Kobayashi Tetsu desperately wanted a whiteboard, but there wasn't one here.
But that was okay. He had Koyakawa.
Koyakawa promptly handed her shorthand notebook to Kobayashi Tetsu, and he returned her gesture with an approving glance.
Perfect timing!
Kobayashi Tetsu began writing in the notebook.
"I'll tentatively call the section covering food supplies, personnel appointments, and pre-battle strategies 'Domestic Affairs.' The core of this kind of game is the balance between Domestic Affairs and Military Affairs, right? And allowing players to rely on Domestic Affairs to gain a massive advantage is also a part of the strategy."
"How to secure food supplies is part of Domestic Affairs. Finding a capable assistant, like Diaochan, can also be part of Domestic Affairs. Once we clearly define the distinction between Domestic Affairs and Military Affairs, the framework for Romance of the Three Kingdoms will naturally fall into place."
"Actually, the first Romance of the Three Kingdoms already touched on this, but it wasn't comprehensive enough. Simple personnel appointments aren't enough to support the domestic affairs framework. So, for the second game, you can refine this point further, and for the third, you can gradually add other content."
Yoichi Koei swallowed hard, feeling a sudden surge of excitement.
So this is the skill of a renowned producer!
All the things he had been pondering for so long had just been clarified in a single sentence. Yoichi's previous frustration vanished instantly.
"But even so, if we aren't playing as Lu Bu, do we still have to find Diaochan?" Yoichi asked, still harboring some doubts.
Kobayashi Tetsu shrugged. "That brings us to another aspect: IF scenarios. We use 'IF'—the English word for 'if' or 'suppose'—to represent this kind of setting. For example, in history, Lu Bu was killed. But in an IF scenario, could we make Lu Bu smarter, so he ends up killing Cao Cao instead?"
"Changing what has already happened, rewriting a new ending, conquering the Three Kingdoms era with your favorite character, and even obtaining the Diaochan of your dreams—all of these can be part of the gameplay expansion."
Yoichi Koei lowered his head, staring at the densely written words on the white paper.
This time, he had truly seen the light.
"As the saying goes, 'The one who arrives first is the one who knows best,'" Yoichi Koei said, bowing to Kobayashi Tetsu in a manner reminiscent of a Sengoku-period Confucian scholar, his speech a blend of modern and archaic styles. "I never expected Kobayashi-kun to have such a profound understanding of strategy games. It's a good thing Atlas isn't making this kind of historical simulation game, otherwise—"
Kobayashi Tetsu spread his hands.
It was the same old story: he had no interest in making historical games. They were a lot of work for little reward and even less money. Totally pointless.
"I was just speaking casually. Anyway, Koei can keep developing games along these lines. After all, the cartridges will be entrusted to Atlas, so Atlas can still profit from it!"
But Kobayashi Tetsu wasn't just speaking casually.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms II had been a failure, resulting in a lack of recognition. However, Romance of the Three Kingdoms III would become a massive hit, directly laying the foundation for the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, and even the foundation for Koei's entire line of strategy games.
Domestic affairs and military matters.
Managing domestic affairs—grain and weapons, personnel appointments, regional intelligence, and so on—was also a crucial part of the game.
Winning battles wasn't enough; one also had to learn how to manage the state.
The combination of these two elements greatly enhanced the game's strategic depth.
One could say that while the first Romance of the Three Kingdoms was the pioneering work, it was the third game in the series that truly established the franchise.
Kobayashi Tetsu had only mentioned Romance of the Three Kingdoms III in passing.
Yet even so, Yoichi Koei couldn't help but feel a genuine sense of awe.
Thank goodness Atlas doesn't make historical simulation games, he thought, otherwise Koei would have to change its name to Dark Shame!
Kobayashi Tetsu had been staying in Yokohama these past few days. During the day, he would wander around the city—at least, that's what Koyakawa believed.
In the afternoons, he would visit Koei to watch the development of Romance of the Three Kingdoms II and, while he was at it, scrounge for a free meal.
After half a month, Kobayashi Tetsu had a rough idea of where to locate the factory in Yokohama. Meanwhile, Koei had already made most of the modifications to Romance of the Three Kingdoms II.
Yoichi Koei was incredibly efficient. For a self-taught designer like him, the biggest challenge wasn't programming, but creativity. Once he knew what a good game looked like, he could achieve the desired effects in a remarkably short time.
At Koei Corporation, Kobayashi Tetsu tried out the revised version of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms game.
Yoichi Koei stood by his side, explaining the changes.
"Right now, I've divided the domestic affairs aspect into roughly three parts," Yoichi Koei explained.
"First, Personnel Appointments: using the right generals for different troop types to maximize their effectiveness."
"Second, Relationship Dynamics: this includes romance with female characters and forging bonds with male ones."
"And of course, the most crucial part: Provisions, Weapons, and Mounts. How you secure more resources will directly impact combat. A lack of weapons and armor will affect your offense and defense, while a shortage of provisions will make your army more prone to routing during battle."
As Yoichi explained the game, Kobayashi Tetsu operated the character, experiencing the gameplay firsthand. He was playing as Sun Quan, managing the "Iron Wall of Jiangdong."
"Hmph! Witness the Natural Barrier of Jiangdong, an impenetrable fortress! Cao Cao's army will find no way back!"
Kobayashi Tetsu felt a pang of regret that Xu Sheng wasn't available as a martial general. Perhaps Xu Sheng wasn't famous enough yet, so he had to settle for Taishi Ci.
As a turn-based game, Romance of the Three Kingdoms gave him ample time to strategize his next move.
Following Yoichi's guidance, Kobayashi Tetsu played through the game, gathering provisions, weapons, and armor before joining forces with the Shu Army to launch the Battle of Red Cliffs.
Under the modified version of Romance of the Three Kingdoms II, Kobayashi Tetsu successfully achieved a state of "tightness in the front and tightness in the rear"—a complete mess on all fronts.
While the allied forces were fighting Cao Cao's army, Kobayashi Tetsu was busy grinding Da Qiao's affection.
When the allied forces won the battle and began the classic pursuit at Huarong Road, Kobayashi Tetsu was still grinding Da Qiao's affection.
When Cao Cao's army was routed and scattered, Kobayashi Tetsu was making a vow to Da Qiao.
Yoichi Koei was stunned. "You're Sun Quan! That's your sister-in-law!"
Kobayashi Tetsu replied with feigned surprise, "She's already a widow. I can't let her remain one."
Yoichi Koei suddenly felt the urge to find something to hit Kobayashi Tetsu with.
"Just kidding. Basically, the effects are already showing. However, the impact of domestic affairs on military matters isn't fully realized yet. The outcomes of domestic affairs should further influence the victory or defeat of military campaigns. Or it could work the other way around—winning a battle allows you to plunder grain, thereby supplementing deficiencies in domestic affairs."
Kobayashi Tetsu added, "You could also consider adding unique abilities or skills to characters. For example, winning a battle could allow you to plunder more grain from the enemy. Even players who aren't good at domestic affairs could win through looting. Or, if you have a general like Cheng Yu, you could even fight without grain—"
Yoichi Koei was astonished.
He never expected that Kobayashi Tetsu, who looked like a social butterfly, would be so knowledgeable about the Three Kingdoms era!
He quickly jotted down the ideas.
These were rare and precious insights—he had to learn them!
Following President Kobayashi, he would never run out of things to learn!