Deemo II Finally Available. Interview with Rayark CEO Min Yang Translation. The theme of the story is "The end of a warm, beautiful world."

Since its establishment in 2011, Rayark has worked on a number of mobile games with a unique worldview, and as the company celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2021, the Android/iOS title “DEEMO II” will be released on January 13, 2022 (Already released) as a “10th commemorative title”. Original Interview can be found on Famitsu. The translation is made by the author of the article.

“DEEMO” can be said to be one of Rayark’s most popular and representative titles, first released for smartphones in 2013 and later for home consoles. “DEEMO II”, the long-awaited sequel to “DEEMO”, has a more advanced system that combines the rhythm game part where you play various songs and the exploration part where you get closer to the truth of the story.

In the rhythm game part, the number of notes has been increased compared to the previous game, the speed of the songs, and the variation in musical composition, among other things, making the game even more challenging. The exploration part, on the other hand, has been enhanced in terms of mystery-solving elements and direction, and more depth has been added for the enjoyment of the story.

Deemo II: Android | iOS

The stage of the story is set in a world of relentless (unceasing) and continuous rain. The living things that get wet in the rain turn into white petals and disappear, so people have to hide themselves in a large station while continuing to live. …… The main character, Echo, A young girl, in order to find a method to stop the rain, and some answers, joins forces with a human-shaped guardian spirit, Deemo, and endeavors to investigate the station.

In the midst of his exploration, Echo meets other station inhabitants. While interacting with them and continuing to resolve their troubles and worries, she gradually finds clues to solve the mystery of the continuous rainfall. This is roughly the main outline of DEEMO II.

Here, we asked CEO Min Yang Yu about how he felt about his at Rayark as he celebrated the 10th anniversary, and his thoughts on DEEMO II.

Ten years of walking together with all staff members for the enjoyment of many users.

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――Congratulations to Rayark for celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2021. What are your honest thoughts on the occasion?

Min Yang: All sorts of things have happened in these past 10 years, but now I feel that it has passed in the blink of an eye. I’m very happy that we were able to successfully celebrate our 10th anniversary.

――Were there any particularly memorable events in the past 10 years?

Min Yang: This may not be directly related to Rayark, but when the studio was founded, all the founding members were single. However, 10 years have passed and most of the members are now married with children, which is deeply moving (laughs). At the time, the studio had only 15 staff members, but now we have almost 300, and I honestly didn’t expect the number to increase so much.

――I can feel the weight of the past 10 years. Do you have a policy that you have been following for the past 10 years, or something that you have kept the same?

Min Yang: At Rayark, we’ve always treasured the balance between the artistic (artistic quality) and business aspects of games. We don’t abandon the artistic side to make money, but we also try not to neglect the business side because we are very particular about quality.

――Yes. It must be difficult to achieve that balance. Do you manage it using your intuition (Sense)?

Min Yang: Rather than my own sensibility, I have been recruiting professional staff for the past 10 years. It’s like the whole staff is protecting the company.

――Did you have any memorable events in the past 10 years that were turning points for the company?

Min Yang: Around 2016, We had about 100 staff members, and with that as a trigger, we decided then to move from feeling like a small game development team to doing things as a big company. In my opinion, that was a turning point for us.

When the number of people was small, although there was a lot of freedom, each person had a lot to do, but as the number of staff increased, I reached the point where I should concentrate on what I have to do, and the management problems of the company. I had no choice but to lay down some rules as well, and abide by them.

――What do you think is the reason you have been able to continue for the past 10 years?

Min Yang: The reason we’ve been able to work so hard is that we’ve been able to take the ideas of Rayark’s creators, give them form and bring them to the players, and many of them were delighted. The fact that we’ve received so much feedback from everyone is the main reason why we’ve been able to do so well.

―― How has the Japanese market responded to the establishment of the Japanese office in 2015?

Min Yang: Japan is an exemplary country that is admired by people who like games and anime, and many popular works there have gained worldwide fame, so while there is pressure to have Japanese players play our games, I think it is a very important market. We have worked with Japanese composers and animation creators, and I think the fact that people often say that Rayark titles “feel like they were made by a Japanese company” is due in part to the influence of us playing Japanese games since we were children.

―― Are you satisfied with the response you are getting from the Japanese market?

Min Yang: I believe that there won’t be a day when I will be satisfied with running a company (laughs).

A story loved by fans, and taste of the worldview

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―― I see (laughs). From here, I’d like to ask you about “DEEMO II”. How do you feel about the game as it nears release?

Min Yang: “DEEMO” is one of Rayark’s most important IPs, and the big question was whether we could “surpass its predecessor”, so it was difficult to start work on “DEEMO II”.

The approximate story of DEEMO II was already in the works by 2017. Two years have passed since then, and we finally started development around 2019.

―― Is the story of “DEEMO II” connected to its predecessor?

Min Yang: We believe that the story of the previous game is complete and that it had a beautiful resolution, so we will not continue the story after that. However, for the story of “DEEMO”, we placed importance on the three points of “Mythical (mysterious) world view”, “A world of warmth”, and “A moving story”, and “DEEMO II” is also a new story that places importance on these points.

**―― So in “DEEMO II”, while the three pillars of the story are important, the elements that have evolved are the conversations with NPCs and the exploration elements as an RPG.**

Min Yang: I’m aware that the previous game was a rhythm game, but the story was loved by fans, and that’s why “DEEMO II”, you can enjoy the story even more in a different way from the previous game.

―― What is the story and theme of this work?

Min Yang: The world of this work is a world where it is constantly pouring. The rain turns any living thing it hits into a flower, and because of that, the main characters, Echo and Deemo, go on an adventure to find a way to stop the rain, and do various things. The overall worldview of the game is that of a warm and beautiful end of the world. The rain only stops momentarily only where there is a musical performance in game. That is the role music plays in “DEEMO II”.

―― Please tell us the reason why “DEEMO II” is set in a train station.

Min Yang: There is a very big reason for this, but I can’t tell you right now because it would be a spoiler. But as players play, the reason will become clearer.

―― What was the most important point you focused on in “DEEMO II”?

Min Yang: The most important thing is the story, but we also paid attention to the visual expression. In this game, 2D illustrations are expressed in a 3D form, and the game world is hand-drawn, and you can explore it by changing the angle of the camera, so I think people will feel as if they are watching an anime rather than playing a game.

―― Was this a new challenge for you in terms of technology?

Min Yang: That’s right. By applying existing technologies and using the ones we created, we are incorporating the 3D worldview into a handwritten-style 2D worldview.

―― Do you aspire for high-quality visual expression from an artistic point of view?

Min Yang: If it were just about making a game, I probably wouldn’t have to go to this much trouble to depict it, but “I want players to enjoy what the creators have imagined as much as possible”, and because of this feeling, I hope to be able to deliver a magnificent worldview for the players. I’m always looking for ways to redo things and say, “I’m not satisfied with this.”, because I want to deliver something wonderful to everyone.

―― Did your commitment to “DEEMO II” come from the fact that the visuals had to be this way for this story?

Min Yang: It’s not like that, but there’s a kind of self-satisfaction in it. …… (laughs). To put it simply, it’s because we wanted to present it with this visual style.

**―― I understand that the music part has also evolved from the previous work.**

Min Yang: Isn’t that so. We’re thinking of new notes, and there will be more hold notes. Besides that, there will be tunes that include a variation in speed.

As for the type of music to be included, I’d like to include songs that are pleasant to listen to but haven’t seen much in rhythm games. In rhythm games, there have been a lot of up-tempo songs with a strong sense of rhythm. So in “DEEMO II”, there will be a lot of songs with slow rhythms, and a gentle feel overall.

―― What kind of game experience do you want people to have by adding new interactive elements?

Min Yang: By interacting with the various characters, we want to make it possible for you to become more involved in the game world. We want you to experience the feeling of interacting with the people and things depicted in the story as you read it.

―― As you enter your 11th year, please let us know if you have any future titles planned.

Min Yang: There are many other things in development besides this title, but I can’t disclose any information yet. So for now, I hope you’re looking forward to “DEEMO II”.

――Please tell us about Rayark’s policies and strategies for the future.

Min Yang: Recently, devices such as smartphones have been evolving, and we feel that the gap between them and home video game consoles is closing. Rayark’s strategy is to develop games for all platforms, including smartphones.

For example, I don’t think “DEEMO-Reborn” will be any different regardless of which platform you choose to play it on, but I hope to gradually increase the number of titles that can be developed for multiple platforms in this way.

――Finally, do you have a message for Rayark fans?

Min Yang: Thank you very much for all the support you have given us so far, starting with “Cytus”. Your feedback has been a great source of inspiration for our game development. We will continue to make better games for the next 10 years, and we will do our best to deliver excitement to those who know Rayark and to those who don’t know us yet.

DEEMO “Memorial Keys”, a feature-length anime based on the first game in the “DEEMO” series, is scheduled to be released on February 25, 2022. In this work, the story of a girl who has lost her memory and the mysterious piano-playing entity “Deemo” weave a gentle but fragile love story, depicted by a gorgeous cast including voice actress Ayana Taketatsu and a staff led by general director Junichi Fujisaki. This is a work that fans of “DEEMO” should not miss.