Planning Workshop

At four o'clock on Wednesday afternoon, in the Third Development Department's slightly cramped small conference room.

Team Leader Shimizu stood beside the projector and cleared his throat out of habit, with a few more notes of solemnity than usual.

"Everyone, you've all completed the support work from before on schedule. Good work." He paused, his gaze sweeping over every member seated around the cheap folding conference table.

"Starting now, we will concentrate all our energy and devote ourselves fully to the new project." His gaze finally landed on Nakayama Takuya, and he made a "please" gesture, signaling that this newly appointed, rather special vice team leader could begin. Everyone's eyes focused over as well.

Takuya stood up and took a thick stack of uniformly formatted printouts from the folder he had brought with him. The bold title on the top line was clearly visible—"Confidentiality Agreement."

A faint stir ran through the conference room, and confusion appeared on quite a few faces. In the past, game development had never been this strict, and no one was so full they had nothing better to do than leak company projects.

Takuya paid no attention to everyone's reactions. Instead, he first turned slightly, bent forward a little, and explained to Team Leader Shimizu in a low voice only the two of them could hear clearly:

"Team Leader Shimizu, the confidentiality requirements this time are not aimed only at the game development process itself." His tone was calm, but the content made Shimizu's brows twitch.

"More importantly, we need to coordinate with the Overseas Business Department's secret ongoing copyright acquisition negotiations."

"Any little leak of information could cause the acquisition cost to soar sharply, or even draw in unnecessary competitors, making all the previous effort fall short at the last step."

He looked at Shimizu and added, "So, as for the importance of this agreement, we'll need you to explain its special nature and seriousness to everyone."

After hearing him out, Team Leader Shimizu's professional smile instantly vanished without a trace, replaced by a rare gravity. He immediately understood the stakes involved. This had already gone beyond the scope of simple game development; it was a major matter concerning the company's strategic layout and real money.

He turned around to face his own team members, his tone solemn.

"Everyone, pay attention. This confidentiality agreement is different from the usual project development confidentiality agreements."

"It directly concerns a major company operation, involving enormous commercial interests."

"Please be sure to comply with it strictly. No information is to be leaked. Any form of information leak, whether intentional or unintentional, could cause disastrous consequences, making the entire project die in the womb and completely cutting off our Third Development Department's chance to turn things around."

The team members, who might originally have thought signing the confidentiality agreement was merely routine, immediately turned grave.

Only the rustle of paper being turned and pen tips scratching across pages remained in the conference room.

In the corner, the veteran employee named Sasaki Nozomu had a flash of surprise dart quickly through his eyes.

He seemed not to have expected this young "vice team leader" to be so meticulous and experienced in the way he handled things, sealing up every drop without a leak from the very first step.

Everyone quickly finished signing, and Team Leader Shimizu gathered the agreements and put them away.

Because of this small interlude, the atmosphere in the conference room became even more focused.

Only then did Takuya walk to the front, connect the computer that had been moved into the conference room to the projector, and insert the floppy disk containing the Tetris he had developed.

He gave no preamble or explanation.

The screen lit up, and the title Tetris appeared on the screen.

"Everyone can come up and try it in turns."

Takuya invited them.

At first, the programmer who went up to try it was still somewhat reserved, his controls looking a little awkward. The others were also carefully observing the gameplay.

But when Takuya loaded the prototype of the two-player battle version he had made, and the screen was split into two halves, with the first row of "garbage rows" appearing strikingly in the opponent's area, the atmosphere changed abruptly.

Everyone held their breath, worried they might disturb the colleague who was trying it out.

The originally calm conference room was quickly stirred up by the tension and fun brought by the game itself.

Everyone put away their contempt for this "simple little game."

The trial session ended quickly, and almost everyone had personally experienced at least one round.

Takuya brought the topic back onto the right track at just the right moment.

"How did everyone feel?"

He asked with a smile, then his tone turned serious.

"Now, what we need to consider is how to strengthen this prototype and build it into a successful arcade game."

"You all know the environment of an arcade: noisy, fiercely competitive."

"Our Tetris needs to seize players' eyes in an instant, make them willing to insert coins and give it a try, and keep playing."

He encouraged everyone to speak freely.

"First is the visuals."

Takuya pointed at the screen. "Arcade machines have stronger graphics processing capabilities. We can't be satisfied with how crude it is now. The color scheme needs to be brighter and have more impact. The background also can't be monotonous black. We can consider adding some dynamic visual elements, or elements related to the theme, but we must avoid interfering with the game itself."

"Second, the audio."

"Music can mobilize the player's emotions," Takuya emphasized. "I suggest we can adapt several classic pieces with a distinct Russian flavor, such as Kalinka or Korobeiniki."

"More importantly," he added, "the tempo of the music should speed up in sync with the game's level, that is, the falling speed of the blocks. The higher the level, the faster the tempo, using that to heighten the sense of tension."

"Clearing lines, stacking, quick drops, warnings appearing... every state needs clear, powerful, memorable sound-effect feedback."

"Then there's competitiveness."

Takuya explained this point with particular emphasis. "I think the current 'sending garbage rows' mechanic can be strengthened further."

He put forward his new idea.

"Perhaps it could be changed to rewards triggered by consecutive clears? For example, if you clear two rows in succession, the garbage rows sent to the opponent double. Three rows in succession, they double again. This can encourage players to pursue higher skill, launch more strategic attacks, and make the competition fiercer, with more variation."

"This kind of high-intensity confrontation can also effectively improve the arcade cabinet's coin-eating efficiency."

The team members nodded one after another, clearly finding the idea extremely appealing.

"And then there's the design of the difficulty curve—how do we let beginners get into it while still giving experts a challenge? The scoring system, the leaderboard mechanics—these are all key to motivating players to keep inserting coins."

As Takuya explained, the discussion gradually grew heated.

Just then, Sasaki, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke.

He adjusted his glasses and looked at Takuya, his tone carrying the distinctive rigor of a technical staff member.

"Deputy Team Leader Nakayama, regarding the color selection, I have a suggestion."