Rain98 Director Interview Explained: ShoonT on 1998, Reina, and Interactive Fiction

Few indie games have built an identity out of a single year the way Rain98 has. The stylized interactive fiction project from C#4R4CT3R turns 1998 into a mood rather than a costume: CRT glow, rain-slicked streets, and a heroine who seems genuinely unbothered about whether you live or die.

That atmosphere is why this Rain98 director interview matters. When director ShoonT sat down at BitSummit 2026, he explained the intent behind the aesthetic — the films, the sound design, the localization choices, and the loneliness at the game's core. Here is everything the Rain98 director interview reveals, plus practical notes for players planning to step into its world.

Rain98 at a Glance: Studio, Genre, and Release Plans

Before digging into the philosophy, it helps to pin down the basics. Rain98 is a character-driven interactive fiction title set in 1998, built by a small team that has spent the better part of two years touring events with an evolving demo. Ukiyo Studios has supported the project on the publishing and coordination side, including arranging press meetings during BitSummit.

The Rain98 director interview makes one thing clear: this is not a project chasing nostalgia for its own sake. Every visual and audio decision is meant to put the player inside a very specific pocket of existence, and the team treats that atmosphere as a design requirement rather than decoration.

The C#4R4CT3R Philosophy: Characters First, World Second

The studio name reads like leetspeak, and plenty of people assumed it was another 90s callback. According to ShoonT, that reading is wrong. The name reflects a design philosophy rather than the game's setting: the team cares about the world it builds, but the focus always lands on the people inside it.

That idea extends to the logo. At a glance you read the full studio name; up close, each character stands alone with its own identity. It is a neat visual metaphor for an ensemble-driven approach, and it explains why Rain98 leans so heavily on conversation, small interactions, and the slow accumulation of trust between two people.

Community reports from the BitSummit demo suggest this focus lands in practice. Players describe the demo as less about plot milestones and more about the texture of a single relationship — a tone that the Rain98 director interview attributes directly to the studio's character-first mandate.

Influences Behind Rain98: From La Jetée to Serial Experiments Lain

Ask about inspirations and ShoonT does not improvise. He keeps an actual list, one long enough that he describes it as too extensive to recite in full. The highlights span anime, live-action film, literature, and games, and they cluster around the late 90s without being limited to it.

La Jetée deserves special attention. The 1962 French short is built almost entirely from still photographs, and ShoonT credits its style with shaping concepts that became central to Rain98. That influence shows up in how the game presents animated sequences as something you watch and consume, then respond to — a rhythm closer to memory than to cutscene.

Why 1998? A Childhood Memory and the Darkness Underneath

ShoonT was born in 1991, which made him seven years old in 1998. His first-hand memory of the era is bright: Pokemon, Dragon Quest, and the sense that the world was magical. Only later, revisiting the films and media of the period as an adult, did he recognize the shadows running underneath.

That dual perspective — the child's brightness and the adult's awareness of unease — is the emotional engine of the setting. Rather than reconstructing 1998 literally, the team filters it through both lenses. It is one of the more candid moments in the Rain98 director interview, and it explains why the game feels affectionate without ever feeling safe.

Reina, Tsuchiya Rio, and a Voice That Will Not Be Recast

Reina is the heart of the project, and her voice is inseparable from her identity. Tsuchiya Rio, best known for brighter roles such as her work in Idolmaster, was cast because of a specific quality ShoonT describes as dark but not sinister — something comfortable and unsettling at once. The team prioritized the sound of Reina over individual line readings when casting.

That decision carries into localization. Rain98 will launch with Japanese, English, and Chinese support, with more languages planned later. What will not change is the voice performance: the team has no interest in recording alternate Reina vocals for other markets, because Tsuchiya's performance is the character.

Love, Loneliness, and the Themes at the Core

Asked whether Rain98 is ultimately about love, death, destruction, or creation, ShoonT answers without hesitation: love. But he defines it carefully. This is not romantic love or affection for an object — it is the connection that forms between people who understand each other's daily loneliness.

Death, destruction, and creation are present and important, but they sit inside that larger frame. Even when events escalate into Hollywood-scale disaster, the center holds on connection. It is a useful lens for players: expect the dramatic beats, but read them as expressions of a quieter emotional thesis.

How Rain98 Actually Plays: Minigames, Mood, and Hybrid Design

The Rain98 director interview spends real time on the "why interactive fiction" question, and the answer is mechanical rather than philosophical. Certain moments simply cannot be delivered any other way. Minigames tied to your relationship with Reina are the clearest example.

ShoonT argues that none of this would work as a straight visual novel, and it would lose its effect as a passive anime. The goal is a hybrid where you are simultaneously a viewer and an active participant — a distinction the Rain98 director interview frames as the difference between watching a world and inhabiting one.

Playtime, Endings, and the Road to Consoles

For players planning their time, the numbers are straightforward. A first run to the ending should take around ten to fifteen hours. The main story itself does not branch into different conclusions, but Reina's responses open dialogue variations that completionists will need extra runs to see.

Console versions are firmly on the roadmap, though the team is candid that the PC launch comes first and that porting will be demanding. If you want launch-day alerts, adding Rain98 to your Steam wishlist is the simplest step you can take right now.

Community, Discord, and Following Development

Marketing for a small indie project is a grind, and Rain98 has leaned into Discord as its primary channel. The server opened after Tokyo Game Show, initially without a clear plan, and has since become the hub for trailers, dev-logs, and introductions to the people on the team.

The ambition is broader than patch notes. Just as the studio builds stories around characters, it wants a community identity where fans share their own interests, photos of their cities, and connections with each other. For players, that translates into a practical pre-launch checklist.

What the Rain98 Director Interview Tells Us About Intent

Strip away the specifics and a consistent thread runs through the conversation: restraint. The influences skew toward films that imply rather than explain. The casting prioritized timbre over dialogue. The setting is filtered through memory rather than reconstructed from research notes. Even the marketing favors slow community building over a loud reveal.

For anyone tracking narrative-driven indies, that consistency is the real takeaway from the Rain98 director interview. The game's rain, its cluttered rooms, and its unsettling heroine are not a style package bolted onto a script — they are the script's argument made visible.

FAQ

Where can I read the original Rain98 director interview? The conversation with ShoonT was conducted at BitSummit 2026 and published by Way Too Many Games, covering inspirations, casting, localization, and platform plans.

Is Rain98 a visual novel? Not strictly. The team describes it as interactive fiction that blends animated sequences, environmental atmosphere, and relationship-driven minigames — a hybrid rather than a traditional visual novel.

How long does Rain98 take to finish? Expect roughly 10 to 15 hours for a first ending, per the Rain98 director interview. There is a single main ending, though dialogue branches and achievements reward extra playthroughs.

Will Rain98 release on consoles? Yes, that is the stated goal, but PC comes first. The team has described console development as a challenge they intend to tackle after the Steam launch.

Who voices Reina? Tsuchiya Rio voices Reina in every region, and the team has no plans to record alternate performances for localized versions.