Saturday, April 4, 2002 — Early Morning
The house was still almost completely silent.
Inside the Renkonan residence, morning had barely begun. The curtains remained closed, the lights were dim, and practically everyone was still asleep. Zenshin and Arumi were already old enough to have their own rooms, while the newborn twins, Zenji and Azusa, slept peacefully nearby in their crib.
Ayumi was still buried beneath the blankets.
Zaboru, naturally, was already awake.
After only around two hours of sleep, for his body that was enough. For most ordinary people that amount of rest would have turned the entire day into suffering, but Zaboru with Enlightment body is different.
So instead of forcing himself back to sleep, he had quietly moved to the private PC inside his bedroom and started working.
The glow of several monitors illuminated his face while his fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard.
Folders covered the screen.
Development reports.
ZEPS 4 schedules.
Release projections.
Internal milestones.
Budgets.
Prototype evaluations.
Marketing windows.
And, somehow, a ridiculous number of side projects Zaboru had propose in the previous months.
He stared at the growing collection of tabs.
"…I really need to learn how restrain myself."
He paused.
Then opened another document.
"…Later."
Zaboru chuckled quietly.
At this point, development teams across Japan, the United States, Europe, China and ZAGE's other offices already had their respective ZEPS 4 assignments. The first wave had successfully launched in February, Sengoku Basara and Gotcha Force had reinforced the console in March, and the company's internal roadmap was already stretching all the way toward December 2002.
Some projects were almost finished.
Others were entering heavy production.
Several were still prototypes.
But right now, his attention was primarily focused on two periods.
April.
And then—
June.
One major ZEPS 4 game was planned for April, while June currently had two projects positioned for release if development continued smoothly.
Zaboru leaned back and stared at the schedule.
Originally, April's major game was supposed to be something else.
His eyes shifted toward another folder.
ASSASSIN'S CREED
Zaboru remained silent for several seconds.
Then sighed.
"Yeah… not yet."
It wasn't because the concept wasn't ready.
If anything, he loved the idea.
A historical action-adventure game centered around assassinations, freerunning, cities filled with crowds, political conspiracies and a hidden conflict stretching across generations had enormous potential. Zaboru already knew exactly how much the franchise could eventually grow if handled correctly.
The problem was that this world had provided him with one very annoying complication his previous life had never needed to consider.
Arachne.
And Illuminati.
Actual secret organizations.
Real ones.
Not fictional groups created to make a videogame story more interesting.
Zaboru leaned back and rubbed his forehead.
"Seriously… what are the chances?"
The similarities were not identical, of course. Arachne was not the Assassin Brotherhood, and the Illuminati wasn't literally the Templar Order. Their structures, histories, beliefs and methods were different.
But thematically?
The resemblance was uncomfortable.
One hidden organization resisting domination and trying to protect independence from the shadows.
Another organization obsessed with control, influence and shaping society according to its own vision.
Zaboru stared at the Assassin's Creed document.
"Yeah. That's going to raise some eyebrows."
Normally, he wouldn't particularly care if a real person or organization thought one of his fictional stories resembled them. ZAGE had dealt with controversy plenty of times.
This was different.
The Illuminati wasn't some angry corporation capable of sending lawyers.
Leonard Epstein had personally entered ZAGE Tower before.
He had tried to recruit Zaboru.
And when Zaboru refused, the situation had become extremely real, extremely quickly.
That alone was enough to make Zaboru more cautious than usual.
He wasn't afraid of making Assassin's Creed.
But he also wasn't stupid enough to accidentally release something that looked suspiciously like a dramatized version of an actual hidden war without first checking what the people involved thought about it.
Especially when one of those hidden organizations already considered him an important independent figure.
Zaboru tapped his fingers against the desk.
Better to talk with Arachne first.
Not ask permission.
That distinction mattered.
Zaboru had absolutely no intention of allowing Arachne to decide what ZAGE was allowed to create.
But informing them and hearing their interpretation of the similarities?
That was reasonable.
If Maya, Alissa or the others immediately looked at the Assassin-versus-Templar concept and said, Zaboru, this resembles our situation far too much, then at least he would know exactly what kind of problem he was walking into.
And more importantly, Arachne might be able to tell him whether Illuminati would interpret the game as entertainment…
…or as some deliberate public message.
Zaboru sighed.
"I really don't want Leonard thinking I'm making a videogame to fucking taunt him."
He paused.
Then grinned slightly.
"…Though that would be pretty funny."
He shook his head.
"No. Bad idea well maybe later hehehe."
Assassin's Creed would still happen.
Just not yet.
Zaboru closed the folder and moved toward another project.
"Which means April gets you."
He double-clicked.
A large concept image appeared across the central monitor.
A massive bald man stood beneath a blood-red sky. His skin was unnaturally pale, almost gray-white, while crimson markings stretched across his body. Two chained blades rested in his hands, their metal glowing beneath the surrounding flames.
Zaboru's smile widened.
"Heh."
The title appeared.
GOD OF WAR
Zaboru leaned forward.
"Time for the Ghost of Sparta to enter this world."
Unlike Assassin's Creed, this project didn't require Zaboru to worry about accidentally stepping on the toes of an actual secret organization.
It only required him to worry about Greek mythology.
Fortunately, Zeus was considerably less likely to send somebody into ZAGE Tower.
Probably.
Zaboru chuckled.
God of War had been one of the standout action franchises he remembered from the PlayStation 2 era of his previous life. At a casual glance, people in this world would almost certainly compare it with ZAGE's Devil May Cry.
Both were third-person action games.
Both used exaggerated combat.
Both featured powerful protagonists destroying supernatural enemies.
But that was where the comparison quickly started falling apart.
Dante fought with stylish arrogance, switching between weapons and treating demons like opportunities to show off.
Kratos was something else entirely.
Angry.
Brutal.
Direct.
Where Devil May Cry wanted the player to look stylish while destroying enemies, God of War was designed to make the player feel like an unstoppable monster tearing through Greek mythology.
Zaboru opened several design documents.
Greek temples.
Monsters.
Minotaurs.
Gorgons.
Cyclopes.
Hydras.
Gods.
Ancient architecture mixed with impossible fantasy scale.
Chains.
Blades.
Blood.
Huge set pieces.
"This is definitely going to feel different enough."
Story-wise, Zaboru didn't feel the need to radically rewrite the beginning. Kratos' original foundation was already strong: a Spartan warrior bound by his past, manipulated by Ares, carrying unbearable guilt and eventually turning his rage toward the very god he once served.
It was simple enough to understand but powerful enough to support everything around it.
The main thing Zaboru wanted to change was the gameplay.
He smiled.
Because he still remembered something from his previous life.
He had played God of War II before properly experiencing the first game.
And going backward had hurt.
Not because the original God of War was bad.
Far from it.
But God of War II had taken the same basic identity and improved almost everything.
More refined combat.
Better pacing.
More varied encounters.
More interesting weapons.
Better spectacle.
Better bosses.
More polished movement.
It still felt unmistakably like God of War—just more complete.
Zaboru rested his chin against one hand.
"So why intentionally make the first game feel primitive?"
There was no reason.
This world's first God of War would borrow some of the refinements and complexity Zaboru remembered from later entries from the very beginning.
Not enough to make future sequels meaningless.
There still needed to be room for growth.
But enough that Kratos wouldn't feel limited.
The Blades of Chaos would remain the foundation: chained weapons with broad range, strong crowd control and fluid combinations. However, Zaboru wanted more branching attack strings, better aerial options, stronger cancel windows and additional ways to chain light and heavy attacks.
Kratos also needed more weapons.
Not twenty weapons thrown at the player without purpose.
A smaller collection of genuinely distinct options.
Heavy weapons for crushing armored enemies.
Alternative blades or magical tools emphasizing different ranges.
Temporary mythological weapons obtained during important sequences.
Enough variety that changing equipment actually changed how encounters felt.
Enemy variety would receive similar attention.
Zaboru didn't want the player fighting the same three Greek monsters with different colors for ten hours.
There would be different classes of undead soldiers, beasts, mythological creatures, flying threats, armored opponents, magical enemies and larger creatures capable of changing how the battlefield functioned.
And bosses?
Zaboru grinned.
Those needed to be memorable.
The Hydra encounter alone would establish the scale immediately.
Large creatures shouldn't simply be enemies with enormous health bars.
Kratos would climb them.
Rip things from them.
Use the environment.
Break armor.
Destroy sections of their bodies.
Zaboru wanted players to understand within the first hour:
God of War was not afraid of spectacle.
Then there was difficulty.
Zaboru's grin became slightly evil.
"No Easy Mode."
He typed the difficulty list.
NORMAL
HARD
GOD OF WAR
That was it.
Normal would still be properly balanced for ordinary players, but the game would demand that they actually learn blocking, dodging, spacing and crowd control.
Hard would significantly increase aggression and punishment.
And God of War Mode?
Zaboru smiled.
That mode wasn't intended to be fair.
Enemies would attack more aggressively, bosses would punish mistakes brutally, resources would become less forgiving, and mindlessly button-mashing would get Kratos killed very quickly.
"People are going to hate me."
He smiled wider.
"Perfect."
A soft movement behind him interrupted his thoughts.
Zaboru glanced back.
Ayumi had woken.
Her hair was messy, her eyes barely open, and she looked considerably less like one of Akaishidan brilliant developers and much more like a sleepy wife wondering why her husband had abandoned the bed before sunrise.
She quietly walked toward him.
Then wrapped both arms around his shoulders from behind.
"Mmm… Zabo…"
Zaboru smiled and leaned slightly into her embrace. "Morning."
Ayumi rested her cheek against his head. "What are you working onnn…?"
Her words were still half-asleep.
Zaboru chuckled. "Secret."
Ayumi's eyes opened slightly more.
She looked toward the monitor.
Unfortunately for Zaboru, Kratos was still displayed prominently across it.
Ayumi stared.
"Bald?"
Zaboru laughed.
She leaned closer.
"And… why is he gray?"
Zaboru quickly moved his hand toward the mouse.
Ayumi narrowed her eyes. "Wait."
Click.
The project window disappeared.
"Zabo!"
"Hehehe."
Ayumi pouted. "What game is that?"
"Spoiler."
"I'm your wife."
"Still spoiler."
"I'm also a developer."
"Exactly. Even more dangerous."
Ayumi tightened her arms around his shoulders. "Tell me."
"Nope."
"Just a little."
"No."
"Why is he gray?"
"You'll find out."
"Why does he have chains?"
"You'll find out."
"Is he evil?"
Zaboru paused.
"…Complicated."
Ayumi immediately became more interested.
Zaboru realized his mistake.
She smiled sleepily. "So?"
"No more questions!"
He closed the remaining documents.
Ayumi pouted again. "Stingy as always."
Zaboru turned in his chair and kissed her cheek. "Even though you're the most beautiful woman I know, I still won't spoil my game for you."
Ayumi stared at him.
Then smiled faintly.
"Flattery won't save you."
"It usually helps."
"No."
"Damn."
She laughed softly.
From the nearby crib came a small movement, causing both of them to glance toward the twins.
Still asleep.
Zaboru lowered his voice immediately.
"Let's not wake the little monsters."
Ayumi smiled. "Zenji will probably wake up hungry soon anyway."
"Definitely my son."
"You say that proudly."
"I am proud."
Ayumi shook her head, then tugged gently at his arm. "Come on. You've been working enough already."
Zaboru glanced toward the clock.
She was right.
His morning wouldn't remain quiet for long.
Later next day he had a meeting with several Arachne higher-ups, and unlike his usual corporate meetings, this one wasn't something he could casually hand to another executive.
He specifically wanted to discuss Assassin's Creed.
Not the entire project.
Just enough to understand whether its central conflict would create unnecessary complications with the hidden war already happening around him.
Zaboru stood.
"Fine."
Ayumi smiled.
The two headed toward the bathroom together, leaving the monitors dark behind them.
As for June games they are….
To be continued.
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