The Soraya Saga
My dream of paradise was sharing a room with programming genius Sakurai Masahiro, and today, my dream had finally come true. Against all odds, Sakurai-sama had deemed me to be a talented programmer, and now I had entered the ranks of his overclocked super-team. Though I was now an adult woman, who had come to Japan all by herself, I still felt like the same fangirl who doodled Kirby in her notebook's margins growing up. Maybe that's because I still was.
The only difference now was that I drew Kirby sucking up scripts and codes instead of algebraic equations. Now that I was a coder, I doodled my daydreams and hopes in tongues that were neither Japanese nor English, turning fantasy into reality, just as Sakurai had done when he invented Kirby six years ago.
I took my seat at one of the several long tables that had outlets extending from their middles. They were connected to power strips galore, which were connected to computers that were all part of the same tree of life, with the same mission – to help Sakurai finish the Nintendo 64 game Dairantou Smash Bros. I reviewed my notes in preparation for the speech and demonstration he was about to make. Our goal was to help him convert the game from its prototype Dragon King engine, and change it to one closer to the classic fighting game Street Fighter II.
"Hello, my name is Fujita Takeshi," said a man seated next to me, smiling, extending his hand.
"Hello! My name is Saga Soraya. I'm new here," I said.
"Yes, I heard that Sakurai-san had hired more people to join our team. Let's try our best."
"Definitely!"
A screen descended from the front of the room, and Smash Bros. was projected onto it, a world beaming in from nothing. A short man with a long brown mop-top walked up beside the display and took a seat at a desk equipped with a computer. My heart skipped a beat. It was the man I had seen only in articles and in pictures on the Internet. It was Sakurai Masahiro, creator of Kirby!
"I'd like to thank you all for showing up again for yet another day of hard work," said Sakurai. Despite his youthful appearance, his voice was a deep bass. He embodied both vitality and seniority all at once. "Before we continue with our efforts, I'd like to show you this presentation to celebrate a milestone in our progress."
Sakurai had begun a match with Nintendo's mascot, Mario, fighting against Kirby, on a grassy plain with trees straight out of Kirby's Dream Land! Mario and Kirby exchanged punches and kicks. The team began to cheer. But something didn't feel quite right to me. Though the presentation was wonderfully comical, it felt odd to see Kirby so close to the ground, not using his flying abilities to dodge Mario's attacks.
Mario smacked Kirby with a punch that made coins fly out of him. It was a cute reference to hitting coin blocks in Super Mario Bros. for the NES. Kirby hit the side of the screen, and bumped into an invisible wall, rebounding in front of Mario for a combo attack. The team cheered again. And then the screen blacked out.
"What's going on?" I thought.
All of a sudden I saw lines of code being typed faster than I could follow. There were towers of white text on a black background, moving in waves, swaying like the Tower of Babel, accompanied by a frantic clattering sound. I couldn't tell where it was coming from.
And then the game reloaded, a crude polygon mesh of a man now inserted into the match, standing in between Mario and Kirby. A third player icon was displayed. And then the screen blacked out for more code. The display kept cutting back between the match and black screen, the man becoming more detailed in between seizures. And finally, he was finished in his creation; he was a man in boots wearing purple spandex and a helmet.
"I don't recognize that character from the notes," I said. "Who's that?"
"That's Captain Falcon, from the SNES future racer F-Zero," said Fujita. "And of course you don't recognize him from the notes. None of us do. He wasn't in this game until just now. Sakurai-san was coding, compiling, and executing the program to create him before our very eyes. Sakurai-san is a god. And this is his creation."
"Welcome to the fray the great racer of the future, Captain Douglas Jay Falcon!" said Sakurai. "He attacks so fast he burns up the battlefield with his flaming punches and kicks! Is it really alright to start fires in a forest?"
The team cheered again as Sakurai joined the battle against the computer-controlled Mario and Kirby. Two computer intelligences were no match for the mind of Sakurai-sama, he was fending them off with ease! Finally, he reduced their health to zero, and the match was over – GAME SET, the announcer declared. The team cheered. Sakurai laughed, rubbing his arm.
"Our day of rest is over," said Sakurai. "Let us now work to finish Dairantou Smash Bros. by the end of this upcoming year."
The team cheered.
"Let's not work too hard, right? We can always release a prototype to America, and give ourselves a deluxe edition," said one of the members, laughing. The rest of the team laughed with him, Sakurai included.
"Don't do that!" I said. The room quieted down, and soon they were staring at me. It suddenly occurred to me I was one of the few women on the entire team. I was nervous. "I, uh… Americans love Nintendo very much, too! They would be heartbroken to get an unfinished game. So let's try our best!"
"I agree, umm… your name, miss?" Sakurai was smiling at me. Sakurai was smiling at me!
"Saga Soraya," I said. "Forgive me, Director Sakurai, I know it was just a joke."
"No need to apologize," he said. "You're right. A single game for a single vision. No more, no less. Singular perfection, all across the world. Are you part of our hired help from America?"
"Yes, I am," I said, blushing.
"Let's all give a warm hand of applause to the new members of our family. Their home is now the home of Dairantou Smash Bros.!"
Everyone clapped for us. We didn't deserve it. Us mortals were being celebrated in the presence of a god.
The next day, my work began in earnest. If Sakurai was a god, then we were his helper angels. We actually weren't allowed to create any unique programs of our own, or do any balancing. We simply coded what Sakurai told us to. While I was a little saddened that I couldn't put my creative skills to use, I knew that Sakurai knew what was best for our vision of the game.
I was seated next to Fujita. Every few lines of code, he took a sip of his beer. Even though I knew Japan was just as big on drinking as America was, I never imagined that they would drink while working! Later I was told, though, that this wasn't normal – it was just Sakurai's attempt at making the work atmosphere homier. Though most of my teammates indulged in this privilege, I didn't. I didn't want even a slight buzz to distract me from providing top-notch service to Sakurai-sama.
The worst of my indiscretions was taking a break from time to time to doodle cats on Post-It notes that I would then stick on my monitor. Nyan, nyan! Thank goodness there were no crazy cat lady stereotypes in Japan. That I knew of. Just because I like cats doesn't mean I had given up on being marriage material!
"Hey, Fujita-san," I said. "You've played Kirby games, right?"
"I've played Kirby of the Stars 2, yeah."
"Huh? Which one was… oh, Kirby's Dream Land 2," I thought. "Well, don't you love how Kirby flies?" I said.
"Hmm? Yes, I suppose so."
"I mean, to me, Kirby is all about flying. He's Kirby of the Stars, floating off in Dream Land. I know the team worked very hard in making this game so far. But it seemed to me like Kirby was stuck to the ground."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, when I looked at the Dragon King engine, the fighters, they could jump around freely. Even twice at a time. And when I look at Kirby, I just feel like he should be able to jump around too, you know? Even Mario is Jumpman, but he doesn't stick around in the air like he does in the Famicom games. He falls like a rock."
"Right. That is to encourage the combo system," said Fujita. "Sakurai-san wants this game to be very competitive, like Street Fighter. If the characters can move in the air too much, they can escape attacks more easily."
"Do you think we should maybe make a suggestion to Sakurai-san?"
"This is Sakurai-san's vision," said Fujita. "He is the director. We are his subordinates. A cog in a machine should not choose his own path. He will destroy the system."
"Right. Excuse me."
Even though I knew Fujita was right, I couldn't shake the bad feeling I had seeing the carefree Kirby brought down to Earth by the world's gravity. I finished my assignment for the day, and then started to work on some code of my own. It felt great to do something creative. It was like I was doodling in class again, throwing off the gravity of my teacher's words. I was flying, just like Kirby. Using the Dragon King engine as a base, I designed a code to allow Kirby to jump multiple times. Before the day was done, I looked for Sakurai to show him my suggestion.
"Oh, Saga-san, done already?" he said, smiling. It was nice to hear my boss pronounce my name correctly.
"Yes," I said, nodding. "Director, I was wondering if I could make a suggestion."
"Oh? Great! Let's hear it," he said.
My heart leaped. "Well… I was always a big fan of your Kirby games. I love Kirby very much. I especially love how he can fly above his enemies. I admire the work that the team has done so far. But for your consideration, I made a code that allows Kirby to jump many times, almost like how he flies in his own games."
"Oh, really? That sounds quite interesting," said Sakurai. "I will be sure to consider it." He walked away.
At first I was overjoyed. But then the happy feeling slipped away. I realized he left without asking for my code. He didn't want it. I felt embarrassed.
Despite my discouragement, the next day I began coding again, and my devotion to Sakurai-sama didn't waver. I did exactly as he commanded, trying to push my failed suggestion out of my mind. If I kept reading and repeating what Sakurai instructed me to do, maybe soon his thoughts would become my own, and I would be purged of the feeling of embarrassment, and inherit his genius.
Halfway into my assignment, however, I heard Fujita sigh. I found it unusual, because yesterday he was coding with the stone-faced expression of a Moai statue.
"Are you alright, Fujita-san?" I asked.
"I'm just fine," he said.
"Are you sure? Is something troubling you?"
"No, no, I'm just fine."
"We're teammates. We share our burdens together. Feel free to speak your mind."
"Well… I was just thinking about what you said the other day. About characters being faithful to their games. Sakurai-san makes a lot of nice touches, like giving Mario red fire balls, and Luigi green ones, as a reference to the arcade Mario Bros. game. But some characters, like Samus, are like Kirby. She can jump multiple times with her Space Jump, but Sakurai-san wants her to only jump once."
"Yes, you're right. I wish there was something we could do about it."
"Didn't you go to him yesterday to make a suggestion? How did that go?"
"He didn't want my code," I said. "I felt so embarrassed."
"Yup, I'm not surprised," said Fujita. "Sakurai-san is a kind man, but he is the eyes behind our vision."
"But still… I wonder," I said. "What if we coded an alternate version of the engine, based on Dragon King? Where the characters moved like we wanted them to?"
"What are you suggesting?"
"Well… nothing, really. We don't ever have to show it to him. But maybe if we made our own, mini version of Smash Bros., we could show it to Sakurai-san when it was done, and impress him. If he has something a little more complete to look at, it might change his opinion."
"I see… so you want me to work with you?"
"Only if you want to!" I said. I felt like I was planning treason over this pet project. I didn't want to seem like I was trying to hurt Sakurai-sama.
"It's interesting…" said Fujita. "I guess it couldn't hurt, as long as we also did what Sakurai-san asked as well."
"Of course," I said. "Our loyalty is to Sakurai-san, before even ourselves."
So loyal, were we, in fact, that we stayed working past our schedules, long into the night. The air was cold, yet my teammates were still sweating in their seats. Though we were sleepy, we didn't dare dream of anything other than what Sakurai-sama wanted. Sakurai was a prolific coder, capable of coding four times as fast as any of us, and working with half as many breaks. And even on his breaks, he used his time to pace around the room, monitoring and commenting on our progress.
"No no, that's wrong," said Sakurai, interrupting one of the team members. "What are you thinking with the size of that hitbox? If Donkey Kong has that much range, he will be totally overpowered."
The man froze. He lost his train of thought, his fingers stopped moving. "I, umm, I…" he said. "Forgive me, Director, I merely thought that being so large, Donkey Kong's attacks would have extended reach."
"That's not your judgement call to make," said Sakurai, growing angry. "You all are supposed to do exactly as I tell you. Zero deviations. Making the slightest change will ruin our vision. My goal is to make a Dream Land for every one of us. You're ruining the dream."
"Forgive me, Director." The man got up and walked towards the cooler to grab a beer.
"What are you doing?" said Sakurai.
"I'm getting a beer, Director."
"No. No beer. No more beers for the rest of the night," said Sakurai.
"Well then, at least consider turning the cooling down. We're freezing in here!"
"No," said Sakurai. "We will not be turning down the cold. If it becomes too warm in here, you will all fall asleep."
The man groaned, and Sakurai resumed pacing around the room. He was drawing closer to me. I felt nervous. I had become gross from the sweat I had accumulated throughout the day, and I had put my hair up to stay focused. I was afraid neither my coding nor my appearance was pleasant to look at. Sakurai-sama would be disappointed in me. Soon, I felt him move behind me, watching. I didn't dare turn around. The rate of my coding slowed down, as it became difficult to think because I feared his judgement. And then, he spoke.
"Saga-san, do you like cats?" he asked, laughing.
"Huh? Oh! Yes, I love cats." He had seen my Post-It notes on my monitor.
"I like cats, too," he said. "In fact, I own one. Her name is Yuki, because she's white as snow. Saga-san, tell me. What do you like the most about cats?"
"Well… they're really cute. But also, I feel like they're very intelligent. When I feel like someone intelligent is watching me, I feel the need to try my best."
Sakurai laughed. "Yes. I understand the feeling. While it is true cats can be very intelligent, I like cats because they are willing to sleep anywhere. When I see such an intelligent creature playing around, I feel the need to take myself less seriously."
I smiled.
"Saga-san, do you drink?"
"Me? Yes, occasionally. But not during work. I feel the need to keep all of my focus."
"Yes. It is good to stay focused," said Sakurai. "So tell me, the other day, when you approached me. You said that you think Kirby should fly. What did you mean by that?"
My heart was racing. Sakurai-sama hadn't dismissed my idea after all! "Well, Director," I said. "I was just thinking, we're putting so much effort into modifying the Dragon King engine. And we've done a lot of good work. But I feel like Kirby is the type of character who needs to float above his troubles. In the Dragon King engine, characters can jump many times. If we changed our style back to the Dragon King engine, not only could we benefit Kirby, but Mario, too. And we could even finish the game more quickly."
"I see," said Sakurai. "But a game like that would not be that combo-oriented. Characters could just escape to the air. For a fighting game to be successful, it needs to be like Street Fighter. Fighting games like that have much deeper gameplay."
"Yes, of course Director," I said, nodding. I was just glad he heard my idea at all. "For your consideration though, I do have my code, in which Kirby flies, if you ever wanted to see it."
Sakurai nodded. "I will consider it." And then he walked away.
We worked late into the next night, too. Now that I thought about it, I had no idea what the labor laws were like in Japan. I felt kind of silly, because I should have considered the possibility of working extended hours. But regardless, I doubted any one of us could ever be angry at Sakurai-sama. We were all one family, working together in one vision. And sometimes family loses sleep for one another. Well, so I believed, but one of our team members, the same man from yesterday, was growing irritable.
"Director, please let us go home," he said. "I don't see why we should have to work such thankless hours when the deadline is so far away."
"Yeah," said another man. "And even if the deadline was coming up soon, we could always delay the game. It's like Miyamoto-san always says, 'A delayed game is good eventually, a rushed game is bad forever.'"
"Yes, he does say that," said Sakurai, wrinkling his forehead. "But delaying a game is a last resort. Not a primary tool of the trade."
"Please, Director, let us go home," said the first man. "I miss the comfort of my bed. Surely we will perform better when we are well-rested."
Sakurai was growing angry. "I let you all bring in your futons instead of sleeping in your chairs, and let you sleep six hours a night! Isn't that enough for you?"
"I'm sorry, Director, but no, it's not," the man said.
"I challenge any one of you who thinks they can direct the development of this game better than me to a game of Dairantou Smash Bros!" yelled Sakurai. "If you can beat me, surely you must know the game better than me. The winner can take over the development. If I lose, I will leave the project forever."
The room started to murmur. I was scared; I had never seen Sakurai so angry before. If he fell into a bad mood, would he make conditions even harder on us? Was this his way of weeding out the unfaithful? More than anything, I didn't want him to feel upset. I could persevere his anger, but I worried if he could persevere it himself. Finally, the first man rose.
"I accept!" he said. The team gasped.
The match was going to be conducted in the same room where we all worked. It would be displayed on the screen that Sakurai first revealed Captain Falcon on.
"Kenichiro doesn't stand a chance," said Fujita. "Sakurai-san is the winner of several Street Fighter II tournaments. He doesn't just make games, he plays them expertly, too."
"I guess there's no way for Kenichiro to win, then," I said.
"That's right. The only way he could stand a chance is if maybe they were forced to play on that heretical engine of yours," said Fujita.
I laughed.
"The rules are simple," announced Sakurai. "I will be playing with two characters, Kenichiro-san will be using one. If either of my fighter's health falls to zero, I will lose the match."
"Two characters?" I asked. "Doesn't that mean Sakurai-san has an unfair advantage?"
"No," said Fujita. "Two characters mean his focus is divided into protecting and controlling both of them. Sakurai-san is actually playing with a handicap."
Sakurai picked Kirby and Mario. Kenichiro chose Link. They started on Dream Land, which now had the expressive Wispy Woods tree that would blow combatants away with its wind. I worked on coding it. It would be exciting to see in action.
The match started, and Link was surrounded on both sides. Mario rolled behind Link, threw him backwards towards Kirby, who then grabbed him and smashed him in a brutal pile driver. Link could barely fight back. His attempts to use the Boomerang were canceled with Mario's Fireballs.
When Link tried to escape, the Wispy Woods blew him towards Mario, who grabbed Link again, threw him backwards against an invisible wall, and comboed him to death.
Kenichiro yelled gutturally upon his defeat. He walked back towards desk, head hanging low. I thought about applauding Sakurai-sama's victory, but the circumstances seemed too somber for it to be appropriate.
"Let this be a warning to all of you," said Sakurai, rubbing his arm. "I am the master controller. If you want to fight me, I'll challenge you to a real fight and show you that you are all weak. All you can do is follow my instructions. All you can do is make code in my image. Any attempts to deviate from my instruction are detrimental to our vision. I understand that you are all stressed. I am not heartless. From now on, I will bring my cat to work to help alleviate our tensions. Understood?"
"Yes," we all replied in unison. We got back to work.
Though Sakurai-sama's raw talent impressed me, I couldn't help but feel bad for Kenichiro. Not just because he had to continue to sleep in his futon, but also because when he played as Link, he seemed so trapped. If he had greater mobility, and could jump over Mario and Kirby, he might have been able to stand a greater chance. As it was, it was as if Sakurai had been banging a slab of hanging meat inside a confined locker.
And then I noticed that Sakurai was walking towards me again. What was he going to ask me this time? Did he suspect me of being unfaithful to his cause?
"Hard at work still, huh Saga-san?" he asked.
"Yes Director, of course," I said.
"What do you do for fun, Saga-san?" he asked. "Besides playing Kirby," he said, smiling.
I blushed. Was I really that predictable? "Well, sometimes I like to read comics."
"Oh, Japanese manga, or American manga?" asked Sakurai.
"Both," I said. "But mostly American. My favorite superhero is Batman."
"Ah, yes, Batman," said Sakurai, laughing. "I once considered him for Smash. But of course, that would've been pretty impossible, I think. Do you know of Catwoman, Saga-san?"
"Yes, of course."
"Yes. Batman's lover, a thief dressed in a cat costume. Do you think a woman like that could ever exist?"
"Maybe," I said, blushing. I briefly imagined myself in a Catwoman costume, sitting in Sakurai's lap, and scratched the thought out of my head. If I thought about it any longer he would notice me turning red.
"Yes, well. Keep up the good work, Saga-san," he said, walking away.
The next day, Sakurai was absent from work. Obviously, I was worried. I tried not to speculate, instead focusing on the assignment that Sakurai had left me. That's what he would've wanted. Some people were goofing off, drinking one too many beers, just as I feared. I wish Sakurai had locked the fridge somehow before he left.
"Did you hear?" said Fujita. "Sakurai-san is absent because he's at the doctor. There's something wrong with his arm."
"Something wrong with his arm!?" I said.
"That's right. From over-working himself. What exactly is wrong with his arm is hard to say, but he should be back tomorrow."
"Oh no," I said. "This is all because Sakurai-san thought we were too weak to share his burden. It's all our fault."
"Don't say that, Saga-san," said Fujita. "You work plenty hard as it is. It's the rest of these slackers who have failed Sakurai-san."
"Maybe…" I said. I couldn't help but feel guilty. "Fujita-san, are you almost done with your task?"
"Yeah, just about."
"Great! Me too. Let's finish quickly. Then we can do some work on Smash Bros. Mini."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. And we can show it to Sakurai tomorrow. He'll be pleasantly surprised!"
"Sounds like a good idea," said Fujita. "Let's try our best."
The next day my eyes scanned for Sakurai frequently. I felt like a delinquent, so distracted from my work, but without the intelligent eyes of Sakurai watching me, I felt like I was losing my drive to work hard. Sakurai-sama was more than just my boss. He was my inspiration. It became clear to me that some members of our family didn't love Sakurai as I did, and in fact hated him. They were just being spoiled children. Yes, Sakurai intimidated me, but as I loved him, I feared him, and those ingredients, in equal measure, to me, meant respect.
And then Sakurai entered. I shot up almost immediately, and I noticed him notice me. He turned to several of the team members saying 'Welcome back,' and then made his way towards me.
"Welcome back, Director," I said, bowing.
"Thank you, Saga-san, it's good to be back," he said.
"I was so worried, Director. When I learned that your arm was injured, I became fearful for the fate of the project. Without your hands, who could shape our vision?"
"Perhaps you could, with your own vision," said Sakurai, laughing. I laughed with him. But then he wrinkled his forehead. "Saga-san… I… Please see me in my office."
My eyes widened. I was terrified. What had I done wrong? Had Sakurai heard of my pet project? Did he think it was a sign of disloyalty? I had to convince him that I meant no harm to the cause. As I followed him, I started spinning excuses in my head, ways to prove that I was faithful to our vision. This short walk felt like a funeral march. How could I have screwed up this chance I had at my dream job? I should have just kept my mouth shut. I tried to suppress my tears.
Finally, we were seated.
"Comfortable, Saga-san?" asked Sakurai.
"Yes…" I said.
"Saga-san… the reason I have called you here, is, well… what do you think of me?"
For him to ask something like that, Sakurai-sama must have thought I insulted his pride. "I think you're a very intelligent man," I said. "And not just smart, but kind, too. You go to great lengths to make us feel like family. You let us bring our futons in to make this place feel like home. You even give us beer so we can relax while we program."
"I don't give you all that beer to help you relax," said Sakurai. "While it's true that alcohol can help a person relax, it also intoxicates them. I use the beer to see whom I can and can't trust. People who drink on the job get menial tasks. People who don't, I could giver tougher assignments, and even ask for input, if they are good enough."
"I see," I said. "That's genius, Director."
"Yes, well… I sometimes wonder if I come across as too harsh," said Sakurai. "I have my reasons, though."
"I believe you, Director."
"Thank you, Saga-san," said Sakurai. "Please, let me ask you something. Why is it so important to you that Kirby flies?"
I was caught off-guard by the question. I was unsure of where this conversation was heading. Was he going to segue into my indiscretion from this topic?
"Well, to me, that's the beauty of Kirby. He's so carefree. When I was a young girl, I was very bad at Mario. No matter how hard I tried, I always died. I would time my jumps poorly, falling into a pit, or jump into an enemy wrong, and lose my power-ups. I thought that I might hate videogames forever," I said. I felt sadness building up inside me, but I kept talking.
"But then I played Kirby of the Stars. Kirby was so cute. A little smiling puff ball. And I would smile while playing the game too, because as Kirby, I could fly as much as I wanted to. Fly above pits. Fly above my enemies. Fly above all my worries and troubles. People would make fun of me, saying 'Oh, she has to play Kirby because she's a girl, so she's bad at videogames.' But I didn't care. Even when I became good enough to beat the Lost Lev—I mean, Super Mario Bros. 2, Kirby was still my favorite. He always will be. So to me, it just feels wrong, seeing him glued to the ground, trapped in an invisible box." I accidentally started crying.
"Saga-san, don't cry," said Sakurai. "I'm sorry to have upset you."
"No, you didn't upset me, Director," I said, wiping away my tears. "My apologies. I lost my composure over an innocent question. What else did you want to ask me?"
"Well, if you don't mind our continued conversation," said Sakurai. "In your opinion, should Kirby be pink, or yellow?"
I was confused. Why would I want Kirby to be yellow? Still, I considered the options. "Pink," I said. "Pink is much cuter."
Sakurai nodded. "Yes, I agree. Not many people know this, but Miyamoto-san actually wanted Kirby to be yellow. He said that yellow signified happiness, which was universal to everyone, but only girls would like pink, because it was too cute. But I disagreed with him. In my opinion, boys love cute things too. They do marry them, after all. What do you think?"
I laughed. "Yes, I agree. Kirby is much better being pink."
"Yes… you see, Saga-san, the truth is, Dragon King was meant to fail," said Sakurai.
"What? What do you mean?"
"I was first hired to work at Nintendo at age nineteen," he said, the same age as me. "I was hailed as a programming genius and prodigy. Although I enjoyed my work at that time, the truth is, Miyamoto-san detested my presence."
"What? How could that be? Surely Miyamoto-san would've been pleased with finding such a talent!" I said.
"Thank you, Saga-san. To be quite honest, I can't say with certainty I know what the cause was. But I believe he was jealous," said Sakurai. "At first, he paid me little mind, but after the success I had with Kirby of the Stars 2, he saw me as a threat to his control over Nintendo. So he assigned me to the fighting game in development hell, Dragon King. He believed it was unsalvageable. He wanted my reputation as genius to be tarnished by its failure."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. How could Miyamoto-san be so cold-hearted to the man who brought us so many smiles with Kirby?
"That's why… that's why I'm so hard on our team, Saga-san," said Sakurai. "It's not that hate them. But we simply cannot fail. Not just for my ego. But for the sake of the art. Miyamoto-san assigning me to this project was a challenge. And I accept his challenge. If I am a god, as people say I am, then I must create a brand new world. Nintendo, and the public, deserves nothing less."
"So then, the engine… is that your new world?" I asked.
"The engine. I chose to base it on Street Fighter II because that's what I'm familiar with. I grew up a Street Fighter champion, and I know for a fact that those games are both popular, and have depth. The truth is, Saga-san, I think the Dragon King engine is wonderful. But even despite my strengths, I am afraid of messing it up."
"Don't be afraid!" I said. "Sakurai-sama, you're a genius." I realized I blurted out the wrong honorific and covered my face in embarrassment.
Sakurai laughed. "It's alright, Saga-san. Don't be ashamed."
"Th-thank you, Director," I stammered. "All I'm saying is, trust your vision. I believe you can make an innovative game from the Dragon King engine. In fact, you might be the only one who can. And you don't have to do it alone. You can trust us. We can help you lift your burden. We all love you and are here to help you."
"Thank you, Saga-san," said Sakurai, smiling. "Your words mean a lot to me. I was wondering, could I perhaps see your code for the modified jump mechanics?"
I was overjoyed. Sakurai didn't come to fire me, he came to ask for my ideas! "I don't have it on my person, I would have to go get it from my computer."
"Go ahead," said Sakurai, smiling. "I'll be waiting."
I ran to my desktop as quickly as I could, inserting a floppy disk and copying the data. I returned and presented my work to Sakurai.
"Let's see it, shall we?" Sakurai inserted the disk into his computer and executed the code.
I saw him select Kirby and begin a match. He jumped. Then, he double-jumped. And then, he was flying! Sakurai laughed.
"This is wonderful," he said. "But Saga-san, tell me, is there a way to keep this, and also keep the combo-oriented gameplay we have now?"
"I was thinking about that," I said. "And we could just give characters aerial attacks. That way they can juggle the opponent and the opponent can fight back."
"Yes," said Sakurai, nodding. "Although it may be odd to have an opponent rebound off the sky. I suppose we should remove the invisible walls altogether, and revert to the Dragon King engine entirely. No more health bars. Ring-outs would be the focus."
"Yes, I think that would be for the best. Street Fighter might be too technical for newcomers. This would make the game easy to access," I said, smiling. "Your judgement is most prudent, Director."
"Your help was much appreciated," said Sakurai, smiling. "You may go back to work now. I will give an announcement tomorrow. The team may be displeased, but I think it's for the best."
I smiled as I took my seat at my computer. My dreams were Sakurai's dreams now. Our hopes were taking flight together. I was dreaming of a new world, a world of Smash Bros. not bound by invisible walls. I looked to my right to tell Fujita the good news, but he was missing.
As I continued to code for the next few hours, Fujita eventually returned, but he was acting strangely. He was a lot more talkative than usual, and kept interrupting me in the middle of my coding. I suppose it was only fair, since I would often chime in when he was working, too. But still, his questions were unexpected.
"Saga-san, do you have any plans for the future?"
"As in my life? I always thought that this was my future," I said, laughing. "I can't think of anything better other than coding under Sakurai-san. I want to be a part of his team forever."
"Right, right… this job is great. But have you ever thought about moving on to something different? What would you do if you lost it?"
I tilted my head back in surprise at the thought. "Lose it? I could never imagine losing this job. That would be horrible. But I suppose I would go on to code for someone else." What would I do? Work for a different gaming company? Squaresoft, maybe? Would I have to go back to America? I shook my head and repressed the thought.
"Everyone should have a back-up plan," said Fujita. "Sometimes that back-up plan should be another person. Someone who could share your burden."
"Oh, I see what you're saying," I said, laughing. "But I would never weigh my family down with my troubles. I've worked very hard to come work here in Japan by myself. I wouldn't fly back to America just to move back in with my parents."
Fujita sighed.
"Is something troubling you?" I asked.
"No, nothing."
At the end of the night, I began to pack away my things. Just as I was about to leave to set up my futon, however, I was approached by one of the team, who told me Sakurai wanted to see me in his office again. What could Sakurai want from me so late at night? It didn't matter, however. As long as I was within these walls, I lived to serve Sakurai-sama.
"Saga-san, thank you for coming," said Sakurai.
"Of course, Director," I said. "What is it that you wanted?"
"Saga-san, for a while now, I've been observing your work ethic, and have been impressed. Your creativity has impressed me, too. But I believe your skillset is suited to a different calling, one different than working for me," said Sakurai.
My heart sank. It occurred to me now that Fujita had not been asking about hypotheticals. He must have heard that I was going to be fired, and was worried about me. What could I have done that would make Sakurai's mood change so fast from pleasure to disappointment? I couldn't take this anymore. My emotions had gone on a rollercoaster ride throughout the day. The best I could do now was try not to embarrass myself a second time in front of Sakurai-sama by crying. Even if it meant he was going to break my heart.
"This is very unorthodox… Forgive me… But Saga-san, what I mean to say is, you're fired. Instead… I would like to hire you for a different position. I would like you to be… my wife. Is that alright?"
"W-What?" I said. "Director, I'm afraid I didn't understand."
"Saga-san, will you marry me?"
I cried. "Yes, of course!" I couldn't believe it. I extended my arms to hold Sakurai-sama, but stopped halfway out of fear of transgressing my boundaries. It didn't matter to Sakurai, though. He hugged me and wiped away my tears. I was afraid that my crying had made me slobbery and undesirable, but Sakurai kissed me anyway. It was the happiest day of my life. It was so late, I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I was now the fiancé of a genius. I couldn't wait to share his burden. Or his cat. Nyan nyan! Maybe I would need that Catwoman costume after all… I blushed and buried my face in his chest. I liked the smell of his sweat. It was the scent of a man with determination.
The next morning I coded with extra enthusiasm, this time, making additions to my improved Dragon King engine. No, not just my Dragon King engine, but me and Sakurai's Dragon King engine. The team's Dragon King engine. This engine was our new vision. Though I was on cloud nine, I was slightly disappointed in myself that a difference in emotion resulted in a difference in my performance. I should have been performing at my best regardless of how felt towards Sakurai-sama at the time.
"Oh, are you working hard today?" asked Fujita.
"Yes, I'm trying my very best," I said.
"I see. I was under the impression that maybe Sakurai-san had come down on you hard for something."
"I thought so too," I said, smiling. "But the reality was just the opposite."
"What do you mean?" said Fujita, raising an eyebrow.
"Hmm… I'm not sure if I should say just yet." I giggled.
"Saga-san, what are you doing?" Sakurai was approaching me.
"Oh! Good morning director. I was just working on Smash Bros."
"Ah. But there will be no more need for that," said Sakurai. "You don't work here anymore. Go out and see the world. You don't have to stay here."
I was confused. Did Sakurai in fact fire me? I was under the impression that he had just used fancy wording to propose to me. If I was fired… what would I do with myself? What would happen to the project? Surely Sakurai-sama needed me to help guide others in our new vision, being the pioneer of the new engine. How would I go see the sights without a job? And for how long could I afford to do so?
"Umm, Director," I said. "I'm afraid I… without this job, I don't know what to do with myself."
"Don't worry, Saga-san," he said. "If you ever find yourself in need, come see me. But for now, go and relax. Maybe read some manga in your apartment. I'm sure you would love to see home after all this time. Go, I insist. I won't stand to see you at a computer."
"Well, alright," I said. "I'll see you later, Director."
"Please," he said, smiling. "You no longer work for me. Call me Masahiro."
I smiled, gathered my things, and left the building.
I returned to my apartment. I had not been there in several days. Though I was home now, I was lonely. Now that I thought about it, maybe I enjoyed working so long because I had the company of my fellow programmers. My apartment was spare, aside from the mini-fridge full of American drinks like Mountain Dew, some instant ramen, comics, and my computer.
I didn't watch to touch the computer. I had intended to use it for at-home programming. But now that I no longer worked for Sakurai, seeing it put a bad taste in my mouth. What had become a machine to express my freedom and creativity now felt like a reminder that I was… becoming trapped. I didn't even want to play videogames on it. Emulating Kirby, Mario, or Zelda would just remind me of Smash Bros.
I tried to read some Batman comics, but even that now reminded me of Sakurai. It was no use trying to be comfortable here. I returned to the development building, but soon wish I hadn't.
"Welcome to the newest iteration of Dairantou Smash Bros.," said Sakurai, looking towards the display. "We have now successfully added simultaneous button-input attacks. With this newest addition to the engine, Smash Bros. has now become more technical than ever before. I hope you will all join me in celebrating this added depth. Soon we will overtake even Street Fighter II as the game of fighting gamers' choice."
I felt devastated. Sakurai had not used any of the work that I had done. The team didn't care. I don't even know if he had made them aware of my contributions. By the time it was over, they were all smiling and nodding to each other enthusiastically. Sakurai saw me and approached me.
"Oh, Saga-san, back so soon?" he said. "Look. I have added a whole new layer to Smash Bros. Isn't my vision wonderful?"
I saw Kirby and Mario firmly planted to the ground like a pair of stubborn anchors. Though I nodded, my heart was broken. These weren't the characters that I had grown to love. This ultra-competitive spirit wasn't just anti-Nintendo, it was anti-fun.
Though I was no longer part of the team, Sakurai did not force me to leave the building. Though I loved him, I had to show him he was wrong. I had to plan treason. I waited for the night to fall so he would retreat to his quarters. Once he was gone, I made my way to my former computer. Though no longer used, it still had my Post-It notes, and with any luck, the floppy disk with my data. With Sakurai gone, I would be free to grab it. Once it was in my possession, I could take the engine home to finish at my leisure.
I took a seat. Nothing was going to stop me. But then I heard footsteps quickly approach me, and a shadow passed through my peripheral vision. I jolted upright. Had I been found out?
No, it was just Fujita. But… he was slightly bent over, his head nodding.
"Saga-san… what are you doing so late at night?" he asked.
"Oh, nothing, really," I said, struggling to come up with a lie.
"What could a fired girl be doing at a time like this?"
"I… I just felt nostalgic."
"Hmm. Well. Saga-san. Marry me."
What!? Where was this coming from? I had no idea Fujita even felt that way about me. Though I respected him as a colleague, and accepted him as a member of my family, my heart belonged to Sakurai. His behavior was disconcerting.
"Soraya-chan. Marry me. What can an unemployed single woman do by herself?" he sputtered. "You won't be able to take care of yourself. You need a man to take care of you. That man can be me. Marry me, Soraya-chan. Marry me."
I was frightened. It occurred to me that Fujita must have been drunk. Grabbing my floppy disk, I took off as quickly as I could, praying that he wouldn't remember this encounter the next morning.
That night, I cried as I coded. I had to finish the engine to show to Sakurai tomorrow. No, to everyone. It wasn't just about my vision. It was what the art demanded. It was what Kirby and Mario and Link and Pikachu deserved. If Sakurai couldn't understand my vision, then so be it. I would have to leave him over our irreconcilable differences. But I wasn't going to quit without trying. Playing Kirby served as the training wheels for me to beat harder games. And now, this would be my hardest game of all.
"The Director would like to make a special presentation," I announced the following morning. "Built upon all of the team's work up until now, we would like to present the overhauled, revolutionized Dairantou Smash Bros. engine."
The team started to murmur amongst themselves. They were confused. I was standing without Sakurai, but I saw him quickly approaching me. I inserted the floppy disk into the computer and executed the program before he could stop me.
"Saga-san, what is the meaning of this?" I could tell he was upset. He felt that I was undermining him, I knew it. And he wasn't wrong to think so. But "Just wait and see," I said. I selected two computers, Mario and Kirby, and started the match.
"No, this has to end now," said Sakurai. But as the fight began, our team gasped and oohed at Smash Bros.' new, free-floating physics, percentage-based damage meters, stock lives, and aerial combo system. Sakurai watched in amazement.
"Look," I said, tears in my eyes. "Look. Kirby's flying."
Mario jumped and punched Kirby off the stage in mid-air. "Don't lose your way, Kirby!" said Sakurai. "Jump back! You must recover!"
When the match ended, Kirby emerged victorious. The team burst into applause. And not just the team, but Sakurai too. I couldn't believe it. I had won them over.
"Let us all give Director Sakurai a big round of applause," I said. "Without his vision, we would have all worked aimlessly and accomplished nothing."
"No," said Sakurai. "This game was made possible by Saga-san. And not just her, but all of you. Thank you so much for all of your efforts in coming this far helping me with Dairantou Smash Bros. I see now that this game doesn't belong to just me, but to all of you."
The team clapped. I cried. Sakurai held me in his arms.
After the day was over, Sakurai called me to his office again. I was neither happy, nor sad, nor scared. I had accomplished what I set out to do. I honored Kirby. I honored the art. I wasn't sure what Sakurai could do to me. He couldn't fire me any further. Had I shamed him enough to call off our marriage? It didn't matter. Though I loved him, I also loved programming. I felt that I had fulfilled my obligation as a programmer and artist. The office chair could have been made of rocks. But the sense of solace and satisfaction that I now possessed was comfort enough.
"Soraya, there is so much I have to say to you," said Sakurai. "I don't know where to start… when I first hired you, I didn't know the stereotype of American rudeness would be so true. Over the course of your employment, you gave me many reasons to fire you."
"Yes."
"Yet, to be quite honest, I was refreshed. Perhaps it was because you worked so hard, that I took your words to heart. I grew fond of you. And I still am very fond of you. But I must confess, Soraya, you committed two grievous sins that forced me to expel you from the team."
"I understand."
"The first was that you subverted half of my team during formal work hours without my notice to work on your project. Though you had a good idea, it wasn't your place to take action without my permission. You betrayed our vision. Secondly, you openly undermined my reputation in front of my employees when coaxing them to work for you, saying that you knew better than I did."
I was confused. "Director— I mean, Masahiro, I did no such thing. The only person who knew of my code was Fujita-san. I admit, I enlisted him to help me. But only after we were done with our duties. And even then, I never spoke ill of you to him."
"Fujita-san?" said Sakurai. "Oh… oh. I see now. That explains it."
"What's that?"
"Soraya, forgive me. Fujita-san is the one who reported you to me, suggesting your removal," said Sakurai. "I… I was foolish to take him at face value without investigating the matter further. I was just so upset at the thought of being insulted I made a snap decision."
"It's alright, Masahiro. You made a mistake."
"No, it's not alright. You approached me with a brilliant idea, and I stripped you of your livelihood for it, all because of the words of a jealous man. You're a brilliant programmer, Soraya. I daresay I could even learn a few things from you," he said, laughing.
I laughed too.
"Soraya… I will restore you to the Smash Bros. project immediately. I will have to speak to Fujita-san. But Soraya, I want you to work with me on projects beyond Smash Bros.," he said.
"What do you mean?" my excitement was growing.
"I mean, someday, I'm going to stop working as a part of Nintendo. When I do, I will start my own company. I want you to be its co-founder."
"Of course!" I yelled happily. "What will we call it?"
"How about Sora?"
Sakurai laughed, and I laughed with him.