It’s time again for the periodic indulgence in my unhealthy fixation on a particular artist that we call the Creator Spotlight. In this installment we take a look at the work of bishoujo game character designer and illustrator INO, a master of the craft who has been active for more than a decade. Despite an even more mysterious background than that of Sano Toshihide and a personal website not updated since 2003, our stalking efforts persevere – just what is known of this master of light and shadow, bust and hip? Read on! 18+ ONLY, NWS. 02/11/07 Update: Artbook cover image below!

Illustrator and character artist Sano Toshihide has been a force in the eroge world for almost a decade, towering over the industry from his frosty palace in the Hokkaido tundra like some lofty northern king of yore. He has seldom deigned mere mortals elsewhere in Japan with his presence, and while I’ve been partial to his work for years I’ve never taken the close look at his portfolio that it so richly deserves. That changes today in this, our next installment of stalk an artist the Creator Spotlight!

It takes time and effort to contact creators, correspond with them and eventually pin them down for an interview, which is why this column has languished in the sorry state it’s in. I’ve decided therefore to ditch the high production value in favor of making this an “appreciation” corner of sorts, where I gush about arbitrarily chosen artists and hope they don’t find out and get mad at me. The first target for this dubious affection is Happobi Jin, an illustrator and character designer perhaps best known for his recent series of Boin games from Crossnet Pie. What else has he done, and why should you care? I can’t answer the second question, but for the first, read on:

In the first installment of HD’s new Creator Spotlight feature we interview doujin game developers’ duo Momo Pax, who provide us with details (and exclusive screenshots!) from their upcoming STG/ADV hybrid Soft Landing, along the way answering questions about the creative process and fandom that keeps them moving forward. Fans of Touhou and side scrolling shooters, check it out!