as righteous heroes. This cognitive dissonance—that's the biggest business opportunity."
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