{"rewrite":{"id":"r_83b664e67ce8b4fcd6ac47d6","clusterId":"c_3817cd1e51bcf9fe89c05170","slug":"lie-of-caelum-spirit-interview-xenogears-phantasy-star-shaped-developer","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"Lie of Caelum: Spirit Interview: Xenogears, Phantasy Star Shaped Developer","summary":"Classi5ed Studio is preparing to launch a Kickstarter campaign for the RPG Lie of Caelum: Spirit, which the developer says is a sequel to the 2022 game Lie of Caelum and draws direct inspiration from Xenogears and Phantasy Star Online. Lead developer Stark, who runs the studio with the help of anonymous volunteers called Classi5ed Ops, built the game with RPG Maker MZ, a tool he says excels at RPG creation and allows custom plugins. The project began as pseudo-3D and evolved into 2.5D, taking two years of intermittent development. Stark says the game's story explores heavy themes such as identity, religion, and society, and the combat blends Xenogears and Phantasy Star Online 2 mechanics, with three-step combos, just attacks, and a stance system used by both allies and enemies. Exploration is Metroidvania-inspired, with companions unlocking new areas and mechs for vast terrain. Mini-games include a TCG, racing, shooting, a casino, and fishing. The game targets a 2027 to 2028 release on PC via Steam, with a playable demo planned for gamescom starting August 26 and alpha and beta tests for Kickstarter backers. The campaign starts August 31.","whyItMatters":"The Kickstarter is designed to fund 3D assets and artwork, the game's biggest bottleneck, and to hire full-time staff while Stark recovers from an injury.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eStark says the previous game, \u003cem\u003eLie of Caelum\u003c/em\u003e, \u0026#34;did not receive a huge response\u0026#34; but pleased a small fan base. He felt the 2022 release did not fully express his vision, blaming inexperience and the limits of the MV engine. The switch to RPG Maker MZ came after he bought it and saw clear performance gains when rendering low-poly 3D models.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn tool choice, Stark notes people have called him a \u0026#34;masochist\u0026#34; for sticking with RPG Maker MZ. He says the event system makes complex scripted scenes far easier than other environments. The hardest part was optimizing 3D assets to prevent frame drops, which led him to write a custom 3D renderer plugin with map culling to stop memory leaks. He calls the database management and event editor his favorite features.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBeyond Xenogears and Phantasy Star, Stark cites other influences:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003eZone of the Enders\u003c/em\u003e shaped mech design and some music.\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003eSilent Bomber\u003c/em\u003e added to the worldview.\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003eF-Zero\u003c/em\u003e inspired the racing mini-game.\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003eGradius\u003c/em\u003e influenced the shooting segments.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStark calls Xenogears \u0026#34;the only turn-based JRPG centered on mechs in a military-heavy sci-fi world\u0026#34; and says no later work has truly entered that genre. The Phantasy Star influence extends to a \u0026#34;MAG\u0026#34; companion that evolves when fed. He also notes the game has a New Game+ mode partly to catch missable subplots, plus endgame content. A Japanese language option is planned via the crowdfunding campaign.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"RPG Maker MZ game Lie of Caelum: Spirit cites Xenogears and Phantasy Star Online as inspiration, with a stance system used by both allies and enemies.","twitterPost":"Lie of Caelum: Spirit's Kickstarter aims to fund 3D assets and hire full-time staff while lead dev Stark recovers from an injury.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"An interview with the developer of Lie of Caelum: Spirit reveals how Xenogears and Phantasy Star shaped the game, and why RPG Maker MZ was the right tool despite the challenges. The Kickstarter launches August 31.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Game Spark\",\"url\":\"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/08/23/171123.html\",\"title\":\"『ゼノギアス』『PSO』がゲーム開発を志したきっかけ！『RPGツクールMZ』で疑似3Dを実現した話題沸騰中RPG『Lie of Caelum: Spirit』開発者インタビュー\"},{\"source\":\"GameBusiness.jp\",\"url\":\"https://www.gamebusiness.jp/article/2026/08/25/27778.html\",\"title\":\"Interview with the Developer of 'Lie of Caelum: Spirit', the Trending RPG That Achieves Pseudo-3D with 'RPG Maker MZ' Inspired by 'Xenogears' and 'PSO'\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":22142,"outputTokens":1411,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1787890913,"createdAt":"2026-08-28T04:04:04.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-08-28T04:06:44.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-28T04:04:04.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_3817cd1e51bcf9fe89c05170","canonicalTitle":"『ゼノギアス』『PSO』がゲーム開発を志したきっかけ！『RPGツクールMZ』で疑似3Dを実現した話題沸騰中RPG『Lie of Caelum: Spirit』開発者インタビュー","representativeArticleId":"a_0764a68effa0f4cc75bf045e","sourceCount":2,"writtenSourceCount":2,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Lie of Caelum: Spirit\"],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-08-23T10:00:03.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-08-24T22:00:03.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-28T04:06:45.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"GameBusiness.jp","url":"https://www.gamebusiness.jp/article/2026/08/25/27778.html","title":"『ゼノギアス』『PSO』がゲーム開発を志したきっかけ！『RPGツクールMZ』で疑似3Dを実現した話題沸騰中RPG『Lie of Caelum: Spirit』開発者インタビュー"},{"source":"Game Spark","url":"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/08/23/171123.html","title":"『ゼノギアス』『PSO』がゲーム開発を志したきっかけ！『RPGツクールMZ』で疑似3Dを実現した話題沸騰中RPG『Lie of Caelum: Spirit』開発者インタビュー"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Lie of Caelum: Spirit"],"studios":[],"people":[],"type":"news","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Lie of Caelum: Spirit is scheduled for release on PC via Steam between 2027 and 2028.","The Kickstarter campaign for Lie of Caelum: Spirit starts on August 31, 2026.","As of August 18, more than 500 people had registered as followers for Kickstarter launch notifications.","The game is developed with RPG Maker MZ and took two years of intermittent development.","A playable demo is planned for gamescom, which starts on August 26."]}