東方Project 第14弾の情報です - Double Dealing Character

[NekoNekoRex]

Clearly the name and the mirror references have nothing to do with the final boss or the plot and it's all a case of ZUN Names Games and the complaints about it are ridiculous

Is that pictured boss holding a sword? Seems like a good first candidate for "beating up people who curse things"

[Fonzi]

As shown in the screenshots, the Mini-Hakkero has become corrupted, and can be used as a flamethrower.

I believe Marisa was flame-throwing since MoF, and if you consider Magic Napalm as a worthy substitute, than since PCB. In SSiB she uses the Hakkero as an engine thruster for the rocket to the Moon. And the very nature of the mini Hakkero is a miniature FURNACE. Still surprised that it can generate heat?

[Mayson]

Based on everything cuc has written (especially the stuff about hell references) and the "neo-retro" theme of the game, it is clear who is the mastermind of this incident...

Ladies and gentlemen... Konngara! Yes, the final boss of the very first Touhou game.  :V Or Shinki as someone else said, in which case the game would take place in Makai (I wish).
Honestly, hell or Makai or heaven... Zun should let one of the newer games take place in there again. Would also be an excellent time to have old characters return.


Anyway, I'm eager to see this, play this and listen to this, regardless of the main cast and Youmu / Sakura / Sanae / whatever. TOUHOU GO!

[cuc]

A mirror youkai in which you can see other youkai, invented by Toriyama Sekien, based on Chinese stories of the mirror that reveals youkai's true forms:
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%9B%B2%E5%A4%96%E9%8F%A1

A custom where used needles are enshrined, sticked into tofu, and buried in earth (the tofu is put into rivers). Takes place on February 8 or December 8.
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%87%9D%E4%BE%9B%E9%A4%8A

As with everything, if not properly treated, those needles may turn into youkai.

[cuc]

Um, I know the word "double-dealing" originated from poker, but I know absolutely nothing about poker. Can someone explain its probable etymology?

[N-Forza]

You deal cards to players one at a time, and everyone must have the same number before a player can receive another. Double dealing is when one player is given more than one card per pass, which can be seen as giving them an unfair advantage.

[cuc]

Thanks! I thought it would involve more advanced terminology.

[Zoriri]

Actually, seeing as how the plot has the characters weapons becoming corrupted, maybe that knife by the boss character is one of Sakuya's, and it decided to join the youkai boss.

[Kaze_Senshi]

Yay armpits at the main screen :V

[iK]

Actually, seeing as how the plot has the characters weapons becoming corrupted, maybe that knife by the boss character is one of Sakuya's, and it decided to join the youkai boss.

I knew I chose correctly when I made the Yin-Yang Orb my waifu.

[MaStErSpArK94]

Actually, seeing as how the plot has the characters weapons becoming corrupted, maybe that knife by the boss character is one of Sakuya's, and it decided to join the youkai boss.

Yeah, I think we'll probably see a couple of Tsukumogami characters in this game.

[Yonowaaru]

Anyone else notice the weird, sigil-like thing behind the 'Double Dealing Character', both in the title screen and the game screens?
I have no clue what it is, but it seems like it's mirrored. Mirrors seem like an important thing in this game.


There's the mirror/painting frame on the title screen which has a silhouette holding a.. sword? A stick? A needle?
[size=78%]It's kind of hard to make out, but she (assuming it's a she because ZUN) seems to be wearing a frilly dress with very long sleeves.[/size]
Wait, never mind me. Since it's a reflection, it's obviously Reimu herself, her having huge sleeves and stuff. The needle is just her gohei.

Also, I noticed the forest on the lower right, the sky with birds upper right and.. some kind of sea/lake on the left?

[BT]

It's really weird how the magic circle is tilted like that. Does it flip when the character-boss-person faces right? She looks center to me.

A thing to note about the mirror is that the blue and green... tail things coming out of the gohei don't exist in the mirror version. Or is that how they're meant to work?

[Cadmas]

Well these portraits look better than TD. Faces are derp, but at least they don't look like they are riding with brooms in their butts.

[Tengukami]

The title is very telling. Here we have a game creator who is newly married, who has chosen to call his latest release "Double Dealing Character". This reflects on his unconscious worries about what married life will bring for him, with an underlying anxiety about betrayal and loss of control. This is further emphasized in creating a story for the game wherein his beloved characters "lose control" of their "weapons". ZUN fears his marriage will mean the loss of control in his life, to be sure, but even his marriage isn't the root of his anxiety; age is. He has been producing games for so long now - notice how he joked about the number of Touhou games thus far in the preface for this game - that he fears what awaits him in the future: loss of the ability to come up with new ideas, loss of imagination, but even more so, the loss of that old thrill that used to come with making games. This is why he brought back Sakuya - a character who first appeared in his very first Windows release. He also mentions that this new game is "neo-retro", showing a need to reconcile the past and the present. As he settles into a more domestic life, marriage makes him feel old; like an adult, and he fears losing the child-like joy for making new Touhou games, that he will lose "control" over his "weapon" (and I hardly need to point out that double entendre there). In order to remedy this, he has chosen to bring back older elements, hoping this will breathe some of that old joy into the games, for himself and his fans alike. Also, he had a mother who spoiled him and a cold and distant father, but that is another story.

[Zoriri]

It's really weird how the magic circle is tilted like that. Does it flip when the character-boss-person faces right? She looks center to me.

A thing to note about the mirror is that the blue and green... tail things coming out of the gohei don't exist in the mirror version. Or is that how they're meant to work?

I'm thinking that ZUN's just trying a new take on the magic circle, making it spin in more than just 1 dimension, but it would be cool if it changed depending on where you are on the screen,

As for the paper tail things on the gohei, maybe the energy surrounding them are preventing there refection from appearing? Either that or ZUN derped up on the art.

[Formless God]

thank you based Ammy

[MaStErSpArK94]

The title is very telling. Here we have a game creator who is newly married, who has chosen to call his latest release "Double Dealing Character". This reflects on his unconscious worries about what married life will bring for him, with an underlying anxiety about betrayal and loss of control. This is further emphasized in creating a story for the game wherein his beloved characters "lose control" of their "weapons". ZUN fears his marriage will mean the loss of control in his life, to be sure, but even his marriage isn't the root of his anxiety; age is. He has been producing games for so long now - notice how he joked about the number of Touhou games thus far in the preface for this game - that he fears what awaits him in the future: loss of the ability to come up with new ideas, loss of imagination, but even more so, the loss of that old thrill that used to come with making games. This is why he brought back Sakuya - a character who first appeared in his very first Windows release. He also mentions that this new game is "neo-retro", showing a need to reconcile the past and the present. As he settles into a more domestic life, marriage makes him feel old; like an adult, and he fears losing the child-like joy for making new Touhou games, that he will lose "control" over his "weapon" (and I hardly need to point out that double entendre there). In order to remedy this, he has chosen to bring back older elements, hoping this will breathe some of that old joy into the games, for himself and his fans alike. Also, he had a mother who spoiled him and a cold and distant father, but that is another story.

Ammy-Freud strikes again.

[Kaze_Senshi]

The title is very telling. Here we have a game creator who is newly married, who has chosen to call his latest release "Double Dealing Character". This reflects on his unconscious worries about what married life will bring for him, with an underlying anxiety about betrayal and loss of control. This is further emphasized in creating a story for the game wherein his beloved characters "lose control" of their "weapons". ZUN fears his marriage will mean the loss of control in his life, to be sure, but even his marriage isn't the root of his anxiety; age is. He has been producing games for so long now - notice how he joked about the number of Touhou games thus far in the preface for this game - that he fears what awaits him in the future: loss of the ability to come up with new ideas, loss of imagination, but even more so, the loss of that old thrill that used to come with making games. This is why he brought back Sakuya - a character who first appeared in his very first Windows release. He also mentions that this new game is "neo-retro", showing a need to reconcile the past and the present. As he settles into a more domestic life, marriage makes him feel old; like an adult, and he fears losing the child-like joy for making new Touhou games, that he will lose "control" over his "weapon" (and I hardly need to point out that double entendre there). In order to remedy this, he has chosen to bring back older elements, hoping this will breathe some of that old joy into the games, for himself and his fans alike. Also, he had a mother who spoiled him and a cold and distant father, but that is another story.

[Imosa]

Anyone else notice the weird, sigil-like thing behind the 'Double Dealing Character', both in the title screen and the game screens?
I have no clue what it is, but it seems like it's mirrored. Mirrors seem like an important thing in this game.

cuc mentioned that the thing behind the title screen looked like a modern tattoo and that the game has a western feel but that's all. I have no idea what it is.

Or is that how they're meant to work?

Mirrors? No, that's not how they are meant to work. It is weird though that the tail things aren't copied even though that seems well within ZUN's ability to do. I still don't think that's as weird as the mirror flipping Reimu's reflection.

People have been saying that if the sword/knife were part of the enemy sprite it would explain why she has her arm out to one side like that. I will point out that the blade is pointing to her hand, something that is distinctly unusual and that poses sometimes change when characters move. We have no idea what the enemy is doing in that frame.

[Validon98]

Perhaps the fact that Reimu's gohei is not reflected and that it is glowing blue and green has something to do with the possession of the weapons?
I also find it interesting that Marisa's Mini-Hakkero is actually being shown to light a fire... I'm wondering if in each character portrait they're holding their possessed weapons?

[Mayson]

The title is very telling. Here we have a game creator who is newly married, who has chosen to call his latest release "Double Dealing Character". This reflects on his unconscious worries about what married life will bring for him, with an underlying anxiety about betrayal and loss of control. This is further emphasized in creating a story for the game wherein his beloved characters "lose control" of their "weapons". ZUN fears his marriage will mean the loss of control in his life, to be sure, but even his marriage isn't the root of his anxiety; age is. He has been producing games for so long now - notice how he joked about the number of Touhou games thus far in the preface for this game - that he fears what awaits him in the future: loss of the ability to come up with new ideas, loss of imagination, but even more so, the loss of that old thrill that used to come with making games. This is why he brought back Sakuya - a character who first appeared in his very first Windows release. He also mentions that this new game is "neo-retro", showing a need to reconcile the past and the present. As he settles into a more domestic life, marriage makes him feel old; like an adult, and he fears losing the child-like joy for making new Touhou games, that he will lose "control" over his "weapon" (and I hardly need to point out that double entendre there). In order to remedy this, he has chosen to bring back older elements, hoping this will breathe some of that old joy into the games, for himself and his fans alike. Also, he had a mother who spoiled him and a cold and distant father, but that is another story.

I never had an idea - The end of Touhou might be nigh?!

[Validon98]

I never had an idea - The end of Touhou might be nigh?!

Perhaps you should take a look at this. This might clear things up. ^^;
As far as I know, though, Touhou's still going to go on for a while, even if ZUN stops working on it (whether he will or not I don't know, but it doesn't seem like he will stop). The fans might very well carry the series in perpetuity. That's how I see it, at least.

[CyberAngel]

I still don't think that's as weird as the mirror flipping Reimu's reflection.

No, there's absolutely nothing strange with that mirror. You can see a reflection like this if it's at the right angle. If it wasn't shadow-like in that picture, you'd see Reimu's face in it.

[AnonymousPondScum]

alliterator the big fonts hurt.

I'm sorry, I was a bit hyper. I'll use large-but-still-reasonable fonts in the rest of the thread. :3

[Avakyon]

People have been saying that if the sword/knife were part of the enemy sprite it would explain why she has her arm out to one side like that. I will point out that the blade is pointing to her hand, something that is distinctly unusual and that poses sometimes change when characters move. We have no idea what the enemy is doing in that frame.

I know it could just be a coincidence that one of Sakuya's dead knives got caught in the shot at that particular moment, but it still gives me another idea. A normal person would naturally need to grip the knife in their hand to throw it back, but the way it lines up so well with her hand makes me think she could be using some kind of telekinetic power to stop the knife as it's coming at her and after this screen she will send it back down in some fashion.  That would cover the point about it being weird how the knife is pointing.

[Serela]

This time, I've doubled the resolution of the game

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Now I can run it on my modern monitor and it won't look like -garbage-. This was the biggest issue I had with my CRT breaking. ;_;

I mean, I can still do 640x480 windowed fine, but my play takes a big hit. With double the resolution, fullscreen should be functional again and if I do windowed it'll still look good if I size up the window to compensate. Yesss.

Oh and the game looks cool too. TD had a significant increase in ZUN's anatomy or whatnot, but the actual drawings seemed really simplified, like he had taken sketches and used the fill function on them in MSPaint. But now they look pretty interesting again. Also, 3 character with 2 shot types each > 4 characters with 1 shot. (Also better then two with three each)

Since he's also taken a lot longer to get this out then he did with the games after UFO, I'm a lot more confident it won't be another 10D incident. I'unno, the game just... isn't that enjoyable.

Also about the name DDC is a pretty nice game abbreviation imo just sayin'

Also I note spell practice is back again. Will we see more last words/overdrives?

I like Challenge Spellcards (as a whole), but Overdrives (Apart from Kyouko's) mostly weren't that interesting so it's exciting to have a new chance at something more like IN's repertoire
also a return of the spellcard comments from IN would make me squeal because I always like those kinds of things

[Eiburine]

Wow, Zun's art is getting a lot better.
I can't wait for this XD

[trancehime]

well

this is certainly interesting, just got caught up.

unfortunately it doesn't seem likely i'll give the demo a shot when i can (because when have i ever played a windows toho game for longer than a week outside of phantasmagoria) but playable sakuya after how many games is neat to see.

[SirChaotick]

How in the heavens did I miss this? I am truly and well a barbarian.

At any rate, awesomeness is awesome.
I'm impartial about Sakuya. She's as good as anyone else I guess. At the very least, this'll confirm she's still... there.
Different shot types are a good thing~
That character... when I'm unbiased, I'd say the chance of her being Orin is pretty low. When biased, I'd say it's nonexistent. Never again. Maybe she can be the stage 2 midboss, that's all I'll stomach.

26 May. Ho-hum.