Publication AUTOMATON interviewed Atelier series producer Junzo Hosoi to reminisce about the creation of the three games in the Atelier Ryza line and discuss the changes that Ryza brought to the Atelier franchise thanks to her character's distinctive "plump" design.
Hosoi said that after the release of Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland and Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World, he felt that the series had somewhat reached a dead end and needed a breath of fresh air with the next game. At this stage, the Gust team conducted a thorough market analysis to decide which game to create next.
Since their first priority was to decide on the character design for the new main heroine, Ryza, the team began by researching body types and popular images of women at the time. Compared to the main heroines of previous installments in the series, who were mostly slimmer, Ryza ended up with a much fuller figure, which appears to be the result of careful market research conducted by the studio.
After conducting various analyses, we concluded that the fullness of her figure is something our players would like. We also believed that preferences regarding body types and trends in character design vary depending on culture and various individual circumstances. Given such a wide range, we wanted to make Ryza's design somewhere in the middle of that range.