{"rewrite":{"id":"r_828f1e6a8a2c7f4b74ffdbfd","clusterId":"c_7835a15c13e7f7f2e8016335","slug":"mindware-details-dropping-drops-the-midi-controller-puzzle-game","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Mindware Details Dropping Drops, The MIDI Controller Puzzle Game","summary":"Mindware's Mikito Ichikawa and composer Yuriko Keino discussed Dropping Drops, a physical action puzzle game played with a MIDI controller. Ichikawa said he first made it in October 2025 as a sample for a talk, then developed it seriously after positive reactions at a retro PC event. The two also discussed Ichikawa's background and 1980s Namco style.","whyItMatters":"The interview shows a small studio treating the controller itself as the game's subject, and pairs a veteran of early Namco arcade sound with a developer who had no plans to release the title commercially.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eDropping Drops is a physical action puzzle game built around MIDI controller input, developed by Mindware\u0026#39;s Mikito Ichikawa with composer Yuriko Keino, who worked on early Namco arcade game sound. Ichikawa said he thought up the project around 2am on October 2, 2025, and made it as a playable sample for a talk at the 15th Microcomputer Infinity PRO-68K event. He had not intended to release it as a product. Positive reactions from people who played it, including M2\u0026#39;s Naoki Horii, led him to develop it further.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Dropping Drops started as a sample Ichikawa built for a talk, then got a serious build after retro PC event reactions. Playing it needs a MIDI controller, which is the barrier and the pitch at once.","twitterPost":"Dropping Drops began as an Ichikawa talk sample and got a full build after retro PC event reactions. The game runs on a MIDI controller.","threadsPost":"Mikito Ichikawa built Dropping Drops first as a sample for a talk in October 2025. The serious version came after retro PC event reactions, and Yuriko Keino is on the project as composer. A puzzle game that needs a MIDI controller inherits a small, specific audience before it ever reaches a general one.","newsletterBlurb":"Mindware's Mikito Ichikawa and composer Yuriko Keino discussed Dropping Drops, a puzzle game controlled with a MIDI controller. Ichikawa said he first made it in October 2025 as a sample for a talk, without plans to release it, and developed it after positive reactions at a retro PC event. Ichikawa also explained why the game's look draws on 1980s Namco conventions, tracing it to an engine reused from an earlier title.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Game Spark\",\"url\":\"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/10/12/173521.html\",\"title\":\"「ゲーム基板はひとつの楽器」慶野由利子氏と、「MIDIコンをゲームにする」市川幹人氏--異色の二人が作る『Dropping Drops』インタビュー\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":6237,"outputTokens":640,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1791806831,"createdAt":"2026-10-12T12:02:48.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-12T12:06:06.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-12T12:06:06.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_7835a15c13e7f7f2e8016335","canonicalTitle":"「ゲーム基板はひとつの楽器」慶野由利子氏と、「MIDIコンをゲームにする」市川幹人氏――異色の二人が作る『Dropping Drops』インタビュー","representativeArticleId":"a_a81a609580ba67b24e774ef2","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Dropping Drops\"],\"studios\":[\"Bandai Namco\"],\"people\":[\"Yuriko Keino\",\"Mikito Ichikawa\"],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-12T10:55:02.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-12T10:55:02.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-12T12:06:07.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Game Spark","url":"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/10/12/173521.html","title":"「ゲーム基板はひとつの楽器」慶野由利子氏と、「MIDIコンをゲームにする」市川幹人氏――異色の二人が作る『Dropping Drops』インタビュー"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Dropping Drops"],"studios":["Bandai Namco"],"people":["Yuriko Keino","Mikito Ichikawa"],"type":"news","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}