After picking up Eriri, they headed to the company. Ichin let Utaha and Yukino do their own thing while he went over to the Tales of Berseria development team.
Over the past few days, the main storyline had been fully integrated. The game had entered its final polishing stage, and full scale testing had already begun.
It was absolutely playable now. That much was certain. But whether there might be bugs that could interrupt the game's progression was another matter.
Based on the current state of development, minor bugs were inevitable. However, there should not be any critical, game breaking ones.
At the very least, there would be none of those infamous, generational Ubisoft style bugs here.
When Ichin arrived at the programming team's area, Kō and Aoba were there as well. The group was chatting animatedly about something.
"What's got everyone so excited?" Ichin asked.
Seeing him, Aoba grinned. "Ichin! Something interesting happened today! Someone tried to poach Umiko again!"
"Oh? Really?" Ichin chuckled. This was far from the first time something like this had happened. Not just Umiko, but Kō, Rin, Hifumi, and several others had all received offers before.
Of course, none of them had accepted. They had all informed Ichin immediately.
He did not mind at all. He knew very well that his company was full of talented people. It was only natural that others would try to recruit them away.
But from the moment the company was founded, Ichin had established excellent benefits and a positive work environment. No one who joined had any desire to leave. In the industry, there was hardly anywhere with a better atmosphere or employee benefits.
When it came to that, Ichin had never been stingy with money.
So no matter which competitor tried to poach staff from him, it simply would not work.
Looking at Umiko, who stood at the center of the conversation, Ichin smiled. "So, Umiko, which company tried to recruit you this time?"
Umiko looked somewhat helpless. "This time it's an overseas company. DICE under EA wants to invite me to join their Battlefield project."
"…Huh."
Ichin genuinely had not expected DICE to be the one extending the offer.
But he quickly reacted and laughed. "If it were the old DICE, maybe I'd be a little worried. But now? I don't think I even need to consider your answer."
Umiko laughed as well. "Exactly. I don't know what DICE is thinking these days. Their own games are in such a mess, yet they're trying to poach talent from elsewhere. Even if they manage to recruit some skilled developers, I doubt it would make a difference. And with the current state of Battlefield, not many people in the industry are even willing to work on it. As for me, I stopped playing Battlefield ages ago. Ranking in Apex every season already takes up enough of my time."
These days, Umiko was completely immersed in Apex, the very game she had helped develop. Outside of work, apart from gym sessions and occasional outdoor survival shooting activities, most of her time went into Apex.
In the entire company, she probably logged the most gaming hours. Even Ruri Gokou and Eriri could not match her.
Standing beside her, Kō added, "Exactly. As soon as we make a good game, they start trying to poach people. Why not put in some effort themselves and make better games? And honestly, those Western countries are not that appealing. Plus, they're dangerous."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Ichin waved it off with a smile. "Alright, enough of that. Get back to work. When afternoon tea arrives, you'll all start slacking again."
After sending everyone back to their desks, Ichin sat down and resumed his own tasks, completing several side quests that had yet to be implemented and integrating them into the game.
Compared to the Berseria he remembered, this version included many more side quests and subplots, further deepening the characterization of each member of the main cast.
There was still plenty of work, but it was no longer particularly complicated. Once the side quests were done, it would mainly be bug fixing and fine tuning. In about one to one and a half months, everything should be ready for disc production.
After working for a while, afternoon tea arrived. Umiko brought Ichin a cup of milk tea and placed it on his desk.
"Ichin, your parents are coming over in a few days, right?"
Taking a sip, Ichin nodded. "Yeah. I'll call tonight to confirm, but it should be within the next few days. They'll come see the new villa, stay and have some fun for a couple of days, then head back to Shanghai with Utaha's parents. I'm also meeting a few old classmates and stopping by the studio. If I count it up… we'll probably be in Shanghai for about a week."
"A week, huh? That's not too long," Umiko said with a smile. "To be honest, it's been a while since I've seen your parents. I'll come over and mooch a meal when they're here."
"Of course. You're always welcome to mooch, Umiko."
That evening after dinner, Ichin called his parents to confirm their arrival time.
They had already booked their tickets. They would be arriving in three days on a one o'clock afternoon flight.
After ending the video call, Ichin looked at Utaha and Yukino.
"We can start tidying up the guest room tomorrow. They'll be here in three days."
Both Utaha and Yukino nodded. Utaha smiled brightly. "Yukino and I have been experimenting with new dishes lately. When Mom and Dad arrive, we can cook for them!"
Yukino, holding Sesame in her arms, thought for a moment. "When my sister gets back tonight, we should remind her not to be too carefree at home."
Ever since moving from the apartment to the villa, and with the weather growing warmer, Haruno tended to lounge around at home in light, thin sleepwear whenever she was off. She treated Ichin as if he were family and paid little mind to appearances.
But once Ichin's parents arrived, she would need to tone it down.
Hearing Yukino's words, Ichin smiled. "That's true. But once Haruno knows they're coming, she'll probably restrain herself. After all, even if my mom really likes her, if she sees her acting like that, she'll definitely pull her aside for a long lecture."
If Yukino and Haruno's mother was the strict type, then Ichin's mother was the kind who did not show much anger, but would sit you down and patiently lecture you for an hour or more.
Two completely different styles.
Haruno, who was used to her own mother's temperament, would absolutely not want to make this godmother of hers unhappy.
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