The virtual singer "Hatsune Miku" is a character born from a voice synthesis system. It has become a popular content since its release, and many related products such as game software and character figures have also been released.
This time, it will be the first VR live concert as "Hatsune Miku". PS VR "Hatsune Miku VR Future Live" We asked about the history of the fonts used in.
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"Hatsune Miku VR Future Live," which pioneered VR games
Font selection based on production process
1st Division 1st Development 2nd Division
1st Design Section Lead Designer
Mr. Michio Abe
――Can you ask us again from the background of the production of “Hatsune Miku VR Future Live” (delivered in October 2016)?
Abe: At that time, a new hardware called "PlayStation VR" was released (* 1), so it was a timing when our company had an opportunity to develop software for VR. When I thought about which game had a high affinity with VR, let's try to develop it first with "Hatsune Miku" that was treated like a digital figure. Initially, there were strong research and verification nuances, but since the demo version was announced at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) and the reputation there was good, the product version (VR Future Live) was released. It is the flow of doing. This title was the first time for us to commercialize VR as a commercial product.
* 1 "PlayStation VR" was released in October 2016.
2nd Division 2nd Development 2nd Division
1st Design Section Designer
Mr. Akira Kai
-- In "Hatsune Miku VR Future Live," "NewRodin" is used in the tutorial. Please tell us how you chose "NewRodin" as the system font.
Kai: There are three reasons why we chose "NewRodin."
The first point is that it matched the worldview of "Hatsune Miku VR Future Live." Hatsune Miku itself is a modern virtual icon, so we selected a sans serif (gothic) font that is close to the modern impression.
The second point is the versatility of the font itself. There are many titles that bear the name Hatsune Miku, and there are as many creators as there are songs. The creators' worldviews differ for each song, but we thought that "NewRodin" was appropriate as a system font that is used everywhere and is not assertive in a good way, as it unifies the overall worldview.
The third reason is that we judged it to have high visibility in VR space. VR uses a headset to look into the space. With such a gadget, the light from the monitor hits your eyes directly and there is no way for the light to escape. We decided to adopt it because we felt that game users wanted something that was instantly identifiable and easy to understand.
2nd Division 2nd Development Division 1
1st Design Section Lead Designer
Fukasawa Jun
-- To begin with, the special space of VR poses different challenges than selecting a normal font.
Fukazawa: There was also the issue of the headset's resolution, which meant that complex kanji characters with many strokes would look blurred in bold, and trying to follow the characters while wearing the headset and moving your head or neck made you feel nauseous.
However, despite these difficulties, we verified the visibility from various angles and found that "NewRodin" had the quality of being able to understand the characters at a glance. We decided to adopt it as it is a flat font that does not contain too much information and can most reduce the stress of game users. We also unified the alphabet and numbers with "NewRodin", which we think was the right decision in terms of ensuring the user's accurate operation feel.
"Because it is a typeface with large characters, it has excellent visibility in the first place, but the ease of reading alphanumeric characters and the fact that kanji are not crushed were also important points in the selection," said Kai.
――On the other hand, for songs such as “39” and “Amazing Dolce,” you chose “Kiaro”. What is the reason for this selection?
Abe: I thought that it is desirable to use characters with sensuality and intonation rather than system fonts, especially in the areas that involve production. We chose "Kiaro" because we thought it would be a font with strong decorativeness and high design, which is similar to "color" in music.
――What happened to the lyrics when it came to music games?
Abe: You didn't give the lyrics. I think that VR content has a characteristic of immersiveness in the space, and I did not display the lyrics because it impedes the immersiveness of game users.
-- So that's it. What else did you struggle with in character expression?
Fukasawa: Is it the size of characters or the length of lines? For example, if it's too long, it's hard to see, so I've controlled the amount to put on the side of the information board.
Abe: This time, I'm using a 3D model by tracing a 3D model based on a 2D font. If it is a flat surface, it doesn't have a three-dimensional effect. I thought that I could most appeal as a character expression that makes use of the characteristics of VR space, but I settled down on this production, but it was quite difficult to adjust because I installed a flat one in VR space (laugh).
While "NewRodin" was used in the tutorial, Display fonts such as "Kiaro" were also used. "In order to differentiate from the system font, we used fonts with a stronger decorativeness in the music," said Kai.
-- Three years have passed since the release of "Hatsune Miku VR Future Live," and the environment surrounding VR has changed dramatically. As a company that has been at the forefront of releasing VR content, do you have any thoughts about the expression of "Hatsune Miku VR Future Live"?
Kai: Although there are some variations in the "sense of the future" we envision, I remember releasing the title with a strong desire to create a sense of the future that is one step ahead of the present and to provide a new experience. VR content itself is something that people have never experienced before. We were conscious of creating a futuristic feel in terms of the UI as well. We have no regrets about the font selection.
--If your company were to release new VR content in the future, are there any typefaces you would like to try?
Kai: Recently I was using another company's Universal Design Kaku Gothic font and I thought it looked really cool (laughs).
-- We also have Universal Design Kaku Gothic available (laughs). It's based on NewRodin, and we've paid particular attention to the way alphanumeric characters are expressed, so it's a design that's comparable to foreign fonts!
Fukazawa: It's true that compared to "NewRodin", the alphanumeric characters are very neat and easy to read. It seems to have a high affinity with the Western version of the content. We will be using "UDKakugo_Large" and "UDKakugo_Small" from the next content (laughs).
About "mojimo-VR"
The font selection service "mojimo-VR," which includes fonts such as those used in the PS VR game "Hatsune Miku VR Future Live" introduced this time, offers fonts that overcome the challenges that inevitably occur in VR space, such as lens distortion, lighting, and reduced visibility of text due to effects.
We offer 10 fonts, including UDKakugo_Large which is a font that is "easy to see from any angle." Font files can be embedded and used in game engines such as Unity at no extra cost, and can also be used on video sharing sites such as YouTube! We also include fonts that have a long history of use in popular anime and games.
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