Physics & Romance is a newly released romance game. Its excellent animation and unexpected storylines have attracted the attention of many people, making it one of the most popular games in recent days.
It is said that more than 100,000 college students were invited to complete surveys for this game when it was being developed, and that all the options are based on real situations and events.
Of course, this isn't my point. The main reason I'm mentioning this is that Sora Ichinose is playing this game in front of me right now.
[Sora Ichinose]Hmm, I failed again...
After the words "Game Over" start flashing on the screen, Sora puts down the console and scratches his head in frustration. It's clear that this isn't the first time he got a bad ending.
[player]I never expected you to be interested in a romance game, Sora. I thought you would like sci-fi games more.
[Sora Ichinose]Knowing what's popular in the market gives me more topics to talk about when communicating with other people.
[player]Haha, in a way, the fact that "Physics & Romance" has kinda won over your approval has made me a little curious about it.
[Sora Ichinose]PLAYER, you haven't tried this game yet?
Sora raises his head suddenly and looks at me with eyes full of pleasant surprise. I've only seen this look before when he was solving complicated mathematical olympiad problems.
[player]Yeah, I've only seen the trailers and some interviews with the dev team. I don't really know any details.
[Sora Ichinose]Umm... Would you like to play it together?
[player]Eh? But isn't it a single-player game?!
Sora sighs deeply and opens his notebook with some embarrassment. The pages are filled with records of bad endings Sora achieved while playing the game, and there are far more than I ever imagined.
[Sora Ichinose]To improve my experience, I investigated many games of the same type before I started playing it. I even did research on the trailers, CG pictures, game guides, and player comments and made a special form for this purpose.
[Sora Ichinose]The problem I'm facing now is that... I can't seem to clear the game even though I have so much data.
[player]If you want a happy ending, isn't the fastest way to search for guides online?
[Sora Ichinose]But then the meaning of "observation and interaction" would be lost... Since there's no problem with the game itself, I can only try to find other ways to clear the game. If you play it, you could provide me with a different data sample.
[player]I'm afraid you're the only person in One Han City who would treat a romance game as data analysis. Anyway, the mahjong room is full right now, which means I probably won't get a seat anytime soon, so I guess I might as well play with you for a while.
After hearing my affirmative reply, Sora immediately frees up the seat beside him and motions for me to sit down. Then he eagerly presses the "Start Over" option.
The screen of the console dims before becoming bright again, taking me and Sora into a dark alley where a chubby boy is surrounded by people and is clutching the straps of his schoolbag helplessly.
[Delinquent A]Heh, fatty, who are you trying to avoid by sneaking out through the back door of the school?
[Delinquent B]I'm tight on money recently, so lend me your pocket money! Hahahahaha!
[player]Pause! If I remember correctly, isn't "Physics & Romance" set in a university ? What's with these junior high school delinquents?
[Sora Ichinose]This is the prologue animation of the game. While he was in elementary school, the protagonist met the heroine by chance when he was being blackmailed by delinquents. After they reunite at their university, the protagonist starts to pursue the heroine. That's what it says in the game description.
[player]I see, so this means a "dude in distress" scene is coming up.
As soon as I finish speaking, a girl wearing the same school uniform appears on the screen. She quickly walks inside the encirclement and stands in front of the protagonist like his protector.
[???]Stop! I won't let you bully other people!
[Delinquent A]Where did this pipsqueak come from? Someone throw her outta here!
[???]I've already called the teacher! The teacher is rushing over here now. Those who bully others will have to write a self-criticism note as punishment!
[Delinquent B]Hah! Who are you trying to scare? Do you even know how to spell "self-criticism?"
[Delinquent A]I think someone really is coming this way. I don't want things to blow up. Darn, what a bummer.
[Delinquent B]It's your lucky day! Pipsqueak, I'll remember this! You better pray that you don't run into me again.
[Delinquent A]Hey, stop wasting time. We gotta get outta here.
After the delinquents leave, there are suddenly only two people left in the alley. The sky starts to rain at the right time, covering the image with a layer of fog. The little girl turns around and extends an olive branch to the boy.
[???]Are you okay? Can you still stand? ... Don't worry, I've scared off the baddies. No one will bully you now. What's your name?
The beautiful scene comes to an abrupt end, and a box appears in the center of the screen: Please enter a character name.
Sora uses the joystick skillfully and moves the cursor to the randomize button next to the box. Recalling his original intention for inviting me to play the game together, I decide to play my role as his helper conscientiously.
[player]Sora, don't you want to enter your name?
[Sora Ichinose]Huh?
[player]Gal games aren't like other games. Entering your own name will make the experience more immersive. If you change how you see this game, maybe you'll be able to find the key to clearing the game.
[Sora Ichinose]There's no data to support your theory, but I think your idea's worth a try.
Sora makes "Sora Ichinose" walk back and forth on the screen. I can't help but smile when I see his childish behavior. As if he could read my thoughts, Sora coughs lightly to relieve the embarrassment.
[Sora Ichinose]It really does feel like a new experience... Ahem, I was right to ask you to help me.
[player]Come on, the game just started. It's too early to say something like that. Let's talk to the heroine. She looks really impatient already.
["Sora Ichinose"]I'm... My name is Sora Ichinose.
[???]Sora Ichinose? What a lovely name. Don't walk home alone late at night next time. It's very dangerous.
["Sora Ichinose"]You... Are you leaving?
The girl is completely oblivious to how heroic she was just then. She waves her hand lightly and skips as she prepares to leave the alley.
["Sora Ichinose"]Wait...! What's your name?
[???]Ryuushi—My name is Ryuushi—
Her voice travels through the air from afar through the pattering of the rain, sounding unreal and like something from a dream. If he wasn't holding the umbrella she gave him, he would've thought that everything that just happened was his own fantasy.
["Sora Ichinose"]Ryuu...shi? Doesn't that sound just like the particles the teacher taught us about in physics class? What a strange name. But... thank you... I think we'll meet again.
Rat-tat-tat—
After the prologue ends, I can hear the sound of Sora's finger tapping the table clearly. He is tilting his head, and confusion fills his blue eyes.
[Sora Ichinose]I don't get it.
[player]What do you mean?
[Sora Ichinose]Why did the heroine step forward to save him alone? According to the character introduction in the game introduction, she is neither a martial arts master nor from a family of Taekwondo experts. Any junior high school student can push her to the ground. Wouldn't the situation be even more dangerous then?!
Although the "dude in distress" trope is quite clichéd, it often symbolizes the beginning of a bond in TV series, novels, and games. The question Sora asked was from an angle I never considered.
After thinking about it for a while, I decide to listen to his thoughts first.
[player]What would you do?
[Sora Ichinose]Well, if it was me... I would definitely choose a way that can ensure everyone's safety, such as asking others for help. Since the delinquents were junior high school students, a classmate might not be able to provide much practical help. In this situation, it's safer to ask a teacher for help.
After pausing, he elaborates further.
[Sora Ichinose]A P.E. teacher would be best.
Listening to Sora's description, my brain draws a specific scene for me by itself.
Surrounded by a crowd, the protagonist is trembling in a corner. Heavy footsteps travel over from the alley at this time, announcing the arrival of a burly P.E. teacher who appears before the crowd and chases away the wicked delinquents.
Facing the teacher who saved him, the protagonist is so moved that he vows to repay the teacher's help by studying hard. Soon after, the protagonist takes home the trophy of the mathematical olympiad, bringing glory to his school.
Eh? Why has the story become so motivational? Isn't this a romance game?!
[player]Sora, you're not wrong, but there are moments when people can't be absolutely rational. When this happens, they will step forward without hesitation even if they know what will happen.
[Sora Ichinose]*Coughs* Will you also do the same?
[player]Of course! Humans are complex and contradictory by nature.
Sora hasn't been able to spend much time with others due to his physical condition, so I completely understand his doubts right now. I wanted to help him understand the heroine's actions through my explanation, but Sora has obviously misunderstood something.
[Sora Ichinose]I understand, so PLAYER likes to interact with others in this way.
[player]Not exactly...
The console that has been neglected for a while starts playing brisk background music suddenly, interrupting my explanation and diverting Sora's attention back to the game.
It'll seem too deliberate if I continue explaining that topic now. Forget it, I'll explain it to him again later.
A university campus filled with the exuberant aura of youth appears in front of us. The breeze blows petals into the window of the library, making the sunlight look even softer.
Sora Ichinose keeps moving back and forth between the bookshelves. It's rare that the professor didn't arrange any after-class experiment today, so he decided to come to the library to take out an important textbook. As he gets closer and closer to his target, he reaches out excitedly...
However, at the very instant he touches the book, another hand grabs the book's spine. "Sora Ichinose" looks in the direction of the other hand and sees a familiar face.
Ryuushi—a familiar name pops up in his mind. Despite the changes to her face, one glance is all he needs to recognize the girl from back then.
["Ryuushi"]Sorry! I didn't see you just then. I didn't do that on purpose.
["Sora Ichinose"]...It's you.
["Ryuushi"]Excuse me? Have we... met before?
The girl on the other side looks over in confusion, totally unaware of the turbulence waving in his heart. Fate is such a marvelous thing—she rescued him in that moonlit alley back then, and now, ten years later, he has reunited with this person who has made a place in his heart in this brightly lit library.
["Sora Ichinose"]The force of attraction related to the product of the distance between any two objects or particles and their masses is called gravity.
["Ryuushi"]What?
["Sora Ichinose"]Oh, it's nothing. I just thought of something suddenly.
["Ryuushi"]Do you also study physics? Haha, what a coincidence! Can I borrow this book first? Please! The monthly exam is next week, and I really need this book.
The game freezes on the girl's cute gesture of putting her hands together, and two options pop up on the screen—"Let her borrow the book" and "Insist on borrowing the book yourself".
Recalling the number of failures recorded in Sora's notebook, I get ready to give him some advice when I see that he has chosen the first of the two options.
On the screen, the girl takes the book and thanks the protagonist gratefully. The game uses an obvious pink arrow to remind us that her feelings for the protagonist have improved.
[player]Sora, I think you're actually playing pretty well. Why weren't you able to clear the game even once?
[Sora Ichinose]Some parts of the game have been designed unreasonably, so it's normal for there to be some deviations in my calculations.
[player]Unreasonable? What do you mean?
[Sora Ichinose]According to my investigations on games of the same genre, I have to choose "Let her borrow the book" to continue the story, but this is obviously wrong. Compared with the small amount of Affinity gained, the other option lets you gain 50 Knowledge Points... What a shame.
[player]Points? Knowledge Points? What's that?
His words don't make any sense to me, someone who had only watched trailers of this game before, so I can't help interrupting him. He opens the character interface and patiently answers my question.
[Sora Ichinose]In addition to height, weight, and other basic information, Physics & Romance also has other stats such as Knowledge, Agility, and Stamina Points.
[Sora Ichinose]Each stat plays a different role in the subsequent story. For example, Agility increases the chance that players will trigger special tasks, and Stamina increases the duration of some limited-time tasks.
[player]What about the Knowledge Points you just mentioned? What do they do?
[Sora Ichinose]Knowledge is one of the more important attributes. According to the game's setting, the heroine admires straight-A students, so if your character confesses their love to her when you have 200 Knowledge Points...
[player]Is it needed to clear the game?
[Sora Ichinose]To be precise, the chance of clearing the game in the subsequent story reaches 80.75%.
The data he calculates is accurate to two decimal places. How strict!
[player]Let me see... The character currently has 150 "Knowledge Points." If you got that book... Oh! It's such a pity when I think about it now!
[Sora Ichinose]I've already recorded this point. I'll email this feedback to the game developers later. I hope they'll improve this.
This is a commonly used method to increase the interaction between the male and female protagonists in romance games, but... looking at Sora who is carefully making records, I think it will take this child a while to understand this.
After last time's "book-borrowing" incident, "Ryuushi" and "Sora" become acquainted quickly and become good friends.
["Ryuushi"]Ahhhh! Who is it?! I just respawned at the altar—
The girl screams while holding a mobile phone and rolls into a ball angrily on a sofa in the student council's room. On the gray screen, the scene of a character being killed with one hit is replaying.
Recently, other than attending classes and doing experiments, "Ryuushi" has been practicing hard on her mobile phone to try and become an expert who can defeat all her enemies in a game.
["Ryuushi"]This is too much! Is this really a beginner match?!
["Sora Ichinose"]Is this why you aren't participating in club activities? Why have you suddenly become addicted to playing games?
["Ryuushi"]Don't you know? The school announced a new gaming competition last week.
["Sora Ichinose"]I did hear my classmates talk about it, but... what's that have to do with you?
["Ryuushi"]Of course it has something to do with me!
The girl pulls out a promotional poster of the gaming competition from the drawer and points at a line of words on it, indicating that "Sora" take a closer look at it.
["Sora Ichinose"]The first prize is... a lab access card?!
["Ryuushi"]That's right! With this access card, we can use the physics lab whenever we want to while we're at university, and there's no time restriction!
["Ryuushi"]To people like us who are crazy about doing experiments, this is the best reward ever! When I win first place, I'm definitely going to send a Catchat message to celebrate!
["Sora Ichinose"]Let me see. 0-13-2... What place did you say you were going to take before you would send that Catchat message?
["Ryuushi"]Hey! How can you say something that cold when your mouth has a temperature of 36°C? I've been practicing really hard, but my hands seem to have a mind of their own.
As if to prove her point, the girl raises her hands and wiggles them to the left and right.
["Sora Ichinose"]Do you really want to win this prize?
["Ryuushi"]Of course! I'll do anything to get it.
["Sora Ichinose"]Haha! You don't really need to make such a big sacrifice. I've got a better way to help you.
[player]Huh?
As expected, the game offers two options again. Sora and I look at each other with some uncertainty and confusion.
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