How to raise a random guy's wife

Kobayashi Megumi and Kobayashi Sora didn't know whether it was better to decisively give up on their voyage to Hashima or to stubbornly persist in pursuing a futile hope.

After all, Po Island Go-Aqua is a new company, and its debut performance is quite good. If it plunges headlong into it and succeeds, that's fine, but if it doesn't... it will have a huge impact on the future development of Po Island Go-Aqua.

Hashima Izumi stared at Kobayashi Megumi's neat handwriting, patted his face, and sighed, "No, no! It shouldn't be like this."

Sagara Mayu looked at her with some concern.

As Bo Island looked up from the sea, there was no longer any hesitation in his eyes. "I finally know what I want to do. If I don't do it, what should I do?"

"I don't know if I'll regret choosing to do what I want to do in the future," she said with a big smile. "But I know very well that if I don't do what I want to do, I will definitely regret it in the future!"

Chapter 917 Hierarchy of Needs

Once he understood this, the journey to Bo Island became much clearer.

Since you're going to regret it anyway, why bother thinking about the future? Just make sure you don't regret it now.

"Please tell me how!" At this moment, the island of Po was sparkling with life. "No matter the outcome, I want to try."

"Don't get your hopes up too high," Kobayashi Sora stated. "After all, we're not professional creators. At most, we can help you organize your thoughts and adjust your mindset, and we're only talking about relatively broad concepts."

“I understand,” Poshima nodded. “This is exactly what I need right now.”

"That's good." Kobayashi Megumi sorted out the previous questions. "What Sora just said is an objective fact. To deeply touch a group of people, you need to understand their needs. The deeper you go, the more different everyone's needs will be. It's very difficult to satisfy the different needs of different people with one work. To solve this problem, we must first think about another issue."

Mayu Sagara eagerly pressed on, "What's the problem?"

“Creators don’t know what they really want to create,” Megumi Kobayashi patiently guided, “but do the audience know what they really want to see?”

"Huh?" As I sailed out to sea from Po Island, it felt like a door had opened in my mind.

Kobayashi Sora explained with an example, "Have you ever had this experience: you see a work and feel no interest in it, until one day you suddenly remember it, look at it carefully for a while, and suddenly realize that this work is amazing, and you almost missed it?"

“Mmm, mmm, mmm!” Mayu Sagara nodded repeatedly. “That’s how I read Utaha’s books.”

Previously, Mayu Sagara liked cute characters and wasn't interested in the complex emotions in Utaha Kasumigaoka's books.

Later, on Kobayashi Megumi's advice, I watched it carefully and immediately became engrossed in it.

Megumi Kobayashi points out, "The deeper you go, the more different everyone's needs become. But if you go even deeper, you'll find that these different needs are essentially different manifestations of the same need."

Kobayashi Megumi deeply understands this point.

During the period when her presence was weak, she often observed the various small groups in the class.

It was discovered that everyone reacted differently to the same proposal; some were very interested, some were not, some took the initiative, some were forced to accept, some cheered, and some looked uncomfortable.

In essence, these behaviors are all choices between integrating into the group and maintaining one's individuality.

Bo Island suddenly realized, "If I try to meet different needs, I will fall into the same predicament as before. Only by meeting the fundamental needs can I truly touch the people I want to touch."

This was the same choice that Izumi Hashima made between "Mononoke" and her new work, so she quickly understood what Megumi Kobayashi meant.

"According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, human needs are divided into three levels: low, medium, and high, which can be further subdivided into five layers: physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization," Kobayashi Sora added. "The physiological and safety needs at the lower level are generally similar; everyone needs food and water, air and sleep, personal safety and family safety, and so on. At the middle level, esteem and belonging become different, such as friendship and love, confidence and achievement. There are many kinds of friendship and love, not to mention achievement. As for the self-actualization at the higher level, it is about striving to realize one's potential and becoming the person one aspires to be. Although everyone's aspirations are different, the goal is always self-actualization."

"If you can find this deep-rooted, shared emotional need, you can break free from genre limitations and deeply touch many people," Kobayashi Megumi concluded. "While creating enjoyably, you can also allow many people to enjoy the work."

"But that's an ideal state. We're making it sound easy here, but when you actually start creating, you'll need to apply many specific techniques," Kobayashi Sora pointed out. "We're just telling you that there's a moon in the sky, but as for how to get to the moon..."

He shrugged very honestly.

While sailing out to sea, Hashima was deep in thought when he suddenly noticed that Mayu Sagara beside him was making strange movements.

It could even be described as vulgar.

Sagara Mayu thoughtfully raised her hands, making a grasping motion in front of her, and occasionally twisting them a couple of times.

It was as if Bo Island was standing in front of her, and she could do whatever she wanted.

"Mayu?"

"Hmm... Ah?" Mayu Sagara suddenly snapped out of her reverie. "That's right!"

Mayu Sagara finally snapped out of her daze, but her hands didn't stop moving. "I just suddenly thought of something, could we do it the other way around?"

"in turn?"

"Didn't Sora just talk about people's needs? But people's needs and people's needs for a work of art should be different, right?" Mayu Sagara made a twisting motion. "Could it be the other way around?"

“Deep-rooted, shared emotional needs…” Izumi Hashima murmured. “Yes, deep doesn’t mean high, but low. As long as we satisfy the audience’s basic needs, we are satisfying their deep-rooted, shared emotional needs. Low-level needs are a bit wrong, it should be basic needs, which are a safe and affluent life.”

“That makes sense,” Kobayashi Sora searched her memory. “Good people are rewarded, monsters are defeated, the world is saved, and crises are resolved. Essentially, it’s all about the characters in the story fulfilling their most basic needs.”

Bo Island has finally found its direction for its sea voyage. "So, as long as I depict a peaceful life, supplemented with vivid details like food and water, I can achieve my goal!"

Bo Island's gaze fell on the paper in front of her, which was exactly what she had initially decided.

But now, seeing this content, she no longer feels the confusion and helplessness she had before.

“But…” Sagara Mayu hesitated for a moment, then finally decided to be direct, “It seems like it would be very boring.”

Life is peaceful and stable, and it is indeed wonderful.

However, recording everything in great detail can easily turn into a boring, rambling account.

“It’s normal for such works to be boring. If you choose this kind of subject matter, you have to accept this situation,” Kobayashi Sora explained. “It feels like the problem has returned to the very beginning.”

“No.” Hashima Izumi shook her head. Although the problem had returned to the initial stage, she was no longer the same person she used to be. “Audiences can accept that a work is boring, but as a creator, I cannot use the fact that this kind of subject matter is boring as an excuse to create a boring story. Even if I cannot change the fact that the story is boring, I must strive to create an interesting story.”

Chapter 918 Let's Go Out and Play

"So boring~" Eriri complained, lying on the table, drawing out her words, "Ugh~~~ Boring~~~"

In front of me was a large screen, and on the table were messy printed papers.

Eriri was too lazy to tidy up the papers and just lay down on them. If she hadn't been sitting in a chair, she would probably be rolling around in the air by now.

Kasumigaoka Utaha took a sip of her instant coffee. "Weren't you all so enthusiastic and eager to make a big splash at the beginning? How come you're getting bored so quickly?"

She has the tools at home, but she can never make the same taste as Kobayashi Sora, so when she's at home, Kasumigaoka Utaha just drinks instant coffee.

"That was just now, and this is now." Eriri's face was pressed against the table, looking a little flat. She casually took off her glasses and made an annoying noise, "So boring~~~"

"Playing games, huh? Didn't you get a lot of games from Kong Qing last time?"

"I don't want to play."

"Hmm?" Kasumigaoka Utaha walked towards Eriri. "That's strange. Didn't you used to really like playing games?"

"The past is the past, the present is the present."

"Are you planning to answer all your questions with this one sentence?" Kasumigaoka Utaha casually picked up a piece of printed paper with a character's draft on it, along with notes on his birthday, personality, hobbies, and so on. "From now on, this will become your life motto, used to explain all your whims and half-hearted attempts?"

"No, that's not it..." Eriri didn't want to argue with Kasumigaoka Utaha. "Before, I was making animations, now I'm researching how to make games. Before, I played games to enjoy myself, but now when I play a game, I think: How should this be designed? Why is this designed this way? What is this supposed to make the player feel? If it were me, what should I do? Maybe it would be better if this were done this way... If it's not done this way, how should it be done?"

Eriri scratched her already messy blonde hair, making it even messier. Thinking of their bickering, Eriri immediately remembered that she still had a kiss to give back to Kasumigaoka Utaha... no, it was Kasumigaoka Utaha who wanted to force a kiss on her.

Eriri blushed and unconsciously sped up her speech, rattling off a barrage of questions in an attempt to push away the strange images that were surfacing in her mind.

After calming down a bit, Eriri concluded, "This isn't playing a game; the game is playing me."

"But didn't you make games before? 'Sakura Promise' and 'Liella! Superstar'."

“Those all fall under the category of fan-made games, and back then I was in charge of the original artwork, so I didn’t have to think about so much content like I do now.” Eriri looked at the screen with a hint of despair. “Main story, side stories, major events, minor conflicts, gacha characters, plot characters… it feels like I’m crammed full…”

"You'd better talk about your brain."

"Otherwise what?" Eriri glared at Kasumigaoka Utaha.

"Let me see..." Kasumigaoka Utaha quickly glanced at the outline and flipped through the character settings. "The plot here is progressing a bit too obviously. It feels like she has already found a second lover, so she is trying to end the cold violence against her current lover as soon as possible."

"Is it that obvious...?" Eriri muttered weakly.

"The actions of several key characters are somewhat jarring. Take this character, for example. Your design is that he seems reckless but is actually shrewd despite his rough exterior. Here, although his actions maintain his usual outward appearance, he has lost his inner caution. If you really want to speed up the plot, there are better ways to handle it. Using accidents and coincidences, although they also feel deliberate, at least ensures that the character development won't be problematic."

"Hmm...that sounds good..."

"Also, using a long build-up to complete the character's transformation is a good method, but because the process is too long, the subtle change seems too hidden. This is a problem I often have. Adding a few meaningful lines in the earlier plot can make the transformation process less abrupt."

"Hmm... I feel like something's missing..."

“The pressure here has been too long, and the release at the end was a bit rushed. Coupled with the new crisis that followed, the pressure was too great, and it’s easy for players to feel…” Kasumigaoka Utaha noticed the bloodshot in Eriri’s eyes, “…exhausted.”

Even though she was exhausted, Eriri was still trying to think about Kasumigaoka Utaha's suggestion.

"What's wrong?" Eriri turned to look at Kasumigaoka Utaha, who had suddenly stopped talking.

Let's go out and have some fun.

"Hmm...hmm?" Eriri paused for a moment before reacting, "Now?"

"Right now." Kasumigaoka Utaha tidied up the printed paper. "Get ready, change your clothes, and let's go."

"Wait, wait, wait a minute!" Eriri exclaimed in a flustered manner. "Why so suddenly?"

"Suddenly?" Kasumigaoka Utaha stacked the printed papers together and clipped them together. "I've been planning this for a long time."

"A long time?" Eriri asked, somewhat surprised. "When did you start planning this?"

“Hmm…” Kasumigaoka Utaha glanced at the clock, “One minute and thirty-two seconds ago.”

"That was just now! If Kong Qing heard that, she'd be furious."

So you're not going?

"I haven't finished the game's script yet..."

"This isn't something that can be done in a short time," Kasumigaoka Utaha patted a thick stack of papers on the table. "You think you can finish it if you don't go out to play today?"

"At least we can get a little bit."

"When did you become so diligent?" Kasumigaoka Utaha recalled for a moment, "Was it because of what I provoked you that day?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha was thinking about what Ran Kobayashi said on her birthday: that Eriri was an incurable procrastinator.

But Eriri was thinking about the time on Ran Kobayashi's birthday when she kissed Utaha Kasumigaoka and was then kissed back by Utaha Kasumigaoka.

"Who found it exciting!" Eriri exploded. "What's so exciting about it!"

“You don’t seem like someone who doesn’t enjoy excitement.” Kasumigaoka Utaha sensed that Eriri was getting the wrong idea again, so she quickly brought the topic back on track. “It’s a day off now, so you should go out and relax instead of working from home.”

"But if I work a little harder, I can make this game even better," Eriri muttered. "You saw those models, right? The Ghost Castle has some really amazing modelers, I don't want to fall behind!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha knew that Eriri's stubborn temper had flared up again.