The very best a part of engaged on Ghost of Tsushima and Ghost of Yōtei has been getting the chance to go on reference gathering journeys to Japan. As an American, I had primarily seen the nation by means of the lens of beloved traditional samurai motion pictures. However really going there, feeling the wind in your face, smelling pine forests, and assembly locals is deeply inspiring. Everybody from Sucker Punch that went on these reference gathering journeys got here again to the studio with a driving ardour to deliver a way of authenticity to our fictional depiction of those actual life locations. We try to create an unique panorama which captures the sensation of the actual location, then to set gamers free inside it, permitting them to discover as they may, following their curiosity.
However most of all, the journeys are humbling. I vividly bear in mind standing on a seashore in Tsushima, the identical seashore the place 80 samurai died making an attempt to defend their house from a Mongol invasion. The folks on each side of that battle have been actual. All of us at Sucker Punch needed to do proper by the fact of Tsushima’s historical past, though we have been going to inform a fictional story in a digital model of Tsushima that was not a stone for stone recreation of the island. We felt that by listening to our cultural advisors and by doing analysis we might ship a respectful illustration of what made Tsushima so particular. To ship a sense of authenticity and believability to our fictional story.
For Ghost of Yōtei, we’re doing the identical factor.
So, how did we decide the setting for our new recreation? That’s straightforward, Hokkaido is unbelievably lovely and in 1603 it was the sting of the Japanese empire. Again then it was referred to as Ezo, a mysterious island to the north, sparsely populated by Wajin (Japanese) folks daring sufficient to construct a life for themselves within the chilly wilderness. This mix of magnificence and hazard spoke to us. It was the proper place to inform Atsu’s story; a warrior so pushed by revenge that locals begin to consider she’s an onryō strolling the land. When you’re going to inform a ghost story, do it in a dramatic location.
The Sucker Punch reference gathering crew from left to proper: Ian Ryan, Jason Connell, Nate Fox, JoAnna Wang, Rob Davis, Ryuhei Katami.
Sucker Punch despatched out two reference gathering journeys, each exploring totally different areas of Hokkaido. Fortunately, our group visited Shiretoko Nationwide Park. A spot that effortlessly combines pure magnificence and a way of hazard. Whereas climbing by means of the park, taking in majestic views of ocean waves crashing on towering cliffs we noticed numerous bushes scarred by bears sharpening their claws. This forest was their house, we have been the outsiders. All of the sudden we needed to cut up our consideration between gazing up on the lovely snowcapped mountains and looking out down on the close by bushes in case there was a predator close by. That have was magic! An ideal marriage of magnificence and hazard, that was the precise feeling we needed for our recreation. For me, that was the second I knew Hokkaido was the proper selection.
See the claw marks on that tree? Would you wish to camp in that forest?
Whereas touring in one other a part of Hokkaido we have been launched to a mountain so tall it gave the impression to be watching over everybody on the island. You guessed it, it was Mt. Yōtei, which the Ainu name ‘the Feminine Mountain’. In fact, on the journey we’d been pondering lots about our hero. Listening to the Ainu identify for the mountain actually bonded it to Atsu. For us, Yotei turned a logo of Hokkaido. Whereas for Atsu, it’s a logo of house and of the household she misplaced. This technique of being there, speaking concerning the recreation with locales, then synthesizing new concepts is what made the journey so fulfilling.
Mount Yōtei, so tall it pierces the clouds.
Listed here are some pictures we took throughout this analysis journey:
As you’ll be able to see, we have been all very impressed by the pure great thing about Hokkaido. The panorama spoke to us and we’ve completed our greatest to seize the spirit of it in our fictional model of the island. However that wasn’t all we realized whereas on this journey. As a bunch of People we knew how ignorant we have been about Japanese tradition. To assist begin to clear up that drawback we met with a wealth of educated people and visited vital cultural websites… however extra on that at a later date.
