Game Developer in the World of Anime

To be honest, the crude interface in front of her was exactly as Ichin had described—nowhere near a demo.

Looking at the partially developed map that hadn't yet extended to the top, with only three starting points and several branching paths in the middle, Utaha asked, "So, I need to pick one of these three routes first?"

"That's right," Ichin confirmed. "You choose one of the three. Each route has different enemies and treasures. This icon represents an enemy, this one is for elite monsters, and this question mark indicates a random event. These two are the treasure room and the shop. Each icon is pretty self-explanatory. And this campfire icon indicates a campsite where you can heal or upgrade one of your cards."

After introducing the icons on the map, Ichin had Utaha click on a card icon at the top right of the screen, revealing ten cards.

"At the beginning of each game, you're given a fixed set of cards. The Warrior's default deck includes five Strike cards, four Defense cards, and one Bash card. The number in the upper left corner shows the card's energy cost, and the total energy you have each turn is fixed," Ichin explained. "Alright, choose a starting point. Usually, you'd have the option to pick a starting bonus like a rare card or treasure, but I haven't set that up yet, so we'll start like this."

Utaha nodded, having grasped the basics of the gameplay. She glanced at the map and chose a route without elite monsters.

The scene changed, and on the right side of the screen appeared an enemy with a bird's head, holding two sticks and covered in feathers with wings on its back. On the left stood a warrior wielding a longsword.

The battle began, and five cards appeared at the bottom of the screen—three Strike cards and two Defense cards.

"It starts right away?" Utaha noted, noticing the "3/3" energy points beside the cards. "Only three energy per turn? That's not a lot."

"There are some cards that can increase or restore energy, and some treasures can do that too. But in the early stages, three points are enough," Ichin explained. "The icon above the enemy shows their intended action for this turn. They aren't attacking, so you don't need to play any Defense cards. Just hold a Strike card and drag it onto their face."

Following Ichin's instructions, Utaha dragged a Strike card onto the enemy, dealing 6 damage with a crisp sound effect.

"Only 6 damage? But this enemy has 53 HP," Utaha pointed out.

"Just bad luck. This is one of the higher-HP enemies on the first floor. Most of the smaller ones only have around 10," Ichin said with a slight smile.

Utaha twitched her lips but continued by using the remaining two Strike cards, ending her turn after dealing more damage.

The difficulty level of Slay the Spire wasn't particularly high, especially in the initial stages. With some strategy and a bit of luck, anyone could progress through the third floor. Although Utaha wasn't an experienced gamer, she was good at calculating, making it easy for her to grasp the mechanics. She quickly cleared three rounds of enemies, selected three new cards, and obtained a potion.

Despite taking some damage, the Warrior's innate ability to restore 6 HP at the end of each battle kept her health in good condition as she finished all the current stages.

After obtaining a treasure from the final treasure room, the game session came to an end.

Utaha let go of the mouse and took a breath, offering her evaluation, "Although it's still really rough, I've gotten a feel for the gameplay. If there's a wide variety of cards, this could be pretty interesting to play. Players could develop different strategies, and it's easy to get hooked. And since the gameplay is card-based, it can be paused at any time. Even if you have bad luck, restarting doesn't come at a huge loss."

Hearing Utaha's feedback, Ichin felt relieved. Though he couldn't predict how more experienced players would react, her positive response gave him motivation.

With a smile, Ichin said, "It seems like I should stick to this direction, then."

Utaha nodded in agreement, "Yes, if you can complete it, it will definitely be a good game."

After chatting a bit about the game's settings and other details, Utaha finished her cup of milk tea and bid Ichin goodbye.

When she returned home and changed out of her shoes, she was immediately met with a teasing look from her mother.

"Utaha, why were you out so long?" Kasumigaoka's mother asked with a smile.

"We just chatted and had some tea," Utaha replied, trying to brush off her mother's gaze and quickly sitting down on the couch. "Mom, where's the apple I didn't finish earlier?"

"I thought you didn't want it, so I ate it," her mother said.

"Alright," Utaha sighed, feeling full from the milk tea anyway.

Her mother sat down next to her and asked, "Why did you stay so long next door? You were there for over half an hour."

"Ichin is developing a game. He invited me to try out an early version he's working on, and we chatted a bit," Utaha explained.

"Wow, he's making a game? All by himself?" her mother exclaimed, genuinely surprised since she'd never heard Ichin mention it before.

Utaha nodded. "Yes, he's doing everything on his own, from design to art to programming. It's really impressive."

Hearing her daughter's praise for Ichin, her mother's smile only widened.

"So, it sounds like you two got along quite well?" she asked slyly.

"..."

At this point, Utaha could easily read her mother's intentions. She sighed helplessly, "Mom, we're neighbors and classmates. Isn't it normal to chat a bit more?"

"It's normal for most people, sure. But you, Utaha? I know you too well," her mother said confidently. "You've been in high school for a whole year and I've never heard of you getting close to any boy. But now, there's a new neighbor, and you're already hanging out in his room? That's totally unlike your usual style! Come on, be honest—do you have a good impression of Ichin-kun? I think he's a nice boy."

Despite being a romance novelist, Utaha wasn't used to discussing love when it came to herself. Flustered, she quickly got up and escaped to her room.

...