Hi, it’s Julian here! I am honored to have been able to participate in what was one of the deepest, most personal interviews. In this interview with Game*Spark talking about Shujinkou, we ended up covering my background, TGS 2019 exhibition roots, the “game first, learning second” philosophy, how kanji-based mechanics and mini-games were designed, and the project’s scope from 80-hour main story to 150-200+ hours including side content.
Read the full interview in Japanese here:
https://www.gamespark.jp/article/2024/12/08/147587.html
You can also read the interview, translated into English, here:
A few highlights
- Game first: Shujinkou is framed foremost as an RPG; learning elements add value without dictating play.
- TGS origin & pivot: from early platformer experiments to a DRPG inspired by Etrian Odyssey, exhibited in 2019.
- Scale & content: 80-hour story campaign, 150-200+ hours of total play, 1.5+ million word script, tons of minigames, 200 side quests, and dozens of systems tied to Japanese writing and radicals.
Again, a major special thanks to the editorial team at Game*Spark. It was SUPER energizing to head to their head office and talk to them in person. We’re looking forward to one day localizing Shujinkou into Japanese so that it can be released in Japan!