Note: This past year has gone really fast! It's almost exactly a year since the last interview!

Brad: Hey, Scott! First of all thanks again for taking the time to participate in an interview!

Scott: Thanks Brad. We appreciate the opportunity, and hello once again to everyone at Moonkitty.net!

Brad: The first thing I have to ask, and I'm sure many people are wondering is; "What exactly is LadyStar?" Is it some sort of choose your own adventure multimedia story of some sort?

Scott: LadyStar is the story of seven girls who discover an ancient mystery soon after they meet each other. The story follows their adventures in an enchanted realm known as Aventar as they become powerful warriors and use their new abilities to try and solve the ancient legend of the LadyStar.
LadyStar was originally designed as an episodic adventure game around a technology we invented called “GML” or Game Markup Language. The first version of the LadyStar zStory(tm) Adventure remains our most successful product with over 20,000 downloads, and reviews on game news sites in five languages.
We recently decided to use Macromedia Flash MX for faster development, and changed the adventure game to a visual novel format which presents only the story without the puzzles and inventory features of the game. This allows us to have daily updates of our story. Our average daily pageviews are up 40% over the past two months, so I think the new stories are probably more fun for our guests than waiting several weeks between episodes. We just completed our first episode and have already started episode two.
We're considering adding the soundtrack from the zStory and possibly some animation as well, but those ideas are still in the planning stages.
We are also working on a new adventure engine and plan to develop new games based on the LadyStar story, but with a more efficient design. The first game will probably be our original “bonus episode” called “Cici n' Hikousen's Mysterious Mini-Adventure” which will have players helping Cici and her sleepy cat as they explore downtown Tree Shores' infamous haunted house.

Brad: How was the decission made to create a LadyStar: Relic of Battle manga series?

Scott: Some of the companies that have been working with Heavy Cat Multimedia on other projects suggested we should consider developing an OAV (DVD home video) based on the LadyStar story. LadyStar was licensed for a television series adaptation in early 2002, but it was later decided that even with an entire series, it would be difficult to present the main storyline without leaving several chapters out.
The Relic of Battle storyline, on the other hand, is about one important event and one very powerful artifact, so while it wouldn't really work as a series, it would be great for an OAV. Discussions for adaptation of Relic of Battle have already begun.

Brad: Where does the manga storyline stand within the overall continuity of the story of LadyStar?

Scott: There are five major story arcs in LadyStar. The first is called “Reflections in a Dream” which is currently being presented in our Visual Novel.
Relic of Battle would take place sometime after the second story arc (“The Palace in the Sky”) and before the third story arc (“Aventar”).

Brad: So it features the same characters?

Scott: Most of the main characters will be in Relic of Battle. With six Ajan Warriors and their vile opponents: the Cloak-Revenant Vasek and his Bloodsword, and the baleful Order of the Lich, there are also likely to be several large battles, one of which takes place in the first manga. None of them are certain victories, however, since Jessica and her friends are still new and inexperienced as Ajan Warriors.

Brad: What can we expect from this series in terms of character developement? Already within the first volume there seems to be several arcs that look interesting.

Scott: Readers will be introduced to a lot of characters in Relic of Battle. Each of our characters has an interesting background story. Already in the first book we read about Cici's depression about her family, Shannon's impatience and slight perfectionism, Ranko's exceptional athletic ability, and of course, the fact that Jessie is a complete goof. Some secondary characters are introduced as well, like Kinako Hoshi (Jessica's mom) and Tara Blaylock (Ranko's teammate on the Knights).
We have several character pages on the Official LadyStar web site as well, each of which has a lot of information about each character.
Their battles are quite important as well. Readers will notice that the Ajan Warriors aren't quite functioning as a team yet. Although they are individually very powerful, it leads to some difficulties in battles which could become very problematic later.
Some of these problems might be solved and others might not. Obviously, some will have to be solved before Jessica and the other Warriors can fight the Cloak-Revenant. If they fail, the Baleful Order of the Lich just might complete their Particle Zone and destroy the Ajan Treasures.

Brad: How was the creative team chosen? Are there any previous works that we should check out?

Scott: Relic of Battle is our first published work. The creative team consists mainly of our capable art staff. The manga took about four months to develop, and was produced with some very advanced design work. They worked very hard on making sure Relic of Battle was a high-quality manga.

Brad: What can we look forward to concerning all aspects of LadyStar in the future?

Scott: Palace in the Sky Productions (the publisher), is planning three more books for the Relic of Battle series. The second volume of Relic of Battle is now in pre-production. The first volume is now available in Shannon's All-New LadyStar Gift Shop (linked from the Official LadyStar Web Site).
Development continues on our Visual Novel, which will present the main LadyStar story with daily updates on the Official LadyStar Web site. We are now working with several new artists and animators in Japan to develop new illustrations for the Visual Novel.
As volumes of the Visual Novel are completed, Palace in the Sky Productions may produce illustrated books (not manga) based on the Visual Novel as well.

Brad: I have to ask; who's your favourite LadyStar character?

Scott: I think all the characters are great. We have already written over 50 characters for LadyStar, so there are a lot of different personalities which will make the story enjoyable for readers.

Brad: Thanks for your time again Scott! We look forward to Volume 2 of LadyStar: Relic of Battle!

Scott: Thanks Brad!
Have fun everyone!

Brad: Thank YOU, Scott! Now everyone, head on over to LadyStar.net for LadyStar action and adventure!