KOTARO UCHIKOSHI – nitrotaku

Kotaro Uchikoshi answers 16 Questions about AI: The Somnium Files

Editor — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 02:45:00 +0000

More information surrounding Spike Chunsoft’s upcoming adventure game AI: The Somnium Files.

Special thanks to Penne for offering us her translation!

Follow her on Twitter.

Find more of her translations on her website.

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Read the original Japanese article on 4Gamer.

[GDC 2019] Kotaro Uchikoshi Put His All Into the CERO Z-Rated Mystery Adventure Game, AI: The Somnium Files

Spike Chunsoft’s new adventure game AI: The Somnium Files releases July 25th on PC, Playstation 4, and Nintendo Switch. At the Game Developers Conference 2019, held in San Francisco on March 21st, 4Gamer had the opportunity to talk with Director Kotaro Uchikoshi and Assistant Director Akira Okada. We’d like to spread their words with this article.

Thanks for joining us. Aside from the fact that your next game is a mystery adventure, there’s not much info out there yet. Could you tell us more about the kind of story you have in store for us?

AI: The Somnium Files takes place in modern day Tokyo, during a serial murder case where victims are left with one eye gouged out. The protagonist, Date, is a detective chasing the truth.
KOTARO UCHIKOSHI, DIRECTOR

Why did you choose Tokyo as the setting?

That’s where I live, so it’s the easiest place for me to visualize. I also wanted to show off its good side.
KOTARO UCHIKOSHI, DIRECTOR

Did you take Tokyo as it exists in real life and put it into the game?

To be honest, I couldn’t (laughs). I left in the names of neighborhoods and things like that, but I switched other elements around. So even though I used certain locations as a motif, they’re different enough that I don’t think people will recognize them.
KOTARO UCHIKOSHI, DIRECTOR

What’s the flow of the game like?

The game’s divided into two parts: Investigation Parts and Somnium Parts. Date begins the game with an artificial left eye equipped with an AI, and during Investigation Parts he can freely use its functions, like zooming in, X-ray vision, and so on, to advance the investigation. During Somnium Parts, he’ll go into the memories of persons of interest and look for clues.
KOTARO UCHIKOSHI, DIRECTOR

About how long is the game?

There are lots of side quests and things to do, so it will depend on the player. If you take your time, it’s around 20-30 hours, but of course, it’s possible to skip all that and go the efficient route.
KOTARO UCHIKOSHI, DIRECTOR

Does that mean the story has multiple routes?

There are multiple endings, and the routes diverge based on things like the player’s choices, so you’ll need to play through several times to understand the full picture. But players can jump to those points where paths diverge, so there’s no need to start over from the beginning.
KOTARO UCHIKOSHI, DIRECTOR

How much of an impact does player choice have on the story?

Somnium Parts will unfold quite differently depending on your choices.
KOTARO UCHIKOSHI, DIRECTOR

Does the title hold any particular meaning?

There are lots of different meanings to it – the AI in Date’s artificial eye; the Japanese word for love [愛, “ai”]; the English words “eye” and “I”.
KOTARO UCHIKOSHI, DIRECTOR

In terms of production, is there anything in particular you set out to do?

I decided to make an adventure-like adventure. This game takes traditional adventure elements and remixes them in a modern way, so even young people, or people that don’t know about classic adventure games, can still enjoy it. But on the other hand, people who have played traditional adventure games should feel nostalgic.
Also, the game is packed with the kind of fun that we can provide because of our long history making adventure games, and we’ve included that fun into every choice you make.
KOTARO UCHIKOSHI, DIRECTOR

The characters are another highlight. Uchikoshi-san’s Zero Escape series had a lot of unique characters, and in this game there are plenty that can hold a candle to Zero Escape’s cast.
AKIRA OKADA, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

On that note, Yusuke Kozaki is in charge of character design, right?

Kozaki-san’s designs are famous all over the world, and I wanted this game to appeal to people worldwide, so I ended up asked him to do the designs. Like his art, the game itself blends both dark and pop elements, so he’s a perfect fit for that style.
KOTARO UCHIKOSHI, DIRECTOR

Speaking of which, Uchikoshi-san, you and Spike Chunsoft launched the virtual idol project “A-set”, who is also designed by Kozaki-san. How is she related to the game?

Right, she’s really deeply involved. Also, she isn’t a virtual idol, she’s a girl that actually exists in the world of the game. Even though she’s a YouTuber, she also gets caught up in the incident.
KOTARO UCHIKOSHI, DIRECTOR

A YouTuber involved in an incident – there’s something really modern about that. By the way, has the CERO rating been decided yet?

It’ll be CERO Z (18+ only).
AKIRA OKADA, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Oh, wow. Did you set out to make a CERO Z game?

Yeah, my producer was kind enough to say, “Uchikoshi-kun, you can make whatever it is that you want to.” (laughs)
KOTARO UCHIKOSHI, DIRECTOR

The Zero Escape series received a D rating (17+ only), is that right?

With Zero Escape, I came up with fun tricks that involved bodily harm, but I ended up having to cut down on those tricks to make the games fit a D rating, which I really hated (laughs). So I was very happy to learn that I could make a Z-rated game.
KOTARO UCHIKOSHI, DIRECTOR

Are there any plans to make The Somnium Files into a series like Zero Escape?

There’s definitely a chance, if enough players ask for it.
KOTARO UCHIKOSHI, DIRECTOR

Any final comments for your fans?

I absolutely think that adventure game fans will enjoy this one; for people that don’t normally play them, they’ll learn how fun adventure games can be. Please give it a try. I think my music videos are super important to my songs. They dig deeper. I want to cherish them more from now on. However, I think collaboration could easily change the spirit of my songs, so I try to only think about conveying to people the song in its best form.
KOTARO UCHIKOSHI, DIRECTOR

Kozaki-san’s designs are really really cool, so I hope that people who don’t play many adventure games will judge this one by its cover and buy it.
AKIRA OKADA, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Thank you very much.

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What is NAIXATLOZ? The Demon Cult your Favorite Celebrity is in

Editor — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 01:59:00 +0000

NAIXATLOZ: Headless horsemen, virtual assistants, and space owls?

Internet Idol Iris Sagan AKA A-set has released a new video, and with it, a new mystery has arisen.

The video is filmed at an abandoned amusement park located in the Kabasaki District.

According to A-set, the amusement park “was made off-limits six years ago after the chemical plant explosion.”

In the video, A-set recounts an urban legend told to her by her mom.

The legend involves a little girl who was riding a merry-go-round.

Her dad tried to film her, but her face was blurred out on the camera, as if she was missing her head.

When the merry-go-round spun one last time, the girl’s horse was empty, and she disappeared without a trace.

The amusement park eventually closed, and when the workers were digging around the merry-go-round, they discovered the skull of an elementary school child–only the skull.

A-set shivers after telling the legend, exclaiming that the story’s much scarier when surrounded by the impaled merry-go-round horses.

She inquires as to whether they’re headless spirits, like the Dullahan…

or if they’re linked to NAIXATLOZ…

What is NAIXATLOZ?

A-set at Bloom Park

First, we have what we learned from Internet Idol A-set herself.

In her video There’s No Way This Trespassing Idol Can Be This Cute!, A-set explains:

“NAIXATLOZ, or NAIX, is a devil-worshiping demon cult. They do ritual sacrifices and torture, dancing into the night around satanic bonfires. Their members are important people, like politicians, businessmen- [INAUDIBLE].
Their group is so big, no one knows who their higher-ups are. No one knows who’s running it.”
Iris Sagan, There’s No Way This Trespassing Idol Can Be This Cute!

While A-set was describing NAIXATLOZ, the video began to glitch, and a message stating “Stop this broadcast immediately or suffer the consequences.” appeared.

The interference was enough to make parts of A-set’s explanation inaudible.

What is NAIX hiding?

Update: A-set continues her explanation of NAIXATLOZ in her new video, Tesa’s Matsushita Diner Review! Omelet Rice Edition!

“They’re a secret society involved in governments and big businesses around the world!
They control the government and army, major businesses, and banks from behind the scenes for money and power.
And they’ll do anything to get what they want. That’s who we’re dealing with.
One theory is, NAIX is being controlled by aliens! They’re working together to trick the human race into believing that everyone’s living in some kind of simulation–or something like that.”
Iris Sagan, Tesa’s Matsushita Diner Review! Omelet Rice Edition

The video glitches once again, and in a peculiar, robotic tone, A-set exclaims:

“Just kidding! I’m making it all up!”

We are presented with the message “You WILL stop this foolishness. This is your final warning.” before A-set’s explanation is cut short by the return of her friends Ota and Mizuki.

A-set: The Thumbnail Mystery

Our first clue appears in the thumbnail of A-set’s video.

Lemniscate, A-set’s entertainment office, publishes English, Japanese, and Chinese versions of A-set’s videos (complete with a Japanese voice actor for the Japanese and Chinese versions).

As shown below, the thumbnails for the Japanese and Chinese videos feature the same strange black and white pattern along the right edge.

Japanese
Chinese

On Twitter, fans of A-set were quick to pick up on this, and began to speculate as to what the pattern means.

No, I see it too. I’ll take a look at it… kinda reminds me of a QR code???
— ??2020s hype?? (@Crystola_0302) February 21, 2019

User xatzimi1 noted the possibility of the symbol being binary code represented as an image, and gave an example of how it might be decoded.

I think it might be something like binary the way it’s encoded in a QR code i.e. black pixels are 0 and white is 1. I can’t make this into any meaningful ascii text, however. Plus rightmost pixels are cut off. The following is an example of the concept pic.twitter.com/95x7zv6Aof
— UNCNLt Tsugumi Brando (@xatzimi1) February 21, 2019

However, as the user states, the code in the thumbnail is cut off, and when attempting to decode it, all combinations result in random text rather than a coherent message.

Keep a look out for anything that A-set, Kotaro Uchikoshi, Lemniscate, or Spike Chunsoft release that features a symbol resembling the one above.

Update: With the release of A-set’s new video, Tesa’s Matsushita Diner Review! Omelet Rice Edition!,a new piece of the puzzle has been revealed.

On the left side of the video’s thumbnail is what appears to be a QR code pattern.

However…

The pixels don't match right. I'm working on it, but it seems like it's intentionally cut off to stop us from reading the La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo's message
— FAF????‍ Lt Tsugumi Brando (@xatzimi1) February 28, 2019

Once again, whoever’s leaving these clues seems to be toying with us.

NAIX and Siri

A-set’s real name is Iris Sagan.

“Iris” spelled backwards is “Siri,” and “Naixatloz” spelled backwards is “Zoltaxian.”

Apple, Inc.’s virtual assistant “Siri” has used the word “Zoltaxian” on multiple occasians, spanning several years.

The Telegraph‘s James Titcomb provides one example of this in his 2015 article Siri drops new hints ahead of Apple’s iPhone 6s event.

The Telegraph

Siri’s strange responses haven’t been limited to big reveals, either.

In her article Siri’s Nutrition Advice Is Bizarre and Kind Of Amazing, BuzzFeed News reporter Caroline Kee features many of Siri’s seemingly nonsensical answers, but one in particular stands out.

BuzzFeed

Iris Sagan: The NASA Connection

Twitter user q_trance drew connections between NAIXATLOZ and NASA back in 2016.

(U´・ェ・) #都市伝説 #Siri ???? #Iris . #Zoltaxian ???? #Naixatloz → Nai Atloz NASA Astrobiology

@AstrobiologyNAI Atloz ← what is this ????
— ???? テイラー･スウィスウィ Outremer lapis (@q_trance) December 2, 2016

As they note, you can break down NAIXATLOZ into NAI and X ATLOZ, with NAI possibly standing for the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI).

Dr. Sagan

The connection to NASA grows when you take into account Internet Idol A-set’s last name, Sagan.

She shares a last name with astronomer and NASA adviser Carl Sagan.

According to NASA, Sagan “played a leading role in the American space program from its very beginning,” and “was a consultant and adviser to NASA beginning in the 1960s.”

He even “briefed the Apollo astronauts before their flights to the moon.”

What do a virtual assistant and an astronomer have to do with a satanic demon cult, you ask?

…We’re not sure.

But we’ll keep you updated as the mystery behind NAIXATLOZ unfolds.

About A-set

A-set, also known as Tesa, is an internet idol under the entertainment office Lemniscate.

She is a cheerful 18-year-old girl from Tokyo, Japan who loves video games.

She can sing, dance, and does Let’s Play videos in her spare time.

She’s on a mission to win a Grammy and be Spike Chunsoft’s cutest internet idol ever!

A-set’s Official Profile

Name: Iris Sagan

Age: 18 years old

Height: 157 cm (5′ 2″)

Measurements: 81/57/80 cm (32/22/31 in)

Birthday: October 26

Horoscope: Scorpio

Blood Type: O

Hometown: Tokyo, Japan

Interests: Video Games, Movies, The Occult

Likes: Iris Flowers

Talent: Runs extremely fast

Voice Actress: Jackie Lastra

Follow A-set on Twitter.

About Kotaro Uchikoshi

A director and scenario writer, his skills shine in his adventure titles, such as the Zero Escape series (including the award-winning Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors), Punch Line, and Ever17: The Out of Infinity.

He is well-known for his unconventional plot twists and offbeat humor and has been actively working on many genres, many games, and many stories.

His next upcoming project is AI: The Somnium Files, which was announced at Spike Chunsoft’s Anime Expo 2018 panel.

View the teaser for AI: The Somnium Files on its official website.

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Net Idol A-set Meets a Fan in New Valentine’s Day Video

Editor — Sat, 16 Feb 2019 00:59:00 +0000

Valentine’s Day at the Maid Cafe!

Internet Idol A-set has released a Valentine’s Day video joined by her friend and apparent super-fan Ota Matsushita.

The video is filmed at the maid cafe “Sunfish Pocket,” and features a discussion about the reasoning behind the sunfish’s name (as well as the name “A-set”).

Sunfish Pocket isn’t your typical maid cafe. Its entire atmosphere, down to its staff of “mer-maids,” is sea-themed. The cafe is owned by Mr. Okiura, the president of Lemniscate.

Lemniscate is the entertainment office that manages A-set, and A-set herself used to work part-time at Sunfish Pocket.

Although the video was filmed before Valentine’s Day, A-set thanked her fans for the multitude of messages and presents she’d already received.

She scrolled through some of the messages on “To➜Witter,” and stopped to read a poem sent by Ota himself.

The poem is transcribed below, but fair warning, it’s pretty long and, as A-set said, “creepy.”

Tesa! Happy Valentine’s Day!
I would like to show you my gratitude that I am able to be under the same sky,
breathe the same air,
and was born in the same era as you.
To me, you are a dream,
hope,
peace of mind,
the purpose of life,
the light,
the stars,
the sun,
a goddess,
air itself,
the laws of the universe,
the ideal ultimate beauty,
an angel,
a princess,
a lover,
a sister that isn’t blood related,
a cute girl printed on a body pillow,
a beautiful heroine in another world,
a saint,
a waifu,
a lord, my life, the object of my worship,
everything good in the world!
And I’ll make this vow to you: I’ll always support you,
Tesa!
@Ota_Matsushita on To➜Witter

Well, Ota may be a bit… passionate, but his heart seems to be in the right place. (Please be kind to him, A-set!)

It’s been two weeks since A-set’s debut video. She promises to be delivering weekly updates every Wednesday, unless she gets “abducted or something.”

Ota, please protect A-set and make sure that doesn’t happen! We’re counting on you!

About A-set

A-set, also known as Tesa, is an internet idol under the entertainment office Lemniscate.

She is a cheerful 18-year-old girl from Tokyo, Japan who loves video games.

She can sing, dance, and does Let’s Play videos in her spare time.

She’s on a mission to win a Grammy and be Spike Chunsoft’s cutest internet idol ever!

A-set’s Official Profile

Name: Iris Sagan

Age: 18 years old

Height: 157 cm (5′ 2″)

Measurements: 81/57/80 cm (32/22/31 in)

Birthday: October 26

Horoscope: Scorpio

Blood Type: O

Hometown: Tokyo, Japan

Interests: Video Games, Movies, The Occult

Likes: Iris Flowers

Talent: Runs extremely fast

Voice Actress: Jackie Lastra

Follow A-set on Twitter.

About Kotaro Uchikoshi

He is well-known for his unconventional plot twists and offbeat humor and has been actively working on many genres, many games, and many stories.

His next upcoming project is AI: The Somnium Files, which was announced at Spike Chunsoft’s Anime Expo 2018 panel.

View the teaser for AI: The Somnium Files on its official website.

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