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Recent Activities

　I forgot to mention this in my previous post, but last week I wrote a new article on DL Channel. It’s an introduction and strategy guide for the new game “Toy Wars: Mesu × Gaki Rebuild” by Miamia Ami, with whom I’ve recently been in contact.

　I got quite hooked and ended up playing through the endgame content after finishing the main story. The game seems designed in a way that doesn’t require much deep thinking for just a normal playthrough, but if you’re aiming to complete everything, you’ll need to put in some careful thought.

　While I think I found an optimal strategy, it seems there are other methods as well. Please consider my article as a reference, and I encourage everyone to come up with their own unique strategies.

【Introduction, Impressions, and Strategy】Toy Wars: Mesu × Gaki Rebuild ▲DL Channel Summary Article

玩具戦記 メス×ガキ・リビルドー/未亜見あみ ▲Works page

Production Progress Report

　Continuing from the last time, I have been creating walking character chips for the enemy characters.

　Unexpectedly, the work has progressed smoothly, and the basic motions for E18 are now complete.

▲E16

▲E17

▲E18

　Since E19 is essentially an event character and is quite special, I plan to temporarily put its character chip creation on hold and move on to the next task. 　As for whether or not to create facial variations for each character, that has been under consideration, but for now, I am leaning towards making them. While not strictly necessary for the game, having them would certainly be more convenient. Moreover, there is a possibility that these could be used to create faces for event characters as well.

“Enemy Characters” and “Event Characters” in Walking Chips

　Here, I would like to explain the difference between what I refer to as “enemy characters” and “event characters” in this article. Both of these are walking character chips created using similar methods, but they serve different purposes and thus require different amounts of images in the end.

Enemy Characters

　Enemy characters are those that move around freely on the “map” where the player can freely explore with the protagonist. When the protagonist makes contact with one, a battle ensues. 　Since these characters move freely in all directions (up, down, left, right), it’s necessary to create motions for the front, back, and side views. In most cases, the side view can be mirrored to create both left and right-facing versions, but for characters that are extremely asymmetrical, separate versions must be created.

▲When you touch an enemy character wandering on the map, a battle begins. Since they move in all directions, walking chips must be created for each direction.

　As I’ve mentioned many times before, the enemy characters in this game increase their variety by creating 2?3 facial variations for each body type. 　Thus, if I aim to create walking character chips for all enemy characters, it means I also need to make chips for the facial variations. And I must do so for all three directions?front, back, and sides. 　However, the walking chips for enemy characters function primarily as “symbols” to initiate battles before combat, so they don’t need to perfectly replicate the characters shown in the battle screen. In fact, they could just be silhouettes, and it would be fine (though with the realistic style of this game, that is far from ideal). 　Furthermore, enemies do not always appear alone?there are often battles involving multiple enemies at the same time. Therefore, there are instances where facial variations are not necessary for the walking character chips.

▲The battle screen triggered when you touch the above enemy character. Only the figure on the far right is represented by the map graphic, meaning there’s no need to create walking chips for the other characters in this case.

　However, as the map has not yet been created, I have no idea to what extent each enemy will be placed. At this stage, it’s impossible to determine what needs to be created and what doesn’t. 　Additionally, creating a variety of facial variations could also help in the production of event characters.

Event Characters

　“Event characters” are those used solely in event scenes. In this game, event scenes are viewed from the side, like watching a stage play. The characters are usually facing sideways.

　While it is possible for characters to face forward or backward if those images are available, there is little point in creating front and back images specifically for event scenes. Since event characters are used only for event scenes, they can be thought of as simplified versions of enemy characters, without the front and back views. 　In QUEEN of MASSACRE, as the name suggests, the protagonist Mami massacres large numbers of people. Therefore, a lot of mob characters who are brutally killed are required. However, creating complete walking character chips for all of them would be too labor-intensive. As a solution, only the parts needed for the event scenes are created, and these simplified walking chips are referred to as “event characters.”

▲ Since event characters primarily face sideways, there is no need to create other directions.

　The process involves taking the side-view portion of the walking chips created for the “enemy characters” and then replacing the face or clothing with something different. 　In particular, there is a need to create many different faces, but it is much more efficient to modify existing assets rather than create everything from scratch. Sometimes, even just changing the hair might suffice. 　Given these considerations, it seems more practical to complete all the enemy characters first before starting work on the event characters. However, event characters are used in event scenes, where they can be subject to various transformations. When it becomes necessary to depict them from the front or back, we will create those views as a last resort.

▲ Event characters can be transformed in event scenes. Sometimes a front-facing view of the character is needed.

　As usual, there are plenty of tasks to be done. I will pursue efficiency wherever possible, but for things that must be created, I am prepared to tackle them. Please look forward to future developments in the production!