Kim Tae-jun:PLATiNA :: LAB is a game that blends the fun of character collection with the rhythm game genre. It was created with the concept of conducting experiments alongside cute characters. The rhythm game genre itself is about 30 years old, and after experiencing countless titles, I decided to found this company in pursuit of my ideal rhythm game.

PLATiNA :: LAB adopts the most familiar structure where notes fall from the top. However, we felt the need for a differentiating element. So, beyond just hitting notes, we've infused a sense of interaction with the characters. We wanted to fully capture the joy of growing cute characters within the game.

Kim Tae-jun:As a rhythm game, securing music is our top priority. We focus on bringing in music that is widely loved by the public but not yet featured in other rhythm games. In particular, we are actively seeking and negotiating for songs from anime, popular game soundtracks, and Vocaloid-related subculture tracks favoured by younger audiences.

While other companies rarely license Vocaloid or original tracks directly, we have contracts with JASRAC and NexTone in Japan, allowing us a streamlined system to license registered music. We believe music constitutes over half the appeal of a rhythm game, so we're concentrating on securing tracks that players will welcome.

Kim Tae-jun:While we're cautious about revealing specific figures, our sales have been comparable to those of the most successful rhythm games we've experienced in the past. We are deeply grateful for the immense love from our users. Our current biggest challenge is raising awareness for the game, which is why we're consistently participating in offline events like TGS, PlayX4, and AGF.

At the upcoming PlayX4, we're expanding our presence significantly, with a joint booth alongside Live2D headquarters, roughly five times the previous scale. We're also planning a competition using PLATiNA :: LAB on the main stage. Through these offline activities, we aim to showcase the game's growth potential and actively engage with our users.

Kim Tae-jun:Regarding difficulties, we encountered more unexpected bugs than anticipated during development, some of which required fundamental changes to the game's core. Fortunately, we've resolved most of those technical issues and are now in a stable development phase.

Conversely, the most joyous moments were meeting and communicating with composers I've admired for years during the music licensing process. When I managed to connect with a composer I'd loved for a long time and had the chance to collaborate, it felt like becoming a 'successful fan' – a truly immense thrill. These experiences have been a powerful driving force for continuing development.

Kim Tae-jun:We're aiming for an official launch in August of this year, and we plan to introduce three major content updates. Firstly, we'll be completely revamping the ranking system to enhance its competitive aspect. Secondly, we'll be sequentially unveiling a story mode, with plans to offer a playable demo at the upcoming PlayX4.

Thirdly, we'll be introducing an online mode, including real-time battles, which will be rolled out sequentially after a closed beta test. Additionally, we're preparing original DLC for the official launch and are working diligently to provide a diverse range of music through close collaborations with various game development studios.

Kim Tae-jun:To briefly explain Live2D, it's a technology that brings static images to life. As I mentioned earlier, growing cute characters is a hallmark of our game. We believed that for players to easily connect with and develop affection for these characters, it was essential for them to be animated. To provide a sense of playing together and interacting with the characters, we directly contacted Live2D headquarters to pursue its implementation.

In our early days as a small development team, we considered Spine, another animation technology. However, Live2D was incredibly helpful and supportive in various ways, which ultimately led us to choose them. In retrospect, it was the right decision, as it significantly contributed to the game's overall quality.

Kim Tae-jun:Our primary focus was ensuring the character movements felt natural. We've often seen other games using Live2D where the character animations still felt somewhat stiff. We were adamant that this aspect would not be compromised. We dedicated the most effort to achieving a natural, seamless visual presentation.

While we didn't start by directly mimicking a specific game, we drew inspiration from many subculture titles, like Trickster: Revival. Initially, we debated between LD (Large Display) and SD (Small Display) character styles, but seeing Trickster: Revival convinced us that cute SD characters also had strong potential. I believe this was instrumental in shaping PLATiNA :: LAB into what it is today.

Kim Tae-jun:There are several. While utilizing Live2D, we discovered a large pool of freelance artists skilled in related work within the market, and Live2D's headquarters even connected us directly with some of them. We also gained connections with other developers and animators using this technology. Live2D has effectively served as an excellent bridge for music licensing and collaborations.

Kim Tae-jun:Given the nature of rhythm games, one might assume players are too busy hitting notes to notice the characters. However, highly polished character animations create a definite synergy. We believe Live2D is fulfilling that role. Users are showing a great deal of affection for the characters and are very pleased with the affinity system. This has also led to increased secondary creative activities.

Kim Tae-jun:We're envisioning three main directions. Firstly, with support from Live2D headquarters, we'd like to produce professional animated videos for game promotion. Secondly, we plan to significantly enrich and diversify the existing gestures and interactions for each character, moving beyond their current implementations.

Finally, in addition to continuous updates for PLATiNA :: LAB itself, we intend to leverage our expertise in Live2D to sequentially develop spin-off games that share the same universe. We will continue to actively utilize Live2D to consistently deliver high-quality content.