Tsuchiya Sansuke's recent mood has been somewhat low.
The main reason is that his latest comic performance is as terrible as ever.
Once, he was a somewhat famous cartoonist and received a lot of attention.
But now, he often suffers from baseless insults.
"Your comics are terrible, please stop drawing them."
"I never want to see your comics again!"
...
These are the recent letters he received from readers.
Most of them are various insults, with only a few encouraging him in a mild tone.
Originally, the editor didn't want to give these to him, but he insisted on taking them back.
Every time he reads a reader's letter, his heart twinges.
And this indirectly affects his state of mind when drawing subsequent comics.
"Am I really not suitable for drawing comics?"
Tsuchiya looks blankly at the neatly arranged comic books on his shelf, not knowing what to say for a moment.
The prominently displayed set of hardcover comics on the shelf is the work that once made him famous overnight and is also his proudest possession.
That was his starting point towards glory.
Now it seems... it has also become the end.
Today, his life is gradually becoming difficult.
Perhaps he didn't spend money extravagantly like other cartoonists, leading to bankruptcy.
But becoming famous overnight changed his mindset, and his spending habits far exceeded what he could afford now, even though that mindset hasn't changed to this day.
And his savings are gradually running out.
Now he can only rely on the income from serialization and the old fortune he made once.
But continuing like this, either he changes his spending habits or creates another blockbuster comic.
There is no other way out.
It's just that both are difficult to achieve in a short time.
It's really painful.
The phone rings at this moment, and he answers it somewhat weakly.
"Hello?"
"Ah, it's Editor Ikeda."
"Hmm? Someone wants to hire me to draw some pictures? Including formula books?"
"A monthly salary of five hundred thousand?"
"I... I... I'll take it!"
Tsuchiya's face reddens.
That's an expression of shame.
He used to proudly say that he could earn a lot of money without working for others.
But now, it seems he has to eat his words.
But... the salary is really tempting.
With this money, he can at least get out of the current predicament.
But he still feels somewhat unwilling. He still wants to gain recognition from readers through comics once again.
Oh well, let's feed ourselves first.
"I'll be there right away!"
Tsuchiya hangs up the phone in a hurry, then hurriedly straightens his clothes.
He hasn't left the house in half a year.
Usually, the editor takes care of everything he needs. This is the first time in six months that he has left the room.
Facing the somewhat dazzling sunlight, he wears his slightly wrinkled cotton coat and takes a taxi directly to the magazine office.
On the magazine side, Takeyuki has already arrived and is looking around.
Takeyuki was a corporate slave in his past life, naturally, he had no chance to experience the environment of a comic magazine office.
But he has always had a great interest in comics since he was a child, and he even fantasized about saving money to make a pilgrimage to Japan.
But the 996 work-life left him with hardly any time for such luxuries.
But unexpectedly, this postponement led to him crossing over to Japan.
It's his first time entering a comic magazine office, so he's full of curiosity.
While Takeyuki is looking around the magazine office, Daigo Ikeda is also observing him.
Very young, even younger than he imagined, probably in his early twenties, his somewhat elusive smile appears very affable and confident.
It's hard to imagine such a young man has already started his own company and is pioneering in a completely new field.
What was his name again? Oh right, video games.
He really lives up to being Mrs. Takayushi's child.
"Takeyuki-kun, can I see the specific details of our cooperation?"
Takeyuki turns around and takes out the notebook he brought with him.
"Of course, these are some setting plans I made. My suggestion is to draw according to the descriptions here."
The notebook is thick, with over a hundred pages, and of course, the content inside is not handwritten but printed.
Daigo Ikeda takes it solemnly with both hands, then stands in place and carefully flips through it.
Most of the content in these over a hundred pages is considered derivative introductions to the game.
For example, brief introductions to weapon equipment, worldviews, important character introductions, and the overall story framework of the game, interspersed with rough introductions to some key story points, emphasizing their importance.
To Takeyuki, this is the basic operation of a game setting collection.
But to Daigo Ikeda, this is not a game formula book or setting collection at all.
This thing is a perfect outline for a comic!
The weapon and equipment settings in the front can be ignored, but the story framework and key point markers in the back are like treasures in his eyes.
The battles between heroes and dragons, saving princesses, various climax and troughs of the story are introduced in great detail.
It can be said that with this, you can find a slightly more experienced cartoonist and directly draw a high-quality comic.
This is not an exaggeration.
Sometimes, comics also have routines and assembly line modes.
It's just that the past routines have been used too much, almost making people tired of them.
But this set of hero vs. dragon storylines is extremely novel in this era.
At least he hasn't seen many stories of heroes fighting dragons.
In this world, it seems that no one has explored the hero aspect.
"Takeyuki-kun, is this a game formula book? Oh no, a setting collection?"
Daigo Ikeda looks uncertainly at Takeyuki.
Takeyuki nods, "Yes, is there something wrong?"
"Do electronic games need such complex settings? This has already surpassed the general comic worldview setting."
"Uh... I'm not very knowledgeable about comics, but this is indeed the setting I planned for the game. This is just the tip of the iceberg."
Takeyuki just roughly outlined the worldview of the hero vs. dragon based on his memory, and then wrote down everything he could remember.
Anyway, it's just a matter of typing a few words on the keyboard, it's much simpler than coding.
And this is only a small part of the hero vs. dragon worldview. At most, it contains the content of two or three storylines. The hero vs. dragon series has more than ten works, including derivative works, although the mainline is mostly the same.
"So, is your game, as you say, a playable story?"
"That's right. If comics and animations are fantasy stories that can be watched, then this is a story that can be played. You can play as a character and become part of the story."
Suddenly, Daigo Ikeda feels very interested in electronic games.
So where can he go to play?
Oh right, Takeyuki-kun gave him an address before. He'll go check it out after work.
As for now, he really wants to meet Mr. Tsuchiya right away.
Because he feels that Mr. Tsuchiya's second spring is coming!