Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 958: Just Charge Forward and Get It Done

"Trying to recapture that old feeling? Well, now I really want to see what kind of game you're making," said Aya Tsukino. "Since it's a solo project, I guess it's not going to be some kind of industrial-scale open-world game, right?"

Takayuki replied, "It's true that this one isn't an open-world game. But if you're saying I can't handle an open-world game alone, then you're underestimating me. Open-world games aren't limited to just those mass-produced industrial-style titles you see nowadays. There's still a lot of room for creativity in that genre."

Aya didn't quite buy that argument. If such a game really existed, she felt it should've already appeared by now.

A good game shouldn't remain unseen.

"So what kind of game are you working on now?"

"I'm making three games in total. They should all be done by the time the summer sale begins. I plan to release them together with the event."

Takayuki casually picked up a nearby laptop and opened a long-standing project folder for Aya to see.

"'Spray and Pray Simulator'? What kind of weird name is that?" Aya gave him a strange look.

...

...

It really was the strangest game name she had ever seen.

Spray? Spray what?

Translated literally, this game's name in English was just "Spray and Pray Simulator."

In their original world, a game like this probably wouldn't have been called that.

But Takayuki felt the name was a perfect fit—it gave off an oddly serious tone with just the right amount of absurdity.

The game itself was incredibly simple—so simple that any developer with a bit of effort could make something similar.

And in this world, thanks to the power of the Unreal Engine he'd created, development had been even smoother. There were barely any technical or model-related issues.

Takayuki dumped a bunch of ready-made models from the engine's asset library into the game, added some custom gameplay code, and it was basically done.

In short, the game lets you play as a cleaning worker. You use a pressure washer to spray dirt off maps or objects. The goal is to clean the target as thoroughly as possible.

There's a progress percentage showing how much of the target you've cleaned.

Once it hits 100%, a "ding" sound plays, telling you the job's done.

That's the entire game.

No extra features.

The whole point of the game is just cleaning.

No open world.

No equipment system—well, actually, there kind of is.

Later in the game, you can unlock more powerful pressure washers, which let you clean faster and more efficiently.

But that's about it.

"Try playing it yourself. Most of the levels are already finished. Honestly, I just plugged the pre-made engine models in—I didn't put too much effort into it."

Even Takayuki had to admit—this Unreal Engine he had created was incredibly good.

Even better than the one from his original world.

The original Unreal Engine had some shortcomings—animation systems, 2D support, and real-time lighting were all weak spots.

But here, backed by a massive database, the engine he built was practically flawless—a super-engine with no obvious weaknesses.

If the original Unreal Engine had been this strong, the gaming industry might've advanced even faster.

"This... is just spraying objects with water?" Aya asked.

She had entered the first tutorial level, where the objective was to aim at the target and hold down the mouse button while moving around to clean it.

The first mission required her to clean a motorcycle, and she quickly found the whole thing rather dull.

"What's so fun about this?" Aya asked, frowning.

"Just give it a shot. Decide if it's fun or not after you play a bit."

"Okay, but I'm warning you, Takayuki—I'm not going to praise you just because you're my husband."

"Even better. If there's anything off about the game, just tell me. I'll try to tweak or improve it however I can."

Aya didn't hesitate: "First of all, I don't think the cleaning gameplay is very interesting. You should add something more exciting—like being able to blow stuff up. Destroy everything in the scene. Your engine supports destructible environments, right? That wouldn't be too hard for you."

Takayuki nodded. "You've got a point. A destruction simulator... Hmm, maybe I'll look into that in the future. But this game's core mechanic is cleaning. That's not going to change. Any other suggestions?"

"Let me play a bit more first."

Aya sighed.

Just cleaning things? What was supposed to be fun about that?

It seemed like Takayuki's game design was getting more and more abstract.

But then she remembered that his alt account was anonymous—just a way for him to pursue personal joy. He had already made a bunch of unique and quirky games under that alias. Thinking of it that way, it made sense that he'd come up with something this offbeat.

After finishing dinner, Aya picked up the laptop and started playing the game Takayuki had made.

"Spray and Pray Simulator?"

That name really was bizarre.

Shaking her head, she dove into the tutorial level.

The motorcycle was divided into many sections.

Along the edge of the UI, the game displayed the cleaning progress for each part.

When one section hit 100%, it would show a "Complete" notification.

There was also a total progress percentage for the entire object.

If you didn't care about 100% completion, the game wouldn't force it—you just had to clean around 70% to pass.

But... that was impossible.

About ten minutes in, Aya had cleaned over 80% of the motorcycle—enough to complete the level.

But looking at those few dirty spots still remaining made her uncomfortable.

Just a little more—why not go all the way?

Yeah, might as well go for the full 100%.