A week later, the 'princess mononoke' workshop reopened.
This time, everyone went back and carefully studied the script, gaining a deeper understanding of princess mononoke.
"Ah, as expected of Master Miyazaki Hayao's work, after reading it, I was plunged into deep melancholy." Sakata Taiji could be considered a loyal fan of Miyazaki. Every time a new Ghibli animation was released, he would definitely go see it.
Thanks to the President, he even had the opportunity to work with Miyazaki when producing CL and LL previously.
And this time, he saw the script before all the audiences in the world. He could say he had no regrets in this life.
"Yes, after watching it, I didn't sleep well for a whole night, tossing and turning, constantly thinking about one question—
Why couldn't Ashitaka be with San?" Akanishi Ken asked.
He felt genuinely regretful.
What kind of story does 'princess mononoke' tell?
The story revolves around the young Ashitaka.
It tells of Ashitaka killing a wild boar that had transformed into a demon god, and consequently, he was cursed, his life hanging by a thread.
To lift the curse, Ashitaka traveled alone to the ironworks in the west.
And while fighting beasts with the locals, he met princess mononoke, who was raised by wolves.
princess mononoke herself is a satirical existence.
As a human, she was abandoned by her parents in the mountains when she was young. The wolves, whom humans called fierce and terrifying, saved her and raised her as their own daughter.
How much the wolves hated humans, yet they didn't kill the infant princess mononoke.
This shows that animals can also be kind-hearted, unlike humans, who are full of hatred. If humans caught a wolf pup, they would surely kill it immediately and wouldn't raise it by their side.
From this, it's evident that these animals are also reasonable. If humans hadn't pushed them so hard, they wouldn't have desperately tried to drive humans away.
And princess mononoke, San, exists as the 'opposite' of humans, representing 'animals.'
Later, humans and beasts engaged in war. Malicious merchants profited by stealing the Forest Spirit's head, nearly causing the entire forest to be destroyed by the 'continuously expanding' body of the Forest Spirit.
In such a situation, the male and female protagonists worked together to retrieve the Forest Spirit's head and return it to the Forest Spirit's body, thereby saving humanity, as well as the forest and its animals.
In the very end, San returned to the forest, while Ashitaka remained in the human village. The two did not end up together, which indeed left countless viewers with regret.
However, here, Miyazaki's concept is also very clear:
Ashitaka represents the neutral and moderate faction among humans, while princess mononoke, San, represents nature and animals. There are many irreconcilable conflicts between the two. Their differing stances led princess mononoke to say those words—
"I like Ashitaka, but I hate humans."
Therefore, their eventual return to their respective environments was inevitable.
However, when Akanishi Ken first read this, he instinctively found it very difficult to accept.
"That's because their positions are different," Shinji Mikami responded. "San was raised by wolves; her home is the forest, and her family is the wolf pack. She can't integrate into normal human life. And I think what Miyazaki is expressing is that the relationship between humans and wild animals is inherently full of contradictions.
The prerequisite for harmonious coexistence is that both sides must let go of hatred."
Sakata Taiji and Akanishi Ken next to him were very dissatisfied.
Tsk tsk, the Producers are all hard-hearted.
I can see that now.
However, Shinji Mikami's words were irrefutable.
The Producers are truly hateful!
...
Throughout, several people argued heatedly, with only Ninjin Makoto sitting quietly like a handsome man.
He rested his chin in his hand, immersed in the story constructed by Miyazaki.
Recalling it again, he still sighed in admiration.
Ninjin Makoto felt that he might never be able to create a work like 'princess mononoke' in his lifetime.
...
"Alright, I'm very pleased to see that you've all carefully read the script."
Aoki Haruhi clapped his hands, bringing everyone back from their arguments.
"So, everyone must have many ideas, right? Let's hear them. If such an animated film were to be adapted into a game, what type should it be, and how should it be made?
Everyone, speak freely, brainstorm, say whatever comes to mind, however you think, without any reservations."
As soon as Aoki Haruhi finished speaking, everyone's gaze turned to Shinji Mikami.
He was the only Producer among them.
However, Aoki Haruhi scanned the room and singled out Sakata Taiji first.
"Sakata, you go first and express your opinion."
"I..."
Sakata Taiji frowned. With a dedicated Producer and planner here, what can I, an artist, do?
"I can only speak from my own perspective; it might not be as complete and detailed as what the Producers would think."
"No problem, I just want to hear your thoughts," Aoki Haruhi said.
At this time, instead of letting the Producer come up with a plan, Aoki Haruhi wanted some 'unexpected' effects. If the Producers thought about it, they would instinctively consider rationality, so the proposal would be 'restrained.'
During the brainstorming phase, Aoki Haruhi wanted ideas, wild ideas.
"princess mononoke is an animated film, so from my perspective, its storyboards, character designs, and even the scene visuals... these are all very narrative.
The most important thing is how to give players a 'movie-watching' game experience."
Sakata Taiji stammered, then looked up and secretly glanced at Aoki Haruhi.
He was like a primary school student called upon to answer a question in class, guessing and fumbling for the answer, always feeling a lack of confidence.
"Mm-hmm." Aoki Haruhi agreed heartily, nodding repeatedly, signaling Sakata Taiji to continue.
Nani?!
He didn't expect to receive approval from such a picky President.
Sakata Taiji felt a little more confident and became more excited as he spoke.
"So, what can best give players this immersive movie-watching experience... I think it's still best to make it a galgame type. By giving players options to advance the game, the artists can focus on the performance and animation display."
He finished in one breath, looking at Aoki Haruhi, hoping to receive praise from the President.
But the President's smile froze on his face. He had been smiling just now, but now his brows were tightly furrowed.
Uh...
I thought you could give some amazing answer.
Is that all?
"No," Aoki Haruhi shook his head. "The story display is handled by animation. No matter how well we do it, it can't compare to Ghibli's animation. If people just want to experience the story, why would they play your game?
Don't forget, the movie will be released first, and then the game.
Doing it this way would actually ruin Pokeni's reputation."
Given Miyazaki's national popularity, a large portion of players would probably have seen the animation when it was released.
"Hmm... it seems that's right." Sakata Taiji covered his face, feeling a bit of a toothache.
However, he still tried to salvage the situation, "Or can we adapt the script? How about adding some plotlines in the game that aren't in the animation?"
When he looked up, he met the gazes of the others.
Everyone present looked at him as if he were an idiot.
"Alright, I didn't say anything."
Sakata Taiji immediately cowered.
"Akanishi-san, what do you think?" Aoki Haruhi called out names one by one.
Akanishi Ken, however, appeared calm and composed, clearly having prepared for a long time.
He spread his hands and gave two bitter laughs, "I don't have any ideas. The programming side will just cooperate to implement things and try to satisfy everyone's creativity."
Eh?
Shinji Mikami, Sakata, and Xinjin's eyes widened in silence.
Akanishi, this guy, looked so calm, but it turns out he didn't think of anything?
"Hmm, that's fine," Aoki Haruhi nodded. "With your words, I'm relieved."
Nani?!
That works too?
Sakata Taiji felt like he had just spoken for nothing. This old fox Akanishi was too cunning, wasn't he?
"Shinkai, what about you? What do you think?" Aoki Haruhi looked at Ninjin Makoto.
The latter frowned and pondered for two seconds, then slowly shook his head, "I'm only thinking about how to reproduce the visual sense from the animation, but I don't have many concepts for the specific gameplay.
It's indeed very difficult to bring the visual sense of animation into a game while also making the game itself interesting and able to attract players."
"Hmm, that's indeed the case." Aoki Haruhi nodded. "How about you think about it some more."
"Okay, President," Ninjin Makoto said.
Several people expressed their opinions, but in the end, nothing seemed usable.
Everyone's attention focused on Shinji Mikami, expecting him to provide a satisfactory answer.
Shinji Mikami suddenly felt immense pressure.
As expected, it ultimately came down to the Producer.
He folded his arms, his eyes slightly lowered, and pondered, "Hmm... I'm considering whether to make 'princess mononoke' into a Diablo-style top-down action game."
"Hmm? How so?" Aoki Haruhi raised an eyebrow.
"princess mononoke itself is an animated film; the characters, scenes, and story are already set for us.
There are actually quite a few battles and large-scale scenes in it.
Ashitaka's longbow, princess mononoke's dagger, Eboshi's hunting rifle—these are all full of action elements.
If we make it a turn-based RPG, then the number of team characters would be too small.
If it's a single-player turn-based, although gameplay can also be created, it always feels like a waste of the 'combat' design.
So, the most suitable option should be to make this game a top-down action game. However, our focus later should be on how to put effort into level design and monster design.
Judging by the current plot and character count in the script, it's far from enough to support a game.
So, new things and plot must be filled in here.
Whether Ghibli can accept this is also a problem."
Hmm.
Aoki Haruhi folded his arms, thinking along with him.
Overall, the Producer was more reliable. Shinji Mikami expressed himself clearly and plainly, and it was much more feasible.
If it were made into a side-scrolling platformer, it would be a bit of a waste of the princess mononoke IP.
Because your character's side profile performance would definitely not have the advantage of a traditional RPG.
Turn-based has the problem Shinji Mikami mentioned.
It seems a top-down action game is the only solution.
However, Aoki Haruhi was still not entirely satisfied.
"Emmm... how about this, didn't we just get a newcomer named Kamiya Hideki? Add him in as well," Aoki Haruhi said.
At this moment, Aoki Haruhi finally remembered that the company seemed to have a newly recruited treasure.
Kamiya was notoriously known in the industry for liking to cause trouble.
He was very creative, but whether it could make money was another matter. At least some inspiration could be gained from him.
However, Kamiya was a big mouth, so he needed to be watched closely.
...
Shinji Mikami first took Kamiya Hideki to a small dark room, then handed him a non-disclosure agreement.
"Here, sign it."
"Huh? What is this?"
Kamiya instinctively trembled and vigilantly looked around.
In the entire small conference room, there were only him and Shinji Mikami, and the lights weren't even on.
"Sign it. It's for a new project. Only by signing it will you be qualified to participate. So many people want to get in but don't have this opportunity," Shinji Mikami laughed.
In such an environment, looking at Shinji Mikami's sinister smile, Kamiya always felt like he was about to be sold.
"Senior, don't be like this. You scare me like this."
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