The best part of the work Tsushima’s ghost AND Ghost of Yōtei He had the opportunity to go on trips to reference collecting to Japan. As an American, I saw a country primarily through the lens of beloved classic samurai films. But in fact, feeling the wind on the face, scented pine forests and meeting with the locals is deeply inspiring. Everyone, from Punch Sucker, which took place on trips for reference collecting, returned to the studio with passion for driving to bring a sense of authenticity with our fictitious presentation of these true places. We try to create an original landscape that reflects the feeling of a real location, and then free players, allowing them to discover as they did, after their curiosity.
But above all, trips are humiliating. I remember vividly when I stood on the beach in Tsushima, the same beach on which 80 samurai died, trying to defend my home against Mongol invasion. People on both sides of this conflict were real. We all wanted to do the reality of Tsushima’s story, despite the fact that we intended to tell a fictitious story in the digital version of Tsushima, which was not a stone to recreate the island’s stone. We felt that by listening to our cultural advisers and conducting research, we could ensure a respectful representation of what Tsushima was so unique. To ensure a sense of authenticity and credibility of our fictitious history.
We do the same for Yōtei spirit.
So how did we choose the setting of our modern game? It’s basic, Hokkaido is unbelievably handsome, and in 1603 it was the edge of the Japanese empire. At that time, it was called Ezo, a mysterious island in the north, poorly populated by Wajin (Japanese) people, brave enough to build a life on a frosty wilderness. This combination of beauty and danger spoke to us. It was an ideal place to tell the story of ATS; A warrior so powered by revenge that the locals begin to believe that he is onryō walking on the ground. If you are going to tell a story about ghosts, do it in a dramatic place.
Sucker Punch reference assembly team from left to right: Ian Ryan, Jason Connell, Nate Fox, Joanna Wang, Rob Davis, Ryuhei Katami.
Sucker Punch sent two trips of reference assembly, both studying different areas of Hokkaido. Fortunately, our group visited the Shiretoko National Park. A place that unites natural beauty and a sense of danger. While hiking through the park, adopting majestic views of the ocean waves, crashing on high cliffs, we noticed a number of trees scarred by bears sharpening claws. This forest was their home, we were people from the outside. Suddenly we had to divide our attention between the look in handsome snowy mountains and looking down at the nearby bushes in case the predator was nearby. This experience was magic! The perfect marriage of beauty and danger, it was the exact feeling that we wanted to do our game. For me it was the moment when I knew Hokkaido was the right choice.
Do you see traces of claws on this tree? Would you like to camp in this forest?
While traveling in another part of Hokkaido, we were acquainted with such a high mountain that it seemed that we were watching everyone on the island. You guessed, it was MT, of course, while traveling, we thought a lot about our hero. Hearing the name Ain for the mountain really tied her out of ATS. For us, Yotei has become a symbol of Hokkaido. While for ATS it is a symbol of the house and the family she lost. This process of being there, talking about a game with locations, and then synthesizing modern ideas made the journey so satisfying.
Mount Yōtei, so high that it pierces the clouds.
Here are some photos that we took during this research trip:
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As you can see, we were all very inspired by Hokkaido’s natural beauty. The landscape spoke to us and we made every effort to capture his spirit in our fictitious version of the island. But that wasn’t everything we learned during this journey. As a group of Americans, we knew how naive we were about Japanese culture. To aid solve this problem, we encountered a wealth of competent people and visited crucial cultural places … but more on this subject at a later date.
