Rice Games is happy to share that KYOTO CMEX recently published an interview with founder and director Julian Rice about Shujinkou™, Shujinkou 2, BitSummit PUNCH, and the studio’s decision to participate in Japan;s biggest important indie game events as a sponsor.
KYOTO CMEX is Kyoto’s government-backed flagship for games and cross-media culture - founded by Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto City, the Kyoto Chamber of Commerce, and industry and academic partners, and serving as a co-host of BitSummit - an interview with them provided us with prestigious spotlight from one of Kyoto’s central entertainment platforms.
A big thank you to them and their writer 雨森 / ame-moriさん for visiting the booth, speaking with the team, and writing such a thoughtful feature.
Why Rice Games sponsored BitSummit: We shared why we chose to exhibit as a sponsor instead of a regular developer exhibitor, and how that decision helped give our team a firm production deadline for the first playable prototype of Shujinkou 2.
Standing out as a new company: With only one fully released flagship title so far, sponsoring a major event like BitSummit was a big step for Rice Games. It helped us present the studio not only as an indie developer, but as a game company building toward a bigger future.
Shujinkou 2's first playable showing: Visitors at our booth were able to try Shujinkou and play an early prototype of Shujinkou 2, which is currently in development. Even though the prototype still had bugs and rough edges, the direct feedback and excitement from players gave us a lot of confidence as we continue to develop it.
The future of Shujinkou: In the interview, we spoke about how Shujinkou 2 is being designed as a standalone sequel that can be enjoyed without playing the first game, with Japanese and English versions planned simultaneously, a target of 50+ hours of content, and a current, completely tentative development goal of winter 2027.
Language, JRPGs, characters, and music: We also talked about the core ideas behind Shujinkou, from combining Japanese learning with JRPG design to building characters carefully, investing heavily in music, and trying to create something players can remember many years later.
For a new company like Rice Games, sponsorship was not a small decision. It is expensive, we're still a small team, and we're still building our catalog. But the legitimacy you gain as a company and studio, as well as the added motivation due to the relatively high costs, are what help keep us pushing forward & make more progress.
If you are interested in the future of Shujinkou, Shujinkou 2, or Rice Games, please give the KYOTO CMEX interview a read!
Team @ Rice Games