Princess Maker 4 Character Design Special
Last updated: 2024-10-26
Original source: 『プリンセスメーカー 4 キャラデザ特集1』
PM4 + PMQ Sketch Book
This hard to find work was shared back in May 4th, 1999, as a volume of character designs that were planned for the lost Ninelives-developed Princess Maker 4.
Though planned as the first in a series, there were no other explicitly named "character design" pamphlets made after this. Later works chose to focus on an urban Tokyo setting with art of the star child "Karen", who was to be the featured princess of this game.
Note that the offices of Ninelives were on the second floor of the Alpha Musashino 2 office building within Nakacho, Musashino City, Tokyo. That's about a four minute walk from what were reportedly Gainax's offices from 1994 to 2004 at 2-chōme-5-22 Nakachō, Musashino, Tokyo 180-0006.
Karen Photo Book Excerpts
Additional designs of Karen were provided in the following month's doujin pamphlet on June 27th, given the overlong title of 『プリンセスメーカー 4 娘さん、デザイン中 ●カレンちゃん写真集 スタンバイ中だ号』.
Loosely translated, that title means something close to "Princess Maker 4: Daughter in Progress — Karen Photo Book Standby Issue".
The first page launches right into the marketing trap that Ninelives laid for themselves in not giving the third "proper" Princess Maker game a straightforward title like "Princess Maker 3".
This manner of affairs is blamed on the game's development having been assisted by SCEI, launching exclusively on the PlayStation, where the concern was that a numbered title might turn away prospective fans.
A new figure represented by a bat avatar credits themselves for turning sketches like the one on this page into "color illustrations" (カラーイラス). This could be Akai's longtime collaborator Jun Tamaya, as Tamaya's traditional role in Ninelives staff was to be the digital colorist for Akai's sketches going back to Gainax's PC-88 games.
However, it's not unheard of for an assistant whose role is to digitize works to be uncredited by Gainax or its subsidiaries. For instance, Gainax's pre-Ninelives effort Alice in Wonder Wall credited directors like Hideaki Anno and better known artists like Kenji Tsuruta. Meanwhile, Gainax staff like Masato Kato who later credited themselves for digitizing their works received no acknowledgement in the credits on the packaging or the text file on the CD itself.
Coincidentally, the Ninelives website put out a recruitment request for a "mid career" graphic designer with experience in character design and digital art around the day that the first Princess Maker 4 doujin was released, May 4th 1999. This bat avatar never appeared in that doujin, though Akai's avatar did. Could this bat be someone that was never credited for Ninelives work?
Three figures orbit about Karen in urban wear, including the bat avatar, presumably representing the planning staff for Princess Maker 4 at this time. Akai and Kimiko Higuchi are easy to recognize from past Gainax works, as they had similar appearances in the Princess Maker 2 Secret Book.
The introduction is somewhat revealing of Princess Maker Q's reception, raising that the sales were not as expected and Ninelives' marketing budget was very low.
An acknowledgement is given that Karen appears to have a darker background than previous Princess Maker girls, suggesting that she has to feel determined to become royalty in a way that past girls hadn't been. The prior page concludes with a remark that the parent's job will be to return brightness to Karen's life.
The next two pages discuss the creation of a promotional illustration made for the August 1999 issue of the magazine "Comptiq".
Though the publication asked for a promo image for Princess Maker 4, it was far too early in planning to share anything reasonably final. As a compromise, the image shared was treated as a late promo for Princess Maker Q. Presumably, that is why the winged ferret Mabel shows up here, a character who never appears in any Princess Maker 4 media from this point on.
Three fantasy designs of Karen are reproduced below, introduced by the bat avatar. Unlike Kimiko Higuchi's avatar and Akai's avatar, this appears to be the bat avatar's last appearance in subsequent doujin.
It is hoped in this early phase that Karen's body could change in more drastic ways than in previous titles. Though this is expressed with a hedge that the idea has yet to be fully realized, and might not make it to the final game.
A passing remark is made in the back that the offices of Ninelives moved in July to Chisan Mansion Musashino. That's a condo building with space for small office tenants above a 7-Eleven, situated two blocks north from the Alpha Musashino 2 office building that they were stationed in before.
The timing is a little distressing, as July was the month when Gainax's president and accountant were infamously arrested for accounting fraud.
