Interview to Commemorate the Release of the PILOT Version of "Coulomb's Resolve" Director Takashi Kimura Talks about the Aim and Future Development of the Project Inheriting the Legendary "Coulomb's Gate" Game

Coulomb's Resolve, the first sequel to the legendary adventure game Coulomb's Gate in 26 years. The first volume, the "PILOT Edition" (platform: PC/MAC, to be sold in 8 volumes) was released on February 22, 2023.

This title is a sequel to the adventure game "Coulomb's Gate," which was released for the PlayStation in 1997, and was produced mainly by Takashi Kimura, who directed and wrote the screenplay for "Gate.

In "Resome," the protagonist, an agent of the Yang Realm (the real world in which we live), infiltrates the Kowloon Castle in the Yin Realm to prevent the collapse of the world caused by the intersection of the Yang and Yin Realms. The plot follows the format of the previous film, in which the protagonist aims to complete his mission through encounters with a variety of characters. However, in contrast to "Gate," in which players wander around Kowloon Castle from a first-person perspective, "Resolve" is a movie-novel style game that focuses on reading the text, enhancing its value as a "moving scenario" and "moving setting material," as Mr. Kimura puts it.

For fans, this is a long-awaited title. At the same time, "Coulomb's Rhizome" is a sequel, perhaps unexpected. Here, we interviewed Mr. Kimura to commemorate the release of the first "PILOT Edition. How was this game developed, and what kind of experience do you want to deliver to users through the game? And what does the word "Kowloon" symbolize now that Kowloon Castle is no more?

We hope you will enjoy this interview along with the game.

(*The images in this article are from the game under development.)

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The game is designed to reactivate the "Jibun Kulon" that fans have in their hearts.

─ Congratulations on the release of the first volume of "Coulomb's Rhizome. Please tell us about your current state of mind.

Kimura: Thank you very much. 2020, this is the first volume of a 250,000-word scenario that took almost a year to write, so I've only just taken the first step. 30,000 words per volume has been my guideline, but the first volume is about 50,000 words because it touches on an enhanced setting. I think I can speed up the second half of the book since the structure is to seed foreshadowing at the beginning and collect it later. The maximum number of volumes is eight, and our goal is to keep the number of volumes smaller than this.

───What led you to produce this work?

Kimura: In 2019, I launched "KG/Project" to work on a "new sequel" to "Coulomb's Gate," which I had neglected for over 20 years. I myself was still an employee of the previous company, but I decided that "Coulomb" was a content that had been fermenting among users for a long time, in other words, there were ten different "Jibun Coulomb" for ten different people, so I decided that I could not easily get involved with it.

At that time, "Blade Runner 2049" became a reference. I thought that this movie was also made on the basic premise of the existence of "givens bleruns" around the world. Therefore, for KG/Project, we prepared the concept of rebooting the "gate" - in other words, rebooting and reaffirming the "Given Coulomb" within the user. In order to achieve this, the theme of the new "Rhizome" content was to "recover the foreshadowing and strengthen the setting" of "The Gate. This know-how was also inspired by "Blade Runner 2049.

───The kick-off crowdfunding campaign was a great success, how did you feel when you saw the enthusiasm for "Coulomb" that has not cooled down even after more than 20 years?

Kimura: The theme of the crowdfunding campaign was "co-creation. As the word implies, it means "creating together. This was intended to encourage users to step into the "middle man" as much as possible. For this reason, in addition to T-shirts and other items, we have prepared a return plan that includes the "full scenario (first draft)" and "setting materials LITE version" even before the release of the game. This project was conceived to convert (i.e., exchange) the passion for "Coulomb" that was simmering within the users into "accomplices".

Since the scenario and other aspects of the project would be refined and optimized during implementation, it was decided that the "first draft" would be of value as a resource. Also, I was aware that "Coulomb's Gate if" had been newly written and published in "Coulomb's Gate Archives" (published by City Connection in 2015) as a source book, and that the story had already been disclosed.

───Can you tell us why the system was changed from the original "alleyway open world" to a movie novel?

Kimura: We realized that optimizing the assets that make up the majority of Kowloon Castle for consumer consoles would have required quite a bit of work, so we decided against porting the game to consumer consoles. Even so, we continued to commission programs with the goal of creating a "3D Coulomb" that would run on game PCs, and even created an evaluation version. As we continued to implement scenarios and evaluate the game based on the completed evaluation version, we began to feel that "3D Coulomb" was boring.

The 250,000-word scenario was implemented as a conversation event, but the play style of just walking around the dungeon looking for the next conversation partner was boring. After all, action is essential in a 3D game. It doesn't have to be a gunfight type of action, but it does have to be action to capture the 3D space. For example, stacking boxes and climbing over fences to get to a destination. However, "Coulomb" is a game in which the player's soul seems to float, which is not compatible with physical action.

─ I understand that staff members living overseas participated in the development of the game, but how was the remote development of the Corona Disaster? What were the difficulties and advantages of working remotely? What were some of the difficulties, advantages of working remotely, and factors that contributed to the success of the production?

Kimura: The UnityTA (TA: technical artist) is a Chinese former colleague from my previous job. For some reason, he went back to China, so we worked remotely using e-mail and the cloud. We asked a Japanese person living in Hong Kong to take photos of storefronts of stores and other stores. I had originally planned to go on a business trip to Hong Kong, but the democracy movement and the Corona disaster coincided, and I was not in a position to travel there, so I was able to save the day. I also asked a native Cantonese speaker to translate the Cantonese. The Cantonese in the previous film was more focused on the atmosphere (?), so I asked a native Cantonese speaker to translate it. I think the realism of the translation is much more realistic than the previous one.

Reason for changing the genre from adventure game to movie novel ......

──It has been said in past interviews that there were no battle scenes in "Coulomb's Gate" originally. This game also has no battle scenes, but rather a system that allows the player to carefully read the storyline.

Kimura: "Gate" was intended to be an adventure game with a click-and-move system like "MYST" or "Return to Zork," so the battles were a complete afterthought. We had to prepare a polygon space due to departmental circumstances that required us to include all the "polygons, movies, and sound" that were the PlayStation's strong points, but it was hard to have nothing, so we hastily added a battle with a ghoulish (ghoulish) demon.

The theme of "Rhythm" is "recovery of foreshadowing and reinforcement of settings," so it is positioned as a "moving scenario, moving setting material. For this reason, we decided to remove the battle element.

Incidentally, the battle enemy in "Gate" is Oniritsu, who is an evil spirit that resides in a discarded object (garbage). In fact, it was so difficult to design this setting that only about 40 Oniritsu could be created for "Gate".

Selecting a point on the map, the player moves to that point and an event occurs.

─ I had the chance to play the "pilot version," and I felt that the feeling of being suddenly thrown into a city and being at a loss, and the feeling that the player and the surroundings begin to drive the player, who has somehow been taken in by the situation, is truly "cron". What elements did you emphasize in the creation of this work?

Kimura The sense of being thrown into the city out of the blue is due to the transfer of thoughts from the yang world to the Kowloon Castle, which is drifting through the yin world.

In "Gate," there was a scene where the Kowloon Castle appeared at the beginning of the game, but then it was too late because of the yin-yang merging that occurred. Since the mission is to prevent yin and yang from merging in the first place, "Rhythm" adheres to the setting that yin and yang must never mingle.

In addition, the "Rhizome" is a special kind of "resonance" that is expressed when twins resonate with each other. The story is made in such a way that each person's thoughts are intertwined over the arrival of the dragon's vein. The protagonist's presence is somewhat unique in such a town, and although he is kept at a distance at first, he eventually moves in the direction of being asked to cooperate.

In a letter I received from a foreign airline employee during the "Gate" period, he wrote that he spent five days immersed in the experience of wandering through the back alleys of Asia. We believe that these never-ending "night journeys" are the essence of "coulomb" that penetrates through the "Gate" and the "Rhizome".

─ ─ The setting of this work covers not only those of Chinese origin, but also alchemy of European origin. What made "Rhythm" have a more mixed worldview of Eastern and Western cultures, as opposed to "Gate," which had a more Chinese flavor?

Kimura Feng Shui brings order to the world. Conversely, if feng shui is lost, the world becomes chaotic. Who is it that seeks this chaos?　If we dig deeper, we will find the existence of "demons. Demons do not kill people, but they are beings that seduce people and bring about a chaotic world. It was alchemy, which originated in Germany, that entered into the realm beyond the reach of demons, gods, and human knowledge, which is why the chronology of "Rhythm" says "1701: Establishment of the Royal Prussian Academy of Alchemy. We practice worldview stretching in these areas.

And the network of thoughts - we call it "Rhythm" - is intertwined with evil thoughts seeking chaos beyond time and space, creating a multilayered world of scenarios.

By the way, in "The Gate," the intentions of those who stood in the way of the super-class feng shui masters were not very clear. They were simply back alley dwellers trying to get rid of strangers. In contrast, in "Rhythm," we have created an evil thought that seeks to create a chaotic world, which makes the enemy's presence stand out and motivates the player.

The game is filled with information about the "Coulomb's Gate" episode and its aftermath, as well as information that complements the setting. Will "Rhythm" also include episodes and settings that might have been used in "Coulomb's Gate 2," for which you have been looking for an opportunity?

Kimura: The purpose of the "risome" is to collect foreshadowing and strengthen the setting of the "Gate". Gate" itself is the result of the atmosphere of the mid-1990s, and the creators who shared that atmosphere. Therefore, it was obvious from the time of its release that there would be no "2. A quarter of a century has passed since we kept thinking that if we were to make one, we would need a different angle. In the meantime, "Gate" continued to have a presence among users.

The recovery of foreshadowing and the strengthening of the setting of "Gate" led to new foreshadowing, which in turn led us to "Gate. I believe that we can carve out various things from a cycle that continues forever, like reincarnation.

The important character of "Gate," GATARI, also appears in "Resome! That distinctive line delivery is alive and well.

Creators and users who created the shadow world of 2023

Please tell us about the character designers for this game.

Kimura: The character designer is Akifumi Yamamoto, who worked on "Demon's Gate" at my previous company. For "Rhythm," we placed more emphasis on portraying human beings rather than bizarre characters, so we continued to ask Mr. Yamamoto to create characters whose inner lives can be seen through them.

Only a few named characters in the game are 2D because they are outsiders in the shadow world, that is, they have a sense of otherness. 2D characters appear in the foreground and do not blend in with the background. On the other hand, the MOBs and named MOBs have a digital graphic touch because they are integrated with the background, unable to escape the curse of the back-alley lands of the underworld.

The heroine Liu Meiling (Lao Meiling) holds the key to "Rhythm." She is trying to complete her father's legacy, the "qi machine," a machine that connects the dragon's veins.

─ What was the theme or concept behind the creation of the characters?

Kimura: With the technology available at the time of "Gate" creation, the CG characters had no bones and no standby motion, and were sculpted as if they were made of clay, but this worked rather well to create a kind of unique and bewitching worldview. The character had the aura of a spirit inhabiting a lifeless object. Today's technology is not capable of creating such characters.

The "Rhizome" has a very cinematic backdrop, so I had a hard time deciding what kind of sculpted street people to place in the background. I ended up getting a model and animation of a zombie and applying holographic textures to it to make it less "existential" as a person. The fact that the zombie moves exactly in the same position as the bones is charming.

In another game called "Stray," in which cats explore a cyberpunk world, the MOBs are all robots. They are walking, abandoned, etc. - if they were human, they would be too lifelike, but because they are robots, they fit in with the world. The creativity of the game is outstanding.

Nikki is a member of a group of game kids called the Lenmen. His goal is to find his estranged brother.

───The music is by Kuniaki Hajima, who continued from the previous work, how did the music change after 25 years in Yin-Kai? Or was there any change at all?

Kimura: I felt that Mr. Yashima's sound was evolving day by day. In particular, the sounds we asked him to create this time are all multilayered and have more depth.

With "Gate," the sound was positioned as a soundscape, not just background music. The same is true of "Rhythm," but this time, the abstract concept of thought was added, so the worldview inevitably became more stretched. We discussed the soundscape of "Resome" when the scenario was still being written, but we only talked about the setting, such as "a secret society in Germany" and "Nagano in Japan," and gave very few details, but we ended up with a sound that fit perfectly with what we were aiming for in "Resome, To be honest, I was surprised. It is just like the theory that it is better not to give too many detailed orders to the creators. Also, we treated the so-called background music differently from the soundscape by using free sound sources and asset sound sources.

──KG/Project has also organized projects involving users, such as crowdfunding and photo contests, etc. At the 25th anniversary event "Super Class Road People Festival" held on October 29, 2022, the word "Jibunkuron" was used to describe the image of "Kuron" held by each user. Is the concept of "Rhizome" to involve and develop users?

Kimura: The "Given Coulomb" has been fermenting nicely over the past quarter century, so it would be foolish to touch it. The concept of rebooting the "Gate" is extremely consistent with the user-participation type of project. The idea is to have each user participate in the project as if they were taking out their own "Given Coulomb.

Also, by calling for user participation, you will be able to see the faces of the people you are dealing with. Our goal is to create content for these "friends we know," a small but sure-footed business. Ideally, we do not try to sell a large number of products, but rather provide content that is tailor-made for a specific few users. It is a business form like a small restaurant with only a counter.

───Do you have any ideas or opinions from fans that have influenced this work, or any specifications?

Kimura: We heard from users participating in the online session that the attraction of "Gate" was "the process of being naturally accepted by the people of the city," and we tried to realize that. The "Resome" is structured in a "sequence" fashion, so that the "acceptance" experience is brought forward. This is because of the development of the "break" part, which is very Coulomb-like.

Another session participant said that he wanted to see the details, so we focused on even a single label on a casually placed bottle as a practice of "God is in the details," which has been our belief since the "Gate" session. We spent about two days designing what pictures to put on the label.

───After the second volume, at what pace do you plan to release more?

Kimura: I am sorry, but we will need some time for "Volume 2. This is because there are still dungeons to be started, and we also have to place orders for named characters. However, from "Volume 3" onward, we will gradually speed up the process and hope to release all volumes by March 2024, if possible. However, this is just a wishful thinking.

As mentioned earlier, the eight volumes are a rough division based on the number of characters in the scenario, so there is a possibility that the number of volumes will be smaller than planned in the second half, which will mainly focus on the recovery of foreshadowing. If this happens, the goal of completing the implementation will be closer.

What Mr. Kimura thinks of "Kowloon" now that there is no Kowloon Castle

───Please tell us as much as you can about your future development and plans.

Kimura: I would like to make a scenario based on "Oguro's Secret Story," which was read by Nozomi Nonaka (voice actress who plays Oguro, the heroine of "Coulomb's Gate") at the "Super-class Road People Festival. The story is based on the script of "Tale of Suzaku" (full version), in which the thoughts of Oguro possesses the characters, and the story progresses through the conversations of the characters. We are considering this as a spin-off project as a smaller work.

We would also like to realize a live music and video collaboration with Mr. Yashima. We will start working on the dungeon production for the latter part of the game, and we have some of Mr. Yashima's unreleased songs left, so we can offer a new music & video experience.

We are also considering selling the entire application, including the bonus scenario, and the entire soundtrack on a USB flash drive with a photobook when the entire volume is released.

─ Now that Kowloon Castle has been demolished and Hong Kong has been returned to China, what do you think the word "Kowloon" symbolizes? In addition, please tell us what kind of existence and concept "Coulomb's" and "Kowloon Castle" have for you, Mr. Kimura.

Kimura: Kowloon Castle is not a ruin, but a live living space, with intense human relations - the walls and floors seem to be imbued with people's residual thoughts, and I have no small amount of admiration for that.

We can find such "coulomb" things in our daily lives. If you go into the alleys that exist hidden in the city, you will find the "ghostly atmosphere of the city" in the air. Here is a quote....

Perhaps the breath of countless people in the metropolis, the desires of their hearts, and the smells of their bodies, have been brought back to life, frozen and nebulous. ("The Ghosts of the City," by Toshima Yoshio)

─ ─ In Tokyo, where large-scale development continues to change even the topography of the city, the place for these residual thoughts is rapidly disappearing. We don't need a restaurant with an expensive menu in a sparkling new commercial building that claims to be the first of its kind in Japan; we want back the Western-style restaurant that once stood in a back alley and served excellent minced pork cutlets!　With this in mind, the streetscape of Coulomb acts like an AR filter for me. Every time I look around the redeveloped, man-made city, I see the overlap of the Coorong AR - the Coorong is an indispensable visual resource for me.

─ ─ Finally, to my fans. Please give us your comments for those who are interested in this paper.

Kimura: Some people seem to expect "Rhythm" to be the second coming of "Gate," but "Rhythm" is positioned as a supplementary reader that aims to "collect foreshadowing and strengthen the setting" of "Gate. It is fuel to keep the "Gate" in the user's mind burning longer.

Nevertheless, the "Coulomb"-like worldview spreads like an amoeba, as new foreshadowing is born even when foreshadowing is supposed to have been recovered. I hope that you will continue to refine your "Given Coulomb" while giving yourself over to such a sense of the world. And I would be very happy if you could make some kind of content out of it someday.

We are thinking of eventually releasing the scenario and setting materials of "Rhizome" under Creative Commons so that anyone can use them freely without worrying about copyrights. In short, "Coulomb" belongs to each and every user.

In the near future, it will be easy to create novels and comics using AI. What is being tested even today should become more universal. Whether you create by yourself or use AI, the opportunities to give shape to your "gibun kuron" will continue to expand. I would love to see a new crop of "givencoulons" one day!

Having reached its 25th anniversary, "Coulons" has been rebooted for its next anniversary. And the "Coulomb's Resome" will be its flagship.
The long-awaited first "PILOT Edition" is available for downloading on BOOTH from noon on February 22, 2023. We hope that everyone will experience the shadow world of the new era and fantasize about the gibbous coulomb!

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