Atlas's work had actually won a Nebula Award!
The news left Atlas employees both puzzled and filled with anticipation.
Come on, it's a Nebula Award! Though no one knew how they'd managed it, simply achieving such a feat was exhilarating.
After a half-month absence, Kobayashi Tetsu returned to find development progressing smoothly, with occasional mentions of the Nebula Award.
As Kobayashi Tetsu entered, everyone stood up.
"Good morning, President!"
"Winning the Nebula Award is truly amazing."
"I wonder if *Super Dimension Fortress Macross* will win."
Kobayashi Tetsu waved his hand in the air.
*Sit down, let's get back to work!*
The *Super Dimension Fortress Macross* game was directly modified from *Jormungandr*'s source code, so development wasn't particularly challenging. However, *Bomberman* development, which Kobayashi Tetsu hadn't interfered with, was being led entirely by Iwata Satoru and his team.
*Bomberman*'s gameplay mechanics were the core; designing levels around these mechanics would ensure the game's success.
As for the number of levels, Kobayashi Tetsu adhered to the principle of quality over quantity. It was better to have twenty unique levels, each with its own distinct characteristics, than hundreds of repetitive ones.
Kobayashi Tetsu pulled up a whiteboard and personally explained his vision for developing the game levels.
"First and foremost, what you see is what you get! The levels can be difficult, the monster configurations complex, and they might be fast, actively pursue players, leaving them no time to set bombs, or even launch ranged attacks. But!"
Kobayashi Tetsu emphasized, "All attacks must stay within the screen's boundaries. No attacks can originate outside the player's line of sight."
"Invisible attacks are the most infuriating. If a player sees an attack coming but can't dodge it, that's a skill issue. But if a sudden blow comes from an unseen area, that's downright nauseating."
"Occasionally encountering such traps is acceptable, but making them a standard design practice would make the game unplayable."
Kobayashi Tetsu would not tolerate this.
After finishing his explanation, Kobayashi Tetsu walked past Naka Yuji. Naka Yuji, a bit afraid to meet his gaze, deliberately avoided looking at him.
"Nakahiro-kun, come with me," Kobayashi Tetsu said pointedly.
Naka Yuji could only follow nervously into the office.
As soon as he entered, Naka Yuji immediately apologized, "I'm sorry, President! I shouldn't have—"
"No need for apologies." Kobayashi Tetsu raised a finger to his lips, signaling Naka Yuji to be silent.
"Look at this first."
Kobayashi Tetsu casually handed Naka Yuji the morning newspaper he'd bought that day.
Naka Yuji, feeling uneasy, took the paper and saw it was an article written by Tanimura Masahito.
He skimmed it quickly, his heart pounding.
Tanimura Masahito had inevitably noticed the Bomberman series from a few years back, comparing two games and lambasting them. He then brought up Atlas's *Smoke Mountain Tank Battle* from years ago, calling on players to boycott Atlus Studio.
Naka Yuji set the paper down, his hands restless. He wanted to wipe the sweat from his forehead but hesitated, feeling the gesture might be disrespectful.
Kobayashi Tetsu interlaced his fingers, leaned forward slightly, and stared at Naka Yuji, his eyes revealing little emotion.
"Nakahiro-kun, you've been with Atlas since our second game, practically since we started. If we had employee numbers, you'd be #0002. How could you not understand something this basic? Or perhaps, as employee #0002 and head of the First Development Department, you think you can do whatever you want?"
Kobayashi Tetsu's voice wasn't hurried, nor was his tone particularly harsh.
Yet Naka Yuji grew increasingly anxious and uneasy.
Naka Yuji understood exactly what Kobayashi Tetsu meant.
"I'm deeply sorry, President! I... I'll take full responsibility for this."
Naka Yuji removed his employee badge, crumpled it up, and prepared to hand it over. But Kobayashi Tetsu's expression softened, a faint smile returning as he waved dismissively. "You're resigning over such a minor matter? Atlas still needs you. But this must never happen again. This isn't serious; I'll handle it promptly. For now, I'll personally oversee the development of *Super Dimension Fortress Macross*. You'll temporarily work with Iwata Satoru on *Bomberman* part two."
This was effectively a temporary suspension, yet Naka Yuji felt a wave of relief. At least this meant the incident was being set aside.
Naka Yuji bowed and turned to leave, but Kobayashi Tetsu called him back.
"Nakahiro-kun."
"Yes, President."
"Don't underestimate Iwata-kun in the future."
Naka Yuji lowered his head and bowed deeply.
"I won't, sir!"
Kobayashi Tetsu nodded, allowing Naka Yuji to withdraw.
Kobayashi Tetsu knew the reason for Naka Yuji's disdain toward Iwata Satoru. During their time at HAL, Iwata Satoru hadn't achieved much, while Naka Yuji, as one of Atlas's earliest employees, had contributed to the development of numerous games. Now that they were peers, Naka Yuji found it hard to accept.
Kobayashi Tetsu couldn't afford to let such resentment fester.
Naka Yuji was undeniably talented. During his time at Sega, he contributed to numerous projects, with Sonic being the most famous among them.
But in terms of overall ability, he still fell short of Iwata Satoru.
Iwata Satoru was a technical prodigy himself! He wrote programs on a calculator back in middle school.
A real Casio calculator, mind you.
Back then, Iwata Satoru created a game on his calculator and brought it to school to share with his classmates.
By the time Kobayashi Tetsu arrived, Naka Yuji had already been imprisoned for embezzlement—a three-year sentence and a fine of over a million yen. Among the early producers of video games, his downfall was considered particularly tragic.
"Hopefully, nothing like that will happen again," Kobayashi Tetsu murmured, folding his hands, his thoughts drifting.
Tanimura Masahito's sharp tongue was undeniable; after all, Kobayashi Tetsu had kicked him out of HAL.
But for Tanimura to suddenly unleash such baseless accusations in the newspapers... there had to be a reason.
"So someone really is behind this, huh? Nintendo? Namco? We need to find out who's pulling the strings."
Kobayashi Tetsu didn't rush to respond. He wanted to see who was using this incident to stab him in the back.
On the other hand, he also needed this kind of publicity to generate buzz.
"I don't know who's manipulating Tanimura Masahito to write these scathing articles, but this is actually working in our favor! Sensationalism grabs attention, and that quickly draws in players' interest. All Atlas needs to do is reveal the acquisition documents for Bomberman from Tanaka Yuji, and the whole mess will be resolved!"
Kobayashi Tetsu glared at the editorial in the newspaper, already strategizing his next move.
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