[Ed. note: Read along from top-right to lower-left! And, this month, click here to answer the fan survey mentioned below!]

※ [Any Given Day of Any Given Month at Onion Games]

※ *typing furiously*

※ *drawing furiously*

※ *typing furiously*

※ *typing furiously*

※ *typing furiously*

※ *typing furiously*

※ *typing furiously*

※ *everyone typing furiously*
※ Nice one!

[This diary entry was first published in our free newsletter, The Secret Onion Cellar. Want to receive development diaries just like this, along with the latest news and behind-the-scenes information on everything happening here at Onion Games? Click here to subscribe, and you’ll also get a FREE MINI GAME, music samplers, downloadable art & more!]

[Ed. note: Read along from top-right to lower-left! And, this month, click here to answer the fan survey mentioned below!]

※ Hey newsletter subscribers! What’s the most important thing in game development?

※ *ahem* It’s health!
※ Uh-huhh…
[Beautiful PR Manager Ms. Tsukiyono]

※ Every morning, take an hour-long walk!
※ Track your heart rate with a smart-watch!

※ Give those shoulders a stretch!
※ Don’t drink alcohol on weekdays!

※ Heh heh heh… Give caffeine the boot.
※ Get at least 7 hours of sleep a day!

※ Game development is an arduous process…
※ It’s like a long-distance marathon—

※ …Hang on, when have you ever run a marathon?
That’s really your analogy?
[PR Manager who ran a 42.195km (26.219 mile) marathon for fun]

※ Guess so! Jus’ lemme!
※ Nice one!
※ Is it though?

[This diary entry was first published in our free newsletter, The Secret Onion Cellar. Want to receive development diaries just like this, along with the latest news and behind-the-scenes information on everything happening here at Onion Games? Click here to subscribe, and you’ll also get a FREE MINI GAME, music samplers, downloadable art & more!]

[Ed. note: Read along from top-right to lower-left! And, this month, click here to answer the fan survey mentioned below!]

※ [In Which the Development Team Holds Its Spring Meat Festival]
※ Sometimes, you just need a break…
※ Let’s drink to meat and making games!
※ [Everyone] Bottoms upppp!
※ [March 2024, a certain day, a certain southeastern region]

※ Meat! Meat! Meat! Nothing but meat!
※ We ate a ton, and drank a ton!
※ And the drunken chit-chat blossomed!

※ Like Taniguchi-san’s ramen experience!
※ I jusht love ramen so mush!

※ And Adachi-san’s Netflix story!
※ Anything good on there?
※ Uhhh, I don’t remember♪

※ Luck-san’s wild art theory babbling!
※ Adding randomness to long-established practice is a waste of time!
※ What does that even mean…

※ And Mr. Kimura’s romantic gossip…
※ Young people! Fall in looooove!

※ And so, the Onions wiled away that spring night…

※ Well, the break has come to an end! Tomorrow let’s all get back to work!
※ Nice one!

[This diary entry was first published in our free newsletter, The Secret Onion Cellar. Want to receive development diaries just like this, along with the latest news and behind-the-scenes information on everything happening here at Onion Games? Click here to subscribe, and you’ll also get a FREE MINI GAME, music samplers, downloadable art & more!]

[Ed. note: Read along from top-right to lower-left! And, this month, click here to answer the fan survey mentioned below!]

※ Long-term projects are a battle of the will…
※ Quiet your mind… quiet your mind…

※ There are times I feel extremely stressed,
but then I think back on certain scenes…

[December 2023: End-of-year Tidying]
※ Time to get this place into shape!
Let’s rearrange so everyone can get together!

※ The memory of that day gives me strength…
※ I’ll move the desks!
※ I’ve got the windows!
※ I got good snacks for the party!

※ I’ll tackle the steel shelves!
※ Let’s squeeze all of this together!
※ Let me handle the vaccuuming!
※ I’ll scrub the toilets…

※ Whoa… everyone’s working so hard…

※ This team is so strong, everyone finds exactly the thing they need to do…
※ We can fly so fast…

※ Let’s all do what we do best…
※ Let’s get that into the game…

※ OK, everyone, let’s have fun making the rest of this game!
※ We will!
※ Nice one!

[This diary entry was first published in our free newsletter, The Secret Onion Cellar. Want to receive development diaries just like this, along with the latest news and behind-the-scenes information on everything happening here at Onion Games? Click here to subscribe, and you’ll also get a FREE MINI GAME, music samplers, downloadable art & more!]

[Ed. note: Read along from top-right to lower-left! And, this month, click here to answer the fan survey mentioned below!]

※ There’s… no way I can finish it “this winter”…
I totally failed at scheduling backwards…

[Dusk, January 2024]
※ To whom it may concern: the players, the staff, Nintendo-san…
I am truly so sorry…

※ There’s just… not enough time…

[Beautiful PR Manager Ms. Tsukiyono]
※ For indie devs, “time” is the same as “budget”, right?
Why not have another look at the budget and sales forecasts?

※ Sales forecasts, how terrifying… I’m too scared to even think about it!
※ A lot of players are looking forward to it!

※ Or maybe… no one’s looking forward to it…

[Emergency Meeting]
※ What about a fancy special edition?
※ What about a soundtrack?
※ What about figures?

※ AAAAAHHHHH! NO TO EVERYTHING! I don’t even know if anyone will want to buy those things!!

※ I guess… I’ll just have to ask people directly…

※ Everyone! Commence Operation: Customer Survey!
※ Nice one!

[This diary entry was first published in our free newsletter, The Secret Onion Cellar. Want to receive development diaries just like this, along with the latest news and behind-the-scenes information on everything happening here at Onion Games? Click here to subscribe, and you’ll also get a FREE MINI GAME, music samplers, downloadable art & more!]

[Ed. note: Read along from top-right to lower-left!]

※ Looking back, this year has been a difficult one…
※ Let’s make all the animation and sound perfect for the first part of the game!

※ Okay!

※ The sound effects are ready!
※ The battle music is ready!
※ We threw in some forest music, too!

※ Next up: optimizing the Switch version…

[March 2023]
※ The test build is ready!
※ Measuring processing speed! Optimization is go!

[Summer 2023]
※ How about the submarine section?
※ On it right now!
※ Way ahead of you!

[September 2023]
※ Then I’m all-in getting to work on the story!
※ I’m on fire!

[December 2023]
※ Wait… what? There’s still so much that needs doing!

※ The year might be over, but… the fight must go on! I have to do it!
※ I’ll take a little new year’s break and get back at it until it’s finished!

※ Do it!

※ Thank you so much for all your support this year. We look forward to seeing you in the new year!
※ Nice one!

[This diary entry was first published in our free newsletter, The Secret Onion Cellar. Want to receive development diaries just like this, along with the latest news and behind-the-scenes information on everything happening here at Onion Games? Click here to subscribe, and you’ll also get a FREE MINI GAME, music samplers, downloadable art & more!]

[Ed. note: Read along from top-right to lower-left!]

※ Every Thursday at 8:00 p.m., at a certain place in Tokyo…
A secret meeting about music is held…
※ [Thelonious Monkee, Masanori Adachi] OK.
※ [Thelonious Monkee, Hirofumi Taniguchi] Let’s get to it.

※ So, for this scene… We’ll need a song with a normal, lonesome feeling.
※ Sure, what do you mean by “lonesome”?
What is “normal”?

※ [Unintelligible anguish]

※ And, for this scene… it’s important to capture a sense of adventure.
※ You mean, it’s a musical representation of the player’s point of view?

※ [Unintelligible anguish]

※ And so, the Q&A session comes to an end…
But then…

※ Small-talk time begins!

※ The Beatles’ new song…
※ Strength training is so good!
※ Doesn’t it seem like more famous people have been dying lately?
※ We’re all going to die someday, aren’t we?
※ Hahahaha!
※ What? We’re spending more time chatting than working??
※ Hahahaha!
※ Well, everything’s gonna work out.

※ Every Thursday night rolls by just like so…
※ Nice one!

[This diary entry was first published in our free newsletter, The Secret Onion Cellar. Want to receive development diaries just like this, along with the latest news and behind-the-scenes information on everything happening here at Onion Games? Click here to subscribe, and you’ll also get a FREE MINI GAME, music samplers, downloadable art & more!]

[Ed. note: Read along from top-right to lower-left!]

※[Beautiful PR Manager Ms. Tsukiyono] So, apparently, we made 2% progress on the game last month… What does that actually mean?
※ Ah, well… you see—

※ RUN AWAY!

※ Boss! That way!
※ It’s an escape route!

※ Phew!

※ *SLAM*
※ Huh?

※ *CLICK*
※ Heheheh…

※ Please forgive us, boss!

※ Heh heh heh heh… Until the game is finished, you’re not going anywhere!

※ And so the videogame-making Uncle retreated into the vault… where he lived happily ever after.
※ Nice one?

[This diary entry was first published in our free newsletter, The Secret Onion Cellar. Want to receive development diaries just like this, along with the latest news and behind-the-scenes information on everything happening here at Onion Games? Click here to subscribe, and you’ll also get a FREE MINI GAME, music samplers, downloadable art & more!]

[Ed. note: Read along from top-right to lower-left!]

※ Kimura-san, what do you mean when you say “this winter”?
※ uh.

※ Is it the end of December?
※ uhh.

※ January is winter! February is winter! March is winter!
※ No! March is already spring!

※ Uhhhhhh… it’s winter until the cherry blossoms bloom… it’s winter until the cherry blossoms bloom…

※ Captain! Something on the radar! No! My god!

※ Something—a huge meteorite! It’s headed straight toward earth!

※ No! The meteor is on a collision course! The impact will cause a new ice age! That means… permanent winter!

※ [Barfly Kurashima] Oooh thish winter s’gonna be a long one…
※We’re about 72% of the way to completion of the game, or global extinction!
※ Nice one!

[This diary entry was first published in our free newsletter, The Secret Onion Cellar. Want to receive development diaries just like this, along with the latest news and behind-the-scenes information on everything happening here at Onion Games? Click here to subscribe, and you’ll also get a FREE MINI GAME, music samplers, downloadable art & more!]

[Ed. note: Read along from top-right to lower-left!]

※ Ohhh… oh man…

※ I finally released the first screenshots of my new game!
※ And in such a big way!

※ Everyone in the whole world has seen it now!
※ But… I’m still working on it!

※ You know, I feel like it’s really starting to come together lately!
※ ……

※ Right… okay… OK!! We can’t slow down now, we have to buckle down even harder! The end goal is still far away! We have to!
※ We have to!

※[Public Relations Manager Ms. Tsuskyono] By the way… How has development been going? What’s the actual percentage?
※ [sneaking away slowly]

※ [said in my authentic usual way] I bet I could guessh!
It’sh about 70%, probablyyy!

※ Good one!

[This diary entry was first published in our free newsletter, The Secret Onion Cellar. Want to receive development diaries just like this, along with the latest news and behind-the-scenes information on everything happening here at Onion Games? Click here to subscribe, and you’ll also get a FREE MINI GAME, music samplers, downloadable art & more!]