Adel’s Obsession

She’s the one who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seduced me first!” “You’re right.” Adel was staring blankly at the status window panel just like I was. Moments ago she had been chattering away excitedly, but now her face was frozen in shock at the sheer scale of the project. Watching the spirits come alive with vivid expressions and natural movements filled me with pride. ‘Still, there’s such a thing as overdoing it.’ In the end, I’m the one who has to finish this thing.

Creating Northern Defense had been tough too, but at least the direction had been simple and there wasn’t much repetitive work. Kill the incoming monsters. Protect the barrier. That was it. The number of units? Only a few dozen. Balancing them hadn’t been easy, but… this was different. Interaction was the baseline, and on top of that I had to design every single spirit’s appearance and behavior. ‘I also have to calculate how the player will react.’ Getting the exact reactions I wanted was obviously going to take forever.

“Haa… Adel.” “Yeah?” “I’ll say it again—this isn’t something you finish in a day or two.” I closed several of the open windows with a firm expression. Facial assets? I’ll do that tomorrow. Interaction? Put on hold. Direction? Obviously not touching that yet. I’ll leave it to future me.

“Wait wait wait! Are you allowed to just close them like that?” “If I don’t, my spirit is going to break first.” “Don’t say scary things! Okay then, should we take it slow and steady? Deep breaths, yeah! Let’s start with deep breaths! Hoo— ha— Come on, do it with me! Hoo— ha— hoo— ha—” “…” Hoo— ha… hoo…? “Pfft. Don’t worry. I mean we’re only aiming to make something testable, like we did with Retrieval ERROR.” “Huuung…”

Adel had been doing exaggerated breathing exercises, but once she realized I was fine she quickly puffed out her cheeks in a sulk. Surprisingly, she didn’t complain any further. ‘If she’d kept whining after seeing all that, I was ready to ruthlessly pinch her cheeks…’ “What’s with that suspicious look!” “…Must be your imagination.”

Adel had been talking with Yaruru and watching me work on the game; it seemed she’d come to some kind of realization. “So what are we doing now?” “The appearance part is done, so let’s start with the basics.” “Uuu— that’s not what I was asking!” She really was second only to Yaruru when it came to fun reactions. No wonder I couldn’t stop teasing her.

“Reactions. We need to create reactions.” If I wanted spirits—and this game—to be loved for a long time, what did I have to do? Originality? Creativity? ‘Of course those matter too.’ They weren’t small factors either. Early players would definitely come expecting those two things from my name alone. But to keep them playing afterward… the game needed its own unique charm. When I did something, the spirit had to respond. When I waited, the spirit’s time had to accumulate. When I cared, the spirit had to repay that care.

“In simple terms…” Instead of explaining, I decided showing would be better. I brought up a few small icons above the reduced status window panel. A yawning expression, sparkling eyes, puffed cheeks, a bright smile… and beside them I attached a few short movements. Tilting the head, wagging the tail in every direction, hesitating before looking back.

“Aha! So that’s what you meant by making these first.” “Yeah.” “…But you couldn’t just say that?” “You just hit the core of it.” “…What’s that supposed to mean.” Words become explanations. Explanations dull emotions. That would kill the spirits’ charm. Therefore— “At least until the second update, I’m only planning to add emotions and actions.” Just that much. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I intended to treat this game as a long-term project. When had I started thinking that way? ‘Otherwise how the hell am I supposed to handle the insane workload after this?’ If I tried to release it as a full package like before, it would probably take a year easily. ‘I’m just a one-man developer, after all.’

Anyway, before making the reactions— “Adel, could you open the panel for me?” “Huh?” While eating dinner I sent Adel the materials Yaruru ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had passed on. “Here. Assistant number two, time to work.” “Eek. Why is there so much?” Even as she said that, Adel’s eyes sparkled as she scanned the note’s contents.

Among the documents Yaruru had sent were several posts from the community boards.

“Hmm.” After reading several of the posts, Adel shook her head with an incredulous expression. “Spirits and spirit users live more exhausting lives than I thought?” “You’re a spirit too.” “I’m special.” “In a loud way?” “Exactly… I mean no!”

I brushed off Adel’s playful shoulder taps and skimmed through the materials, picking out only what I needed. Even though Yaruru had already filtered them once, the sheer volume made it impossible to use everything. ‘Even if I don’t use it all from the start… how much do I need to reflect for players to feel satisfied?’

“Chase. Do spirit users really take care of every little thing like this?” “Probably.” Even Yaruru clearly respected and cared for Ruru—it showed in just a short time. “Must be nice…”

At those words, my hand moving the status window panel stopped. Adel was looking down at the popup window’s contents, but at some point she had gone quiet. There were too many things that struck a chord, so I couldn’t quite guess ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the reason. ‘Inhale. What should I do here?’ Last time I had made her a game— “Adel. I was thinking of having you be the tester again. Think you can handle it?” “…Huh? Yeah! Of course!”

At that single short sentence, Adel’s eyes regained their sparkle. The only problem was that she was now spinning around me in circles from sheer excitement. “Not dizzy?” “Hehe. Nope!” “…”

Using the posts with unusually high views and recommendations as reference, I created reactions and attached matching special expressions. Instead, I made the interaction time just a tiny bit longer—to build player anticipation. “Hmm…” When I revived some of the reactions that had felt a bit off before, Adel tilted her head. “How is it?” “Not bad, but I think you should add weaker reactions too!” “That much?” “That much! Look at this expression! It already looks like it’s in love! If it’s like this it’ll seem way too easy!” “Got it. Then I’ll keep this one and add weaker reactions instead.”

After saving the original, I toned it down. Softer, more hesitant, until it looked like the spirit was approaching but still unsure—until that thrilling, almost-there feeling appeared. Now it was time to add movement. The spirit takes one step forward, then stops and lifts its head as if meeting the player’s eyes beyond the mana panel. But what if the player touches the panel screen? The spirit startles and pulls its foot back.

“…Wait a second.” “Huh? Is something wrong?” “That last one was a bit dangerous, wasn’t it?” “Which part? Should I fix it?” “That thing earlier. The one where it came closer then stopped…” Gulp— Hearing Adel’s suddenly serious voice while everything had been going smoothly, I unconsciously swallowed dry saliva. ‘Why is she suddenly getting serious?’ Usually when I hit a wall like this, work would keep stalling… ‘Please— let it be nothing. Please…’ “I want to keep watching! I feel like I could spend the whole day just looking at the spirit!” “…” “…Sorry! But she’s the one who seduced me first! Is this how you plan to reel people in?!” “Heh. That’s just how games work.” “Scary…” “Thanks for the compliment.”

After that, I frantically created all sorts of spirit expressions and reactions. ‘Yaruru, a rookie who could threaten your throne as the reaction queen has appeared.’ Praise makes even whales dance. I, who was dozens of times smaller than a whale, ended up adding all kinds of unplanned features. Short sound effects were included, and small changes and growth accumulated. The original goal had only been to make something testable, but— “Uhh… this expression might be a little dangerous…?” “Ah, what’s with this sulky one!” “Wait wait wait wait!!! Can I see it just one more time? Please?” “…Adel?”

We hadn’t even finished a test version yet, but Adel was already completely immersed and urging me on. With Retrieval ERROR there had been clear feedback, which was nice. But this time there were only good comments, so I couldn’t get a proper sense of things. ‘I wonder if this is actually okay…’ “Chase, can’t you show me a little more?” “Uuuugh— I’m getting sleepy.” “Hing. Even though we’re in a mental space?” “That’s exactly why it’s harder. I’m constantly using mental energy.” “Just once more…” “You just said that a second ago. I need to sleep so I can work again when I wake up.”

Even inside a mental space, I couldn’t keep going forever. Using mental energy actually made me more tired than when I was outside. I quickly saved the project while dodging Adel’s attempts to stop me. “That’s it for today.” “Already?” “…”

Adel looked at me with a wronged expression. But sometimes being firm was more important than just finding her cute. ‘This was definitely mentioned in the materials. You shouldn’t just give in to a spirit’s demands.’ “…Can’t I see just one more? Hehe.” “Haa. In exchange, you have to rest too.” “I’ll really only do a little! Thank you!”

As Adel reopened the project, I left the mental space. The moment I opened my eyes in reality, fatigue pressed down on my eyelids again. “Lying down in bed before entering the mental space was a really good choice…” Unable to even pull the blanket over myself, my consciousness completely shut off.

“…Whoa. Twelve hours? I slept a lot.” Maybe because I’d pushed myself while excited, I still felt a faint fatigue even after sleeping so long. “…Come to think of it.” After all that chaos last night—or rather, until early this morning—Adel probably left some kind of feedback. After a quick wash, I headed into the mental space. “…Adel?”

Adel was squatting with her back to me. She had her face practically buried in the popup window, her shoulders shaking slightly. “Hehe… Delia is so pretty.” “…” “You like her? I like her too!” Good grief. What on earth had happened during the twelve hours I was gone? The silly spirit was nowhere to be seen, and in her place sat a full-blown game addict.