The House in Fata Morgana author Keika Hanada recently took to X to discuss some of the video games that influenced his critically acclaimed visual novel. Specifically, he says that the House in Fata Morgana “would have never existed” if it weren’t for the Ace Attorney and Danganronpa series. The following text contains spoilers for the ending of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, so please read at your own discretion.
Confirming a fan’s comment about the relationship between Michel Bollinger and Giselle being inspired by the dynamics of Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey, Hanada recalled the time when he was working at a certain game company together with Shu Takumi, the director of the original Ace Attorney series.
As part of the project that they were both working on at the time, Hanada was in charge of writing the character of the heroine. Led by her difficult life circumstances, he ended up portraying her character as “too passive and negative,” which is when Takumi told him that “Players won’t be happy if the heroine is always so negative.”
Apparently, this advice made Hanada “stop and rethink what a heroine should be,” leading him to write her as someone who stands on equal ground as the main protagonist and gives courage to the player, despite her dark character. This kind of writing philosophy is also what eventually helped Hanada shape the character of Giselle.
Additionally, Hanada says that the Ace Attorney and Danganronpa series also had a major influence on the overall story structure of The House in Fata Morgana. When it comes to Danganronpa, the episodic structure of the story in which each of the Chapters stands on its own while painting a bigger picture in the end is also reflected in Hanada’s visual novel.
As another example, he cites the “Reclaim Yourself” scene taking inspiration from the scene in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc’s last Class Trial where Makoto Naegi fires his Truth Bullets of “hope” at his classmates.
On a related note, Hanada is currently working on a brand-new adventure game, which is, coincidentally, a murder mystery. Having been in development for over eight years, the mysterious Project Code M (working title) promises to let players experience the horrors and thrills of murder from both the perspective of the detective and the culprit. Set to clock in at about 40 to 50 hours of gameplay, the title is shaping up to be what Hanada considers his masterpiece.
The House in Fata Morgana is available for PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, and PS4.
Project Code M is currently in development for PC and consoles. The PS5 and Switch versions will be published by Aksys Games in English-speaking regions. The release date is TBA.
