"An invitation to the 'Throne of Heroes' game test?"
After explaining why she had come, Gogyo Ruri stood beside Kamiyā Yuu with an embarrassed expression and said quietly, "That's right. Onii-san has been busy with the 'Throne of Heroes' project lately, and I also saw Ms. Mizuhara, the president of [Mirror Flower Water Moon] Game Studio, visiting our company. So I was wondering whether Onii-san might have a 'Throne of Heroes' test account or something."
After hesitating for a moment, she raised her chin and deliberately put on a haughty air. "If it's too much trouble... Mm, in the end, I really have no choice but to ask Onii-san. This is a rare opportunity for Onii-san to raise his affection points with me."
She was already so embarrassed that she couldn't bring herself to look Kamiyā Yuu directly in the eyes. A rosy blush had spread from her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears. Asking Kamiyā Yuu for something because of her own interests was quite a personal request.
"So that's where this was going after all." Kamiyā Yuu smiled. "Got it. I'll send a game test account to your phone's email at noon."
Gogyo Ruri was a director in the animation department and had no authority to involve herself in the company's operations. Although she knew that the 'Throne of Heroes' project had been initiated by Kamiyā Yuu in his personal capacity, and also knew that he was the controlling shareholder of [Mirror Flower Water Moon] Game Studio, she knew very little about the actual situation.
About three days ago, [Mirror Flower Water Moon] Game Studio had publicly announced that its new game, 'Throne of Heroes', had officially entered the user testing phase. Test access could be exchanged for or drawn through special channels within 'Warship Girls Collection', or obtained from the official website. However, since this was a game test, the number of available test slots was naturally limited. Less than an hour after the official distribution began, every last one had been frantically snapped up.
More precisely, even among the users competing for test access during that one hour, fewer than one in a thousand—or perhaps even one in ten thousand—were lucky enough to obtain it.
The 'Throne of Heroes' test was scheduled to last for one month. In January of the following year, all test data would be wiped, followed by a week of technical adjustments before the game officially launched. For users who had failed to obtain test access, that month was practically torture. All they could do was watch gameplay videos recorded by others to satisfy their cravings. From the moment 'Throne of Heroes' was first announced, it had attracted enormous attention from gamers throughout Japan. As more game information was gradually revealed to the public, coupled with the operation and promotion of the Type-Moon World IP, the hype surrounding the IP was no less intense than that of long-established AAA blockbusters. It could truly be described as eagerly anticipated by everyone.
For the test version, the roster of Heroic Spirits was tentatively set at 160 across seven classes, along with large numbers of Magecraft Cards, Noble Phantasm Cards, Craft Essence Cards, and more. As part of its appeal, it incorporated elements from 'Fate/zero', 'Mysterious Gate', and original Heroic Spirits submitted by players. Drawing inspiration from numerous top games of the same genre from his previous world, Kamiyā Yuu had designed a complete, sophisticated, and balanced card-battle framework and combat calculation system. The data was then optimized by [Matrix Space]. In terms of variety, entertainment value, balance, and other aspects, the entire PVP system would have no comparable rival for at least the next thirty years.
The PVE system was further enhanced by the PVP system, with the two complementing one another. In terms of sheer playability, it might even surpass 'Warship Girls Collection'.
The PC client for 'Throne of Heroes' had been optimized by [Matrix Space], while the development team at [Mirror Flower Water Moon] Game Studio developed the game according to the optimized client. As a result, the probability of bugs appearing in the game was essentially zero. The game's core program, currently around 3 GB in size, had also been encrypted by [Matrix Space] using a special algorithm developed in 2030 in Kamiyā Yuu's previous world. This represented virtually the limit of what encryption on a Windows system could achieve. In theory, even if a hundred of the world's most advanced supercomputers worked continuously for a century, they wouldn't be able to crack even one-tenth of the encryption.
Ultimately, Kamiyā Yuu didn't want 'Throne of Heroes' to end up like 'Warship Girls Collection', where he created the game only for others to reap the benefits. The game's data-calculation methods were kept under the strictest secrecy. Even if other games copied the gameplay of 'Throne of Heroes', outsiders would still be unable to replicate the essence of its PVP gameplay. None of the game engineers involved in production at [Mirror Flower Water Moon] Game Studio knew the game's core information. They had simply completed the game according to the design plans provided by Kamiyā Yuu.
The game adopted a fully 2D interactive format, with 'Hearthstone' serving as one of its basic reference models. Although the game was only around 3 GB in size, if a game company from this world tried to create it, even 30 GB might not be enough to fully replicate 'Throne of Heroes'.
Most of the game's engineering had been completed by Kamiyā Yuu alone. To use building a house as an analogy, Kamiyā Yuu had provided the construction materials, architectural blueprints, construction equipment, and everything else, while [Mirror Flower Water Moon] Game Studio was responsible for using those materials to construct the house according to his requirements. Whether the finished house truly achieved the effects specified in the blueprints would require users to "live" in it for a period of time and provide feedback.
Gogyo Ruri herself was one of the illustrators for 'Throne of Heroes'. After being invited by Kamiyā Yuu, she was responsible for drawing character illustrations for four Heroic Spirits, and it was from that point onward that she began learning more about the game. As an illustrator, producing qualified artwork required Gogyo Ruri not only to understand the relevant information about the characters on which the illustrations were based, but also to tackle the game itself. As she continued researching it, she ended up developing an enduring interest in the game herself.
Her chūnibyō wavelength was still very much intact, and the vast, intricate setting of the Type-Moon World held an inherently irresistible attraction for her. She had even tried creating a fictional Heroic Spirit modeled after herself—the Assassin-class [Night Cat]. Unfortunately, despite having an exquisite illustration, various problems with its setting prevented it from passing [Mirror Flower Water Moon] Game Studio's review, and it only ranked somewhere beyond twentieth place in the player popularity vote.
Ever since the game entered testing, Gogyo Ruri had been trying to obtain test access herself. Unfortunately, she wasn't one of those few thousand lucky players. Only after exhausting every other option had she finally decided to ask Kamiyā Yuu for a test account.
When she heard Kamiyā Yuu agree, Gogyo Ruri's beautiful eyes, adorned with red contact lenses, immediately lit up. The way they sparkled made her relief and happiness unmistakable. Meeting Kamiyā Yuu's faintly amused gaze, she folded her arms, turned her face slightly aside, and watched him from the corner of her eye as she murmured, "Ahem. Onii-san's affection points have gone up quite a bit again this time..."
"Well~ I suppose I should at least say thank you."
"Kuroneko, since when did you have the tsundere trait?" He reached out with his right hand and flicked her forehead.
Gogyo Ruri's face instantly flushed bright red. With the small hands hidden inside her lotus-leaf sleeves planted on her hips, she declared haughtily, "That's always been one of the Fallen Saint Black Cat's attributes. Onii-san simply didn't know about it before."
After saying that, she bowed seriously to Kamiyā Yuu. "Then I won't disturb Onii-san's work any longer."
"Ah~ Right. We'll be holding a new animation production meeting in a few days. How are preparations going over in the animation department?" Kamiyā Yuu asked in passing.
Gogyo Ruri thought for a moment before nodding. "All the finishing work on 'Fate/zero' has been completed. Although we're currently not as well staffed as we were before, our partnerships with the freelance studios and animation studios haven't changed much. We can begin producing a new anime at any time."
Before leaving the office, Gogyo Ruri turned around again and hesitantly asked Kamiyā Yuu, "Onii-san, are you free on your day off this week?"
"Aside from staying at home, I don't think I have any special plans."
"As thanks, how about accompanying me to buy a few things on our day off this week?"
Seeing the faint nervousness and anticipation on her face, Kamiyā Yuu didn't refuse and smiled. "Sure."
"I'll email Onii-san tonight with the specific arrangements." Gogyo Ruri turned away so Kamiyā Yuu wouldn't see the bashful smile on her face, then left the office with light, cheerful steps.
Scheming, sharp-tongued, chūnibyō, with a touch of tsundere.
Kamiyā Yuu silently attached those labels to Gogyo Ruri in his mind.