Resident Evil's first-week sales didn't co as much of a surprise to Takayuki — it sold just over 300,000 copies.
Even with Takayuki's na attached as the producer, most people still kept their distance from the so-called horror-thriller genre.
However, the developnt difficulty and cost of Resident Evil 1 had been relatively low from the start. Even if the series only managed to break even, or even lost a little money at first, Takayuki wasn't bothered. Just like Monster Hunter, Resident Evil was the kind of franchise that would slowly build its reputation over several entries — until one day, it exploded in popularity.
This kind of success couldn't be rushed. Takayuki's na alone no longer needed to prove anything through a single ga. If sothing is gold, it will shine eventually.
Rather than watching sales numbers, Takayuki turned his attention to player discussions in the community. He wanted to see whether the ga could generate heated conversation.
"Aiko... are we really going to play this ga? I'm kinda scared..."
At Aiko's ho, where the three girls were preparing for their next ga developnt planning eting, Aiko pulled out a freshly purchased copy of Resident Evil.
Raising the disc in her hand, Aiko declared, "This is a ga personally produced by Takayuki. If we're talking about whose gas are most worth studying, his co first — no question. So we have to play this."
Aiko had always been a girl with clear intentions behind everything she did.
...
...
The three of them had been close friends since childhood. And back then, they had promised to always be there for one another — to stick together no matter what, to move forward and retreat as one.
Now, they each had a clear goal for the future: to beco ga developers. After witnessing firsthand how Takayuki could create outstanding gas all by himself, Aiko was more determined than ever.
She wanted to beco soone like him. And to do that, she needed to play through every single ga he had ever made.
Kazumi was still scared, though.
And in her heart, she had cursed Takayuki at least a dozen tis.
I used to admire you so much! And now you make a ga this terrifying? What am I supposed to do? You jerk!
Whether Takayuki actually sneezed from being cursed was unknown, but for Kazumi, it at least helped her vent her fear.
Ne-chan, on the other hand, was already impatient.
"Put the disc in already! Let's try to beat it tonight!"
"T-tonight? You two want to play until tonight?!" Kazumi cried.
Ne-chan shrugged. "What else? Unless... Kazumi, are you too scared? You could always leave."
Kazumi stiffened her neck. "No way! We said we'd stick together! Don't even think about ditching !"
"Idiot, I'm not trying to ditch you. I'm worried about you, you coward. What if you get so scared sothing bad happens? Who's gonna do the art for our ga then?"
Among the three, Kazumi was definitely the best artist. Though she'd never had formal training, she could still sketch what she imagined with decent accuracy. She had raw talent.
Ne-chan knew so basics and could copy stuff pretty well, but she wasn't as good as Kazumi.
As for Aiko — art was definitely not her thing. Nor was music. But what she lacked in those areas, she made up for with her brilliant mind. She was the core strategist of the team.
With Aiko in charge, the trio could stay united and push forward together.
Breaking up their banter, Aiko said, "Alright, Kazumi — if you're scared, you can sit a little farther away. But I still think we should study this ga together."
As she spoke, she slipped the disc into the GS1 console, and the Resident Evil logo appeared onscreen.
Kazumi obediently scooted back a bit — increasing her distance to hopefully lessen the impact of the jump scares.
Resident Evil 1 had a total size of about 2 GB, several tis larger than previous gas. It had completely done away with the clunky old cara and control sches, replacing them with a true third-person over-the-shoulder view.
In terms of graphics, it was definitely among the top tier of what Gastar Electronic Entertainnt had to offer.
This pushed the horror atmosphere to an entirely new level.
The ga opened with a CG cutscene introducing the world setting.
The visual quality of the CG was on par with the Final Fantasy movie.
Aiko was envious. When will I ever be able to develop a ga that looks like this?
Maybe in a few years... or maybe never.
anwhile, Ne-chan started focusing on the ga's music. Though she didn't say it, she was also feeling nervous. So she shifted her attention elsewhere to distract herself.
Gastar now had its own dedicated audio team, and so of its mbers were well-known in the music scene, so the ga's soundtrack was nothing short of professional.
Even in just the opening CG, the music contributed at least 30% of the horror effect. It built the mood perfectly.
"Hey, rember when Miss Ayano Tsukino said she'd invite us to tour the company again? She said if we're interested, we can apply for internships at Gastar after we start college next year!"
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
Three loud gasps rang out in unison.
Aiko glared at her friends, frustrated. "What are you yelling for? You scared !"
Kazumi clutched her chest. "You're seriously asking? You nearly gave a heart attack! Why'd you suddenly talk like that?!"
Ne-chan didn't say anything, but her sulky eyes said it all.
Aiko blinked, a little embarrassed. "I was just trying to ease the tension... You both looked super nervous."
Ne-chan fired back a rapid denial: "I wasn't. I'm not. You're wrong."
Kazumi, however, was more honest. "Aiko, if you do that again, I'm leaving!"
"Okay, okay, I get it. I won't do it again. Let's just play already."
As the three continued bickering and teasing, the ga's cutscene had already finished, and the main nu screen was now slowly appearing.
At the sa ti, across the ocean in Arica, a horror-loving gar nad Hubert was also sliding his Resident Evil disc into his GS1 console.
Unlike the trio, he didn't have any close friends to play with. But he didn't mind.
He was into horror gas and horror movies — niche interests that made most people avoid him altogether.
He didn't care about others' judgnt. He was perfectly content living in his own world.
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