關於 forever grateful to you meaning ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

HI HI TO ALL MY HAPPY ‘TAP” FAMILYYYY ❣️❣️❣️

I haven’t written to you all for such a long time and I do apologize so much for this. I don’t know how TIME FLIES the way it does!

I wanted to share some thoughts on this very momentous and memorable DAY in my life.. I am strolling into the BIG 6 ❤️ today!!! My BRAIN IS EMPTY!!

All I can think of is HOW GRATEFUL I am to the Universe, and to all of YOU, to my LOVING FAMILY, my INCREDIBLE FRIENDS… all this life has brought to me.. that our Planet is so beautiful and there is so much to be thankful and OPEN to.

After 60 years, chasing so many things, experiencing the excitement, ups and downs of almost all of life, months, weeks, days, minutes, seconds… and I realize, all I really desire and want, is a SIMPLE SMILE, WARMTH, UNDERSTANDING, A Heartwarming HUG, A phone call, or now, text to say HI… A Healthy and strong Body, LOTS & LOTS of LAUGHTER, CONNECTION, COMMUNICATION, LOVE, LOVE & LOVE. No matter what circumstances we run into, Rain, Thunder, Protests, Covid, it is absolutely possible to realize that ALL THINGS MUST PASS, and through the most difficult or most ravishing times, we can find comfort in holding the hands of those loving people around us. I know there is still so much more to learn while we are so BLESSED to be a VALUED GUEST on this Earth for such a fleeting moment. I feel I must keep on learning and evolving to be the BEST person I can be.

I realize that when we are born, we need so much love, feeding, nurturing, understanding, and a lot of HELP! When we get old, we need so much love, feeding, tolerance, patience, understanding, and a lot of HELP! There is no difference in the VALUE of each end of the stick. Just what we can do in between that will make ALL the difference and we all have a CHOICE in how we want to write our own, unique, wonderful, heartfelt STORY.

LIFE can be, and IS SO VERY BEAUTIFUL. The Beauty I used to understand doesn’t hold any meaning for me anymore.. The BEAUTY I HOLD TRUE is the LOVE & BEAUTY inside of ME and all the surroundings of the amazing Mother Nature. Each of us, is handcrafted so very intricately, to have all the same physical features, yet not a single one of us is a duplicate of another. We all have a brain to think, yet every single one of us does not think like any other. We ALL have a PATH, yet every one of our paths is different from each other. But we are ALL meticulously woven together, our lives, our actions are all intertwined. Every action we take, affects another. Every tree, every flower, mountain, sea, sky, clouds, animals, and all beloved creatures. We are the unique creatures, blessed with thinking, speaking & doing. I feel I must do everything I can to HONOR this special GIFT from Mother Nature. Beauty is DEEP & ROOTED & everywhere we look. I’m going to embrace everything PapaGOD & the Universe has given me.

I’m SO GRATEFUL for making it this far, in GOOD HEALTH, GOOD SPIRITS, GOOD MIND & BODY. Every day is a SURPRISE to me. Every moment is truly a BLESSING and ever so sacred. I will continue to live each BLESSED day with an open heart, open mind, and open SPIRIT. I will live each day as HIGH as I can go, no matter how low I feel. I will enjoy growing old GRACEFULLY, and make a conscious effort to do and BE the BEST I can be EACH SINGLE DAY, CHERISH & take care of it like a RARE and Beautiful JEWEL, which LIFE & our EARTH IS.

Today I spend with my LOVING FAMILY & MY FRIENDS. Well.. one loving Family is missing and in Mainland, now resting, but working VERY HARD! I’m so proud of Lam because we are so happy that he gets to SHARE his music with a WHOLE NEW GENERATION of wonderful, talented singers. It’s a GREAT BLESSING to sing with these enthusiastic Artists who can make a great difference in the world with their bellowing voices. I watch every episode with great anticipation and I hope you will too! All the Artists create their own Magic with each song & emotions!

I also would like to share with you my real and Authentic physical & Spiritual SELF!!! I just want to BE TOTALLY and ALL OF what is TRULY ME! I hope you all can accept me as I AM, white hair with my cutey wrinkles! Lam really enjoys it cos now I can keep him COMPANY & look like TWINS! I don’t know where my WHOLE self will go from here.. but I’m really going to look forward to all the natural progressions my mind and body will be taking.. just like Mother Nature.. she accepts all that comes to her and embraces it all…just as it is!

I wonder if I can remotely understand the meaning of life by now? I want to TAP (THINK ACTPOSITVE) at all times making others HAPPY & be HAPPY to see others HAPPY! I understand there is NO RIGHT or WRONG in any of our actions whether positive or negative, but only the divine consequences of those actions we choose. I feel we are BLESSED to be here with a DIVINE PURPOSE which is to help ourselves & each other. To preserve and maintain this amazing PLANET & EARTH. To evolve ourselves, & each generation, so they can pass the baton and also evolve the Earth! I also feel we are definitely NOT ALONE! NEVER! We are always in the SOOTHING, EMBRACING arms of the Divine Source Universe, and when we feel we don’t know where to turn, PapaGOD is ALWAYS there for us, ready to give us whatever we want in the deepest of our hearts with the utmost sincerity. Everything we receive is in its Divine Timing, and Divine Perfection.

With that.. HAPPYNESS & GREAT HEALTH TO ALL OF YOU FOREVER AND ALWAYS and LOVE YOURSELF as well as LOVE ALL THOSE and EVERYTHING AROUND YOU! BELIEVE ME.. ALL WE HAVE and NEED IS LOVE!!!!

MUAH MUAH MUAH with 60 YEARS OF BLESSINGS! YEHHHHHH!!!!
ALL MY LOVE!! SALLY!!!

PS. I had a great wonderful party with best of FRIENDS TONITE❣️❣️ Came home and took some selfies to shock all of U❣️❣️ My HAPPY DECADE HAPPY 6💜 GIRL (⁉️) look❣️❣️ CHEERS EVERYONE❣️❣️❣️🌹🌹🧚🏽‍♀️🧚🏽‍♀️🧚🏽‍♀️

HI HI 快樂的 “TAP” 大家庭 ❣️❣️

已經很久沒有給大家寫信了，對此我深表歉意。不知道時間怎麼就這樣過去了!

我想在生命中這個非常重要和難忘的日子和大家分享一些想法和感觸 —— 今天我悠然邁入了以6字開頭的歲月!! ❤️ 大腦一片空白!!

我所能想到的是對上天，對你們每一位，對親愛的家人，對不可思議的朋友們 —— 對生命所贈與我的這一切 —— 所懷有的深深感激。我們所生活的星球如此美麗，實在有太多太多需要去感謝、感激，去敞開心扉擁抱。

60年過去了，我也曾經追逐過很多，在每月每週每日每分每秒中，經歷了生命可能賦予的幾乎所有激動和起落，而如今我意識到，自己真正渴望和想要的，只是一個簡單的微笑，溫暖，理解，一個暖心的擁抱，一通電話，或者現在更流行的，問好的一條短信.. 一個健康強壯的身體，很多很多笑聲，連結，交流，愛，愛，以及，愛。無論我們遇到怎樣的狀況 —— 下雨、雷電、抗議、疫情，一直要謹記於心的是，無論如何，這一切終將過去；在最困難或最開心的時刻，我們都能握住身邊人的手，並從中找到最大的安慰或共鳴。能得此幸運，在如此短暫的一剎，來到地球做她的尊貴旅客，我知道還有太多東西需要學習，感覺自己必須不斷學習成長，才能成為最好的自己。

我也意識到，出生的時候，我們需要很多愛，需要被餵食物，需要關懷、滋養、理解，需要很多幫助！變老後，我們也需要很多愛，需要被餵食物，需要寬容、耐心、理解，需要很多幫助！人生兩端的價值，並沒有任何分別。只有在中間段，我們能選擇如何去書寫屬於自己的，獨特的，精彩的，發自內心的故事；而也正是在中間段所做的選擇，決定了我們會有怎樣的人生。

生活可以，也確實是非常美麗的。我曾經所理解的美，對於現時的我而言，已經沒有了當初的意義。現在，我所抱持的真正的美，是內心的愛與美，以及令人驚嘆的大自然所賦予的，環繞著我們的一切。每個人都好似複雜精緻的手工藝品，雖然有著相同的身體特徵，但沒有一個人是另一個人的複製品。我們都有大腦可以思考，但每個人和其他人想的都不同。我們都有要走的人生之路，但每個人的道路各不相同。然而，大家又被如此精心地連結在一起，彼此的生活和行為交織在一起。我們採取的每一個行動，都不可避免地影響著他人，甚至影響著每一棵樹，每一朵花；影響著山、海、天空、雲朵、動物，和所有其他可愛生靈。我們是獨一無二的存在，有福氣擁有思考、講話和行動的能力。所以我感覺自己必須盡所能去致敬和珍視這份來自自然的特殊禮物。美深深根植於我們目光所及的每處。我將擁抱上天和世界贈與我的一切。

我很感激人生走到了這裡，健康，精神，頭腦和身體都很好。每一天對我來說都是驚喜。每一刻都是充滿祝福和神聖的。我將繼續以開放的心靈、開放的思想和開放的精神去過好每一天。我會盡力去把每天過到最好，儘管有時候也會感覺低落。我將享受優雅地變老，有意識地努力在每天做到自己的最好，也成為最好的自己，珍惜和照顧匆匆而過的每日，好似它們是稀有又美麗的珠寶；而其實，生命和地球也的確如此。

今天我會和我愛的家人們和朋友們一起度過。對的，一位有愛家人不在這裡，他在內地，現在有空休息一下，但一直都在非常努力地工作! 我為Lam 感到驕傲，因為大家都非常開心他有機會同新一代如此出色、才華橫溢的年輕歌手們分享他的音樂。與這些富有激情的藝術家們一起唱歌是一種巨大的幸福；年輕一代的歌聲將給這個世界帶來改變。每一期節目我都有充滿期待地觀看，希望你們也會看！所有的藝術家們都在用每首歌和感情創造著自己的魔法！

我也想和你們分享真實的自我——外在與內在，容貌及心靈!!! 我只想做完完全全的，真正的自己！希望你們能夠接受這樣的我，白頭髮，和可愛的皺紋! Lam 很喜歡我這樣，因為現在我可以和他作伴，我們看上去像雙胞胎! 我不知道我的整個自我會從這裡走向何方，但對接下來身心將會經歷的所有自然旅程，我真心期待… 就好像大自然一樣，她接受並擁抱一切如它們本初的樣子！

我好奇自己現在是否可以算作大概開始理解人生的意義呢？我想做TAP (THINK ACTPOSITVE)，隨時通過正面積極的思考和行動為他人帶去開心，而看到他人開心也會令我感到開心！我明白我們的任何行為，無論是積極或是消極的，都無關對錯；只是，不可避免的，選擇的行為都會帶來相應的結果。我感覺帶著神聖的目的來到這裡是一份福祉，而這個目的就是助人助己，是保護和維繫這個不可思議的星球，是持續進化發展自己和每一代人，這樣他們就可以繼續把進化地球的接力棒傳遞下去! 我也感覺到我們絕對不是孤獨的！從來都不是！我們一直都被上天撫慰著，擁抱在臂膀中。當感覺不知道如何走下去，上天總會在我們身邊，以最大的誠意給予我們內心深處最渴望的所有。我們得到的一切都有它神聖的時間表，都遵循著神聖的完美安排。

以上… 祝愿大家永遠幸福開心健康，愛自己，愛周圍的所有人，愛周圍的一切！相信我… 我們所擁有的和需要的一切，就是愛!!!!

MUAH MUAH MUAH with 60 YEARS OF BLESSINGS! YEHHHHH!!!!
ALL MY LOVE!! SALLY!!!

PS. 今晚我和最好的朋友們開了最棒的Party ❣️❣️❣️ 回到家後拍了幾張自拍，肯定會驚到你們 ❣️❣️❣️ 我的快樂第6個10年 💜 GIRL (⁉️) look❣️❣️❣️ 大家乾杯 ❣️❣️❣️🌹🌹🧚🏻‍♀️🧚🏻‍♀️🧚🏻‍♀️

"橫尾先生你傾向於在你的遊戲中有個悲傷的結局（除了《尼爾 自動人形》），這是為什麼呢？

橫尾：我想啊，玩家在遊戲中的旅程中殺了那麼多的敵人，但自己卻迎來了一個Happy Ending，這很奇怪，所以我之前遊戲的主角都有著不幸的結局，我覺得對他們來說有個Happy Ending是不對的。

不過對《尼爾 自動人形》來說，對2B和9S來說，從被給予生命，他們殺了很多人，但也被自己殺了很多，很多次，有著無數次的輪迴。我認為這已經把他們殺死敵人的罪給贖了，幸福結局對他們兩個來說更合適一些。"

【尼爾：自動人形】是好遊戲，2B很可愛～

Talking To Yoko Taro, PlatinumGames' Takahisa Taura, And Composer Keiichi Okabe About Life, Death, And Opportunity

This interview with《Nier: Automata》director Yoko Taro and PlatinumGames' designer Takahisa Taura was first conducted in March of this year. Square Enix then offered gameinformer another chance to talk with Taro again, this time with Keiichi Okabe to speak more about the game's creation, music, and design philosophies and we are taking this opportunity to combine both until-now unpublished interviews together.

At the start of the first interview, Taro Yoko, whose pen name is appropriately Yoko Taro, was surprisingly quiet. He took a gulp from a bottle of Diet Pepsi and looked me straight in the eye to say something. I myself looked to the translator, who laughed at whatever Yoko said. She began "Yoko-san wants you to write about how expensive the food and drinks are here, if you can. He says it's way too much."

[The following interview contains some spoilers for Nier: Automata, including the game's final ending.]

With Nier: Automata, you guys won a Game Developer Conference award. How do you feel about that?

Yoko: We heard it was a user's choice award where the players themselves select the winners, so I'm just really happy that the players have selected our game for winning the award.

How did PlatinumGames and Yoko-san first meet on Nier? Why did you decide on that project versus something like another Drakengard or a new IP as a whole?

Taura: I loved the previous Nier title, I was actually went to Square Enix saying "Please let us create a Nier sequel, because you haven't done anything with it for a long time." At the same time, there was coincidentally Saito-san, the producer for Nier: Automata, talking with Yoko-san that they wanted to do something together. It just so happened that it was the right time, right place and we met for the first time when we started this project.

When you started working on the Automata, did you know what it was going to be? Did you have an idea in your head of what a Nier sequel would look like after the first game?

Yoko: Not at all, I had no ideas for a sequel in mind. When I first heard that we might do a collaboration with PlatinumGames, the image I had of them is that they only create Sci-Fi action games. When I thought of that, I thought of what part of the Nier storyline might fit in with that Sci-Fi action gaming sequence, I selected the themes for Automata because I felt it just fits in with the PlatinumGames style.

PlatinumGames has a reputation for fast, often-challenging action games, but Nier: Automata is a lot easier. Was that intentional to keep it closer to the first Nier or perhaps a consequence of trying to make PlatinumGames action more mainstream?

Taura: That's actually exactly the reason why. Saito-san from Square Enix told us when the project started that, since the original Nier has a lot of female fans and a lot of non-action gamer fans, to make the game as fun and accessible as possible to people who aren't accustomed to playing difficult action games. We always thought of making the game into something that's fun to play for newcomers to the action game field, but also to the more experienced players as well.

One of the usual tropes of PlatinumGames is that, as the game goes on, it tends to escalate more and more to an explosive finale. Nier: Automata kind of messes with that formula a little bit by Ending A being a little bit more subdued and low-key and then goes up again and again until it finishes with endings D and E. Is that something you had to work with Yoko-san about, where the escalation and pacing would best fit the gameplay?

Taura: In terms of like a climax or increasing the difficulty level toward the end, it's not that different from our other titles, or at least we didn't feel like it was that different. The one major difference was that this was the first game that I've at least worked that had the leveling up element in it. So as long as you level up your character, the boss would be easier to defeat, but if you don't, then some of the enemies toward the end of the game would be very difficult. For me, the balancing between the difficulty level of stages and bosses versus the levels the player might be was the difficult part in creating this game.

One thing that we really had it easy with in this game is that Yoko-san's scenario and Okabe-san's music, once it's mixed into the battle, makes a really menial and indifferent battle sequence suddenly becomes this dramatic and grandiose battle with everything at stake, so I felt like that really helped elevate our battle sequences as well. We did have an easy time thanks to that!

With Automata, you started appearing at press conferences and as part of the marketing of the game, whereas previously you never did that. When you appear in public, you have been wearing a mask of Emil from the first Nier title. Why Emil specifically?

Yoko: Hmm. One of the answers I can give is that, and I do have a little more that I want to elaborate on, is that for one Emil in the previous title is just a strong character on its own, so it's more like an iconic image or character for Nier as a series. Another part of the answer is that Emil actually holds a great secret of the part of the Nier world and it's not all revealed with the games I've created so far. I'm not sure if I'll have an opportunity to disclose that secret, but if I do, I might one day create a game that delves more into why it's Emil and why I continue to wear Emil's mask.

I don't know if either of you can speak to this, but the trailers for Nier: Automata were a little misleading. They showed A2, who you play as late in the game, but with short hair, so she looked like 2B. Was that something you decided, to show those scenes but not make it clear who it was?

Yoko: There were trailers like that?

There was one specifically showing A2 fighting Hegel like that.

Yoko: Ahh, yeah. There's no reason! We weren't trying to hide A2 or mislead anyone, it just happened to work out that way.

Taura: We made so many trailers at some point we kind of didn't care what we showed.

Oh, wow, that's going to shock a lot of fans in the Nier community. People really believed in the theory that you were hiding A2 in plain sight the marketing.

Yoko: Haha, but it might not be the correct answer. Like Taura-san said, we made so many trailers that we can't remember them all, so I'm definitely happy to take the credit without remembering why.

Taura: Yeah, let's say we intentionally did that. For the fans. It might be true.

Yoko: But I can say, in one of the trailers is A2 fighting one of the Engels, one of the big robots. She actually has long hair in the trailer, but in the actual game, it's after she cut her, so she would have had shorter hair. That one was actually intentional, because we did not reveal before the game that A2 would cut her hair, so we actually made a scene specifically with long-haired A2 to take that trailer. So that's that shot was kind of a lie.

In the Automata DLC, the CEO of Square Enix Yosuke Matsuda, as well as PlatinumGames boss Kenichi Sato, are boss fights. Where did that idea come from and how did you get them to approve it? How did they react when you asked them?

Yoko: Haha, oh yeah.

Taura: The development team went to Square Enix and said "Please let us use him in our game!" Their reaction was initially saying "Uhm, are you sure you want to?"

We were thinking for a while of what we could do with the DLC, because we didn't have a lot of time to develop it, so we wanted to do something fun with it. When we were thinking about it, we saw that Final Fantasy XV used a character model of president Matsuda in one of their marketing assets. When Yoko-san saw that, he reached out and asked if maybe we could use that in the game at Platinum. We said that, if we get the character models, we could definitely use them for something in the game. We reached out to Square Enix and they gave us the model and we were able to use that character model for a boss fight.

If it was just that you were able to fight the CEO of Square Enix, then it would have just been the same as what Final Fantasy XV did, so we had to think of ways to spice that up even more. So we had PlatinumGames' CEO Sato-san appear in the fight as well. We also included background music that arranged their voices, we included their voices in the music, just to add a little bit more and beat out Final Fantasy XV. That BGM track is Matsuda-san and Sato-san's debut single. We didn't even get permission from them, so it's an unofficial debut single, and those are much rarer.

Speaking of crossovers, did you know that Nier fans have been trying get Katsuhiro Harada of Bandai Namco to put 2B in Tekken? Is that something you guys would want to do? [Note: This interview was conducted before 2B was announced as a Soulcalibur guest character.]

Yoko: For us, if we were asked, we would gladly say yes to anything for money. We're open to any kind of opportunities for anything, ever. Even if it's Candy Crush, if they want to use 2B, we will say yes, please go ahead and use her.

Actually, speaking of doing anything for money, you've never created a direct story sequel before, they've all been loosely tied together and many years apart. Saito-san has already said there will be another Nier game, if the characters are popular enough, would you create a direct sequel to Automata or would you change the characters and location again?

Yoko: I haven't thought about it once! Taura-san, where would you want to create a new game?

Taura: Actually, when I brought my concept document to Square Enix about a Nier sequel, I wanted to write a story about that prologue portion in the first Nier game. You know the beginning of the game, where you're kind of in Tokyo, in an area that's more modern? I kind of want to delve into that storyline a little bit more. So if I'm allowed to create a new Nier title, that's what I want to create. But that's just me speaking as a fan of the series, so I don't think that will actually happen officially.

Yoko: When I actually heard about that idea from Taura-san when we first started this project, I felt that it would be very difficult to make a modern recreation of Tokyo because it's the city that we constantly see every day. You just notice differences in the lies that we put in there, so I felt it would be very difficult to do to recreate a city that we know and see so much. But now that I know that PlatinumGames is such a good studio that they most likely will have that power and talent to be able to create that kind of video game world, I think that might be an option. Whether or not we'll do that is a different question, but it is a viable option.

One of the things you said before the release of Drakengard 3 was that you wanted to call it Drakengard 4 and just let people figure out what the theoretical Drakengard 3 was supposed to be. That's similar to what you did with Automata where the game takes place 10,000 years after Nier and people who played the first game were more confused than new players. Was that an intentional idea or something you've wanted to do for a while?

Yoko: It's not that I brought over that idea to Nier: Automata, the greatest reasoning why I did this is because I wanted players who haven't played the original title to enjoy Nier: Automata so you can enjoy the game without knowing anything about the previous game. That's the biggest reason why we took a storyline that's so far in the future that it really didn't have anything to do with the previous title.

A common through-line for Yoko-san's games is flowers: the lunar tear in the Nier series, the flower in Zero's eye in Drakengard 3, is that symbolizing anything in your games or is it just visual imagery you like?

Yoko: Well, I do like flowers in general, but yes, there is a greater meaning to it that I have with these flowers. It's the same as Emil like I talked about earlier, I just haven't revealed it anywhere. There is a meaning, which is why they keep on coming back in my games, but I haven't revealed it anywhere yet.

With the last Nier game, you had said that you built the game on the concept of people being okay with murdering people who are different. With Nier: Automata, the games actually became more fun to play and control and touch, do you think there's a danger in giving people that sense of ease in killing enemies in the narrative?

Yoko: In the previous title, I actually feel like I overdid that a bit. I did want to portray that enemies have a reason to live and a reason to fight on their own as well, but I feel like I forced that idea that I had in my mind a little bit too much on the players. So for Nier: Automata, I did not want to focus on it, I didn't want to impose my feelings and thoughts. I actually feel that it's fine if some people feel it's fun to kill in our games. If that's all that they feel from the game, then it's fine, because its their freedom to feel what they want from the game. To answer your question, I think that it's fine to have that happen.

Taura: I actually have the same answer, too. I feel like if it's fun to fight, that's great as a game designer. But if you feel bad to kill these cute little robots, that's fine with me as well. I feel like different people will have different reactions to the game and they will feel differently when they play the game, so I'm actually happy to create a game that creates those kind of differences within the players as well.

Yoko: That's a really good question for us, because if players felt that it was way too fun to kill these enemies that it started making them feel guilty, that's something we didn't really aim to do. Just as we mentioned earlier, I'm really happy that players were able to take it on their own and experience it on their own, then we didn't just provide something for people to take it as-is on face value. I feel like it's great that the players are now taking the game and experiencing it on their own and trying to figure things out on their own.

There was a time after 2B was revealed that people were asking you about her design on Twitter and you answered that you just like sexy ladies. That quote has become pretty famous and attached to you and a lot of people are reading into it. Is that a thing you still believe, would you ever take the quote back, or would you have ever changed 2B's design?

Yoko: [laughs] Don't straight men like cute girls? Isn't that common knowledge? I didn't realize that was a quote.

A lot of people use you as an example as a developer that just says what is on their mind.

Yoko: Before we released the game, on Twitter, because so many people were sending me 2B fan art, I said that "Send me a zip file of all your erotic fan art!" When I tweeted that out, my number of Twitter followers jump from 20,000 to 60,000 just with that one Tweet. I actually think it's because I did something that's more of a taboo in the western world where I talked about sexuality or gender that openly on Twitter, but that's actually...so, I do know that what I said did not just creative positive buzz and there's some negative buzz around it as well, but I feel like it kind of has to do with the Japanese culture where we're not too strict about gender and sexuality and being more open about talking about those things.

I think it's the same thing as reading manga as an adult, it's a little bit different when you think about it because in Japan that's more common, it's not considered something weird or something outlandish. With that kind of feedback that I get from fans, I just feel like it's the difference in culture between Japan and the rest of the world.

That is something you tend to tackle fairly often. Drakengard 3 was partly about sex and sexuality treated casually within the game's universe, is that something you feel doesn't translate across all regions?

Yoko: I actually don't think [translating across regions] has a lot to do with sexuality. I don't think it would have sold more copies of Drakengard 3 if I took away aspects of sexuality or added more in there. I feel that Nier: Automata sold well because we worked with PlatinumGames, so I don't think that has anything to do with a sexual nature.

For the original Nier, there was a lot of information on the periphery of the game like books with background information and short stories that answer questions raised in the game. Automata even had a stage play predating the game. Do you think it's harder for western fans to grasp the whole stories of these games when there's Japanese-exclusive media about it expanding the lore?

Yoko: Of course we can't localize everything because we have limitations in budget, so it's really difficult to do all of that, but I actually think there really isn't a need to know everything, either. The meaning I have behind Emil's mask or the flowers you asked about, like I said it's not revealed in the game at all or anywhere else yet, but no one really needs to know that to enjoy the game or enjoy the world or enjoy the game. More than gaining knowledge, I want players to cherish the experience they have when playing the game. It's more about that instead of the knowledge they could have for every question. Of course the theatrical stage play was more of like a YoRHa spinoff, but you don't need to know that to enjoy the game. Every piece, like the books and the stage play, is made in a way so that you can enjoy it by yourself, so you don't need that extra knowledge to enjoy it.

It may add a little bit depth to the knowledge that you have, but you don't necessarily need to have it. I do understand the otaku mentality that you want to know everything, you want to have everything answered, you want to collect everything, but I don't see the value in knowing everything. For example, just in real life, you might not know everything about the politics that surrounds the world or even in your own country, and there's really no point in knowing everything that happens in the world. Maybe a lot things, but not everything, right? What's more important is how you interact with people around you, immediately around you, and I think that's the same with video games. You don't really need to know everything that happens in the world to enjoy it.

Of course I do respect the freedom that the players feel as well, so if you do get mad that we can't localize everything in America, or America never gets everything, that's also something to be respected and I do understand the frustrations surrounding that as well.

When Nier: Automata released, it did so in a three-month timeframe that several other big Japanese games came out in the U.S., like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Yakuza 0. A lot of people started heralding those games as a return of Japanese development in the west. What do you think about going from fairly niche games to what some people consider the tip of the spear of modern Japanese development?

Yoko: First and foremost, just to speak about having so many good titles in that timeframe, my thought was "Are you people trying to kill me with this?!" In Japan, Horizon came out first, then it was Nier, then Zelda, and I think in the west, it was Horizon, Zelda, then Nier in North America. So we're literally sandwiched between those two with a two-week window in between each and they were all very similar to us in the futuristic setting. Especially for Zelda, it was one of the titles we copied in the first place, so I really felt like they were trying to kill us at the time.

Personally, not even thinking about Nier: Automata during that time frame, I was running around excited about all the fun-looking games coming as a gamer myself.

Hideki Kamiya [PlatinumGames] has once said that Nier: Automata saved Platinum. Is that something you agree with and how has the relationship been between PlatinumGames and Square Enix?

Yoko: Speaking from my perspective, of course Taura-san will likely know more about it internally at PlatinumGames...Kamiya-san, he's very laid back on Twitter, but when you actually really talk to him, he's a very serious person and very sincere. I guess Nier: Automata did generate sales for them, because I received a direct letter of gratitude from him saying "Thank you very much for creating a great game." I don't even know if we saved them or not in that sense, but just receiving that kind of message from was just very heartwarming and I was just really happy that I was able to provide such a game for them.

Taura: You could make the headline of your article "Yoko Taro Saved PlatinumGames" and that's definitely true.

Yoko: It's a very true headline.

Why do both of you think that Nier: Automata was more successful than Yoko-san's previous games or most other PlatinumGames titles?

Taura: Mainly because PlatinumGames' sensibilities were much better than Yoko Taro's.

Yoko: I actually think it's the Square Enix brand, the name Square Enix gives a more reliable feeling to an otaku type of title. PlatinumGames' strong name being known for making really good action games and I think the combination of the two really helped. This time with Nier: Automata, we sold about 2.5 million copies and the previous title we sold around 500,000. For the last game, we weren't really in the red, but it wasn't exactly a success either. We have these passionate fans that really supported the time from announcement and the series as a whole. Of course for Automata, too, we had a very passionate fan base including the media and including yourself that gave impressions and articles that helped make the game into a success, so I'm just really grateful for the fans and media alike that really supported the title and were passionate about it.

[The remainder of this interview took place a few weeks later with Taro Yoko and Nier: Automata composer Keiichi Okabe. Okabe is also known for his work on both Nier titles, Drakengard 3, Tekken, and contributing some tracks to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Before we started recording, Yoko said it will be okay if I asked Okabe most of the questions and I remarked that I wouldn’t want to make him jealous. He paused for a moment and then said it doesn’t matter because he would get paid either way.]

You two have been working together for a long time, I was curious how much the music composition is tied in with the writing. One of the city themes in Nier: Automata uses similar composition to a track in Nier. Does that come from the writing or the musical identity of the series?

Okabe: Since Yoko-san is I feel the type of person that doesn't want to do the same thing over and over again, even if he did receive praise for what he did previously, I kept that in mind while I was composing music for Nier: Automata. I also wanted to have some kind of connection that you would feel as a player between the previous title and this one, so I used similar tones from previous titles or from the previous game. It might not be exactly the same, but I used some similar types of music lines from the previous title so that you might feel that kind of connection.

But we do have tracks that are arrangements of previous tracks from older titles, but that was mostly for fan service.

I kind of wanted to drill down a little bit this time and get to the core of your philosophy of why and how you make games. If you had to pick a reason to hold up and say "This is why I make video games," what would that be?

Yoko: I feel that video games, amongst all the different entertainment mediums, have the most freedom in what you can do as a creator. For example, in a film, if you are able to control movement, then that's no longer a film in my eyes. In video games, you could have film-like cutscenes and videos, you could have them going on forever as much as you would like as a creator. That kind of freedom to do that is what I really wanted to do and I feel like video games are what provide me that option, even if I never do it.

Is there any kind of message you use games for that you want to convey to your audience or anything you want them to hear from you? Or do you prefer to let them take whatever interpretation they get from your games?

Yoko: It's the latter. I would want our players to freely interpret what I've created just on their own, to grasp something for their own. I feel that's one of the interesting aspects of video games is that you are able to freely interpret what's being shown to you. I also feel like the players make the game whole by playing it. The action of playing the game I feel has meaning in itself and because of that I want the players to find something from the game, feel something from the game, for themselves.

Nier: Automata won a number of awards, Okabe-san you won best music at The Game Awards, Automata won the audience award at GDC. Is there any pressure to appeal a more mainstream audience with your next game?

Okabe: For a popular title that will be played by many, it doesn't really matter what kind of genre you put out musically. I will still be interested to compose music for those if possible. I would have to take a different approaches to those kind of mainline titles, whereas for Nier, I felt that the music can be more geared toward a core audience where only those who would understand the music would play it. But at the same time, once you understand, I want you to be deeply affected by it. That's what I aim for with Nier. If I am to work on a way more mainstream title next time, I will have to change that mindset I have as a composer, but that would be something I'd like to challenge myself more. To answer your question, yes, I'd like to try that, but I'd also do whatever kind of jobs I'm assigned to.

Yoko: For me, my games I actually think are really niche. How Nier: Automata was so successful was actually just a coincidence. To make a successful game is something that I can't really aim to do, so I think that I'll probably return to my small and dark corner, my niche corner, with my successive titles.

Who would you both consider your inspirations for writing and composing?

Okabe: For me, it's obviously more of a composer than a writer, but I don't really focus on one person. I tend to just try to get music here and there and have a wide net. I am greatly affected by people who I've listened to in my youth, like Japanese composer Ryuchi Sakamoto, Ennio Morricone who creates film music, and also pop music like Michael Jackson and Madonna. I am affected by those as well.

Yoko: I have received inspiration from a lot of things, but I think personally expressions in film or any like visual production is something I'm deeply affected by. For example, Neon Genesis Evangelion by Hideaki Anno, that was really a strong influence on me. Also, the drama series 24, the way that they incorporate speedy and complicated constructions of storylines was something that was very new at the time. Just throughout the timeline of visual production, I think there's a sudden burst of evolution, and I think that "that" moment in a title that does that just greatly affects me and becomes an inspiration for me. But I feel that can be said for the rest of the world.

Lately, anything that Christopher Nolan creates I think is very intriguing where he tries to include deep knowledge and thoughtfulness into what he creates. I'm very interested in this new wave of evolution.

Last year, with the release of Animal Crossing on mobile, you talked on social media about how it was your favorite game of the year because you created a narrative where the characters were all unwillingly imprisoned in the camp. Do you often create your own narratives for games?

Yoko: I do that for some games and I don't for others. Off and on, I guess. It's a lot easier to create my own storyline per se for a more primitive game. For example, in Zelda: Wind Waker, you start off with a grandma and your sister living on an island and it's really happy and joyful and there's really no reason for Link to get out of there and fight Ganondorf because you're already living happily. You don't need to get out of that happiness. As a gamer, I felt the kind of sadness to have to leave that happy island life.

In Dragon Quest [V], you have to choose who you want to wed, and I felt that I couldn't really get into liking either of the characters. I also couldn't find the point of having to decide who I want to marry, so I just at that instant I turned off the game and said "My journey ends here!" My mind narrated "The three of them went on the journey and lived happily ever after, the end." That was my ending for Dragon Quest V.

Around the release of Drakengard 3, you spoke about how it's not possible in this industry to make a six-minute game and sell it for $60, no matter how good those six minutes are. Is this something you still think?

Yoko: That analogy was given to explain that, no matter how much you try to make a game really good, there's a limit to what you can do. If you are to create a six-minute game, because you can't go through a lot of different stages, you would have to create one stage. Which means that you could really refine the quality of that one stage without having to put in a lot of money into it and a lot of manpower into it. Also, because it's only six minutes, you can't really have too many characters in it, so you could focus on one or two characters at max. By doing that, you could refine the quality of those two characters. But because you're time-limited, no matter how much you refine the quality of the world around you or the characters, if you're limited to six minutes there's just so much you could do that the game won't become good at all. That was an example for me to say that there's a limit to what you can do in video games.

Okabe-san, in the music for a lot of Yoko-san's game, you use constructed or uncommon languages, is there a specific reason for that?

Okabe: [laughs] Yeah, for one, because it is Nier: Automata, Replicant, and Gestalt, they all take place in a unique world, even though they're in the timeline of our current world, it's so much in the future that it should feel kind of foreign. That's one of the reasons why I went for language we can't understand, but another is that, in games in the past, game directors actually got mad at many occasions for including vocals into the soundtrack. They were saying that it would become too distracting from the gameplay and would distract the player. It was considered more of a taboo, so for Nier, I included vocals in there without a language you could understand more for the sound that you get from the words. It wasn't to convey any meaning of what was being said, but more for a sound impact.

Yoko-san, you tend to have very sad endings in your games, with the exception of Nier: Automata which is as happy an ending as you can get with most characters dying. Why do you tend to write toward more sad endings and do you feel like Automata's happy ending fit the game better?

Yoko: The reason why I created endings that end on a death is because, until now I was creating games where you would kill a lot of enemies, but I've always felt that it doesn't feel right when the protagonist has a happy after they've killed so many enemies during the course of their journey. That's why in Replicant and Gestalt, or my previous titles, the protagonist pretty much ended up dying because I didn't feel like it was right for them to have a happy ending. But for Nier: Automata, 2B and 9S, from the time that they were given life, they've been killing a lot of enemies, but they've also been killed by them many, many times, and regenerated many times. They've actually been killing each other, which you find out at the very end, many, many times as well. So I felt that kind of cleansed them of their sins for killing so many enemies, which made me feel that a happy ending was more fitting for those two.

Do you feel like that cycle of violence and death and the consequences of that are human nature?

Yoko: I think the reasons why we kill in video games do kind of shine light on what's kind of broken within humanity or humans in general. We want peace in the world, but we also enjoy killing others in video games, like shooting guns in video games. I think that's karma in a sense for humans, the way that video games grasp the true essence of humanity, whether or not that's what they were aiming to do.

Is there a series that you know, like Persona or Yakuza or anything like that, that either of you would want to work on?

Yoko: A series or anything?

It can be anything.

Yoko: Personally, it's not a Japanese title. I'd actually love to see how western titles are developed, because I have no insight into how they're made. There was a moment in time where I felt that it might be fun join a western development to see how things run. Of course there's the language barrier that would make it difficult for me to do that, but generally speaking I feel that western storytelling follows kind of a similar route for all the stories that western mediums create. I would feel it fascinating to find out why western games use certain flows and storyline arcs.

Okabe: I'm kind of a fanboy myself, so there is a part of me that wants to work on major titles like Dragon Quest. I feel that if I do work on those titles, the pressure of working such a known title would be just too big and because there is a part of me that really loves that series, I feel like I would try to skew my music in a way that would fit into that series instead of trying to create music that I think is good. I don't feel like I would be able to bring out the best quality in my music if I worked on those big titles, because of that pressure and because of the image I have of those titles in my mind. Currently, my want to work on those major titles and the part of me that's telling me I shouldn't do it are about equal.

Were either of you surprised by Nier: Automata's success?

Yoko: [in English] Oh yes.

Okabe: For me, I live in Tokyo and developer PlatinumGames live in Osaka, so we did have quite a distance in-between, like literal physical distance between us. From the moment that I created the music to when I was able to see it next, there was a big gap in time, so when I was able to my music in the game for the first time, the game was pretty close to finished, they were almost done with development. At that moment, I thought "Maybe this one might sell?" But at the same time, I didn't think it would become this big of a success, I always thought it might do better than the previous titles, but it was like a hunch that I didn't feel until this time in Yoko-san's titles. I did have some kind of a gut feeling that it might do well.

The last song of Automata, Weight of the World, had a chorus with the entire game's development staff at PlatinumGames and Square Enix singing along to encourage the player. Why did you decide on that for the final song of the game?

Okabe: I didn't remember this, I actually forgot about it for a while, but Yoko-san actually came to me telling me that he wanted a chorus at the end of the game pretty early on in the development process. I apparently made disgruntled face at him and did not remember why I even made that face or even that I made that face. After a while, I actually remember why I had such a reaction with the disgruntled face, because there's a couple of different types of choirs, but Yoko-san likes the more classical choir, so when he requested that he wanted a choir, I thought he wanted that classical type of choir at the last part of the game. At that moment, I thought "Well, that doesn't really fit in with the game plan, I don't really want to do that," which is why I had that expression on my face. After we talked about it, Yoko-san mentioned that wasn't really what he was going for, he said that because that last scene is all about all these different people helping you, he wanted everyone to sing, he wanted it to feel like everyone is singing there with you as you play.

When I thought about doing that, and I actually agreed that might be a good idea, because in Nier: Automata all the choir vocals that you hear in the game, it's actually recorded by a small group of singers, I just overlapped their voice so it sounds like a big choir. Because that last part of the game is more about you playing amongst a lot of people, I felt that taking that approach again of overlapping voices again would not really work. So I reached out to the dev teams because they were working on that part and I thought it would be a good idea to have them put themselves in the game as well. I also thought that they don't need to have a good voice, it's just to give that feeling that you're playing with all these developers.

Development teams from Square Enix, PlatinumGames, and also some composers from my company who didn't work on Nier: Automata are singing in it as well. There's also children of PlatinumGames developers and their family actually singing in it as well. That was the reasoning behind why we decided to do that at the end.

Has there ever been, in all your games you've made, an idea you had that you had to be talked out of?

Yoko: For the first Drakengard, I had an idea of [Japanese pop-star] Ayumi Hamasaki, like her character model, wearing all-silver spandex, like a giant version of her descending from the sky and you would fight against her by music. Everyone else on the staff shut it down. It does still leave that kind of music game essence kind of in there, but the part Ayumi Hamasaki comes out in silver spandex has been taken out.

Isn't that kind of similar to Drakengard 3's actual ending?

Yoko: Similar, but I actually wanted to go for something funny, or shockingly stupid. But no one would let me.

Source：
https://www.gameinformer.com/…/talking-to-yoko-taro-platinu…

Also, shoutout to my little brother who turned 15 today!

Yes, 17 years difference. Yes, same parents (I get asked that a lot).

In a way, I think you were brought into this world to be my best buddy.

Grateful to have you. Here for you always and forever.

I love you so much.
Thanks for teaching me the true meaning of patience.

Will always frontline for you, handsome!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 🤙🏽 🎈

✨💜✨

歡迎光臨~我是樂筆！

不知道大家對婚姻的想法是什麼？先看年齡與外貌？再來房有車？在一起互相取暖，哪天一言不合隨時可以打包走人？

愛是一種感覺，還是愛可以是一種決定？

其實婚姻是盟約，不是契約：「契約」載明雙方要履行的條件，如果不能做到，就可以終止契約；但「盟約」是份深情的承諾，不論颳風下雨、生老病死，我們永遠彼此相愛、一起共度難關。

愛是「1+1大於2」不是一定要有你，但有你的人生更好。
愛也是「0.5+0.5=1」我們學習給予、付出，甚至彼此犧牲，所以才完全。

認識Hibbii的過程很妙，在網路上。他是非常熱情主動、貼心又細膩的姐姐，謝謝他來「歡迎光臨」分享身為初戀未婚妻的真實故事！(節目播出時變成已婚人妻了)

或許現在的你不一定有經歷，但永遠要相信！你是被愛的！
祝福大家都成為「對的人」！

Welcome to Sunlight~
What do you think about marriage? Consider age and appearance first? House and cars go second? Being in a relationship when you're in need, and whenever you disagree with each other, you end it?
Is love a kind of feeling or love can be a decision?
In fact, marriage is not a contract but a covenant. Contract states and explains a formal agreement between two different people. If one doesn't perform, the other can terminate.
On the other hand, covenant is an affectionate promise. It means that no matter what happens, we love each other forever and weather the storm together.
Love is "1+1 greater than 2", meaning that I don't need to be with you, but my life will be better because of you.
Love is also "0.5+0.5=1". We learn giving and sacrificing, so that we can fulfill each other.
It's amazing to get acquainted with Hibbii online. She's extremely enthusiastic, positive, thoughtful and attentive.
So grateful she comes and shares her real story as fiancée of her first love! (She has been a wife when the program aired)
You might not know much about that, but you should believe that you're beloved all the time!
Hope you become Mr. or Miss Right!

📁節目收聽方式：
Apple Podcast、KKBOX、Spotify、SoundOn 🔍歡迎光臨

- - -

✒️Facebook：https://www.facebook.com/sunlightpen007/
✒️Instagram：https://www.instagram.com/sunlight007_/​​
✒️合作邀約：hisunlight007@gmail.com

- - -

主持人兼編輯 Host/Editor/：樂筆
剪接師 Sound Editor：Papa.H
翻譯 Translator：Youli

Dear friends,

I received a WONDERFUL surprise from Youtube about a week ago and I felt like I must make this video!!

Thank you for finding me.
Thank you for staying with me.
Thank you for believing in me.
Thank you for keeping me going.
Thank you for inspiring me.
Thank you for showing me what I can be.
Thank you for walking this journey with me.
Thank you for building me up.
Thank you thank you thank you.

It's been such a wonderful journey here on Youtube. I never ever thought I would ever get here and each day, I am amazed how did I get here. None of this is possible without your support and love. You guys have done more than I can ever say. Thank you so much for giving me meaning in my life by helping me realise what person I want to be.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I'm forever grateful.

It is in my prayer that you will all realise one day that you are capable of greatness.

First you believe,
Then you achieve.

Looking at this YOUTUBE GOLD BUTTON will remind me everyday just how blessed I am and motivate me to work harder to make videos for you all.

Just wanna know...
If I were to write a book. What kind of content would you like to read about? Let me know in the comments! Thank you so much.

Also want to let you guys know we're doing a HOLIDAY CLEARANCE SALE yeyyy! 30% OFF on all Bubbi brushes & T-shirts. Happy Shopping everyone!
http://www.shopbubbi.com



Much love, Bubz xx


_________________


Check out my makeup brush line & T-Shirt range:
http://www.shopbubbi.com

For updates on my life, doggies, beauty, fashion and boyfriend, check out:
http://www.bubzbeauty.com

Follow me on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/bubzbeauty

LIKE me on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/itsbubz

http://www.shopbubbi.com
http://www.bubzbeauty.com

Reuploaded this because YT has been a butt and not publishing my videos =( gahhh. Sorry if you've seen this already ^_^

Hey everybody,

I've been meaning to upload this video for like 3 weeks but I couldn't because orders were too crazy and then I was off to New York for Fashion Week. I've been busy catching up (and regenerating myself by sleeping harhar). I'm so sorry for disappearing so long. I missed you guys so freaking much!!! I have sooo many videos coming up including more Girl Talk episodes and hair/makeup tutorials. Bear with me yes?

For the past year, I've had a fun but busy year sampling and testing out different fibres and shapes for my brush collection. I am very proud of them and hopefully you guys will know my character enough to trust I'm not just saying they're great just for the sake of them being my own products. So far- very pleased with the feedback of the brushes.

I was asked to make a demo video and originally I planned to upload this video on my Vlog channel but you guys suggested to upload on the beauty channel instead because it's more relevant. Some of you are probably going to complain about me being 'promotey'. I put blood, sweat and tears into this brush collection so of course I want them to do well. I hope you guys don't mind this type of video. I'm still Bubz. It will mean the World to me to have you guys support me on this. You guys was the reason this started in the first place.

In this video, I will introduce the 9 brushes and demonstrate how they can be used but if you have similar brushes yourself, you can use them the exact same way. In fact, you should use your own brushes whatever way you like. As long as it works for you, there's no right or wrong.

THE GIVEAWAY
To celebrate the launch, I'm giving away TEN full sets of Bubbi Brushes. To win, simply:
1. LIKE the Bubzbeauty Official Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/ItsBubz
2. Upload a picture that makes you smile (or inspires you) and in the caption, write why the picture makes you happy. If the picture isn't yours, remember to let me know.
3. If you are under 18, make sure you have parent's consent.
4. Deadline is 4th October 2011.

For more information of the giveaway, you can check out my website for more information yo! http://www.bubzbeauty.com

Words I mean from the bottom of my Heart
I've said thank you so many times that I worry it has lost it's meaning. What can I say guys? You have practically watched me grow up all these years and even though I don't know you all personally- I have this warm connection to you guys as a whole (insert cheese). I don't know what I have done to deserve you guys. You have stuck by me all this time and supported me through thick and thin. None of this is possible without your support, input and help and for this, I am forever grateful. Words are only surfaces of my feelings so saying Thank You 1 million times will never seem enough. You guys have taught me so much and today- you are still my biggest inspiration. No words can explain how amazing you are to me. Thank you so much for everything... Because of you all, I now believe dreams DO come true. I owe you all so much and I know I'll never be able to repay you guys back but I'm going to try my best to continue to work hard with the website and channel. Let's continue to inspire each other. Spread the love and laughter.



Take care, Bubz xx
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Check out the Bubzbeauty Official Website. I update tons of beauty, fashion and hair related articles almost daily.
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