Sucker Punch Productions has shared an interesting, if minor, update for Ghost of Yōtei.
In a new post on PlayStation Blog, they revealed the nice little things they got to do to learn more about the culture in and around Hokkaido. They specifically name dropped visiting Nibutani Ainu Museum, the Nikko Toshogu Shrine, as well as hopping over to Hokkaido’s neighboring island, Honshu.
Curiously, the devs were apparently entranced by something they were taught by their Ainu cultural advisor, Yukiko Kaizawa. She had them going out in the woods to forage for vegetables using their hands and feet. To quote Sucker Punch directly:
That night we resolved to put foraging into our new game, we wanted players to be able to share the experience we were lucky enough to have experienced.
No word on how deep or important this foraging mini-game or game system will be, but it would be an interesting way to supplement an action game’s health/healing systems.
They also shared this curiously detailed description of the history they were researching:
Exploring the Oshima Peninsula also gave us a terrific look into the lives of the Matsuamae clan who were there in strength during the time period our game takes place. It was interesting to see the proliferation of cherry trees on the peninsula, brought there from Honshu, yet uncommon in the rest of the island. That really told the story of how sparsely settled Hokkaido was in 1603 by the Wajin people.
We’ve tried to mimic that quality in the game, leaning into areas of wilderness between homesteads. Of course down on the Oshima Peninsula clan Matsumae were very present, bringing with them a feeling of Honshu.
We’re sure most of you won’t recognize the names of these places and peoples and wouldn’t know how accurate this information is. But we believe we have some insights to share in this regard.
We quoted Twitter user and expat Kaihatsu on potential story details for Ghost of Yōtei from its original announcement. Today, he shares this response to the latest updates from Sucker Punch:
Will have to wait and see what they say they’ve done in terms of cultural research, but this is somewhat promising.
Also looks like them learning Mt Yōtei’s Ainu name (Macinesir – female mountain) had a significant influence on their female protagonist Atsu.
Ultimately, Yōtei is a historical fiction. So while it seems they’ve done lots research/consulting, there’ll be differences. The article’s description of Wajin in 1603 Ezo already shows that to an extent.
But this was bound to happen. I think the end product will be fine enough.
Of course, lest we forget, this isn’t a real official preview for Ghost of Yōtei. That’s actually coming next month in a dedicated State of Play, and if we’re lucky, Sucker Punch will reveal what that foraging will be all about there.
