Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 497 The Increasingly Exaggerated Popularity
Time flies, and it's already late December, with only two days left until "Night of the Stars".

Tokyo.

12 p.m.

The computer in Kenta Sato's room was still on.

On the screen is an abandoned factory covered in ice and snow, which is the final level of the Christmas PVE event "Echoes of the Snow" in "Final Battlefront".

Kenta Sato's forehead was already covered in fine beads of sweat. This was his fifth time challenging the final boss of the "Nightmare" difficulty, a giant combat weapon codenamed "The Cleaner".

As a working professional, he doesn't have much time to play games.

To clear the game and get more lottery tickets, you'll have to sacrifice your sleep at night.

Actually, Sato isn't that "crazy" about games on a regular basis. Even when the Starry Night event first started, he was indifferent, although he does play FGO and even plays "offline FGO kills" with friends every month.

The so-called offline FGO kill is actually just playing it face-to-face on your phone.

Although the gameplay remains the same, this "social" game can be very fun when people meet offline, so it has become a regular feature of many "social gatherings".

However, in general, that's about all Sato's exposure to the Starry Night game.

As a struggling office worker in Tokyo, Kenta Sato's time is fragmented.

On the tram during his commute, in the convenience store during his lunch break, and for a brief respite after returning home late at night—these are the times that truly belong to him.

Therefore, he didn't pay much attention when the promotion for "Night of Stars" first came out.

"Is it another large-scale collaborative event like this? Just looking at it makes me tired."

This was the first message he sent in the FGO fan club's LINE group.

The reactions in the group were mostly similar.

"I second that, it looks like it'll kill you."

"Just make a reservation to get two prize tickets; participation is the key."

"That's right, that's right. We still have to push for sales targets at the end of the month. We don't have time to do anything else."

We are all adults, and after years of being toughened up by society, we have long been immune to the various empty promises made by manufacturers.

Make a reservation, share, get a guaranteed reward, and then go about your business – that's the basic etiquette for working professionals participating in activities.

Sato did the same thing: he made a reservation, casually shared it on social media, and then forgot about it.

But soon, the next morning, Sato habitually opened LINE on the swaying train and saw that the FGO group was being spammed at a rate of 99+ per minute.

"What happened? Did one of the pools backstab us again?"

He frowned and clicked on it. The first message that caught his eye was a screenshot showing a dense list of new rewards for "Starry Night".

The picture was posted by a group member named Nakamura, followed by a series of exclamation marks.

"Everyone, something terrible has happened!!! You all need to go check out the official website for Starry Night!!"

"Holy crap, what the hell is this? 1000 million special gift boxes? Has StarCraft gone mad?"

"Wait a minute! 20 themed T-shirts? And 20 sets of the deluxe edition of 'Starry Sky Art Design Collection'? Aren't these not sold separately?"

Sato, still half-asleep, clicked on the Starry Night website. Sure enough, overnight, the number of reservations for Starry Night had reached 800 million, unlocking many "lottery rewards" in return.

This includes five phases, with 200 million special gift boxes in each phase. The contents of this gift box are actually not many, but the problem is that the artists working on Starry Night merchandise are all seasoned veterans.

A beautifully designed promotional page was created specifically for this gift box, and even 3D modeling was used to clearly display every item inside.

The first thing that catches the eye is a chibi-style acrylic standee of a random Star Alliance character.

Five standees representing five games, including FGO, Final Frontline, Azur Lane, Final Survival Guide, and Neko Neko, will be randomly selected.

Moreover, the standees are not existing illustrations from the game, but rather entirely new artwork created specifically for this game. The characters are dressed in starry night-themed gowns, with a background of starry skies and fireworks.

Even the cats in "Neko Neko" are dressed in formal attire, and most importantly, the base is printed with the words "Starry Night 2017 Limited Edition".

Below the standee is a set of five random character badges, all featuring newly drawn chibi-style portraits. The shimmering lamination process gives them a premium feel when displayed dynamically on the webpage.

Then there was a general-purpose pen and a very small ledger, which was then placed in a file folder.

It's clear that Starry Sky is indeed saving costs, since they're using file folders instead of the previous cardboard boxes, but this hasn't diminished the overall quality of the product.

Putting aside the fact that this thing is obtained for free through a lottery, the word "limited" alone is devastating to anime fans.

"This set would cost at least 2000 yen in a used goods store in Akihabara, right?"

"2000? Who do you think you are? A brand new drawing, and a limited edition at that, it should start at least at 10000!"

"The key is the number! Ten million prizes! According to the Starry Sky lottery, the same player cannot win the same prize twice. The odds are just too high!!"

The atmosphere in the group has shifted from initial shock to enthusiastic discussion.

Of course, what really caught Sato's eye was that after the 8 million pre-registrations were unlocked, the lottery rewards for the subsequent 10 million and 20 million pre-registrations had also been announced.

The reward for reaching 10 million pre-registrations is 100,000 PS game controllers.

The 20 million pre-order bonus is equivalent to 100,000 PS Vita units.
"What?! Am I seeing things? 100,000 units?!"

"Did Sony empty its warehouse? Even though it's a PS Vita, these things aren't cheap!!"

Kenta Sato gasped, his finger instinctively swiping across the screen, trying to confirm the number.

That's right, it's written clearly in black and white: "100,000 units".

He sat up straight instinctively, the crowded passengers and the noise of the tram fading into the distance. In that moment, only that exaggerated, distorted number remained in his world.

"Calm down, calm down, Kenta Sato." He told himself, "If 20 million people make reservations, the probability of getting 100,000 units is about the same as winning the lottery."

But his heart just wouldn't slow down.

Although the sales of the PS Vita in 17 were not very good, the machine's performance was absolutely not a problem. This machine was only released in 15. If you were to ask me to buy it, I really wouldn't want to spend money to buy it, but if you were to ask me to give it away for free...

That means you really want it.

Immediately afterwards, screenshots flooded the group like a burst dam, one after another.

"Is this all just empty promises? Can this event really attract 20 million in reservations?"

Kenta Sato had the same question.

Twenty million? That number is indeed staggering for a Japanese person.

(End of this chapter)