Mirage Noir – Crack the Case and Your Heart!
Remember when you first fell in love with a game’s characters and story, where every twist pulled you deeper into the world? Mirage Noir does exactly that! This investigative otome game offers a sweet mix of suspense, romance, and lovable characters. I had the chance to sit and interview Studio Chawan, the creative mind behind it, to uncover how this gem came to life, their inspirations, and what makes Mirage Noir stand out. Get ready for an inside look you won’t want to miss!
Mirage Noir Interview
“Studio Chawan is comprised of one member (me, hello!) and several commissioned helpers. As such, most of the members were reached out to based on my personal preferences and vision of the game. They’ve all been extremely helpful and invested in the game, however, so I’m very thankful for their help!”
“It is the first game for me and a couple other members of the team, so it’s definitely been a challenge, especially administration and marketing-wise.”
“As we mention basically everywhere, the game is inspired by Ace Attorney and Bustafellows, but also by other investigative games like Collar x Malice, Your Turn to Die, etc. There are a lot of other inspirations that we’ll keep a secret for now, but overall I decided to start this project based on my own experiences these past few years as someone who also relatively recently graduated from college and started a corporate job.”
“As for the characters, most of them are inspired by a mix of various characters I like (this game is pretty self-indulgent at the end of the day lol). For example, Alexei (Childe – obviously, Klavier Gavin – Ace Attorney), Jem (Prompto, FFXV), etc.”
“Programmer and cosplayer were by plot necessity, and I thought adding a streamer could both be relatable as well as allow the story to explore the online/fandom angle, which is obviously pretty important in our current world.”
“Prince and gangster were mostly self-indulgent haha. The story just required a CEO/physically active type, but they were tweaked a bit to suit personal tastes. Hope they turned out okay!”
“Dynamics-wise, I spent a bit of time making sure that even though they’re all very different characters, Yunie shares certain characteristics with each LI. Can’t reveal what exactly they are at the moment, but I wanted to show that even people from very different walks of life can have similarities as well.”
“Glad to hear they’re distinct enough! The duo keychains with their dynamics are some of my favorite pieces of merch just because they show off a lot of personality.”
“I’m a major fan of found family and friend dynamics in general. Having a group that likes to rib on each other was important and we tried to place emphasis not only on the relationship between the four boys, but also between the LIs and side characters as well to make them more fleshed out. The found family relationship was obviously inspired by Bustafellows, but we also took inspiration from other games with RPG parties as well, such as the Persona series.”
“Other than the self-indulgent bits (the jackets…) we tried to create designs that overlapped with other characters to show their significance. For example, all the main characters have some sort of flower symbol on their design as a reference to a certain flower-based hooded figure. Alexei and Nikolai also both take certain features from Sasha to symbolize their respect for him. There will be more of that with the other characters as well.”
“It’s been very nice! We’re very thankful. The escape section has understandably had the most split opinion, but none of the feedback has really come as a surprise, no. (Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to leave some!)”
“Definitely the found family part. The first scene in the hideout where all the characters interact seems to be pretty universally well-liked.”
“Maybe an FD? Have to finish this one first though :’D”
“Unfortunately, I personally can’t work on multiple projects at once without losing interest, so I haven’t even thought about other projects or ideas. It’d be cool to try something else out though once this is finished and I have a game of experience under my belt!”
“That said, a lot of the other staff do have other projects. Just wanted to highlight our UI designer, Sitraxis, and our editor, illegalileo, in particular for being part of other projects in the indie VN space. Please check them out!”
Studio Chawan’s passion for creating Mirage Noir is so inspiring, and it truly shows in every detail—from the swoon-worthy characters to the mysterious, captivating story. They’re grateful for the love and support the game has received, and they can’t wait to keep building on this amazing journey together with their fans.
If you’ve fallen for Mirage Noir, you can help make it even more incredible by supporting their Kirkcstarter here, or you can check out more reasons for supporting it right here!
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