1997-03 (approx.)The spelling 'lain' (rather than 'rain') is settled during ABe's early sketches.ABe told 4Gamer that when he first asked how the name was spelled he was told it was not decided, and early images in the artbook show 'lein' and 'rein'. ABe's own chronology says he was offered the job in November 1996 and his work on lain began in earnest in February 1997. Japanese Wikipedia (added by an anonymous editor on 15 January 2013) dates the choice of 'lain' to around March 1997, citing his website diary of 26 March 1997, which is not archived; his site log does show new CG library images on 26 March, 5 April and 15 April 1997, the slots that held his five 'serial experiments' pictures, two of them lettered 'lein' and 'rein'?; the Love Letter Typewriter font was chosen early.source: 4gamer.net archived · 4gamer.net · ja.wikipedia.org archived
