MAGES. will release the game "Psychometrics Can't Choose Happiness" for Xbox One on May 28. Recently, some Japanese media interviewed Makoto Asada and Hiroshi Mori, who are the producers of the game, and Hiroshi Mori, who is the producer of the animation version, and talked about this work from the two perspectives of games and animation.

■Regarding the gamification of "Psychometrician", we think about it from the beginning of the system

Q: First of all, let's ask Mr. Mori. So let's tell you about the ins and outs of gamifying the anime "Psychometrician" to MAGES.

Sen: Speaking of which, noitaminA (who airs "Psychometrics") and MAGES have collaborated since their time on "RoboticsiNotes". In addition, noitaminA's "Unheard of Names" has also made games before, so I think animation and games can also be linked.

In addition, starting in April, noitaminA has also started broadcasting the anime "PunchLine", which itself is a work requested by MAGES. IN THIS CASE, IT WAS JUST IN TIME FOR THE SECOND SEASON OF PSYCHOMETRICIANS AND THE THEATRICAL VERSION, SO WE ASKED THEM." Do you want to cooperate to make a game? "So there was this gamification collaboration.

Aada: But I've cut a lot of details.

Sen: There's no such thing. When the gamification project was proposed within MAGES, I felt like Mr. Asada appeared like a shooting star.

Q: When did noitaminA start discussing this collaboration with MAGES?

Sen: I think the first time I talked about this was around January 2013. After that, things continued to progress, and the gamification plan was decided around the summer of 2013. As for the order, it's probably the first season of the anime in 2012, the new edited version and the second season in 2014, the theatrical version in 2015, and then the game version.

Aada: When it came to the project for "Psychometrician", we didn't have to decide who was in charge. At that time, I had just joined the company, and I thought it was interesting, so I raised my hand and recommended myself.

Q: As far as Mr. Asada is concerned, what do you think is interesting about the gamification of "Psychometrics"?

Asada: This unique view of the world is very fascinating. In addition, the original game is also very interesting, and if I want to use a game console to reflect this worldview, I think about the system: what can be done and what can't be done?

Q: I thought about it from the system at first.

Asada: Yes, the story of "Psychometrician" is in charge of Nitroplus, so I don't think we need to add to the plot or the worldview. Then think about finding the focus from a game perspective and finding something that is fun to work with. That's where the project began.

Sen: When Mr. Asada told us about the system plan during the gamification process, I felt that the next-generation machine like the Xbox One could fully express the futuristic sense of "Psychometrician".

Q: Mr. Asada himself was the first to use Kinect technology in "INSTANTBRAIN" during the cave era.

Asada: At the time, to be honest, I just wanted to try it out with Kinect technology. But this time, I want to make sure that users don't feel where the Kinect technology is being used.

And when it comes to Kinect technology, you may wonder "Huh? Able to do this? In fact, we never say "I have to use Kinect anywhere." "I don't want to have the preconceived notion that Kinect is a must, but just give people the feeling that Kinect seems to be more fun than before.

Q: There is also the use of **AR**LASS technology?

Aada: What to say, we have a much deeper use of **AR** LSASS technology than Kinect. There is an element of zài "hue" in "The Psychometrician", and we hope that you can see this hue in **AR**LSASS...... When players operate the game, they should not just "control" the characters, but also have a feeling of being integrated into the picture and becoming one with the story. With this in mind, we used the **AR** LSASS technology.

Q: Speaking of works that actively use **AR**LSASS, it seems that there are not many works not only in China, but also abroad. And how did you feel when you actually made zuò?

Asada: Nowadays, when many people play games at home, they "play while watching the guide website on their mobile phones". So on the flip side, wouldn't it be even better if we could connect our phones and games? With this in mind, we started this **AR**LSASS project.

For example, the word Hue just listed above, there are a lot of terms in the game that were not used much in the original Psychometrician. Then TIPS is very convenient at this time. In the game, if the player thinks, "What does this mean?" Then you can use the word search function of **AR**LSASS, and you can get the answer right away. Anyway, I want you to use it that way.

Q: I see, it's similar to an electronic dictionary.

Asada: Also, depending on the in-game scene, you can sometimes use **AR**LASS to start the dominator, which gives players the feeling of using a terminal in the game. We don't take the game for granted, it's just that we can enjoy a lot of fun that we haven't had in previous games.

Q: So, the functions of **AR**LASS can basically be used?

Aada: I think the general concept has been settled. It's just that unlike the game's ROM, **AR**LASS uses the network function, so we also debugged it to the maximum. In the same way, the game can also be updated, but the game screen at the beginning of the release will be a little different from the picture after that.

Q: So what kind of position does Mr. Asada think the Psychometrics game in Xbox One is in?

Asada: Regarding the game version of "Psychometrician", I think even from the perspective of a Japanese software vendor, I wonder if this is a strategy to direct a new user base to Xbox One.

We've shown this work at various events, but unlike other Xbox One games, we've seen a lot of female gamers. Of course, the reason why there is this game is also because of the first season animation, the second season animation, and the theatrical version...... That is, the charm of "The Psychometrician" itself. There is no doubt about that.

Sen: I've never seen a project like "The Psychometrician" that can launch a new edited version, a second season, or a theatrical version in a very short period of time. And for players and audiences, it will be easier to capture the development of the work.

At present, the work has realized comics, light novels, and gamification this time, and it can be said that the work "Psychometrician" gives everyone the impression of multi-field development. In terms of the project as a whole, this is a very good synergistic effect.

Aada: I was able to work on animation with Fuji Television, which I thought was very interesting. We held a stage event at AnimeJapan 2015 the other day, and we were really grateful that they allowed us to showcase our game works in different places.

Q: Actually, Fuji Television has also released serial zuò TV series and movies before. It's like a TV series called "パ★テ★オ......

Sen: Ah, I know that......

Asada: The first and second seasons were all TV dramas, and then the next movie was made. At that time, it seemed that the great Zhou had appeared......

Sen: That's the guy who took the material in Italy. At that time, I was still in elementary school (laughs).

Asada: Actually, when I heard about this development of "Psychometrician", the first thing that came to my mind was "パ★テ★オ" (laughs). But sometimes I also sigh: "The Psychometrician" is really amazing, and it can continue to launch so many works!

■Is there a third season of the anime "Psychometrician"?

Asada: Mr. Mori, we have already released TV anime, theatrical versions, and games that will be released in May. How do you see the future developing?

Mori: Personally, I hope there will be plans for the future.

Q: So far, the work has been very good, so there's no reason not to continue to release new content, right?

Aada: Personally, "The Psychometrician" is very rich in its portrayal of human nature, and I prefer the live-action version to the anime. Of course, if it is made into a live-action version, there is no way to release it. Speaking of which, Mr. Mori is in charge of "The Psychometrician", so what kind of ideas did he come up with?

Sen: Yes, if it's a late-night anime, then usually no matter what we do, we tend to only attract a niche group like anime fans. And "Psychometrician" can already be accessible to ordinary audiences, so it also contains the possibility of late-night animation.

From the point of view of TV stations, they need to produce works for the general public, and among them, noitaminA itself is a program that is somewhere between the niche and the public. In this sense, "The Psychometrician" is in a very good position.

Aada: Also, did you have the idea of making this work popular with female audiences in the first place?

Sen: When the first season of "The Psychometrician" aired in 2012, I used to think, "Isn't it too gloomy?" However, after Akira Ino's illustrations were announced, the number of female fans increased all of a sudden. This was completely unexpected. It can be said that the first season of the anime was supported by female fans.

However, when it comes to the second season and the theatrical version, I hope to be able to pay more attention to male fans as well, so the content of the second season is heavier than the first season. In the subsequent theatrical version, fans of both men and women basically gathered, and it had a good effect. Of course, there is still a strong foundation of female fans, so in this sense, I think the Xbox One version will also increase the proportion of female players.

Aada: As I said earlier, the number of female fans at the event was really high. I was in charge of my own work, and I would definitely go to the event, but in the days when I made zuòS**, 95% of the people who attended were men, so I was surprised this time.

In addition, the voices of women who don't usually play games should not be ignored, such as those who say, "In a game, when the UI disappears, I don't know how to make it reappear". We've been making works for gamers, so we weren't aware of it, so we learned a lot here. This time, we've taken great care to make it easy for people who don't play games to use.

Sen: I'm really grateful to these enthusiastic fans for their survival, for example, they even hold birthday parties for characters who died in the first season. It's just that after all, it's a character who has been written dead in the anime plot, so it's hard for them to appear again in this plot. However, this time the game version can still make them appear in terms of "official settings". I think if I want to see the fans of them, I can do it this time.

Q: Speaking of which, where is the stage setting of the game version of "Psychometric" in the main anime?

Aada: This is a version set around 4~6 episodes of the main anime. Therefore, everyone in the Criminal Division of the Public Security Bureau is still there, and the shady Maki Island in the first season is only a little action. Maki Island itself is not related to the events of the game version, but it still appears in it. In this sense, those who liked the first season can think of this game as a reunion of "Psychometrician".

Q: Will the settings in the game version be reflected in the anime?

Sen: The first season of "Psychometrician" has already ended in terms of the plot, so it was very difficult to add new elements. It's just that the events and settings that happen in the game are officially recognized, so maybe some of the content in this can also be reflected in the work.

Aada: Actually, the game version is inextricably linked to the theatrical version in terms of plot. After all, the game version was released after the theatrical version, so if someone who has seen all the anime goes to play the game again, sometimes there will be a smile.

Sen: Since the animation is limited in length, there are some places where you have to speed up the pace. The animation basically unfolds the plot by tracking events.,In fact, the events in that world are all non-everyday things.。 After all, it is impossible for these events to occur in the ordinary everyday world. In the game, you can see a lot of daily content outside of events. So seriously, the game is a great way to learn more about the world of Psychometrics.

Q: When it comes to gamification of animation, there are times when "new games" are created based on anime, but this time the game is to further expand the world of Psychometrics, right?

Aada: We've expanded the world of Psychometrics to a very deep level. It's just that from the original plan, I also considered making zuò into other games. However, if it's our own original work, that's a different story. But this time it's a story that everyone created together, so we can't just mess around with it. So we asked Nitroplus to take care of the plot, and the character design was left to Mr. Kyoji Asano. In general, I was assisted by people related to animation.

■We hope that noitaminA's anime will also be released into the game

Q: Are there any challenges for Fuji TV after "Psychometrician"?

Sen: In November last year, we announced that we would produce a work called GameofLaplace. This work is not only suitable for fans of "Psychometric", but also for friends who are not interested in "Psychometric" before. After all, this is also a work with such a high-profile element as "Edogawa Ranbu".

Mori: I always seem to be praised by Mr. Asada today, which makes me feel a little creepy (laughs).

Asada: Where, where (laughs). The TV industry, although sometimes it feels like there is a certain distance from the game industry, but sometimes it is also very close. In short, in two extremes. And the makers of noitaminA are also keeping a relatively close distance from us. In this sense, we are able to discuss a lot of things and encourage each other.

As far as we're concerned, we can't afford to let the popularity that anime has cultivated slip through the game, so we need to think about how to mobilize the positives in the work before we can make it. "Psychometrician" has played a very good role, so I think it would be nice to be able to make similar games in the future.

Q: Mr. Mori became the second editor-in-chief of noitaminA since the fall of 2014, so how do you feel about the fact that "new noitaminA" has gone through more than half a year?

Sen: Basically, nothing has changed. I don't think there's anything wrong with what I've done before, but in the first quarter of the 50 new series, I'm looking at how to launch a brilliant project. If it's a project that MAGES wants to adapt into a game, then I think it's a project that the audience will find interesting. Therefore, I would like to continue to work with MAGES. to build a beneficial relationship with both parties.

Q: When did Mr. Mori start working as a noitamina system?

Sen: I started out as an assistant in Black Rock Shooter. That was around 2011, and I guess I started working on "Psychometrician" after that.

Asada: Everyone thinks that this person will not be able to do anything in the future, so I'll leave the job to him now.

Sen: Not at all (laughs). Ah, there's a message about noitaminA. Before, our show was 30 minutes + 30 minutes in length, but in April this year, it became only 30 minutes in length. As for why we did this, because we started the "noitaminA video" project in 2012, and then tried to use the theatrical version to show the content of the work for a quarter. Of course, if you don't do it well, it will be very difficult in the future.

In terms of theatrical versions, we will go all out to produce zuò in the future, and if we don't make zuò in the way of "one TV anime, one theatrical version", then it will be difficult to release a good anime. I also realized this. As far as the "noitaminA video" announced so far is concerned, the 2015 trilogy of Project Ito ("Organ Abuse", "Harmony/", "Empire of the Corpses") and the new work "My Heart Screams" by the "That Flower" team. In addition, we are still preparing a lot of things, and the schedule is very tight.

Aada: My generation feels like Fuji TV's anime is still on Wednesday at 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. Speaking of which, noitaminA doesn't try to make "Oolong Police Station"?

Sen: Whahahaha! Mr. Asada made a proposal for a work lightly, but the plots in "Oolong Police Station" and "Silver and Gold", which he often mentions, are too simple (laughs).

Aada: Personally, I'd like to see "Silver and Gold" anime, but if not, "The Strongest Legend Kurosawa" would be good.

Sen: I'll take care of it (laughs). Mr. Asada is terrible~

Q: Finally, would you like to say a few words to the fans who are looking forward to "Psychometrics"?

Asada: The Psychometricians has now come to an end with the first and second seasons of Guò and the theatrical version. However, in the game, you can have new discoveries. And as friends who are fans of the game, we also hope that you can find the feeling of the classmates of the Psychometrics characters in the game. Reviewing the first season after playing the game will also reveal a lot of new discoveries, which should be fun for everyone.

Sen: When it comes to the gamification of animation, it often feels like a side story or something incidental, but this time, "Happiness That Psychometricians Can't Choose", has a well-arranged timeline and a solid plot. For those who have watched the theatrical version and have an empty heart, this is also a work that everyone has been looking forward to for a long time, so please look forward to it.