by Jason Young, staff editor, Inside AX- Anime Expo

As a fellow lover of all things bishoujo and eroge, including the recently reviewed Deus Ex Machina Demonbane, I felt inclined to check-in on our friends over at Okashi Studios to find out what’s new with them now that their commercial dating sim Shira Oka has been released for over half a year.

Although the panel didn’t exactly shine too many new details into any future projects, what it do was shine a great deal of light on their background and how the company was formed. Starting off with the founders Colleen and Andrew Chew who threw around the idea to start a video game after exploring the limited options for bishoujo gamers in America, the team would go on to self-invest their hard-earned personal income into the project. Which to me is a very nice break from having to work with investors and shareholders to rush a project (e.g. Dragon Age 2).

While most of the work was done in coffee shops and Panera Bread restaurants, with Andrew and Colleen working with freelancers around the country, eventually the team decided that they would need to go and hunker down at a central office in order to get more work done without the distractions of being at home.

After explaining their history, Colleen and Andrew went on to answer a few short Q and As for the audience detailing the company’s short history. My team and I got a chance to ask them a few questions including whether or not they would be releasing an art book and/or soundtrack sometime in the near future to which they responded that they would definitely consider it if the demand is high enough. As someone who has played the game, and reviewed it, I would definitely appreciate it if they were to expand their merchandising as I think that the franchise has a lot of untapped potential.

Whether this means in the form of future titles, like in their often-cited source of inspiration Tokimeki Memorial series, or even PVC figures, one thing is for certain. We’re definitely glad that the company is around, despite the unsure economy, and has found a way to carve a nice little niche that will hopefully help spark further interest into dating sims and visual novels.

Tags: Fanime 2011, Okashi Studios, Shira Oka