Kotaro Uchikoshi Details His Process for Creating Mysteries

Kotaro Uchikoshi Details His Process for Creating Mysteries



Writer and game director Kotaro Uchikoshi is a well-known figure among fans of mystery games. He is responsible for the Zero Escape and AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES series, as well as the Infinity series, which recently saw a remaster and official English release of its first two games, Never 7: The End of Infinity and Ever 17: The Out of Infinity, developed by MAGES and published by Spike Chunsoft, Inc. His creative process for developing his games involves drawing inspiration from mystery and science fiction novels, films, and TV series as well as his own real-life experiences, creating claustrophobic settings to increase tension, and designing deeply thought-out characters who all contribute to the overall story.

Kotaro Uchikoshi Is Inspired By Many Novels, Films, And More

Kotaro Uchikoshi’s games effectively blend the mystery, science fiction, horror and thriller genres – with some, such as Never 7, even featuring a little romance. Uchikoshi is himself a huge fan of these genres, and has a long list of books, films, and TV series that have inspired him. He enjoys both Japanese works, such as The Decagon House Murders, AKIRA, Cowboy Bebop, and the novels of Jiro Akagawa, and Western stories like Saw, Se7en, Planet of the Apes, and Star Trek.

Although he is probably best known for his work in the mystery genre, particularly the Zero Escape series, Uchikoshi doesn’t limit himself to mysteries. “Every book I’ve read and every movie I’ve watched has become a part of me,” Uchikoshi said. “In fact, it might be harder to name a work that hasn’t influenced me in some way.” He also mentioned that he would love to write games in other genres inspired by stories he liked, listing several projects he’d like to work on:

“A slice-of-life story like K-On!, a horror story like something out of Stephen King, a coming-of-age drama like The Breakfast Club, a love story like Bridget Jones’s Diary, an action-packed thriller like Die Hard, an adventure epic like Laputa: Castle in the Sky, or a comedy like Friends.”

He Focuses On Both Character And Setting To Create An Effective Mystery

Kotaro Uchikoshi’s games are known for compelling characters, such as AI’s Kaname Date or Zero Escape’s Akane Kurashiki, who often hold dark secrets players uncover by delving deeper into the game. Uchikoshi described his process of creating characters as such: “A defining characteristic of my games is that every character holds significant meaning and a deep story. It’s like a house of cards—if even a single card is missing, the entire structure collapses.”

Another element that sets Uchikoshi’s games apart is their unique settings. 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors see the titular nine characters trapped in what seems to be a sinking ship, while the sequel Virtue’s Last Reward kicks it up a notch with a sealed scientific facility. His love for bizarre and claustrophobic settings can be seen in Ever 17, which takes place in LeMU, an underwater theme park in danger of flooding and killing everyone inside.

Uchikoshi bases his settings on a mix of fiction and real life. In the case of Ever 17‘s LeMU, he was inspired by a story a friend told him about visiting Disneyland on a rainy night. “Just before closing time, when there’s no one else around… The only sounds were the pounding rain and her quiet breathing. It felt so serene, so mystical, so dreamlike.”

Ultimately, a Kotaro Uchikoshi game combines an eye-catching setting, memorable characters, sharp, incisive dialogue and unexpected twists to create a story that effectively blends genres and keeps players on their toes from the very first word. From the early works of Never 7 and Ever 17 to The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, his upcoming collaboration with fellow mystery game luminary Kazutaka Kodaka, Uchikoshi’s mysteries are truly one-of-a-kind.

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