"President, Miss Katayama from Gorotsu is here," Ayase Akane reminded him.
Only then did Aoki Haruhi look up from the Famitsu magazine.
"Okay, please show them into my office."
This was Katayama Reiko's second time visiting Pokeni Corporation.
Compared to her first visit, the place was noticeably livelier.
The original P Corporation had only about 20 people, but now it had expanded to over 30, and showed signs of further growth.
Katayama had a keen eye; as soon as she walked in, she saw art staff in the distance drawing characters with very distinct Western fantasy features.
Not only were the designs exaggerated, but they also exuded a strong sense of power.
Katayama didn't know which Pokeni project this was for.
Given that P Corporation primarily focused on galgames, she couldn't help but click her tongue in surprise.
Could such demonic images really be romanceable heroines?
No, not necessarily.
After all, the heroine of "The Mermaid's Heart" was also a non-human.
To be precise, ever since "Onmyoji," none of Pokeni's heroines had been purely human, right?
Now that P Corporation was capable of creating heroines with Western fantasy characteristics, she wasn't all that surprised anymore.
Just as she was thinking this, Katayama and the photographer she brought with her were invited into the president's office.
Her main purpose this time was to collect some exclusive materials on "The Mermaid's Heart."
After some pleasantries, Katayama Reiko began asking about some of the production details behind "The Mermaid's Heart."
They had been chatting for over an hour.
"Wow, it's really surprising that you could come up with a story like this."
At the same time, Katayama couldn't help but sigh that Kogahara Tsubakiaki and Gen Urobuchi were simply two lunatics.
To think they could combine weird, eerie elements with romance.
Was this something that went beyond the scope of what a human brain could conceive?
"Katayama-san, I have a little suggestion," Aoji Haruhi said seriously.
"If it's possible, could your company provide some other perspectives when reporting on The Mermaid's Heart?"
"Hmm?"
After Aoki Haruhi's explanation, she finally had a deeper understanding of "The Mermaid's Heart."
It was no longer just a galgame; it also carried a lot of substance regarding human nature and society.
It was just that because its plot was too impactful, the cross-species romance was so eye-catching that other magazines had overlooked this point.
That Aoki could point this out clearly showed he was intentionally giving "Gorotsu" special treatment.
For this, she was very grateful.
Katayama Reiko nodded; she already knew how she should write this report.
"By the way, President Aoki, does your company have any other game plans?"
Katayama Reiko raised her hands and pressed them together, "Excuse me, please forgive me. To be honest, when I came in just now, I saw some very interesting artwork with a distinct Western style.
I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to see it."
Katayama closed her eyes, bowed slightly, and made a [really very sorry] gesture.
"Hmm, we are already working on that."
Aoki Haruhi clasped his hands in front of his chest and flashed a charming, handsome smile. The photographer beside him quickly snapped a picture.
It was quite interesting, actually. When "Gorotsu Game Communications" published its 3rd weekly issue in January, the magazine's sales suddenly jumped by 5%.
The editorial department later investigated and discovered that a large portion of the buyers were high school girls.
The reason they bought it? Because the cover looked good.
And on that cover, it wasn't a game advertisement, but a photo of President Aoki.
Aoki Haruhi was quite satisfied with their business.
In an era before celebrity influencers had become the mainstream for advertisements, he himself was the spokesperson.
In the future, there would be a man named Chen Ou who would use the gimmick "I am my own spokesperson." Aoki Haruhi felt he could do that too.
Not only could he attract a wave of fans, but he could also save money.
"We are currently developing a Western fantasy-themed game."
Hearing the definitive answer from Aoki Haruhi's mouth, Katayama Reiko's eyes lit up.
"Oh? What kind of game is that? I'm extremely curious."
"A milestone of a game." Qing Zhiyuan said bluntly, "This game, let's call it [Diablo X] for now, is absolutely a legendary work the likes of which have never been seen before.
It will redefine ARPGs."
"ARPG?"
Katayama Reiko was amused by the look of pure idealism on Qing Zhiyuan's face.
President Qing really is quite conceited.
Before the game is even made, he can definitively call it a "legendary work."
"Yes." Qing Zhiyuan nodded, "Not just its gameplay, but its complexity, especially its numerical formulas, could be said to be a textbook for the entire gaming industry. Future game numerical architectures will be based on and expanded from Diablo X."
"Diablo" can be considered a bible for game developers; every budding game creator must understand it. Qing Zhiyuan had played it for decades and was still enjoying it as late as '21.
"What do you mean by that?" Katayama Reiko didn't quite understand.
"[Diablo X] defines many attributes, using a design primarily based on multiplicative formulas with fixed damage added on top."
For example, the damage calculation is extremely complex: (Base Damage x 1.5 {only applies to ethereal items}) * (1 + Weapon ED value / 100) + (direct minimum/maximum damage increase)...
For example, damage calculation is extremely complex: (Base Damage x 1.5 {only applies to ethereal items}) * (1 + Weapon ED% / 100) + Flat Min/Max Damage Bonus) multiplied by (1 + Strength or Dexterity / 100 + Off-weapon ED% / 100 + Skill ED% / 100)) + (1 - Skill Damage Penalty / 100) x 2 {only acts when Critical Strike or Deadly Strike occurs} + Elemental Damage... Afterward, damage reduction must also be calculated based on the opponent's block, defense, etc. Damage can never be zero, and at the same time, many stats will not become overpowered no matter how much they are stacked.
The benefit of this numerical system is that all your stats are useful; it's just that they have different values based on their weight ratios, with some stats being more valuable than others...
It can be said that it is the originator of the ARPG genre, as well as a model for future RPG games. As long as combat is involved, it is difficult to bypass Diablo's numerical system design.
To a certain extent, it is simply beautiful.
To be precise, before Diablo, almost all game combat was based on subtraction formulas.
"For example, take the simplest Attack-Defense-HP system: the damage dealt to an enemy is equal to your attack minus their defense, which then determines the HP deducted.
It's simple and crude, but it brings with it many problems.
The diminishing marginal utility is a very serious issue.
Once your defense stacks higher than the opponent's attack, it leads to a situation where the attack becomes ineffective, and the room for numerical expansion becomes very limited.
However, multiplication formulas don't have such problems."
Aoki Haruhi gestured in the air with his hands; although it was just a bunch of numerical formulas before his eyes, it seemed to fascinate him even more than any woman.
Katayama Reiko listened in stunned silence, experiencing the illusion of having her brain explode just like during a high school math class.
Aoki spoke far too professionally.
"If there's any imperfection to it... I suppose it's that the developers didn't initially anticipate that players would exploit bugs to cheese bosses, leading to over-leveled monsters and experience overflow."
Aoki stroked his chin, thinking carefully. "So, Blizzard later added a level restriction to the experience formula. You can only get normal experience within a certain absolute level difference range; otherwise, it will decay based on the level gap.
It's a piecewise function.
It was manually adjusted after data verification, so it's not quite perfect in its mathematical construction."
But if Pokeni were to produce it, they would definitely consider all sorts of issues from the very beginning.
Although it's called "Diablo 1," in reality, it has already been iterated upon many times in Aoki Haruhi's mind.
"..."
Katayama Reiko was dumbfounded, feeling like she had listened to nothing at all.
"In short, in terms of numerical design, this game will definitely be a revolutionary product. The complexity and variety of its combat is also a very important feature of the game. We are very confident in building Diablo X into a world-class game," Aoki concluded.
"Alright, President Aoki, let's end our interview here for today. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule."
While riding the elevator downstairs, Katayama Reiko asked the cameraman, "Can you understand what President Aoki just said?"
"Me...?" The cameraman looked at her, dumbfounded. "I'm just the one carrying the equipment, you're asking me?"
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