The following article contains spoilers for Steins;Gate and Steins;Gate 0.
The latest Famitsu Weekly magazine issue is now out, and we have summarized the important points of the interview with MAGES. CEO Chiyomaru Shikura, which we also covered in part in our last article on the subject.
MAGES.’ independence from Dwango and Kadokawa
- Shikura had been considering making the decision from February to March of this year.
- According to Shikura, the CEO change at Dwango had been causing some internal chaos. He felt that it was “time to move on.”
- Other factors such as restrictions on budget, announcement timing, and release dates also influenced the decision. Shikura felt they were too limiting on the company.
- Though time will still be a limiting factor, Shikura believes the independence move will allow for the perfect balance between limitations and freedom.
- Shikura clarifies that the decision was not made by himself alone, but in tandem with other management members at the company. The decision could not be made alone because of MAGES.’ size and scope.
- Shikura says that thus far, the move has landed the company in the middle of freedom and limitation, almost as if it were “the choice of Steins Gate!”
- In his words, “…the management buyout was such that MAGES. can continue operating just as it has been so far.”
- Shikura is looking to depreciate the “5pb.” branding, which has been present in many MAGES. works thus far. “Everything that was credited to both 5pb. and MAGES. will be credited to MAGES. alone from now on.”
Anonymous;Code
- Shikura confirms that the script is still being written, and the game won’t be released in 2019.
- The company does not want to release the title any later than next year’s Olympic Games.
- When asked if the company is running into developmental difficulties, Shikura responds that the issue lies more in their interest in portraying the future (2036) as accurately as possible.
“So far, the most distant future we have portrayed was in Robotics;Notes. For that, we wrote a story about 2019 in the year 2012, which was seven years ahead of the game’s release. When trying to portray the distant future, it's very important to try and introduce futuristic technology in a natural way. So we have a lot to think about, such as ‘How will the Singularity go down?’ and ‘How will AI live alongside humans? Is that even possible?’ Technology is progressing so fast, which is making it a little hard [to portray the future accurately]. For example, we originally introduced cryptocurrency into the story, but at this point, it would be horrible if it made it into the final game. In just the last 4 years, things have changed so much. It's getting to the point where I wish someone would stop everything from moving so fast, haha.”
- Shikura says that Steins;Gate and Robotics;Notes were stories that took place fairly close to the time in which they were written, whereas Anonymous;Code needs to convey a story that takes place 18 years in the future.
- Shikura wishes that development on the title had started 5–10 years in the future rather than four years ago. However, he assures the readers that the creation of the game is progressing at a normal pace and that regular meetings are being held, and he asks the readers to wait just a little bit longer.
- According to Shikura, Anonymous;Code will serve as the culmination of the Science Adventure series thus far.
- It will deal with fundamental topics from previous titles such as the essence of science, or what worldlines are. To do so, the game will need to pay off in regards to the foreshadowing presented by the series as a whole.
- Shikura says that the reader will be able to look back to previous series entries and identify connections between them and Anonymous;Code.
- When asked about returning characters from previous entries, Shikura had this to say:
“The game doesn't just portray 2037, but also 2036, as well as 2038. And I mean, 2036 is the year when Amane Suzuha travels back in time, and "Amadeus Kurisu" is also a thing by then. So please look forward to that too.”
Future projects
- Shikura is already collecting ideas for his next two projects in an “Aspirations Folder.”
- Shikura wants to address the projects in order—though he’s excited to get them on the market, he doesn’t wish to release half-baked products.
Animation and the future of visual novels
- The interviewer compliments Steins;Gate Elite’s usage of full animation, to which Shikura responds that if the company made games that utilized animation going forward, they would be able to better target the global market.
- Shikura says that one has to read through many captions in visual novels, which is “…not really a thing in the English-speaking world.” According to him, this leaves many overseas fans with sentiments such as “Is a thing with this little movement really a game?” or “This game is almost like a book with it having you just listen to people explain stuff all the time.“
- Shikura says that Japanese anime has a global audience, and the anime adaptations of MAGES. works are no exception. He says that many western fans discover the source material for MAGES.’ works through their anime adaptations, and he remarks that these titles are slowly gaining more recognition overseas.
- Going forward, the company plans to focus on determining how to merge animation and visual novels.
- When asked if this is the reason why animation has begun to show up in visual novels, Shikura agrees; he says that visual novel writers today view their work as stories custom-tailored to the model of having 2D sprites appearing in front of a background. While Shikura considers it necessary to break this notion, he affirms that the company ran into many difficulties when they tried to do so with Steins;Gate Elite’s full animation model. Shikura believes that they need to adopt a new mindset, and in doing so, the visual novel genre will be able to evolve.
If you like this site, please consider supporting us on Patreon
