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Kotaro Uchikoshi is the mind behind the wild series of puzzle-adventure-mystery games known as Zero Escape (999, Virtue’s Last Reward, and Zero Time Dilemma), and fans of his imaginative direction should keep an eye on his upcoming game AI: The Somnium Files. But Uchikoshi-san is doing things a little differently this time around. A character in the game, Iris Sagan, has become a virtual idol and streamer/influencer in the real world under the stage name A-set–and he’s helping produce and promote her.

When the team at publisher/developer Spike Chunsoft reached out and offered an opportunity to interview Uchikoshi-san and Iris (or A-set), I wondered how this would fly with my managing editor Peter Brown. But me being a huge fan of virtual idols such as Hatsune Miku and the vocaloid family, Haruka Sawamura of Yakuza fame, and Rise Kujikawa of Persona, I couldn’t say no and Pete knew this was a job that only I could do.

We tried to get more details on AI: The Somnium Files itself, which will have players taking on the role of detective Kaname Date to investigate a series of murders–but those efforts proved fruitless as some questions were declined. While we wish there were more talk about for the game, our interview doesn’t disappoint. Well, we’ll let you be the judge.

AI: The Somnium Files is set to release sometime this year on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The following interview was conducted via email correspondence with translation from Spike Chunsoft.

What’s your opinion on the Zero Escape games? Which is the best?

A-set: They’re all good! I still remember beating each one, it was like, mind-blowing! My brain felt so fuzzy after that I had to disconnect from social media for a few days just to process them. I know people say that the second is the best one, but I honestly think they’re all awesome! But as for which one is my favorite? It’s too hard to pick one! It’s like trying to pick my favorite Alien or Indiana Jones movie. Except those had more than three…never mind!

What are you doing to keep surprising Zero Escape / Danganronpa fans who’ve seen so many wild things happen already?

A-set: I don’t have any surprises planned… But I’m up for any ideas! My fans mean everything to me, so if anyone has any requests, you can always find me on Twitter, @Lemniscate_Aset!

Uchikoshi: Hm, let me think. Isn’t surprising yourself more important than surprising others? And to do that, every night before I go to sleep I down three gallons of tequila. Trust me, if you do that, you’ll forget everything that happened that day. Which means that when you wake up the next morning, every idea you have, even if it’s an old one, will seem fresh and exciting!

The tag-team itself: Iris Sagan/A-set (left), and Kotaro Uchikoshi (right)

Is AI: The Somnium Files something you would stream?

A-set: That would be amazing, I’d love that! Will Spike Chunsoft let me? *laughs*

Best girl and best boy in the Danganronpa series?

A-set: Best girl: Junko. Best boy: Nagito.

Is a full-length record in the works?

A-set: Of course I’d like to make one, but I’m still new to the scene. Right now, I just want to focus on promoting [the song] “Invincible Rainbow Arrow.”

Best Hatsune Miku song or vocaloid song?

A-set: “Sand Planet”!

Are there any idols that you look up to yourself?

A-set: When I was young, Rihanna and Ke$ha were big. Lady Gaga also brought this fun, art-pop style that I enjoyed. I wanted to put some of that influence into my music. Start with poppy, catchy tunes and maybe eventually grow into something else. Ariana Grande is also putting out great stuff right now, but her vocal style is pretty different than mine, so… As for personal idols? The Powerpuff Girls!

How is it working with Uchikoshi-san?

A-set: Intimidating, but kinda weird.

How is it working with A-set?

Uchikoshi: Intimidating, but kinda weird.

Iris made her first appearance at Anime Expo 2018 during a panel for AI: The Somnium Files

Why promote a virtual idol now? How is this leading into something bigger?

Uchikoshi: First of all, A-set is not a “virtual” idol. She’s a real idol with a real flesh-and-blood body. She just seems “virtual” because her presence is mostly online. I’m an old friend of Mr. Okiura, the president of Lemniscate, A-set’s agency. He introduced me to her. He was pushing A-set, saying, “This is our agency’s hottest new net idol!” To be honest, I was totally mesmerized by her dancing. I told him, “Well then, how about I produce her?” That’s how it went. “Something bigger?” I don’t know exactly what you mean, but it would be amazing to see her become something bigger. So please, support A-set, everyone!

What do you say to those who are skeptical of virtual idols? How do you help open their minds to the idea?

A-set: Well, I wouldn’t know much about that. I’m a real idol, not virtual. But anyway, I put my heart and soul into everything that I do. I know that, if you just give me a chance, I can make my way into your heart and soul! *laughs*

Uchikoshi: When you get home, fill your bathtub with hot water, sink in, and then chug three gallons of tequila. If you do, your neocortex will go numb and you’ll be more willing to accept idols like A-set. If your pupils dilate, so will your heart. Please give it a try.

While playing Anthem, keep track of what you and your team are doing in freeplay mode. The game will cap how much experience you earn for world events, so doing a bunch in a row isn’t in your best interest.

In Anthem, you stop earning experience for completing world events after completing your third in a session. You should be returning to Fort Tarsis on a regular basis regardless in order to turn in your loot, see what you’ve found, level up, and reconfigure your Javelin. However, if you and your friends realize that you’ve been playing long enough in freeplay to complete three events, just head back to Fort Tarsis to reset your counter before continuing to play. That way, you’ll be able to keep gaining the experience bonuses that are unlocked for completing world events.

BioWare has announced what’s coming to Anthem in the three months post-launch. There isn’t much planned for February and March outside of additional freeplay events, new cosmetics, and Legendary missions. However, April sees Anthem getting a new Stronghold called The Sunken, as well as a huge social play update that adds weekly Stronghold challenges, leaderboards, and guilds. In May, the Cataclysm, an event BioWare has long teased will affect Anthem in numerous ways, will begin in the game.

If you’ve picked up Anthem and you’re looking for more tips on how to play–given how little the game actually tells you–be sure to read through our guides. We’ve listed them below.

Anthem Guides

In our Anthem review, Kallie Plagge gave the game a 6/10, writing, “Anthem has good ideas, but it struggles significantly with the execution. It’s a co-op game that works best with no one talking; it buries genuinely interesting character moments and puts its most incomprehensible story bits at the forefront; its combat is exciting until you get to the boss fights and find your wings have been clipped. Even the simple, exhilarating act of flying is frequently interrupted by the limitations of your javelin, and you never quite shake that feeling of disappointment–of knowing, throughout the good parts of Anthem, that you’ll inevitably come crashing back down.”

We’re in the final stretch of Fortnite Season 7, but before Season 8 officially arrives, developer Epic Games is giving players a slew of Overtime challenges to complete. Much like standard weekly challenges, these task players with different objectives to aim for while you play, from taking down opponents with specific weapons to visiting certain locations around the island, and completing them will net you XP and unlock new cosmetics.

Most of the Overtime challenges are fairly straightforward, so they shouldn’t pose too much of a problem, but there is at least one that may give you some trouble, particularly if you aren’t too familiar with the island: visit seven different waterfalls. This can be fairly difficult if you don’t know where to look, but we’ve put together a map to help you along.

Complete this challenge and you’ll earn 500 XP. More importantly, it’ll put you one step closer to getting Season 8’s Battle Pass for free; in an unexpected move, Epic is giving the pass away to players who finish all of Season 7’s Overtime challenges. Each Battle Pass typically costs 950 V-Bucks (just under $10), so it’s a good idea to complete as many challenges as you can and try to snag the pass without spending any money.

Season 7 of Fortnite is scheduled to end of February 28, so you have until then to complete any remaining challenges. You can see the full list of Overtime challenges here; we also have tips and guides for the trickier objectives in our complete Season 7 challenges roundup, as well as a guide on how to unlock the Prisoner skin variants.

With Season 8 just around the corner now, Epic is holding one more double XP weekend in Fortnite to help players level their Battle Pass up and unlock any remaining rewards, from February 22-24. You can get another look at all of the skins and other cosmetics up for grabs in our Season 7 Battle Pass rewards gallery.

BioWare has announced what players can expect to come to Anthem in the next 90 days. For the next three months, which BioWare is calling Act 1, Anthem is getting several freeplay events, cosmetics, missions, and quality of life improvements.

For the rest of February, BioWare has three freeplay events planned for Anthem. The first, There Be Giants, is already live and it spawns four uniquely powerful titans in the world for you and your friends to hunt down and destroy. Both Outlaw Outrage and Shaper Surge are also scheduled for this month.

March is when a lot more content starts to drop. Both There Be Giants and Outlaw Outrage will return to freeplay. However, two new events, both unnamed, will premiere as well. March also sees Anthem get the first phase of its Legendary Missions, and new item rewards for completing contracts. The Elysian Stronghold caches will start containing new cosmetics as well, allowing you to customize your Javelin’s look in different ways.

In April, seven new freeplay events come to Anthem, as do even more rewards for you to earn and an expanded progression system. The second phase of Legendary missions come out as well, along with a new Stronghold–titled The Sunken. Social play also gets an update, with weekly stronghold challenges, leaderboards, and guilds getting added to Anthem. More freeplay events, missions, and item rewards are planned for May in Anthem’s biggest planned content drop this year–the Cataclysm. This massive event was first teased in Anthem’s gameplay reveal at E3 2017.

In our Anthem review, Kallie Plagge gave the game a 6/10, writing, “Anthem has good ideas, but it struggles significantly with the execution. It’s a co-op game that works best with no one talking; it buries genuinely interesting character moments and puts its most incomprehensible story bits at the forefront; its combat is exciting until you get to the boss fights and find your wings have been clipped. Even the simple, exhilarating act of flying is frequently interrupted by the limitations of your javelin, and you never quite shake that feeling of disappointment–of knowing, throughout the good parts of Anthem, that you’ll inevitably come crashing back down.”