The popular anime franchise Serial Experiments Lain has announced an alternate reality game titled Layer 3301: De-Cipher. The new game will mark the franchise’s 25th anniversary. Yasuyuki Ueda, the creator and co-producer of the series, worked on the game’s development as a supervisor.
Layer 3301: De-Cipher will allow fans to experience the enigmatic world of Lain, as well as further explore the concept of Network Spirituality, a theme in the series that has captivated viewers since the series’ inception. The anime focused on a future where humanity is dependent on connections with others through a digital network called “The Wired,” which is analogous to the internet as we know it now.
The game is developed as a collaboration between digital collectible anime studio Kasagi and Tokyo-based company Anique. Early access can be accessed via a purchase of a so-called “Protocol Key”, which will be available later this month. Other details can be viewed on the game’s official website.
“While it wasn’t our intention at the time to anticipate the future, I think “serial experiments lain” is still relevant today because we wanted to create the story of what we thought was an extension of the future, mixed with a bunch of elements that we thought were interesting. It’s a bit occult and a bit fantastical, with humanity at the center. As for how much fun puzzle-solving would be for everyone, I don’t know yet. But I would be happy if I imagine that long-time fans could make some kind of connection that doesn’t end with the digital world, so I turned our warehouse upside down to offer up some prizes. I hope that this will be a new possibility not only for lain, but also for animation culture as a whole. My hope as lain’s creator is that it can represent the spirit of experimentation, not bound by genre, social norms or economic agendas, and I’d like to thank Anique and Kasagi for this opportunity”
Statement from Yasuyuki Ueda, creator of “Serial Experiments Lain”
The Serial Experiments Lain anime series was written by Chiaki J. Konaka and directed by Ryutaro Nakamura. It was animated by Triangle Staff and aired from July to September 1998 for 13 episodes. Crunchyroll describes the anime as:
Acclaimed artist Yoshitoshi ABe (Haibane Renmei, Texhnolyze) brings to life the existential classic that paved the way for blockbuster films such as The Matrix. Follow along as fourteen year old Lain—driven by the abrupt suicide of a classmate—logs on to the Wired and promptly looses herself in a twisted mass of hallucinations, memories, and interconnected-psyches.
The Serial Experiments Lain franchise also received a video game adaptation in 1998. It was developed by Pioneer LDC and released exclusively on PlayStation.
Last month, the MyAnimeList website was hacked by an unknown person(s) who changed the titles of all entries on the website to “Let’s All Love Lain” – a reference to the series title. They were never found and the website was offline for a few days while the developer team worked on fixing the vulnerability.
Source: Press Release, Official Website
©NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan
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