I've talked with a goddess idol in a private room! Experience report on "Prhythm☆StellA," a virtual live x communication facility opening today

Prhythm StellA, a new entertainment facility based on the theme of goddess and idol, will open in Ikebukuro on July 1, 2020. The day before the opening, a trial event was held for the press, so we were one of the first to visit the facility.

The three goddesses who appear in "Prhythm☆StellA" are Kunato, Mizuha, and Denko, who come from a foreign land. They need "prana," the energy of faith from believers, but in this world of limited faith, the goddesses' power is limited and they seem to be having trouble making ends meet. The girls are idols and collect prana (and living expenses) at a store, which we, as potential believers, visit as customers.

After visiting the store, we wait in the lobby space, looking at the goods for sale and registering our name on the card if it is our first visit to the store. When the time comes, you can enjoy the live performance of the three goddesses, and then move to a private room where you can choose one of the three to enjoy a conversation.

After registering your name and other preparations on the terminal provided, you will first experience the live performance. The standard method of projecting images of the goddesses onto a transparent screen was very close to the audience, but it was very close from the perspective of a normal live concert venue!　It is quite important to be able to recognize idols singing and dancing at life-size, and to be able to recognize them at "life-size".

The girls are idols, but they are also goddesses, so some of their expressions, such as the light effects emitted from their hands, made use of their goddess powers. The girls seem to be able to fly and use magical powers, so it is likely that the number of "goddess" expressions will increase as the number of songs they perform increases in the future.

The official psylliums were of two types: a disk type, which represented a magic circle and changed into the image colors of red, blue, and yellow, and a ring type. In this day and age, it is not possible to shout in support, so we had to clap our hands and send the psyllium lights as a prana with the feeling of "Ganbaree!

After the live concert, we moved to a private room, which was made to feel private like a one-person karaoke box.

There, we decided who we would talk with, and it was a little nerve-wracking to think that it was the idol who had just sung on stage. At a glance, I had an image of Kunato, the straightforward tsundere fire goddess, Mizuha, the elder sister-type water goddess, and Den, the withdrawn, insecure, but in fact a strong performer. I took the high road and chose the Fire Goddess Kunato. I was glad to see her happy when I nominated her.

After selecting the goddess idol, it was time for one-on-one communication talk. Kunato, who appears in front of me in the Pepper's Ghost style (it would be entertaining to talk too much about the structure, so if you are interested, please look it up yourself), seems much more real than I imagined.

Communication with the goddess is voice-only!　The voice recognition accuracy is quite high, and the words you enter float up and disappear as letters from a light on the right side of the screen. When Kunato first called me by name, I felt a thrill like the first time I played the PS2 game "Tokimeki Memorial 2" for the first time. Basically, you are called by your registered name, so it would be a good idea to register the name by which you want to be called by the goddess.

The actual conversation is not so much a conversation with the AI, but more like a voice selection of the conversation. However, the way the life-size goddess in front of you is pleased or displeased with what you say is more like a "conversation" than you might imagine.

When Kunath offered me a drink and I asked for an orange juice, a knock on the door of the room made me think "Oh, an orange juice, please! and a knock at the room door and a female waitress bringing the drink to me was like a "You, you've been watching!　You've been watching me! but the fact that the waitress also role-plays based on the interaction with Kunat gives it a sense of an amusement park.

The waiter basically leaves you alone except when serving drinks, so shy boys (yes, that's me) who don't want to engage in a deleterious conversation in front of others can rest assured.

During the conversation, depending on your response, the goddess's mood is indicated as "Excellent" or "Good," and she also gives you "trials" to try out, making it quite an interesting game.

Kunath's thinking is simple, for better or worse, so I think he was quite easy and fun to talk to. In terms of the experience of playing the game, it may be correct to make mistakes or ask for hints, but I showed him my best side! I was so serious that I was trying to be perfect.

What surprised me a little was that the conversations among the goddesses were rather graphic. After nominating a goddess, she would ask me if I had nominated another goddess, and when I answered that I had not, she would get in a good mood. This may only be the case with Kunato, but it seems that she is rather open about various things.

In a real store, this would be a bit of a hassle, but in virtual communication, this kind of feeling is not so bad. Editor A, who experienced it in another room, was really into Denko, so I guess it has its own approach and charm.

When the talk time is over after being sent off like, "Come again, right?", you get a card at the exit. Depending on the level of likability and the content of the day's communication, the card seemed to be divided into a normal card or a rare card.

During the play, I was curious about the word "lived in a shrine" by Kunato, and since there were some amulets among the goods for sale, they may be god beings of the 8 million system.

This was a one-shot experience, but during the actual play, the conversation and play will be recorded on the card and will be reflected in the next and subsequent sessions. If they "remember" what you said last time and incorporate it into the conversation, this would be great. I have a feeling that this is a swamp. Although the service has a handmade feel to it, I could tell that they are trying to give the virtual goddess a realistic and communicative feel.

The service is scheduled to officially open in August at a price of 3,500 yen (play time is less than one hour), but during the pre-opening period starting today, July 1, the service will be available for 2,500 yen. I left with Editor A saying, "That was great!" and "No, it was great!" This is the kind of content that you can't understand unless you experience it.

This is the kind of content that you won't understand unless you experience it. It can be a good source of conversation, so I highly recommend a visit during the pre-opening period.

Should I nominate Kunato the next time I visit, or should I try to meet Mizuha and the others at least once?　This is a difficult question.

(Reporting and writing by Kiri Nakazato)

Facility Information

Prhythm StellA

Location: Seiko Sunshine Building 12, 1-30-6 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo

Opening: Scheduled for August 2020

Fee: 3,500 yen (tax included)

Remarks: Web reservations required.

<Pre-opening

A pre-opening period will be held to improve the service of Prhythm☆StellA.

During the pre-opening period, we will provide services that assume the full-scale production at a lower price than usual.

Period: Wednesday, July 1, 2020 - Friday, July 31, 2020

・Period fee: 2,500 yen (tax included)

We may ask for your special cooperation to improve the service for the trial operation.