Hi, it’s Julian here! I was lucky enough to be able to partake in an interview with RPGamer’s Jordan Mcclain about Shujinkou’s naming origins in kanji, the five-tier difficulty that welcomes newcomers without losing DRPG bite, optional language-learning features tied to characters, and the independent process of building, testing, and optimizing across platforms.
Read the interview here:
A few highlights
- Origin & concept: the title sprang from the kanji for 主, 人, 公, and became the trio of Shu, Jin, and Kou.
- Accessibility & depth: five difficulties affecting encounters, status/weakness impact, and pacing, with tuned higher modes for veterans. RPGamer
- Optional language systems: character names/traits from kanji power systems that remain additive rather than mandatory.
- Indie process: a solo-led production cycle that iterated design, implementation, QA, and console optimization.
A few quotes
- “The inspiration for Shujinkou started with the word itself – Shujinkou (主人公) in Japanese means ‘main protagonist’.”
- “The key to making Shujinkou accessible… was developing a robust difficulty system.”
- “Shujinkou has some seriously wild labyrinths — over 40 different floors to explore!”
- “The language-learning feature of Shujinkou was inspired by the game’s core concept.”
Special thanks to Alex Fuller, editor-in-chief at RPGamer, for providing us with this invaluable opportunity!