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Elegant Impermanence of Sakura/Strange Articles of the Outer World Interview

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An interview with some of the developers was published on Strange Articles of the Outer World on June 27, 2020. It covers the game's history and design philosophy.

热情与梦想 (Passion and Dreams)

新人游戏作者最不想遇到的情况——祈华梦的荆棘之路
《东方祈华梦》创作团队访谈

A New Game Developer's Worst Nightmare -- The Thorny Path of Elegant Impermanence of Sakura
Touhou Elegant Impermanence of Sakura Development Team Interview

2018年,同人游戏上架Steam的相关约规在东方众之间掀起了狂潮,大量优秀的新老作品相继登录Steam平台,便捷的渠道使得更多东方众愿意为自己的信仰补票、买单。优秀作品的井喷,令我们应接不暇的同时,也撩拨着我们创作的热情,在2018年,大大小小的同人游戏制作团队如雨后春笋般涌现,众多东方同人游戏爱好者用信念和热情掀起了同人创作的浪潮,而这其中有一位对编程一窍不通的同人曲师,我们的故事便从这里开始……

In 2018, the rule changes to doujin games on Steam aroused a frenzy in the Touhou community. Many fine games, both old and new, continued to appear on the Steam platform. A convenient platform made more Touhou fans willing to pay for old games in the name of their own faith. The eruption of new quality works has both surprised us, yet fanned our passionate flames of creativity. In 2018, doujin game development teams large and small sprung up like bamboo after a spring rain, and lovers of Touhou doujin games made waves in the doujin scene with their faith and passion. Amidst them was a certain doujin musician who knew nothing about programming. Our story begins here...

受访嘉宾:灵猫子、蛾子

采访者:长野原羽立、交交

编辑:长野原羽立

Guests: 灵猫子, 蛾子

Interviewers: 长野原羽立, 交交

Editor: 长野原羽立

东游鉴 ThGameGroup (omitted hereafter)

祈华梦最早的视频大致可以追溯到2018年9月,想了解一下最初的团队是什么时间组成的呢?

The earliest video of Elegant Impermanence of Sakura can be traced back to approximately September of 2018. When did the team come to be formed in that early period?

蛾子 (hereafter "Moth")

最早的事情我没帮上什么忙,那时候我正搞别的事,没参与《祈华梦》团队最初的建设。

In the earliest days, I didn't help much. At the time I was busy with other matters, and did not participate in the initial building of Elegant Impermanence of Sakura

――

嗯,蛾子好像是在中期才进入制作组的。

Mmhmm, if I recall correctly Moth joined the development team near the middle of development.

灵猫子 (hereafter "Gureihaunko")

对,那时候蛾子还不在。最早大概是在2018年2月份的时候吧,当时我在LuaSTG的交流群里简单说了一下,问问有没有人愿意一起做STG,很快就有程序员联系了,于是就有了第一批的团队。

之后大家在一起商量到底做什么……有人提到他之前参与过其他制作组的企划,然而那个小组最后半途而废了,不过已经有了剧本和2面的弹幕,或许可以在此基础上接着做下去……《祈华梦》的制作就这么开始了。

Yes, at the time Moth still wasn't there. The earliest was probably February of 2018. At the time, I asked in the LuaSTG chat group if anyone wanted to create an STG together, and some programmers quickly contacted me, and thus our first team was born.

After that, we discussed what we actually wanted to do...someone mentioned that they participated in another development team's plans, but that team stopped midway through, but they already had the plot and two stages of danmaku, and that perhaps we could continue based on this foundation...thus Elegant Impermanence of Sakura's development began.

――

除了编程人员,LuaSTG交流群在早期的筹备过程中还发挥了其他方面的作用吗?

Besides programmers, did the LuaSTG chat group fulfill any other use in the early organization period?

Gureihaunko

主要还是程序方面,制作组中有坚持做到最后的程序也是来自LuaSTG,群里还有一位美工来帮忙完成了前三面的背景制作。

It was mainly the programmers, the programmers that stuck with the team to the end were from LuaSTG. There was also a designer from the group who helped finish the background of the first three stages.

――

2018年的时候,整体上不仅仅是STG的井喷期,也是很多其他类型同人游戏的井喷期,像是RPG、ACT、ARPG之类。灵猫子一开始就决定要做STG吗,有没有考虑过其他的游戏模式,当时关于游戏模式的考虑大致是怎样的呢?

In 2018, not only was the STG scene surging, but many other genres of doujin games were surging as well, such as RPG's, ACT's, and ARPG's. Did you decide to do STGs from the start, Neko, or did you consider other types of game? What considerations were done about the genre of the game at the time?

Gureihaunko

最开始的时候我尝试着做过一些东方原作风格的曲子,很好奇“自己的曲子和STG配在一起是什么样子的”,于是就决定做游戏了,这也算是初衷吧,可以说是一开始就决定了STG,并没有考虑过其他的模式。

In the beginning I tried making some tracks in the style of the Touhou main games, and was very curious "how would my own tracks sound if they were paired with an STG?", so I decided to try to make a game. You could say this was the initial inspiration, and the reason why we chose an STG from the start. We didn't consider any other genre of game.

――

灵猫子在组内是具体负责音乐方面的内容吧,您是专门学习音乐的吗?可以简单聊一下自己在音乐方面的发展历程吗?

Gureihaunko, you were pretty much responsible for all the musical content in the team. Are you a professional musician? Can you briefly discuss your history in music?

Gureihaunko

我是业余的啦……我是音乐入坑东方,也是音乐在一直吸引着我打STG……大概是在2014年的时候吧,我开始试着写一些曲子,主要是Vocaloid,还有一些RPG风格的曲子。2017年的时候了解到梦现彼岸结界社,于是就申请入社了……真要说是东方风曲子的话,我是在入社之后才尝试着去写东方风曲子,组内的前辈和大佬们给予了非常多的帮助,没有他们的指导我是绝对做不到的。

I'm an amateur...music led me into Touhou, and music has also attracted me to play STGs...about in 2014, I tried writing some music, mostly Vocaloid and some RPG-style. In 2017 I found out about 梦现彼岸结界社, and applied to join...If you actually consider Touhou-style tracks, I only tried making them after I joined the club. The great people in the group gave me a lot of help, and I couldn't have done it without their guidance.

――

您觉得东方风的曲子最吸引人的地方在哪里呢?

What do feel is the most attractive part of Touhou-style music?

Gureihaunko

这个应该是受到很大的个人偏好影响吧……

我听音乐是很偏重旋律的,对于混音啊后期啊其实并不是特别在意,东方的大多数曲子恰恰是旋律非常惊艳,于是不由自主就陶醉其中了。

This is heavily influenced by personal preference...

I heavily emphasize melody when listening to music, and do not really care much about mixing or postproduction or things like that. And Touhou's many tracks precisely have very striking melodies, so unwittingly I became entranced with it all.

――

您有非常喜欢的正作曲子吗?

Do you have any favorite tracks from the official works?

Gureihaunko

当然!像是《鬼形兽》的4、5、6面道中曲都非常非常的好听!红、妖、永那些比较老的正作基本上每首曲子我都很喜欢,在我还完全不了解东方和STG的时候,这三作的曲子就循环了好多天!如果是“最喜欢”的话,那我真的只能说“没有”。很难取舍呀!几乎所有的曲子在我心中都是神曲了~

Of course! The Stage 4, 5, and 6 themes of Wily Beast and Weakest Character are all very good! I like pretty much every single track in the older works such as EoSD, PCB, or IN. Even before I understood Touhou or STGs, I repeated the tracks from these three works for many days! If I had to name a single "favorite", then I could only say "none". It's hard to pick! Almost all of the tracks are the greatest to me~

――

想要在众多东方曲子中选一首“最喜欢”的,确实有些太难为大家了。这样来看的话灵猫子在制作音乐方面确实有很强的基础,但是您当时好像对编程方面并不是十分了解?

It's a tall order to have pick one "favorite" among all of the Touhou tracks. So it looks like Gureihaunko you have strong foundations in the musical production aspect, but it seems you didn't have a very strong grasp of the programming aspect at the time?

Gureihaunko

是的,很不了解,说是“一窍不通”也不过分。

Yes, I didn't have a strong grasp at all. It wouldn't be wrong to say I "knew nothing at all" about it.

――

谈到游戏制作,自然离不开程序,您当时作为一个对编程很茫然的主催,在召集制作组成员、描绘作品蓝图的时候有过顾虑吗?是否担心过自己在编程方面的不足会对开发产生非常不利的影响呢?

If we talk about game development, then naturally programming is also relevant. As a project lead who knew little about programming, did you have any worries when recruiting team members or drawing designs? Did you worry that your insufficiencies in programming would negatively influence the development process?

Gureihaunko

当时真的是完全没有这方面的顾虑……

当时一起合作的程序员确实有实力,而且也很热心,说是程序方面的事情交给他来办就好,他也会找其他的朋友来帮忙……所以在早期的时候我确实在这方面没啥顾虑。

刚开始的时候没想那么多东西,就是个挺天真的想法,觉得做游戏就是那种,有人负责程序,有人负责美工,我只需要做好音乐,剩下的事情就可以撒手不管了——反正有其他人嘛。但是随着正式工作开始推进,就渐渐发现自己之前的想法有些过于简单了,没人能当甩手掌柜,特别是主催。

At the time I really didn't have any worries like that...

The programmer we collaborated with at the time was very good, and very passionate. Anything programming-related I would just give to him to get done, and he would find other friends to help...so in the early period I honestly had no worries in that front.

In the beginning I didn't think of much, just a very naive view that game developmemt was just some people responsible for programming, some people responsible for design, and that I only had to make the music good and didn't need to interfere with anything else -- besides, there was everyone else, right? But as the real work began, I slowly discovered that my view was a bit simplistic. No one can be dead weight, especially not the project lead.

――

所以随着开发工作的逐渐开展,自身技术力所带来的弊端就陆续显现出来了。

So as development continued, the downsides of your own technical level became apparent.

Gureihaunko

是的,自身没有技术力,很多想做的东西就只能借助程序之手来实现——把具体的构思与想法描述给他们,然后希望他们能写出来。但是由于沟通表达上的阻碍,还有就是我俩对STG的理解上有很大的不同——当时我个人在STG方面也没什么经验——于是摩擦就越来越多了,很多我想试着实现一下的东西,写出来的结果却和设想大相径庭,很吃力。

Yes. Having no technical skill myself, many things I wanted to do I could only lean on the programmers to bring to life--describing the precise design and thought to them, then hoping they could program it. But because of communication difficulties, and the fact that our understanding of STGs was very different -- at the time I didn't have much experience with STGs -- disagreements became more and more frequent. Many things I wanted to try didn't look the way I intended after being programmed. It was strenuous.

――

当时受限于自身技术力所带来的尴尬局面,您能更为具体地回忆一下吗?

Could you reflect more concretely on the awkward situations brought about by your own limitations in technical skill?

Gureihaunko

惨不忍睹、举步维艰。

我自己虽名为主催,但实际上算是“完全没有发言权”了吧,我提的很多建议,收到的基本上都是“你又不懂STG”、“你知道这有多么不现实吗”这种反馈,难以得到有效的讨论。大家七嘴八舌议论半天,最后却没有人来拍板,“究竟要走什么思路”、“到底要做个什么东西”,大家要么是没想法,要么是意见不合,造成的结果就是,真的就只是“讨论”了,然后就没有然后了。

An unbearable sight, hard to make progress.

Although I was the nominal project lead, in reality I basically "had no power to speak". Many suggestions I made were met with responses similar to "You don't understand STGs" and "You understand how unrealistic this is, right?", so it was difficult to have productive debate. Everyone debated for half the day, but no one was there to make the final decision. As for "what design philosophy do we follow?" and "what kind of product do we want to make?", everyone either had no opinion, or had conflicting opinions. The result was that we only "debated", but then nothing came after that.

――

整个团队成了群龙无首的状态。

The whole team became a "team of dragons without a leader".

Gureihaunko

确实是,而且不仅如此。

我不知道完成某个程序需要多长时间,没办法合理地安排开发进度;程序写好的东西我啥都看不明白,什么情况都无法理解,一头雾水,想催进度也无从下手。总之就是一团乱糟,因为自身不懂编程,开发进度、成员心态等等各个方面都逐渐失控了,甚至还遇到罢工的威胁……作品本身肯定是更没戏了,一咕再咕吧。

Correct, and it wasn't just that.

I didn't know how much time it would take to finish any piece of programming, so I had no way to reasonably plan development progress. The completed code I didn't know how to read, and I couldn't understand the state of things. I was shrouded in mist, and didn't even know where to start when asking for progress updates. It was just a mess. Because I didn't know programming, I began to lose control of the development progress, team morale, and other things. I was even threatened with a strike once. So there wasn't hope for the game itself, it was one delay after another.

――

这些状况基本上算是毁灭性打击了,最初的时候灵猫子有预料到冲击的影响会如此大吗?

This kind of situation is basically a fatal blow. Gureihaunko, did you foresee in the beginning how large the consequences of your conflicts would be?

Gureihaunko

那时候还是侥幸心理作祟吧,总觉得自己能协调好大家,协调好各方面的工作,所以在没有相关知识的情况下开了企划,当了主催,后面的这些情况确实超出了自己早先的预期。

At the time I was still thinking wishfully. I thought I could harmonize everyone and coordinate the work, so with no relevant knowledge, I started planning and became the project lead. The later events were really out of my early expectations.

――

只是在程序方面有阻力吗,美术和文案的情况是不是相对好一些?

Was it only the programming that had difficulties? Was the situation relatively better with the visual and literary design?

Gureihaunko

或多或少都有在咕,最严重的还是程序方面。

More or less everyone had delays, but the most severe was still in the programming.

――

蛾子那个时候对《祈华梦》组内的这些状况有所了解吗?

Moth, were you aware of this situation in Elegant Impermanence of Sakura's development team?

Moth

没有,那时候制作组的很多信息都不公开,我作为局外人对这些方面的事情基本上全然不知。不过从外部来看的话,倒是已经明显感觉得到作品有放鸽子的迹象了。

No, at the time many details of the development team were not public. As an outsider, I knew basically none of this. But from the outside looking in, it was already obvious that this project had signs of not delivering.

Gureihaunko

总的来说就是,作为主催,由于自身没有技术力,失去了作品内容和开发进度的决定权,失去了在组内的权威,结果在各个方面都会产生负面影响。失去权威,这对于开发工作来说真的很致命。

To sum it all up, as a project lead, because I had no technical skill, I lost my power to make decisions about the work's content and development process and my authority in the team, which caused much negativity in many aspects. Losing authority is fatal in development.

――

咱们刚才聊到的那些困难,主要还是由于灵猫子在编程方面几乎零经验造成的,灵猫子后来有考虑过通过自己学习编程来克除这些障碍吗?

We just discussed those difficulties, the most significant of which was caused by Gureihaunko's near-zero experience in programming. Gureihaunko, did you later consider learning programming yourself to suppress these difficulties?

Gureihaunko

有过,那时候也试着学过,但是怎么说呢……自己终究还是个凡人,感觉在这方面真的是没啥天赋,而且毅力也不足,总之就是……没能有啥结果。

Yes, and I also tried learning. But what can I say...I'm only a mortal, and I felt that I really didn't have much talent in those things, nor motivation to continue. So basically...not much came of it.

――

看来当时处于一种于内于外都束手无策的状态了。

It seems as if you had your hands tied, both externally and internally.

Gureihaunko

嗯,要是没有后来蛾子他们,以我当时的团队状况和个人状况,《祈华梦》绝对绝对绝对是做不出来的。

Yes, if Moth and them didn't come later, with the state the team and myself were in at the time, Elegant Impermanence of Sakura definitely would never ever have been completed.

――

灵猫子当时对于《祈华梦》的第一个试玩版本满意吗?

Gureihaunko, were you satisfied with Elegant Impermanence of Sakura's first demo version at the time?

Gureihaunko

非常满意!真的是历尽坎坷才有了阶段性结果,而且另一方面,我那时候对“优秀的STG”完全没有概念,等到后来《祈华梦》最终版本完成后,我才知道,“啊!我和我的团队原来能做得更好”,不过当时真的是很满意了。

Very satisfied! It was an endless and arduous journey to reach this milestone, and also at the time I had no concept of what an "exemplary STG" was. It was only later when the full version of Elegant Impermanence of Sakura was completed, that I found out "Ah! So I and my team were able to do better.". But at the time I was very satisfied.

――

蛾子大概是什么时候注意到《祈华梦》的呢?

Moth, when did you first notice Elegant Impermanence of Sakura?

Moth

在第一个体验版发布以后,大概是在2018年的9月份吧,那个时候我才知道有这个作品。

After the first demo was released, about September of 2018, I only found out about it then.

――

刚才好像提到,您当时在忙其他的作品。

I recall you mentioning, at the time you were busy with other projects.

Moth

那时候是《宵海格》,大概是6月份吧,那个的话有些“自娱自乐”的。

At the time it was The Unvisible Wing, about during June. That project was a bit "for fun".

――

《宵海格》是一部“东方x碧蓝”的作品,所以您还是一位碧蓝玩家吗?

The Unvisible Wing was a "Touhou x Azur Lane" project, so are you still an Azur Lane player?

Moth

以前是的,现在真的肝不动了……嘛,碧蓝吸引我的地方,除了老婆(大误),就是弹幕射击元素了,当时自己在设计很多弹幕的时候是以碧蓝为原型的。

In the past, but now I can't bring myself to...anyways, where Azur Lane attracted me, besides the waifus (hmm), was the danmaku shooting elements. At the time, a lot of the danmaku I designed was based upon Azur Lane.

――

蛾子是怎么想到把东方和碧蓝结合到一起的呢?

Moth, how did you think of combining Touhou and Azur Lane?

Moth

大概是在17年末的时候吧,看到有个视频把碧蓝雪风的角色曲东方化的,弹幕里全都是“双厨欢喜”,我觉得这个挺有意思,就试着拿碧蓝的素材摸了一个单Boss战,发出去,没想到效果挺好,于是《宵海格》三部曲就有了,很纯粹,当然,也有很多朋友给了很大的帮助和支持。

It was about 2017, I saw a video that remade Yukikaze's theme in a Touhou style. Everyone in the danmaku comments was saying "Double fans happy". I thought was quite interesting, so I took some Azur Lane assets and made a single boss fight, and released it. Thus, The Unvisible Wing trilogy came into existence. It was quite simple. Of course, many friends also gave their assistance and support.

――

感觉您在《宵海格》真的是放飞自我了。

I feel like you just let yourself loose in The Unvisible Wing.

Moth

《宵海格》系列算是“认真设计的自High作品”吧,受众可能只有东方和碧蓝双厨,不会太广,再有难度上的问题,怎么说呢,人气并不是很高。一两个月就整出来了,真的就是自己爽了一把,其他的方面没考虑太多。

The Unvisible Wing you could consider a "seriously-designed project for the high", the target audience probably consists only of people who are fans of both Touhou and Azur Lane. Plus there were balance issues, so, how should I say this, the popularity wasn't high. I made it in 1-2 months, it really was just a way to have fun, I didn't think much about anything else.

――

灵猫子的投稿里面也有“东方x碧蓝”的曲子,所以灵猫子当时也参与了《宵海格》的制作吗?

Gureihaunko, you've also uploaded "Touhou x Azur Lane" tracks before, so did you participate in the production of The Unvisible Wing?

Gureihaunko

当时有受委托作曲。

I was asked to compose for it.

――

《宵海格1》里面请灵猫子帮忙弄了一些曲子。

We asked Gureihaunko to help with some of the music in The Unvisible Wing 1.

――

《宵海格》算是蛾子和灵猫子最早的合作了吧?

Would The Unvisible Wing be the earliest time you two collaborated?

Moth

最早……再往前追其实能到LuaSTG的活8[sic]……那时候我是一个人参加的,灵猫子是社团成员。后来我在OSY组的时候,想到灵猫子曲子好,工作效率也高,干劲也足,于是就请她来帮忙了。

The earliest...if you went further back you'd get back to LuaSTG Activity...at that time I was participating alone, and Gureihaunko as part of a team. Later on when I was with Team OSY, I thought of Gureihaunko's quality of music, efficiency of work, and enthusiasm, and thus asked her to help out.

――

这也成了蛾子和他的伙伴进入《祈华梦》制作组的契机了吧。

And this was also the opportunity for Moth and the others to join the team of Elegant of Impermanence of Sakura.

Gureihaunko

蛾子他们很早就有委托我作曲了,也是由于合作的缘故吧,当时和OSY组走得比较近了,相对来说比较熟悉。后来等祈华梦第一个程序员走了,我当时第一个想到的就是请蛾子他们来做,于是就和他们聊了一下这个事。

Moth and them had asked me to compose for them very early on. Because of this collaboration, I naturally got closer to and more familiar with Team OSY. Later on when the first programmer for Elegant Impermanence of Sakura left, my first thought was to ask Moth and them to help, so I discussed with them about the matter.

Moth

灵猫子当时觉得有些组员真的是态度很糟糕,这个企划在体验版后基本上也停滞不前了。

于是她就和我们说了这个事,大家讨论了一下,觉得或许可以接手,然后就去和当时技术方面的主要负责人聊了一下,他也同意了。

At the time, Gureihaunko felt like the attitudes of some of the team members was very problematic, and after the demo came out, forward progress on the current plans stalled.

So she told us about this, and we debated for a while, and decided that we could perhaps take over. We then went to discuss with the person mainly responsible for the technological side of things, and he agreed as well.

――

这就算是初步完成交接工作了吧?

This counts as the first steps of transition work, correct?

Moth

嗯,可以这么说吧。

Yes, you could put it that way.

――

所以是当时交给OSY组来做了?

So it was then that the game was given to Team OSY to do?

Moth

不不不,准确的来说是我和我的几位伙伴,只是人员上和OSY组有些重合。

No, no, no, to be more precise, it was just me and a few of my friends. There was just an overlap in membership with Team OSY.

――

蛾子当时听灵猫子说了组内的糟糕状况之后,第一感觉是怎样的?

Moth, after you heard Gureihaunko describe the team's disastrous situation, what was your first reaction?

Moth

感觉他们有些不负责任了,说心里话,可能是受到个人性格的影响吧,有点不爽。一部作品的制作,前期是需要很多准备工作的,当时《祈华梦》在很多方面已经有了基础,像是人设啊,剧情啊,这样的话再死掉真的可惜了,而且,感觉也对不住灵猫子那么好的曲子。

I felt they were a bit irresponsible. To be honest, it could be a personality thing, but I was a bit unhappy. A new production requires lots of preparation work in the early period. At the time, Elegant Impermanence of Sakura already had firm foundations in many areas, such as character design, plot, etc. If it died again it would be such a shame. Also, it would have been a disservice to Gureihaunko's great tracks.

――

从外界来看,蛾子接手开发工作成为主催后,《祈华梦》的开发工作可以说是势如破竹,基本上没有再遇到什么障碍,是这样的吗?

From an outsider's perspective, once you took over development and became project lead, Elegant Impermanence of Sakura's development seemed "like a hot knife through butter", henceforth having no more major obstacles. Was that the case?

Moth

刚刚加入《祈华梦》制作组的时候我其实并不是主催,而且,真的不是什么“势如破竹”,甚至可以说是完全相反,还是遇到了一些很糟糕的困难的。

When I first joined Elegant Impermanence of Sakura's development team, I wasn't actually the project lead. And, it wasn't anything "like a hot knife through butter", you could even say it was the opposite. We still ran into some major issues.

Gureihaunko

最初我还是做了一阵主催的,但是由于自己的能力确实有限,在和新组员发生了几次摩擦以后吧,有几次比较激烈的争吵。之后反思了一下,觉得自己可能真的不太合适,于是就把主催的工作交给了蛾子。

In the beginning I still was project lead for a while, but because of limitations in my own abilities, after several arguments with the new team members, there were a few larger conflicts. After reflecting for a while, I felt perhaps I really wasn't suited for the job, so I passed the role of project lead to Moth.

――

比较激烈的争吵?

A few larger conflicts?

Moth

主要是,灵猫子在STG方面经验比较少,所以会时不时提出一些在老玩家看来明显有问题的想法,有些成员可能脾气比较急,一来二去言辞就激烈了起来,最后甚至到了以怠工相威胁的程度,就是那种“你自己啥都不知道还要指挥行家干这干那”的怨气。

The main thing was, Gureihaunko was relatively inexperienced in STG's, and would occasionally suggest ideas that more experienced players would immediately see flaws in. Some of the team members might have had short tempers, and after a back and forth would lose their temper. In the end there were even threats of slowing down work intentionally as a strike. "You don't even know anything, why are you directing us experienced folks to do this and that?" That kind of anger.

Gureihaunko

后来我和蛾子商量了一下,正好那段时间蛾子也不是很忙,于是就把主催的工作交给蛾子来做了,我还是专心做音乐吧。

Later on I discussed with Moth, and conveniently at the time he also wasn't very busy, so I gave the role of project lead to him and I focused on my music.

――

灵猫子就这样把主催的位置交给了蛾子,蛾子是在哪些方面给灵猫子留下了比较深刻的印象吗?万一蛾子最后也怠工了怎么办,这种情况的顾虑考虑过吗?

Gureihaunko, you just gave the position to Moth like that? What about Moth gave you such a deep impression? Did you consider a case where Moth went on strike as well?

Gureihaunko

没,真没有,只是因为当时蛾子是唯一一个一直坚持在做的人,所以我最后决定把主催的工作交给他了。

No. Really, no. It was because Moth was the only one who had persisted in work all along, so in the end I decided to give him the project lead's position.

――

感觉非常的无奈啊。

You must have felt so helpless.

Gureihaunko

自己没有技术,真的就是这么无奈。

Having no technical skill, I was really that helpless.

――

蛾子在接手这个混乱的团队的时候,是怎样的心态呢?当时有什么顾虑吗?

Moth, when you took control of this mess of a team, what was on your mind? Did you have any apprehensions?

Moth

因为我之前自己也零敲碎打有过一些小作品吧,又正好有时间,所以就想,“可以试试看”,于是就接过来了。顾虑……没啥顾虑,就觉得主催可能就是布置一下任务,催一催进度,验收一下成果就好了,不过一段时间以后事态的发展就彻底打碎了我当时的认知。

Because I had thrown together some small works in the past and had some free time, I thought "I'll give it a try", and took the job. Apprehensions...I didn't have any really. I thought the project lead was just distributing tasks, checking on progress, and checking the finished work. But after some time, the way things unfolded completely shattered my expectations.

――

对于“主催”工作的理解有些过于简单了,这个问题好像是咱们这次第二次聊到了。

Looks like it's the second time we're discussing how people might misunderstand the role of project lead.

Gureihaunko

(笑)

(laughs)

Moth

(笑)其实相较于灵猫子,我也只是在程序和STG经验方面更有一些优势,至于“到底怎样成为一位主催”真的是毫无经验可谈。

(laughs) To be honest, compared to Gureihaunko, I'm only have a little advantage in programming and STG experience. In terms of "how to be a project lead", I really had no experience to speak about.

――

所以即使是蛾子成为了主催,团队在没多久之后还是陷入了灵猫子当时遇到的困境泥潭?

So even though Moth became project lead, not long after the team still fell into the same mire of hardship Gureihaunko experienced?

Moth

对,恍若昨日重现。

比方说,有的组员效率低下,每次商定死线都没完成任务。可是回过头来想,“怎样确定任务的死线”,我自己都没啥明确的衡量标准,只能是说,从自己的角度去估计组员大概会用多少时间,然后往比较长的方向去定。陆陆续续过了半年,组员过了死线没能完成任务的情况比比皆是,不过大家只要理由合理我也就没再去追究,就当作是无事发生吧。

在一次又一次的“没时间”、“比较忙”当中,开发进度逐渐无限期延期。

我当时也经常思考,是不是我给的时间太少了?我一直都相信大家是愿意把游戏做好的……大家刚刚加入时激烈的讨论的情景仿佛就在昨日。可现实是,随着时间的流逝,热情一点点就没了,漠不关心了。当时突击例大祭参展工作比较重的时候,有些组员提出要退出,我真的挺难过的。

当然,这只是一个方面吧,我个人去年三次元也是事情比较多,没能给组内贡献出比较多的时间,也就是基本完成了自己相应的工作吧。

“热情的丧失”,这应该就是我们这种制作组最大的敌人了吧。

Yes, as if we were seeing the same thing again.

For example, some team members were slowing down, and repeatedly couldn't finish their tasks by the agreed upon deadline. But thinking back, I myself didn't even have a clear standard for "how to determine deadlines". I could only guess, from my point of view, how long it would take, and increase the time a bit more. Half a year went by, and team members not meeting their deadlines was a common thing. But as long as everyone's reasons were understandable, I wouldn't pursue it further, and go on as if nothing had happened.

Amidst one "I haven't had time" or another "I'm kind of busy lately", the development progress gradually began delaying itself indefinitely.

At the time, I also considered, did I give too little time? I always trusted that everyone was willing to make a good game...I could still remember everyone's enthusiastic hopes and discussions as if it were yesterday. But the reality was, as time went on, the passion slowly faded into apathy. When we were crunching for the Reitaisai showcase, some team members wanted to resign, which made me feel quite bad.

Of course, this is one-sided. Personally, I was quite busy IRL the past year as well, and could not offer more of my time for the team -- I only did the bare requirements of my work.

"The death of passion" is probably the greatest enemy of our development team.

继承与创造 (Succession and Creation)

宛如救命稻草一般,蛾子和他朋友们的加入给《祈华梦》带来了新的希望,在经历了漫长而艰涩的磨合之后,团队终于能够全身心地投入到创作中去,将自己的热情、思考、智慧和爱,融入到这部来之不易的作品当中……

Like a lifesaving piece of straw, the joining of Moth and his friends brought Elegant Impermanence of Sakura renewed hope. After a long and arduous process of acclimatization, the team could finally focus their full efforts on creating, putting their own passion, thought, wisdom, and love into this hard-to-come-by project...

从结果来看,《祈华梦》最终版和最初的体验版已经完全不一样了,有很多网友吐槽“完全就是两个游戏了”,这是在蛾子的推动下进行了巨大的改动吗?

Looking at the final result, Elegant Impermanence of Sakura completely changed between its earliest trial and final release. Many people on the internet stated jokingly, "They're two different games". Moth, was this enormous revision done under your supervision?

Moth

与其说是改动,不如说是重做了一遍。那时候刚接手企划比较激动,干劲十足,很多灵感和创意一股脑涌出来。最后整体上,一道中重做了三次,二道中改了三次,三道中也是三次,四、五道中各重做了一次,六道中也进行了大规模的修改,大致就是,不断地“立”和“破”,把觉得不太合适的版面和设计全部推翻重来,然后再推翻再重来……

I'd call it a remake rather than a revision. At the time I received control, I was quite excited and energized, and many strokes of inspiration and creativity readily flowed forth from my brain. In total, stage 1 was redone three times, stage 2 was revised three times, and the same for stage 3. Stages 4 and 5 both respectively were redone once, and stage 6 also underwent a major revision. Basically, the process was "build" and "destroy", throwing away interfaces and designs that were unsuitable and going at it again, then throwing it away and going again...

Gureihaunko

音乐方面也是,《祈华梦》时间跨度有些长,之后回过头去看当时的曲子,真的是糟糕至极,赶紧重新写了换掉……也是从很多曲子中不断挑选,感觉没用到的曲子都能多到再凑出一个《祈华梦》了。

The same thing happened for the music. Elegant Impermanence of Sakura's development process spanned a long period of time. Looking back at the early tracks, they were extremely bad, and I hurried to rewrite and replace them...also, I had to make selections from many tracks. I feel like the unused tracks alone could make another Elegant Impermanence of Sakura.

这些未收录曲或许可以考虑出专辑了。

Perhaps these unused tracks could be made into an album?

Gureihaunko

在网易云上已经有未收录曲的专辑了,之后的实体版也会收录这些未使用的曲子,或许会有人会喜欢吧。

There's already an album of the unused tracks on Netease Music, and the physical copy later on will also have these unused tracks. Perhaps someone will like them.

在开发过程中,作品虽然进行了大幅度的修改,不过从剧情上来看,作品后三面的故事,还有Ex面的架构,能找到《风神录》的影子,这里构思的时候有借鉴过《风神录》吗?

Although the work underwent sweeping changes during development, if you look at the story, the story of the last three stages and the structure of the extra stage look vaguely like Mountain of Faith. Did you borrow from Mountain of Faith while designing these sections?

Gureihaunko

这个的话,我个人认为,前前文案——也就是那个构建故事架构的人——绝对有借鉴《风神录》,至于他本人到底是怎么想的,我也不清楚了。我接手剧情文案之后,对木花咲耶姬发动异变的动机进行了修改,尽量看起来没那么像吧……至于人物类型的话,的确是撞车了,巫女啊,神啊……不过故事后三面剧情的改动还是比较大的。

Ah, this. From what I can tell, the previous previous writer -- the one who structured the story -- definitely borrowed from Mountain of Faith. As for his precise thoughts, I'm not quite sure. After I took over as the writer, I made changes to Konohana-Sakuyahime's motive for starting an incident, so it isn't that similar anymore...as for the types of characters, I do admit there's some overlap. Shrine maidens, gods...but in the end the changes to the story in the last three stages were quite significant.

最早先的构思是怎样的呢?

What was the earliest design like?

Gureihaunko

是收集信仰……感觉真的是和风神录一模一样了。在前前文案离去后,陆陆续续又进行了比较多的删改吧,像是Ex面的Boss,原来的设定是石长姬的巫女,后来也改了。

It was about collecting faith...exactly like Mountain of Faith. After the previous previous writer left, several major revisions were made in succession. Like the extra stage boss was originally meant to be Iwanagahime's shrine maiden, which was later changed.

剧情上的话,最后终稿使用的是与“侘”和“寂”相关的异变,想请您解释一下这两个字的具体含义。

In the final story, the script used an incident around wabi and sabi. Could you please explain for us the exact meaning of these two words?

Gureihaunko

这两个字有很深的内涵,简单的理解就是,“侘”就是不变,“寂”就是变化,从角色的角度来讲,木花咲耶姬是掌管“寂”,也就是“变化”的神明,她的姐姐石长姬则是掌管“侘”,也就是“不变”的神明。

These two words have a complex meaning. Put simply, wabi means unchanging, and sabi means changing. From the characters' perspective, Konohana-Sakuyahime is a goddess that controls sabi, that is, "change". Her elder sister Iwanagahime is a goddess that controls wabi, that is, "unchanging".

这样来看的话,“不变”和“变化”就是作品的主题吧?

So from what you say, the theme of this work is "unchanging" and "changing"?

Gureihaunko

仅仅是理解成“不变”和“变化”还是不够全面,设计的主题其实有三个,一是生者必灭盛者必衰的沧桑感;二是衰败之后不破不立的再生感;三是打破盛衰循环的平静感。

Analyzing it simply as "unchanging" and "changing" isn't comprehensive enough. There were three main themes: First was the inevitable feeling that "those who live must die", and "the splendrous must decay". Second the feeling of rebirth: "without an ending, there is no new beginning". Third is the peace from breaking the cycle of splendour and decay.

这三方面的主题,在作品中是怎样体现的呢?

How did the game present these three themes?

Gureihaunko

比如二面云外镜,设定是“观察者”,她是从历史上士农工商王侯将相各类角色的视野来观察盛衰的循环,并且通过对这个过程的思考来得到智慧。同时也捏他了一点旧约酒场,就是感受他人的世界,连接两个世界,这样的感觉。

四面蜃,点出关键点“人欲”,有了人欲就看不见岛,而这个岛的象征意味就是长生。所以是,有了欲望就只能被困在自己的世界里,就是“寂”,就看不见“侘”了。

For example the ungaikyo in stage 2, her role was as an "observer". She looks at the cycle of splendour and decay with a historical perspective, with the roles of farmers, workers, merchants, kings, marquises, and chancellors, and from this derives her wisdom. At the same time we also NETA-ed Dateless Bar Old Adam a bit, that is, the feeling of experiencing someone else's world and bringing both worlds closer together.

Stage 4's shen revolved around "the desires of man". With those desires, one wouldn't be able to see the island, and the island symbolized long life. Thus, having those desires would trap one in their own world, sabi, rendering them unable to see the wabi.

“只能看到变化,却看不到历史的永恒”,有一种被人被欲望蒙蔽匆匆追求此生的感觉,可以这样理解吗?

"Only able to see change, yet unable to see the eternity of history". Some people are blinded by their desires and spend their lives chasing after them. Something like that?

Gureihaunko

是的,这里面有一些道家的含义了,只要还有欲望,那就是“寂”。

Yes, there's a bit of Taoism in there too. As long as there are still desires, then that is sabi.

Moth

所以四面道中和关底的背景,特意用雾气把岛遮挡住了一部分,如果有仔细观察的话是可以看得到的,但你无法分辨那个到底是山还是岛。在Boss战符卡阶段,背景的雾气会散去,在阴暗的正中间是可以看到岛的全貌的。4Boss击破后就不再神秘了,于是在五开幕一眨眼后岛便清晰可见,然后主角们就把这个岛当作最后的目标,飞向岛屿……这个是五道中开幕背景演出的最初构想,最后也顺利得实现出来了”

So during stage 4, we intentionally used some fog to hide part of the island. Those who observe closely will be able to see it, but you wouldn't have been able to tell if it was a mountain or an island. During the boss's spells, the fog in the background would dissipate, and in the center of the darkness you can see the full appearance of the island. After being defeated, the stage 4 boss stops being mysterious, so the moment stage 5 starts, the island is as clear as day. The protagonists then set their sights on this island as the final goal, and take flight. This was the early idea for the presentation of the stage 5 opening, and in the end we successfully executed.

Gureihaunko

第三个“打破盛衰循环的平静感”,也就是说没有“寂”了。

 之所以“寂”会带来上述的循环,是因为“寂”就是“散”,在彰显自己辉煌的同时,也在向外散发自己的能量,这势必会带来自身力量的减弱,减弱到最后就会衰败,就会死亡。打破这个循环的关键点是由“寂”变成“侘”,“侘”就是“集”,“集”与“散”相对,意指避免彰显自身,也就是所谓的“藏拙”,这样自身的能量就不会散发出去,完全都被收集在了内部,自己就不会变得虚弱,也不会消亡。

Thirdly, "breaking the cycle of splendour and decay" means no longer having "sabi".

The reason why "sabi" brings the aforementioned cycle is because "sabi" is the same as "scatter". At the same time one is brightly displaying their glory, they are also dispersing their own energy. This surely weakens one's own strength, until they finally waste away and die. The key in breaking this cycle lies in changing "sabi" to "wabi". "Wabi" is the same as "gathering", and "gathering" is opposed to "scattering. It refers to avoiding showing oneself, hiding their inadequacies. Thus, their energy will not scatter, and will gather inside themselves, such that they will not become weak and disappear.

这些方面您感觉在正作中有所涉及吗?

Have the official works touched on this in any manner?

Gureihaunko

我觉得有的,像是月都,还有《绀珠传》四面的标题,“寂不会造访的街”,月人所讨厌的所谓“污秽”,就是“寂”,也就是万物生长,死亡,再生长的这个过程。妹红就是完全的“寂”,倒不是说她永远不死,而是说她死了完全可以再生。所以在月人看来她恐怕是一个巨大污秽源,月都则可以完全看作是“侘”,没有吃不死之药的辉夜的“永远”也是侘,因为吃了不死之药,有了污秽,就被流放到了地上。

I think so, yes, like the Lunar Capital. Also, the title of Stage 4 in Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom was "A City Free From Sabi". The "impurity" the lunarians detest is precisely "sabi", the process of growing, dying, and living again. Mokou is an example of complete "sabi". She isn't undying, rather she can revive after dying. So the Lunarians all view as a enormous source of impurities. The Lunar Capital, on the other hand, is "wabi". Kaguya's "eternity", before she took the Elixir of Immortality, is also wabi. Because she took the Elixir and became impure, she was sent to Earth.

嗯,大概能理解了。不过,这些构思除了在剧情和引申义方面对作品有所贡献外,在其他方面对作品产生了什么影响吗?

Mmm, I think I get it. But besides contributing to the plot and its associated metaphors, did these ideas influence any other aspects of the work?

Moth

有的,这个思路为作品的游戏系统提供了依托。

Yes, this line of thinking provided the basis of the game's system.

是《祈华梦》的染色系统吧。

The dyeing system of Elegant Impermanence of Sakura, right?

Moth

对,在游戏背景故事层面,异变主要是侘寂紊乱,于是,在游戏中把侘和寂定义为两种属性。紊乱嘛,也就是事物本身的侘寂不平衡,比方说,背景故事交代的,竹子开花、铜钟一夜生锈、雾之湖结冰这些现象。

于是我想,把这种紊乱体现在妖精身上,让游戏道中的敌人都有三种状态:偏向侘,偏向寂再有就是平衡态,其实对应的就是游戏里的:蓝色、红色、无色。

于是想设计一个机制,通过让敌人的状态改变的方式来对付敌人,染色机制就这么有了。

Yes, in the game's story, the incident arises due to chaos of wabi and sabi. Thus, wabi and sabi were designed in-game as two different elements. Chaos meaning that there was an imbalance of wabi and sabi in all things. As the backstory mentioned, this manifested in things such as the bamboo flowering, the bell rusting in one night, and the Misty Lake freezing over.

Gureihaunko

2018年最早的程序离开后,有一个人提出了一个想法,做成《斑鸠》那种系统,具体来讲就是道中会刷两种属性的小怪,连着击破同样属性小怪的话就给“侘”加分,击破不同的小怪的话就给“寂”加分。但是如果敌人的颜色完全不会变化,道中的路线就会变得完全固定,可玩性会降低,变成肌肉记忆游戏,改变小怪颜色的机制就是在这种环境下被提出的。

后来我们发现,击破小怪的同时还要击破大怪,太麻烦了,所以干脆就以染色作为击破敌人的主要方式了。

After our earliest programmer left in 2018, someone made a suggestion to make a system like Ikaruga. More precisely, the stages would spawn small fry with two different types. Defeating the same type of enemy in a row would increase your "wabi" score, and defeating different types of enemies would increase your "sabi" score. But if the enemies' colors were static and unchanging, stage routes would become completely fixed, which isn't as fun. It would just be muscle memory. So under this concern, the suggestion was made to allow the enemies' color to be changed.

Later on we found out, having to shoot down large fairies while taking care of the small fairies was too annoying, so we just made dyeing the main way to defeat enemies.

Moth

让充满侘或者寂力量的大型妖精来传导给小型妖精,击破它就能使侘或者寂的力量在其染色圈范围内释放并影响圈内的其他小型妖精。

这个当时也有设想过用雷来改变,不过最后还是决定使用“控枪击破大怪”的方式来实现。

The large fairies would be full of wabi or sabi and spread it to the small fairies. Defeating them would release their energy in a radius, affecting the small fairies.

At the time we also thought about using bombs to change the properties of the small fairies, but in the end we decided to go for controlled fire to shoot down large fairies.

在这样的游戏机制之下,玩家道中的体验会有怎样的改变呢?

How would players' experiences change under such a design?

Gureihaunko

改变很大,最直接的感受就是,道中的大多数时间不用射击。

It was a major change, the most palpable of which being that it was unnecessary to shoot during many parts during the stage.

Moth

对,相比于其他的同人STG最大的差别在于,高难度的道中需要严格控制射击。不过考虑大家的操作习惯,在L难度以下的,就算是全程开枪,也不会影响游戏体验的。

Yes. Compared to other fangames, the biggest difference is that the difficulty in the stages requires strict control of your shot. But we also considered everyone's existing habits. So in difficulties under Lunatic, even if you kept shooting the whole time, your game experience would not be affected.

Gureihaunko

现在有这样一种观点嘛,现在的STG重点都放在了“躲”上而不是“射”上,祈华梦则是在“射击”上做了功夫,这也算是……回归初心?(笑)

There's a bit of a viewpoint now, that modern STG's all focus on the "dodging" instead of the "shooting". Elegant Impermanence of Sakura, however, changes the "shooting" side of things. You could say this is...returning to your roots?[1] lol

Moth

嗯,就像灵猫子说的,现在的作品在“射击”上基本都被弱化了,大家差不多都是一直摁着“Z”键的。

Yes, as Gureihaunko said, in all works nowadays, "shooting" has been severely weakened. Everyone just holds "Z" all the time.

确实,很多玩家基本上都是全程开枪的。不过也有玩家在试过《祈华梦》新体验版之后表示,明显感觉有的地方不该是这样,但却又不知道该怎么办。

Indeed, many players basically shoot the whole time. But there were also some players that stated after playing Elegant Impermanence of Sakura's new demo that they felt they shouldn't do that in some spots, yet didn't know how to handle it.

Gureihaunko

看来设计的不错,在一定程度上达到了我们的目的。(笑)

Looks like we did a good job designing. In some respect, we've accomplished our goal. (laughs)

这样看来,或许魔理沙和幽幽子组合更适合这个游戏?结界组的诱导在这种系统下可能有些不好控制。

So it looks like perhaps Marisa and Yuyuko's team would be more fitting for this game? The Border Team's homing might be hard to control under this system.

Moth

对的。魔理沙和幽幽子的组合与这个游戏系统更为契合。另外两个组合操作相比较之下更难一些,但我们内测组都有测试并且调整过,也能确保结界组和竹林组道中能打到极限连锁染色数。关于开荒,灵梦是一个比较合适的选择,这是一开始就定位好的,当然,也符合大家的操作习惯。

Correct. Marisa and Yuyuko's team match this game more closely. The other two teams are a bit harder to control, but our testing team have tested and adjusted, and have ensured the Border and Bamboo Forest teams can also reach the maximum possible dye chain. As for blind runs, Reimu is a more fitting choice. This was decided at the start, and of course, matches everyone's existing expectations.

游戏还有一个地方给人印象深刻,玩家能够明显感觉出来决死时间长了很多,这是专门设计的吗?

The game also had another noticeable feature: players very easily noticed a deathbomb time much longer than usual. Was this design decision made on purpose?

Moth

对,这个主要是想降低一下游戏难度。在染色系统下,道中想打得精彩需要精确控制射击,这种情况下玩家分配在躲避上的精力不可避免会少一些。如果玩家害怕抱B,执着于观察周围来决定要不要放B的话,就没办法集中精力去染色和躲避了。所以我们有意加长了决死时间,好让玩家能够放心地玩下去。

Correct. This was mainly to lower the game's difficulty. Under the dye system, you have to control your shots very precisely to do well on the stages. This undeniably takes away some of the players' focus from dodging. If players are afraid of dying with bombs in stock, they would be overly focused on observing the environment to decide whether to bomb or not, and thus have no way to focus on dyeing and dodging. So we purposefully extended the deathbomb time, so that players can relax and play.

Gureihaunko

这样基本上可以“一雷换一命”,难度降低了很多,所以自机在损失一个残机的时候只给了两个雷,同时也对雷的最大数量进行了限制。

With this system we basically had "a life for a bomb", the difficulty was lowered by a lot. So when the player dies, they only get two more bombs. Additionally, we limited the maximum number of bombs able to be stocked.

Moth

因为游戏系统跟其他的同人作品很不一样,玩家可能需要适应的过程,于是就想着相应降低难度来帮助玩家熟悉染色系统。

Because the game system is quite different from other fangames, and players likely needed some time to get accustomed to it. So we thought to lower the difficulty to help players get a feel for the dyeing system.

在E难度下击破妖精时不会产生死尸弹,而在E难度以上的难度中就会产生死尸弹,这也是考虑了通过降低难度来帮助玩家吧?

On easy difficulty, defeating fairies will not spawn revenge bullets, while defeating them above easy difficulty will do so. Is this also a way of helping the players by lowering the difficulty?

Moth

对,染色系统确实让祈华梦和传统STG玩法有很大的不同,我们不想劝退玩家,所以就想办法从玩家的习惯开始慢慢引导。不只是E,我感觉游戏一直到H的时候都是比较轻松的,死尸弹比较少,Boss难度也不高,基本可以扭过弹幕不需要扔资源。但是在L难度下,就需要玩家理解游戏系统,好好规划路线了。

Correct, the dyeing system does distinguish Elegant Impermanence of Sakura from many other traditional STG's. We didn't want to discourage players, instead we wanted to guide players slowly from the habits they were used to. Not just easy difficulty, I feel that the game is quite relaxing up to hard difficulty. There are few revenge bullets, and the bosses are not hard either, one can plausibly dodge it all without wasting resources. But in lunatic, players are required to understand the game system and plan their routes well.

所以这些降低游戏难度的设计很大程度上还是服务于染色系统的。

So these lowerings of the difficulty were, in most ways, a requirement of the dyeing system.

Moth

是的,除此之外其实还考虑到了区分度的问题,我希望不同技术的玩家都能从这部作品中体验到乐趣。比如对于打低难度的玩家,就从游戏“舒适度”入手,让他们放松心情来欣赏游戏的音乐、剧情和弹幕演出。而对于擅长STG并且有研究热情的玩家,则是尽己所能去设计好玩的版面。

Yes. Besides that, we also thought about the problem of niches. I hope all players with different skillsets are able to have fun with this game. So for those who play lower difficulties, we made things more familiar so they would be able to relax and enjoy the music, story, and danmaku presentation. As for players proficient in STG's and passionate with researching, we tried our hardest to design a fun experience.

同人STG作品的难度一直以来都被玩家们吐槽,《祈华梦》这次的设计使用了非常亲民的难度,很多STG苦手都大呼过瘾,想问一下您在难度的控制上有什么心得或者是设计技巧吗?

Fangame difficulty is often a point of discussion for players. Elegant Impermanence of Sakura has very friendly difficulty this time, and many struggling with STG's haven't been happier. I'd like to ask if you have any insights or techniques for controlling difficulty?

Moth

《祈华梦》在降低难度方面,像是刚刚提到的,增加了决死的时间,降低弹幕本身的难度,还有就是给予玩家更为丰富的资源。

As we mentioned earlier, Elegant Impermanence of Sakura has a longer deathbomb time, easier danmaku, and additionally gives players a wealth of resources.

Gureihaunko

还少不了路线的规划。

We can't forget about route planning as well.

路线的规划?这是说在设计的时候,路线规划在一定程度上可以降低游戏难度但是又不降低游戏的可玩性和趣味性,可以这样理解吗?

Route planning? Are you saying that during the design phase, route planning can lower the game difficulty without compromising on the game's playability and fun?

Moth

是的,《祈华梦》的话,如果大家认真规划路线,从低难度一路打到高难度的话,就会发现,设计上高难度对路线执行成功的要求要高得多。

Yes. For Elegant Impermanence of Sakura, if everyone carefully planned routes and played each difficulty from lowest to highest, they would discover that the higher difficulties are much more strict with successful execution of the routes.

《祈华梦》中蛾子最喜欢的弹幕设计是哪一个呢?

Moth, which danmaku design did you like the best in Elegant Impermanence of Sakura?

Moth

四面Boss,尤其是三四非。在虚城妃奏华的符卡和非符的基础上,用各种方式去诱导玩家预判敌机的弹幕走向,然后促使玩家提前走位,但是最后玩家会发现自己上当了。

Stage 4 boss, especially the third and fourth nonspells. Hisoka Uroki's spells and nonspells revolve around leading players to predict the bullets' trajectory, causing them to move ahead of time. But then they would discover that they've been tricked.

这给人一种“我预判了你的预判”的感觉。

This gives one a feeling of "I predicted your prediction".

Moth

嗯,但是总的来说还好,上过一次当之后,就知道怎么应对了,也就不难了。这里用简单的运动,把多个弹幕组合在一起,形成整体的欺诈效果,诱导玩家自己走到陷阱里,这种“欺诈”的设计同时也非常符合四面Boss的人设。

Yup, though it's not too bad. After you get tricked once, you know how to handle it and it isn't hard anymore. Here we used a simple motion to combine a lot of danmaku together to create an effect of deception, luring players into a trap. This kind of "deceit" fits quite well with the Stage 4 Boss's design, as well.

临近发售的时候,两位主要负责人的心情大致是怎样的呢?

What were your moods as the game was nearing release?

Gureihaunko

喜悦之余更多的还是紧张吧,有点担心,主要是怕游戏有恶性bug,不过还好没有出现这种情况,技术团队还是很给力的。

Besides joy, a lot of nervousness. I was worried, especially if the game had a terrible bug. But fortunately, nothing of the sort happened, the technical team did a great job.

作为制作者,两位对最终发售的祈华梦版本满意吗?

As the creators, were you satisfied with the final version of Elegant Impermanence of Sakura?

Gureihaunko

我还好吧,在曲子方面,自己整体上还是可以接受的;技术方面的话,其实团队坚持到最后能看到如此惊艳的作品,已经很感动了。

I was quite satisfied. In terms of the music tracks, I could accept the results overall. As for the technical aspects, I was already very moved that we were able to persist to the end and see such a beautiful product come of it.

Moth

我的话,怎么说呢,内心毫无波动吧。其实即使是最终版本的祈华梦,我觉得还是留下了一些遗憾,作品一开始的设计就存在一些缺陷……怎么说呢,不满意,之后我还会继续再去创作新作品,直到自己满意为止吧。

As for me, how do I say this, I was quite stoic about the whole process. Actually, even in the final version of Elegant Impermanence of Sakura, I still have some regrets. From the start, there were some flaws in the design. How should I say this...I'm not satisfied. I will continue to make new games until I am satisfied.

希望与远方 (Hopes and The Future)

《祈华梦》的发布在带来喜悦的同时,也带来了更多的思考:怎样才可以算是优秀的STG,在碎片化时代下STG游戏何去何从,作为弹幕设计者又要如何应对……我们有幸能够和《祈华梦》的主要开发人员蛾子、灵猫子共同畅谈。

While Elegant Impermanence of Sakura‘s launch brought much joy, it also brought new considerations: what is an exemplary STG? In a fast-paced age where information is optimized into bite-sized pieces, where should STG's go, and how should danmaku designers handle this?...We have the privilege of discussing this at length with Elegant Impermanence of Sakura’s main developers Moth and Gureihaunko.


话说回来,同样作为国产东方同人STG作品,《祈华梦》在设计的过程中,有没有把《幕华祭》作为自己的超越对象呢?

Anyways, as a fanmade STG also from China, did you view Fantastic Danmaku Festival as a benchmark to surpass when designing Elegant Impermanence of Sakura? [2]

Gureihaunko

幕华祭是非常优秀的作品,画面非常好看,系统设计得也很好。既然都是国产同人STG,《祈华梦》当然是想超越它的,不过以目前的作品质量来看,恐怕还是难以望其项背,日后还需更加精进才行。

Fantastic Danmaku Festival is an excellent game. The interface is nice to look at, and the system is well-designed. Since they're both Chinese fanmade STG's, of course we wanted Elegant Impermanence of Sakura to surpass it. But considering the quality of our work currently, it is hard to count it to do so. We'll have to be dedicated to improving in the future.

这可能更多地涉及到技术和设计方面的问题吧,蛾子作为技术方面的负责人,在《祈华梦》和《幕华祭》的问题上是怎么看的呢?

This likely involves issues of technical expertise and design. As the one responsible for the technical aspects, Moth, what do you think of Elegant Impermanence of Sakura and Fantastic Danmaku Festival?

Moth

我还是非常希望能用自己的作品和《幕华祭》这样优秀的作品切磋一下的,当然也希望自己参与制作的游戏能够有更好的评价。

I would love to be able to measure my work against something as fine as Fantastic Danmaku Festival. Of course, I hope that the games I participate in making will be better-received.

《祈华梦》在设计的过程中有没有针对性的思考之类的,像是“对于这个地方,我觉得我这样做会更好”的这种感觉

Were there any targeted decisions in the design of Elegant Impermanence of Sakura, for example "In this area, I believe I can do better by doing X", that kind of feeling.

Moth

有的,对标《幕华祭》的话,我觉得还是得扬长避短,比如《幕华祭》团队善于用光影营造出极佳的视觉效果,我们在这方面的经验和技术有些不足,所以就尽可能避免。

Yes. Speaking to Fantastic Danmaku Festival, I felt that we should exemplify our strengths and avoid our weaknesses. For example, the Fantastic Danmaku Festival team is great at using light effects to create top-notch visual effects. We are weaker in this area, so we avoided it if possible.

Gureihaunko

不然就会被大家贴上光污染瞎眼的标签了。

Otherwise we would be labelled as "light-polluting" and "eye-blinding".

Moth

对,类似的再比如说,《幕华祭》的整体演出非常棒,但是相比之下在但在背景设计下的工夫偏少,所以在《祈华梦》中,从四面开始,我在背景动态效果上投入了不少精力。

Yeah. Again for example, Fantastic Danmaku Festival's overall presentation is great, but its background design was relatively plain, so in Elegant Impermanence of Sakura, starting from stage 4, I put quite a bit of focus into dynamic background effects.

确实,四面、五面的道中背景给很多玩家都留下了惊艳的印象,特别是岛屿和鸟居那一幕。

Indeed, the stage 4 and 5 backgrounds left heavy impressions in the hearts of players, particularly the floating island and the scene with the torii.

Moth

设计的时候是想努力营造出身临其境的感觉,完成后我也很高兴,这一方面应该能比他们做得好一些。再有比较关键的就是,《幕华祭》在解谜方面略显不足,而这一点也是我的长项。

When designing it, we strove to create a feeling that you were there yourself. After finishing I was quite happy and believed that we did better than them on this front. Another more key aspect is, Fantastic Danmaku Festival's puzzle-solving components are a bit insufficient, and this aspect is my specialty.

所以在《祈华梦》中使用了创造性的染色系统。

So you made the dyeing system in Elegant Impermanence of Sakura.

Moth

对,不过从结果上来看,现在的环境下,做解谜性太强的STG,玩家才真的难以接受。发售之后,这种弹幕风格整体上收到的反馈没有预期的好。

Yes, but looking at the results, in today's environment, it is hard for players to accept an STG with too much a puzzle-solving component. After release, the reception of this style of danmaku was not as good as we expected.

有一种“投入了很大心血但却没实现预期反馈”的感觉?

A feeling of "Put in a lot of effort without realizing expected feedback"?

Moth

对,啊……常常有一种“付出和回报不成比例”的感觉,有时候自己挺受打击的,不过缺陷还是必须承认的,想来也是,或许这才是正常的,哪有一步就成功的,还是得不断反思,去总结问题,努力做好自己和玩家都真正满意的作品。

Yes, ah...I've often had a feeling of "results weren't worth the effort", and it was hard on me at times. But flaws should still be acknowledged. Thinking about it, that's normal. No one succeeds in one try, we still have to constantly reflect, summarize the problems, and create a product that both we and the players are satisfied with.

蛾子能有这种心态也是实属不易。

Being able to have such an attitude is not easy, Moth.

Moth

要怎么说呢,这种情况不是第一次了,之前发布《宵海格2.5》的时候,用了两个多月时间准备吧,发出去被喷的很惨。虽然现在回头看的话,那部作品确实很糟糕,但当时打击还是很大的,自闭了一个月吧。

How should I say this, this wasn't the first time either. When The Unvisible Wing 2.5 was being released, I prepared for over two months, but it was trashed on release. Looking back on it now that game was in fact pretty bad, but at the time I was quite hurt, and was depressed for a month.

之前我们提到过《宵海格》,在这几部《宵海格》中——包括这次的《祈华梦》——蛾子好像一直在“个性”和“大众”之间挣扎。

We mentioned The Unvisible Wing earlier. In these entries into The Unvisible Wing as well as Elegant Impermanence of Sakura, Moth you seemed to always have an internal conflict between "individualism" and "popularism".

Moth

确实……《宵海格》那次虽然当时算是一万个不服气,静下心来想了一个月,得出来的结论只是我活该。但还是要坚持继续做下去来证明自己……不甘心啊。

Indeed...although at the time of The Unvisible Wing I was very defiant, but after calming down and thinking for a month, the conclusion I got was that I deserved that response. But I still had to work for and prove myself, because I wasn't satisfied.

这样的话,对于“个性”和“大众”两者,蛾子更偏向哪一方呢?

So do you have a preference for "individualism" or "popularism", Moth?

Moth

仔细想想的话,二者总归来说其实并不矛盾,也不是那种“非此即彼”的关系,更多的还是要寻求平衡,就《祈华梦》的反馈来看,我感觉,同人STG还是要有独创性的,但是最好在符合玩家群体习惯的基础上展开设计。

Thinking about it more, the two do not contradict, nor are they mutually exclusive. It's more like a balance that much be achieved. From Elegant Impermanence of Sakura's feedback, I feel like that fanmade STG's must still have their own independent creativity, but it needs to be designed upon a foundation that fits with players' habits.

“符合玩家群体习惯”指的是做一些玩家喜欢的东西吗?

Does "fits with players' habits" mean making things that players like?

Moth

准确地来说我觉得更像是“玩起来的感觉和正作差不多”。

More precisely, I feel like it's more "When you play it, the feeling is close to the official games".

好的,大致理解了。那么之前我们了解到,蛾子和灵猫子已经在筹办新作了,想请问一下新作目前有哪些可以透露的内容吗?

Ok, I think I get it. We understand that Moth and Gureihaunko are already preparing for a new game. I'd like to know if there are any details about the new game that can be revealed?

Gureihaunko

额,其实具体要做个啥内容还没太确定,或许会选一些比较热门的题材吧。

Erm, actually we're still not sure about the precise content, but maybe we'll pick some more popular topics.

那么在弹幕设计方面呢?

And in terms of danmaku design?

Moth

《祈华梦》发布以后,我从各种渠道收集到了不少建议,大致分析了一下,准备还是削弱一些个性创新太强的元素,整体上希望能够让玩家感受到红妖永风时期正作的风格。

After Elegant Impermanence of Sakura was released, I received quite a few suggestions from various channels, and summarized them. We will reduce elements that are too distinct or avant-garde, and in general hope to give players a feeling similar to the EoSD, PCB, IN, MoF era of official games.

也就是说,不会再像《祈华梦》这样搞冲击力太强的创新设计了?

So you're saying, there won't be a game with as overly high creative impact as Elegant Impermanence of Sakura again?

Moth

对,当然,也还是要加入新的元素,只不过这次我会努力从大家熟悉的玩法上来添加。同时,《祈华梦》销售的资金也可以用作第二部作品的开发,可以实现一些在《祈华梦》中受限于资金因素而没能实现的效果。

Yes. Of course, we still need to add in new elements, but this time I will work hard to add them on top of the play style everyone is accustomed to. At the same time, Elegant Impermanence of Sakura's revenue can be used to fund the second game's development, and realize some things we couldn't do in Elegant Impermanence of Sakura due to financial restrictions.

新作的话,开发压力应该会小一些了吧?

The development pressure is probably lower for the new game, right?

Moth

嗯,万事开头难,我们现在已经积累了一些经验,估计所消耗的时间应该不会太久。

Yup. Getting started is the hardest part. Now, we have a bit of experience, so I expect us to not waste too much time.

好的,祝愿团队在新作当中能够进一步取得成功吧。

之后是一些从社区玩家那里收集到的,与《祈华梦》本身不是很相关的问题,但您两位都是同人游戏爱好者和制作者,所以想听听您们的观点。

有些人觉得,“同人游戏剧情也就那么回事”,“STG的剧情其实可有可无”,对于这些观点,您是怎么看待的?

Excellent, well I wish the team success on their new game.

Now, we have some questions not directly related to Elegant Impermanence of Sakura gathered from the community. But since you both are lovers and creators of fangames, we wanted to hear your opinions.

Some people believe "fangame stories are all the same", or "STG plot doesn't really matter". What do you feel about these views?

Moth

关于同人游戏的剧情,我个人的态度是,必须要有,虽然可能玩家并不是特别在意剧情的内容,但如果没有的话,总感觉算不上一部完整的作品了。

On fangame stories, I personally believe that it's essential. Although players might not especially care about the plot, but if it's missing then I feel like it doesn't count as a complete product.

有了不一定有什么反馈,但是没有一定会很糟。

You won't necessarily get any feedback from having one, but not having one is bad.

Moth

我觉得就是这样的。

That's what I feel.

如果是这样的话,精心去雕琢剧情,从效益来讲就成了一件很不划算的事情了吧,如果您来选择的话,还会投入非常大的精力吗?

If you say that, then spending time on sculpting a story is not quite worth it from a cost-benefit viewpoint. If you could choose, would you still invest this much effort on it?

Moth

极不划算,甚至可以说是最亏的了,因为精心雕琢与否很多玩家好像都不会太在意。但是就我个人态度而言,我有点“强迫症”,一些明明能做好的东西却没有做好,我就总觉得对不起自己、对不起自己的作品、对不起自己的团队,但自己也知道其实做好了可能也没几个人看,唉……《祈华梦》的话,灵猫子他们对这个剧情雕琢得非常非常用心……

It's super not worth it, you could say it's the least worth it. Because regardless of if it's carefully sculpted or not, many players seem to not care. But personally, I have a bit of OCD -- if something had an opportunity to be done well but I didn't do it, I will feel like I let down myself, my works, and my team. But I also know that even if it's done well, there will only be a few people looking at it. sigh...For Elegant Impermanence of Sakura, Gureihaunko and the others spend lots and lots of effort to create this story.

Gureihaunko

这个我觉得挺对的,同人作品的剧情目前就是这么尴尬的一个处境,不过我的剧情也还是用心去做的,毕竟我相信总有想看的玩家,我不能辜负了这些人的期待。

I agree, fangame stories are just in an awkward position currently. But my stories will still be made with care and effort, since I believe that there will always be players that want to read it, and I can't let their hopes down.

好的,我大致明白了。

下一个情况是,对于同人作品,有些人只收藏不玩,发售前嘴上喊得震天响,发售后却不见踪迹,对于这种情况,您是怎样看待的?

Great, I think I understand.

The next situation is, regarding fangames. Some people collect but don't play. Before release they hype constantly, but after release they disappear. What are your views on this situation?

Gureiahunko

额,说句实在话,我觉得这个是人家的权利,不管发生什么,我觉得还是尊重大家发言的权利和消费的选择。

Uh, to be honest, I feel this is someone's personal right to decide. No matter what happens, I feel that we should respect people's right to speak and spend their money as they please.

Moth

这没问题,怎样做是玩家的自由,我们不应该干涉这个。

Nothing wrong with that. Players are free to do what they want, we shouldn't interfere.

好的,大致明白了。

最后一个是,有很多STG玩家感叹,随着当前人们空余时间越发碎片化,STG这种需要占用比较大的时间、精力的作品走向衰亡的趋势似乎是不可避免的,对于这种观点,您又是如何看待的呢?

Okay, I think I understand.

Last topic is, many STG players are lamenting, as people's free time becomes more fragmented, that the downward trend of STG's, games that use more time and energy, is unavoidable. What are your thoughts on these views?

Gureihaunko

好像确实是这个样子的,《祈华梦》的解谜元素很难被大家接受,我感觉也在一定程度上受到这个因素的影响。

It indeed seems like the case. Elegant Impermanence of Sakura's puzzle-solving elements being hard to accept by the players is, I believe, at least partially influenced by this reason.

Moth

啊,怎么说呢,我感觉这是一个必然的趋势吧,我自己就有深刻的体会,原先会有很多时间打游戏,但是现在只能刷刷手游了。

“碎片化”是趋势,但是这并不意味着STG就一定要快速走向衰退。环境在变,制作者的思路肯定也要跟着变换。

要知道STG的主要玩家并不多,对于制作者来说,或许可以考虑先在音乐、美术方面下足功夫,吸引一些非STG玩家打开弹幕游戏,再通过设置合适的难度跨度让这些玩家适应STG游戏的玩法和思路。

对于东方STG玩家的话,因为考虑到现在时间少,也许可以把“强制”解谜的弹幕,修改成正常思路就能过去的弹幕。而“解谜”的做法集中在想要深入研究游戏的打分玩家身上。总之就是事先考虑好玩家的对象类别,再思考设计。唔……覆盖的玩家面越广,需要制作者考虑的设计因素相对来说就会越多、越复杂,但是我是很希望去尝试的,因为真的很希望大家来尝试一下STG游戏。

Ahh, how to say this, I feel like this is an inevitable trend. I have experienced this myself -- I used to have a lot of time for games, but now I just play mobile games every so often.

"Fragmentation" is a trend, but this doesn't mean STG's will quickly die out. As environments change, creators will have to adapt in response.

You have to understand that there are few primary players of STG's. To a creator, they might consider first investing in the music and aesthetics to attract non-STG players to play danmaku games, and use a suitable difficulty curve to let these players become accustomed to the methods and theory of STG's.

As for Touhou STG players, considering that now time is scarce, we should consider changing danmaku that is a "forced puzzle" to danmaku that can be passed with the usual methods, while the "puzzle-solving" methods concentrate on the score-players that delve deep into researching the game. Basically, consider the types of players in the audience, then consider design. Yeah...the types of players in this space is becoming more numerous, and the aspects that creators must consider are becoming more numerous and complex. But I wish to try, because I really want more people to try STG's.

这样来看的话,即使是在碎片化的趋势下,STG也仍然是会有发展空间的,唔……创作环境和玩家偏好的变化,确实是当前很多东方众都在讨论的一件事情,对于制作组来说,这种问题可能会体现得更为直接了。

Then it seems that although we are in a trend towards fragmentation, STG's will still have room to grow. Hmm...creative environment versus changes that players will prefer, is an issue debated by many Touhou fans. As for a development team, they will feel this issue in a much more direct manner.

Moth

其实在这个时代下,大家的时间都太重要了,能愿意下载并打开《祈华梦》玩一局的玩家我都很感激。在游戏发售一个月后的玩家反馈总结里,我认识到,在STG早已过时的情况下,去设计东方同人STG,怎么去结合时代需求和玩家习惯,能让玩家快快乐乐得玩几局,优化玩家游戏体验,这才应该是最重要的课题。如果玩家都不愿意接纳,何谈更深的设计呢?也许东方同人STG再走高难度向,硬核向不是最优的选择。在接下来的新作中,我会沿着大家喜欢和习惯的方向,设计出一款新人玩家初见能很快接受、大众玩家只管酣畅淋漓躲避和射击而不需要有太多考虑、核心玩家可以深入研究并且秀出自己风采的作品。

To be honest, in these times, everyone's time is too important. I'm already very grateful to those who downloaded and played even one credit Elegant Impermanence of Sakura. Aggregating the feedback from players a month after release, I realized that, when making Touhou fangame STG's in an era where STG's are already past their prime, the most important thing is to consider the needs of the current era and players' habits, in order to make a game that can be happily played several times. If players aren't even willing to interact with the game, then why even talk of deeper design? Perhaps taking Touhou fangame STG's in a more difficult, more hardcore direction is not the wisest choice. In the new game, I followed the direction everyone is accustomed to and designed a game that will be easily accepted by new players on a blind run, a game for the masses who simply care about dodging and shooting, yet a game where hardcore players can delve deep and show their own style.

嗯!相信蛾子在经过这些思考之后,一定能带给大家一部更为优秀的作品。

Yup! I trust that Moth can bring everyone an even better game after these rounds of consideration.

Moth

还是要感谢各位对祈华梦制作组的支持与包容!

I'd still have to think the various members of Team Elegant Impermanence of Sakura for the support and acceptance!

Gureihaunko

不过,说到环境的话,还是很怀念18年的时候啊。

But still, speaking of environment, I still miss 2018 a lot.

灵猫子是期望能回到2018年那样的大环境吗?

Gureihaunko, you're saying you want to go back to the great creative environment of 2018?

Gureihaunko

是啊,感觉那时候身边很多人都很有创作热情,隔三岔五就会有新的企划,同人创作的氛围真的很棒,嘛,其实也知道在想有那种环境可能会很困难了。

Yeah, I felt that the people around me at the time were all very creative and passionate, any which way you turned there was a new project announcement, the atmosphere of the fangame scene was amazing. Ah, but I also know how hard it is to have such an environment.

很多的新企划,但是实际上坚持走到最后的并不多。《祈华梦》团队算是成功坚持到了最后的,对于那些仍挣扎在各种困难中的同人游戏制作组,和那些正准备踏入同人游戏制作大门的人,蛾子和灵猫子有什么想说的吗?

There were many newly announced projects, but not many persist to the end. Elegant Impermanence of Sakura's team counts as one of those who succeeded in following through to the end. For those fangame teams struggling amongst many difficulties, and those who are preparing to cross the threshold of becoming a fangame creator, what do you have to say to them, Moth and Gureihaunko?

Moth

唯有一直保持着热情,才能做出好作品,不是想着“我要完成任务”,而是说“我来想想这个地方怎样弄会更好”。

You have to maintain passion in order to make a good product. Don't think "I need to finish my tasks", but think "Let me think about how to make this part better".

Gureihaunko

蛾子说的这个,我感觉更像是毅力了。早先的时候我以为只要有技术就可以了,这一路走来身边的人越来越少,换了一波又一波,我是真的感受到,只有技术是不够的,更多的是毅力,最好是建立在热爱上的毅力。

What Moth said, I consider more as perseverence. At first I thought that as long as you had the technical skill it would be fine, but as the number of people alongside me dwindled, and our team members changed again and again, I truly understood that skill was not enough, you need perseverence, preferably perseverence that stands upon love and passion.

Moth

组织者知道如何当一个好主催也是很重要的。

It's also important for the organizer to know how to be a good project lead.

Gureihaunko

对对,还是那句话,没人能当甩手掌柜,特别是主催。

其实,如果有制作者想要和我们一起交流经验的话,我们团队真的是非常欢迎的。

Yup yup, it's as I said before. No one can be dead weight, especially not the project lead.

In fact, if any developers want to meet with us to chat about our experiences, our team would love to do so.

好的,非常感谢蛾子和灵猫子能够拿出宝贵的时间和我们畅谈,不论是团队方面还是作品设计方面,两位都分享了非常宝贵的经验。最后也祝愿团队的新作品能够再创新高,取得更好的成绩。

Excellent, big thanks to Moth and Gureihaunko for taking their precious time to discuss with us. From aspects of teamwork to aspects of design, the experiences you two shared were extremely valuable. Finally, we give the team best wishes for their new game, and hope that it will mark a new high for the team.

Moth

多谢!我们也是希望能够为东方同人游戏的发展做出一些贡献,也感谢大家对我们的支持与包容!

Thank you! We also hope to push forward the state of the Touhou fangame scene, and thank you to everyone for your support and acceptance of us.

Gureihaunko

也祝愿东方同人游戏能够有更好的发展,谢谢!

And I wish for a bright future for Touhou fangames. Thanks!



  1. A common joke made in the Chinese community about ZUN's intention to "return to his roots" for Hidden Star in Four Seasons.
  2. Here, the participants mention Fantastic Danmaku Festival, but it is clear from context and the original blog post that they are referring to the more popular sequel, Fantastic Danmaku Festival Part II.