Chapter 61. Pokeni's Back Garden
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"Ayase-san, please handle the recruitment." Kiyoshi Yuuma handed a recruitment list to the HR.
"Yes, President." Ayase Akane seemed very excited—it was rare for the President to value her work like this.
Finally, she could do her actual job.
Taking the list and glancing at it, Ayase Akane was somewhat taken aback. "Do we need to hire this many people?"
The list covered almost every position in the company.
Adding them up, it came to about 10 or so people.
From programmers to planners to artists and sales staff—only the sound effects department didn't seem to have expansion plans.
Kiyoshi Yuuma nodded.
"Yes, after all, the company is short-handed right now. Expansion is imperative, and we'll need to continue expanding our territory in the future.
Right now, the company has only about 20-something employees in total, but we'll definitely need to expand projects in the future.
Hiring people in advance, being prepared—that way we won't run into problems later."
Actually, Kiyoshi Yuuma himself was a bit conflicted—labour costs in Japan were really high.
Especially in the gaming industry, the average salary was about 300,000 yen per month per person. For more talented individuals, like hardware engineer Asakawa Hiroki, the monthly salary was 500,000 yen.
With the company's current 20-something employees, salary expenses alone reached 7 million yen per month.
For a game that takes about half a year to develop, salary costs alone would reach over 40 million yen.
Besides that, there were rent, utilities, marketing, maintenance... equipment... And if it reached the release period, they'd need to add the costs of cartridge production, shipping fees, packaging fees. Even if they made money, Nintendo would take a large portion in royalties, plus taxes and such...
So the cost of making a game was truly astronomical.
Unless absolutely necessary, Kiyoshi Yuuma actually didn't want to hire people.
But there was no choice—they really were short-staffed right now.
After all, Diablo was so labour-intensive. If they didn't expand hiring, with the company's current team, the development cycle would probably take one to two years.
Kiyoshi Yuuma couldn't afford to wait that long.
...
Interviewing and hiring was a long-term process. While 10-something people seemed easy, they couldn't just be recruited in a flash.
It was very likely that not even two new employees would join in a month.
But the project had to start—the schedule couldn't be delayed, otherwise there'd be no income and they'd be drinking empty air in the future.
Kiyoshi Yuuma worked overtime himself, serving as the producer for Heart of the Mermaid while also providing art support for Diablo.
At the same time, he had to write program requirement documents and provide solutions and guidance for Diablo's program architecture and difficult points...
Sometimes working until one or two in the morning was commonplace.
Occasionally, he also had to engage in passionate encounters with Tsuda NKiyoshi.
Kiyoshi Yuuma wished he could split himself into several people.
...
In the week after the New Year, Goraku Tsūshin published its latest issue of the magazine.
It featured extensive coverage of interviews with the team behind the Onmyoji series.
There were many exquisite original images, including character design collections, plus interview content with the behind-the-scenes team members, especially the two main scriptwriters, which directly sent players into a frenzy of excitement.
"Wow, so that's how Yuuki Rei came to be?"
"Onmyoji was originally a Chinese-style game. Later it was adapted into what it is now."
"The original story also seems pretty good, but perhaps it really was too distant for us?"
"Whoa, so scriptwriter Mika Ishino looks like this? She's way too cute, isn't she?"
"What a beautiful lady. Mika Ishino's appearance completely exceeded my expectations. I originally thought scriptwriters were generally rather ugly."
"Right, Urobuchi Gen does fit my imagination, but I had no idea that Onmyoji's scriptwriter Mika Ishino was actually so beautiful. I'm smitten."
"And her figure is amazing too, isn't it?"
"It's practically unfair! Mika Ishino's figure and face are exactly like what I've dreamed of. She's too cute."
"I love Ishino."
...
Seeing the interviews and messages from players, Mika Ishino felt both happy and confused.
"What? Shouldn't the focus be on the script content? Why are they so intensely interested in the author?"
"I really hate this feeling. It's like being stripped naked." Mika Ishino hugged herself, feeling a chill.
"Being able to bring joy to players shows they like you," Kiyoshi Yuuma consoled her.
"Mm~ I'd rather not show my face." Ishino frowned. "Why didn't Goraku Tsūshin put a mosaic over me or something?"
Kiyoshi Yuuma rolled his eyes.
If they put a mosaic over what was originally a perfectly proper photo, wouldn't that be rather strange?
"I'd actually like to be discussed, but unfortunately I don't have that opportunity." Kiyoshi Yuuma said somewhat gloomily.
Compared to the two authors, he, the President, had zero popularity.
Players didn't seem to care who Pokeni's President was.
Even though Goraku Tsūshin gave him some space, it was far less than the two main creators.
They posted a small photo—he looked quite handsome, but no one praised him.
This made Kiyoshi Yuuma feel quite uncomfortable.
Still, he had to thank Goraku Tsūshin.
Even if sales weren't high, mosquito legs were still meat—being able to help Pokeni get a bit more publicity was good.
...
If Kiyoshi Yuuma could make good use of this magazine, it might become a strong support for Pokeni in the future.
Just like Famitsū was for Nintendo.
Kiyoshi Yuuma pondered—it would be great if he could cultivate Goraku Tsūshin into Pokeni's back garden, a dedicated promotional tool.