No giant portfolio of notecharts to go through this time, because all the lead staff are busy. So the team makes the rounds to the regular employees to cook up a story. And cook it up they did; today's notechart story is about surume (スルメ) and kusaya (くさや), which mean 'dried cuttlefish' and 'dried salted horse mackerel' respectively.
Wait, how does snack food tie in to chart-making?
Charts that are addictive and enjoyable no matter how many times you play them are 'surume' charts, like a piece of dried cuttlefish; no matter how much you bite in it's still lovely sweet-salty goodness. And those that are harder to do? They would be the 'kusaya' charts.
The fish charts differ from their sugary counterparts by their first impression they make; understanding the rhythm takes time and may differ depending on each individual person who makes the chart, and when you get used to it, it turns out to be a unique experience and the resulting chart they make turns out to be good. Just like the dried horse mackerel; its pungent flavor and smell puts people off at first, but it's an acquired taste.
And like any acquired taste, it's difficult to get people to play the song twice even after the creator of the chart enjoys it. The concept of the kusaya chart then, is to make it more enjoyable the more times you 'eat' (play) it.
Charts with repetitive, generic patterns you've all seen before? Those are what they call the 'sweets' charts. They're easy to make and are great at first, but despite being fun initially, repeating it over and over makes them boring.
The ultimate trick is then, to find a balance between the three aspects. The light and easy 'sweets', combined with the great addictive 'cuttlefish' flavor, and the unexpected, unique 'fish' taste.
The charting staff try their best to rate their creations among themselves, to make them ultimately enjoyable to the players! (though I doubt all these metaphors are used in daily work conversation....or are they?)
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