{"id":74292,"date":"2026-10-27T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=74292"},"modified":"2026-10-27T17:17:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T08:17:04","slug":"ominous-farming-life-sim-village-in-the-shade-has-sold-more-than-3-times-its-target-we-talk-to-the-devs-about-making-a-content-packed-hit-in-just-2-years-with-only-a-dozen-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/ominous-farming-life-sim-village-in-the-shade-has-sold-more-than-3-times-its-target-we-talk-to-the-devs-about-making-a-content-packed-hit-in-just-2-years-with-only-a-dozen-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Ominous farming life sim Village in the Shade has sold more than 3 times its target. We talk to the devs about making a content-packed hit in just 2 years with only a dozen people"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nippon Ichi Software’s Village in the Shade<\/strong> finally releases in the West on October 27, coming to PC (Steam<\/a>), PS5, and Nintendo Switch systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developed by members of the Yomawari series team, Village in the Shade is a farming life sim set in the isolated rural village of Kagatsu. Players take on the role of a protagonist starting a new life there, enjoying a peaceful country lifestyle while growing vegetables in their garden, raising livestock, hunting, fishing, and befriending neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the village enforces a number of ominous rules. For example, residents are prohibited from going outside late at night, and are not allowed to search for things they have lost. The village also harbors sinister secrets, with supernatural entities roaming its streets at night. The game depicts life in a village steeped in strange customs, where you\u2019ll uncover the mysteries surrounding these entities and the village’s rules “at your own risk.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Village in The Shade released in Japan in July this year, and has since earned a “Very Positive” rating on Steam out of 650 reviews. Sales have also been strong, with the game shipping over 250,000 units domestically in roughly two months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahead of the English release, AUTOMATON sat down with Village in the Shade’s planner and game designer Yu Mizokami and development lead Mio Katsumata. They shared a wealth of fascinating insights into the game’s development and the response from players so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2014To start us off, could you please introduce yourselves?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yu Mizokami (hereafter, Mizokami):<\/strong>
I’m Yu Mizokami, and I served as director of Village in the Shade. I was responsible for the scenario, planning, and original concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mio Katsumata (hereafter, Katsumata):<\/strong>
My name is Mio Katsumata, and I served as producer. I was mainly responsible for project management. Since my original background is in design, I also supervised some aspects of the design work. In addition, I checked the overall game balance and made sure the game felt good to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
To add some context, I’ve often directed games with rather unconventional concepts largely on my own. This time, though, I worked together with Katsumata throughout the development process. Rather than having her fulfill the typical role of a producer, we had her look at the game from an objective perspective and offer her opinions. I believe she helped smooth out some of the edgier aspects that I might otherwise have pushed to the extreme, while also bringing the overall experience into better balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katsumata:<\/strong>
I’m a big fan of farming sims and play them a lot myself, so I helped judge where the line was between what players would accept and what would start to feel frustrating or off-putting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2014As of the end of September 2026, the game has sold over 250,000 copies in Japan. What was your original target?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katsumata:<\/strong>
At the initial proposal stage, I thought it would be nice if we could sell around 70,000 copies, and I felt that reaching 100,000 would be amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
We started promoting the game about a year before its release, and the initial announcement received a very positive response right from the start. The first production run of the physical edition had already reached around 60,000 copies, so by that point, we had a feeling we might reach our target. But sales continued to grow beyond our expectations. Both the initial response and the sales momentum after launch were much stronger than we’d anticipated, so even we were surprised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katsumata:<\/strong>
Since this was an entirely new IP, I think there were quite a few people who wanted to wait and see before deciding whether to buy it. But those who actually played the game started sharing very positive impressions, and we saw many others decide to give it a try as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Is the development side also satisfied with these figures?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
Yes, it’s rare for a game to sell so far beyond our expectations, so everyone on the development team is delighted, and morale has really gone up. We’re still working on updates, and the atmosphere is like, \u201cLet’s fix this! Let’s fix that!\u201d I can really feel how much more motivated the whole team has become.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2014By the way, how many people are on the development team? I’d like to know the size of the core team, excluding people involved in outsourced tasks such as debugging and localization.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
Around a dozen or so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katsumata:<\/strong>
Yes, you could round it up to about 10 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Just a dozen is surprising. Do you think having such a small team also helped the game feel cohesive?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
Yes, I think that was a factor too. The games we make are often a little outside the mainstream. Nippon Ichi Software makes quite a few games of that kind, so unless everyone on the team shares the vision of the person setting the overall direction, the project can start to lose its way during development. With this game, we had a very clear idea of what we wanted to make, so perhaps our current team structure is what allowed us to maintain that vision all the way to the end. Personally, I find it easier to work with a small team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That being said, we’ve never actually made a game with a large team in the first place! (laughs) We wouldn’t even know how to go about it, so maybe the way we work now is simply the best fit for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014The game has a tremendous amount of content for a title developed by such a small team. Did you have a substantial development period, or was this the result of the team putting in an extraordinary amount of work?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
It’s the latter. Development took two years, and we worked incredibly hard throughout that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katsumata:<\/strong>
Everyone really gave it their all (laughs). I do wish we’d had a little more time, but ultimately, I’m glad we managed to bring everything together so well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
Seeing how well the game is being received makes all that hard work feel worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014You’ve announced an update schedule that runs through next spring. I imagine these updates were planned from the beginning, but have you also expanded their scope in response to player feedback?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katsumata:<\/strong>
Yes. We had originally planned to release some updates, but we’ve received so many messages and requests from players, so we’re expanding the content to meet their expectations as much as we can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
The scope of the updates keeps growing. Having so many people pick up the game and getting to hear all kinds of feedback is really motivating for us as developers. We’ll keep working hard to address players’ suggestions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014What aspects of Village in the Shade do you think players have particularly appreciated?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
We’ve received all kinds of positive feedback, but what’s especially striking to me is that we’ve seen relatively few significant complaints about either the farming simulation aspects or the story and horror elements. In that sense, I feel players have appreciated the game as a whole, rather than just one particular side of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2014I’ve played the game myself, and I found that even the more repetitive tasks rarely felt frustrating. The UI and UX also felt extremely polished.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
Thank you. We actually put quite a lot of effort into those aspects and adjusted them over and over again. Since this is a game where you repeat a daily cycle, we paid very close attention to how we could manage any stress players might experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also aimed to design the game so that new discoveries and activities would gradually open up as players continued playing, expanding the range of things they might want to do along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katsumata:<\/strong>
We did a lot of research into gameplay loops. I think part of what makes farming sims fun is having the freedom to decide for yourself what you want to do. Out of various activities available to you, you make a plan and go, \u201cI’ll do this for today!\u201d Sometimes you can’t get everything done in a single day, so you carry things over to the next day and progress at your own pace, following your own schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We wanted to recreate that kind of enjoyment that makes it hard to find a good stopping point, so we paid close attention to the length of each day, and the balance of what players could accomplish within it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2014When it comes to farming, I noticed there are numerous features designed to reduce tedium, such as the ability to switch easily between tools using a circular menu. How did you develop this control scheme?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
The farming tool menu took its current form through repeated rounds of playtesting. Whenever we found something that felt more frustrating in actual play than we’d anticipated, we’d keep making adjustments until it was resolved. We repeated that process over and over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katsumata:<\/strong>
Originally, farming tools went into your inventory just like any other items. But since players would generally carry around eight different types of farming tools, we realized it would be a problem if they took up so many inventory slots. From there, we decided that, since players would be using them frequently anyway, it would make sense to group them together in one place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also received feedback that repeatedly pressing a button to water crops was tiring, so we made it possible to keep watering by holding the button down. I think this was a game where we actively incorporated feedback from playtesting, implemented changes, tried them out, and then repeated the process many times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
Players also have quite different playstyles \u2013 you could almost call it different schools of gaming \u2013 so we had to consider what to use as our baseline. Since the game uses an isometric perspective, we also conducted repeated tests and adjustments to make sure the controls felt comfortable from that camera angle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Giving players just the right amount of “things to do”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2014As a farming life sim, I felt the game has relatively few calendar events outside the main story. Yet, strangely enough, the amount feels just right. Was this balance something you deliberately fine-tuned?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katsumata:<\/strong>
Yes. In games like the Story of Seasons series and Stardew Valley, seasonal events and competitions play a major role in the in-game schedule. By contrast, our game has a substantial main story, with events occurring almost every day if you make steady progress. I think it’s a structure you don’t see very often in the genre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that in mind, we were concerned that if we packed both the main story and other events with too much content, they might actually get in the way of players enjoying the farming sim aspects. So, in addition to the number of events, we also adjusted the length of individual story events in consultation with Mizokami. We discussed things like how long an event could be without becoming too much of a burden, and whether players would become more willing to sit through a longer event after they were already sufficiently immersed in the narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2014The in-game clock also seems to move at a relatively relaxed pace, so you’re sometimes left with plenty of free time in your daily schedule. I felt this contributed to the game’s rural atmosphere. Was it also intentional?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katsumata:<\/strong>
I think it depends on your playstyle, but we designed the game so that the time needed for farming gradually decreases as you introduce things like sprinklers. Once players become able to finish their farm work in the morning, they’ll have more time to turn their attention to other activities, such as construction. We made various adjustments to help players transition naturally into new activities. Stardew Valley was a major reference for us in this regard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
If we give players too much free time, those who are eager to progress the story will end up with time to spare. On the other hand, if the days are too short, players who want to develop their farms at their own pace won’t have enough time to do so. But if there’s absolutely nothing pushing players or imposing time limits, they might also lose the motivation to keep playing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that in mind, we aimed for a pace at which a new event occurs before players start forgetting what happened in the last one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katsumata:<\/strong>
I think one of the key points of this game is how much we leaned into incorporating the narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
Many fans of the Yomawari series, which I previously worked on, buy the games specifically because they enjoy the stories. I wanted to make sure those players could also experience a story unique to this game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2014I believe the time it takes to finish the game varies considerably from player to player, but how much playtime did the development team have in mind?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katsumata:<\/strong>
We expected it to take around 60 hours to reach the ending if you followed the story closely. For players who spent more time on things outside the main story, such as farming, we figured it might take around 80 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
From the start, we anticipated that some players would want to focus on the story, while others would prefer to develop their farms at a leisurely pace. That’s why we aimed to create a game that accommodated a wide range of playstyles, allowing players to enjoy it all the way to the end without experiencing frustration, regardless of how they chose to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bringing together “peaceful farm life” and “the terror of nighttime”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2014What level of scariness were you going for when it comes to the game’s horror elements? I’m not particularly good with horror games myself, but I found this one to be \u201cscary, but fun.\u201d I’m not quite sure how I would best describe it to people who are on the fence about horror.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katsumata:<\/strong>
Actually, I’m not good with horror games either. I couldn’t even play Yomawari! (laughs) It might be an odd way to put it, but I guess you could say we aimed for a level of horror that even I could handle. We’ve heard from people who avoided Yomawari because it looked too scary that they tried this game and found it surprisingly manageable. That’s pretty much the level of scariness we were aiming for. Some parts might startle you on your first playthrough, but you gradually get used to them. I think that’s the kind of horror we ended up with this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
I’m often treated like some kind of horror specialist because I worked on Yomawari, but that’s not really my intention (laughs). Whenever I’d show Katsumata something I designed thinking, \u201cThis should be fine,\u201d she’d say, \u201cHmm, that might be a bit too much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the same with events. I would write something into the scenario thinking it wasn\u2019t anything particularly intense, only for her to say, \u201cThat’s kind of disturbing.\u201d We worked through those aspects together to look for a level that felt just right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For people who aren’t good with horror, I think it’s enough to tell them, \u201cYou’ll get used to it sooner than you think.\u201d I think it’s more a case of, \u201cIt’s not as scary as it sounds,\u201d so I’d encourage them to give it a try! (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2014I felt like the game has an unsettling atmosphere that hangs over the entire story, and it keeps you feeling like you never know what might happen. Do you consider this the kind of fear that players gradually become accustomed to as they progress?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katsumata:<\/strong>
Yes, our concept this time was less about horror that literally startles you, and more about the kind that gradually builds up your anxiety and suspicion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014There were definitely quite a few startling moments too, but I understand the underlying philosophy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
From the beginning of development, we felt that this ultimately had to be a game that players would come to love. Our goal was for them to fall in love with the game itself and Kagatsu village after overcoming the various challenges it presents, including the horror. If it were too scary, we wouldn’t be able to achieve that goal, so finding the right balance was something we paid particular attention to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014During the nighttime sections, even if you lose all your health and pass out, there isn’t any particular penalty. At first, that might seem a little lenient, but personally, I felt it struck a good balance since you don’t risk losing anything you’ve already acquired.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
That was actually something Katsumata and I went back and forth over. In a conventional action game, even one without horror elements, you’d typically consider introducing some kind of penalty. But Katsumata felt that the horror itself was already stressful enough, and that adding further punishment, such as losing items, would place too much of a burden on players. That’s why we decided not to impose any penalties. Personally, I’m the type who likes to make things pretty unforgiving, though (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katsumata:<\/strong>
Going out late at night allows you to obtain furniture and other items. If you lose all your health and pass out, you miss out on the opportunity to obtain those things. To me, that in itself is a kind of penalty, since failing means you lose out on getting any rewards. I felt that was enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014There are surprisingly few situations where players are punished or made to feel discouraged. Overall, I felt like the game is designed to be quite forgiving.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
That’s right. Life simulation games can easily become repetitive, so I think it’s important to have systems that make players feel validated. During playtesting, we received feedback that the game felt monotonous, so we made adjustments to introduce as many stimulating moments as possible, even if they were relatively minor. For example, birds occasionally drop items during the day. That was one of the features we added later, after discussing how it would be nice if something happened when players are walking around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Were there any other things the two of you disagreed about?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
I would often make my suggestions while asking “Would this be too much?” When evaluating them, we considered not just whether something was scary, but also whether it was too harsh. I was also told that, as a farming game, we should avoid doing things that would ruin what players had worked so hard to build up. Personally, though, the more important something is to the player, the more I want to take it away from them (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014You’re pretty sadistic (laughs).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
Yes, I’m prone to wanting to snatch things away from players the more dearly they hold them. But Katsumata would put a stop to those ideas and suggest alternatives, and we’d then make adjustments based on those suggestions. I don’t think there were that many ideas she rejected outright, though… I may have asked her things like, \u201cCan I kill this character off?\u201d (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Do you think your contrasting styles complemented each other and helped you create a game that appeals to a wider range of players?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katsumata:<\/strong>
I think so. A lot of this game really was built by the two of us working together. Mizokami handled the core elements, such as the horror, story, and worldbuilding, while I focused on balancing the daily life sections and figuring out how to bring the farming game and horror elements together in a harmonious way. We moved forward by dividing those responsibilities between us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizokami:<\/strong>
Since this was the first time either of us had made a game like this, we were both figuring things out as we went. From the planning stage onward, we were constantly discussing how far we could compromise and how we could find common ground. I think we had some pretty in-depth discussions throughout development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Thank you very much.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Village in the Shade launches in the West on October 27 for PC (Steam<\/a>), PS5, and Nintendo Switch systems. The Japanese version is available on the same platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Writer, editor: Niki Jinnouchi]
[Interviewer, editor: Ayuo Kawase]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In-depth, spoiler-free interview with Village in the Shade leads Yu Mizokami and Mio Katsumata.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":74294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","autoblue_enabled":false,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-development","category-interviews"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"yoast_head":"\nOminous farming life sim Village in the Shade has sold more than 3 times its target. We talk to the devs about making a content-packed hit in just 2 years with only a dozen people - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\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\/interviews\/ominous-farming-life-sim-village-in-the-shade-has-sold-more-than-3-times-its-target-we-talk-to-the-devs-about-making-a-content-packed-hit-in-just-2-years-with-only-a-dozen-people\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ominous farming life sim Village in the Shade has sold more than 3 times its target. We talk to the devs about making a content-packed hit in just 2 years with only a dozen people - AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In-depth, spoiler-free interview with Village in the Shade leads Yu Mizokami and Mio Katsumata.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/ominous-farming-life-sim-village-in-the-shade-has-sold-more-than-3-times-its-target-we-talk-to-the-devs-about-making-a-content-packed-hit-in-just-2-years-with-only-a-dozen-people\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-27T13:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/honogurashi-interview-header.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"17 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ominous farming life sim Village in the Shade has sold more than 3 times its target. We talk to the devs about making a content-packed hit in just 2 years with only a dozen people - AUTOMATON WEST","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/ominous-farming-life-sim-village-in-the-shade-has-sold-more-than-3-times-its-target-we-talk-to-the-devs-about-making-a-content-packed-hit-in-just-2-years-with-only-a-dozen-people\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ominous farming life sim Village in the Shade has sold more than 3 times its target. We talk to the devs about making a content-packed hit in just 2 years with only a dozen people - AUTOMATON WEST","og_description":"In-depth, spoiler-free interview with Village in the Shade leads Yu Mizokami and Mio Katsumata.","og_url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/ominous-farming-life-sim-village-in-the-shade-has-sold-more-than-3-times-its-target-we-talk-to-the-devs-about-making-a-content-packed-hit-in-just-2-years-with-only-a-dozen-people\/","og_site_name":"AUTOMATON WEST","article_published_time":"2026-10-27T13:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/honogurashi-interview-header.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"AUTOMATON WEST","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@AUTOMATON_ENG","twitter_site":"@AUTOMATON_ENG","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"AUTOMATON WEST","Est. reading time":"17 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/ominous-farming-life-sim-village-in-the-shade-has-sold-more-than-3-times-its-target-we-talk-to-the-devs-about-making-a-content-packed-hit-in-just-2-years-with-only-a-dozen-people\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/ominous-farming-life-sim-village-in-the-shade-has-sold-more-than-3-times-its-target-we-talk-to-the-devs-about-making-a-content-packed-hit-in-just-2-years-with-only-a-dozen-people\/"},"author":{"name":"AUTOMATON WEST","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/a55a3d979fa6362722fb27892d9614e4"},"headline":"Ominous farming life sim Village in the Shade has sold more than 3 times its target. We talk to the devs about making a content-packed hit in just 2 years with only a dozen people","datePublished":"2026-10-27T13:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/ominous-farming-life-sim-village-in-the-shade-has-sold-more-than-3-times-its-target-we-talk-to-the-devs-about-making-a-content-packed-hit-in-just-2-years-with-only-a-dozen-people\/"},"wordCount":3444,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/ominous-farming-life-sim-village-in-the-shade-has-sold-more-than-3-times-its-target-we-talk-to-the-devs-about-making-a-content-packed-hit-in-just-2-years-with-only-a-dozen-people\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/honogurashi-interview-header.webp","articleSection":["Game Development","Interviews"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/ominous-farming-life-sim-village-in-the-shade-has-sold-more-than-3-times-its-target-we-talk-to-the-devs-about-making-a-content-packed-hit-in-just-2-years-with-only-a-dozen-people\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/ominous-farming-life-sim-village-in-the-shade-has-sold-more-than-3-times-its-target-we-talk-to-the-devs-about-making-a-content-packed-hit-in-just-2-years-with-only-a-dozen-people\/","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/ominous-farming-life-sim-village-in-the-shade-has-sold-more-than-3-times-its-target-we-talk-to-the-devs-about-making-a-content-packed-hit-in-just-2-years-with-only-a-dozen-people\/","name":"Ominous farming life sim Village in the Shade has sold more than 3 times its target. We talk to the devs about making a content-packed hit in just 2 years with only a dozen people - AUTOMATON WEST","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/ominous-farming-life-sim-village-in-the-shade-has-sold-more-than-3-times-its-target-we-talk-to-the-devs-about-making-a-content-packed-hit-in-just-2-years-with-only-a-dozen-people\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/ominous-farming-life-sim-village-in-the-shade-has-sold-more-than-3-times-its-target-we-talk-to-the-devs-about-making-a-content-packed-hit-in-just-2-years-with-only-a-dozen-people\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/honogurashi-interview-header.webp","datePublished":"2026-10-27T13:00:00+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/ominous-farming-life-sim-village-in-the-shade-has-sold-more-than-3-times-its-target-we-talk-to-the-devs-about-making-a-content-packed-hit-in-just-2-years-with-only-a-dozen-people\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/ominous-farming-life-sim-village-in-the-shade-has-sold-more-than-3-times-its-target-we-talk-to-the-devs-about-making-a-content-packed-hit-in-just-2-years-with-only-a-dozen-people\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/ominous-farming-life-sim-village-in-the-shade-has-sold-more-than-3-times-its-target-we-talk-to-the-devs-about-making-a-content-packed-hit-in-just-2-years-with-only-a-dozen-people\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/honogurashi-interview-header.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/honogurashi-interview-header.webp","width":1600,"height":900,"caption":"Village in the Shade"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/ominous-farming-life-sim-village-in-the-shade-has-sold-more-than-3-times-its-target-we-talk-to-the-devs-about-making-a-content-packed-hit-in-just-2-years-with-only-a-dozen-people\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u30db\u30fc\u30e0","item":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ominous farming life sim Village in the Shade has sold more than 3 times its target. We talk to the devs about making a content-packed hit in just 2 years with only a dozen people"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/","name":"AUTOMATON WEST","description":"AUTOMATON is a website that covers the Japanese gaming world. We bring you the news on video games from Osaka and Tokyo.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#organization","name":"\u682a\u5f0f\u4f1a\u793e\u30a2\u30af\u30c6\u30a3\u30d6\u30b2\u30fc\u30df\u30f3\u30b0\u30e1\u30c7\u30a3\u30a2","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/activegamingmedia_logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/activegamingmedia_logo.png","width":374,"height":190,"caption":"\u682a\u5f0f\u4f1a\u793e\u30a2\u30af\u30c6\u30a3\u30d6\u30b2\u30fc\u30df\u30f3\u30b0\u30e1\u30c7\u30a3\u30a2"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/AUTOMATON_ENG","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCabvYnvuUUbbGUrxkaFRgSA"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/a55a3d979fa6362722fb27892d9614e4","name":"AUTOMATON WEST","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/automaton-forum-moderator-100x100.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/automaton-forum-moderator-100x100.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/automaton-forum-moderator-100x100.jpeg","caption":"AUTOMATON WEST"},"description":"Delivering gaming news from Tokyo\/Osaka Japan.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/AUTOMATON_ENG"],"url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/author\/automaton_en\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74292"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74309,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74292\/revisions\/74309"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}