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The cross-media IP project "Uma Musume PROJECT" led by Cygames recently announced more relevant information about its first console game "Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Hot and Noisy Big Thanksgiving!"

"Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Hot and Noisy Thanksgiving!" is a Uma Musume game presented in pixel art style. It supports single-player story mode, online battles with up to 4 players, and local multiplayer confrontation. It is a casual competitive game suitable for both single-player development and social gatherings. It is expected to be released on Switch, PS4 and Steam platforms on August 30 this year, and supports simplified Chinese subtitles.

At the same time, Cygames and the development team recently held an offline media trial session on the theme of "Uma Musume". Youxia.com was honored to be invited and was able to experience the game first, which also allowed us to learn about some of the concepts and goals behind the game from the development team.

The following is the details of the interview:

Q: Fans are very excited about this project and want to know why Umamusume PROJECT chose "Big Thanksgiving!" as its next representative game, which is completely different from the previous game in many ways?

A: After the success of Umamusume Pretty Derby, in order to further expand the Umamusume IP, we had many discussions on the console game project of the IP, and finally decided to make a 2D casual action game different from the mobile game version based on the following reasons and purposes.

We first considered making a console game based on the existing Umamusume Pretty Derby content. However, the business models of free mobile games and console games are completely different. Even if we made a development game similar to a ported work, it would not have much practical significance as a console game, and it would not help further expand the influence of the IP.

Therefore, when considering the game type, in order to make it easy for non-fan players to enjoy the fun of the game, we chose casual action games so that both fans and new players can have an enjoyable experience.

Q: The style of Umamusume Pretty Derby: Hot Blood series easily reminds people of it. Both are excellent games that are loved by players. Why did you choose this pixel style?

A: The quality of Umamusume Pretty Derby's 3D modeling and game presentation has always been highly praised.

However, in order to attract casual players and expand the user base, this game did not directly use the same 3D model, but instead redesigned a new art scheme consisting of pixel style.

Uma Musume's main audience is men aged between 20 and 40. Many fans over 30 have experienced the era of pixel games, and pixel-style games can arouse their nostalgia.

In recent years, with the popularity of independent games, retro 2D pixel-style games have once again attracted attention. We believe that this type of art design will also be refreshing to the younger generation in their 20s.

In addition, the operation of 2D games is relatively simple and easy for casual players to get started.

Q: What challenges did choosing to create Uma Musume in this style bring to the development team?

A: This work pays tribute to the "Hot Blood Series", but there are a lot of very direct expressions of violence in that series.

We attach great importance to each character in the "Uma Musume" series, so we avoided using performances that directly attack each character.

During the development process, we tried to use humorous or cute images to replace similar scenes as much as possible to avoid making players have any associations with "pain";

But at the same time, we need to let players experience the passionate and noisy fun unique to this work in terms of gameplay and fun.

How to select competitive events and plan competitive rules based on the above is a major challenge we face during the development process.

Q: How many Umamusume characters are expected to be available for players to obtain in this “Grand Thanksgiving!”? Are there any plans for collaboration in the future?

A: There are 25 characters in the game. It is expected that 15 more characters will be added through DLC after the game is released.

There are currently no plans for collaboration with the Hot Blood series or other products.

Q: Is there anything you can reveal about the horse girl development system in "Big Thanksgiving!"?

A: This is not a breeding simulation game. The character status is fixed and there is no breeding element, but you can form your favorite team of horse girls and enjoy the game.

Q: Are there any plans to add new game modes or gameplay? If so, in what form will they be released?

A: "Thanksgiving!" currently has four mature game modes: obstacle course, dodgeball, basketball, and big eater, and three game modes that can be played by one player. The plan for adding new game modes has not yet been determined, but I believe these modes can withstand repeated play by players.

Q: When the game was announced a long time ago, only the logo was released, with only a silhouette on it, and players were guessing which character the silhouette was. Now players know that the silhouetted Uma Musume is "Love Like Past", and they want to know why she was chosen as the poster girl?

A: Sorry, this question cannot be answered.

Q: For Umamusume PROJECT, this time, “Grand Thanksgiving!” is a brand new challenge. What was the focus during the development process?

A: In order to ensure that the main target audience, fans of the Uma Musume series, can also quickly accept the new art design of this game, we adopt a pixel style while striving to faithfully restore the image of each Uma Musume.

In addition, to ensure that players who have never played the Uma Musume series can also have an excellent gaming experience, we have designed a set of operating modes that are very simple to get started but also worth exploring in depth.

Q: What kind of gaming experience do you hope this “Uma Musume” game can bring to players?

A: For fans of the Uma Musume series, we hope that this work can serve as a kind of feedback to the fans, allowing everyone to actually control their favorite Uma Musume, experience the fun of fighting with friends or in the fan circle, enjoy the original story in the story mode, or appreciate their favorite Uma Musume in the activity room mode.

For players who have not yet come into contact with the Uma Musume series, we hope that this work can be simply a casual action game, allowing players to experience the fun of online battles with friends or online players. We will be honored if you can take this opportunity to become interested in the world and characters of "Uma Musume" and fall in love with them.

Thanks again to Cygames and the development team for the invitation. I believe that Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Hot and Noisy Thanksgiving! will definitely bring surprises to players, while also ensuring that non-fans of the series can also have a good and complete gaming experience, bringing more vitality and possibilities to the development of the Uma Musume IP.

The above is the entire content of this interview.