For my final entry into the world of BitSummit in 2026, I was able to sit down with my most anticipated game of the upcoming year: Rain98. An incredibly stylized interactive fiction title, I’ve been eyeballing this game to some degree since last year’s BitSummit and have been eagerly consuming the new details and growth as the game has blossomed and shaped itself into a more definitive being. While I mentioned the game in my most recent Indie Wednesday post, it wasn’t enough for me to simply have a quick glance into the game: I needed to know more about this period piece that was set in the same year as Dark City and Run, Lola, Run. Thankfully, the good folk at Ukiyo Studios were able to coordinate and find time for me to sit down with some of the key members of the C#4R4CT3R team.

ShoonT, the director and head of C#4R4CT3R, was able to make some time to sit down with me and talk a bit about Rain98, the character of Reina and all it means to be a child of the 90s and how that affected his creative process. ShoonT literally wears his influences on his sleeve, appearing in a Blue Velvet Japanese t-shirt and espousing frank, direct ideas about his inner workings. Joining him and helping with interpretation was business developer Chihiro (Chi) who has been doing marketing overtime to be the voice of the social media side of Rain98, which has driven tremendous growth and spread of the game’s anticipation. While this interview is just a snippet of the thoughts behind Rain98, you can glean much more through the game’s active Discord server.

She seems to really not care if I live or die. I’m in love.

Welcome back to BitSummit! It’s been a busy year for C#4R4CT3R, have you been enjoying your tour?

Yeah, it’s very exciting every day. [ShoonT has been to nearly every gaming event since debuting the first demo a year ago, and it has taken a lot of energy.]

What is the inspiration behind Rain98?

There were many, many inspirations. For Japanese media, things like Perfect Blue, Serial Experiment LAIN (which came out in 1998), and a lot of movies that came out in the 90s. There are the movies of Takeshi Kitano, Ringu and the character of Sadako, and many of the elements of that time. I also drew some important inspiration from a much older movie. There is a French film called La Jetée, and its style gave me so many ideas and concepts that became a big part of Rain98. Also, the writings of Murakami Harumi are some that I enjoy very much. His ideas and cadence in storytelling became a part of my creative process. In fact, I have this list of everything that had some influence in the creation of Rain98, and they’re simply too many to list.

[At this point I am shown a literal list of what must have been dozens, if not hundreds, of different things that were influential to the game’s creation. It left me thunderstruck.]

I noticed that the name of your group, C#4R4CT3R is similar to 1337 speak (in Japanese: リート表記).  Is this a further nod to the 90’s design and ideas, or something different?

So, the name C#4R4CT3R has nothing to do with the game itself, but is more about my own design philosophy and approach. The main idea behind our studio is to make games that are more character centric: we care about the world, but the focus becomes on the people within it. So, when you look at the logo for C#4R4CT3R, you can read the overall name. But when you look closer, you can see the individual details, and each has its own identity. That’s the idea behind our group and the logo itself. It’s our concept.

So cluttered and yet so organized. The madness of living in a Japanese mansion.

Rain98 covers a lot of themes and ideas, particularly dealing with the anime and creative aesthetics of the 90s. You’ve done an incredible job creating the ideal environment for players to enter into the demo. What, specifically, do you find so important or evocative about that period of time?

I was born in 1991, so I was seven years old in 1998. At the time, when I was still young, the world felt magical and bright. Like many children in Japan, I loved Pokemon and Dragon Quest everything around it. Even now, I still love those elements. But now, as an adult, I can look back at the films and other media of the 90s, and I realize there was a special atmosphere about it. I understand there was a little bit of darkness around that time. I have a very positive image of the 90s, and knowing and understanding it better now leads me to create within that space.

Do you feel Rain98 is more about love, death, destruction or creation?

[a bit of contemplation] Love. Love is the biggest element of the game. But it’s not love as we traditionally think of it, like the love between two people or loving some object. It’s more about understanding the loneliness that people experience and live with every day, and the connection forged therein. It’s that kind of isolated love that you wouldn’t normally expect. As for the other aspects – death, destruction, creation –  they’re parts of love within the game. They’re present and important, but they’re included within love. Even when the destruction becomes like a Hollywood-style disaster, there’s still love at the center.

Reina’s character is both alluring and terrifying, and Tsuchiya Rio has done incredible work bringing the voice to life. How was it convincing such a bubbly and upbeat actress to become someone so dark and scary?

Tsuchiya-san is well known for her role in Idolmaster, which is a bit lighter in tone and story. However, her voice is very unique. It has some dark quality to it, but not in a sinister way; it’s almost got a comfy feeling to it, something that matched how we imagined Reina speaking to the player. Because we were most focused on the sound and not necessarily the words, we knew Tsuchiya-san was the right person to become Reina’s voice.

As we move towards bringing Rain98 to publication, we’re releasing it in multiple languages. At first, the focus will be Japanese, English and Chinese. Eventually, we hope to bring it to many other languages. But we aren’t interested in recording new or different voices for Reina even as we enter other language markets. Tsuchiya-san’s voice is so…Reina. We want everyone to experience how we imagine Reina sounds, so the vocal side of the game will always be Tsuchiya-San.

I’d like to quit thinking of the present, like right now, as some minor, insignificant preamble to somethin’ else.

Speaking of other languages, I noticed that Rain98 is attracting attention from fans around the globe, with new support from professionals and fans looking to extend the game’s reach even further. A lot about Rain98 has been shared through the Discord channel instead of traditional social media. Do you think that these more privatized avenues are the future for indie games getting support and promotion?

Indie game marketing is growing every day, and Rain98 is looking into faster, further expansion through more connection and communication. Discord has become the essential media that we’re focusing on to help not only update players and give more information, but also grow and build a community around the game. 

Last year, when the Discord server was initially launched after Tokyo Game Show, we didn’t really know what to put out or how to connect with the fans. We just knew that it was a popular way for players to connect and share information about certain games and ideas. As of last month, we’ve taken a more active role in debuting and sharing information not only about the game, but about the team of C#4R4CT3R and who we all are.

Just like C#4R4CT3R is focused on creating stories around the characters, we want to have community branding for our fans. You can learn about the new trailer and see the dev-logs, but you also can talk about your own interests in other media, photos of your city, and making your own connections with the fans. This sort of social driven promotion will help to spread the word and inform more people about Rain98.

The approach to interactive literature has been changing a lot in the last few years, with more and more Western audiences becoming involved in the scene as both fans and creators.  What was so important in making Rain98 an interactive fiction title and not, say, some other kind of title?

The way that players can watch and consume the animated sequences is really important to us, and that’s something you can do with interactive fiction. For example, there’s a mini game where you’re putting loose socks on Reina from the protagonist’s perspective. There are many of these mini games that players will do that are important to how you build your relationship with Reina, and it wouldn’t work as another kind of game. [ShoonT takes a moment to acknowledge my daughter, who is also taking notes during the interview] Though, there is also a cigarette smoking mini game, so you might want to avoid playing it, sorry [laughs].

Additionally, you can see that the way that the lights in the city and even the sound effects of the rain throughout the demo creates this atmosphere around the player and Reina. This isn’t something that we could have done by just making it a straight visual novel, nor would it have felt the same if we turned it into an anime instead of a game. We’re creating a hybrid experience where you’re both a viewer and an active participant in this specific pocket of existence. We feel that our direction is what makes Rain98 become the true version that we want to share with everyone. 

I am insane. And you are my insanity.

As for some technical questions, how long do you expect players to take to achieve their first ending?

Around ten, maybe fifteen hours. There’s the main story, and the way that Reina will interact with you will open up different dialogue branches and ideas. While the main story won’t change, players who want to get all the achievements and see all the different possibilities will need to put in more time, but there’s only one main ending that players will witness.

Obviously your focus is to get the PC version launched, but are you thinking about Rain98 for a console future?

Absolutely. It’ll be a challenge, but we want to accomplish that after the PC launch.

Lastly, is there anything that you want players to consider as they enter into the world of Rain98?

This is a story set in Tokyo, specifically in Shibuya, and it’s a game set in 1998. While that seems obvious, it’s really important to me to express how much and how influential and important that period of time and this location are. You don’t need to come into the game with any pre-conceived expectations or opinions: in fact, being open to something new is probably the best position. But, as you’re playing it, I hope that you develop an interest in the media and the culture that colors the background of Rain98. When you’re finished playing, go seek out movies from the 90s and get a better feeling for this time period, for this world. That’s what I want to share, and that’s what I hope people take away from it all. [Expressed in English] Japanese Dark Atmosphere Starter Kit.

A massive thanks to Ukiyo Studios for all the help coordinating my times and interviews at BitSummit this year, and a huge thank you to ShoonT and Chi of C#4R4CT3R for taking the time to speak with me.

Rain98 will be launching on Steam later this year.