State of Drillimation: Winter 2024

Welcome to 2024. I would like to thank all of our players who supported us during that busy year. We hope you are having a great new year.

Monthly Update Cards of 2023

The above gallery shows all of the Monthly Update cards from every month in 2023. As time marches on, things change. I will explain every card in detail like I’ve always done in previous years.

• January: Same thing as usual, but in the old Studio Emiko art direction. This is the only time you see Kagami in a hakama.
• February: Chinese New Year did not fall in February, so Valentine’s Day was chosen instead. Kagami would be Driller’s date to a ball.
• March: Hinamatsuri doesn’t go as well in VRoid, and this was as best as I could get it. You’ll definitely see improvements in the March 2024 Monthly Update card.
• April: Same thing as last year, but in the old Studio Emiko art direction.
• May: Same thing as last year, but in the old Studio Emiko art direction. This is the last card to do this.
• June: I wanted to test out my new 1990s-inspired art style, so I tested it with Driller and Kagami put in her mermaid tail. It seemed to work.
• July: Was done to commemorate the second anniversary of Chuhou Joutai 2: Paraided!‘s release. Was done in the 1990s style.
• August: Tried the duo’s original outfits in the 1990s style.
• September: It was back to school, so their school uniforms got the 1990s treatment.
• October: Went back to what I’ve always done in previous years. Driller is Mario and Kagami is Yuyuko Saigyouji. Also made sense since Super Mario Bros. Wonder also launched the same month.
• November: Did a proper 1990s anime style image of the duo. No Pokémon game released in 2023, but we might get a new one this year following the conclusion of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
• December: Gave Driller and Kagami the royal treatment.

No new banners were designed monthly.

What Were Your Achievements in 2023, and What are Your Goals for 2024?

2023 was relatively busy for not just us, but the internet too. That year marked the beginning of the second phase of the Drillimation Danmaku Universe. Touhou Kourinden ~ Mythos of Phantasmagoria was at its halfway point at the start, and we ended with the release of Touhou Meijinka ~ Song of Divine Tempest. Those two games were the blueprint for starting that phase and expanded the Drillimation Danmaku Universe timeline far from the Chuhou Joutai trilogy’s settings. I enjoyed a much different creative process from when I was working on said trilogy.

With the release of Touhou Meijinka and the beta of Touhou Kourinden, the number of games produced by Drillimation has risen to ten, over the course of five years. One franchise is not enough, and we sometimes need to make multiple franchises in order to diversify our brand. Touhou Kourinden is expected to be released on May 3, 2024. Despite a social media crisis that started last summer, we are still holding tight with a fanbase of over 9,000 followers on both Twitter and Instagram. That number is putting us at a higher position to ensure we can reach mainstream audiences. We will advance that number into quintuple digits as we progress throughout 2024.

As we release Touhou Kourinden, we will make active efforts to solve the most pressing difficulties and criticisms that may arise. Drillimation has grown ever since the coronavirus incident struck. During the first year of the pandemic when we were locked away, players were turning to us, and we developed a fanbase of over 2,000 people. Following a low-stress and player-friendliness philosophy, we have adapted the danmaku genre in ways that could be accessible to as many players as possible. Throughout the development of the Touhou Project NES Demakes and the Chuhou Joutai trilogy, I have bravely developed every stage and boss with extraordinary effort and prevailed through every challenge that arose. It has not been an easy journey for us, and all the players who have played.

Last year, we have entered the endemic phase of the pandemic. Still, these challenges remain. I hold onto my life with great fortitude, and hopefully, we can find hidden treasure with our games. Let’s keep pushing our efforts into our future games, and we one day hope to persevere on Nintendo’s platforms. The Nintendo Switch is very late into its lifespan, and in March it will enter its eighth year on the market. Once Nintendo releases its successor sometime this year or next, we will pay high tribute to the system that became a best-seller and cherish its legacy.

Year upon year, the scrolls of history will keep rolling. With the persistent efforts of every game we have made, we have taken Drillimation to where it is today. It will one day be a place where dreams become reality. We are hoping Touhou Kourinden becomes a resounding success this year. During that game’s development, I poured in all of my efforts in hopes of achieving extraordinary results. Touhou Meijinka came from heaven to earth. The dream of Studio Emiko is roving around Steam. Those two games are part of a great journey of building a strong alliance with her and a strong fanbase. Akyu’s Retro Score featured the soundtracks of all the Touhou Project NES Demakes. The source code for those demakes were delivered on GitHub.

None of these achievements would’ve been possible without the sweat and toil of myself and our players. The talents of everyone can come together and can become the strength of Drillimation! We will brim with vigor and vitality. Putting likes on what other developers have been posting on Twitter and Instagram has helped us boom. Innovations are gushing outside those platforms and helping us pick up pace. We are also developing greater influence for Japanese players as well. Players in both Japan and the West enjoy strong resilience, my tremendous potential, and great vitality. These fundamentals have helped us remain strong.

As I remain confident and strive for progress in the projects that will be developed in 2024, we will realize the goals we set for this year and the next. We are also preparing extensively for three big events this year. First is the solar eclipse in April, second will be the release of Touhou Kourinden in May, and August will mark ten years since the conception and founding of Drillimation Systems. On my visit to the UK and Ireland last summer, I was deeply glad the landscape and scenery of those two countries inspired me to get Touhou Meijinka kickstarted. That game will surely enjoy long-term prosperity and stability. You may have seen Susumu Takajima somewhere. He will remain as Drillimation’s mascot even though a new Chuhou Joutai was never developed in 2023. 

Online, we encountered various turmoils including the removal of the Recent tab on Instagram to that terrible outage on Twitter over the Canada Day weekend. Amid what was happening, there were numerous stories of players staying on those platforms while others left. They will forever be etched into our memories. When we begin a new year, we will always think of the resilience that we have carried for millennia and the acquaintances that will never be forgotten. They still give us greater confidence as we continue down the path.

Today’s online platforms will link us with the world. I have made new friends both online and in person in not just my hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania. My words travel abroad to communicate our existence all over the globe. Changes will always unfold at any pace, and not every square kilometer will be a safe place. I cherish my faith with all of our partners who work with us in creating content. I stand firm with every demographic, and their cultural norms contribute to our wisdom and solutions in creating a greater environment for all of our players.

After the release of Touhou Kourinden’s demo, my colleagues and I visited the UK and Ireland. I was there to relieve the inspiring episode of Pokémon Sword and Shield’s Crown Tundra. I drew on the spiritual inspirations of what I experienced three years prior.

Drillimation has braved all strong winds and rain, forging ahead against all odds. As I said, this journey has been difficult. I must press courageously to make Drillimation’s reputation better. Drillimation will become a company that performs miracles through hard work. We will take on all the biggest challenges and go after the most ambitious goals. No matter how long each journey is, we will reach the light at the end of the tunnel if we stay on course. We will always get the job done if we keep working on it. These grand goals will become reality as long as we have the perseverance to plod on and forge ahead by making steady progress.

Drillimation will draw its strength to unite all demographics and cultures. It is normal for some of our players to hold concerns or different views on any issue. Communication and consultation build consensus on settling these issues. When our players share their hearts and minds, as well as standing in unity, no challenge will be impossible, and when things become impossible, we will find ways to prevent things from becoming insurmountable.

When players follow us, whether domestic or foreign, they become part of our circle. Players on the end of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans will work together in unity to foster the everlasting prosperity of Drillimation. We take expectations from the younger generations. We can only prosper when young players support us. They must help us step forward and support our responsibilities. They are a source of hope and must keep us in mind.

To the older generations who are busy working, I put my faith before you. As we step into 2024, we hope the first day of sunshine in your area brings a brighter future to you. We will enjoy prosperity and live in harmony. Until then, enjoy your winter or summer for our Southern Hemisphere players.

Have a Good 2024

Did you see the State of the Prophet Driller video for the first quarter of 2024? Here it is below:

We wish you luck in 2024!