That morning, in the garage, Nakayūji arrived at Kobayashi Tetsu's place before heading to Sega.
"Kobayashi-kun."
Nakayūji stood a little stiffly and bowed to him.
Previously, their outsourced collaboration involved only a simple set of synthesized electronic music.
But this time—they were officially working together on a full game!
Nakayūji felt uneasy and nervous.
Unrest desu!
Kobayashi Tetsu, however, showed none of that emotion.
"I thought you wouldn't come today. Look, I've already laid out a rough project schedule."
He flipped the whiteboard around to show the writing on it.
Although not a trained professional, Tetsu had made two games already, so he at least had a sense for how to structure a project.
"First, build the game framework and make sure it can run. Then, based on what we need, we'll add items, characters, and functions. After that, we'll add sound effects and nicer graphics. To save time, we should work in parallel—you create a piece of synthesized music while I build the framework. I'm hoping for a tense atmosphere, maybe with a hint of explosive noise. Something that feels like a battlefield."
The explanation left Nakayūji blinking.
"But… I still don't know what game this is."
"Oh, it's a tank battle game."
Tetsu flipped the whiteboard again and tapped the title written on it:
"Smokey Mountain Tank Battle."
Nakayūji scratched his head.
Why Smokey Mountain? What was that supposed to mean? And it was even written in proper kanji…
"Smokey Mountain Tank Battle?"
The second half of the name made sense—it must be a war game. But "Smokey Mountain"? No clue.
Tetsu shrugged.
"The explosion effects look like little mountains. So, Smokey Mountain—mountains of smoke."
"Oh!!" Nakayūji suddenly understood and gave a thumbs up.
"Kobayashi-kun, you're so poetic."
Tetsu shrugged again.
"If everything's clear, let's start. I've set up your equipment. You can study the external hardware for the synthesizer; I don't understand it myself."
As Nakayūji walked over, Tetsu added:
"This game is much bigger than the previous ones. I don't know how long it'll take. Sega already paid a one-million-yen advance, and it hit my account today. Give me your bank info later—I'll transfer fifty thousand yen to you."
Nakayūji: ???
His head buzzed.
So casual! He wasn't even worried Nakayūji would take the fifty thousand yen, disappear into the sunset, and never come back?!
But Tetsu had already stopped talking and was seated at his computer, working.
So all Nakayūji could do was walk to the area Tetsu had prepared.
On the other side of the whiteboard, there was a desk and chair waiting for him—
and a Fujitsu computer, the green-lit screen softly flickering.
Nakayūji inhaled sharply, as if sipping miso soup the wrong way.
He even got his own workstation!
"The wood on this desk looks expensive! And the chair… so soft… How is this even work!?"
He sank into the leather chair and spun around once, completely impressed.
This was heaven!
Although computers weren't customizable yet, this machine was high-end by any standard—
in future terms, one might call it a professional workstation.
After studying the setup, Nakayūji couldn't help thinking about his workstation at Sega.
Compared to this…
it was downright pitiful.
This desk was so big he could lie on it and sleep.
"Even if this is a second-generation unit… isn't this a bit too extravagant? Or is he making games as a hobby and not even thinking about money?"
Nakayūji peeked over toward the other side of the whiteboard.
Come to think of it, this was his first time truly working with Kobayashi Tetsu.
Last time, when he composed the synthesized music, they barely interacted.
From where he stood, he could see Tetsu typing nonstop at his glowing green monitor, looking completely confident—almost as if he'd already planned every line in his head.
Nakayūji rubbed his eyes.
It was unbelievable.
"He really wrote all those programs himself?!"
He had always believed that the previous two games Tetsu released were purchased from someone else.
But now—
On day one of working together, Nakayūji's worldview was shaken.
Tetsu typed so fast, barely pausing, and if not for the collaboration, he probably wouldn't even bother writing comments.
It didn't look like programming—
it looked like he was simply printing out the contents of his brain!
A strong sense of defeat washed over Nakayūji.
Sure, he was a high-school dropout, but he'd started using computers, synthesizers, and assembly early.
He considered himself somewhat of a genius.
But writing this fast?
Impossible.
"Damn… this is actually getting me fired up! A million-yen deposit and he gives me fifty thousand just like that… He's practically like Ishida Jibushōyu!"
That was Ishida Mitsunari, the famous (and famously tragic) strategist of Japanese history.
One of Mitsunari's well-known stories was how he recruited the talented warrior Shima Sakon, offering him half his salary.
The act won Sakon's unwavering loyalty.
Nakayūji didn't think Tetsu was Mitsunari, and he definitely didn't think he himself was Sakon.
But the fifty thousand yen—
that gesture inspired genuine admiration.
If someone valued him that much, even when he was still inexperienced…
"Even if I can't be Shima Sakon, I should at least make something worthy of that fifty thousand yen!"
Filled with determination, Nakayūji connected his external audio hardware and prepared to compose an epic piece of synthesized music.
---
Meanwhile, Kobayashi Tetsu was indeed writing code.
He knew what he needed to do, though he still paused occasionally to think.
Tank Battle wasn't complicated.
It was a 1985 game released by Namco on the Famicom, later ported to arcades and other platforms.
Namco—later part of Bandai Namco—was already a major name in arcade gaming, known for titles like Galaga, Dig Dug, and Xevious.
Tank Battle was one of their hits.
It featured four enemy types, each with different firing speed, movement speed, and armor (HP).
There were also six different items: base protection, tank upgrade, invincibility, time freeze, full-screen destruction, and extra life.
But—
Tetsu wasn't going to make Tank Battle.
Not a chance.
If a superior derivative already existed, why make the original?
Of course he would make Smokey Mountain Tank Battle.
Who would play the plain version?
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