We were lucky enough to get the chance to interview various members of the Rain team to learn more about the inspiration behind the excellent PSN title. Check out what they had to say below.

 

What other works did you look to for inspiration, given the strong sense of place and atmosphere you have created?

Everything that I experienced gave me a sense of inspiration.

It could be from films, games, literature or even some of the conversations I had with my family. During the long production period, the tragic earthquake hit Japan in 2011, which was one of the turning points for me and made me decide that “rain” shouldn’t end sadly.

I think the presentations of “rain” are influenced particularly by story books for children.

We also are trying to convey the story and sceneries with a strong objectivity. In this aspect, story books, such as “Good Night Moon” and “The Circus in the Mist”, have influenced in the making of this game. (Yuuki Ikeda, Director)

 

Have any members of Team Ico dropped in to work with you on this title?

No, but I do respect the ICO team greatly. The core of rain team consists mainly of creative talents who were recruited through an audition called “PlayStation C.A.M.P!” held by SCE. The programming and asset productions were entrusted to ACQUIRE Corp. (Ken Suzuta, Producer)

 

How did the principle mechanic of being visible in the rain come about?

Destructing the existing game systems and reconstructing a new one was my personal goal from the very beginning of the production.

I constantly questioned myself on what I could do to deliver players surprises. Eventually, I reached the idea of invisible characters. With this innovative concept of controlling something invisible, the rain came along as a mean to make them reappear from nothingness. (Yuuki Ikeda, Director)

 

Has the Rain story come to an end or do you feel we may see more of this title in a sequel to Rain, or perhaps a reworking of the title, similar to Sony Santa Monica’s “Flower” for PS4?

The story ends when the game ends, but I enjoy imagining that the story of the two continues beyond the end credit. (Yuuki Ikeda, Director)

 

“Rain” was actually developed using the Unity engine. If there is any developer out there who wants to bring this game to PS4, please don’t hesitate to contact me! (Twitter ID @Ken_echochrome) (Ken Suzuta, Producer)

 

Where did the inspiration come from in terms of art and music direction?

We went through many trials and errors in creating the night with the mood which is both beautiful and yet sad. I think many games and films depict nights simply as darkness. In the simply dark nights, they don’t reveal much of themselves and make people feel just anxious.

In the game “rain”, we were careful not to make the night filled with darkness. Instead, we created the night filled with fantasy-like art, so that the sense of anxiousness gets softened, and players would find the night more mysterious and curious.

In regards to music, we couldn’t have done it without the extraordinary talents of Yugo Kanno and Connie Talbot.

I merely made sure that their music is accommodated within the game to the maximum effect. (Yuuki Ikeda, Director)

 

Why create a game around the themes of loneliness and friendship?

There is a time when you don’t feel like playing a game where you go around shooting, say with a shotgun. That is why we created a game focusing on evoking the emotions of “loneliness” and “sense of childness”. (Yuuki Ikeda, Director)

 

Given the positive reviews of the title, have you plans to bring this game to the PS Vita?

Currently we don’t have any plan for “rain” to be on Vita, but no matter what type of formats, we will continue trying to reach as many people as possible, and let them know about “rain” and the extraordinary experience it brings you. We need your help to spread the words! (Ken Suzuta, Producer)

 

If you haven’t picked up Rain yet, you might want to check out our review of the title here!

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