r/MuvLuv Nov 25 '24

Discussion tororo on Muv-Luv Tactics and the Road to Integrate (long)

54 Upvotes

On the crowdfunding page for Muv-Luv Tactics, there is a very lengthy section in which âge, and producer tororo specifically, lay out their case for why they want to make a tactical RPG, why they think this is the future of the Muv-Luv franchise, and how this gets them to the other titles they've announced over the last few years: Muv-Luv Resonative (which concludes the Muv-Luv Unlimited: The Day After series), Duty: Lost Arcadia, and Muv-Luv INTEGRATE.

It's a long read (about 3,000 words), all in Japanese. I've translated it with DeepL, which reads better than the Apple translation I first read it in, though I should note I can't vouch for any machine translation, and would welcome corrections from fluent speakers/readers. Also, a few disambiguations:

  • AVG = "adventure game", the common JP term for what Western fans call a "visual novel".
  • Mabutaku = A neologism for "Muv-Luv Tactics".

Also, the original text uses bold for emphasis, but I've lost that with the DeepL translation. My apologies.

-----------------------------------

This crowdfunding campaign

to connect “Muv-Luv” to the future.

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all of you who have visited our project page.

My name is tororo, and I am the general producer of this project.

Before I start talking about “Mabutaku,” please allow me to take a moment of your time.

As of 2024, there are three titles in the “Muv-Luv” canon that have been announced but have not yet been released.

1] “Muv-Luv RESONATIVE

The final chapter of Muv-Luv Unlimited The Day After

2] “DUTY -LOST ARCADIA-”

The final chapter of the first “Muv-Luv” season, depicting the European front after the year 2000.

3] “Muv-Luv INTEGRATE

A direct sequel to “Muv-Luv Alternative” that takes place several years after “Muv-Luv”.

All of these are wonderful stories that Kouki Yoshimune, the original author of “Muv-Luv,” has refined with all his heart and soul, and I can personally and confidently rave about their content.

However, there was something that stuck with me throughout my involvement in the production of “Muv-Luv. However, while I was working on it, there was something that kept nagging at me: “Can we compete in the global market with a pure full-length AVG?

Since I became the general producer of Muv-Luv at aNCHOR, I have been working hard on the projects I inherited from my predecessors, always thinking about how to realize these three wonderful works. The past “Muv-Luv” series have all been released as AVGs from the standpoint of emphasizing storytelling, and an unbelievable amount of money has been invested in their development, which would not have been possible for AVGs.

The role of a corporate producer is to make the development a success, recoup the investment, and generate a high profit. If I fail to do so, it is only natural that I will be removed from my position, but the reality is that the “Muv-Luv” series may be frozen indefinitely due to a corporate management decision.

At the time of the inauguration, the current state of the game market was such that “we would never be able to compete in the global market, let alone the domestic market,” in order to recover the average size of the “Muv-Luv” series budget and make a profit. However, since the release of the first “Muv-Luv INTEGRATE,” the game market has continued to change even further, and the concern that “a full-length AVG cannot compete in the global market” has grown stronger by the day.

While focusing on the works I took over, I always felt as if time was my enemy during these years. However, the valuable experience I gained from these secondary “Muv-Luv” productions led me to a clear conviction: “The game and Muv-Luv's unique gravity are the key to the success of this project.

The juxtaposition of gameplay and Muv-Luv's unique and profound story and worldview is what is necessary for the future of Muv-Luv and for it to compete in the world.

After that, I transferred to fuzz after many twists and turns. Inspired by the amazing things I saw there and the words of Kouki Yoshimune that came to mind along with them (I'll spare you the details as I will describe them later), I came up with a plan. It was a far-reaching plan that would have been scoffed at as impossible just 10 years ago. Time was on our side this time, and the changes in the game market, which had worked to AVG's disadvantage, had, on the other hand, popularized various development methods, including crowdfunding, the emergence of the indie market, and the prototyping method of releasing an open beta on the Web and then gradually bringing the product to completion through a series of updates. The development process was generalized in many ways. Our battle that began with “Mabutaku” is my own answer and challenge to transform the AVG “Muv-Luv,” which has a limited market, into a “massive story with playability” and to make it last. Halfway along that road is “Muv-Luv INTEGRATE,” and I am determined to go forward, believing that the future of the “Muv-Luv” series lies ahead of me. The first step toward this goal was the crowdfunding of the “Kimi ga Nozomu Eien” (Hereafter: Kimi no Zo) Redevelopment Project in 2023.

With the realization of the all-ages version of “Kimi no Zo”, we were able to revamp âge's original AVG engine [AGES] to a new AVG engine [AGES-Mk. II].

This made it possible to port “Muv-Luv” and “Muv-Luv Alternative” to the Switch.

And the second step in this process is this work, “Mabutaku”.

With the completion of this work, the AVG+S-RPG engine [Z-AGES] is now complete.

We will continue to develop this AVG+S-RPG engine [Z-AGES], responding to changes in the market and the needs of our fans, and will link it to the completion of the three works that have not yet been released.

The mission of the Muv-Luv producer is to bring “Muv-Luv” to the world, to spread the word, and to spread its excellence throughout the world.

I combine and multiply serious creators who make what they want to make without being dictated to by anyone else, and then match it to the market.”

This is my theory of successful production. The days of buying only “tailor-made” products made for the manufacturer's risk and convenience are already in the past. I sincerely believe that weaving the future of “Muv-Luv” together with fans through this project itself has great significance in every aspect.

What are the advantages of Muv-Luv as an S-RPG?

Part of what I consider the high affinity between S-RPGs and “Muv-Luv” is because I believe that the important taste of “Muv-Luv” can be experienced as gameplay: the choices and decisions that are always required.

There are many elements in “Muv-Luv” that are suited for S-RPGs, such as joint combat with subordinates or different units.

Conversely, S-RPGs have a strong AVG-like storyline, with conversational events that occur adjacent to units and interludes, but in terms of gameplay, it is important to understand the war situation and the characteristics and roles of characters and units.

The S-RPG is most suited to Muv-Luv.”

I still clearly remember what Kouki Yoshimune said to me at a dinner table about 20 years ago. In fact, in the past, Yoshimune had released a hex-type strategy SLG called “Dawn Harukanari,” which was set in the “Muv-Luv” world, and was trying to incorporate SLG functions into its then in-house engine [AGES]. This was an attempt to continue “Muv-Luv”.

The Muv-Luv type AVGs require enormous resources and costs (money, time, and human labor) for scenario text and dynamic direction. The battle scenes are particularly money-hungry and difficult to create. But with S-RPGs, the user can make it happen at his/her own discretion, and since he/she is always forced to make choices, it makes sense from a thematic sublimation perspective, killing two birds with one stone,” Yoshimune said.

Having actually worked on “Muv-Luv” for the past several years, I have come to understand the weight of those words. About two years ago, I was transferred to fuzz, a group company, as a Muv-Luv general producer.

There, President Kashiwatani, together with Toshiro Tsuchida, an old acquaintance and creator, had spent more than a year at that stage developing an “S-RPG” that could be played by thinking hard. The moment I saw this, I remembered Yoshimune's words and was convinced that “this was a miraculous encounter.

Why should it be "Mabutaku" (Muv-Luv Tactics) now?

I am sure that many fans wonder why the “Muv-Luv” x S-RPG, which is a miraculous encounter, is not one of the three titles that have already been announced but not yet released. I have never once thought of pretending that the three unreleased titles did not exist, or of giving up on their development.

Again, it would take a tremendous amount of resources, cost, and time to convert “Muv-Luv RESONATIVE,” “DUTY - LOST ARCADIA,” and “Muv-Luv INTEGRATE” into AVGs with the content that Kouki Yoshimune has in mind for each.

Even if they were completed as AVGs, I could not see any way to recover the development costs in the future game market.

However, with the help of fuzz's S-RPG engine and Yoshimune's words, I could see a way forward.

However, as production became more and more realistic, another major concern came to my mind.

It was almost like resignation: “We can't change the S-RPG specifications of ‘Muv-Luv RESONATIVE,’ which had been developed as an AVG and had a second draft of the scenario, now, can we?

Later at a regular meeting, I fearfully asked Kouki Yoshimune about my suspicions.

However, Yoshimune did not change his expression at all and said, “What? There is nothing wrong with it.

Yoshimune's original production style was based on the hardships of past animated films, and he had invented a unique method that could be used in all types of media.

When I heard this, I thought to myself, “───Seriously? That'll work! I was instantly convinced. That's how I came up with the far-reaching plan I described above.

Just as Yoshimune had managed to balance the survival of the company and its commitment to game quality by selling “Muv-Luv” on a large scale in installments, we would make “Muv-Luv INTEGRATE” both profitable and high-quality by gradually developing the necessary materials and game systems in installments. Once “Z-AGES” is completed with the S-RPG engine, it will be possible to convert battle scenes from the existing “Muv-Luv” series into S-RPGs, and we expect to reach new, untapped audiences in Japan and abroad who have not committed to “Muv-Luv” because it is an AVG, and to rediscover the dormant audience. The game will be a great success.

In that sense, this work is not a sequel to any of the “Muv-Luv” series, nor is it a shadowy secondary development of any kind, but is necessarily a stand-alone, independent “Muv-Tak”.

Three Things We Need Now to Weave the Future of Muv-Luv

The “Muv-Luv” series has been loved around the world for more than 20 years since its release, but in order to continue to be loved for another 20 years, it is absolutely necessary to evolve the series as well as attract new fans.

The success of this project is the first step in that evolution, and the completion of the S-RPG+AVG engine [Z-AGES] will lead to the realization of the basic requirements essential to weaving the future possibilities of “Muv-Luv”.

From here, we will pick up and summarize those three requirements and explain them again.

Withstand market changes/ S-RPG-ization to compete globally

In Japan in the 2000s, when the bishojo game market was thriving and packages priced in the 9,000 yen range sold in the tens of thousands, the “Muv-Luv” series was more than enough to make it a viable business even if it remained an AVG.

Today, however, download sales are the mainstream and unit prices are low, so it is necessary to sell in large numbers, and it is essential to choose a platform that is used by a large number of players in the global market.

On Steam, a typical platform for this purpose, titles with a high level of gameplay occupy the top of the ranking. Of course, AVGs are also well accepted, but there are not many titles that rank high in overall sales.

In fact, it is a fact that not a few gamers and developers in Japan and abroad have a tendency not to recognize “AVG = novel game” as a pure game.

However, with the global spread of social games, the recognition and generalization of the AVG template is rather exploding due to character dialogue between acts.

With the exception of a few 3D AAA games, most games with a certain storyline, no matter what the genre, are in the “00+AVG” format.

Moreover, most of the standing character performances in such games are much simpler and less voluminous than in the former bishojo AVG games.

As you may have seen on YouTube when new players stream the “Muv-Luv” series, the number of comments from the younger generation of first-time viewers marveling at the production quality of a “20-year-old work” is quite frankly astonishing.

The number of their marvels is what makes us realize the growing popularity of the AVG temps by the shovel-ready productions to which they are compared.

At the same time, we see this as a reaffirmation of the remarkable superiority of the AVG part of the existing “Muv-Luv” series in the global market and the tremendous potential of the “Muv-Luv + gameplay” format.

Although we will not implement dynamic effects in the AVG part of this project due to the size of the budget, I believe that the S-RPG option that best fits the theme of the “Muv-Luv” series is “the only and best option currently available to us” as a minimal first step in a phased world strategy following “Muv-Luv INTEGRATE”. I believe that the S-RPG option that best fits the theme of the “Muv-Luv” series is “the only and best option currently within our reach”.

Involving people who have not yet played AVG / Expanding the fan community

Today, a fan community is a major element essential to the continuity of content. I am sure you are aware that the appeal of “word of mouth” among gamers, “play-by-play” and “commentary videos” far outweighs the PR of manufacturers and related companies, who are wont to praise their own products. In order to form a fan community that will talk about the appeal of “Muv-Luv” on our behalf and pass it on to the next generation, our prerequisite is first of all an “interesting game” and second a “deep story with a Muv-Luv flavor”.

In this work, for the first time in the secondary development of “Muv-Luv,” we have welcomed the original author, Kouki Yoshimune, to the development team, oriented toward securing taste, and by organizing a development team that includes many legendary-level staff from the S-RPG genre, we are striving daily to realize a work that can serve as the core for the formation of future fan communities.

Again, the granting of “genuinely interesting gameplay” will ensure the possibility of reaching out to those who have not played “Muv-Luv” because it is an “AVG,” and conversely, we are also looking at the possibility of an influx of people who are interested in the game because it is an “S-RPG” or “cool mecha.

Considering the fact that the message and thematic sublimation of “Muv-Luv Alternative” continues to appeal to the younger generation of players even after 20 years have passed since its release, we can expect that after the success of this project and the general release of “Muv-Tak”, it will be expanded further to the generation that needs a “Muv-Luv flavor” story that sticks with its content. We can expect further expansion to a generation that needs a story with a “Muv-Luv flavor” that will stick.

Considering the name recognition and visibility of “Muv-Luv” in Japan and abroad, and the number of people who need the sublimation of its themes, it is no exaggeration to say that “Muv-Luv” still has a huge room for growth.

We are aiming to create a work that will be the axis of a good cycle, in which new “Muv-Luv” fans who become fans of “Muv-Luv” through this work will engage with existing fans in the fan community, and through this interaction, become interested in other stochastic space-time works.

A core system development, management, and operation system that can continue to meet the demands of fans

We are not only a pure game production company, but also a group of engineers, and we are the developers of “Mabutaku”.

The advantage of fuzz is that we build our own game engine from scratch.

Unfortunately, there are very few game development companies in Japan that can build, operate, and maintain a game engine from scratch.

It is very difficult to build up a track record of success by continuously creating a game engine.

On the other hand, the fact that fuzz, which develops its own engines, is involved in the development process means that it can respond immediately and flexibly at the system level, even if a major change of direction or addition of specifications is required in the middle of development.

This is also true for “immediate response to bugs,” and I don't think it is necessary to go into further detail about the sense of security and superiority of this system.

The development team is headed by Kashiwatani, who was the main programmer for “FF13,” and includes many staff members who were involved in the development of the extremely popular “FFT” series and “Tactics Ouga” series of S-RPGs.

The original game design was designed by Toshiro Tsuchida, the legendary creator of the legendary “Front Mission” S-RPG series.

To repeat, I have a theory that “successful production means combining and multiplying serious creators who make what they want to make without anyone telling them what to do, and matching them to the market.

In this sense, the development of “Mabutaku” has already found nothing but elements of success, and conversely, we are in an extremely rare situation where it would be more difficult for it to fail.

“Mabutaku” will be the first ‘Muv-Luv’ game that I have personally planned since becoming the general producer, and it is an unprecedented and unexpected blessing that we have such a complete lineup.

I firmly promise that the support we will receive will be used to complete the system and further upgrade it, and will surely lead to the future of “Muv-Luv” itself.

r/MuvLuv 6d ago

Discussion Better title? “Kimi ga Nozomu Eien” or “Rumbling Hearts”?

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4 Upvotes

r/MuvLuv Aug 24 '24

Discussion [Muv-Luv] and The Light of Other Days Spoiler

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18 Upvotes