Chapter 39: Candidates and the Next Plan

After leaving the building of Eagle Jump, and walking some distance away, Utaha Kasumigaoka finally spoke up, "Ichin-kun, are you planning to bring those people into your studio?"

"Yes," Ichin nodded. "I've played the games developed by this company. They aren't large-scale productions, and their art style leans toward fantasy and cutesy designs, but their artistic strength is quite solid. What I lack right now are skilled artists. Among them, Yagami Kō stands out—she's been mentioned in several game industry news articles as someone big companies have tried to poach over the past few years. She's very talented in art direction. In fact, she was responsible for the character designs in Fairies Story 3."

"I see. I thought you were just drawn to their good looks," Utaha remarked with a teasing smile.

"Not at all," Ichin replied, shaking his head. "As long as they're talented, I wouldn't care if they were middle-aged, overweight men. I'd still bring them in."

"Let's not go that far," Utaha immediately objected. "That kind of scene would be too scary. For the sake of the workplace environment, I'd rather not see that."

While saying this, Utaha unconsciously included herself as part of Ichin's studio. Or perhaps, a more fitting title would be "the boss's wife"?

Ichin just chuckled, not denying it. "In any case, I've found some candidates. Now, I need to attract as many talented people as I can."

Soon, they arrived at the bus stop, and just as a bus approached, the two of them got on. Only a couple of minutes after settling into their seats, Ichin received a message from Hazuki, whom he had exchanged contact information with earlier.

Hazuki: "Ichin-kun, I've shared your details with everyone. Some of them are considering switching jobs, while others want to try applying to major companies. However, the ones you met earlier, along with a few others, are interested in meeting with you. When would you be available?"

Willing to meet, huh?

Seeing the message, Ichin smiled with satisfaction. Although it wasn't everyone, the ones he had met earlier seemed to be mostly from the art department, which was exactly what he needed.

Ichin immediately composed a message in response.

Ichin: "How about the day after tomorrow? I'll arrange a time and place so we can all meet up. Tomorrow, everyone can handle their ongoing matters. As for me, I plan to use tomorrow to work on my ideas for a new game. I think if I can present these ideas, it will make them more inclined to join my team."

On the other side, Hazuki was with Yagami Kō and two other friends. After reading Ichin's reply, Hazuki smiled and said, "Looks like he's more reliable than I expected. I think it's worth giving it a shot. What do you all think?"

Yagami Kō nodded. "Agreed. If Slay the Spire really was developed by him alone, then there's no doubt about his capabilities. It's only natural for someone like him to move forward after achieving initial success and to want to establish his own studio. While it may not be on the same scale as Eagle Jump, I'm quite interested in giving it a try."

After Yagami Kō finished speaking, a gentle-looking woman with short hair beside her added, "Since Kō-chan wants to give it a try, I'm fine with it too. Let's go ahead and meet him."

Another woman with long hair, darker skin, and a calm expression also agreed, "I'm willing to meet as well. I haven't found a new job yet anyway."

"Great! Umiko, you're on board too, which means if the meeting goes well, you all can continue working together!" Hazuki clapped her hands happily.

Umiko then turned her gaze to Hazuki and asked, "What about you, Hazuki?"

"Well…" Hazuki tilted her chin thoughtfully and said with a smile, "I'm planning to take a break and spend some time with my family. But I am interested in Ichin's studio, so as long as nothing major comes up, I'll definitely join you all later on."

"That's good to hear," Umiko nodded, no longer having any concerns.

Back on Ichin's side, he and Utaha took the bus back to their apartment building and parted ways. Once home, Ichin took a shower and then immediately sat down in front of his computer. He created two new folders:

1. Hollow Knight 

2. Dead Cells 

These were the two games Ichin was planning to develop next. One was a 2D Metroidvania action game, and the other was a pixel-art game that blended Metroidvania elements with roguelike features.

Both were standout indie games that Ichin personally loved. They weren't massive in scale but had distinctive styles, making them great projects to start with for his new studio. But then again, if the upcoming negotiations went well, those recruits were already familiar with each other, which would allow them to dive into development much faster.

Ichin cracked his neck to loosen up, feeling energized at the thought of finally establishing his own studio. Just as he was about to start working with his graphics tablet, a thought struck him.

"If the studio gets set up, where will the office be? We can't use Eagle Jump' old company space, and I won't be hiring all of their staff, so there's no need for such a large place. And this apartment obviously won't work either."

Crossing his arms in thought, Ichin eventually picked up his phone and called his father.

At this hour, Ichin's father had already returned home and finished dinner. Seeing his son's call, he answered immediately, "Hey, Ichin. What's up?"

"Dad, I need to tell you something and ask for your help."

"Oh?" His father's interest was piqued, and he sat up straight. "Go on, what is it?"

Ichin's mother, who was sitting beside his father, motioned for him to put the phone on speaker.

Once the speaker was on, Ichin's voice came through clearly.

"Well, I've been working on something besides my schoolwork these past few months. I developed a game, and it launched at the end of April. It's been selling well, and now I'm planning to set up a studio, but I haven't settled on a location yet."

"A game? A studio?" Ichin's father was momentarily stunned before putting two and two together. "So this is what you've been keeping secret?"

"Yep. I originally planned to show you the results after the game had been on sale for a month, but I ran into a situation this evening that might push up the timeline for setting up the studio."

Ichin then explained to his father how he had run into some of Eagle Jump' employees.

"Basically, it was an unexpected but fortunate coincidence. I met some people with the talent I need. If the negotiations go well, I intend to set up the studio immediately. But for that, I need an office space. I can't just do it out of our house, right?"

After listening to the whole story, Ichin's father didn't get angry about his son's secret game development. Instead, he curiously asked, "So, how are your game's sales going so far?"

…

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