CHI: 'Character' is a studio established last year in Shibuya, Tokyo. With the goal of creating character-centric games, we are currently developing our debut title, Rain98. Our core value is the concept of 'Myo' (妙). While it’s hard to define in one word, it refers to something strangely captivating that resonates deep within. We intend to consistently release original titles that avoid the clichés of the past while earning the lasting love of our players. We are also exploring merchandise to ensure these characters remain relevant for a long time.

Takahashi: With the rise of AI, we are flooded with creative content, but AI-generated results are fundamentally just 'the world's average.' Because they aggregate massive amounts of data to reach an average conclusion, there is a clear limit to how deeply they can move a human heart. I believe that when creators with original ideas gather, they produce unique narratives and emotions that AI simply cannot replicate. We hope these unique sensibilities touch the hearts of our players.

CHI: I was born in 2000, so I wasn't around in 1998. However, I learned during development that the year before the 'Great Prophecy of Nostradamus'—which claimed the world would end in July 1999—was wrapped in a heavy air of claustrophobia and uncertainty about the future. It was also the era of the 'employment ice age' in Japan, right after the bubble burst, so the society had sunken into a rather dark mood compared to the exuberance of the bubble years.

Takahashi: It wasn't just Japan; the 90s were full of dark news, including frequent wars. Today, thanks to social media, even if we encounter negative news, we can find personal joy by looking at cat photos or blocking certain information. But back then, there were no smartphones. We were bombarded with negative news through newspapers, magazines, flyers, and TV, making it difficult to maintain a positive outlook. The coming 21st century felt impossible to view with optimism.

Socially, South Korea, China, and Japan share a similar emotional DNA. We share much in terms of social views and worldviews, and there are commonalities in the social stress and pressure of the 90s. Looking at our Steam wishlist rankings, the proportion of South Korean users is quite high. It’s notable that these numbers have been steadily climbing even without any specific marketing targeted at South Korea.

CHI: We placed various period-accurate elements throughout the game. Props inspired by the 'Tamagotchi' are a prime example. Anyone who remembers those days will surely feel a wave of nostalgia. For mini-games, we implemented manual tasks like folding paper bags or the specific detail of applying glue to keep loose socks from sliding down. These might be foreign to the younger generation, but they were common cultural touchstones back then.

Takahashi: While we included many elements to help players experience 90s Japan, they aren't the main point of the game. These nostalgic elements are merely tools to assist the process of interacting, communicating, and sharing emotions with the protagonist, 'Reina'.

CHI: It aligns with why we named the studio 'Character.' We wanted to offer deep immersion that lingers in a player's memory, rather than a one-off experience that ends the moment the game is cleared. We focused heavily on achieving this immersion by meticulously calculating everything from light angles and visual effects to the placement and delivery of sound.

Takahashi: The director drew great inspiration from works like the film 'Perfect Blue' and the novels of Haruki Murakami. We aimed for a structure where, much like a Murakami novel, the player can somewhat guess the climactic event but still experiences a warm, calm daily life leading up to it, leaving a long-lasting impression. Rain98 isn't intended to be a game consumed for exaggerated reactions on internet streams. We wanted to provide a dense 10-hour experience where the player feels like they have actually lived with Reina in that room.

Unlike typical visual novels that output text over a static illustration, Reina’s poses change constantly, much like an animation. Even in the first five minutes, you see diverse compositions, such as her sitting on the sofa, sitting on the floor, or the same sofa viewed from a different angle. We hand-drew about 1,500 animation cels to achieve this. These varied angles make Reina feel like she is constantly in motion, capturing the reality of life in a single-room apartment. The screen shifts in real-time based on her seating position, whether she’s smoking, or reading a magazine, allowing you to feel the natural passage of time.

Furthermore, while the jazz piano in the background maintains a steady tempo, the light outside the window shifts from day to night, visualizing the time. We specifically recorded over 30 types of rain sounds, designed to change in intensity and texture based on Reina's psychological state and game progress. The rain never stops, but the subtle changes in sound make the entire apartment feel alive, maximizing immersion.

CHI: We started as a small team of 3-4, but we have expanded to about 20. We have a dedicated sound team for music and effects, and the creative team, led by our art director, builds the visuals in-house. By having specialized personnel stably placed in each field, we maintain high quality.

Takahashi: We focused on the balance between the visual novel parts and the adventure parts. To reduce the monotony of text-heavy reading, we included over 100 mini-games to strengthen the interactive elements. While the current demo is centered on the room, future builds will include activities like going outside to explore the streets of Shibuya, allowing players to narrow the distance with Reina.

The difficulty of the mini-games is set so anyone can easily adapt. We also plan to add content like 'Ba-chan Fighter,' a parody of 'Virtua Fighter' where Reina faces off against an elderly person at an arcade.

CHI: The casting process went very smoothly. Rio Tsuchiya’s name was the first mentioned during our internal discussion, and the actor accepted the offer readily. During recording, Director Sion and the actor closely coordinated to refine Reina's personality. It was a collaborative process of creation rather than a struggle.

Takahashi: Instead of giving unilateral instructions, we adopted an approach of actively accepting the tone the actor naturally established. Because it was an environment of mutual respect that didn't force repetitive re-recordings, the quality of the final product improved. The voice work was also relatively straightforward as it centers primarily on Reina.

CHI: The retro style was a choice tailored to the 1998 setting of this specific work; we will not necessarily stick to it for our next project. We intend to challenge ourselves with various genres, not just visual novels.

Takahashi: The core vision of our label is to 'make players fall in love with the character.' The essence is maximizing a character's charm through the medium of games. This title adopted a retro style because of its 1998 setting, but our next game could be cyberpunk, sci-fi, action, or fantasy. We don’t want to be tied to a specific genre or format. We aim to choose the best method to make our characters shine, creating works that are remembered for the characters themselves long after time passes.

CHI: We were planning multi-language support from the official launch stage, and Korean was included as a strong candidate from the start. The proportion of Korean users on our Steam wishlist was very high, and confirming their interest led us to decide on participating in BIC. In line with this, we applied a Korean build to the demo version for the event.

Takahashi: South Korea, China, and Japan share a high degree of cultural affinity. We judged that if the sentiment resonates with Japanese users, it would certainly appeal to Korean users as well. The growing global acceptance of subculture sensibilities through global media also played a positive role. Meeting many Koreans at BitSummit led us to consider participating in a Korean game show, and we confirmed our participation in BIC as the timing was perfect.

CHI: We initially aimed for a launch last year, but we delayed the release to improve quality as the story scale expanded and we added more elements. We are aiming for a release within this year, but it is difficult to give a definitive date as we are currently in the stage of fine-tuning the polish.

Instead, we plan to distribute a large-scale public trial version this autumn with about 3 hours of content. Unlike the 30-minute build currently being shown at the event, it will include an adventure mode where you can go outside the room to explore the streets of Shibuya. In the future, players will be able to control Reina with the keyboard to visit convenience stores, the 109 building, and arcades to go on dates or trigger events. We plan to include elements of sharing daily life, such as collecting stickers on the street, in the autumn demo.

Takahashi: At the initial planning stage, the main story was around 2-3 hours. However, after confirming positive feedback at various global game shows, Director Sion decided to implement the expanded vision originally conceived. As a result, the first playthrough of the main story has increased to about 10 hours. If players enjoy the mini-games repeatedly, the playtime could extend even further. You will be able to feel the full volume of the game just from the 3-hour public demo coming this autumn.

CHI: This is our first time participating in an offline event in South Korea. We put a lot of effort into the visuals and sound, but the evaluation after playing is entirely up to the users. Please play it with a relaxed mind and share your honest thoughts. I hope you come to cherish and love the protagonist, Reina. We are sharing development progress and logs through our official Discord server. For those interested after playing the demo, please join our Discord community.

Takahashi: I have the impression that Korean gamers mainly enjoy competitive, skill-based games, but I believe emotional, visual games are perfectly suited for the Korean user base. If you play the 30-minute demo in a quiet environment while wearing headphones, you will surely want to play the full version. The sound of typing in Reina’s room and the rain effects provide an ASMR-like immersion. The 3-hour public demo will have enough depth to make you want to purchase the full game, so I encourage you to experience it firsthand.