MAKOTO KEDOUIN’s One-Person Indie Game Workshop
Made with RPG Developer Bakin – Dev Blog #4
The sample game project created with RPG Developer Bakin has finally entered its core production phase — the stage where the story takes shape through real, moving elements.
Through what we like to call “rituals of creation” — from character design, pixel art, maps, logos, events, and music — Mr. KEDOUIN, together with the team, continues to summon an entire world into being. Sometimes sinking deep into the pixel-art swamp, sometimes pushed hard by teammates, this entry captures the heat and rhythm of their creative process.
MAKOTO KEDOUIN
He is a Japanese game creator and scenario writer. He was born in Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture. He first gained attention as a student with his self-made horror game Corpse Party, which began as a doujin (indie) project and was later developed into a commercial title.
The series has since expanded beyond games into novels, drama CDs, anime, and more, earning critical acclaim both in Japan and internationally.
Day 61 of Development — in October: “Climax-guy-in Gets Chewed Out by the Former Deputy Editor”
The project is now fully underway — using RPG Developer Bakin (hereafter referred to as Bakin) to create “a fun sample game within a limited timeframe.”
With the theme decided as “REINES DU SABBAT” Remake: Prologue, development reached its 61st day — and things were heating up.
However, as I mentioned in last month’s blog, KEDOUIN (that’s me) had fallen deep into the delightful but dangerous pixel-art swamp, causing the schedule to slip just a little…
At such times — when things get rough — I always receive kind, heartwarming encouragement from Mr. Sugiuchi, the former deputy editor LOGIN SOFCOM magazine.
He said:
“How about I turn your haunted house (collection room) into a real haunted house — by destroying it?”
“Your son, Masamune (the cat), is adorable… you wouldn’t want to make him sad, would you?”
“From now on, you’re not KEDOUIN — you’re Climax-guy-in!”
With those warm and inspiring words (?), KEDOUIN was filled with motivation — and finished the character sprites in no time!
Truly, thank you very much!
All the pixel art is finally complete! Stay tuned for the reveal alongside the character designs.
Day 64 of Development — in October: A Sneak Peek at the Forest Map!
The project “REINES DU SABBAT” stays true to the fantasy world of the original work. In the opening scene, the protagonist Puff runs anxiously through the forest in search of Snow Herb—and just as in the original, the “deep forest” background map holds a very important meaning in this world.
Drawing on everything I’ve learned so far—and the energy I poured into my previous prototype, “Ore no Densetsu: The Legend of ORE”— I built a heavy yet tranquil forest field. Then, together with Mr. Sugiuchi, I received expert guidance from Mr. Nagai, the leader of the Bakin development team, who’s been kindly watching over my progress.
And then—boom! The forest became astonishingly cool! Take a look!
The forest scene from the original “SABBAT.” And now… it looks like this!
It’s a complete upgrade!
Who would have thought the forest from the original could evolve into something with such expressive depth?
With naturally placed rocks enhancing the field’s sense of randomness, and a reduced “tiled-map” feeling, the improvement is clear as day.
Huge thanks to Mr. Nagai for the amazing advice!
I’ll share more details in future posts, but I’ve been receiving tremendous help from so many people in creating this sample game.Not every track, but the music—of course—is by him (you know who!).
The logo design and character art are all freshly drawn by professionals, bringing new life to “SABBAT Reborn.”
With deep gratitude to everyone involved, I’ll keep giving my all to complete the scenario writing.
Please look forward to what’s coming next!
Mr. Nobuki Nagai’s X account: @nobukinagai
Day 67 of Development — in October: [Series] Come on Over to KEDOUIN’s Crossing
In the previous entry, I mentioned the film The Blair Witch Project and the mysterious “MISSING BEAR.” For those curious, you might still be able to find it at stores like Mandarake (a well-known Japanese secondhand store for collectors).
May fate guide you to the items that are waiting to meet their destined owners.
Now then, what I’d like to share this time is a one-of-a-kind, custom-made item — a life-size 1:1 prop replica of the terrifying Book of Shadows from the game Corpse Party: Book of Shadows.
Come to think of it, this might actually be the first time I’ve ever shown it publicly.
In my previous post, I shared a rough sketch of my design idea for it, and based on that, my friend Mr. Koichiro Hatsuda — a talented sculptor — brought it to life in 3D form.
It’s truly a treasure.
The cover, made from “stitched human skin,” and the ferocious face of the soul trapped within the book… isn’t it insanely cool?
It sits in my collection room — though sometimes, I could swear it’s facing a different direction when I walk in.
I’m starting to wonder… is there something inside this thing?
Mr. Koichiro Hatsuda’s X account:@KO_1LOW
Day 69 of Development — in October: The “SABBAT” Logo Is Born!
There’s a moment in every game project when everything suddenly feels real — when the title logo is finally complete!
And with its reveal, I can now officially announce the full title of the remake:
“REINES DU SABBAT Queen of Sacrifice.”
The logo was created by none other than the famous “man with the red glasses”, Mr. Norihisa Kochiwa — someone many of you probably know.
You’ve likely seen his work before in numerous games and cross-media projects he’s produced or designed.
I’ve had the honor of working with him before on the project “Death end re;Quest,” where I wrote the scenario, and once again, he graciously lent his creative power to this remake.
Thank you so much, Mr. Kochiwa!
This really gets me fired up — I’ve got to make sure the game itself lives up to how cool that logo looks!
Day 70 of Development — in October: Feeling Like an Extension of My Own Hands
Development with Bakin continues.
These days, I go to bed late at night, and the moment I wake up, I’m already booting up the editor and diving straight into work.
It’s been years since I’ve felt this way!
Honestly, I can see this becoming a lifelong habit, even after the SABBAT project is finished.
Right now, I’m fully into scripting — that is, creating in-game events.
I’m building the story flow using switches for conditional branching, combining auto-execution and parallel processing to control sequences like:
“When someone starts talking, three of their friends suddenly appear,”
and so on.
Back when I used older developer tools, there wasn’t a “parallel processing” feature.
So if three characters had to enter the screen, it went something like:
Character 1 moves in → stops → then Character 2 moves in → stops → then Character 3 moves in → stops → finally all three shout, “YAHOO!”
But now, when a conditional switch turns ON, the event can run in parallel with other processes—
so all three characters can appear at the same time and shout, “YAHOO!”
It might seem obvious to modern developer-tool users, but being able to control logic this close to real programming still feels like real progress to me. I’m impressed!
It demands more precision and planning from the creator’s side.And that’s where I find myself thinking, “I need to finish this part tonight or I’ll forget what I was doing,” and losing track of time completely.
But everyone — please don’t push yourselves too hard!
Avoid late-night “accidental saves” by taking proper breaks once in a while.
As I continue working, I’m getting used to Bakin’s logic and quirks, and it’s starting to feel like an extension of my own hands. And the more naturally it moves with me, the more fun the whole creation process becomes.When you find yourself lying in bed, thinking, “What event should I make next?” — that’s when you know you’ve truly caught the creative flow!
Day 71 of Development — in October: [Good News] Mr. Sugiuchi Becomes a VTuber!
A piece of unbelievable insider news has just come in!
For longtime fans of LOGIN SOFCOM magazine, this might be the best possible announcement — pure good fortune!
That’s right — the legendary former deputy editor, Mr. Sugiuchi, who has long supported and inspired “future creators” through the pages of LOGIN SOFCOM and various classic game-making tools, is now taking on a brand-new challenge!
He’ll be launching a new VTuber channel where he shares “secrets to long life” and other bits of everyday wisdom, along with a nostalgic, discovery-style segment called “Playing Old Games.”
For fans like me — already entering the “middle-aged” bracket — this sounds like the ultimate comfort content!
As for what Mr. Sugiuchi’s VTuber avatar (his “model”) will look like, whether he’ll use a voice changer, and whether my mentors, General Yano and Q-nuki, might appear as guests — or even some of the legendary LOGIN SOFCOM creators from back in the day — my imagination is running wild!
I have endless respect for how Mr. Sugiuchi continues to support creators in so many ways even now. Let’s look forward to this with all our hearts!
By the way, there’s no official launch date yet — so be sure to follow Mr. Sugiuchi (and me!) on X for updates!
Mr. Sugiuchi’s X account: @shiromeshi4
KEDOUIN’s X account:@Kedwin
Day 72 of Development — in October: Character Designs for “SABBAT” by Shirahane-sensei!
There are moments in life when you open a file on your computer, fall off your chair in joy, and almost cry from excitement. In game development, one of those moments comes shortly after the logo: when the very first drafts of the character designs arrive.
For the “REINES DU SABBAT Queen of Sacrifice.,” we asked my talented friend, illustrator Nao Shirahane-sensei, to create the character designs. Even though I can only give you a small sneak peek here, they are absolutely adorable!
To be able to bring these characters to life in the scenario is a dream come true for any writer!
Shirahane-sensei, thank you so much for creating such wonderful characters!
These little ones will be revealed in full very soon — stay tuned!
Nao Shirahane-sensei’s X account:@dmyomyo
Day 76 of Development — in October: Integrating Assets, a Moment of Bliss
Once all the assets that bring a game to life are ready, it’s finally time to integrate them.
The moment the elements you’ve worked so hard to create actually appear in the game — that is a truly rewarding, blissful moment. It’s a bit like the joy of attaching the last head piece to a model kit.
Fortunately, when I integrated the pixel art I drew myself into Bakin, there were no glitches like “one motion misaligned by a single pixel during animation.” I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, “Old skills still hold up!”
Next, I moved on to adding the character portraits. Bakin fully supports animated portraits, and once you’ve set them up, managing expression variations is straightforward — you can easily call the character image or expression in events.
Given more time, I’d love to add even more expressions and animations to bring the characters to life with even more energy… and yes, even here, the “obsession swamp” makes its presence known!
Day 78 of Development — in October: “That Guy” Composes Music for SABBAT!
For this game project, while we have permission to use the high-quality “sample tracks” included in Bakin, we also wanted music that really fits the world of SABBAT. So we reached out, and Mr. Mao Hamamoto (MAO) from the GrisGris team graciously agreed to compose several new tracks.
Many of you may know him as the composer behind all the music for the “Corpse Party” series. His soundwork is always perfectly attuned to characters and scenes, and this time, he has brought his unique interpretation to the world of SABBAT, coloring the fields with deeply emotional music.
These are truly wonderful tracks — I hope you’re as excited to hear them as I am!
Mao Hamamoto’s X account:@maoma
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