Hey there! I'm Yoshinori Ono, CEO at Lasengle.
Welcome to my blog and thanks for dropping by!
It's great to see the gradual return of entertainment industry events post-pandemic, right? We're not quite back to business as usual, but it's safe to say we're not far off.
So I was excited to head over to the Taipei Game Show, my first visit since 2019.
It wasn't as insanely packed as last time, but there was enough of a crowd to make me confident the Taipei Game Show is back in full swing.
As well as the expected big-name publishers, I was surprised to see how many independent studios and creators were representing in booths, exhibits, and playable demo builds. It suggests a change in the creator community in Taipei which was interesting to see.
Thanks to our local partner publisher, Fate/Grand Order had a booth and a stage event. I was filled with gratitude for all the Masters who came out to support us and participate in the event. Thank you all!
As soon as I got back to Japan, I hopped online to join the Sony Group Career Forum 2024--an online careers event for 2024 university graduates. Lasengle became a part of the Sony Music Entertainment Japan/Aniplex group in 2022, and this provided an opportunity to join Sony's university graduate recruitment program.
I had a lot of fun at the session talking about Lasengle, answering questions from the students, sharing information about our company culture and environment, and showing off some of the tech we're currently researching and developing.
It wasn't until afterwards that I realized it was kind of unusual for a Sony Group CEO to take part in these sessions, but I appreciated the opportunity to chat with a different generation of creators, and hope everyone got as much out of the experience as me..
If you're interested in working with Lasengle and you're graduating university in 2024, then visit our dedicated page to find out more (in Japanese only). Of course, it's not just new graduates we're hiring. We've openings for people at all stages of their career. Check out our latest openings here.
Next up, my featured game for blog #27,Alina of the Arena.
Aina of the Arena is a deck-building battle game where you use cards to fight enemies.
The main character, Alina, is a gladiator who fights beasts in an underground arena in front of a hostile audience who constantly jeer.
Battles are turn-based. You draw cards from your deck, then use the cards and the associated cost to perform the action (attack, move, and so on). As you can't carry cards or cost over to the next turn, the key is to figure out how to use all your cards up in one turn, in a way that gives you the best possible result.
You begin with a starting deck. When you win battles you're rewarded with new card choices. You can also use shops to expand your deck.
Weapons are varied and each has its own set of pros and cons. The bowgun is a good long-range weapon but quickly runs out of ammo, broadswords inflict powerful damage but add Fatigue.
You have to think about the compatibility between cards, enemies, and your playstyle, as you decide whether to upgrade, switch, or discard during play.
If you ever played a sport that you've enjoyed as a spectator, then you'll know the feeling of getting onto the field or pitch and thinking "Wait? Is it really this big??" And while it's probably safe to assume none of you have experience as a gladiator (I could be wrong), you've probably been thrown in the wrestling ring at gym class, or had a go at some kind of one to one combat sport with an audience.
In Alina of the Arena, when you're outside, the arena looks tiny, but once you're in there as Alina, facing the ferocious beasts, it feels huge.
The game gets fun when you learn how to use that space to your advantage. You learn when and where to move to, whether or not to lure the enemies in, or to wipe out a bunch of enemies in one swoop. It's a pretty awesome feeling!
And when the audience cheers you on for a master move, it's impossible not to feel excited! Not only that but if you can win the audience over with your combat, they'll sometimes throw in weapons and items which you can use in the battle.
If you make a really impressive victory, the crowd goes wild, and rains down coins on your head. These can be used to strengthen your deck and weapons.
For me, the audience element is one of the things that makes Alina of the Arena addictive. Once you've experienced the thrill of being a superstar gladiator, winning every battle and being loved by the audience there's no going back!
There's no denying the luck element, but you still need to strategize for battles. Combine this with the adrenaline rush from being cheered on by a crowd, and the temptation to try out new cards, and you'll want to keep heading back to the arena and taking on tougher foes, and getting showered in victory cheers.
That's my take on Alina of the Arena.
Thanks for reading.
The next game is calling my name so gotta go--till next time!
Yoshinori X（Twitter）