A week later, Urobuchi Gen submitted his newly written script for Onmyoji 2 to Aoki Haruhi.
After reading it, Aoki Haruhi praised it enthusiastically.
"Mmm, mmm, that's the flavor we're looking for."
After finishing, he felt another urge to strangle Urobuchi Gen.
But this feeling was exactly right!
"I'm confident that Onmyoji 2 will successfully carry the torch for the Onmyoji series this time," Aoki Haruhi declared with unwavering confidence.
If they could just make it ashore this time, the future would be bright.
"Understood, President. Thank you for your recognition. I'll work even harder," Urobuchi Gen said.
With Aoki Haruhi's affirmation, the young writer was filled with boundless motivation.
"Ganbatte!"
With the script finalized, the remaining tasks proved relatively straightforward.
Onmyoji 2 didn't require new music composition. As part of the established series, it would directly reuse the soundtrack from Onmyoji 1, which would also strengthen player memory and evoke fond recollections of their time with the original game.
For Elite Academy, a lightweight simulation management game, Atsushi Shirakawa's expertise wasn't necessary. Standard, upbeat electronic music would suffice.
In short, the current outsourcing arrangements could fully meet Pokeni's development needs.
However...
The thought of Atsushi Shirakawa left Aoki Haruhi feeling a pang of disappointment. If that guy had joined Pokeni back then, the company's musical shortcomings would have been fully addressed.
But dwelling on the past was pointless. He had to move forward.
He'd have to keep an eye out for another talented musical prodigy to poach in the future.
Maeda Jun would also be a good candidate. Though known as the "Great Demon King of Tears," he possessed exceptional talent in scriptwriting, music, and art. The only issue was that the young man was still too young; they'd have to wait for him to mature.
The following period was a tense development cycle for Pokeni.
Time flew by, and suddenly it was September.
Although Onmyoji 2 was still in production, Elite Academy had already been completed.
After nearly two weeks of internal testing, it was confirmed that there were no obvious bugs, meaning Elite Academy was ready to be released.
"Alright! With this game, we'll make history!" Aoki Haruhi kissed the cartridge sample in his hand and raised it high.
The team burst into applause, congratulating him.
"Ah, I can't believe this day came so quickly."
"Yeah, we finished it in less than three months."
"It's all thanks to the President's leadership. He quickly determined the game's direction and content, and we were able to generate assets rapidly, so there were no delays."
Game development progresses swiftly when there are no major setbacks or scrapped work.
Aoki Haruhi was deeply familiar with Kairosoft's games, making the copying process exceptionally smooth.
The entire development process was moving at full speed, like a car on a highway.
Before the project even began, Aoki Haruhi had deliberately instructed the programmers to design the game as an editable template. In essence, they were developing a simple [ Simulation Management Game Editor ].
The advantage of this approach was that it would make it easy to reskin the game in the future.
For example, after creating [ Elite Academy ], they could make minor modifications to the base and then develop [ CD City Tycoons ].
For the battle-hardened Aoki Haruhi, this was already second nature.
"Impressive, President! These character designs are so clever."
"Of course! After all, the President is the legendary producer who made galgame history."
"True. Even though it's a pixel art game, our [ Elite Academy ] looks so appealing. The characters are cute, endearing, and really stand out from other games on the market."
"I tried it myself, and I couldn't stop playing. Once you get into [ Elite Academy ], it's genuinely fun."
"Hey~ If that's the case, we've got a real chance!"
Hearing the team's discussion, Aoki Haruhi smiled to himself as he sipped his coffee.
Victory was inevitable. After all, Elite Academy had already proven its market viability in his previous life, solidifying Kairosoft's reputation.
With a twenty-year head start, how could this game not be a hit?
As he savored his private amusement, Ishino Mika, the game's copywriter, quietly approached him.
"President~ We were double-checking the game development team list yesterday and noticed that the producer is listed as Aoki Haruhi."
"We were worried we'd made a mistake, so we came to ask for your confirmation," she said, looking at him cautiously. "Are we not using Kogahara Tsubakiaki this time?"
"That's right!" Aoki Haruhi nodded firmly. "Since this is a fresh start, we must abandon the Kogahara Tsubakiaki alias."
"Alias?" Ishino Mika tilted her head, looking puzzled.
The president is making up strange new terms again.
"Well... it's like a pen name," Aoki Haruhi explained.
"Oh, I see." Ishino Mika nodded in understanding.
After all, she'd never wanted to make a galgame in the first place. She'd originally opposed turning the brilliant Onmyōji into a small-scale galgame.
If she were in his shoes, who would want a history of having written scripts for galgames on their resume?
With that thought, it dawned on her—
The President had been planning all along to use the pseudonym Kogahara Tsubakiaki.
"Huh? President, you're so cunning!" Ishino finally realized, wrinkling her nose.
"It's not cunning, just protecting myself."
"I should have used a pen name too. Something like Immature Michiko."
"Huh?" Aoki Haruhi was amused by her idea. "The way your brow furrows is so cute."
"Hmm~ I don't believe you!"
Though she said that, a smile she couldn't hide played at the corners of Ishino's lips.
"But why are you going back to using Aoki Haruhi now?"
"That's because..." Aoki Haruhi chuckled softly, "I have absolute confidence in Elite Academy!"
After all, this was the project that had made his name.
If Elite Academy became a hit, Aoki Haruhi would be remembered as the pioneer of simulation management games.
It wasn't that no similar games had existed before, but Elite Academy was more systematic and possessed a unique charm that would surely offer players a refreshing experience.
"Ah~ That's wonderful! Then I'll use Ishino Mika in the script section too!"
"Sure thing."
"Here's to Elite Academy being a massive hit!" Ishino Mika clenched her small fist.
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