Golden Week in Japan has come and gone, and we’re back at it with another Eiyuden Chronicle update for everyone so let’s jump right in!
Komuta D’s Sneak Peek Komu-nichiwa. Komu-banwa. Director Komuta here! And this month, I'd like to give you another sneak peek at what's happening behind the scenes.
The content for Komuta D's Sneak Peak #2 is the "Auto Tactics". Ta-daaa!
So what on earth is Auto Tactics? In Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, Auto Tactics is an auto-battle system that makes for an easier and more rewarding experience for those that find fighting normal enemies to be a pain in the butt.
Huh? But Auto systems can only be used against weak enemies that are a certain amount of levels lower than you, right? No, no, no. Even with the default settings you can run headlong into any fight against normal enemies and that party will handle the rest. They'll even heal themselves if things are looking dicey.
I can't go into any more detail into what kind of system it is just yet, but I would encourage anyone who finds battles tedious to use it from the get go.
And that's a wrap on this month's Sneak Peek! I hope you look forward to the next one!
Murayama's Monthly Development Report
We had a six-hour meeting with a large group the other day, including our publisher 505 Games. Our meetings are typically held online, so it's been a long time since we've met face-to-face like this.
A video game is both a creator's project, but also a product. If these two aspects aren't balanced properly then the game can become either a purely self-indulgent art piece, or an empty imitation that has lost its heart as a game.
Sometimes I'm asked what kind of game it is that I want to make, but to me what I want to make the most is a game that many people will enjoy.
Ultimately that's tied to how fun the game is and its storyline. But what will make players happy is an extremely difficult question and despite searching for a long time, it's still a tough one to answer.
When I say "many people," as happy as I am to sell a lot of copies, being proactive and getting to know the people connected to the game is important too.
That's why I appear at shows the publicists ask me to attend, answer surveys, shoot my own videos, wear goofy costumes and film embarrassing skits.
Even so, sometimes a creator has their reasons for not accepting a publicity request that comes up, which then results in a six-hour long meeting.
That being said, I consider that a part of my job as a game producer.
During that six-hour meeting I was finally, FINALLY able to receive some of the merchandise for Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising. I'm quite pleased, and like the tumblers in particular.
April Update 2023 (26th)
Hey there heroes,
We are heading into Golden Week, which means there's a lot of tasks to finish before breaking up for the holiday. This means that this month’s update will be a little lighter, but we'll be back to business as usual after Golden Week so you can expect a full update in June.
Thanks so much for your understanding!
Kickstarter Backer Survey Kickstarter only allows for one Kickstarter Backer Survey to be created for any one campaign. The update last month was not referencing a new survey, but the original Kickstarter Backer Survey we sent out a few months after the campaign originally ended. We currently have 90% of the Kickstarter Backer Surveys completed.
If you have completed your original Kickstarter Backer Survey, then worry not! You don’t need to do anything.
If you haven’t or aren’t sure, then please send a message to eiyuden@theyetee.com.
Please note, any customer service tickets sent to The Yetee after last month’s update asking about a new survey will not be answered due to this being a misunderstanding and no such survey exists.
Thank you!
Murayama's Monthly Development Report We are deep in the middle of a very active development phase, working on a large amount of text related to in-game facilities and townspeople, while also struggling with creating the DLC scenarios.
We also fought a new enemy recently—the creation of book texts for libraries.
I hope to be able to convey the world's history, kingdom origins and climates using only text and stories of times left behind by those who lived them.
Not to mention the townspeople's lines. Now that is another big enemy.
The townspeople and soldiers in the game are not treated in the same way as the "heroes'' in the main storyline. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't still have lives to live in the world of the Eiyuden Chronicle.
I have written lines in the past for townspeople in the games that I have been involved in producing.
Sometimes fathers, sometimes mothers, sometimes children, sometimes young dreamers, sometimes girls in love, sometimes kids at play, sometimes soldiers protecting their country, sometimes bandits running amok, sometimes cunning merchants, sometimes street performers entertaining people.
I even experienced staying behind at work alone to write lines for townspeople of different genders, ages, and classes. I'd continue for long periods in a daze; I'd become a father, then a mother, then a child, as I wrote line after line of dialogue...
There were times when I would be there late at night and, although no one was supposed to be there, it felt like someone was talking in my ear. That would wig me out so I'd play loud music and keep working.
Are they the voices of people living in this imaginary world?
I feel that this dialogue is what really helps to build the world. As if the main characters are not the only ones in the play.
March Update 2023 (29th)
Hey there heroes!
Cherry blossoms are in full bloom today, and this month's update has a blossom or two of new reveals of its own. But first, a little spring cleaning!
Surveys
We're happy to say that roughly 90% of backer survey replies have been received! If you haven't gotten your survey yet then please send an email to eiyuden@theyetee.com with the subject NO SURVEY. Please include your backer number and registered email address.
Premium In Game Rewards
We have approached all backers who purchased one of our premium reward tiers (become an NPC, put your pet in the game, etc.). If you purchased one of these tiers and have NOT received any correspondence form the team then please send an email to eiyuden@theyetee.com with the subject PREMIUM REWARD so we can remedy the issue. Please include your backer number and registered email address.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising
We believe all codes have been sent to the relevant backers, but if you haven't received your code yet then please send an email to eiyuden@theyetee.com with the subject RISING NOT RECEIVED. Please include your backer number, registered email address, and platform of choice.
We'll do our best to respond to each email within 48 hours. Thank you very much for your continued support with helping us to close out these remaining issues!
UI Screen
We'd like to show a sneak peek of the status screen currently in development where it shows characters' basic info such as their stats, HP and MP. It'll also show equipped items and their effects as well as their available skills all at a glance. (The image shown is for the Japanese version. The UI is still in development and subject to change.)
Murayama's Monthly Development Report
An RPG is a collection of very diverse systems. Systems for navigating towns and other maps, systems for performing actions and talking to NPCs like townsfolk, systems for activating and replaying events, combat systems when you enter battles, trading systems when you enter stores, leveling systems for upgrading stats...
Not to mention that Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes will have war event systems for war scenes, solo combat system for solo combat scenes, systems for the main city's particular structure and systems for minigames, etc.
And that's not forgetting the system behind party management, which we showed a screenshot of above.
Unfortunately, we can only show off the Japanese version at this time as it's still under development, but seeing each of these systems being completed brings a special kind of joy.
Regarding the UI, we believe striking a balance between high functionality and ease of understanding is important. When it comes to item management, for example, players might want to sort their items by multiple criteria. However, a lot of consideration needs to go into whether implementing that function is a good idea or not.
An interface that always forces the player to choose multiple sort conditions is redundant when just one sort condition is enough. It is unnecessary for a screen like that to appear every time when you can switch between conditions at the tap of a button.
In that case, should we make it selectable only when it's needed? If so then we add the new function to the system, but as more functions are added, the overall system becomes more difficult to understand.
Games aren't tools, so a balance between functionality and understandability is important.
I don't think having a status screen that displays all the data in the game is a good idea. Having a screen filled with rows of numbers leans towards incomprehensibility.
We want to present detailed information the players are looking for in a way that's easy to understand.
The status screen is structured according to those considerations.
A Word from the Team
Hello everyone, Kawano here. I’m in charge of the character illustrations.
Development is at its climax and I'm working my tired body to the bone.
I like to rouse myself when I'm tired by looking at the development screens and thinking, "Everyone's working hard, so I've gotta work hard too!" lol
There have been a few occasions now when I've watched the voice recording sessions and have been so overwhelmed by a performance for a character that I rush home before I have a chance to calm down and secretly add "they must pull this face when they say that phrase."
I'm mostly working from home with Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, so getting to see what others have been up to from time to time is great stimulation.
(This probably isn't the time or place, but there are so many characters in this title, so the amount of voices and cast members is wild! Please wait until we can release more details...!
Until next time!
February Update 2023 (22nd)
Hey there heroes!
We’re already wrapping up month two of the new year and have a lot of fun things to share, so let’s just jump into it!
Murayama's Monthly Development Report：DLC3 Content
The poll DLC3 that we mentioned in the last update has closed and its content has been decided! DLC3 will focus on the story of the Skeleton King Markus and a mysterious young girl named Milana who somehow share a history with an old, once prosperous kingdom.
Markus was actually a character selected by backers during the Kickstarter campaign, which is probably why so many felt such a strong connection to him. We honestly had no idea which direction the vote would go, as some of the proposed concepts included characters that have already appeared in Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, such as Iugo and Mellore.
Not only that, but each option had something of a theme to it.
Story 1: Tales of the Yokai Hunt has a focus on the Far East, with Japanese-centric elements such as samurai and ninja.
Story 2: Conquest of the Sands is a desert-themed, hard-boiled tale with Middle Eastern-inspired characters and Sharkmen.
Story 3: Elden Magicks was the winning selection and tells a tale of a kingdom long abandoned that may hold clues to the secrets of the rune-lenses.
Story 4: Kings of the Neighborhood would dive into a story all about overcoming adversity through mini-game-esque competitions and such, giving the townsfolk and store-owners their chance to be in the spotlight.
Story 5: Magical Girls, Assemble! would have brought together classical magical-girl and super sentai archetypes like those seen in Sailor Moon and Power Rangers.
In terms of story, I thought Kings of the Neighborhood would have been interesting, but the characters were a little weak. That being said, I would have used Frida from Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising as the main character.
I always like to participate in the #hundred-heroes-chat on the Hundred Heroes Discord channel (https://discord.com/invite/eiyuden) on the weekend following that month's Kickstarter update! I was really happy to see everyone chatting about their concerns and feelings surrounding each proposed story.
I'm often asked if we'll make any of the proposed stories that weren't selected.
Hmmm, I wonder (lol).
A Word from the Team J-diary vol.8
Hello. Murakami J here. Good news! I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in my endless pixel art creation journey.
Congrats to me!
I've been making games for a long time, but I've never had to create pixel art for so many neverending days before. Despite us now living in an age where pixel art creators are a dying species, the staff members all never lost their nerve despite all the redo orders and worked extremely hard.
Thank you.
Of course, I've been doing other thing aside from pixel art... But due to how neverending it seemed, the pixel art definitely proved to be the scariest part of it all.
At first I thought "What were we thinking, starting a project like this? The amount of work we have to do is unreal..." Feelings of regret and unease made me feel like I was going to slip over to the dark side several times, but now I feel peaceful and happy that I was able to complete things in this style.
It's all thanks to everyone being here with us and giving us your support.
Thank you.
Ohh, thank you...
END
...No, wait, I still have a lot of work left to do!! (LOL)
The momentary feeling of relief made me unconsciously slip into a trance. Sorry.
Time for a serious update. I've seen the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the pixel art, but I still can't let my guard down yet. Currently, I'm working on the remaining basic character resources as well as special resources for events and stage-related things... My days of fighting aren't over yet.
I'm also reaching the finish line when it comes to the background resources, so I'm currently preparing to get together the composition for each scene.
The basics for the event scenes and other various elements have all been completed.
Director Komuta and the voice recording staff members have also been preparing for the recordings for days and seem very busy.
We've also entered the production phase for Kickstarter backer rewards. (We've been receiving replies from everyone - thank you so much! But we still have yet to receive a reply from everyone, so if you still have yet to reply, please check out this link!)
There are a lot of things to prepare for this as well, so things will still be crazy for a while.
Our production phase is heading toward its peak, and we're getting busier day by day. Everyone is harrowed by their own deadlines every day, and we want to make sure we don't panic, give up, or compromise so that all the effort we've put into this so far doesn't go to waste.
Oh, that reminds me. Since we're nearing the end of our pixel art production, I decided to release a character video in this update. It'll be coming to you together with an explanation from Director Komuta.
It still doesn't have voices yet, but I hope we can continue to show you in-game content now and then that doesn't spoil anything up to the time when the game is finally released.
I hope you're all excited!
MURAKAMI J
Komuta D's Sneak Peak
Komunichi-wa, komuban-wa, Director Komuta here! Remember the glimpse section I mentioned in last month's member comments?
We’re calling it "Komuta D's Sneak Peak" (J's idea) In this month's issue, we'll show you a glimpse of a fresh out of the oven, full-length skill attack, as Producer J mentioned earlier.
So, what do you think? A variety of actions that make the most of the characters' personalities like this will greatly enliven the battles!
Hm? Are we okay showing off these characters? Eh, why not? And who's the beautiful lady with the blond hair?! Moving on!!
We plan to keep giving sneak peaks of the game while it's in development, so please stay tuned.
(Finally... FINALLY, we're getting around to showing some stuff).
See you next time!
Eiyuden Chronicle Banner Art Contest
Hey everyone! We want a new Discord server banner for the next few months and we want it to be made by YOU. Create whatever you interpret that to be and let your artistic abilities do their thing. If you want to share it on Social Media, feel free to use the #eiyudenbanner hashtag!
Submissions must be in by February 26st 12PM Pacific (3PM Eastern or 8PM GMT) to be considered for voting. Top voted will receive a prize and be made the new server banner. Good luck heroes.
All event details and submissions @ https://discord.gg/eiyuden
January Update 2023 (25th)
Hey there heroes!
We hope 2023 is off to a good start for everyone!
We've been pretty busy working hard to incorporate the premium rewards into Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, but we still have our work cut out for us! If you're a premium backer and haven't received an email from the team asking for details for your premium reward then please reach out to us at eiyuden@theyetee.com!
In other news, the vote for the contents of DLC #3 is now open! We're eager to hear which story you would like to see realized, so please follow the link here to find out more and cast your vote!
**Production Updates** Murayama's Monthly Development Report As promised, the vote for DLC #3 is now open to the public and backers, where you get to vote on the DLC's content! Opportunities like this aren't common so it took some time to organize the vote with our publisher, but we're really happy to share the options today. We even considered totally original content at one point, but in the end we realized it would be too difficult to make a reality while keeping the amount of content under control. That's why, this time, we created some scenarios for you to vote on.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, is a game about its heroes, and so we decided to move in the direction with the heroes in mind. A story about desert mercenaries, a story of runes tied to the undead, a story about Japanese-style monster extermination, a story about the characters working behind the scenes, and a story about magical girls.
I can't wait to see which one will be chosen. Then once the decision is made, we'll need to figure out the specifics according to a pretty tight schedule, which is going to be tough.
We had another idea for a story that focused on generals during a war-time event, but it was dropped as the relevant characters would not be included in the game's initial release. For the same reason, we also dropped a story plan that revolved around Lian's martial arts training as there would have been a problem with the character's release timing. Maybe we'll just give Lian a separate fighting game of her own lol.
Please vote for which story you would like to see, and if you have any ideas of what each story will be like then please share your opinions with us via Discord, Twitter, etc.!
A Word from the Team Happy New Year 2023!! Komunichi-wa, Komuban-wa! Direct Komuta here! I hope you're looking forward to the year to come.
For a change of pace, I thought I'd share some of the development team's New Years cards! First up is this one, illustrated by ‘S’--a designer on the character team!
Isn't the way she's giving peace signs/bunny ears with both hands really cute?
Next up for number 2, illustrated by a designer on the 3D team that we will call ‘T’!
How cool is that sense of motion with Noa, Sei and a mystery creature. Man I wish I still had the youth to fight like these two (LMAO)
So what did you think, because I'd like to share more of these from the development staff in the future.
And, tying up with my first meal of the year I had Garoo's favorite pavlova!
I'd never tried it before, but the way the crunchy meringue and fresh berries melted in my mouth was superb. Behind it you can see Garr's favorite food—pancakes! Those were delicious too. It looks like the Beastmen of Allraan have serious sweet tooths.
Next month, I'm hoping to be able to show you a glimpse at some new in-development materials, so I hope you'll look forward to that!
PS. We're receiving a steady stream of responses from our Premium Backers from the end of last year with your enemy designs, city item designs and pet photos, etc., but if you haven't gotten back to us yet then please do!
If, by chance, you haven't received an email from us then please reach out to eiyuden@theyetee.com with your backer number.
See you next time!
Be a part of Eiyuden Chronicle history and vote for DLC3!
Vote now to determine DLC3 for Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes!
Cast your vote @ https://505.games/DLC3
Join the Eiyuden Chronicle Discord server to discuss the choices.
Pick your favorite scenario from the DLC choices listed below:
TALES OF THE YOKAI HUNT Featured heroes: Iugo, Mio, Hakugin, etc Sample Story: Join forces with a samurai Iugo, a ninja Mio, and a swordswoman Hakugin on a secret mission from the East Reach to put down the escaped yokai (monsters). Survive challenging boss level battles!
CONQUEST OF THE SANDS Featured heroes: Yuferius, Barnard, Scarlet, etc. Sample Story: A tale of honorable war between the sandwalkers and their rivals the desert mercenaries. Embark on an eccentric journey with Yuferius, Barnard, Scarlet, and other exciting figures from this installment.
ELDEN MAGICKS Featured Heroes: Markus, Milana, Quinn. etc Sample Story: Journey through the story of the origin and collapse of the once prosperous Elden Realm and discover the secrets of the rune-lenses! The collectors will not want to miss this supernatural story involving Markus, Milana, Quinn, and other mysterious characters.
KINGS OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD Featured Heroes: Dr. Corque, Code L, Frida, etc. Sample Story: Partake in fun town activities with Dr. Corque, Code L, Frida, and more entertaining characters roaming around the town where Nowa's Alliance is headquartered. Play against the most challenging Beigoma game opponents, test your culinary abilities in cooking battles, and try new Eiyuden Chronicle minigames.
MAGICAL GIRLS, ASSEMBLE! Featured Heroes: Mellore, Carrie, Momo, etc. Sample Story: Mellore, Carrie, Momo, and other magical powered girls set off on a hilarious story that is too cute to pass up. The Alliance forever changed after a bit of girl power was poured into the mix. Faceoff against mind bending unique battle scenarios and leave it to the magical girls to save the day.
Cast your vote @ https://505.games/DLC3
Join the official Eiyuden Chronicle Discord community at https://discord.gg/eiyuden to discuss the DLC3 options!
Be a part of Eiyuden Chronicle history, help decide the future of the franchise, & vote on 5 DLC scenarios. Please tell your friends and communities about the vote.
December 2022 Update
Hey there Heroes,
We’re charging towards the new year, and we have another exciting update ahead! Before we jump into that, we also have a quick campaign update to share, as we’ve begun initial reach outs to premium backers in order to gather information for their premium rewards.
If you’re a premium backer and we haven’t been in touch with you yet, then don’t hesitate to contact us at eiyuden@theyetee.com with the header “PREMIUM BACKER” so we can make sure you get your reward!
**HOLIDAY COMMENTS**
Murayama Happy holidays! This is our third new year since starting our campaign for Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes back in July 2020. I knew developing a JRPG would take a long time, but this has taken longer than I anticipated.
Looking back on it, it’s had its share of tough moments.
We spent months ahead of the campaign’s launch preparing what we would need. Of course, there was a lot of work involved in creating the trailer video and putting together the game content we could show, but shooting the live-action movie for the campaign trailers was a challenge.
We shot the whole thing in one day, but had to walk between each of the shooting locations. At key moments, I was dressed in a yellow shirt with a cloak and pots and had to raise my voice. By the time we reached the last scene in the evening, I was so exhausted that I lost my voice.
Not to mention, there was one scene where I shouted “Eiyuden!” to summon my friends to come and help me, but apparently there was some background noise so I had to record that part again later…all on my own.
But I did it. In a nearby playground.
A lone man, recording himself shouting “Eiyuden!” I must have looked so suspicious.
And with that in mind, thank you again for all of your support this year. Please continue to support us just a little longer next year.
Kawano Kawano here. The end of the year has really crept up on me so soon it surprised me. How will you be spending your new years?
My work on the character illustrations is approaching the final stages, but there’s still work to be done, so I’ve also been helping a little with the pixel art recently. In particular, pixel art of the ingame food.
I’m pretty nervous about having my work amongst that of all the wonderful pixel artists, but I wanted to focus on showing delicious food that each of the characters would enjoy. Like the kind seen below (although this may not actually turn up in the game).
Murakami Happy Holidays!
Hello everyone, Murakami J here. It’s become that exciting time of year again. We don’t typically use the term “happy holidays” in Japan so it feels a little weird for me to say, but I think this excitement is universal at this time of year. That being said, these past few years, I’ve been more impatient than excited that a year has already passed, and haven’t been able to enjoy it at all (lol).
I’m going to work really hard to make sure Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is released so I can finally enjoy the year end celebrations.
Other members of the team may have mentioned this already, but we’re finally reaching out to our premium backers. And once again, I am reminded of the difficulties that come with taking care of and communicating with so many backers from so many different environments, all while juggling production of the game. I apologize for all the awkward correspondence.
I'm sorry for any concern or anxiety we may have caused over the course of this project, but we're doing our best to ensure that we meet your requests to the best of our ability. If you have any concerns then please check with the team at eiyuden@theyetee.com and thank you in advance for your cooperation.
And that’s where I will leave you for today. It’s a little early, but I hope you have a wonderful new year.
Murakami J
Komuta Komu-nichiwa and komu-banwa everyone. Happy Holidays! What’s that, the third time I’ve wished you all a happy holiday now?
I feel like I'm saying the same thing every time, but whenever I do get in touch with you all I remember that we're making Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes together with you, and that gives me the strength to keep going. Thank you all so much!
Production on Eiyuden: Hundred Heroes continues at a clip as we start to incorporate components into the main build. Various problems may arise as we insert prototypes and confirmed specifications into the build and we have to solve these one by one, but we work with the team every day to find solutions.
Sometimes our discussions are amicable, sometimes they're controversial. And sometimes, we're forced to change specifications altogether. But then we get ideas to turn these changes into positives and the team works together to improve the final product. This year was one we were able to use to further add to that level of perfection.
We were also finally able to show off some in-development footage at Tokyo Game Show this year. I think we got across everything we wanted to.
As for our Premium Backers who supported us with the Become an NPC, Become an Enemy, Add your Cat to the Game, etc. tiers that will be added into the game itself, we've recently sent emails out for. These are to confirm the details for your promised content. Thank you for your patience during this long wait!
We've already received responses from many of you, and have been soothed by the photographs of everyone's cats, dogs, and other pets (lol).
We will make a start on creating the data that will be incorporated into the game based on all the information we have received. And if you haven't gotten an email yet, the please check the following: Twitter eiyuden@theyetee.com
This message ended up being kind of clerical, but we're now in the final stages of the game's development. We're going to start showing everyone screenshots of the game from the beginning of next year, so we hope you're looking forward to that.
I hope you all have a Happy New Year!
November 2022 Update (24th)
Hey there heroes!
The holiday season is quickly approaching, so hopefully that means good food, good family time, and good gaming! For those who haven’t checked out Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, now could be a great opportunity to do so!
Now, let’s discuss some quick logistics!
We’re going to be reaching out to premium backers throughout November with regards to their special rewards. It’s taken a while, but we've put the right processes in place and development has reached a point where we can start putting the wheels in motion. Thank you so much for your patience!
**PRODUCTION UPDATES** Character Profile Clarke
Home: The League of Nations Gender: Male Age: 55 Favorite Drink: Herbal tea A middle-aged divorcé who manages the theater.
Not much fazes him anymore, but every now and then he'll discover some new play and gab about it with the passion of someone younger.
In the past, Clarke put so much energy into his theater troupe that his wife left him. It was a difficult time.
At the theater, he always wears a suit and coat.
He's careful about how he presents himself, in keeping with the sense of wonder and imagination he wants to project on stage.
"The stage is my life, and I live for the stage. Ladies and gentlemen: tonight, for your enjoyment, I present this fleeting dream. Let the show begin!"
Character Common: Kawano Clark is a man who loves the theater, but he is a presenter and an organizer, not the showman himself. I wanted to give the impression that he was always considering his next scene...so I gave him a slight look of consternation. The theater in the game is going to have a huge number of variations when it comes to character interactions, so I'm excited to start experimenting with them!
Murayama's Monthly Development Report The Theater System
The main town in Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes will have a lot of mini-game facilities, one of which being The Theater.
This works by assigning characters roles in your play of choice, and then having them perform to their friends.
Depending on the character, you can enjoy watching them play their roles faithfully, over enthusiastically, fumble their lines, or shorten them on purpose! This variety should be a lot of fun to watch unfold.
Isn’t it exciting to imagine how Nowa, Seign, Marisa and the others will react in their roles? We want to have a system in Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes that lets as many characters as possible have their time in the spotlight. The theater is one such system.
We hope you look forward to seeing how your favorite character performs on stage.
Not only that, but we’re also recording voice lines for the theater and the experience has been filled with enthusiastic performances, laughter and praise.
This dialogue contains some 15,000 lines of text, which is roughly the amount you would expect to see in a regular game.
A Word from the Team J-diary vol.7
Hello, Murakami J here.
Now the mayhem of TGS has passed, we are all hands on deck and busy every day.
Thanks to the hard work of our team, we finally have the basic materials for the main characters and backgrounds, so we are pushing ahead with making the remaining materials.
Since much of my day is filled with a lot of meetings and supervision work, I’ve been working on adding material little by little once my regular work is done. I’ve recently been making characters for the hot spring scenes and such.
Simply putting characters into hot springs is tough in Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. One scene alone means X(100 + α) more cuts to make (lol).
To that end, and to avoid panicking down the road, I'm doing my own work whenever I get a chance. But in doing that, I’m faced with a number of questions.
For example, “Isn’t it weird for this character to wear a hat in the hot spring?” or “They’ll have to tie their long hair up before getting in the water,” are just for starters. What about what they’re wearing under their outfits?
I approached one character after the other, putting together bath time versions for each, and after a while it’s now possible to tell who is who, even in their bare pixel form! How cool is that?
I was actually a little worried.
You see, usually changing the costume, accessories or other distinctive features like a character’s hairstyle on their pixel art is likely to make many of them look the same as one another, especially as there are so many. But that didn’t happen this time. The individuality of each character is pretty clear. I think this comes down to everyone having unique physiques and physical expressions—something we talked about a few times at Tokyo Game Show.
I thought changing even the quirky hairstyles would be difficult, so I was very happy in a humble way (even though I made them myself...lol).
So, I hope you look forward to the hot springs bringing out a different side to the characters.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is filled with a lot of things to enjoy outside of the main storyline, so I’m sure things will only get busier for us going forward.
These elements aren’t just bonus content and each has a meaningful place within the game. We want to proceed without forgetting to focus on even the smallest of details.
Ahhh...
Talking about hot springs is making me want to go to one, myself.
It’s becoming the perfect time of year for them.
Come to think of it, how many countries in the world have a hot spring bathing culture? I should find out.
MURAKAMI J
October 2022 Update (26th)
Hey there heroes! The months are getting cooler and we’re less than a week away from the spoopiest day of the year, so we’d like to kick off our October update with a ghastly glimpse at one of the enemy characters players will face off against in Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.
But first, a special halloween message from the developers:
Illustration Comment Self-proclaimed magical girl, Mellor, seems to be adored by the staff. The effects added to the battle scenes in the previous trailer were created with a ton of energy, with some staff even proposing a detailed backstory for her. She really has become a beloved member of the roster. (Maruyama)
Once, this undead maiden was a renowned dancer. Like other mages of her clan, she can command her hair at will, and has the unique ability to cast multiple spells at once.
In service to the woman who would become the Dead Countess, the maiden fought on countless battlefields, but it was a contagion that ultimately claimed her life.
Murayama's Monthly Development Report Voice Recording The main story for Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes will be fully voiced. And not only the main story--there will also be character voices for things like battle scenes and town facilities too. The voice actors for the three main characters, Nowa, Seign, and Marisa were also announced at the recent Tokyo Game Show. And now we're preparing for those voice recordings. It isn't as simple as turning a scenario script into a proper script for voice recording. We also have to organize and script stuff like the lines and cries in battle scenes too. The problem here is that there are more than 100 characters in the game. Of course, this is one of the game's charms so there's no way to skirt around it, but to give an example, there are more than 80 different lines per character just for the battles. And that's just for the characters who can fight, which on its own amounts to a thousand lines. The whole game is going to require more than 60,000 lines, which is surely a headache for those in charge of handling the voice recordings. Of course, voice actors will not only voice the friendly characters, but the antagonist, neutral and mob characters for their respective scenes which will require a fair number of actors. A new battle begins with a single army of voice actors.
A Word from the Team Kono here. It's slowly getting colder, but I hope everyone is doing okay. I spent some time out and about thanks to Tokyo Game Show and other events last month, but now I'm back at my desk every day. Now that most of the character designs are out of the way, I've been checking the hero and non-hero visuals for Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes before anyone else. (lol) Of course, each character has their own story to tell, and will be voiced this time around, so they'll feel a lot more fleshed out. But from the illustration side of things, I hope that each character will be loved by everyone… That being said, we still have a lot of finishing touches and adjustments left to do. I'll keep working hard on what's left so we can reveal them soon! I hope I get to visit a bunch of game events outside of Japan and meet fans from all over the world next year. Until then~
