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Rakuen
Laura Shigihara has worked on the soundtracks for Plants vs. Zombies, To The Moon, World of Warcraft, and the most recent Penny Arcade game, and now she is branching out on her own with her own game.
Shigihara has been working in Rakuen for nearly a year. Despite a professional history focused on music composition, Shigihara is handling the programming, design, audio, and in-game pixel character art with concept art from Emmmy Toyonaga, also a former EA employee.
Here's Shigihara description of the game:
Rakuen is a story-based adventure game about a little Boy who becomes bored with living in a hospital, and eventually asks his mother if she'll escort him to the fantasy world from his favorite storybook. Throughout the game, the Boy begins to learn more about the patients who live around him. They each have their own secrets and struggles that are mysteriously tied to the strange hospital. In helping those around him, the Boy deals with questions about empathy, hope, and what it means to leave behind a legacy by coming to terms with his own story.
Shigihara
describes Rakuen's gameplay as a mix between Maniac Mansion, To the
Moon, and the non-combat elements of The Legend of Zelda: Link to the
Past. Shigihara is hoping to release the game for PC next year, with hopes to port it to additional platforms in the future.
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