There was no rush for the new game project—there was still plenty of time, and Ichin hadn't even started drafting the proposal yet.
The game planned for Sakura Nene's engine was Castle Crashers, a stage-clearing action title similar to BattleBlock Theater, except this one was a 2D combat-focused game that supported up to four players online or locally.
It was a simple project. All it needed was a basic design document and a team of around twenty-five people to develop it. Compared to BattleBlock Theater, this was much easier—no need for overly complex stage designs. As long as the combat system, items, and monsters were done well, it would be solid.
After thinking it over, Ichin decided to first draft the proposal for Tales of Berseria. The combat systems of the Tales series had always been excellent, but older titles like Phantasia, Destiny, and Eternia would need extensive modernization to work today. By comparison, Berseria was more suitable.
He considered Tales of Arise, the newest in his memories, but its story required too many rewrites, making it unfit for a direct adaptation. The plot needed more careful handling. Berseria, on the other hand, was more balanced overall, and if developed, Ichin planned to push its visuals and systems closer to Arise.
Arise used Unreal Engine 4, right? Should we switch to Unreal 5?"
Ichin was very familiar with Epic's UE4. The newly released UE5 brought massive improvements: graphical fidelity, global illumination, and rendering quality that could transform a game's presentation. He had looked into UE5 briefly last year but hadn't tested it directly.
Still, there was already a china team developing with UE5Black Myth: Wukong. Ichin had seen its reveal trailer before his transmigration and had eagerly awaited its release. Now, the project existed here as well.
That was a good thing. Ichin welcomed more game developers joining the field; it was boring being the only one.
"They're based in Hangzhou, right? When I return to China this summer, maybe I should visit."
With that thought, he continued writing the Berseria proposal while also downloading UE5 to study it firsthand. If the future lay in UE5, as company head and active developer, mastering the engine was a must.
—
By May, the weather had warmed, and cherry blossoms lined the streets in full bloom.
On the drive to campus, Utaha gazed at the blossoms. "The cherry trees are blooming, Ichin. Should we go see them this year?"
"Sure," Ichin smiled. "Let's pick a weekend. How many people should we invite?"
Cherry-blossom viewing was always livelier with more people.
Utaha immediately counted on her fingers: "The two of us, Haruno and Yukino, Eriri, Kou-nee and Rin-nee, Hazuki-nee, Aoba, Nene, Hifumi, Hajime, Yun-nee, Narumi and Momo… that's about it. Too bad Umiko can't come back, or she'd join too."
Those were essentially the studio's founding members. Even without Umiko, it came to fifteen people—plenty. Many of them could cook, so everyone could bring food, spread out a couple of big picnic blankets, and enjoy the blossoms together.
Ichin nodded. "Alright, once we're free, let's check with them about their weekend plans."
During breaks at collage, Utaha sent out invitations to everyone. Most agreed, though Yun Iijima had to visit her family that weekend and couldn't come.
Still, missing one person wasn't a big deal.
When she asked Narumi, she suggested inviting Kuroneko (Ruri Gokou) too. Utaha relayed it to Ichin, who thought it over and agreed. He had nearly forgotten about her—she was a talented programmer, steadily improving. Though a little behind Narumi and Nene, she was fully capable of handling projects on her own. Plus, she got along well with them, so inviting her made sense.
Receiving Narumi's invitation, Ruri was surprised but gladly accepted. She understood the implication: the team intended to train her as a core member, an opportunity she wouldn't miss. And since everyone was kind and welcoming, she didn't feel her usual social anxiety.
—
Saturday, cherry-blossom day, came quickly.
At 8 a.m., Utaha was still asleep, while Ichin was already up. After washing up and eating a light breakfast, he began preparing food for the picnic.
Pulling ingredients from the fridge, he folded his arms. "Hmm… Eriri said she'd handle sushi, so I'll make something else."
He had plenty of chicken wings—perfect for cola wings and fried wings, everyone's favorites. He also planned vegetable spring rolls, since stir-fry wasn't picnic-friendly. For variety, he thought about making dim sum too.
After marinating the wings, he pulled out his phone to look up how to make crystal shrimp dumplings. He wanted to give them a try.
By 9:30, the kitchen door opened as Utaha walked in, freshly washed.
"Ichin, do we have anything to eat?"
"Yeah, want some crystal shrimp dumplings? I tried making them—they turned out pretty good."
He lifted the steamer lid, revealing rows of translucent dumplings.
"Oooh! Gimme two!"
Utaha's eyes lit up instantly, her appetite stirred.
Ichin packed most into a thermal lunchbox, leaving two in a bowl, and handed them over with chopsticks.
"Eat first. I'll warm you some milk. Once the egg tarts and wings are ready, we can head out."
But Utaha didn't answer—her mouth was already stuffed full of steaming dumplings, her face radiating pure satisfaction.
***
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