While some industry veterans may say that Japanese narrative adventure games (commonly known as visual novels in the West) have reached a bit of a slump, that doesn’t mean the genre doesn’t have its hits anymore. Recently, AUTOMATON brought together the developers of Urban Myth Dissolution Center and Gnosia, two remarkably successful Japanese visual novel games released in recent years, to chat about the key to “making it.”
The two titles are known for their iconic art styles and stories that leave you on the edge of your seat, but that was not all it took to produce a “hit” game, according to the developers. Behind the scenes, there was a great deal of effort put into marketing and building relationships with future players.
It goes without saying that a game will do better with good marketing than without it. However, for indie games that strive to stand out, conventional marketing methods may not seem to cut it – which is why Urban Myth Dissolution Center’s development team decided to take a slightly different path. Rather than just relying on online and signage advertising, writer HafHaf Oden and producer Makoto Hayashi say that they tried some more unconventional marketing methods. One over-the-top example is the giant pyramid they built for last year’s Tokyo Game Show and the real-life mystery games they hosted, which helped them stand out from the crowd and make a lot of new fans directly through their physical booth. Of course, HafHaf notes that the most important thing was the tight-knit relationship between developer Hakababunko and publisher Shueisha, and a steady feedback loop between them and the players.
Gnosia executive producer Tooru Kawakatsu also emphasized the importance of communicating with players – especially in real life. “It’s not just about the efficiency; when people put in the effort to meet face-to-face, you can feel the passion and subtleties of people’s hearts through discussions with them, and it’s a great learning experience,” he explained. Through numerous exhibitions and events, Gnosia’s development studio Petit Depotto have been able to cultivate a core fanbase – and having such support was one of the main reasons they were able to succeed, Hayashi suggested. He likened small-scale development to indie musicians doing gigs at small venues, who get to be more personal with their fans. “It was because they were able to create such an atmosphere that their game ended up becoming a hit,” he said.
Of course, getting to know your fans makes it easier for you to know who you’re making your games for – having a specific target audience is also important. Gnosia was originally released in 2019 for the PlayStation Vita, and the reason for it was that, at the time, PlayStation Vita was the go-to platform for visual novel games. With Gnosia, Petit Depotto aimed to create a work that would resonate with the visual novel player base gathering around the console. “It’s kind of a game we made only for PS Vita players, we wanted it to reach them first,” Kawakatsu explained. Furthermore, its simple concept and distinct art style make it clear what type of person the game is for – “You can make out what kind of game it is in just 10 seconds, see the art style and decide if it’s to your liking or not. While it may not be for everyone, I think it’s very clear who the target player demographic is,” he commented.
On the other hand, Hayashi explains that while Urban Myth Dissolution Center didn’t have a specific target audience, it was made with “people who don’t play games, and people who’ve stopped playing games” in mind. The game’s difficulty, volume and pacing were designed so anyone could pick it up and play it till the end. Emphasizing playability was a great move in the long run, because a big portion of the game’s popularity came from it being a “shareable” experience. Urban Myth Dissolution Center is quite compact, taking only around 13 hours to see the ending (and the shocking plot twists), so it makes it a much easier game to suggest to your friends and see their reactions. “I think a lot of people want to see others fall into the same trap they’ve fallen in while playing the game,” HafHaf suggested. Kawakatsu agreed on this point, noting that it was the same phenomenon that helped push Gnosia to wider audiences. “It’s when you just can’t keep the feelings (after clearing the game) to yourself, so you want someone else to get hooked on it as well and experience it together,” he said.
Gnosia is available for PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X|S.
Urban Myth Dissolution Center is available for PC (Steam), PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch.
