At PAX West 2026, I bought the prospect to talk with Yosuke Shiokawa about his new studio, Fahrenheit 213, and the present standing of his tasks, Lunar Pulse and Tsurugihime. Beforehand, Shiokawa labored at DelightWorks as the primary Director on Destiny/Grand Order.
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Lunar Pulse was first introduced again in April. It is a single-player roguelite card battling sport that’s being co-developed with GIANTY. In the meantime, Tsurugihime was first unveiled in December 2022 and has gone by way of a number of delays. On the time of this interview, Fahrenheit 213 has been conducting a small, limited-time closed beta check for the title because the builders purpose to enhance the title earlier than its launch.
Are you able to share with us a bit concerning the journey to forming Fahrenheit 213, and the way the studio has developed since its formation?
Yosuke Shiokawa (Founder & CEO of Fahrenheit 213): Beforehand I used to be at DelightWorks, however I had a robust feeling of eager to create unique video games as an alternative of engaged on an present IP. That’s the primary purpose I made a decision to go impartial and begin my very own studio and now actually targeted on producing quite a lot of unique video games, as an alternative.
With that intention, we’re at present a reasonably small studio with solely 3 workers. It took 4 years to return to that time. Lunar Pulse is our latest sport, however we’re additionally engaged on a sport known as Tsurugihime. With these two video games, we’re slowly, step by step working in the direction of these targets of making unique works and bringing these sorts of indie video games to the mainstream.
Yosuke Shiokawa
: Our unique intention has at all times been to create Japanese video games which might be imbued with a type of Japanese high quality. To date, the wishlist on Steam for Lunar Pulse has been over 80% from foreigners.Regardless that we’re creating this very Japanese sport, we weren’t anticipating the curiosity from overseas audiences to be so excessive. It’s one thing we actually admire, and it’s been a extremely nice shock for us.
How did the idea of this sport come about, and the way has it regularly developed since its preliminary conception section?
Yosuke Shiokawa: We initially wished to make a soulslike motion sport, and that became one thing that was turn-based. We initially debated whether or not we might make it a RPG, or an motion sport, or so on. After desirous about eager to make it the simplest and accessible model of a type of soulslike, we realized {that a} card sport can be essentially the most accessible means of making that type of sport.
Soulslike video games proper now are standard; there’s 3D ones and 2D ones. I’m not superb at motion video games. When desirous about that, I figured there are in all probability different folks on the planet who perhaps aren’t so good at these sorts of action-based fight video games – however wish to have this expertise themselves. That’s why I made a decision to adapt Lunar Pulse on this method.
How do gamers work together with these components in Lunar Pulse, and roughly how lengthy does a playthrough run tackle common?
Yosuke Shiokawa: As a result of it’s a roguelite system, the entire level is that you just’ll maintain dying and reviving and dying and reviving and restarting. Then slowly as you progress by way of this cycle of dying and rebirth, you’ll unveil increasingly more of the story and characters. That’s how we wished to design that mechanic.
To date, we haven’t decided how lengthy it’ll take. We wish this to be a really gradual course of.
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There’s an ongoing closed beta check for its battle system on the time of this interview. How has the reception been thus far? I perceive that you just additionally needed to broaden the capability of entrants, because it unexpectedly obtained so many functions too.
Yosuke Shiokawa: There’s a couple of thousand playtesters proper now for Tsurugihime, and it’s nonetheless in that playtesting section. It’s solely a 5 minute demo, however we’ve discovered that a number of persons are taking part in it for hours, which is admittedly shocking as a result of it’s solely about 5 minutes price of gameplay.
Due to that, we’ve gotten some actually good suggestions. We’re excited to see that suggestions, and it’s been very useful for us. Getting that forwards and backwards communication helps us replace the sport.
Because of the fast velocity of the updates, was the participant suggestions obtained considerably anticipated and inline from inside testing at Fahrenheit 213? And if not, what has the studio discovered from the testers, in regard to what they’ve found from attempting Tsurugihime?
Yosuke Shiokawa: We initially didn’t even count on that we may get 100 testers. We actually weren’t anticipating this many individuals, and that they’d be this passionate. We believed that 100 quantity can be a kind of purpose quantity that we didn’t suppose we may obtain.
Regarding the forwards and backwards communication and what we’ve been studying from customers, the factor that has been an enormous shock is that the present playerbase has been half Japanese and half English audio system. Nonetheless, they’ve really been giving just about the very same suggestions on each side, which made us understand the sport can go world as it’s.
Often, it’s typically frequent to suppose that when making one thing, we might need to doubtlessly take it in a route that’s extra targeted for Japanese gamers, or typically you type of need to change it to cater extra to an English viewers. However the truth that each side had been actually giving comparable suggestions – that made us understand that Tsurugihime is a sport that may go world, and be one product that’s accepted universally.
Yosuke Shiokawa
: Sure, we’re additionally considering of doing a closed beta check for Lunar Pulse, as properly. We really need to do one other check for Tsurugihime too, although we aren’t positive what type that can take, but.Yosuke Shiokawa
: That’s a great query. That’s very true. I feel the subsequent step would in all probability be having a model that we will demo at an occasion like PAX or Gamescom – one thing that folks can expertise in particular person. Then, add a demo to Steam, and slowly and step by step from there progress till it’s prepared.Though it’s been just a few years, what has the event staff discovered from this title as they carry it onto their present tasks of Lunar Pulse and Tsurugihime?
Yosuke Shiokawa: Homicide Thriller Paradox was a novel text-based, story-based sport. We aren’t actually positive if this kind of sport is standard within the west, however there’s loads of curiosity in taking one thing that’s analog and turning it digital. As an illustration, adapting a tabletop sport right into a online game. In Homicide Thriller Paradox, we wished to adapt a homicide thriller sport right into a online game.
When it comes to the way it went, we felt some issues went properly and a few issues didn’t go as properly. It was a studying course of for us.
What we actually discovered is that if a sport is admittedly distinctive, which was our unique problem we set for ourselves for this title – when you go too distinctive, it may be onerous for brand new gamers to collect curiosity and dive into it. Particularly if you’re creating an indie sport, desirous about the steadiness between creating a singular product that’s nonetheless recognizable, approachable, or comprehensible is difficult.
After Homicide Thriller Paradox, we determined that’s one thing we have now to remember.
RPG Web site: I do know it’s not your choice to make, however I’d like to precise my want to see that title finally obtain an English launch sooner or later.
(Shiokawa nods and laughs)
Do you have got any phrases of knowledge or recommendation you’d prefer to share with them, primarily based by yourself expertise? What are a few of the benefits in working with a smaller staff?
Yosuke Shiokawa: Proper now greater than ever, it’s develop into quite a bit simpler for folks to get began with sport improvement, in the event that they don’t have as a lot expertise or in the event that they’re attempting to start out it on their very own. There are, for example, loads of AI instruments for sport improvement.
I do acknowledge that AI can be a really delicate matter. There are many folks which might be for it or in opposition to it. Regardless, I’m saying there’s loads of instruments, whether or not it’s AI or not, that make it simple for folks to get a begin that perhaps weren’t out there again after I was getting began in my profession.
An important factor is to get began now. Begin dipping your toes sooner, moderately than later.
If you happen to’re younger, the earlier you begin, the higher – no matter the way you do it and the way you count on the product to end up.
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Yosuke Shiokawa
: There’s two causes. The primary is that in Japan, we don’t use Fahrenheit; we use Celsius. So over in Japan, they don’t actually know what Fahrenheit means.In fact, each Fahrenheit and Celsius are models of measuring temperature. So I assumed even when you’re technically referring to the identical precise temperature for each measurements – simply by altering the way you write it, it adjustments the way you view it and the way you understand one thing.
As for what 213 refers to, 212 is the boiling temperature of water, which is 100 levels Celsius. I wished to go one above that, so the thought is that I’m exceeding the boiling level by a little bit bit.
Yosuke Shiokawa
: Sure, I drink Starbucks latte quite a bit!