ARM Backup/Ar Portal translation/Telemo Plaza/Issue 16

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こんにちは、土屋です。
最近は雨だらけであまり外に出たくない今日この頃です。外に出なくてもいいの なら、実はもの凄く強い雨は音が心地よくて好きだったりしますが（もちろん川 が決壊するほどの雨はダメですが…）。水の音は人の心を癒しますよね。
というわけで強引な展開をしますが、水の音と言えば「お風呂」です。今日は、 以前お話ししたアルトネリコ２の想いに対する返答の回答編「デュアルストール」 です。
今回も皆さんからたくさんの御意見を頂き、本当にありがとうございます。デュアルストールは「お風呂でレーヴァテイルを強化する」というゲームシステム的 な面と、「お風呂で裸の付き合いをする」というキャラ表現の面の２つを持って います。ゲームシステムで絆を表現する、プレイヤーが行った操作でキャラクター の絆を体感できる事をコンセプトに開発しているアルトネリコシリーズでは、こ のような「システム」と「キャラ表現」が融合したゲームを目指しています。 今回の御意見は、そのコンセプトに対する感想といった感じのものとなりました。 大雑把に意見をまとめると「キャラの行動や会話を見たくてついついお風呂に入っ てしまう、けど何度もやっていると面倒くさくなってくる」という感じの御意見 が多く見受けられました。
もう少し細かく見ていきますと、良かった点としては「ヒロイン同士が開放的に なり、普段は出来ない会話をするというのが自然に受け入れられた」「アルトネらしい企画」「作業を遊びにする手段として良かった」「会話が色々聞けるのが よい」というものが主にあがっていました。
逆に改善点としては「操作性に難があった」「会話を見るためというイメージが 強くて、強化する為にお風呂に入る気にならなかった」「言うほどぶっちゃけ話をしていなかったように思えた」「最初は良いが、繰り返しやっていると（特に ２周目以降）面倒くさくなってくる」などがあがっています。
何度も繰り返すゲームシステム性と、一度だけ見て楽しむキャラ会話、２つの融 合には様々なジレンマが存在します。デュアルストールでは、強化のための入浴 回数からバランス良くイベントが発生するように推測し、イベントの数を決めて います。ですがプレイスタイルは十人十色。理想的なバランスで進行する人もい れば、イベントが足りなくなってしまう人もいます。そして「会話が見たいだけ でシステムは要らない」といった趣向の差も出てきます。必須システムでなけれ ば回避も出来ますが、出来る限り遊んで欲しいと思う制作者心もあったり（故に 必須に近いシステムにしてしまう）して、ベストな形を作るのが如何に難しいか という事を考えさせられた回でもあります。残念ながらこれに対する回答は現在 まだ模索中です。これからも色々なゲームなどを参考にし、議論を重ねてよりベ ストに近い形にしていくよう頑張っていきます。
今回は皆さんの御意見からとても大切なことを気づかせていただきました。改めてお礼申し上げます。ありがとうございました！
今回はこの辺でおいとまさせていただきたいと思います。
それでは、また！	Hello, everybody. This is Tsuchiya.
Lately, it has been raining so much that leaving the house has been impossible, like for example today. But even though I can't go out, that's not been a problem because I actually like the calming sound that strong rain has (but naturally, rain capable of causing the rivers to burst is no good...) The water's sound really heals people's hearts, doesn't it?
And while this might be something of an overbearing development, when I think of the water's sound I can't help but think of the [bathtub]. So today, we'll be talking about the responses I got for the feelings toward Ar tonelico 2 I had posted previously, in this case being the responses for [Dualstall].
Thank you very much for having sent me so many opinions for this issue. Dualstall has two sides to it: system-wise it is the [Reyvateils powering up in the bathtub], while character-wise it is [when the heroines interact with each other and lay themselves bare in the bathtub]. Given the Ar tonelico series was developed from the concept that the game systems should represent bonds between characters, and that they should also allow let players feel these same bonds from the actions they have over the characters they control, we're always aiming to make a game that successfully marries both [systems] and [characterization] like this. And the opinions I got for this issue mostly said they were able to feel the presence of this concept in the game. Roughly speaking, the larger part of the opinions I received could be summarized as follows: [I unconsciously made the heroines go into the bathtub because I wanted to see their actions and conversations, but it turned annoying after doing so for so many times].
Giving a more thorough look at them, what the opinions cited as the main good points to the system were [that it allowed the heroines to be more honest with each other, and it really feels natural how this made them bring up topics they wouldn't discuss normally], [that it was an Ar tonelico-ish system], [it was a nice way to let you play as you worked], and [that it allowed to open up all sorts of conversations].
On the other hand, the problematic areas cited by the opinions were [that controlling it was difficult], [that given it had such a strong image of being a system to watch conversations, it undermined my willingness to get them into the bathtub to power them up], [that I didn't think that they were actually talking as honestly as they could] and [that while it was fun at first, it got boring after doing it over and over (especially for two weeks and longer)].
When trying to fuse together a game system that repeats itself over and over, and character conversations that can be watched and enjoyed only once, there are several dilemmas. So when we were deciding the number of events, we settled on the current number through guessing what would be the best balance between the number of times you get into the bathtub to power up and how many events trigger during these sessions. However, every single person has a different playstyle. As there are people who found it to have an ideal progression balance, there were others who found the number of events lacking. And there are bound to be people who lean more on the side of [it not needing to be a gameplay system if you just want to use it to watch conversations]. You could avoid it if it wasn't an essential system, but as my creator side also wants you to play through everything the game has the offer (that's why it is a nearly essential system), there are many times when I find myself thinking "how difficult must I make it so it can take on the best possible shape?" Unfortunately, I have realized from this issue's responses that I'm still fumbling around in search of an answer to that question. I'll be referencing other games in the future and keep exchanging ideas with other people, so I can keep doing my best in making these games as close to their best possible shape as I can.
Your opinions for this issue made me realize something really important. Once again, I want to express my gratitude to you all. Thank you very much!
Okay then, that's it for today, as I'll be going home now.