I heard that sales of AI: The Somnium Files were low and now I'm worried if it will have any impact on the future works of Kotaro Uchikoshi. Does anyone have any news regarding this?
I really like flowcharts. I've loved them ever since the ZE trilogy and AI used this feature. It's a shame it hasn't really caught on with Japanese VN devs yet. I can see why it hasn't for OELVN devs since Ren'py doesn't really have said function natively. The only non Uchikoshi games that have flowcharts are Raging Loop (Haven't played but interested) and the vita version of FSN. School Days kinda has it but you can't jump to scenes with it. It's only there to show the player where they are in the story.
Last night a handful of game pages for the Apple Arcade were leaked, with one of those games being World's End Club, featuring some familiar characters and descriptions for those who have been keeping up with Too Kyo Games's endeavors.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/worlds-end-club/id1486537612#?platform=appleTV
This isn't some fake page or anything either, it's copyrighted and sold by Izanagi Games, the developers for the game, and has a trailer, new screenshots, and a bunch of info that matches the game, so it appears to be a rebranding of Death March Club announced 2 years ago. Here's what the page description has:
> Twelve 12-year old kids go on a 1,200 km journey.
> A new type of action-adventure game that fuses a thrilling story with 2D side-scrolling action.
> A "dream team" adventure game with scenario written by Zero Escape series creator, Kotaro Uchikoshi, and Danganronpa's Kazutaka Kodaka as creative director.
> γ»Game features > - Simple controls > - A fusion of 2D scrolling puzzle-action game and story-adventure game > - Key player choices alter the course of the adventure throughout the branching story > - 12 unique and interesting characters! > - Famous locations all over Japan > - The story unfolds inβ¦ unexpected ways
> γ»Summary > In an elementary school in Tokyo, there's a club called the "Go-Getters Club", made up from oddball kids from all over Japan. Reycho and the other members are somehow different than the other kids around them. > Then, one day, during the summer... > While on the bus for their class trip, they get into an accident.
> When they wake up, they're in a theme park under the sea. > Reycho and the others are trapped inside this strange, long-abandoned place. > Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a mysterious clown appears and orders them to play a "Fate Game"! > Before any of them can figure out what's happening, they're fighting for their very lives. > Will they be able to survive and make it out of this weird place? > The kids are all lost and confused... > But then, extraordinary powers begin to awaken within them. > While at the same time⦠> "Abnormal events" are occurring all over the Earth.
Some new info is featured in this page, such as touring Japanese landmarks and having to track 12,000 kilometers over the course of the story. The trailer also features some monsters that you may need to bypass over the course of the platforming segments,
... keep reading on reddit β‘I consider Kotaro Uchikoshi to be one of the greatest video game writers of all time, and I know he co-founded the studio. Does anyone know if he had a part in the development/writing of Death Come True?
I love Uchikoshi's ideas and mindbending twists, but while currently re-reading Remember 11 (the last VN they worked together at) after having beaten AI:TSF I realized how much Nakazawa's colorful writing style adds to the equation. There is a certain surreal feeling to his style of descriptive text and inner monologue that I think is missing from Uchikoshi's solo works. Here a short segment from R11 to showcase what I mean:
"The bell of the clock tower echoed solemnly... I checked my wristwatch. Just about 4 o'clock -- The clock tower told the time with not a minute of deviation. A metallic sound that was like the coarse voice of an aged man alerted me of the hour at hand. The snow danced violently to the sound of the bell as raging winds stirred it. An infinite number of angels dancing and rejoicing at the advent of a great gospel."
After both parted ways it feels like there is something missing from both of their works. But it's really hard to put a finger on it. While I think Uchikoshi is much better at planning out storylines and weaving everything together to make everything "snap" together at some point, he was never that good at descriptive inner monologue and depicting the psychological mindsets of his characters. Nakazawa on the other hand is not a good planner as can be seen in his first solo work after the Infinity series, I/O. While I think his writing was still excellent and I/O takes the surreal aspects of R11's best moments and multiplies them tenfold (the I/O prologue is still the among the best showcases of Nakazawa's style), the overall work feels too confusing and patched together.
Well either way, I really wish they would team up again. And having Takeshi Abo as composer again would be a dream come true for me.
Evidence:
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Both are Japanese game directors known for writing games that are subversive meta-commentaries on video games as an art form utilizing the player as a character in themselves
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Both are known for writing stories with huge twists that make players scratch their heads until coming up with an explanation that kinda makes sense and then going with that when people ask them what the eff just happened
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Yoko Taro refuses to show his face in public
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"Yoko Taro" = "Yo Kotaro" ("Yo" is Spanish for "I")
Zero Escape is actually a Drakengard spinoff that takes place during and after Ending E of the first game. 2049 retconned to 2029.
> DualShockers had the opportunity to interview Zero Escape series director Kotaro Uchikoshi to talk to him about developing the series. In addition, we discuss his approach to character development and what he has in store for the future.
> Azario Lopez: Looking back at the Zero Escape trilogy, what would be your most fond memory while working on any of the series?
> Kotaro Uchikoshi: I have so many! I remember during production for 999 how two team members broke down crying in the middle of a meeting. (Not my fault!) During crunch time on VLR we were camping in the office; I fell asleep at my desk and I must have had a nightmare because I suddenly leapt to my feet screaming. Once the game was released someone above me at the company told me that my career was washed up and I would never, ever get to make a sequel, so I should quit while I was ahead. But look who turned out right in the end! Of course, we were able to make ZTD because of support from the fans. Thank you for sticking with us!
> AL: In The Nonary Games, 999 went through some audio and visual upgrades, is this something that youβve wanted to add to the game since the beginning and do they reflect your artistic vision?
> KU: We pushed 999 to the limit given the considerable limitations of the DS hardware. So at the time, I wasnβt thinking of ways to refine it in the future.
> AL: Do you miss any of the characters from the Zero Escape series?
> KU: I would have to sayβ¦ the player. Have you ever considered the role the user plays in the Zero Escape series? The player is the key person at the heart of the series. Without the player, the story wouldnβt work.
> AL: What can you tell us about the image that you shared with Project Psyncβs announcement?
> KU: All I can say right now, is that βeyeβ is the major theme of my upcoming title. I should also mention that in Japanese, βeyeβ is a homonym for βlove.β
> AL: What are your thoughts on the Nintendo Switch and could you see any of your titles on the new console?
> KU: I think itβs a very interesting piece of hardware. If the opportunity presents itself, Iβd love to put out something on the Switch.
> AL: Is βcharacter developmentβ important to you when youβre creating a cast for a story? How have you approached this in the past, such as in the Zero Escape series?
> KU: Character development is extremely important. A story without characters is like a
... keep reading on reddit β‘
Ok, ZE experts, analysts and professional SOIS agents, could you travel back in time to the time when ZTD was not supposed to exist and give me a quick summary of how fans saved the series?
Basically, i don't know what happened with operation bluebird and how ZTD got made, so i'm turning to the best sub on reddit for help. Thanks guys!
Anyone is ready to do ZTD with the time of the 3DS set at 2028 ? Just in case of ... I don't know ...
PS : Sorry it's my first post on reddit so I don't know how to spoiler and english isn't my first language so please understand my complex motives.
Hello.
Me and my website (tierragamer.com Mexican website) we're granted with the chance of interviewing Kotaro Uchikoshi, Game Director and Writer of the Zero Escape Series ,I know there's a lot of gamers here and (in Vita) who love this series and while we are restricted to not talk about the third episode, I'll love to know what would your questions be.
So please, be free to leave them and I'll try to ask him the best ones
Edit -The questions about the sequels that cannot be talked are more based to the story and the internal development
https://twitter.com/Uchikoshi_Eng/status/726320724642648064
No equivalent tweet on his Japanese account it seems.
The message in the video reads:
>ZTD
>6/28/16
I assume this is new?
Information here: http://www.dualshockers.com/zero-escape-series-director-love-switch/!
So finally, can we expect Zero Escape trilogy or a new IP on Switch? And I wonder if Uchikoshi develop a new IP on Switch, what tricks would be like in game? Like fully-used Joy-con trick or something else. What do you guys think?
> DualShockers had the opportunity to interview Zero Escape series director Kotaro Uchikoshi to talk to him about developing the series. In addition, we discuss his approach to character development and what he has in store for the future.
> Azario Lopez: Looking back at the Zero Escape trilogy, what would be your most fond memory while working on any of the series?
> Kotaro Uchikoshi: I have so many! I remember during production for 999 how two team members broke down crying in the middle of a meeting. (Not my fault!) During crunch time on VLR we were camping in the office; I fell asleep at my desk and I must have had a nightmare because I suddenly leapt to my feet screaming. Once the game was released someone above me at the company told me that my career was washed up and I would never, ever get to make a sequel, so I should quit while I was ahead. But look who turned out right in the end! Of course, we were able to make ZTD because of support from the fans. Thank you for sticking with us!
> AL: In The Nonary Games, 999 went through some audio and visual upgrades, is this something that youβve wanted to add to the game since the beginning and do they reflect your artistic vision?
> KU: We pushed 999 to the limit given the considerable limitations of the DS hardware. So at the time, I wasnβt thinking of ways to refine it in the future.
> AL: Do you miss any of the characters from the Zero Escape series?
> KU: I would have to sayβ¦ the player. Have you ever considered the role the user plays in the Zero Escape series? The player is the key person at the heart of the series. Without the player, the story wouldnβt work.
> AL: What can you tell us about the image that you shared with Project Psyncβs announcement?
> KU: All I can say right now, is that βeyeβ is the major theme of my upcoming title. I should also mention that in Japanese, βeyeβ is a homonym for βlove.β
> AL: What are your thoughts on the Nintendo Switch and could you see any of your titles on the new console?
> KU: I think itβs a very interesting piece of hardware. If the opportunity presents itself, Iβd love to put out something on the Switch.
> AL: Is βcharacter developmentβ important to you when youβre creating a cast for a story? How have you approached this in the past, such as in the Zero Escape series?
> KU: Character development is extremely important. A story without characters is like a
... keep reading on reddit β‘