Chapter 87: The Empty Street
Afterward, we discussed where to place Yuki's created ending within the story.
There were no issues with the scenario itself, but if we were to set this story as a normal ending, it would significantly reduce the impact of "The Empty Streets."
"The Empty Streets" has multiple endings based on the heroine's event completion rate. However, Yuki's proposed scenario placed more importance on a particular item, a letter, independent of event completion.
"I think we should categorize Yuki's ending as a hidden ending."
"A hidden ending?"
"It's an ending that you can only see under specific conditions."
"So, do I have to experience hell at least once to see a happy ending?"
"Yuki's ending, by its nature, would be more impactful when seen after the heroine's death."
"So, how would that work?"
"For example, after the heroine chooses to end her own life, you would have the option to write a letter for her on the second playthrough."
"So, Director, you mean to say that we should make Yuki's ending a part of the second playthrough?"
"Yes, exactly."
At this point, Hayashi interjected, "Director, just a moment. I've been developing the script for the first playthrough until now. If we include these elements, the second playthrough script will have to function separately. Do you understand what I mean?"
Of course, I understood. While it's just adding one more event after the ending, the addition of an extra choice would require a different script structure for the second playthrough. It was more complicated than I had initially thought. And this added complexity led to another issue for "The Empty Streets."
"Is the cartridge capacity insufficient?"
"Yes, it is. Honestly, I'm not sure if we can fit Yuki's ending in its current state. Plus, we need to consider the BGM (background music)."
Background music is crucial for such a storytelling game. However, I couldn't ask Morita to compromise the quality of the art any further, and we couldn't afford to go insane.
"In the first place, there are too many events happening because of a single heroine, leading up to the third act. Do we need to adjust this? Or perhaps reuse the same events for all three characters?"
"No, their age differences require different atmospheres for each event scene. Lowering the quality of the work will only make it look worse."
"Then what do you suggest?"
Hayashi's question left me deep in thought, my hand resting on the table. I started to waver between lowering the character quality and preserving the event scenes, or sacrificing the event scenes to enhance the artwork.
At that moment, Yuki, who had been gazing at the character illustrations Morita had brought, spoke up.
"Wow, there are three heroines? Are these characters from Part 1?"
In response to Yuki's question, Morita answered, "Yes, from left to right, they are the older, same-age, and younger heroines."
Noticing the striking resemblance of the same-age heroine to herself, Yuki asked Morita, "Is this character based on me by any chance?"
"Oh, yes. That's true. It's a character named Miyuki, your childhood friend."
"Really? She's way prettier than me, and..."
Yuki briefly compared the character's chest with her own and let out a small sigh. Why was she comparing her chest with a 2D character's?
Watching her behavior, I almost burst into laughter.
"Anyway, all three of them are very beautiful. Especially the older heroine with glasses looks great on her."
"Wow, Yuki, you recognized the charm of glasses right away. Impressive."
"The younger one is very cute, and, to be honest, all three of them could be heroines in their own right in different works. It feels like a waste to have all three of them in one story."
"Feeling like it's a waste to have all three of them in one story?"
As I heard Yuki's words, a simple yet wicked marketing idea briefly crossed my mind.
"So... should we give up on anything in this game, which is all about story, art, and BGM?"
After organizing my thoughts for a moment, I said to Morita and Hayashi, "Let's improve the quality of our work."
"What?"
Morita and Hayashi stared at me with puzzled expressions.
Well, just a moment ago, there was a big fuss about insufficient capacity, and now, I was suddenly talking about improving the quality.
Morita replied, "Yes? It would make my job easier, but Director, what are you planning to do?"
"First of all, Hayashi, I apologize, but I plan to make significant modifications to the story about the heroines in Part 1."
"What did you say!?"
When I used my so-called director's ultimate skill, 'Table Flip,' Hayashi's face turned white as a sheet.
Of course, it would, considering that everything he had been coding until now was on the verge of becoming obsolete in an instant. Maybe, to Hayashi, my decision now felt scarier than the ending where the heroine commits suicide.
Was it because of that? Hayashi, who always maintained a calm expression, was now almost in tears.
"Ma... Manager? Why are you suddenly doing this to me?"
"I realized that compromising the capacity in pursuit of Morita's high-quality artwork is unreasonable. I'm sorry, Hayashi... But I'm confident that this decision will lead to better results not only for us but also for the players."
"Are you planning to release Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 separately, by any chance?"
"No... That would disrupt the story structure."
"Then? What are you planning to do?"
"We want to give players the option to choose a heroine from the beginning."
Upon hearing my words, Morita, Hayashi, and Yuki simultaneously turned their heads and looked at me, bewildered.
They seemed to have no idea what it meant to give players the choice of a heroine from the beginning. After observing their reactions for a moment, I continued.
"Pentagon Soft's 'The Empty Streets' will be released in versions for each heroine. In other words, each cartridge will contain only one heroine."
"What!? Are you saying that each heroine will be sold separately in cartridges?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Oh..."
Since it had come to this, how about planning a limited edition with a bundle of all three heroines?
I should ask Morita to create a photo book as a special bonus for the limited edition and slowly plan the content of the limited edition.
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