Chapter 181: Live Gameplay Showcase

At 7:50 p.m., Ichin started the livestream, planning to officially begin once the audience size grew. Until then, he chatted casually with those who arrived early.

Within five minutes of starting the stream, the number of viewers began to increase, and various comments started appearing.

Thanks to the translation feature, even though the software occasionally produced some hilariously awkward machine translations, Hajime was able to understand most of it. So, during this warm-up period, she interacted cheerfully with the audience while Ichin sat beside her, handling the translation.

Meanwhile, over in the lounge area, everyone gathered together to watch the livestream.

Kō Yagami observed Shinoda Hajime's performance and couldn't help but comment, "She's really cut out for this whole streaming thing. She can just talk so naturally without even flinching."

Umiko replied calmly, "You can't just compare everyone like that. The truth is, you're just too weak."

"Tch, why don't you try it then?"

"Is that supposed to be hard?"

Umiko glanced at Kō and responded, "After the game is released, we'll probably do two more livestream events. How about you join me on camera then? Let's see if I can pull it off or not."

"Uh…"

Kō instinctively wanted to take up the challenge, but the thought of appearing on camera made her hesitate. Ultimately, she turned her head away with a pout. "Hmph, I won't bother arguing with you."

Seeing her reaction, Umiko's lips curled into a slight smirk, but she didn't push the conversation further.

Although she didn't say it, Umiko certainly wouldn't let Kō off that easily.

She made a mental note to talk to Ichin about training Kō a bit. After all, in the future, she needed to become one of the company's prominent figures who could confidently stand in the spotlight.

As the producer and lead planner, Ichin would be one of the company's public faces. And Kō Yagami, as the key figure in the art department, needed to have a role that extended beyond just development, especially in an industry where well-known creators were becoming increasingly important.

Like Aoba, Kō had dived into the gaming industry straight after high school. Despite having made a name for herself over the years, her presence in the media had been minimal.

Umiko and Hazuki had discussed this issue several times before.

Previously, Eagle Jump's scale was modest. Although the games they made were decent, they never quite reached top-tier standards. Their sales were average—not bad, but nothing exceptional.

But ever since joining Ichin's studio, they quickly realized his talent and how much potential the studio held. It was evident that they would definitely secure their place within the gaming industry.

In such a situation, even if Umiko hadn't brought up this issue, Ichin and Hazuki would have eventually pushed Kō into the spotlight.

Umiko turned her head and exchanged glances with Hazuki. The two of them shared a knowing smile.

For some reason, Kō suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

By 8:10 p.m., the stream's popularity was rising nicely, and the audience size had grown considerably.

Ichin finally announced that the official showcase would begin.

He adjusted the webcam feed, positioning it in the lower right corner of the streaming screen, and then brought up the already-opened Nintendo Switch home screen.

The game icon on the main screen was simple—only one: _Hollow Knight_.

"Alright, our livestream is officially starting. As previously announced, today's stream will showcase the live gameplay of _Hollow Knight_, which is scheduled for release on November 19th. The demonstration will be split into two parts. First, we'll be showing the Nintendo Switch version, running entirely in console mode at 1080p resolution and 60 FPS. After that, we'll showcase the Steam version. For each version, we'll display two different areas of the game with a decent amount of gameplay.

The gameplay will be handled by this young lady beside me, our studio's action designer, Miss Shinoda Hajime. I'll be responsible for providing commentary."

Holding the controller, Shinoda Hajime raised her small fist and cheerfully declared, "Leave it to me!"

This gesture, paired with her energetic movement, inevitably highlighted her well-proportioned figure, prompting numerous viewers in the chat to remark that they were definitely in the right place.

Glancing at the comments, Ichin sighed helplessly and said, "That's really not what I intended... Whatever, let's just go ahead and start the game."

Shinoda Hajime clicked on the game and loaded a prepared save file.

The demo for the Switch version focused on _Greenpath_, one of the early areas in the game.

Since Shinoda Hajime had already played through this area yesterday, she confidently gripped the controller and declared, "Greenpath, huh? Just watch how I breeze through this place!"

After translating her words for the viewers, Ichin reminded her, "Don't rush too much. Our showcase is meant to highlight the game's features, not to speedrun it."

"Eh~~ Fine, I get it."

Starting from the initial area, Shinoda Hajime controlled the character as they arrived at the entrance of _Greenpath_ and proceeded straight in.

Upon entering, three enemies appeared in the area—two flying ones and one on the ground.

Ichin asked her to slow down and explained to the viewers, "For those of you who played the demo, you're probably aware that the game has many equippable items that provide different abilities to the character.

At the start, the character doesn't have double-jump. This skill is something you obtain as you progress through the game. So, when you encounter enemies on platforms or flying enemies early on, be cautious. Otherwise, you'll easily take damage."

As Ichin explained, Shinoda Hajime skillfully maneuvered the character, quickly taking down the enemies and moving toward the next area.

"Every major area in the game has a distinct style. As you can see, _Greenpath_ lives up to its name with plenty of lush greenery and plant-based traps. Also, the waterways along the path are dangerous—if you fall into them, you'll take damage and be forced back to the spot you jumped from."

Climbing up a ledge, the viewers saw faint spikes scattered across the ground.

Shinoda Hajime also noticed them and confidently walked past. Suddenly, the ground spikes sprang up and snapped together, but they missed her entirely. She quickly dispatched the trap with a few strikes.

"Hmph, easy-peasy~"

She continued guiding the character forward with pride. But just as she said that, a diving enemy swooped down from the air and hit her directly, costing her one health point.

Noticing Ichin's gaze, Shinoda Hajime froze for a moment, her face flushing with embarrassment. "That was a mistake! I wasn't paying attention! It won't happen again!"

She quickly defeated the airborne enemy, jumped over two platforms, and pressed onward.

After that, she fully focused on the gameplay and avoided making any rookie mistakes. About ten minutes of exploration later, she arrived at the boss area.

The boss of _Greenpath_ was the _Hornet_. The difficulty wasn't too high, and since Shinoda Hajime had already beaten this boss once, she was confident she could handle it with ease.

However, because Ichin needed to provide commentary during the fight, it meant she couldn't end the battle too quickly and had to drag it out for a bit. This added an extra layer of challenge to the fight.

...

❇❇❇

Support me on Patreon - Read Up to 45+ Advanced Chapters There!

patreon.com/RedX43

❇❇❇