31 Mar March 2023 Update
Greetings Backers!
The weather is fine in Japan and the cherry blossoms have never looked better!
Confidential Information Issue Follow-up
We have sent E-mails to all affected backers informing them of the recent E-mail issue. Our goal is to address all affected backers on an individual basis in hopes that we can rebuild any lost trust over this issue. The header will read “Double Kickstarter: Update on Confidential Information Issue”.
The goal with any crowdfunding campaign is to make sure backers have a closer connection point to the creators and get more in-depth looks at the creative process but we want to make sure it’s clear the campaign team who is working to facilitate the campaign is responsible for logistical issues and problems that have occurred. In this case in particular we want to be clear that we are a separate entity from both Yukikaze and Wild Bunch Productions so the responsibility is ours alone.
Surveys
We are currently at 80% of surveys completed so please do check your in-box to see if one has arrived. Most crowdfunded campaigns get up to over 90% but still hundreds of backers end up not filling out their survey which means we are unable to ship their rewards.
◆2023.03.25 PENNY BLOOD Project Diary
Good evening everyone. Machida here, who just saw Shin Kamen Rider and is now burning with creativity.
Incidentally, flowers have started blooming all throughout the Japanese archipelago, and Niigata, my hometown, was scheduled to see its flowers bloom on 3/27. It seems like this weekend will be the perfect time to go flower viewing, so I hope I’ll get to walk through the cherry blossom trees when I’m outside this weekend.
Now, it’s time for this month’s Penny Blood project update. We’re still working on the walkthrough version – working VERY hard on it! We’ve been exchanging ideas on how to improve it even more, and we’re currently in the middle of discussing which improvements we should prioritize most.
Personally, I’m still working on the overall structure for the story. I’ve split the plot up into chapters, and the more I write, the more characters appear – both new and old. Even I’m excited to see just what sort of things they end up doing in the world of Penny Blood. I wanted to finish everything by the end of this month, but since my time got taken up by other things, I’ll be working on it for a bit longer.
Kato-san has been creating new characters and working on design documents to help outside artists assist her. When a character appears twice in two different time periods, it affects their clothing and overall design, so she’s been working hard on designs for characters before and after time has taken its toll on them.
Hanya-san finished up with Agent Hoover, and worked on designing a grotesque monster that appears in the prologue. This monster has a really gross design to it, kind of like several humans fused together. I can’t wait to see how gross it looks when it’s in motion. I wonder which NPC I should have him work on next… Oh, I know! I’ll have him work on HER…
Watanabe-san is drawing the stronghold that appears on mainland China. He created an image board that packs such a punch it looks like it could be used as package art for a plastic model battleship kit. It’s going to be similar to Ryounkaku Citadel, which we revealed during the DKS campaign. At the time, the Russo-Japanese War had just ended, and Russian and Japanese territories had undergone changes, so we wanted it to be a locale that exhibits vestiges of that sort of thing. It’s already become one of my favorite dungeons.
Sound-wise, Hirota-san’s Osaka concert on 3/18 seemed to be a big hit. We really enjoyed watching it on stream. I think Hirota-san will be commenting on it afterwards, so I hope you read his update too.
I’d also like to thank everyone who tuned into the Creators Radio we did after the concert. We’re thinking about doing another one toward the end of April. We’ll do a proper announcement once it gets closer.
That’s it for this month’s update.
I hope you all enjoy the beautiful cherry blossom season!
Matsuzo Machida
Message from Hirota-san
Good evening, everyone.
March ended up being full of chances for people to dabble in the world of PENNY BLOOD through its music, with “Composition Work for PENNY BLOOD”, “Workroom Inferno Vol. 0,” and “PENNY BLOOD -CLUB INFERNO- Osaka-Side.” Did you all watch the streams?
As the title “Composition Work for Penny Blood” suggests, that was a stream I did from my composing room, where I composed music live. I was worried as to whether people would actually enjoy watching me compose, but all the warm comments I received from everyone put me at ease. I hope I can stream the continuation of my work on that song in the future, and I hope you’ll all tune in when I do.
“Workroom Inferno Vol. 0” was an intro to the club party that I streamed one week before the event. It was basically a machine concert where I used software as well as hardware such as drum machines, analog synthesizers to mix the music in real-time.
Last but not least, we had “PENNY BLOOD -CLUB INFERNO- Osaka-Side.” Now that I think about it, this was our first real ‘official event.’ You’d probably be hard-pressed to find another club event full of people dancing to remixed music from an RPG that’s still being worked on, regardless of where you looked. I was really glad to be able to meet with people who are excited for PENNY BLOOD and talk to them in person. The 4 DJs who warmed up the room before I went on were all really cool, awesome, and fun to watch! I had a blast performing while watching everyone dance and have a good time. I hope I can see you all again someday! Thanks to everyone who watched us on stream, too.
You can check out details from the event by searching with the hashtag “#pennyblood_osaka” on Twitter.
After the concert, I received lots of messages from people who wanted us to put on a similar event in their cities as well. First, though, I need to create more music for the game, or else I’ll just end up creating variations of remixes… Slowly but surely, I’d like to increase my repertoire and put on all sorts of parties and concerts where people can enjoy music from Penny Blood, whether it’s in Japan or otherwise. (I want to enjoy the delicious food and alcohol all cities have to offer as well…!)
Aside from the events, I’ve also been working on the sound design for the walkthrough. This month, I mainly thought about the direction for the sound effects and also did some trial and error to improve sounds that have already been added. Footsteps are an especially great way to provide additional information to the senses that can’t be covered by the visuals. How big/wide is the field, how high is the ceiling, what is the floor made of? Footsteps are an incredible tool that can create a greater sense of immersion for users and deliver the atmosphere to them in a more direct manner. I can’t imagine creating a game without giving proper thought to these kinds of sounds.
As I continue working hard, I’m really excited for the day when you’ll all be able to listen to my work. Until then, I hope you all stay well.