NCSoft's new anime-style RPG Astraea Oratio successfully wrapped up its appearance at Comic Market in Japan. NCSoft set up a booth featuring key visuals from Astraea Oratio and showcased various merchandise, including a teaser artbook.

Despite the game not yet being officially released, the teaser artbook sold out, drawing significant attention from local subculture fans. On site, an interview was conducted with Art Director In Kim, who oversees the visual direction of Astraea Oratio.

Please introduce yourself briefly. What is your role in the development of Astraea Oratio?

“I'm In Kim, the Art Director for Astraea Oratio. As a concept artist, I work under the pen name 'hwansang'. I am delighted to greet players through Astraea Oratio. It is a pleasure to meet you.

Please introduce the overall art direction and core visual concept of this title.

“Our core visual keyword is 'Lyrical Analog'. Centered around the core themes of magic and shin-denki [modern urban fantasy], we wanted to capture the exact texture of the era when shin-denki was at its peak.

We put a lot of thought into how to present a well-worn subject in a new and fresh way, but rather than forcibly twisting the material, we concluded it would be better to highlight the genre's classic appeal. I believe 'analog' is the word that best captures that sense of classic charm.

I felt drawn to the lyrical sentiment in the prologue written by Scenario Director Isaku-san, so I combined that emotion with the texture of 'analog' to establish 'Lyrical Analog' as our primary keyword. Specifically, our goal is to recreate a nostalgia for the analog era—the fond feelings preserved in our memories—tailored to modern trends.

To achieve this, our guiding principle was to create a world and characters that feel genuinely real, rather than artfully fabricated. We approach the work as if the world and its characters are already breathing and living independently, and we hope to convey that feeling naturally and unadorned.

You established keywords like 'magic', 'shin-denki', and 'administration' as the game's core themes. What visual symbols do you use to express them?

“Magic, as a subject, carries a strong fantasy element that makes it hard to blend directly into everyday life right from the start. We are taking an approach where foreign elements gradually seep into familiar, everyday landscapes without the ordinary citizens noticing.

For instance, a house overgrown with lush greenery sandwiched between city skyscrapers, or a character in witch attire standing nonchalantly among a crowd while nearby citizens pay no mind—we want to start building and expanding the world from that playful sense of curiosity that makes you wonder, 'What's going on here?'

Personally, my impression of 'shin-denki' is strongly tied to the atmosphere of winter rather than summer, as well as the contrast between day and night. Therefore, we anchored our color palette around blue tones to evoke the crisp chill of winter air. However, to keep it from becoming overly dark, we balanced it with spring pinks and greens. To visually communicate the day-night contrast, we also apply black-and-white contrasts across graphic design elements and layout divisions.

I believe 'administration' is one of Astraea Oratio's unique charms, layering over common concepts like magic to deliver a distinct identity. To convey this through art, we are focusing on the most direct visual representations of administration: maps and landmarks.

Beyond that, we aimed to evoke a bureaucratic aesthetic by incorporating suits, neatly arranged documents, and analog props such as ID cards, personal seals, nameplates, and business cards.

What was the reason for choosing '1989 Tokyo' as the setting, and how are you expressing that visually?

“Given that the themes are shin-denki and magic, we felt that Japan and Tokyo served as an ideal core setting. As for the era, we had already thoroughly explored near-future visuals in our previous project, and the market is already flooded with titles set in near-future or Western settings. So we wanted to try a different approach by exploring 'nostalgia'. My fellow developers shared the same vision, which led us to choose this specific setting in time and space.

Once the setting was established, we focused on aligning visuals centered around our core visual keyword, 'Lyrical Analog,' with modern trends.

For visuals based on real locations and actual monuments featured in Astraea Oratio—such as Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower—we are enhancing detail and fidelity through on-site research in Japan. The scenario and background art teams have put in immense effort during this process. Personally, I have also conducted several walking research trips through Minato Ward, which serves as the central setting for the story.

Compared to the various projects you've worked on previously, is there a distinct art style that stands out in this game?

“If our previous projects pursued highly stylized character designs and the thin, clean linework typical of the digital era—reminiscent of anime like K-On!, Lucky Star, and Laid-Back Camp—this project aims to convey a richer, textured drawing style with a human touch, matching the analog, retro era and theme. It reflects the transition period from cel animation to digital art.

During development, DoReMi took charge of designing and setting the foundation for the overall art style. Through discussions with teammates like DoReMi and feev99, who is in charge of background art, we were able to build Astraea Oratio's unique visual texture. I hope players can feel that distinct 'texture' in the visuals while playing Astraea Oratio.

Why did you decide to participate in Comic Market even before the game's official release?

“Participating in Comic Market is Astraea Oratio's very first offline event. We saw it as a representative venue to convey what Astraea Oratio strives for and how we plan to communicate in the future. Moving forward, we hope to continue engaging with players through tangible creations they can touch, read, and experience firsthand.

Personally, I have been visiting Comic Market regularly for a long time, so I am thrilled to participate with a corporate booth for a project I am actively developing. There was a strong desire to present a work inspired by Japanese otaku subculture back in its home country and share in that experience.

What was the intent behind planning the 'Teaser Artbook,' which was the main item for this Comic Market, and what are its key features?

“The artbook wasn't originally created for public release, but rather as an internal guidebook to align vision among fellow developers and collaborating departments. However, once full-scale game teasing began, we felt that instead of keeping it strictly internal, we wanted to share it with fans who are following and supporting the game.

We hope players view this artbook like a movie program. Before Astraea Oratio's main narrative begins in earnest, we hope they enjoy it as a light preview to help them understand the world and characters.

Lastly, do you have a message for the fans who are anticipating and waiting for Astraea Oratio?

“The development team for Astraea Oratio is giving everything to prepare this game. As a fan myself before being a developer, I truly believe Astraea Oratio is a project filled with exciting visuals and stories. I am sincerely looking forward to the day when we can share the charm and joy of this game with all of you.