Production Column: Part 5

There are many different genres of gamebooks. Fantasy, like *The Witch of the Dark Castle*, science fiction, horror, mystery, and so on—there are probably just as many as there are in regular novels. I think the fantasy genre is particularly well-suited to gamebooks. Even in situations that would be unbearable in real life, I feel like I could somehow manage to get through them in a fantasy world. That sense of “it’ll work out somehow”—which might seem irresponsible at first glance—is actually very reassuring in difficult circumstances. In fact, I haven’t had any income at all since the start of this year, but I’m thinking, “It’ll work out somehow” (laughs). Can I really get by like that? It’s truly a fantasy world.

I absolutely love the fantasy genre. As I mentioned in a previous column, J. H. Brennan’s *The Sorcerer of Dark Castle*, published by Futami Shobo, *The Sorcerer of the Dark Castle* by J.H. Brennan, as well as *Dungeons & Dragons*, *Ultima*, *Wizardry*, *Dragon Slayer*, *Hydlide*, *Infinite Heart*, and *Dragon Quest*—just hearing those names makes my heart race. I feel so, so incredibly lucky to have been a child during that golden age and to have been able to experience it. (Thank you, God!)

Why do I love fantasy so much…? I don’t really know myself, but I feel it’s not simply “daydreaming” or “escapism.”

For example, if you ask someone who absolutely, positively loves chocolate, “Why do you love chocolate so much?” the answer wouldn’t just be “Because it’s sweet.”

It might sound a bit dramatic, but I’m sure there are people who have loved it fatefully, even before they were born. For me, fantasy is exactly that kind of fateful thing.

The world I see right now often feels more ambiguous and uncertain to me than I could ever imagine—and to put it bluntly, I often feel it lacks certainty. (I have absolutely no idea what will happen tomorrow.) I also feel that the world of fantasy is what clearly and succinctly expresses that mysterious world… In other words, I actually find the world of fantasy to be more “real.” And maybe that’s why I love it so much.

(The rings in *The Lord of the Rings*, which represent the temptation of “power”; the Muggles in *Harry Potter*, which highlight the idea of a “chosen people”… there are so many other works that evoke a raw sense of reality.)

I imagine you all have your favorite genres as well, so I’d like to create gamebooks across a variety of genres if possible. What is your favorite genre?

Digitalis Publishing Yoshio Nishimura