Ghost of Tsushima, the game world

We have been talking about Ghost of Tsushima, Sucker Punch Productions' new project set on the island of Tsushima in 1274, during the attempt to invade Japan's Mongolian army. All the more so because behind this production there really seems to have been a considerable effort by the authors to offer the public a work of those potentially destined to remain in the history of this medium.

In addition to a video game, Ghost of Tsushima "aspires" in fact to be a sort of digital fresco of an age, a culture and a centuries-old civilization, without however falling into stereotype or melense. To better represent the historical universe of feudal Japan in 1274, Sucker Punch collaborated with several scholars and experts on local traditions and folklore, to faithfully recreate every single aspect of society and the geography of the time. In addition, he also relied on the artistic legacy left, as we will see, by a director like Akira Kurosawa. In fact, the culture of the Kamakura period will be at the center of the experience.

The allure of feudal Japan

Many of the games recreate historical periods famous, just think of the franchise of Assassin's Creed, but from what we could see until now, rarely with this type of "precision," and depth. A challenge not just in spite of everything conducted with a certain degree of balance, in spite of the schemes games, rather abused. The objective of Sucker Punch is in this sense that it leaves complete freedom in the exploration of a world that is bright and full of contrast, the Island of Tsushima, an integral part of an intimate journey deep between the player, the setting and the protagonist, in the midst of his battle more difficult. A fight that is first of all an inner one, because if the war against the invaders will be constantly present and oppressive in the course of the adventure, at the center of the canvas remains, however, him, Jin and Sakai .

Then the individual, with his torments, with his introspective journey that sometimes will become preponderant on the fighting and on the main plot. A samurai in search of revenge , ready to make any sacrifice, even to renounce the honor that is all about to those of his caste. To deny himself the values of bushido with which you "grew up", while to complete his mission. But the Ghost of Tsushima goes further: combines historical accuracy with the stylized art of a master of world cinema, the likes of Akira Kurosawa and the natural beauty of the scenarios recreated as an oil painting, inside a vast open world with an incredible attention to detail.

it is Not a coincidence that the title will include a mode cinematic black-and-white renamed Kurosawa Mode, in honor of the famous japanese director descendant of, among other things, of a noble family of the prefecture of Akita, who numbered among the ancestors of the famous samurai Sadatō Abe . As shown recently by the developers themselves it is a mode that will allow users to replicate the atmosphere of the films of the famous filmmaker of the japanese through some of the technical elements. "We have done some research on the curves of colour, contrast and brightness that might have been used at the time, and that Kurosawa would have been able to use for his film," explained Jason Connell, and Nate Fox, the two the creative director of the project.

Like a movie

The two members of Sucker Punch, have analyzed a variety of films with the samurai and the related scenes to figure out exactly how much the blacks were deep and whites were bright. An element that has required some changes to the audio performance of the wind , that in the title of Sucker Punch has a purpose, and that in the Kurosawa Mode is played as if it is coming from the speaker of an old tv. To amplify the feeling of being in front of a feature film, "interactive" of the director the golden Palm at the Cannes film Festival in 1980, the choice of a direction that does not disdegnerà exchange of shots the dynamics and sequences of powerful combat, characterized by movements, harmonious and rhythmic in contrast with the brutality of the killings.

The right balance between the needs of developers to make spectacular , but also as much as possible close to reality. A purity of the visual to maintain, even in settings, enhancing the beauty of the breathtaking scenery through visual details are extremely cared for, with the screen images that follow the words, and the words that follow images to influence each other, and secrete emotions. The beautiful landscapes that open onto huge expanses of grain, plantations of bamboo or villages snow that we have seen in the movies and in the artwork here released, may not leave indifferent any gamer, and call to mind also the use of poetic and iconic that made Kurosawa the everyday elements and the environment.

An' artistic influence that will be noticeable even in those moments seemingly trivial, like the long rides that will separate the protagonist of the adventure, Jin, from a destination on the map to the other. Travel through the green hills or thick forest of trees, maybe under a heavy rain, useful to give credibility to the game world, the distances involved, but also as a metaphor of the passage of the hours and of the seasons, imitating ideally, the long takes without dialogue of many movies of the"Emperor of japanese cinema". "The cinema," said the latter, "contains in itself many other arts . As well as has characteristics of its own literature, equally has connotations of the theater, a philosophical aspect and attributes based on the painting , to sculpture, to music". Today, the same is true for the games .