November 28, Tokyo - AMATA K.K. (part of the LL Project committee alongside VAP, Inc.) has released details about the collaboration between its VR escape-the-room adventure title, Last Labyrinth, and the miniature Japanese chess (shogi) game, Dōbutsu Shōgi (also known as Let’s Catch the Lion!). This collaboration allowed the inclusion of Dōbutsu Shōgi as one of the puzzles within Last Labyrinth.
Dōbutsu Shōgi makes an appearance in Last Labyrinth
In the recently released Last Labyrinth, players play a variation of Japanese chess (shogi) called Dōbutsu Shōgi during critical sequences of the game.
Dōbutsu Shōgi was invented by professional women's shogi player, Madoka Kitao, with illustrations by Maiko Fujita (also a former professional shogi player). Since the game’s conception, Dōbutsu Shōgi has been enjoyed by a wide range of players for its simplicity and depth. Collaboration between Dōbutsu Shōgi and Last Labyrinth came about when the director/producer of Last Labyrinth, Hiromichi Takahashi, reached out to the creators of Dōbutsu Shōgi and asked to include their game within Last Labyrinth.
Takahashi wanted to implement a tabletop game as part of the gameplay and story of Last Labyrinth. Hei discovered Dōbutsu Shōgi and was intrigued by its simple yet deep gameplay and felt that the game was a perfect fit for Last Labyrinth.
Kitao and Fujita created Dōbutsu Shōgi to make a more beginner-friendly entry point into shogi that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike, and to share their deep love of shogi with the rest of the world. They allowed the inclusion of Dōbutsu Shōgi in Last Labyrinth with hopes that it will introduce shogi to more people worldwide.
After playing Last Labyrinth, some players have commented that they discovered Dōbutsu Shōgi through the VR escape-the-room game.
The developers hope that Last Labyrinth continues to be an entry point for new Dōbutsu Shōgi players worldwide.
Dōbutsu Shōgi: Let’s Catch the Lion!
Dōbutsu Shōgi is a simpler variant of shogi that was made to be easy for children and beginners to learn while still containing a depth that can be enjoyed by all players.
Dōbutsu Shōgi is played on a 3x4 grid board with 8 pieces. Each player starts with 4 different types of pieces: Lion, Elephant, Giraffe, and Chick. Like Chess, each piece has different movement rules; for example, the elephant can only move one square diagonally (similar to the bishop in chess). The player who captures their opponent’s lion wins.
Rules Invented by Madoka Kitao
Illustrated by Maiko Fujita
Age Range: 4+
About Last Labyrinth
An escape-the-room adventure game that can only be experienced in VR, Last Labyrinth was created specifically for the VR age. Players must work to escape a mansion full of hidden dangers with a mysterious girl that appears before them.
The full version was simultaneously released for digital download on November 13, 2019 worldwide on multiple platforms.
Development of Last Labyrinth is being spearheaded by Hiromichi Takahashi, director and producer of the acclaimed Doko Demo Issyo (PlayStation® 1999) series and co-creator of Toro (the Sony Cat).
Working alongside him is Co-Director Tetsuya Watanabe, previously a game designer on Puppeteer and The Last Guardian (in-game physics); Lead Animator Atsuko Fukuyama, best known for her work in animating the non-verbal characters that players work alongside with in ICO and Shadow of the Colossus; Lead Environment Artist Michiko Kusaba, who worked as a Landscape Designer on Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec and Gran Turismo 4; and Sound Designer Takuya Hanaoka, whose past works include Monster Rancher and the Super Robot Wars series.
With resumes featuring titles that are household names around the world, the team is now taking on the unique challenge of creating a VR game that revolves around “non-verbal communication” and are committed to bringing Katia and the world of Last Labyrinth to life.
Katia is the mysterious girl that players work together with throughout the game. She is voiced by Stefanie Joosten, the voice and likeness of Quiet from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015) and international model, actress, voice-actress and singer.
The Last Labyrinth theme song is composed by renowned video game music composer Hiroki Kikuta, whose works include the music of Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu 3, Sōkaigi and other titles. The theme song is also sung by Stefanie Joosten.
Factsheet
Title：Last Labyrinth
Genre：VR Escape-the-Room Adventure
Supported HMD：PlayStation®VR, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Oculus Rift S, Windows Mixed Reality Headset
Supported Hardware: PlayStation®4, VR Ready PC (Minimum Requirements: Intel® Core i5 4590 or above/NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or above)
Distributing Stores (Download only): PlayStation®Store, Steam®, Oculus Store, Microsoft Store
Number of Players：1
Online Mode：No online play available
Release Date：November 13, 2019
CERO：D
Price：3,980円（Excluding tax）～ ※Prices may vary depending on the distributing store.
Official Site：https://lastlabyrinth.jp
Copyright：（C）2016 AMATA K.K. / LL Project
About the Last Labyrinth Production Committee [LL Project] Members
Company Name: Amata K.K.
Representative: Hiromichi Takahashi, Company President and Representative Director
Address: Sato Building 5F, Kita-Shinjuku 1-5-2, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 169-0074, JAPAN
Established: June 25, 2008
Business: Game Business & others
Official Website: https://amata.co.jp/en/
About Amata K.K.: Founded in Tokyo in 2008, Amata K.K. has helped develop smartphone titles for a wide variety of world-renowned Japanese game companies over the years. With many staff having over 20 years of game industry experience, Amata has become a trusted one-stop shop for planning, developing and operating games across a variety of platforms. While keeping the focus on game development, Amata has also begun to expand into VR, video, media and other forms of entertainment.
Company Name: VAP Inc.
Representative: Yoshiro Yasuoka, Company President & Executive Officer and Representative Director
Address: NTV Yonbancho Bldg., 1Go-Kan, 5-6 Yonbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0081
Established: January 24, 1981
Business: Planning, Production, Manufacturing & Sales and Distribution of CD, Records and other Sound Recordings
Planning, Production, Manufacturing & Sales and Distribution of DVD, Blu-Ray Discs and other Sound and Film Recordings
Planning, Production and Manufacturing & Sales of Novelty Goods
Official Website: http://www.vap.co.jp/
About VAP Inc.: VAP Inc. is a core company of Nippon Television Holdings, Inc., undertaking the planning, production, sales, promotion, sales promotion, sales development and distribution for a variety of entertainment content, including music, local and foreign films, TV dramas, anime and variety shows. In addition to their established film and music software business, VAP is also actively working to “establish new business models”, branching away from sole reliance on physical sales.
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