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easternmind · 4 months

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Lessons in Japanese Game Design #3

From Killer7 to Deadly Premonition, Japanese game creators have intrepidly explored the theme of mental illness in a variety of genres, often in highly stylized form. The title I wish to approach today is a lesser known reference that approached this subject matter with unusual tact and clarity - a memory, if you will, which the collective conscious has long repressed.

Maria Kimi Tachi Ga Umareta Wake (The Reason You Were Born) is a late 1997 adventure game firmly rooted in the visual novel template that earned Chunsoft great repute. It was Break studio's debut, produced over a year and half for both the PlayStation and Saturn systems. It was published by Axela, a company born out of the internal management conflicts and accumulated debt at ASCII, leading to some of its executives teaming up in 1996 to establish a new project centred around software and magazine publishing. The story of this company's origins, alone, would merit a separate post.

Foreseeably, its release was followed by moderate controversy, such that worked mostly in its favour. One of the most polemical moments is found in the introduction scene, with its tasteful yet unvarnished depiction of Maria's suicide attempt, followed by her hospital admission. The imagery and that which it depicts remains as painful to watch today as it did decades ago.

While Maria is the central character, her tragedy and arc merge with that of the actual protagonist, Jun Takano, a fledgeling surgeon who, in the quality of certified psychiatrist, is assigned to provide therapy to the French-Japanese patient the morning after her admittance.

Maria's mental illness component comes to light as the story and therapy sessions progress. The key art consists of photos of women using coloured masks to visually represent the dimensions of her multiple personality disorder.

(Note: the text above is machine translated from the original Japanese game manual.)

Break was denounced for its bid to integrate so serious a derangement as a theme in a juvenile entertainment piece. Their reaction was to highlight the research done to ensure a careful treatment of the subject and sensitization of players via a bespoke message in the manual. In retrospect, the relative popularity of this game at the time was greatly owned to this fleeting controversy, and is believed to have been a crucial factor in the obtention of budget for Maria's far less spirited sequel.

As a work of pure fiction, scenario writer Kirie Fukuda was at liberty to carry the already divisive premise into even more exotic territory by establishing a mysterious yet playful correspondence between Maria's distinct personas and Egyptian deities.

The game's structure is modelled after hirudorama, a Japanese word interchangeably used to describe daytime TV fiction or soap operas; each of its nine chapters lasting nearly thirty minutes, equipped with a plot twist, cliff-hanger ending, and followed by rolling credits.

Perhaps the single most outstanding aspect about this production results from a tireless effort to surpass the standard of authenticity in what pertains facial expressions; particularly those of the multifaceted Maria, often with stilted yet all the more fascinating results.

In this and other regards, the influence of D no Shokutaku and its character, Laura, is clear and unmistakable. Maria's director and studio head at Break, Akira Okada, was an ex-Warp employee who worked as sales director precisely at the time when Eno's game was being developed.

Following a modest success, Break released Maria 2: Jutaikokuchi no Nazo in 99, a not-so-direct sequel which did not command the same attention as the original. The studio created other noteworthy visual novels: Ouma ga Toki and its sequel, as well as the most unusual Saishuu Densha, a paranormal-themed romantic story involving two strangers who meet in a train.

Before closing, it would pay to emphasize that this is an entirely different adventure game from the similarly forgotten MA-RI-A Ningōkan no Noroi, a 1996 3D CG horror adventure designed by Osamu Tezuka's son, Makoto; and scored by Kuniaki Haishima, of Kowloon's Gate and Siren 2 fame.

Nor is it related in any way with the so-called "Maria" episode from the Yarudora visual novel game series, Sampaguita, released in 1997 for the PlayStation by Sugar & Rockets and Production I.G.

#Maria Kimi Tachi Ga Umareta Wake #obscure japanese games #japanese game design #mental illness #suicide #axela #break #playstation #saturn

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fllavmur · 1 month

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⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪ a little bit about me

u can call me kika 𑁤 5teen !! infp ⋆.˚ aquarius ≈ she / her ୭ ˚. ᵎᵎ birthday . 7th february

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some of my favorite . 2 ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 call me by your name, the winde rises, the sound of music, gilmore girls, speak, american beauty, amelie, chicago, girl interrupted, the silence of the lambs, euphoria, black swan, harry potter, skins, the devil wears prada, lord of the rings, the boy and the beast, eyes wide shut, notting hill, sleepy hollow, whisper of the heart, bram stoker's dracula, hannibal (serie), the little prince, dexter, twilight, the holiday, bee and the puppy cat, oura high school host club, another, adventure time, black buttler ...

some of my favorite . 3 ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 daisy choi, tracy, massimo dutti, taylor russel, zendaya, nailea devora, pinterest, ralph lauren, miu miu, pink, yoshitomo nara, john galliano, vivienne westwood, aya takano, visual kei, mads mikkelsen, vintage things, sylvanian family, jimin ᰔ, vanilla, ballet, classic music, miguel adrover, opera, goodnight punpun, shin-ichi sakamoto, studio ghibli ...

let me know if you want to be mutuals .ᐟ.ᐟ

this is my spotify ₊⊹

this is my pinterest ₊⊹

most of the images inserted in this blog do not belong to me and I give all credits to their creators ...

my blogg is for everyone, but : p0rn accounts, older men, homophob1c, rac1st, mach1st, rude/disrespectful people, toxic stans, ...

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lolitalempicka · 6 months

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grew up on

lindsey wixson, creepychan, yume nikki, gothic lolita bible, ruslana, prada, john waters, chloé sevigny, aya takano, chobits, arte povera, mary kate, antwerp 6, damon albarn, miku, larme kei, bahnhof zoo, kamikaze girls, isabelle adjani, kate moss, lana, shaye st john, the dreamers, bjork, mariacarla boscono, sasha gray, moravia, nana komatsu, party monster, skins UK, sahar tabar, udo kier, junji ito, t.a.t.u, hysteric glamour, amy winehouse, i feel fantastic, evangelion, zulawski, che guevara, monica bellucci, marina abramovic, menhera, bauhaus, paz de la huerta, grey gardens, trainspotting, etc

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8bitsupervillain · 3 months

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Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 3 Tatarigoroshi pt. Final

I'm doing things slightly different here.

The following takes place between parts 17 and 18 of my playthrough. The interview with Keiichi is a post-credits scene, but because of the amount of screenshots I took during the credits and the typing I did for some of the stuff coming up I figured to treat it as a separate thing. A nice little denouement. I really hope tumblr doesn't murder the quality of the screenshots here. Italicized words are my own interjections and not what is written on screen. I tried my best with some of the later parts.

Basically during this part and the credits I kept mashing the screenshot key.

"I made him seem like a very good person. I'll need to make him into a terrible criminal in the end."

"Apparently you're supposed to call disasters like the Great Hanshin Earthquake severe disasters. Still it's a terrifying operation plan. Though I guess sterilization operations are like this. I need to think hard so it's realistic."

"Jirou Tomitake A mysterious old man with the role of an extra yet still popular. He won't be doing much for a while.

Miyo Takano I made this character seriously suspicious. Seems kind of like the last boss. Maybe she should be to one to take the punches in the end. I need to make her so bad even coach would punch her. Maybe a full transformation in the end is in order.

Kuraudo Ooishi A Completely enigmatic man, though I'll admit he's convenient. Maybe he'll turn trustworthy in the end after clearing up the misunderstandings?

Katsuya Kumatani A completely enigmatic man, though I'll admit he's convenient. Maybe he'll turn trustworthy in the end after clearing up the misunderstandings?

Why is Kumatani and Ooishi's the same?

Kyousuke Irie I made him seem like a very good person. I'll need to make him into a terrible criminal in the end.

Rika Furude A convenient character who can't help but garner popularity. If Satoko doesn't get more popular with this, then she might not be able to make a comeback. Speaking of suffering, maybe Mion has it worse (pained laugh). A mysterious girl, in a way. The incarnation of the curse theory?????"

"Hinamizawa Village Gas Disaster In Memoriam List Apparently you're supposed to call disasters like the Great Hanshin Earthquake severe disasters. Still it's a terrifying operation plan. Though I guess sterilization operations are like this. I need to think hard so it's realistic.

Reina Ryuugu (spelling?) Passed away in the great Hinamizawa disaster. May she rest in peace.

Mion Sonozaki Passed away in the great Hinamizawa disaster. May she rest in peace.

Oryou Sonozaki Passed away in the great Hinamizawa disaster. May she rest in peace

Satoko Houjou Went missing during the great Hinamizawa disaster???

Teppei Houjou Went missing during the great Hinamizawa disaster???

Ichirou Maebara, Aiko Maebara, Daiki Tomita, Suguru Okamura, and Kiichirou Kimiyoshi Passed away in the great Hinamizawa disaster. May he rest in peace. (I didn't feel like typing it out five times)

Rumiko Chie Went missing during the great Hinamizawa disaster???

Yukikazu Kameda Went missing during the great Hinamizawa disaster??? I have no recollection of who Kameda is whatsoever."

"Tatsuyoshi Kasai I wonder if he really has a thing for Shion, that would be so cute if he did, hau u.

Shion Sonozaki The more minor of the twins always gets more popular, but to think it would still hold true. Maybe it's fate, or maybe coincidence. You're okay to think of watanagashi considering the suicide, though."

"Keiichi Maebara Did he just end up going crazy in the end? My condolences I suppose. Keiichi really never dies in a good way. Am I not allowed to laugh?

Diagnosed with a severe mental disorder… Mental disorder, what!? But with so many terrible things happening, people will break. You must never forget that feeling. We all live because we have a heart to live with. If we forget that, we are just living puppets. Remember you're alive and have a soul.

The more minor of the twins always gets more popular, but to think it would still hold true. Maybe it's fate, or maybe coincidence. You're okay to think of watanagashi considering the suicide, though."

This is the end of the story related text. The rest is credits for the episode. I think this is written from the perspective of whatever is actually behind the Hinamizawa/Oyashiro curse. The first part, about making him a villain again was shown way back at the very start of the series before the title card of Onikakushi.

""Higurashi: When They Cry" Serial Murder Novel Number 3: Tatarigoroshi A mysterious old man with the role of an extra yet still popular. He won't be doing much for a while.

I'm a little sleepy. Maybe I haven't been getting enough sleeping and gaming with all my heart. Or maybe I just want to play ragnarok online Oh, puritan, hah, hah, moe!

Scenario: Ryukishi07 Hello, I'm ryukishi07. It was a fierce battle this time, like it always is.

Partner in Crime: Yatazakura You really did a good job this time!! Let's put out the best stuff brothers can manage! (I might be wrong on this one?)

Scirpting: Yatazakura Thanks for everything again!

4U You're another one I always rely on. Thank you for everything you do."

"BT Your kind encouragement encourages me. Thank you so much.

Scripting Language: Me finding this scripting language was how it began. I wouldn't be here today without it.

Still, I'm really sleepy. The fatigue of a thousand years as they say. I may be doing this for fun, it's hard on my body. But it's nothing as long as i can get your thoughts and reactions!

4U I took so much of your time, so I'm sorry I'm late again. Gotta go debug more"

"BT You're another one i always rely on. Thank you for everything you do.

Production Yat Looks like he's got the hang of it. He was very fast on the clean up this time.

Graphics: Ryukishi07 Part of me wants a good artist, but having to trust someone else with it scares me too much (I can completely empathize with the creative idea of "only I can do this!)

Background location: Kameya Without your generous help, Higurashi would not exist. All those beautiful backgrounds are yours.

Yato Sakura Without your generous help"

"Ryukishi07 Without your generous help

Tsubaki Hey, this is totally nepotism, isn't it? Well, let's put that off as a joke

LRRP: Kameya You are a god. Sorry fo the weird abbreviation LRRP. I look foward to working with you and Daisuke in the future.

Jika Thank you as always, to hru. ab it stuc kin ro, tho ugh if brother unit e we'll be invinicible! Let's do our best!"

"Amamizu/Scarlet Thank you as always to hru.ab itstuc kin (The same thing is written for Amamizu and Scarlet here, and I admit I kind of gave up trying to figure out what's written there. "Thank you as always tohru? a bit stuck in?)

Music and SFX The Music studio Without beautiful music the world wouldn't turn. The main theme is important. It's a vital factor.

Dream Island Development Room Being able to mess with things from my house is a pretty huge plus.

Escateli~na Being able to mess with things from my house is a pretty huge plus."

no love for Koji. Awww.

"Minigames: BT Thank you so much for alwasy submitting great minigames. Give me some advice when adjusting them. Personally, I'd rather tsubaki in a ruse(?) s picture not be excessive I wonder why he doesn't understand?"

I wonder if the original release way back in the day had minigames in it? Like the club activities are playable games maybe? I'm now envisioning a significantly worse version of this game existing because it has something like the fucking awful gambling minigames from a Leisure Suit Larry just crammed in there.

"Homepage 07th Storming Party Still, I'm really sleepy. The fatigue of a thousand years as they say. I may be doing this for fun but it's hard on my body. But it's nothing as long as I can get your thoughts and reactions! Me finding this scripting language was I began. I wouldn't be here today without it.

Created by: Pride is fighting under your own flag. So I hope you understant why i don't want to "use my flag to make something weird. if you don't like it then raise a flag or two of your own." I hope this becomes a work to be proud of for life."

"Directed by: I'm ryukishi07. The path here has been a long one. But we're only midway through! The real stuff is still to come! I'll work harder than ever!"

Trying to decipher these and making sure I had them correct was a surprisingly annoying process. No one else on the entire rest of the internet seems to have bothered trying to decode what it all said. The steam forums especially were less than helpful. Just a bunch of people arguing six years ago about the veracity of what it says, and whether it counts as spoilers or MangaGamer "screwing with the plot." I do apologize for some of the attempts on my part basically just falling apart, but try as I might I just couldn't think of a way to make the letters available make any sort of coherent sense.

I mentioned it before, but I'm fairly positive that everything before the game credits is the entity behind the events of Higurashi remarking on the pawns they have available to toy with. Everything at the credits until the end title card there I'm sure was just Ryukishi07 having fun with it.

Gonna be honest with you here, I liked it, but not quite as much as chapter two. A reddit post I saw while trying to decipher the credits bits summed it up best: "Keiichi is cringe."

Gotta work towards a good ending. Can't just give it to your audience.

Let the god child drink!

Yeah, you're gonna have to address the body count of a thousand people eventually.

*sad trombone* Although I must say I do like the idea of playing as a protagonist other than Keiichi. Let the lunkhead go do something else, it's Shion's time to shine.

Keiichi aside, I liked Chapter Three: Tatarigoroshi, it was a severly depressing read at points, but it did provide some interesting mysteries towards the end. Why don't the dead stay put in Hinamizawa, what is puppeting the bodies around, and for what purpose? Why in this particular go-around was there a deadly volcanic gas that killed everyone in the town shortly after Watanagashi? Who were the twenty that disappeared? Satoko and Teppei were certainly two of them, but who were the other eighteen? Is it the masterminds of the cult? What is the importance of the woman who died at the start of the chapter, and did she really have any importance to the plot? I know there was the implication she was involved with the Sonozaki crime syndicate, but overall her entire subplot just vanished towards the middle of this chapter. Who killed Rika and why did they do it in a way similar to the murdered woman at the start of the chapter?

This chapter does however lend greater strength to the supernatural killer angle. Deliberately so, I'd say, since Chapter Two: Watanagashi leaned more hevily on the human angle to justify the killings.

Also:

"The shortest scenario," bullshit. This was just as lengthy as chapter two! It might seem shorter in my playthrough/readthrough, but that's only because I didn't want to be posting a bunch of screenshots and discussions about domestic violence. I felt it would be tonally at odds with my often lighthearted comments about the VN.

#higurashi #higurashi when they cry #higurashi no naku koro ni #higurashi playthrough

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