Well, Koto wasn’t selected for the grant funding request that we were aiming for, so the careers page took a hit, and I won’t be hiring anyone anytime soon.

I’ll continue on with the project though. While this whole situation is terribly depressing, it doesn’t change that I want to see this game out in the world, and I believe people will enjoy it. I’ll get some things together shortly to help continue funding the game. Please look forward to that.

In the meantime, what was done this past month? Naming the game… I think we’re nearly there with it. Still need to try it for a while and see if it’s liked. Interviewed some amazing sound artists and started planning out the game a bit more. More screenshots will come as I lick my wounds and find my muse again. Thank you for continuing to read these updates and following “Project Koto”.

Wow, time flies! It’s been what, a week since I wrote that last blog post?

It’s been 5 months? … No, that can’t be right.

Wow, gosh, so much has been done since then. We have the music track from KAIOH! We have a character from the talented Shoko! There's the glorious key art from Rachel! We have an actual alpha tech demo build of the first stage in Unreal. I created an entire remix of the Pulse soundtracks from Square Enix! The website was given a lot of new features, including a Careers Page!

First things first:

Meet Koto-chan. Our plucky music-loving runner who you’ll get to meet in the coming months as the game develops. While she might seem a bit unassuming at first glance, she has her own set of special powers and abilities we look forward to sharing with you.

The KeyArt has also been completed, as you may or may not have seen on the front page. From there, we’ll start sharing screenshots and other pieces of the game as they get developed. For anyone aspiring to join us here, and has some 3D or Sound skills please check out our careers page for new opportunities.

~Chaos

I’m happy to announce that the very talented KAIOH will be assisting with Project Koto, and we’ve got a lovely first track and several sound elements ready to go. To those of you who are unfamiliar, Kaioh has several albums and other amazing tracks within the Super Eurobeat genre, a genre that is very near and dear to my raven heart. One of my personal favorites is his "Moonside" track from "Eurobeat Intensifies", so be sure to check that out.

I'm not going to ruin any surprises on what the first track is, or how it sounds, but please enjoy this small synth track from him that is a part of the first stage.

Music is a great pleasure for me, and I spend a lot of time listening and looking for new albums and artists that strike me. The genres I listen to mostly being metal, rock, classical, EDM, and Eurobeat style. I prefer full albums rather than individual tracks, but if there is a particular track that resonates with me, it'll likely be on repeat for days before I get tired of it. The weather is starting to cool down now with the changing of the seasons to autumn, and things are continuing to ramp up. In an age where it feels like everything is about 'hype' and 'accelerate'. I'm happy to say that things actually are, we're five ravens now, we may have found a steady supply of birdseed, and the work will continue.

Every story needs a protagonist of some kind. The type of protagonist and what they look like, dress, accessories they wear, everything contributes to a kind of messaging on what it is you want the character to be. With Project Koto being the first title that would have a protagonist it was hard to figure out what exactly I was trying to convey and to what degree? I’m not much of an artist, but I spent some time as a cartoonist trying my best to make people laugh back in college.

This wouldn’t cut it for Project Koto though. The very talented Shoko Takahata-san agreed to help on character design and concept art. She’s worked on a lot of popular anime, and getting to know and work with her has been a joy. She really approaches the character process with a lot of thoughtfulness, considering multiple styles and aspects when I myself am not entirely clear on what I want. Takahata-san will quickly sketch out a dozen styles and give us a starting point to discuss.

(Early concept art designs by Shoko Takahata)

It also usually results in us talking about things I knew intrinsically, but had never actually verbalized or discussed out-loud. We would discuss things we liked from a character sheet, and she would have another dozen or so characters ready to go in a very short time. This worked in a kind of iterative process that gave solid footing to the things I “knew”. There’s a major difference between a very fashionable JoJo character whose dress and presentation give you an immediate sense of the character, vs the subtly of a George R.R. Martin novel where the characters are a bit gray, and have a secret that is betrayed by a single piece of clothing or accessory if you happened to know in advance before the big reveal occurs.

(Early concept art designs by Shoko Takahata)

This kind of subtly in character design and ambiguity gives us a lot of freedom and flexibility. The character will have a subtly to them that will allow them to participate in a variety of scenarios freely. Its my hope you’ll find aspects to the character to identify with as you get to know them. Well back to it, next blog will be about Unreal Blueprints and Game design. Thank you for reading, see you next time.

~Chaos

This was the first year the company was allowed to go as an Trade Representative, which was a fancy way of saying that I was allowed to visit the business area, and meet and greet other industry professionals. All of this was a last minute rush to schedule meetings and tour the convention floor. Unfortunately most publishers were fully booked on meetings and didn’t wish to meet a tiny crow with only a large beak to their name. Still it was an invaluable experience, since there are plans to attend GDC (Game Developers Conference) and TGS (Tokyo Game Show). Some of the major lessons: “Book in advance”, “Schedule early”, and “Work on public speaking”. Who knows, might have more content to share in the near future. Otherwise please enjoy some photos of the event that definitely don't have a theme or give any hints as to what we're working on :).

~Chaos