The very best a part of engaged on Ghost of Tsushima and Ghost of Yōtei has been getting the alternative to go on reference gathering journeys to Japan. As an American, I had primarily seen the nation by way of the lens of beloved basic samurai motion pictures. However truly 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 convey a way of authenticity to our fictional depiction of those actual life locations. We try to create an unique panorama which captures the feeling of the actual location, then to set gamers free inside it, permitting them to discover as they’ll, following their curiosity.
However most of all, the journeys are humbling. I vividly keep in mind standing on a seaside in Tsushima, the identical seaside the place 80 samurai died trying to defend their house from a Mongol invasion. The individuals on each side of that battle have been actual. All of us at Sucker Punch wished to do proper by the actuality of Tsushima’s historical past, although 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 may 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 choose the setting for our new sport? That’s straightforward, Hokkaido is unbelievably lovely and in 1603 it was the fringe of the Japanese empire. Again then it was referred to as Ezo, a mysterious island to the north, sparsely populated by Wajin (Japanese) individuals daring sufficient to construct a life for themselves in the chilly wilderness. This mixture of magnificence and hazard spoke to us. It was the excellent 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 staff 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 mountain climbing by way 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. Out of the blue we needed to break up our consideration between gazing up at the lovely snowcapped mountains and searching down at 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 wished for our sport. For me, that was the second I knew Hokkaido was the proper selection.
See the claw marks on that tree? Would you need 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’. After all, on the journey we’d been considering quite a bit about our hero. Listening to the Ainu title 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 means of being there, speaking about the sport with locales, then synthesizing new concepts is what made the journey so fulfilling.
Mount Yōtei, so tall it pierces the clouds.
Listed below 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 executed 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 Individuals 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 necessary cultural websites… however extra on that at a later date.