[Behind the Scenes] Introducing the key points of our novel game company guide

My name is Fujisawa, and I work in the PR and recruitment department at a novel game company

On September 2, 2021, we released something called Novel Game Company Guide

To give you an idea of ​​what it's like, it's something like this

Did you understand?

It allows you to tour the company in a novel game style .

Anyone can play from their browser at any time

If you're interested, please try playing it here

We have released the "Novel Game Company Guide" for 2023 graduates

This time, we will introduce five key points of emphasis in this "Novel Game Company Guide."

I will also be including some behind-the-scenes stories about the production, so I hope you will find it useful (for some reason)

Why a novel game?

We were recruiting new graduates, hoping that someone would see our new Osaka office, which we moved to in April 2021, and we came up with the idea that it would be interesting if people could have a look around the company in a novel-like format and talk to our engineers at the same time

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we can't meet offline, and we're tired of talking online, so why not just have conversations in games?

As I'm not an engineer, I was wondering how to make a game, when our CEO, Haraoka, discovered a service called Tyrano Builder

Five key points

Tip 1: Include introductions to all departments

The novel game begins with a "Guide to the Osaka Office," after which players can choose to play "Guide to Each Location," "Work Experience," or "Explanation of Benefits and Training Systems."

The first scenario, which takes you around the Osaka office, is a route that all players will take, so we included an introduction to all of Beyond's departments

However, simply continuing to give a monotonous explanation would not be interesting, so I try to convey as much of the company's internal workings as possible by creating situations where employees are talking to people working from home via a monitor, or encountering people serving coffee as a side job within the company

By the way, the Goto Coffee scene from the Web Services Division was a video I shot spontaneously, but I ended up editing it nicely, so I forced the footage in. I'm sorry if you were surprised by the sudden footage

2. Communicate with people working at other locations or at home via a monitor

There are also many scenes featuring people from the Shikoku, Yokohama, and Canadian offices

In fact, there are many opportunities to communicate between bases, and we often go up to the monitors and talk to each other during work, so we wanted to convey that nuance as well, and incorporated it into the conversation

For those who play the game, it may not make much difference whether the person you're talking to is on the other side of a monitor or in an office, but I wrote the scenario with the thought, "I want to convey the feeling of being on the other side of a monitor!"

Tip 3: Use lines that the person would say

When writing the scenario, I was conscious of "characterizing the characters."

For someone who is completely unfamiliar with Beyond, even though many characters appear, they won't know who is who, and will end up finishing the game with no memories whatsoever

That would be sad, so I exaggerated the employees' tone of voice and personalities a bit to make them leave a lasting impression

I thought that if I exaggerated the lines too much, the person himself would complain, so I made sure to choose lines that I could imagine in his voice

By the way, Okazaki's line, "That's an impossible request!" was originally "You're just passing the buck!", but when we asked him to look at it, he said, "I don't think I'd say "pass the buck" that often," so we changed it to something he'd be more likely to say

Tip 4: Add some cheeky elements to the conversation options

I think one of the great things about novel games is that you can make responses that you would never be able to make in a real conversation, so I always have two types of characters available: an excellent character and a twisted character

I think everyone has had the experience of putting on a good face on the surface, but deep down thinking, "Why? That's not right," so I wanted to convey the idea that it's okay to be a little cynical in a game

However, I think it would be a bit intimidating to say to the president, "I don't really understand what you're saying."

5. The ending changes depending on the choices you make

It also incorporates the "branching of scenarios" that is the best part of novel games

Your favorability will go up or down depending on the conversation choices you make

To give a rough explanation, you start with 0 points, and if your final points are 10-8 you will go down route A, if they are 7-4 you will go down route B, if they are 1-3 you will go down route C, and if they are 0 you will go down route D

The ending I put the most effort into creating was "Route D."

It's an unlikely development, but I ended it in a way that would be awful if it actually happened

It was difficult to capture Haraoka's expression from outside the office, so we had him place lights, adjust his position, and communicate with him over the phone while we took the photos

This photo might also be useful for something

Please try playing this novel game!

These are the top 5 points of emphasis for novel game company guides

Thanks to you, after the game's release various web media outlets , and a wide range of people were able to play it, from people who had never heard of Beyond before to those who regularly support us.

This game was created for the 2023 graduates, but I made it with the hope that it would be played by not only mid-career hires but also in-house members, so I'm glad that they enjoyed it

It took a lot of time to make, so I'm not sure if I'll make a sequel, but if I feel like making one again, I'll do it

If you haven't played it yet, please give it a try here

This is Fujisawa, in charge of public relations and recruitment