{"id":46973,"date":"2025-04-11T17:30:26","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T08:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=46973"},"modified":"2025-04-11T17:37:13","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T08:37:13","slug":"this-two-player-game-will-expose-any-power-imbalances-in-your-relationship-and-possibly-make-things-even-worse-we-asked-the-dev-why-hed-do-something-so-twisted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/this-two-player-game-will-expose-any-power-imbalances-in-your-relationship-and-possibly-make-things-even-worse-we-asked-the-dev-why-hed-do-something-so-twisted\/","title":{"rendered":"This two-player game will expose any power imbalances in your relationship and possibly make things even worse. We asked the dev why he\u2019d do something so twisted\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Kodansha Game Creators Lab will release <strong>BOKURA:<\/strong> <strong>planet<\/strong> on April 25 for the PC (Steam). The upcoming title is a successor to 2022\u2019s hit two-player puzzle adventure game BOKURA. In a departure from the first game\u2019s format, BOKURA: planet gives you and the person you\u2019re playing with different objectives and stories, which you\u2019re supposed to hide from each other as you play over voice chat. Add to this that you\u2019ll be able to push each other off cliffs in-game and&#8230;\u00a0 you can probably already see where this is going.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>AUTOMATON talked to the BOKURA series\u2019 solo developer Tokoronyori to find out more about the new chaos the sequel will bring.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u201cBOKURA: planet\u201d 2nd Trailer\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GK64JraWE7U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Much like the first game, Tokoronyori designed BOKURA: planet for people who are close. \u201cCouples, friends, spouses. The kind of relationship where you\u2019d naturally want to play a game together.\u201d But what happens if you play it with someone you\u2019re not as close to as you <em>think<\/em> you are?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf you already have a strained relationship, this game is designed to make things worse.\u00a0Even with close friends, if there\u2019s a bit of a power imbalance between you \u2013 like one person secretly looking down on the other \u2013 this game can really bring that out.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1172\" height=\"653\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1172px) 100vw, 1172px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250411-46973-001JPG.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-46977\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250411-46973-001JPG.jpg 1172w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250411-46973-001JPG-380x212.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250411-46973-001JPG-768x428.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Tokoronyori noticed this phenomenon with the original BOKURA, when people who were supposedly close got fed up when the time came to follow the other\u2019s orders in-game. \u201cIsn\u2019t it fun though? Seeing relationships shift because of a game mechanic you created? Watching those hidden tensions surface \u2013 it\u2019s exciting, like a story unfolding before you,&#8221; Tokoronyori admits, scaring us a bit in the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But BOKURA: planet will double down on ways to get people at each other\u2019s throats, thanks to a new mechanic that allows you to push whoever you\u2019re playing with. \u201cThe first BOKURA already provided ways to mess with your partner, or rather, kill them \u2013 like luring them to get crushed by a gate. People found that kind of mischief funny, so I decided to make those kinds of interaction possible at any time. Now you can push your partner at all times. Try it while they\u2019re concentrating on solving a gimmick, it\u2019ll be priceless.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"915\" height=\"522\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 915px) 100vw, 915px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250411-46973-002JPG.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-46976\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250411-46973-002JPG.jpg 915w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250411-46973-002JPG-380x217.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250411-46973-002JPG-768x438.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>These devilish schemes of Tokoronyori\u2019s come not only from his \u201ccreator\u201d side, but from his \u201cplayer\u201d side: \u201cAs a player, I love it when developers put me through the wringer. That\u2019s the kind of experience I want to deliver.\u201d As a result, a big part of his creative process consists of imagining things he\u2019d hate having done to himself and then promptly putting them in his game (although, he promises that he discards the truly unpleasant ideas).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>BOKURA: planet releases on April 25 for the PC (<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/3126150\/BOKURA_planet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steam<\/a>). In the meantime, you can try out its special demo, which offers a different storyline from the full game.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BOKURA developer Tokoronyori talks about how the new BOKURA: planet will put friends and couples though the wringer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":46975,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-46973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>This two-player game will expose any power imbalances in your relationship and possibly make things even worse. We asked the dev why he\u2019d do something so twisted\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"BOKURA developer Tokoronyori talks about how the new BOKURA: planet will put friends and couples though the wringer.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/this-two-player-game-will-expose-any-power-imbalances-in-your-relationship-and-possibly-make-things-even-worse-we-asked-the-dev-why-hed-do-something-so-twisted\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This two-player game will expose any power imbalances in your relationship and possibly make things even worse. 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