The basic gameplay of Hollow Knight had become well-known to most interested players during the demo release period.
The first promotional video released this time mainly introduced some of the game's world-building concepts, along with a showcase of some interesting monsters and bosses. As for gameplay footage, it only featured two elite monsters and one boss.
Of course, Ichin didn't reveal everything, whether it was the world-building segments or the gameplay footage. A lot was intentionally kept hidden.
This point was also noticed by some observant players.
Forget about the elite monsters for now; wasn't the boss battle footage clearly only showing the first phase? The second phase of the boss clearly had noticeable changes, yet it wasn't shown?
Keeping things hidden, huh?
Putting that aside, doesn't Yagami-sensei seem a bit stiff?
What's that? Instead of focusing on the new promotional video, you were busy looking at the girl?
Reading through the comments section on Bilibili alongside Ichin, Utaha couldn't help but chuckle.
"Why do these people always say such bizarre things?"
"That's just how goofy online commenters are."
Ichin laughed and then posted his own comment, pinning it to the top.
"The promotional video series planned before the game's release will consist of three episodes. The remaining two will be released gradually. Additionally, there will be a live gameplay demonstration before the official release. Please stay tuned!"
After posting the comment, Ichin closed the webpage and continued editing the second promotional video.
Although the comment section was full of jokers, the actual game-related content displayed in the video was captivating. The view count kept rising, and before Ichin even considered promoting it himself, Bilibili had already pushed the video to the trending section.
If the studio hadn't decided to handle the game's distribution themselves, Ichin figured Bilibili would've jumped at the chance to be the publisher of the game.
Before long, the others finished watching the video and returned to work.
Swinging a lightsaber toy around, Hajime said with enthusiasm, "After watching the video, I feel even more motivated! It's November now, just two months left. Time to work hard! I've made up my mind—I'll come to the studio for overtime tomorrow!"
While sketching, Aoba responded, "I can't make it tomorrow. I already promised my mom we'd go shopping. I haven't gone out in ages."
Hearing that, Sakura Nene quickly raised her hand and asked, "Aoba, can I come along too?"
"Sure! Nene, do you have nothing going on at home tomorrow?"
"Nope! I'm always free on weekends."
Overhearing the conversation, Narumi glanced at Momiji and whispered, "Momo, what about us tomorrow?"
Momiji paused her work, tilted her head, and replied, "Overtime. I want to see the game finished as soon as possible."
"No, no, no! No matter how much overtime you do, the release date is already set. It's impossible to release the game earlier!"
"Releasing it earlier is indeed impossible, but—"
Ichin looked over at Narumi and Momiji, then said, "If we finish early, we can start manufacturing the physical cartridges for the Nintendo Switch version sooner."
"Oh, right! I almost forgot about the Switch physical cartridges."
Narumi's motivation skyrocketed, and she pumped her fists, "Then it's decided! I'll work overtime tomorrow, too!"
The studio had a total of five programmers: Umiko, Ichin, Narumi, Hazuki, and Sakura Nene.
Sakura Nene only showed up two or three times a week during weekdays, while Ichin had school during the day and could only come to the studio in the afternoons. Hazuki often had to deal with other business matters as well.
Although Narumi's internship counted toward her academic credits, she still had to occasionally return to school for classes.
So, strictly speaking, the programmers at the studio were under quite a bit of pressure. Fortunately, Umiko and Ichin's skills were exceptional, ensuring the progress never fell behind.
During her time at the studio, Narumi had learned a lot of valuable skills from Umiko and Ichin, gradually moving toward becoming a true programmer.
"You guys are seriously amazing, huh? Not even taking a break on weekends."
Sitting on the chair next to Utaha, Eriri had her legs curled up, constantly scrolling on her phone. The way she was sitting didn't risk exposing anything, since today she was wearing a green tracksuit.
If only there were two words missing from the front of her outfit, she could totally cosplay Wu Jing.
(T/N: Wu Jing, also known as Jacky Wu, is a Chinese actor, martial artist and director of Manchu descent. Wu Jing has won first place in many Wushu Competitions and Tai Chi competitions across the nation. Ever watched Meg or The Wandering Earth?)
Pushing her glasses up, she sighed and said, "When did you start developing Hollow Knight? May or June? And you guys are already close to finishing it within half a year? Your efficiency is way over the top. For me, I can't even get motivated to draw a doujin until the deadline's breathing down my neck."
Since her identity as a doujin artist became known to everyone in the studio, Eriri had completely stopped caring. She didn't mind anyone bringing up her work as a doujin artist, and she even brought it up herself sometimes.
Of course, there was still one particular lady who remained oblivious to Eriri's side career. And it was fortunate Yukino had something to do that day. Otherwise, Eriri's last shred of dignity would've been utterly destroyed.
"That's just pure laziness."
Utaha shot back mercilessly while continuing to type away. "Speaking of doujins, are you planning to quit the scene entirely? Are you even going to attend the Winter Comiket at the end of the year?"
"Nope! Not going!"
Eriri replied without hesitation. "What doujin event? What doujin works? I know nothing about that! That's all Eri Kashiwagi's business—it has nothing to do with Sawamura Spencer Eriri!"
Well, it seemed her shamelessness had grown considerably.
As Eriri kept scrolling on her phone, a notification popped up, and she quickly tapped it.
"Wow, rare sight. Eromanga-sensei is streaming again. Her last stream was a week ago."
That name again.
Utaha leaned over for a glance and looked at the streaming content on Eriri's phone. "Is this Eromanga-sensei working on some illustration project recently?"
"Seems like it."
Eriri nodded. "I've chatted with her a few times using my Eriri Kashiwagi account. She's definitely a girl and quite young, too. Apparently, she's working on illustrations for a light novel in collaboration with a writer. But I didn't really pay attention to the author's name, so I forgot. I have to say, Eromanga-sensei's art skills are really impressive. She has a great talent for capturing a girl's cuteness, and I really like her style."
To be precise, the body types of the girls Eromanga-sensei drew were quite similar to Eriri's own figure, which was why she liked it so much.
As she watched Eromanga-sensei's livestream sketching session, a sudden thought came to Eriri, and she turned to Ichin.
"Hey, Ichin-kun, do you think it's worth trying to recruit this Eromanga-sensei as an artist for the studio?"
"Huh?"
...
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